The Bible

Every time that we meet together there is one foundational resource.

For our life there is one guide that is to direct our paths in such a way that we will honor God.

Psalm 119:105— Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

My life, and my faith, my purpose it all stems directly from the Word of God.

With that being said it is obviously important that we have a good understanding of the Bible.

Where did it come from? How did it come together? How do we know that we can trust it?

Those are all good questions, and I am glad that you asked:

WHERE DID THE BIBLE COME FROM?

The Canon of Scripture:

The canon of Scripture is the list of all the books that belong in the Bible.

The words of Scripture are the words by which we nourish our spiritual lives.

Thus we can reaffirm the comment of Moses to the people of Israel in reference to the words of God’s law: “For it is no empty word for you, but your very life, and by this word you shall live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to possess.” (Deut. 32:47).

Jesus said in Matthew 4:4— But he answered, “It is written, “ ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ”

This book is to be what nourishes your soul just as food nourishes your physical body.

Thus Moses warned the people of Israel, “You shall not add to the word which I command you, nor take from it; that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you” (Deut. 4:2).

The precise determination of the extent of the canon of Scripture is therefore of the utmost importance.

If we are to trust and obey God absolutely we must have a collection of words that we are certain are God’s own words to us.

If there are any sections of Scripture about which we have doubts whether they are God’s words or not, we will not consider them to have absolute divine authority and we will not trust them as much as we would trust God himself.

THE OLD TESTAMENT CANNON

The Old Testament was composed from the Time of Moses when God wrote the 10 Commandments and told Moses to keep the tablets in the Ark of the Covenant.

From this moment on we see much mention of the Book, which we know of as our Bible.

The word Bible comes from the Greek word Βίβλος, which simply means book.

So the Holy Bible, is the Holy Book, or the Holy Writing.

Samuel told the people the rights and duties of the kingship; and he wrote them in a book and laid it up before the Lord. (1 Sam. 10:25)

Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Write in a book all the words that I have spoken to you. (Jer. 30:2)

Throughout the History of the people of God we see mention of the ‘Book’ that would show the Words and the Works of God.

After approximately 435 b.c. there were no further additions to the Old Testament canon.

How do we know we can trust the Old Testament?

In the New Testament, we have no record of any dispute between Jesus and the Jews over what is in the Old Testament.

Apparently there was full agreement between Jesus and his disciples, and the Jewish leaders, that additions to the Old Testament canon had ceased after the time of Malachi.

Jesus and the New Testament authors quote various parts of the Old Testament Scriptures; over 295 times, Not one time do the New Testament writers question the Old Testament writers, and not once do they cite any statement from the books of the Apocrypha or any other writings as having divine authority.

This reality gives strong confirmation to the fact that the New Testament authors agreed that the established Old Testament canon, no more and no less, was to be taken as God’s very words.

APOCRYPHA

What then shall be said about the Apocrypha, the collection of books included in the canon by the Roman Catholic Church but excluded from the Bible by Protestants?

These books were never accepted by the Jews as Scripture.

In fact, the earliest Christian evidence is distinctly against viewing the Apocrypha as Scripture.

The fact that they had no Hebrew original behind them, and their exclusion from the Jewish canon, as well as the lack of their citation in the New Testament, leads us to believe they are not to have a place in our Scripture.

If you do a study of the books in the Apocrypha you will notice that there are doctrinal and historical inconsistencies.

There are no marks in these books which would attest a divine origin … both Judith and Tobit contain historical, chronological and geographical errors. The books justify falsehood and deception and make salvation to depend upon works of merit … Ecclesiasticus and the Wisdom of Solomon inculcate a morality based upon expediency. Wisdom teaches the creation of the world out of pre-existent matter (Wisd. 11:17). Ecclesiasticus teaches that the giving of alms makes atonement for sin (Eccl. 3:30). In Baruch it is said that God hears the prayers of the dead (Bar. 3:4), and in I Maccabees there are historical and geographical errors.

It was not until 1546, at the Council of Trent, that the Roman Catholic Church officially declared the Apocrypha to be part of the canon.

The Council of Trent was the response of the Roman Catholic Church to the teachings of Martin Luther and the rapidly spreading Protestant Reformation.

The books of the Apocrypha contain support for the Catholic teaching of prayers for the dead and justification by faith plus works, not by faith alone.

