Can I Trust the Bible?
“CAN I TRUST THE BIBLE”
There are 66 books in the Bible, 1,189 chapters, 31,101 verses, and 783,137 words. In the Old Testament and New Testament there are 6,468 commands to obey. The Bible can be read in about seventy hours.
It is amazing how much information we have available to us. We must make sure we do not confuse information with the Word of God - 2 Timothy 3:16-17 - All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
What do we think of the first part of that verse - All scripture is God-breathed - that is given by inspiration of God
The question is “CAN I TRUST THE BIBLE?
I) REASONS WHY PEOPLE SAY THEY DON’T TRUST THE BIBLE:
It’s is so old that it outdated and irrelevant to our lives today - it was written such a long time ago
The miracles are so far fetched, no intelligent person would believe them. They are fairy tales. A fish swallowing a man and spitting him up, walking on water, coming back to life after being dead for three days
Some people see the Bible as just another book, it belongs on the shelf with the Koran, Book of Mormon and other religious books
Others like to pick and choose what they want. They like Psalm 23 and John 3:16 and all the passages about heaven - but not hell or loving my enemies or keeping God’s commands
The sad reality is There is a decreasing number of people who believe the Bible is inspired
In the 1960's 65% of Americans said they believe the Bible is true; today that figure dropped to 32%. Even more dramatically, today 67% of all Americans deny that there’s any such thing as truth. Seventy percent say there are no moral absolutes. Do you see the problem, what good does it do for us to say, “The Bible says.... if two thirds of the listeners don’t believe the Bible is true? WE MUST DEFEND THE VERY CONCEPT OF TRUTH!
II) REASONS WE CAN TRUST THE BIBLE:
We are going to use the word CHRIST - David Faust came up with this acrostic
C- CLAIMS When you make a claim, you are inviting a fight
The Bible claims to be the Word of God
Jesus Himself claimed that the Bible is God’s Word - Jesus quoted O.T. as a fact
Creation - Noah and flood - Jonah - burning bush - Naaman being cleansed - Lot’s wife pillar of salt - People healed by looking at brass serpent
The early Church Leaders affirmed that our Bible is God’s Word
Many died for their testimony
H - HISTORICAL ACCURACY
Recently a monument was found with the name “King David” on it.
Remember in John, when it talks about the pool of Bethesda and how it mentions 5 pillars and porches - guess what was found recently
Have you ever wondered why the Bible mentions details like who was King and events - Because it is true - History backs up the Bible! 2 Peter 1:16 - We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.
R -REMARKABLE CONSISTENCY
Think about the facts - The Bible was written over a span of 1500 years (60 Generations) by 40 different people, in three different languages - Yet there is one theme - Jesus - O.T. Jesus is coming, Gospels, Jesus is here and Epistles - Jesus is coming back.
Imagine getting 40 different people together and having them wrote a story on a certain topic -
I - INDESTRUCTIBILITY
It has been attacked and challenged more than any other book and it still stands.
There are 20,000 manuscripts that have been found - there is more evidence supporting the Bible than any other 10 ancient literature pieces combined.
Although many people have tried to destroy the Bible, it has always persevered. Mark 13:31 - Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.
S - SCIENCE & PROPHECY
The Bible gives us insights into many attributes of Science long before they were discovered
Roundness of the earth - Isaiah 40:22
Hydrologic cycle - Ecclesiastes 1:7
Vast number of stars - Jeremiah 33:23
Importance of blood in the life processes - Leviticus 17:11
Gravitational field - Job 26:7
Science books are always changing because new things are being learned and discovered, many that are in the Bible.
Prophecy maybe the strongest proof of scripture - 2 Peter 1:19-21 - And we have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. 20 Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation. 21 For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
So called prophets today are like the weather rope I saw
Listen to this powerful illustration
A mathematician, Peter Stoner, had his graduate students calculate what the odds would be of any one person fulfilling just eight [messianic] prophecies. He found the chance was one in 10 to the 17th power, or one in 100,000,000,000,000,000.
Stoner gives an analogy to this: Take 10 to the 17th silver dollars and lay them on the face of Texas. They will cover all of the state two feet deep. Now mark one of these silver dollars and stir the whole mass thoroughly, all over the state. Blindfold a man and tell him that he can travel as far as he wishes, but he must pick up one silver dollar and say that is the right one. What chance would he have of getting the right one? Just the same chance that the prophets would have had of writing these eight prophecies and having them all come true in any one man, from their day to the present time.
If that isn't amazing enough. Stoner had his graduate students calculate the odds that any one person would fulfill forty-eight of these prophecies. The odds in that case were one in 10 to the 157th.
And again, 333 prophecies were fulfilled in Jesus!
T - TRUE TO LIFE
Hebrews describes God’s Word this way - Hebrews 4:12 - For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. 13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.
Living and active - it is not dead - it is relevant - It still speaks to us, it is practical - It carries with it the power of salvation - it stills comforts the afflicted and afflicts the comfortable - it still steps on our toes and guides our path. THE REASON WHY MANY DO NOT TO TRUST THE BIBLE IS BECAUSE THE BIBLE DEMANDS CHANGES IN THEIR LIFE!
Revelation 22:18-19 - I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book. 19 And if anyone takes words away from this book of prophecy, God will take away from him his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.
Don’t mess with this book!
The story is told of a man who drove by a construction site every day. He noticed they poured the floor of a building. Next he noticed a large box was placed in the middle and then the walls were built around it. Curiosity got the best of him, so he stopped and asked what the big box was. It seems they were building a bank and the box was the safe, the building was built around the safe. My friends, the Bible is the vault that we need to build our lives around
Doesn’t it make sense that if there is a God, that he would want us to have a written record of His Love and Plan for us?
At our house, there is a contest to see who gets the mail. I usually get stuck with the mail that is addressed to “Resident” or “To Whom It may Concern.” I am so thankful that the Word fo God is not addressed that way. It is a personal letter written to you, a love letter.
The other day, I heard Kaylynn singing a song for Matt. The B - I - B - L - E - Yes that’s the book for me. I stand alone on the word of God- The B - I - B - L - E -
Are trusting, standing on His Word?
3-11-2007