Entrenched In The Word
I think you are really going to enjoy our new series! For the Christian, it will solidify your beliefs and give you the ability to defend and explain your faith! For those who are still investigating and seeking spiritual things, it will let you know exactly what needs to be believed to become a Christian and live the best possible life now. This series will give you evidence that demands a verdict from you as far as your faith is concerned.
Sunday I taught on the truthfulness and reliability of the Bible! Our faith starts with a trusting belief that the Bible is the very words of God. Everything we believe about God, Jesus and Eternal Life comes from this book! If we don’t trust it and believe it…..we have nothing to base our faith on.
Here is a recap of the massage:
The Bible Is Inspired : It is God-breathed. It is the transmission of content from God to humanity to other people!
The Bible Is Inerrant: The Bible is absolutely truthful in all its affirmations about God, His principles, His People and His way to Eternal Life.
We can apply Literary Criticism to the Bible and it comes out academically trustworthy and reliable as an ancient text.
Bibliographical Evidence
- How well are the earliest manuscripts we have translated from the original?
- Textual reliability of an ancient writing is determined by how many manuscripts exist and how soon after the originals were they written.
Plato’s Republic – 7 ancient manuscripts… the oldest is 1,200 -1,300 years after the original.
Aristotle’s Famous 5 ancient manuscripts… the oldest 1,300 – 1,400 years after the original.
Homer’s Iliad – 643 ancient manuscripts… the oldest is 400- 500 years after the original.
New Testament – 5,366 ancient manuscripts…the oldest is 30 – 70 years after the original.
The Bible passes the Bibliographical Test better than any ancient writing of the same time period.
Internal Evidence
- Do the writers claim the information to be true and accurate and were they eye witnesses?
- All of the NT writers except for 2 died for the truth and accuracy of what they had written.
- There is 98% accuracy in content from all the manuscripts. Anything discrepancies is spelling, switching of word order and other small variants of detail content. Nothing….with any salvation or major theological significance.
External Evidence
- Is there outside evidence that validates or corroborates the Bible?
- In the last century there has been an overwhelming amount of archaeological evidence in support of historical claims of the Bible.
- There are 25,000 archaeological discoveries that substantiate Biblical History AND there has never been one to go against the Bible.
We can entrench ourselves in the Word of God because it reliable in every way!
2 Timothy 3:16-17
16 All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. 17 God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.
