Should We Trust The Bible
Posted on homepage: 30 April 2012
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Since Creation Ministries International is based on the Bible, the question arises, why should the Bible be trusted? How should we answer those who claim that its been re-written so many times that we no longer have the original? And even if we do, was it written long after the events it claimed to report? Also, does archaeology disprove the Bible? Finally, even if it is true, whats the point?
Archeological Findingstangible Proof Of The Existence Of Biblical Characters And Events
We often look for evidence that we can see with our own eyes and feel with our own hands. Thats why its exciting when archeologists find pieces of papyrus or dig up bricks from the walls of great cities with inscriptions on them. Finding historical documentation of people and events from the Scriptures makes Gods Word come alive. In the minds of many, finding this tangible proof means that the Bible can be trusted.
Let the house of Your servant David be established before You .
The existence of the well known biblical figure king David has often been debated among scholars and historians. In the summer of 1993, while sifting through ruins of Tel Dan in northern Israel, archeologists discovered a piece of a larger basalt monument inscribed with the names of several kings of ancient Israel as well as a king of the “House of David,” referring to the nation of Judah, which was ruled by descendants of King David. Although not directly mentioning David himself, this inscription adds to the proof of the existence of several biblical characters .
Lesson 1: Why You Can Trust The Bible
You dont have to pick up books like Dan Browns bestseller, The Da Vinci Code, to find attacks against the reliability of the Bible. The late Dr. James Boice cited a survey of clergy in five major U.S. denominations that asked the broad question, Do you believe the Bible to be the inspired Word of God? This was weaker than asking, Do you believe that the Bible is without error? It left open the definition of inspired. Yet in spite of the level at which the question was asked, 82 percent of the Methodists, 89 percent of the Episcopalians, 81 percent of the United Presbyterians, 57 percent of the Lutherans, and 57 percent of the Baptists, answered no.
In our day, to say that you believe that the Bible is inspired by God and without error in all that it affirms puts you in league with the folks in the Flat Earth Society. Especially in a university town, we expose ourselves to ridicule to go on record as saying that we believe that the Bible is completely true and without error.
These critics maintain that inerrancy is not all that important. The real issue is a persons relationship to Jesus Christ. They argue that to hold to inerrancy is not scholastic and it imposes on the authors of Scripture standards of accuracy that they themselves did not hold. Thus evangelicals should not divide over this issue.
You can trust the Bible because it is Gods Word and it is without error in all its teaching.
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Jesus Believed That Gods Word Is Necessary For Life And Growth
After forty days of fasting in the wilderness, Jesus is tempted by Satan to turn stones into bread. He says in response, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.
Without the transformative Word of God, sinners remain dead in their sin. But with it, they are brought to new life in Christ and are made increasingly into his image.
The Bible Has A Powerful Impact On Both Society And Individuals
The Bibles impact on society is dramatic. For example, most hospitals were started by Christians. Christians pioneered orphanages and were the impetus for child protective agencies.
The Bible has often brought new respect and freedom in places where women are treated little better than animals.
The sailors and women described in the book, Mutiny on the Bounty, were cast aside on Pitcairn Island in the Pacific Ocean and destined to die. The thirty or so unrestrained men and women were falling into moral debauchery when one of them found a Bible. They decided to follow its teachings, and everything changed for the better. In fact, when those who were marooned were later rescued the rescuers were shocked at the impressive moral society that had developed.
In the 1970s, the United States the Supreme Court outlawed prayer and the Bible in public schools. Our society has become more degenerate and filled with unrestrained anarchy ever since.
We live in a society where people are saying things like, Its my right to do anything that I want. Our society doesnt understand that we dont have the right to do anything the Constitution means that we have the freedom to do what is right.
And how often we hear the testimony of those whose lives were changed powerfully when they surrendered to Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior!
Martin Luther, who sparked the Protestant Reformation, had his life forever changed when he saw in the Bible the words: The just shall live by faith .
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The Bible Has Proven Itself To Be True
Maybe you need more scientific proof. Archeologists have proven biblical events have taken place, historical records have confirmed Scriptural accounts. The testimony of the Apostles sent them to their deaths standing on the truth of the cross.
There is great evidence in the truth of Scripture.
Proverbs 30:5Every word of God proves true he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.
2 Samuel 22:31This Godhis way is perfect the word of the Lord proves true he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him.
