The Da Vinci Code - Can We Trust The Bible Series

Can We Trust The Bible?

Breaking The Da Vinci Code -2

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. – 2 Timothy 3:16,17

Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation. 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.

- 2 Peter 1:20,21

God’s word is alive and working and is sharper than a double-edged sword. It cuts all the way into us, where the soul and the spirit are joined, to the center of our joints and bones. And it judges the thoughts and feelings in our hearts…

- Hebrews 4:12 (NCV)

Prayer…

TODAY – is our 2nd week of a 3 week study that we are calling, “Breaking The Da Vinci Code.” LAST SUNDAY – we answered the question, “Who Is Jesus, Really?” AND – the answer was that Jesus is…

WELL – just as The DVC had something to say about Jesus (That He was just a mortal man) … IT – also has something to say about the bible… AND – once again, Dan Brown uses the mouth of the English scholar Sir Leigh Teabing to express his views… IN – this scene in the book He is talking to Sophie about the Bible…

“The Bible did not arrive by fax from heaven…”

“I beg your pardon”

“The Bible is a product of man, my dear. Not of God. The Bible did not fall magically from the clouds. Man created it as a historical record of tumultuous times, and it has evolved through countless translations, additions and revisions. History has never had a definitive version of the book”

“More than eighty gospels were considered for the New Testament, yet only a relatively few were chosen for inclusion – Matthew, Mark, Luke and John among them…”

“Who chose which gospels to include?” Sophie asked.

“Aha!” Teabing burst in with enthusiasm “The fundamental irony of Christianity! The Bible, as we know it today, was collated by the pagan Roman Emperor Constantine the Great… ”

(page 231 & 254 paperback).

QUESTION - what do you think about this book?

• Do you think that it is a product of man or a product of God?

• Do you base your; faith, life, hope and eternity on what is written in these pages?

QUESTION – IF God exists… , IF A: non-contingent, uncaused by anything else, self-sufficient, self-reliant, powerful, intelligent, always existing, unique, good & moral God who loves us, were to write a book – what kind of book would it be?

WELL - I think among other things a book written by God would be; Unique (in a class of it’s own), Accurate (we could trust what it says) Supernatural (it would know some stuff that only God could know)… and it would be Transforming (it would radically change the lives of people). )

QUESTION – is there such a book…. WELL TODAY – I want to make the case for the bible being that kind of book… BUT – before I do that I want to spend a few minutes talking about how we got the bible.

UNDERSTAND – Teabing was right about a few things about the bible;

• It did not arrive by fax from heaven

• And it did not fall magically from the sky

HOWEVER – the bible is not a product of man or the collation of Constantine.

How Did We Get Our Bible?

(at this point in the message I used a large chart. I basically said - something to the effect of, "Thousands of years ago, God spoke... and last week you went into Wal Mart and bought a bible. A lot happened in between. I think if we are going to base both our lives and our eternal destiny on this book we should have an idea about where they came from.")

The chart just showed the flow from God speaking to Walmart)

GOD - had something that He wanted to say to the people tat He created both in His image and to reflect His glory. The One True God – had some words that He wanted to breathe onto paper.

AND – so he spoke to men. This is called Revelation.

THEN – the biblical writer (let’s say Paul) PUT – that revelation down on paper

THIS PROCESS – is called Inspiration. This where God breathes life

Into their writings, WHILE – allowing them to write in their own style.

I MEAN – in their writings – you can see their personalities; their life experience

And even their grammatical ability. (Luke had an awesome command of the Greek