The Bible is True
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QOTW
What’s been the best part of your week?
Game
Video - Twilight
Introduction
Recap last time.
The bible is God’s word
The Bible Proves God Is Trustworthy
The Bible is God-Inspired
Today we’re talking more about the Bible.
Remember, the Bible is not just human words. It’s God’s Word to us.
Let’s talk about how we can know that God’s Word is true and the best way to respond to that truth.
Group Activity
Two Truths and a lie
Since we’re talking about what’s true today, let’s find out what’s true about you with a little game called “Two Truths and a lie.” The rules are simple. Everyone in the group will take turns and introduce themselves. When it’s your turn to introduce yourself, say two interesting things that are true about you and one thing that isn’t true. But don’t tell us which one isn’t true. You can make up something that’s wild and outrageous or simple. You just want it to sound like the truth. After each person shares, we’ll take a vote to guess which of the three facts is the lie.
Do one as an example
Which truth about someone surprised you the most? Why?
Which fib tricked you the most? Why?
Games like this are fun, but nobody likes to be lied to in real life.
We want to know the truth! It’s the same in our spiritual lives, too.
It’s absolutely necessary that we know what’s true and trustworthy, and what isn’t. We’ll find out today why God’s Word is the ultimate source of truth.
Finish this sentence: In my own life, I’ve been taught that the Bible is _______________.
Jesus Taught from Scripture
Jesus Taught from Scripture
Most of us have been taught something about the Bible.
We may have learned about the Bible from family, friends, pastors, videos, or the Internet.
Today, we’re going to look at a passage in the Bible where Jesus himself read and talked about the Bible. Let’s see what we can learn about the Bible from Him.
Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside. He was teaching in their synagogues, and everyone praised him.
He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read,
Jesus spent time teaching from the torah.
He knew scripture
Before we look into what Jesus read that day in the synagogue, let’s visit another time when Jesus talked about the Scriptures.
Here Jesus shows us the importance of obedience to God’s Word and how to be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 5:17–19 (NIV)
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
It could be easy for us to ignore the Old Testament as we focus on learning more about Jesus.
But Jesus reminds us that the entire Bible is important for us to read.
If we say that we follow Jesus, that means we’re compelled to follow His Word, too.
We can have confidence that the Bible is true because Jesus taught us the Bible is true.
But Jesus didn’t just teach that the Bible is true.
He fulfilled the Bible’s truth in His own life, giving us an example of how to live.
Jesus Fulfilled Scripture
Jesus Fulfilled Scripture
What does the word fulfilled mean? What comes to mind when you hear it?
Luke 4:17–22 (NIV)
and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:
“The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”
All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” they asked.
In this passage, Jesus quoted an Old Testament passage from Isaiah 61:1–2.
Jesus not only taught from the Scriptures, He also boldly proclaimed that He was the fulfillment of the prophet Isaiah’s prophecy from hundreds of years earlier.
Jesus saw all of Scripture as one continuous story that all pointed back to God.
Jesus came to teach us and show us that the Scriptures are true.
We talked a little about this last time.
We can think of a prophecy as God giving a prophet information to share with others about something the prophet doesn’t know.
Sometimes the info is about right then, but sometimes it’s about the future.
Prophecies about Jesus have been studied by many researchers.
As an example, a professor at a college, along with six hundred students, looked at eight prophecies about Jesus.
What were the chances that these eight prophecies could come true in one man’s life?
The outcome was an incredible 10 to the 17th power! That’s 10 with 17 zeros after it! And that’s just eight prophecies.
The Bible records that Jesus fulfilled many more prophecies than this, showing that these prophets who prophesied these things about Jesus were telling the truth.
This shows us that the Scriptures are true!
To help give us a picture of what this looks like, imagine the entire state of Texas is covered in two feet of silver dollar coins.
Someone then hides a marked silver dollar coin in with the other coins but doesn’t tell anyone where it is. The chances of these eight prophecies coming true and being fulfilled by one man, Jesus, are the same as a blindfolded person picking up the marked coin on the first try!
One purpose of these prophecies is to show that the Scriptures are true. We can know everything the Bible says either has already happened, is happening now, or will happen.
We Must Decide to Obey Scripture
We Must Decide to Obey Scripture
Clearly, Jesus saw the Scriptures as true and authoritative.
Knowing what Jesus thought about the Bible isn’t enough though.
We have to decide for ourselves if we’ll trust and obey God’s Word.
2 Timothy 4:2–4 (NIV)
Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.
What Paul wrote in these verses is as real today as the day he wrote it.
It’s tempting to find people who will tell you what you want to hear.
It’s tempting to ignore the truth and do whatever you want.
But that’s not what a follower of Jesus does.
Real followers do what He did, and they look to God’s Word for truth.
Reflect
It’s easy to talk about the Bible in a group like this.
It’s another thing to make the personal decision to trust the truth of Scripture for yourself.
No one can make that decision for you. Jesus warned us of the consequences for those who ignore the Bible’s teaching or turn away from it (Matthew 5:19).
Rather than turning away from God’s Word, I hope you will embrace it, so we can live it out together.
Does the fruit of your life show that you are committed to the truth of Scripture, or have you rejected it to chase after your own way?
What do you need to do to grow in trust and obedience to God’s Word?
Close
James tells us to be doers of the Word, not just hearers (James 1:22).
As we get ready to close our session today, ask the Holy Spirit to help you take what you’ve learned about God’s Word being true and apply it to your own life.
Think through your schedule for the week and make time to engage with scriptures.
Don’t just listen to God’s Word; act on it. Do your best to act on them and be a doer of God’s Word too.
Jesus set the example for all of us with His trust in Scripture.
Just as He proved the truth of Scriptures, we too can have full confidence that the Bible is true.
It teaches us what we need to know about Jesus and how to follow Him.
Even if people around us reject God’s Word and chase after other things, we can stand firm and be prepared for whatever comes our way.
Next time we’ll talk more about the Scriptures and how they’re our guide through all of life.
Salvation Opportunity
The Bible tells us that God loves you so much that He sent His only Son, Jesus, to die on a cross and rise from the dead three days later. He did this because He wanted a relationship with you and me. The way we respond to that kind of love is to put our hope and our trust in Him.
Is there anyone here that we can pray for who doesn’t have a relationship with Jesus or wants to renew their relationship with Him?
Prayer
Heavenly Father, thank You for the truth of Your Word. We want to follow Jesus’ example and trust in Your Word completely. Help us to not just hear Your Word, but to put it into practice in our life. We ask that all those who attend our church will not only fall in love with Your Word, but will trust in Your Word in a greater way. In Jesus’ name. Amen.