Hundreds Of Events People And Things Are Prophesied In The Bible All Of Which Have Come True
Let me share a few fulfilled prophecies concerning Jesus:
Hands and Feet Pierced Prophesied Psalm 22 16 Fulfilled John 20:25
Said My God My God Why Hast Thou Forsaken Me? Prophesied Psalm 22:1 Fulfilled Matthew 27:46
Thirsted on the Cross Prophesied Psalm 22:15 Fulfilled John 19:28
Buried in the Tomb of a Rich Man Prophesied Isaiah 53:9 Fulfilled Matthew 27:57-61
Said It Is Finished Prophesied Psalm 22:31 Fulfilled John 19:30
Is that enough? Or would you like some more?
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What Is The Key Teaching Of The New Testament
So, given that Jesus existed, what are we to make of the reliability or unreliability of those documents that claim to give a historical account of His life and teachings? If we accept the historical evidence that the NT is a reliable record, what does it teach?
The bodily Resurrection of Christ is one of the key doctrines of Christianity, as it demonstrates His claims to deity , confirms the truth of all He said , and shows that He conquered death, thus guaranteeing the resurrection of believers . The apostle Paul wrote:
if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless you are still dead in your sins. . If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied. . If the dead are not raised, let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die .
The Jews regarded the body as an integral part of Man, so the Resurrection must include the body:
The notion that Jesus was resurrected in a totally spiritual sense, while his old body lay in the grave, is a purely modern conception. First-century Jewish thinking would never have accepted such a view and that is not how Jesus Resurrection was proclaimed in the earliest accounts. It would have been impossible for Resurrection claims to survive in the face of a tomb containing the corpse of Jesus.13
Why We Trust The Bible
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God’s revelation: where would we be without it? In this series, Dr. Stephen Nichols explains that we would be lost if not for God’s Word, trapped in the darkness of sin forever. Rather than forsake us, God sent His Son, Jesus, revealing and recording His redemptive purposes in an inspired, inerrant, and authoritative source: the Bible. Sufficient for all of life, a crucial question arises: will we accept its authority?
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Jesus Believed That Gods Word Has Authority Over Man
Jesus once said to the Pharisees and scribes, You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition! He calls their outward worship vain and names them hypocrites because they have given their own traditions more weight than the very commands of God.
So Jesus believed the Scriptures to be of highest authority, even over those manmade traditions created by the religious elect and political intellectuals. His conviction was that every law, institution, and person should ultimately submit to the authority of Gods Word.
To Trust Or Not To Trust
Trust not to rotten planks, wrote English dramatist William Shakespeare. Indeed, before stepping onto the wooden planks of a boat, you would want to be sure that the wood was not rotten.
THE words of Shakespeare echo the sentiments of wise King Solomon of ancient Israel, who some 3,000 years ago wrote: A fool will believe anything smart people watch their step. Yes, only a fool would go through life blindly accepting everything he hears, basing his decisions and actions on frivolous advice or baseless teachings. Misplacing our trustlike stepping onto rotten plankscan lead to disaster. You may wonder, Is there any source of guidance that is worthy of our trust?
Millions of people the world over place their full trust in an ancient book called the Holy Bible. They look to this book to direct their steps. They base their decisions on its advice and pattern their actions after its teachings. Are such individuals stepping, as it were, onto rotten planks? The answer to that question depends greatly on the answer to another question, Are there sound reasons to trust the Bible? This special issue of Awake! examines the evidence.
The purpose of this issue of Awake! is not to impose religious beliefs or views on you. Rather, it is intended simply to present the compelling evidence that has convinced millions that the Bible is worthy of their trust. After reading the articles that follow, you can decide for yourself whether the Bible merits your trust.
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How Do We Know We Can Trust The Bible
Dr. Zachary Cole| September 14, 2021
How do we know we can trust the Bible?Dr. Zachary Cole points believers to history, archaeology, and the text itself to confirm the trustworthiness of Scripture.
We know we can trust the Bible from a variety of perspectives. One of the amazing things about the Bible is that for all the centuries that have passed, and all of the developments and progress that weve made in science and technology and mathematics, Christians are more than ever confident in the trustworthiness of Scripture. There hasnt been any major discovery, any gotcha moment where we discovered that the Bible was irrelevant or inaccurate. In fact, the opposite is the case. There are Christians at the top of all of these different fields in science and technology who really do truly believe in the inspiration inerrancy of Scripture.
The Bible Declares Itself To Be The Word Of God
The Bible claims that even though it was written by human authors, it was inspired by God. Therefore, it is completely trustworthy.
