The Bible is not just one book—it is a collection of dozens of books. Yet all these writings taken together speak with unity and proclaim unmistakably: “People matter to God!”
• It was written over 1400 years.
• It was written over 40 generations.
• It was written by over 40 authors from all walks of life (kings, peasants, philosophers, poets, fishermen, statesmen, scholars, doctors, businessmen, etc.).
• It was written on three continents (Asia, Africa, Europe) in many different places (dungeons, palaces, while traveling, the wilderness, etc.).
• It was written during a variety of moods (sorrow, joy, anger, excitement, tranquility).
• It was written in three languages (Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek).
TESTING THE BIBLE
Let’s subject the Bible to three reliability tests:
1. The INTERNAL Test: Do the writers of the Bible claim that their writings are true?
a. The Bible claims to be GOD-BREATHED.
None of the biblical writers claimed to be anything other than mortal men, yet they insisted that they were used by God to write His word.
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).
Theopneustos – breathed out by God, given by inspiration of God.
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 1:21).
The verses above speak about the OT. What about the NT?
Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him. He writes the same in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction (2 Peter 3:15-16).
(See also 1 Timothy 5:17-18, which quotes both Deuteronomy 25:4 and Luke 10:7 as Scripture.)
b. The Bible claims to be INERRANT.
The inerrancy of Scripture means that the Bible always tells the truth concerning everything it talks about.
All Scripture is God-breathed... (2 Timothy 3:16).
All your words are true... (Psalm 119:160).
Every word of God is flawless... (Proverbs 30:5).
One of the most frequent objections is raised by those who say that the purpose of Scripture is to teach us in areas that concern faith and practice only; that is, in areas that directly relate to our religious faith or to our ethical conduct. This position would allow for the possibility of false statements in Scripture, for example, in other areas such as in minor historical details or scientific facts—these areas, it is said, do not concern the purpose of the Bible, which is to instruct us in what we should believe and how we are to live.
Everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope (Romans 15:4).
What about contradictions in the Bible? Some people point to the inscription on the cross of Jesus as an example of how the Gospels contradict themselves. Each Gospel records the words differently:
• THIS IS JESUS, THE KING OF THE JEWS (Matthew 27:37)
• THE KING OF THE JEWS (Mark 15:26)
• THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS (Luke 23:38)
• JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS (John 19:19)
The sign probably read, “THIS IS JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS.” If this was the case, each writer recorded part of what the sign said.
c. The Bible claims to contain EYE WITNESS accounts.
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 (2 Peter 1:16).
2. The EXTERNAL Test: What does outside evidence say about the Bible?
a. The Bible contains accurate HISTORY.
Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word. Therefore, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, it seemed good also to me to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught (Luke 1:1-4).
Sir William Ramsey, considered one of the world’s greatest archaeologists, was at one time skeptical about the history of Luke’s writings (Luke, Acts). He eventually conceded after extensive research, “Luke is a historian of the first rank; not merely are his statements of fact trustworthy ... this author should be placed along with the very greatest of historians.” He added, “Luke’s history is unsurpassed in respect of its trustworthiness.”
b. The Bible contains accurate SCIENCE.
The life of the body is in its blood... (Leviticus 17:11).
Video – “Round Earth”
He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth... (Isaiah 40:22).
...he suspends the earth over nothing (Job 26:7).
c. The Bible contains accurate PREDICTIONS about the future.
Prophecies about Christ:
OT Prophecy NT Fulfillment
Born of a virgin Isaiah 7:14 Matthew 1:25
Born in Bethlehem Micah 5:2 Matthew 2:1-2
Anointed by the Spirit Isaiah 11:2 Matthew 3:16
Rides triumphantly on donkey Zechariah 9:9 John 12:14-15
Betrayed by friend Psalm 41:9 Matthew 26:48-49
Silent before accusers Isaiah 53:7 Matthew 27:12
Beaten and spat upon Isaiah 50:6 Matthew 26:67
Cast lots for clothing Psalm 22:18 John 19:23-24
Crucified with criminals Isaiah 53:12 Mark 15:27
Given vinegar to drink Psalm 69:21 John 19:28-30
Forsaken by God Psalm 22:1 Matthew 27:46
Pierced for our sins Isaiah 53:5 John 19:34-35
His bones not broken Psalm 34:20 John 19:33
The day turns dark Amos 8:9 Matthew 27:45
He will rise again Psalm 118:17-18 Mark 16:6-8
Video – “Fulfilling Prophecies” (from The Case for Christ: The Film)