In affirming the Apocrypha as within the canon, Roman Catholics would hold that the church has the authority to constitute a literary work as “Scripture,”

Thus the writings of the Apocrypha should not be regarded as part of Scripture:

They do not claim for themselves the same kind of authority as the Old Testament writings;

They were not regarded as God’s words by the Jewish people from whom they originated;

They were not considered to be Scripture by Jesus or the New Testament authors; and

They contain teachings inconsistent with the rest of the Bible. We must conclude that they are merely human words, not God-breathed words like the words of Scripture.

Christians today should have no worry that anything needed has been left out or that anything that is not God’s words has been included.

The Old Testament closes with the expectation of the Messiah to come (Mal. 3:1–4; 4:1–6).

THE NEW TESTAMENT CANNON

The next stage in redemptive history is the coming of the Messiah, and it is not surprising that no further Scripture would be written until this next and greatest event in the history of redemption occurred.

This is why the New Testament consists of the writings of the apostles.

It is primarily the apostles who are given the ability from the Holy Spirit to recall accurately the words and deeds of Jesus and to interpret them rightly for subsequent generations.

Jesus promised this empowering to his disciples in John 14:26: “But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.”

Similarly, Jesus promised further revelation of truth from the Holy Spirit when he told his disciples, “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you” (John 16:13–14).

Those who have the office of apostle in the early church are seen to claim an authority equal to that of the Old Testament prophets, an authority to speak and write words that are God’s very words.

We also see where the New Testament writings are placed with the Old Testament Scripture:

In 2 Peter 3:16, Peter shows not only an awareness of the existence of written epistles from Paul, but also a clear willingness to classify “all of his [Paul’s] epistles” with “the other scriptures”: Peter says, “So also our beloved brother Paul wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, speaking of this as he does in all his letters. There are some things in them hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other scriptures” (2 Peter 3:15–16).

The word translated “scriptures” here is γραφή, a word that occurs fifty-one times in the New Testament and that refers to the Old Testament Scriptures in every one of those occurrences.

Thus, the word Scripture was a technical term for the New Testament authors, and it was used only of those writings that were thought to be God’s words and therefore part of the canon of Scripture.

But in this verse, Peter classifies Paul’s writings with the “other Scriptures” (meaning the Old Testament Scriptures).

Paul’s writings are therefore considered by Peter also to be worthy of the title “Scripture” and thus worthy of inclusion in the canon.

We also see Paul quote from Luke in 1 Timothy 5:17-18, and referring to Luke’s writing as Scripture.

Matthew; John; Romans to Philemon (all of the Pauline epistles); James;24 1 and 2 Peter; 1, 2, and 3 John; and Revelation are all included in the New Testament cannon because of their apostolic authorship.

This leaves five books, Mark, Luke, Acts, Hebrews, and Jude, which were not written by apostles.

Even though these books were not written by apostles, the personal testimony of some of the living apostles we able to affirm the absolute divine authority of these books.

For example, Paul would have affirmed the authenticity of Luke and Acts, and Peter would have affirmed the authenticity of Mark as containing the gospel which he himself preached.

In AD 397 at the Council of Carthage, in which the western churches and the eastern churches were represented, the 27 books were accepted as the New Testament cannon.

We have a warning in Revelation that is fittingly placed at the end of the Bible:

Revelation 22:18–19 (ESV) 18 I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, 19 and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.

How do we know the Scripture is true?

How do we know, then, that we have the right books in the canon of Scripture we now possess?

The answer must ultimately be that our confidence is based on the faithfulness of God.

We know that God loves his people, and it is supremely important that God’s people have his own words, for they are our life (Deut. 32:47; Matt. 4:4).

They are more precious, more important to us than anything else in this world.

We also know that God our Father is in control of all history, and he is not the kind of Father who will trick us or fail to be faithful to us or keep from us something we absolutely need.

“It is helpful for us to learn that the Bible is historically accurate, that it is internally consistent, that it contains prophecies that have been fulfilled hundreds of years later, that it has influenced the course of human history more than any other book, that it has continued changing the lives of millions of individuals throughout its history, that through it people come to find salvation, that it has a majestic beauty and a profound depth of teaching unmatched by any other book, and that it claims hundreds of times over to be God’s very words.”

EVIDENCE FROM PROPHECIES

Only in the Bible does one find predictive prophecy!

Over 2000 specific detailed prophecies.