Inspired doesnt mean a flash of insight that comes to us as we work on a particular problem or seek answers in a certain area. Inspiration means that the biblical writings were initiated and controlled by God through men like Moses, Isaiah, Matthew, and Paul. The Bible claims to be the very Word of God accurately given to man from God.
All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness .
Knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit .
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The Reliability Of The Old Testament
Scribes meticulously copied the Old Testament Scriptures on parchment or animal skins. Skin doesnt last forever, though, and when a copy wore out, the Jews would bury it.
- As a result, at one point, the oldest copies of the Hebrew Scriptures that we had dated only to the tenth century AD.
- But the 1947 discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls at Qumran provided manuscripts dated to the second century BCone thousand years earlierand proved the remarkable copying accuracy.
The scribes worked so carefully that:
Any copy with just one mistake in it was destroyed. This guarantees us that there has been no substantial change in the text of the Old Testament in the last 2,000 years and evidence that there was probably very little change before that.1
Regardless of the original location, date, or translation of the manuscripts we have today, they exhibit remarkable agreement with one another and give us confidence that they faithfully represent the original Hebrew Scriptures.
Objections To Trusting The Bible
But arent there good reasons to believe that the Bible isnt trustworthy?
While this is a common view, its usually assumed rather than proven. The evidence actually supports the idea that the Bible is trustworthy.
Isnt the Bible just a collection of made-up stories?
Many people believe that the stories in the Bible that present themselves as records of historical events were written long after the events are claimed to have happened and are largely fabricated. However, there is little evidence to support this view and lots of evidence that the Bible offers records of events that did actually happen. Often the details of stories things like names, knowledge of geography, and cultural and religious practices can be shown to be to be accurate to the period claimed and not to later periods, making it highly unlikely that a later author could have fabricated the story so accurately. In a similar way, parallels from other cultures show the plausibility of biblical accounts. Archaeology also offers some confirmation of the biblical account, although archaeological evidence is always open to multiple interpretations. When it comes to the New Testament, there is strong evidence that the Gospels are based on eyewitness accounts.
Hasnt the Bible been corrupted through hundreds of years of copying?
There is actually good evidence to believe that the biblical text has been accurately passed down over the centuries.
Isnt the Bible full of contradictions and errors?
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How Is The Holy Spirit Able Fully To Persuade That Are The Very Word Of God
John Calvin on the internal testimony of the Spirit and the problem with relying on the church to decide what is the Word of God:
A most pernicious error widely prevails that Scripture has only so much weight as is conceded to it by the consent of the church. As if the eternal and inviolable truth of God depended upon the decision of men! . . . Yet, if this is so, what will happen to miserable consciences seeking firm assurance of eternal life if all promises of it consist in and depend solely upon the judgment of men?
The immediate sight of Gods reality in the Word:
How can we be assured that this has sprung from God unless we have recourse to the decree of the church? — it is as if someone asked: Whence will we learn to distinguish light from darkness, white from black, sweet from bitter? Indeed, Scripture exhibits fully as clear evidence of its own truth as white and black things do of their color, or sweet and bitter things do of their taste.
How then shall we know? The inward testimony of the Spirit.
Life is the witness to the truth and power of the word.
J. I. Packers interpretation of Calvin’s thoughts on the inward witness of the Spirit
Or to use the words of Jesus, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me
Archaeology Confirms Important Facts About The World Of Jesus
Scores of digs are going on around Israel. Some are uncovering vital information about the world of Jesus. There are numerous chance findings that prove bits and pieces of the gospels the Pool of Siloam in 2004 a house from Jesus home town of Nazareth in 2009 an early first-century synagogue on the shore of Lake Galilee in 2009 but they are not the most significant results of archaeology.
Two crucial features of the gospels have been verified by recent findings in Galilee and Judea. First, the thoroughly Jewish character of Lower Galilee is confirmed by the discovery of Jewish pots, ritual baths and the absence of pig bones in the rubbish dumps of these towns. Some scholars used to claim that the Jewish nature of the story of Jesus didnt fit with the more Gentile physical environment of Galilee. They were wrong.
And, yet, secondly, the gospels were written in Greek. How could an authentically Jewish story end up in the pagan language ? And does this mean there is a large cultural gap between the Jewish Jesus of Galilee and the Greek language of the later gospels? Archaeology has helped here, too. It is now known that a significant proportion of Jerusalems population spoke Greek as a first language. Scraps of documents and inscriptions in Greek make clear that the international pagan language was very widely used by Jews inside and outside the holy land.
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