Sermon Tone Analysis

The Truth Has Value

Proverbs 23:23 (ESV)

23 Buy truth, and do not sell it;

buy wisdom, instruction, and understanding.

It’s important to realize that buying something means that it has value to you and you wish to possess it in your life.

To sell it, means that it no longer has value to you and you wish to remove it from your life.

“Buy truth, and do not sell it;”

There are many things in our world that claim truth.

But what is truth?

This is a question so many in our culture today are asking.

Unfortunately, many are concluding that there is no truth.

Namely, that truth is some abstract idea that is pliable based on the feelings or perceptions of an individual.

With this in mind, suppose you examine an apple and determine that it’s red, sweet, smooth and crunchy.

You might claim this is what the apple is.

To put it another way, you've made truth claims about the apple and seemingly made statements about real properties of the apple.

But immediate problems arise when you apply the world’s “pliable” definition of truth.

Let's suppose your friend is color blind and when she looks at the apple, she says that the apple is a dull greenish color.

She also makes a truth claim about the color of the apple but it's different than your truth.

The world’s pliable definition of truth would claim that you are both telling the truth.

However, by definition this cannot be; as anything that contradicts a truth is, by definition, a lie.

The problem is that Truth is an objective concept

Truth must conform to an outside objective standard by its very definition

Instead, we are being taught to believe that it is subjective,

That truth changes based on the individual

however, this leaves us with no truth, only a chaotic mess of contradicting lies.

Particularly for Christians, it is important we understand the Truth.

Jesus warns us in

Have no doubt, the wolves are infiltrating the Christian church more today than ever in America.

Jehovah’s Witnesses

Mormon’s

The Mother God Church (World Mission Society Church of God)

Passion Church’s

and Prosperity Church’s

All of them claim to be Christian, while

Adding to Scripture

Taking away from Scripture

or Twisting Scripture in ways to conform with their ideas.

Not to mention the Atheists, Agnostics, and New Agers who will outright attack the validity of the Bible.

For this reason, I am going to give you a foundation from which to make your stand against these attacks, because Truth matters…

If the Bible is not true, we’re all wasting our time.

In view of this, there are three fundamental areas of evidence we are going to discuss today concerning the truth of the Bible:

Fulfilled Prophecy,

Scientific Support,

and Historical Evidence.

This is not meant to be an exhaustive and complete list but merely examples to launch you into deeper study if the need arises.

Fulfilled Prophecy

Biblical Prophecy is reliable

First of all, we are all familiar with psychics, horoscopes, the Magic 8 Ball, and other things that “predict” the future.

However, we also know they are

unreliable,

extremely vague,

reliant on information we give them,

and often just downright wrong!

But this is not the case with Biblical prophecy.

There are many prophecies recorded in the Old Testament that come true in the New Testament and even afterwards.

Unlike modern psychics and attempts at prophecy, these predictions are specific, not generalizations.

The Messiah will be born in Bethlehem - Micah 5:2

For example, in Micah 5:2, 700 years before Jesus, Micah prophecies the Messiah will be born in Bethlehem.

Christ will die among criminals, offer them forgiveness, and be buried in a rich man’s tomb - Isaiah 53:9-12

In like manner, Isaiah 53:9-12, written around 800 years before the crucifixion, makes three specific prophecies about Christ’s death.

Isaiah says that Jesus will:

Be buried in a rich man’s tomb

Die among criminals

Offer them forgiveness

Jesus foretells of the siege and destruction of Jerusalem - Luke 21:20-24

Not to mention Jesus’ own predictions, like the seige and destruction of Jerusalem recorded in Luke 21:20-24.

Josephus, an eye-witness historian documented that in 70 AD, Rome laid siege to the city of Jerusalem in order to squash Jewish rebellion.

He describes probably the greatest slaughter of ancient history, estimating over 1 million Jews killed and adds that the city was not only sacked and burned, but that it was ordered that anything remaining is to be demolished.

Only a stretch of wall and some towers were left standing to remind the Jews of Rome’s power.

Israel will rise as a recognized nation - Jeremiah 30 - 31

By the same token, Israel ceased to be a recognized nation in 720 BC when the Assyrians crushed it

Approximately 600 BC Jeremiah 30 - 31 predicts that the shattered nation of Israel will be re-instated as a nation of the world.

Up until recently, many critics of the Bibles truth pointed to this prophecy as proof of the Bibles failure

After all, it had been over a two thousand years since Israel was a recognized nation, it must be a failed prophecy

On May 14, 1948, Jewish Agency Chairman David Ben-Gurion proclaimed to the world the State of Israel; establishing the existence of a recognized nation of Israel for the first time in 2,668 years.

Biblical Prophecy has the mark of divine inspiration

In light of these examples, we can clearly see that the Bible’s prophecy has the mark of divine inspiration.

It requires a relationship with the eternal, all knowing God for a human being to be able to predict things and events that they would have no understanding of otherwise.

God gave us prophecy for the purpose of motivating and mobilizing the Church to live lives of Godliness; to inspire us to preach the Gospel to all nations before He comes.

Dr. Charlie Dyer, professor at Moody Bible Institute said:

“God gave prophecy to change our hearts, not to fill our heads with knowledge.

God never predicted the future events just to satisfy our curiosity about the future.

Every time God announces events that are future, He includes with His predictions practical applications to life.

God’s pronouncements about the future carry with them specific advice for the ‘here and now.'”

Biblical prophecy is more than one-quarter of Scripture

Now, more than ever, it is vital for the Church and for the world to rediscover the power and purpose of Bible prophecy.

But the only way this is going to happen is if the people of God read the Word of God and study it seriously.

We absolutely will not hear Jesus say “Well done, my good and faithful one” if we ignore, skip, dismiss, or outright deny more than one-quarter of the Holy Scriptures.

Scientific Support

Science has never proven the Bible wrong

Next, let’s look at the measurable scientific evidence for the Bible’s truth.

If the Bible states a fact, and science verifies it, that does not necessarily prove that everything in the Bible is true.

Science cannot prove the Spiritual truths the Bible reveals to us.

However, it does prove that the Bible is trustworthy in general, and for this reason cannot be ignored.

To that end, science has never proven the Bible wrong.

There are some things in the Bible that science either has not or cannot verify, but science has never discovered any evidence that proves the Bible false.

Science was explained by the Bible before humans understood it

To demonstrate, let’s go through some things once thought false from the Bible that science has later supported.

Notably, Luke has been proven accurate by archaeology regarding 32 references of countries, 54 cities, and 9 islands; 95 references total, all of which have been proven by modern science.

In fact, modern historians consider the Apostle Luke as the greatest historian of ancient times.