No being outside omniscient God can predict the future. Finite man peers across a chasm of darkness through which he cannot even predict what a day may bring fourth, Yet, God has predicted legions of events which would occur in the future, thus proving he is all knowing, He is the mighty God.

Isaiah 46:9-11 “Remember the former things of old, for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done.”

Standard for prophecy in the Bible is 100 percent.

Deuteronomy 18:21-22 gives us the test of a prophet:  "How can we know when a message has not been spoken by the LORD ?" 22 If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the LORD does not take place or come true, that is a message the LORD has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously. Do not be afraid of him.”

Predictive prophecy is missing from religions such as Islam, Buddhism, etc, On the other hand Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormons are laden with many false prophecies are errors.

On September 1, 1842, Joseph Smith said, “…for to this day has the God of my fathers delivered me out of them all, and will deliver me from henceforth; for behold, and lo, I shall triumph over all my enemies, for the Lord God hath spoken it.”  (Doctrine and Covenants, 127:2). 

Here, Smith has prophesied that God would allow him to “triumph” over all his enemies.  Less than two years later, these same enemies stormed the Carthage, Illinois jail where Smith was imprisoned and shot him dead.  Smith tried to fight back, shooting 3 of his assailants and killing 2 with a pistol smuggled in to him, but his “enemies” triumphed. 

This is a false prophecy. 

BIBLICAL PROPHECIES

Isaiah predicted that a man named Cyrus would rebuild the temple (which was still standing in his day!) in Jerusalem (Isaiah 44:28).

Cyrus the Persian king was born 150 years later. He released the Jews from their 70 years captivity in order that they might return to their homeland for the rebuilding of Jerusalem and the temple.

It was prophesied that the Jews would be scattered but would preserve their identity. For 1900 years the Jews wandered the earth being scattered and persecuted.

Yet Jesus predicted that the Jewish race would be intact when he returns. So why does no one hear of Hittites, Philistines, Moabites, or Ammonites? Consider the truth of Scriptures: The Jewish people are still here today!

The Bible also predicted that though they would be scattered they would one day return to their homeland (Ezek. 36; Amos 9)

For years people said this would be impossible, yet in 1948 the Jews returned to their homeland from all parts of the earth.

Prophecy exists so that you may know the Bible is true

EVIDENCE FROM ARCHAEOLOGY

Prior to the 19th century there were many people, places, battles, and dates which were only found in the Bible.

Severe attacks on the Bible originated in the 19th century which asserted that the writers of the Scriptures resorted to folklore and myth to validate their spiritual teachings.

Just as these theories of higher criticism seemed on the verge of destroying the integrity of the Scriptures, an explosion of archaeological evidence silenced the critics.

In the early 19th century scientists began to dig beneath the surface of the earth. They found ancient cities and civilizations they never knew existed. At a time when the Scripture were said to be void of historical confirmation the stones began to cry out otherwise.

The Critics claimed that Moses could not have written the Pentateuch because writing did not exist in that early time… Archaeologist have found that Writing existed long before Moses.

Critics claimed that Abrahams home city of Ur does not exist- Archeologist discovered the ancient town of Ur, and they found an inscription on a column that said ‘Abram.’

Critics claimed that the Hittites were made up and never existed… Archeologist found hundreds of references to the amazing Hittite civilization. One can now get a doctorate in Hittite studies at the University of Chicago.

EVIDENCE FROM UNITY

40 AUTHORS

66 BOOKS

1500 YEARS

3 LANGUAGES

13 COUNTRIES

KINGS, PEASANTS, HEARDSMEN, TAX COLLECTORS, FISHERMAN…

INSPIRATION

2 Timothy 3:16 16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,

How did the Lord Inspire men to write the Bible?

The fact that all the words of Scripture are God’s words should not lead us to think that God dictated every word of Scripture to the human authors.

There are times when dictation did happen. For example; Revelation 2:1 “And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write…” obviously that is directly from God.

In some cases Scripture gives us hints of these various processes: it speaks of dreams, of visions, of hearing the Lord’s voice or standing in the council of the Lord; it also speaks of men who were with Jesus and observed his life and listened to his teaching, men whose memory of these words and deeds was made completely accurate by the working of the Holy Spirit as he brought things to their remembrance (John 14:26).

In reading the writings you can see the individual personality and writing style of the author was also involved.

Illustration: GREEK; 1 John.

