Sermon Tone Analysis

As we look at the trustworthiness of the Bible, I want to acknowledge Charlie Campbell, the director of “The Always Be Ready Apologetics Ministry” for his excellent notes on this.

And as always, my favorite commentator John Phillips for his always outstanding comments on all things Biblical.

The Bible is the best-selling, most quoted, most published, most circulated, most translated, most influential book in the history of mankind.

There is no close second.

But why should anyone believe that the Bible is actually true?

Might not the Bible be a fraud?

Might not it be an ancient book of mythology, filled with the fanciful, yet deceitful writings of men?

What about other books, like the Qur'an?

or the Book of Mormon?

What makes the Bible any different than those books?

Those are questions that intelligent, critical thinking people are asking today.

Those are the questions I have asked from time to time about the Bible.

We need to, as Christians, be able to answer these questions (1 Peter 3:15).

So I’d like to share with you some of the evidence that demonstrates the Bible is indeed what it claims to be—the inspired, trustworthy Word of God.

The first evidence for the Bible’s trustworthiness is...

1. FULFILLED PROPHECY

Fulfilled prophecy is something that sets the Bible apart from every other religious book.

There are 26 other religious books that people of faith believe are divinely inspired—

The Vedas for the Hindus, the Bhagavadgita for the Hare Krishnas, the Qur'an of the Muslims, the Book of Mormon, the Tripitaka for the Buddhists, and so on.

Of these twenty-six books, none of them, not a single one, contains any specific, fulfilled prophecies!

The Bible, however, is filled with hundreds of specific, detailed prophecies that were written hundreds of years before their fulfillment!

In fact, an amazing 27% of the Bible (more than 1 out of every 4 verses) contains what was predictive prophecy at the time that it was written.

And the authors of the Bible did not just predict some vague things like Nostradamus or Jeanne Dixon—who by the way, have proven to be wrong over and over again.

The scriptures were and are very specific.

Consider some of the more than 100 different and very specific prophecies made concerning the Messiah, who the Old Testament prophesied would come.

The Old Testament foretold, hundreds of years in advance, very specific details about: the Messiah's ancestry, that He’d be born of the seed of Abraham (Gen.

12:1-3, 22:18), of the tribe of Judah (Gen 49:10), of the house of David (2 Samuel 7:12f), etc.

The city in which He would be born (Micah 5:2), that He’d come while the temple was still standing (Malachi 3:1), that He would be born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14), that He would perform miracles (Isaiah 35:5-6)…

…that He’d be rejected by His own people (Psalm 118:22; 1 Peter 2:7), the precise time in history when He would die (Daniel 9:24-26); 483 years after the declaration to reconstruct the city of Jerusalem in 444 B.C.

This was fulfilled to the very year!

The Bible also predicted how He would die (Psalm 22:16-18, Isaiah 53; Zech 12:10), and that He would rise from the dead (Psalm 16:10; Acts 2:27-32).

These are just a few of the prophecies related to the coming of the Messiah.

There are many other prophecies about the rise and fall of nations, the re-gathering of the Jewish people back into their homeland (something that's being fulfilled right now).

The fact that these prophecies and hundreds of others have been fulfilled, even though they were spoken hundreds and even thousands of years before their fulfillment is strong evidence that a God who is all-knowing and all-powerful orchestrated the Bible's completion.

No other religious writing is able to substantiate its claims with this kind of supernatural evidence.

2. ARCHAEOLOGICAL DISCOVERIES

Archaeology could never prove that the Bible is divinely inspired, but it can help build a case for the historical reliability of the Bible.

And it certainly has.

For the past 150 years archaeologists have been verifying the exact truthfulness of the Bible's detailed records of various events, customs, persons, cities, nations, and geographical locations.

In every instance where the Bible can be, or has been checked out archaeologically, it has been found to be 100% accurate.

