Why I trust the Bible

The Word of God

I did not want to teach out of my own logic or out of my experience. They are a great tool in helping me and others understand, but they are not always accurate and they are can come from a flawed perspective. We all have blind spots; things that we just can’t see the way that they are supposed to be. And most of the time we don’t even know what those blind spots are. There needs to be a purer frame of reference than our own minds.
And I feel that is why God gave us the bible. It is a glimpse of his perspective. They are not just thoughts from good people. Thoughts from good people are not necessarily right. They have no more authority than my own thoughts. But if we believe that it was the Holy Spirit working through men then be believe it was God’s voice we were hearing and not man’s voices. That makes a huge difference. If it were men’s perspective it needs to be tested against all that we have; experiences, historical documents, philosophers, our culture, etc.. and it has been tried against all those things. But if it is God’s perspective and God’s perspective is right and true than we must trust it. When we trust it, it changes everything. We all use a frame of reference: an ultimate standard that we test everything against. Some use science (which incidentally tends to walk hand and hand with the bible or a few steps behind) others their own experiences or thoughts or history writers or etc… The word of God, of which the bible is the clearest form, is the standard which I choose to measure all other things against.

But??
How can you believe the Bible, there are so many interpretations out there? Or how can the Bible be relevant for today, it was written so long ago?” “Do you mean to tell me that you actually believe everything that’s in the Bible? You believe the Bible’s literally true?” Many dismiss the Bible as a book of “embellished folk tales”.

We don’t read the bible for the most part. Most Americans have one, but few read it or know much about it. We don’t trust it.

Nine Reasons why I am convinced that the Bible can be trusted as the inspired, infallible Word of God.

1 The unity and consistency of the Bible.
Bible is the fact that it was written over a period of 1,500 years, in 66 individual books, by 40 different authors, in three languages (Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek)
And the writers were all different. Some were kings, some were farmers, some were fishermen, some were rabbis, some were wealthy, some were poor.
yet there’s amazing agreement among all the writers and a wonderful unity that ties them all together. T
People don’t agree that easily, especially people from such varied backgrounds and times and places writing about such controversial issues like the meaning of life. It would be tough to get that kind of agreement in your own home.

2 The amount of manuscript evidence is overwhelming
Still today we have over 5,000 Greek manuscripts that contain all or part of the New Testament. The New Testament was written in Greek. No ancient document comes close to having that kind of manuscript support. We have 7 surviving manuscripts of Plato’s (380 BC) writings and 5 for the works of Aristotle (350 BC). The manuscript evidence for the Bible is overwhelming.
And what’s even more amazing is that they agree with each other 99.5% of the time. The .5% of time when they vary is mostly over spelling and word order. The enormous volume and accuracy of the manuscript evidence, along with the unity of the Bible put it in a class by itself.

3 The archaeological evidence. If rocks could talk we’d call them to the witness stand and they would testify to the accuracy of the Bible. There once was a time when the Bible was criticized as being inaccurate when it came to historical information. But that’s not true anymore. Again and again archaeology has confirmed the reliability of the Bible.

4 Prophecies fulfilled.
the Old Testament 191 of those predictions were about the coming of Christ.

Over five hundred years before Jesus was born Hebrew prophets predicted the place of his birth (Micah 5:2), Bethlehem, that he would be born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14), escape to Egypt, return to Nazareth, live the life of a suffering servant (Isaiah 53), ride into Jerusalem on a donkey (Zechariah 9:9), be betrayed for thirty pieces of silver (Zechariah 11:12), stand silent at his trial (Isaiah 53:7), be beaten and spit on (Isaiah 50:6), be crucified on a cross before crucifixion was even known as a method of execution (Psalm 22:16), offered vinegar to drink while hanging on the cross (Psalm 69:21), have lots cast for his clothing (Psalm 22:18), be buried in a borrowed tomb (Isaiah 53:9), come back to life (Psalm 16), and be called God (Isaiah 9:6).