All the words in Scripture are God’s words, the authors were inspired.

By inspiration of Scripture we mean that supernatural influence of the Holy Spirit on the Scripture writers that rendered their writings an accurate record of the revelation or that resulted in what they wrote actually being the Word of God.

Consequently, to disbelieve or disobey any word of Scripture is to disbelieve or disobey God himself.

Throughout the history of the church the greatest preachers have been those who have recognized that they have no authority in themselves and have seen their task as being to explain the words of Scripture and apply them clearly to the lives of their hearers.

Their preaching has drawn its power not from the proclamation of their own Christian experiences or the experiences of others, nor from their own opinions, creative ideas, or rhetorical skills, but from God’s powerful words.

Essentially they stood in the pulpit, pointed to the biblical text, and said in effect to the congregation, “This is what this verse means. Do you see that meaning here as well? Then you must believe it and obey it with all your heart, for God himself, your Creator and your Lord, is saying this to you today!”

Only the written words of Scripture can give this kind of authority to preaching.

We like preaching with good jokes, and illustrations; we want to be entertained in our preaching. I want to remind you that if our preaching is not from the Word of God then it is of no worth at all.

GOD’S WORDS ARE THE ULTIMATE STANDARD OF TRUTH!

In John 17 Jesus prays to the Father, “Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth” (John 17:17).

This verse is interesting because Jesus does not use the adjectives ἀληθινός (G240) or ἀληθής (G239, “true”), which we might have expected, to say, “Your word is true.” Rather, he uses a noun, ἀλήθεια (G237, “truth”), to say that God’s Word is not simply “true,” but it is truth itself.

The difference is significant, for this statement encourages us to think of the Bible not simply as being “true” in the sense that it conforms to some higher standard of truth, but rather to think of the Bible as being itself the final standard of truth.

WRITTEN SCRIPTURE IS OUR FINAL AUTHORITY!

It is important to realize that the final form in which Scripture remains authoritative is its written form.

This is important because people sometimes (intentionally or unintentionally) attempt to substitute some other final standard than the written words of Scripture.

I don’t care about your feelings.

I don’t care about our culture and our society.

I don’t care about a thought, an emotion, a vision, or a feeling that you have had.

If it is contrary to the Word of God, then I reject it.

If it is contrary to the word of God I reject it and that is the end of the matter.

We must continually remember that we have in the Bible God’s very words, and we must not try to “improve” on them in some way, for this cannot be done.

Rather, we should seek to understand them and then trust them and obey them with our whole heart.

The way in which you view the Bible will directly correspond with who you are as a believer!

Q&A- Why are there so many Bible translations?

John 3:16— οὕτως γὰρ ἠγάπησεν ὁ θεὸς τὸν κόσμον, ὥστε τὸν υἱὸν τὸν μονογενῆ ἔδωκεν, ἵνα πᾶς ὁ πιστεύων εἰς αὐτὸν μὴ ἀπόληται ἀλλʼ ἔχῃ ζωὴν αἰώνιον.

John 3:16- Thus for loved God the world, so that the son the one and only he gave, in order that everyone who believes in him not perish but have life eternal.

Passage 4: Matthew 5:1–3

ESV 1 Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him. 2 And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying: 3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

NIV 1 Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2 and he began to teach them. He said: 3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

HCSB 1 When He saw the crowds, He went up on the mountain, and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him. 2 Then He began to teach them, saying: 3 “The poor in spirit are blessed, for the kingdom of heaven is theirs.

NLT 1 One day as he saw the crowds gathering, Jesus went up on the mountainside and sat down. His disciples gathered around him, 2 and he began to teach them. 3 “God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for him, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.

Passage 7: Luke 17:3

ESV Pay attention to yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him, . . .

NIV So watch yourselves. “If your brother or sister sins against you, rebuke them; and if they repent, forgive them.

HCSB Be on your guard. If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him.

NLT So watch yourselves! “If another believer sins, rebuke that person; then if there is repentance, forgive.

Passage 16: Revelation 3:20

ESV Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.

NIV Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.

HCSB Listen! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and have dinner with him, and he with Me.

NLT “Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends.

Inerrancy…

It’s a word that has become very important in the modern day church.

Not long ago it was a given that the Word of God was without error; but many individuals, church’s, and even pastors no longer see this as the case.

Jesus affirmed that the "Scripture cannot be broken" (John 10:35).