3. The BIBLIOGRAPHIC Test: How well were the original documents copied?
Translation vs. Transmission
People sometimes confuse the effects of translation (creating a new document in a new language) with the effects of transmission (copying a document word-for-word to make a second, identical document). An ancient document can be translated into a thousand different languages, and as long as we keep going back to the oldest manuscripts for each new translation, the number of translations has no bearing on the accuracy of the version before us. Virtually every English Bible around today has been translated from ancient Hebrew and Greek manuscripts (copies of the originals). Scholars who make a modern translation do not use more recent versions, and certainly don’t go to other translations (for example, a French Bible) as a source; instead, they start with the oldest and most reliable manuscripts of the OT and NT, and then make their translation fresh from those primary sources (which are very close to the original writings).
a. The reliability of the biblical manuscripts is seen in their NUMBER.
There are approximately 25,000 manuscript copies of potions of the NT in existence today. No other ancient document even begins to approach such numbers. In comparison, Homer’s Iliad is second, with only 643 manuscripts that still survive.
b. The reliability of the biblical manuscripts is seen in their AGE.
The NT was written between 45 and 100 AD. The earliest fragment of the NT in existence is from 125 AD (about 25 years after the NT completed). The earliest full copies of the NT are from the third and fourth centuries (about 200-300 years later). In comparison, the oldest copy of Caesar’s Gallic Wars (100-44 BC) was written 1000 years after the original.
c. The reliability of the biblical manuscripts is seen in their ACCURACY.
The story of this discovery is one of the most fascinating tales of modern times. In February or March of 1947, a Bedouin shepherd boy named Muhammad was searching for a lost goat. He tossed a stone into a hole in a cliff on the west side of the Dead Sea. To his surprise, he heard the sound of shattering pottery. Investigating, he discovered an amazing sight. On the floor of the cave were several large jars containing leather scrolls, wrapped in linen cloth. Because the jars were carefully sealed, the scrolls had been preserved in excellent condition for nearly 1,900 years. These scrolls have been named the Dead Sea Scrolls.
The most important documents of the Dead Sea Scrolls are copies of the OT text dating from more than a century before the birth of Christ. One scroll was a complete manuscript of the Hebrew text of Isaiah. It is dated by experts around 125 BC. (Isaiah was probably written between 700 and 680 BC.) This manuscript is more than one thousand years older than any other manuscript we previously possessed.
The significance of this discovery has to do with the detailed closeness of the Isaiah scroll (125 BC) to the Masoretic Text pf Isaiah (916 AD) one thousand years later. It demonstrates the unusual accuracy of the copyists of the Scripture over a thousand-year period.
Gleason Archer states that the Isaiah copies found among the Dead Sea Scrolls “proved to be word for word identical with our standard Hebrew Bible in more than 95 percent of the text. The 5 percent of variation consisted chiefly of obvious slips of the pen and variations in spelling.” (Archer, SOT, 19)
“To be skeptical of the resultant text of the New Testament books is to allow all of classical antiquity to slip into obscurity, for no documents of the ancient period are as well attested bibliographically as the New Testament.”—John Warwick Montgomery
OUR RESPONSE
Since the Bible is God’s word, it has the authority to tell us what we should believe and what we should do. To disbelieve or disobey any word in Scripture is to disbelieve or disobey God.
txt: IS THE BIBLE RELIABLE?
1. The ____________________ Test: Do the writers of the Bible claim that their writings are true?
a. The Bible claims to be _________________________.
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).
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 1:21).
b. The Bible claims to be ___________________.
Every word of God is flawless... (Proverbs 30:5).
c. The Bible claims to contain ________________________ accounts.
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 (2 Peter 1:16).
2. The ____________________ Test: What does outside evidence say about the Bible?
a. The Bible contains accurate ____________________.
“Luke is a historian of the first rank; not merely are his statements of fact trustworthy ... this author should be placed along with the very greatest of historians.... Luke’s history is unsurpassed in respect of its trustworthiness.”—Sir William Ramsey
b. The Bible contains accurate ____________________.
He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth... (Isaiah 40:22).
c. The Bible contains accurate ____________________ about the future.
3. The ___________________ Test: How well were the original documents copied?
a. The reliability of the biblical manuscripts is seen in their _______________.
b. The reliability of the biblical manuscripts is seen in their _______________.
c. The reliability of the biblical manuscripts is seen in their _______________.
“To be skeptical of the resultant text of the New Testament books is to allow all of classical antiquity to slip into obscurity, for no documents of the ancient period are as well attested bibliographically as the New Testament.”—John Warwick Montgomery
