Sermon Tone Analysis

Why You Can Believe the Bible

The bible is a reliable collection of historical documents written by eyewitnesses during the lifetime of other eyewitnesses.

They report supernatural events that took place in fulfillment of specific prophecies and claim that their writings are divine rather than human origin.

it’s a reliable collection of historical documents.

The bible is unlike many other religious books, its a collection.

There is no one individual who says that they heard from God and everyone else concedes.

The bible is written on three different continents: Asia, Africa, and Europe.

it is written in three different languages.

Mainly Hebrew and Greek, with little bit of Aramaic.

There are over 40 authors from various vocations and walks of life (Kings, fishermen, military men, doctors, etc.)

There are 66 volumes that covers hundreds of different topics over 1500 years.

This is an incredibly important concept.

Luke was a historian/doctor who told an orderly account.

Luke wasn’t an eyewitness but collected information from others.

The Gospels are special because the record some of the same event telling the same story.

-Luke's goal is to give you the order of the gospel story.

-john’s goals is evangelism.

he orders his gospel around 7 major signs.

-mark’s gospel is short.

-Matthew is writing to a Jewish audience and he wants to demonstrates that jesus is the promised Jewish messiah.

All of this came together

There are over 6,000 manuscripts.

2) We have a reliable collection of historical documents written by eyewitnesses

(NIV)

1That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life.

2The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us.

3We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us.

And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.

The bible was written by eyewitnesses during the lifetime of other eyewitnesses.

Some people think that there is a contradiction with vs. 8

‘then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles,” they’d say, that Judas was dead at this time.

but if you read in Acts chapter 1, Judas was replaced by Matthias.

there had to be tweleve.

And one of the requirements was that you had to be a witness to the resurrection.

So there is no contradiction.

unfortunately this is some people’s predisposition.

Some people read the Bible like a judge.

There have been around 25,000 archeological digs related to the subject of the Bible.

not one of them have contradicted itself.

they mostly confirm or affirm what we’ve learned.

So many of those who witnesses the resurrection were still alive, which meant that the resurrection was falsifiable.

This is important when you’re testing the veracity of a claim.

If someone makes a claim and it can’t be falsified the claim can’t be tested.

But this claim, the resurrection, could have been falsified and it wasn’t.

That’s evidence of it’s truth.

Here are some claims from opponents of the Bible:

The bible can’t be trusted because it was translated so many times.

This isn’t a good argument, because when a Bible translation is written, it is written from the Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic manuscripts themselves. in others words its not like you play the game where you whisper in someone’s ear and they tell another person what you said and the message continues through several people until at the end the message it different.

Translators translate from the original manuscripts.

We are more capable today than we’ve ever been.

Another argument against the bible’s validity is, “We don’t have originals”.

This is true.

because of the materials they were written on.

But we do have documents that date back to AD 100-120.

This is within a couple of decades of the completion of the NT!

We have over 6.000 manuscripts or portions of manuscripts.

if this doesn’t impress you, it’s because you aren’t familiar with ancient writtings.

For instance, Aristotle’s Poetics.

We have less than a dozen of them.

And the earliest we can go back to is 1,000 years after the writing.

There are less than a dozen of Julius Caesar's Gallic Wars, there is over 1,000 years between the last writing and the most recent manuscript we can put our hands on.

There are a few hundred of Homer’s Illiad.

But the earliest one we can put our hands on was written over 2,100 years after the first copy was made.

With this in mind, people have the audacity to question the NT.

If the bible is not considered trustworthy, then there is no ancient document that can be considered trustworthy because none of them come close.

You have the over zealous Monk theory.

There is a few problems.

If there were such Monks who decided to change the NT, they would have to find 6,000 Greek manuscripts and portions of manuscripts, change them all the exact same way, don’t get caught, and never tell anybody what they did.

here is another problem, Jesus told the disciples to spread among every ethic group.

So within the first couple of centuries, the NT is translated into Syriac, Coptic, and Latin.

To make the Monk theory even more irrational, the Monks would have to find over 6,000 manuscripts, change them all the exact same way, dont tell anyone (this is impossible).

then learn how to lie in Syriac, Coptic, and Latin as well as you lie in Greek.

because if you don’t there’s going to be a problem, because the Greek manuscripts all have to match.

Here is another problem with the monk theory during Constantine’s reign.

The early church father’s qouted and wrote commentaries on the NT.

So much so, that if all we have were the early church fathers, we could reproduct all of the NT, with the exception of 11 verses.

So if the monks were to change the NT, they’d have to find all 6,000 manuscripts all over, lie in Hebrew, Syriac, and Coptic as well as you lie in Greek.

Go get all of the early church father’s writings make sure their changes (lies) match, get them back to their respective places, and don’t tell anybody what they did!

That’s fantasy!

To this point we have a valid historical book.

But they also...

3.

They report supernatural events.

Not super-human events.

(NIV)

Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear.

This was talking about when Jesus was transfigured on the mountain.

The Bible is not just about a bunch of rules about religion.

These men claim that Jesus did all these supernatural events.

These super natural events happened in fulfillment of specific prophesies.

Not Nostradamus type prophecies.

These super natural events happened in fulfillment of specific prophesies.

Not nosterdomist.

Is 53:

(NIV)

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

Why are you so far from saving me, so far from my cries of anguish?

Jesus quoted this while dying.

When he said