Matthew 5:18— For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.

The Scriptures have final authority, being the last word on all it discusses.

John 17:17 Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.

Jesus employed the Bible to resist the tempter (see Matt. 4:4, 7, 10), to settle doctrinal disputes (see Matt. 21:42), and to vindicate his authority (see Mark 11:17).

Even though God's Word is perfect (see Ps. 19:7), as long as imperfect human beings exist, there will be misinterpretations of God's Word and false views about his world.

Psalm 12:6 The words of the Lord are pure words, like silver refined in a furnace on the ground, purified seven times.

Though error and at least partial falsehood may characterize the speech of every human being, it is the characteristic of God’s speech even when spoken through sinful human beings that it is never false and that it never affirms error: “God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should repent” (Num. 23:19) .

So what do we mean by Biblical Inerrancy?

Most scholars define Biblical Inerrancy this way: “The inerrancy of Scripture means that Scripture in the original manuscripts does not affirm anything that is contrary to fact.”

The definition in simple terms just means that the Bible always tells the truth and that it always tells the truth concerning everything it talks about.

Wait a minute; there is an obvious objection that we must consider, and for this to make sense you have to know a little bit about how the Biblical writings came to be.

The original writing is known as an ‘autograph;’ therefore when Moses began to write the early books of the Bible that writing was called an ‘autograph.’

When Paul sat and wrote the book of Romans this is called an ‘autograph.’

An ‘Autograph’ would be taken and a scribe would very precisely transcribe the document meticulously to which would in turn become a ‘manuscript’ of the original.

They could only use clean animal skins, both to write on, and even to bind manuscripts.

Each column of writing could have no less than forty-eight, and no more than sixty lines.

The ink must be black, and of a special recipe.

They must verbalize each word aloud while they were writing.

They must wipe the pen and wash their entire bodies before writing the word “Jehovah,” every time they wrote it.

There must be a review within thirty days, and if as many as three pages required corrections, the entire manuscript had to be redone.

The letters, words, and paragraphs had to be counted, and the document became invalid if two letters touched each other. The middle paragraph, word and letter must correspond to those of the original document.

The documents could be stored only in sacred places (synagogues, etc).

As no document containing God’s Word could be destroyed. (G-D)

Objection: We Have No Original Autograph’s; Therefore, Talk about an Inerrant Bible Is Misleading.

Those who make this objection point to the fact that inerrancy has always been claimed for the first or original copies of the biblical documents. Yet none of these survive: we have only copies of copies of what Moses or Paul or Peter wrote.

What is the use, then, of placing so great importance on a doctrine that applies only to the original autographs that no one has seen?

In reply to this objection, it may first be stated that for over 99 percent of the words of the Bible, we know what the original manuscript said.

While we don’t have the original copies currently there we possess more than 5,500 manuscripts of the New Testament in Greek.

Even for many of the verses where there are textual variants (that is, different words in different ancient copies of the same verse), the correct decision is often quite clear, and there are really very few places where the textual variant is both difficult to evaluate and significant in determining the meaning.

#OU WON 5 MILLION DOLLARS!

In the small percentage of cases where there is significant uncertainty about what the original text said, the general sense of the sentence is usually quite clear from the context.

For most practical purposes, then, the current published scholarly texts of the Hebrew Old Testament and Greek New Testament are the same as the original manuscripts.

Thus, when we say that the original manuscripts were inerrant, we are also implying that over 99 percent of the words in our present manuscripts are also inerrant, for they are exact copies of the originals.

Let me give you an example of a ‘copiest’ error:

The King James Version (KJV) of 2 Kings 8:26 gives the age of King Ahaziah as 22, whereas 2 Chronicles 22:2 says 42.

2 Kings 8:26— Two and twenty years old was Ahaziah when he began to reign; and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Athaliah, the daughter of Omri king of Israel.

2 Chronicles 22:2— Forty and two years old was Ahaziah when he began to reign, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. His mother’s name also was Athaliah the daughter of Omri.

The later number cannot be correct, or he would have been older than his father. This is obviously a copyist error, but it does not alter the inerrancy of the original.

What about the ‘so-called’ errors in the Bible?’

Haven’t you ever heard someone claim that the Bible does in fact have ‘errors’ in it?

I find it interesting when someone says this to me I ask them to show me the error, and most of the time the objector has no idea where the specific error is, but just that they believe there are errors.