The Bible has proven so accurate that archaeologists often refer to it as a reliable guide when they go to dig in new areas.Nelson Glueck, who appeared on the cover of Time magazine and who is considered one of the greatest archaeologists ever, wrote:

“No archeological discovery has ever overturned a Biblical reference.

Scores of archeological findings have been made which confirm in clear outline or in exact detail historical statements in the Bible.

And, by the same token, proper evaluation of Biblical descriptions has often led to amazing discoveries.”

These are the words of a man who has who has been credited with uncovering more than fifteen hundred ancient sites in the Middle East!

There have been more than 25,000 discoveries within the region known as the "Bible Lands” that have confirmed the truthfulness of the Bible.

Archaeology has not proven so helpful for other religious writings.

Consider the Book of Mormon.

Dave Hunt writes, “Not one piece of evidence has ever been found to support the Book of Mormon -- not a trace of the large cities it names, no ruins, no coins, no letters or documents or monuments, nothing in writing.

Not even one of the rivers or mountains or any of the topography it mentions has ever been identified.”

Nothing which demonstrates that the Book of Mormon is anything other than an early nineteenth century piece of American fiction, invented by Joseph Smith has ever been found.

3. THE BIBLE’S INTERNAL CONSISTENCY

What do we mean when we speak of the Bible’s internal consistency?

We are talking about the Bible’s internal harmony.

From the first book of the Bible, Genesis, to the last book, Revelation, the Bible is absolutely consistent.

The skeptic says: “Why is that an evidence of divine origin?

There are plenty of books that are internally consistent.”

I agree, but let’s look at several factors that make the consistency of the Bible an amazing evidence of its divine origin.

A.)From Genesis to Revelation, the Bible consistently addresses life’s most controversial questions.

How did the universe come into existence?

Does God exist?

And if so, what is He like?

Why does man exist?

What is our purpose for being here?

Why is there evil and suffering in the world?

What happens to me after I die?

B.) The Bible is a collection of 66 different documents.

It might be easy to have harmony of thought in a single book, like the Qur’an, that contains the teachings of a single man.

But the Bible is not a single book.

It is a compilation of books; a library between two covers: 39 books in the Old Testament and 27 books in the New Testament.

And it was written by approximately 40 different authors who all agree, though they never compared notes or worked together.

C.) Many of the Bible’s authors came from different educational and cultural backgrounds.

Peter was a fisherman.

Paul was a scholar.

Daniel was a prime minister.

Asaph was a musician.

Matthew was a tax collector.

David was a shepherd then a king.

Luke was a historian and medical doctor.

Yet they all agree!

The Bible’s consistency gets even more amazing when you also consider that…

D.) The Bible was written over a period of approximately 1500+ years, covering some 60+ generations.

Not only were the authors separated from each other by hundreds of years in time, but...

E.) Many of the authors were separated by hundreds of miles geographically.

Many people don’t realize this, but the Bible was written in a variety of places on three different continents—Asia, Africa, and Europe.

Paul wrote four letters imprisoned in Rome, located in Italy.

The apostle John wrote while a prisoner banished to the Isle of Patmos in the Mediterranean Sea.

The prophet Ezekiel wrote his work while held captive in Babylon.

Jeremiah was in a dungeon.

Luke wrote while traveling.

Daniel wrote from a hillside and in a palace.

Yet they all consistently agree without any collaboration!

F.) The Bible was written in three different languages (Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek).

In spite of all of these different factors we find the Bible to be a consistent, harmonious, perfectly unified account of how God is seeking to reconcile sinners back to Himself through the person of His Son, Jesus Christ.

4. EXTERNAL VERIFICATION

Many people don’t know this but there are dozens of writings outside of the Bible that verify the historical accuracy of many of the names of people, places, and events mentioned in the Bible.

In fact, external sources verify that at least 80 persons were actual historical figures, 50 people from the Old Testament and 30 people from the New Testament.

Because of things like engravings and statues, we even know what 18 (12 from the OT and 6 from the NT) of them looked like!

Today the existence of Jesus is hardly even debated within informed scholarly circles.

The reason why?