Christian Evidences - C.D. #2 - The Trustworthiness of the Bible

The Trustworthiness of the Bible

(Vindicated by Faith, Reason, History and Archaeology)

C.D. #2

“Are the New Testament Documents Reliable?”

1st Corinthians 3:11, “For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.”

Ephesians 2:19-20, “Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone.”

We must understand:

Romans 10:17, “Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message and the message is heard through the word of Christ.”

The basis of our hope is based off the word of God. The apostles were eyewitnesses who wrote the word down.

John the Apostle:

John has given us deeper thoughts about God. His theme is on Jesus Christ. The synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke) central theme is on the Kingdom of God. There called synoptic because each account on the Kingdom of God is similar.

A few things about John the Apostle:

He was one of the first apostles called (Matthew 4)He was listed at the top of names when role call was given for the apostles (Matthew 10; Mark 3; Luke 6; Acts 1)Matthew 9, Jesus took John on the Mount to witness the Transfiguration of JesusIn the garden of Gethsemane, John was numbered in the fellowship when Jesus went to prayJohn was apart of the inner most group of the disciplesActs 8, John was sent (along with Peter) to lay their hands on new converts that they may receive the Holy SpiritGalatians 2, John was a pillar in the Church

John the Apostle’s testimony of God’s word:

John 10:35, “…..The Scriptures cannot be broken.” This means we cannot destroy the word of God; we cannot keep it from being fulfilled. We cannot keep the word of God from judging you.John 17:17, “Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.”John 20:30-31, “Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”John 21:25, “Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.”

John the Apostle’s testimony of his relationship with Jesus:

John 1:14, “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us (that’s why Jesus is called, Immanuel, which means God with us). We have seen his glory (his majesty, his splendor), the glory of the One and only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” John testifies that he saw the Word with his own eyes.John 19:34-35, “Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water. The man who saw it has given testimony, and his testimony is true. He knows that he tells the truth, and he testifies so that you also may believe.” The man who saw it (Jesus on the cross, pierced in his side by the soldier) is John the Apostle himself.John 20:1-9, Three days later after Jesus was crucified and buried, John witnessed an empty tomb (Christ had raised from the grave).

Note: John addresses himself as the other disciple or the disciple who Jesus loved.

John the Apostle’s historical accuracy:

Note: There are several places mentioned in John’s gospel that aren’t mentioned in the other gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke). All of these places have been located through archaeological research.

The Pool of Bethesda (John 5:2) – A temple scroll has been unearthed with the name Bethesda documented in the scroll.The Pool of Siloam (John 9:7, 11)The Stone Pavement (the grounds where Jesus Christ was sentence to be Crucified) – (John 19:13)

John the Apostle’s historical creditability:

The oldest fragment of any part of the Bible (called P52) is taken from John 18. There are pictures taken for proof. It isn’t the original copy but a copy of a copy found in the sands of Egypt.

Note: We are living in a world where people are loosing confidence in the Word of God. Here are a few reasons why people are loosing confidence in the Word of God:

They aren’t studying the word as much as they should.Due to a lack of study, people don’t have confidence in something they don’t understand.