In other cases, however, people will mention one or more specific passages where, they claim, there is a false statement in Scripture.

In these cases, it is important that we look at the biblical text itself, and look at it very closely.

If we believe that the Bible is indeed inerrant, we should be eager and certainly not afraid to inspect these texts in minute detail.

Let me give you a couple of examples of this:

The manner of Judas’s death.

There is an apparent discrepancy between Matthew’s account and Luke’s account:

Matthew 27:5 “And throwing down the pieces of silver into the temple, he departed, and he went and hanged himself.”

Acts 1:18 “Now this man acquired a field with the reward of his wickedness, and falling headlong he burst open in the middle and all his bowels gushed out.”

Two accounts of the same story, but they are different. Matthew says that Judas went and hanged himself… Luke says that he fell and bust open so that his insides began to come out of his body.

Is this a Biblical Error?

Well what if Judas did go out and hang himself but when he hanged himself the rope was not strong enough and the rope broke resulting in Judas falling down onto the rocks which pierced his skin and his insides came out?

That is perfectly reasonable explanation in which both scriptures are accurate are they not?

There is another interesting recent development in this Scripture:

The specific word in Acts 1:18 that caused the difficulty regarding the death of Judas is ρηνής (prēnēs).

For a long time it was understood to mean only “falling headlong.” Twentieth-century investigations of ancient papyri, however, have revealed that this word has another meaning in Koiné Greek. It also means “swelling up.”

Having hanged himself, Judas was not discovered for some time.

In such a situation the organs begin to degenerate first, causing a swelling of the abdomen characteristic of cadavers that have not been properly embalmed. And so, “swelling up [Judas] burst open in the middle and his bowels gushed out.”

The Disciples Journey

Mark 6:8 “He charged them to take nothing for their journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in their belts—“

Luke 9:3 And he said to them, “Take nothing for your journey, no staff, nor bag, nor bread, nor money; and do not have two tunics.

Matthew 10:9–10 9 Acquire no gold or silver or copper for your belts, 10 no bag for your journey, or two tunics or sandals or a staff, for the laborer deserves his food.

The key is in the language of what Jesus said.

First of all, Matthew used the Greek word ktaomai, which means "to get, acquire, or gain" while Mark and Luke both used airo, meaning "to take, or carry."

In other words, the disciples were not to acquire, or purchase, any special provisions for their journey. They were to depart with what they already had (and some undoubtedly already had walking sticks and sandals).

The lack of preparation would demand utter dependence on the Lord. 

If I asked you to go immediately to Chicago for a very special event, and I said you don’t have time to take clothes with you, what would you think I meant. Obviously there is no time to go home and pack additional clothes, it does not mean to take off the clothes you are currently wearing.

The Triumphal Entry

Luke 19:36–38— And as he rode along, they spread their cloaks on the road. As he was drawing near—already on the way down the Mount of Olives—the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen, saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”

John 12:12–13— The next day the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!”

Luke reports that the crowd cried out, “Glory in the highest,” whereas the other Gospels record the words as “Hosanna in the highest.”

Well I am a simple man, but could the crowd not be crying out both of these as Jesus entered into Jerusalem?

Both of these would certainly be complimentary, both of these would fit the setting.

Well we will stop right there, but that should give you a good idea of some of the proclaimed ‘errors’ that some see in the Bible.

Let me offer a few things to remember when approaching the Scriptures:

Angels

John 20:12— And she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet.

Matthew 28:5— But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified.

An infallible mathematical rule easily explains this problem: Where there are two, there is always one. Matthew did not say there was only one angel.

There may also have been one angel at the tomb at one point on this confusing morning and two at another. One has to add the word "only" to Matthew's account to make it contradict John's.

Standards of Inerrancy:

Biblical inerrancy is dependent upon proper context.

The most common mistake of all Bible interpreters, including some critical scholars, is to read a text outside its proper context.

As the adage goes, "A text out of context is a pretext."

One can prove anything from the Bible by this mistaken procedure.

One may claim that Jesus admonished us not to resist evil (Matthew 5:39— But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.), but the context in which he cast this statement must not be ignored. Jesus is talking about ‘going the extra mile.’

You could read the statement: "Give to him who asks you," as though one had an obligation to give a gun to a small child. But, any reasonable person understands this is not the intent.

