Sufficiency of Scripture

Introduction

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How do you know that you can trust your bible?

Is your bible just another book or is it different than all books?

Power of the Word of God

Hebrews 4:12 NET

For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any double-edged sword, piercing even to the point of dividing soul from spirit, and joints from marrow; it is able to judge the desires and thoughts of the heart.

In the Context of Hebrews, this is the book that we will be judged by. It is is able to piece through our motives an actions. Revealing out true heart before God. Determining whether we are true believes and able to enter eternal bliss with God, or if we are not true believers and God will put us away, far from him.

It’s living, Active, and Sharp.

2 Peter 1:20–21 NET

Above all, you do well if you recognize this: No prophecy of scripture ever comes about by the prophet’s own imagination,for no prophecy was ever borne of human impulse; rather, men carried along by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.

2 Peter 2:20–21 NET

For if after they have escaped the filthy things of the world through the rich knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they again get entangled in them and succumb to them, their last state has become worse for them than their first. For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than, having known it, to turn back from the holy commandment that had been delivered to them.

2 Peter 1:

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Were does scripture come from? Holy Spirit

Ship and Sailor anaogy

Purpose of the Word of God

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1 Timothy 3:15 NET

in case I am delayed, to let you know how people ought to conduct themselves in the household of God, because it is the church of the living God, the support and bulwark of the truth.

1Tim

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The NET Bible Chapter 3

and how from infancy you have known the holy writings, which are able to give you wisdom for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 3:16 Every scripture is inspired by God and useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 3:17 that the person dedicated to God may be capable and equipped for every good work.

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What

Here the bible is called “Holy Writings”. What is it able to do?

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Salvation

Equipping

Teaching, reproof, correction, training

Perseverance of the Word of God

Isaiah 40:8 NET

The grass dries up, the flowers wither, but the decree of our God is forever reliable.”

So here the Bible is called “decree of our God.”

What is it compared to?

What is the comparison trying to say?

Evidence to itself, but is there enough evidence to trust it?

Written by 40 different authors over thousands of years, all saying one unified message

There is no other book like this.

Canon

Did you know there are other gospels and other books of the bible?

Many of you heard of the Apocrypha. While Catholics would see these as scripture, we do not. As they teach things contrary to the bible. The apocrypha teaches things like purgatory.

Gospel of Thomas

“Simon Peter said to them, “Make Mary leave us, for females don’t deserve life.”

Jesus said, “Look, I will guide her to make her male, so that she too may become a living spirit resembling you males. For every female who makes herself male will enter the domain of Heaven.””

Gospel of Mary Magdalene

Then Mary stood up, greeted them all, and said to her brethren, “Do not weep and do not grieve nor be irresolute, for His grace will be entirely with you and will protect you. But rather, let us praise His greatness, for He has prepared us and made us into Men.”

Manuscripts and Textual Criticism.

Did you know we do not have any of the original manuscripts from the authors of the Bible?

Did you know there are hundreds of thousands of errors in the copies that we have?

Should this make you doubt the bible you have?

Livy-300 years-27 manuscripts

Tacitus-800 years-3 manuscripts

Suetonius-800 years-200 manuscripts

NT-less than 100 years-5800 greek manuscripts, 19,000 in other languages

We don’t even need those manuscripts to create the NT.

We could reproduce the NT several times over just from quotations from the very first pastors.

Alexandar the great is not recorded until 1000 years after his life.

Of the many mistakes made, only a few are actually meaningful.

Lets talk about how manuscripts were copied.

Most are spelling issues

Most are similar words

Some are blatant mistakes

The few mistakes that are actually meaningful do not affect anything that is important.

Example: 616 vs 666

We can trust our bible because no other historical document even compares to the embarrassment of riches we have in the NT manuscripts.

What should we do with this information?

Cherish it and read it.