5 The Bible claims to be the Word of God.

2,600 times in the Old Testament we read phrases like “And the Lord spoke to me, saying,” or “The word of the Lord came to me saying,” or “The Lord said to me.” Over and over again the writers claim that the source of their information came from God himself.

The New Testament describes this process using the word inspired. 2 Timothy 3:16 says,
“All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.”

The biblical word “inspired” literally means God-breathed. The Scriptures both Old and New Testament came from the very mouth of God. The words originated with him. That’s what the Bible claims for itself. It doesn’t just claim to be a special book. It claims to be the Word of God.

“We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received honor and glory form God the father when the voice came to him from the majestic glory, saying,” this is my son, whom I love: with him I am well pleased.” We ourselves heard this voice that comes from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain.
And we have the word of the prophets make more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the morning star rises in your hearts. Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. 2Peter 1:16-21


6 Jesus Christ was convinced that the Bible was the Word of the Living God.

John 10:35 when he said, The Scripture cannot be broken.
Jesus made references to scriptures frequently and made decisions by them. An example of this is the time he was tempted in the desert where he combated the devil’s temptation with scriptural truths.

7 200,000,000 People’s Lives
So many of us could add another reason why we trust the Bible and that’s because we’ve seen what it’s done in our own lives. We’ve found in the pages of the Bible living water that has quenched our spiritual thirst and changed our lives and given us hope and meaning and purpose in life. The Bible has taught us how life works, and we can’t imagine living our life without it’s guidance.

8 The disciple’s reactions.
11 of Jesus' 12 disciples died because they refused to stop telling people about Jesus' life and resurrection from the dead. These are the same men who were at their lowest point when Christ was crucified. But just a few days later these men went from down and low to joyful and convicted. They would not have given up their lives if they did not believe what they said.
If they believed there was no God then they would not believe in the after life. And if they did not believe in an after life then they would be doing everything they could to hold on to their lives, not lay them down for the sake of a (what in this situation would be a) lie.
If the disciples believed that there was a God they would be concerned about what their eternal life would look like. They would not want to proclaim lies (heresy) that might earn them a quick trip to hell. Who in their right mind would intentionally provoke a God they believe in?
Which leads me to the next point. Were they in their right minds?
The disciples wrote (through the holly spirit) most of the New Testament. This is the best selling book of all time. It is filled with wisdom that has lasted for 2000 years. Most of our laws and values come from Jewish and Christian beliefs found in the bible that was written through these men. The teachings that they pass on are universal truths.

9 The truths found in the bible
They can be found to be true and relevant for everyone. We find so much depth, truth, and meaning in the teachings they passed on to us. Most of us follow these teaching weather we know it or not. It deeply ingrained in our morals and in our hearts.
“Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach. It is not up in heaven, so that you have to ask, ’Who will ascend into heaven to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?’ Nor is it beyond the sea, so that you have to ask, ‘Who will cross the sea to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?’ No, the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it.” Deuteronomy 30: 11-14
The truths and knowledge of God is made more accessible through the bible.





Bible continued….

1 What is it for?
It Points to Jesus
It is not the bible that gives life. It is what is exposed in the bible that brings life.
“You diligently study the scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life.” John 5: 39-40

God didn’t give us the Bible to be revered. He gave us the Bible to be read and studied and memorized and obeyed so that we can really live.
“But as you continue in what you have leaned and have become convinced of because you know those from whom you learned it and how from infancy you have known the holy scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
2Timothy 3: 14-17)

2 God wants us to come to him for guidance in life and not those who do not follow God.
“Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers.
But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.” Psalm 1: 1-2

3 It is not easy to understand alone. We need other people to help us see what God is telling us.
“Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet, “Do you understand what you are reading?’ Philip asked. ‘How can I,’ he said, ‘unless someone explains it to me?’ So he invited Philip to come and sit with him.” Acts 8: 30-31
It makes it even more difficult to understand given that God does not approve of everything that is recorded in the bible. The Bible records Satan’s lies, but doesn’t approve of them. The Bible records David’s adultery but doesn’t approve of it. Etc…

… And that’s why we are here ….