Psalm 14:1 says “There is no God.” That’s an odd statement isn’t it, well but you have to look at the verse in context and it says “The fool says in his heart, ‘there is no God.’”

Failure to note that meaning is determined by context is a chief sin of those who find fault with the Bible.

The Bible Can Be Inerrant and Still Speak in the Ordinary Language of Everyday Speech.

The Bible can speak of the sun rising (Joshua 1:15) and the rain falling because from the perspective of the speaker this is exactly what happens.

A similar consideration applies to numbers when used in measuring or in counting.

A reporter can say that 8,000 men were killed in a certain battle without thereby implying that he has counted everyone and that there are not 7,999 or 8,001 dead soldiers.

If roughly 8,000 died, it would of course be false to say that 16,000 died, but it would not be false in most contexts for a reporter to say that 8,000 men died when in fact 7,823 or 8,242 had died: the limits of truthfulness would depend on the degree of precision implied by the speaker and expected by his original hearers.

We often find approximations in the Bible.

1 Corinthians 10:8— We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day.

Numbers 25:9— Nevertheless, those who died by the plague were twenty-four thousand.

Both are approximations, and for the purpose involved, both are adequate and therefore may be regarded as true.

This is also true for measurements. Whether I say, “I don’t live far from my office,” or “I live a little over a mile from my office,” or “I live one mile from my office,” or “I live 1.287 miles from my office,” all four statements are still approximations to some degree of accuracy.

Further degrees of accuracy might be obtained with more precise scientific instruments, but these would still be approximations to a certain degree of accuracy.

Thus, measurements also, in order to be true, should conform to the degree of precision implied by the speaker and expected by the hearers in the original context.

The Bible Can Be Inerrant and Still Include Loose or Free Quotations

Written Greek at the time of the New Testament had no quotation marks or equivalent kinds of punctuation, and an accurate citation of another person needed to include only a correct representation of the content of what the person said (rather like our indirect quotations): it was not expected to cite each word exactly.

Thus, inerrancy is consistent with loose or free quotations of the Old Testament or of the words of Jesus, for example, so long as the content is not false to what was originally stated.

The original writer did not ordinarily imply that he was using the exact words of the speaker and only those, nor did the original hearers expect verbatim quotation in such reporting.

Who Do You Say I Am?

Luke 9:20— Then he said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” And Peter answered, “The Christ of God.”

Matthew 16:16— Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

Mark 8:29— And he asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him, “You are the Christ.”

Here’s an example of a loose quote from the Old Testament:

Zechariah 12:10— “when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him,”

John 19:37— And again another Scripture says, “They will look on him whom they have pierced.”

Biblical Inerrancy does not just apply to Faith and Practice.

The Bible only applies in areas that directly relate to our religious faith or to our ethical conduct.

This position would allow for the possibility of false statements in Scripture, for example, in other areas such as in minor historical details or scientific facts—these areas, it is said, do not concern the purpose of the Bible, which is to instruct us in what we should believe and how we are to live.

Its advocates often prefer to say that the Bible is “infallible” but they hesitate to use the word inerrant.

The response to this objection can be stated as follows: The Bible repeatedly affirms that all of Scripture is profitable for us (2 Tim. 3:16) and that all of it is “God-breathed.” Thus it is completely pure (Ps. 12:6), perfect (Ps. 119:96), and true (Prov. 30:5).

2 Timothy 3:16— All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,

Psalm 12:6— The words of the Lord are pure words, like silver refined in a furnace on the ground, purified seven times.

Psalm 119:96— I have seen a limit to all perfection, but your commandment is exceedingly broad.

Proverbs 30:5— Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.

The Bible itself does not make any restriction on the kinds of subjects to which it speaks truthfully.

If We Deny Inerrancy, We Essentially Make Our Own Human Minds a Higher Standard of Truth Than God’s Word Itself.

We use our minds to pass judgment on some sections of God’s Word and pronounce them to be in error.

But this is in effect to say that we know truth more certainly and more accurately than God’s Word does (or than God does), at least in these areas.

Such a procedure, making our own minds to be a higher standard of truth than God’s Word, is the root of all intellectual sin.

We see in our culture the effects of view that does not ‘believe’ the Bible in all aspects:

Illustration: Homosexuality.

If We Deny Inerrancy, Then We Must Also Say That the Bible Is Wrong Not Only in Minor Details but in Some of Its Doctrines as Well.