A. INTRODUCTION
1. Christianity is a religion of the book.
2. What happens when you give up the authority of the Bible?
a. You have no final proof for your faith.
b. You will deny its contents.
c. Your life is a rudderless ship in a stormy sea at the mercy of every wind (opinion) that blows.
3. The Bible has dual authorship.
B. I KNOW THE BIBLE IS THE WORD OF GOD BECAUSE:
1. It contains the unique revelation of Jesus Christ:
a. Jesus claims to be God (John 8:24), identical with the Father (John 14:9), omnipresent (Matt. 28:20), omniscient, (John 11:14), omnipotent (Matt. 28:18), receives worship as God (Matt. 28:9), forgives sins, (Mark 2:5-7), and made Jehovahistic statements.
b. If man invented Christ, why has he not improved Him? Why has he not invented another?
c. Man could not have written the Bible if given the ability. Man would not have written the Bible if given the opportunity.
d. Jesus is a liar, lunatic or LORD.
2. The extraordinary claims of the Bible:
a. Over 3000 times, it claims to be the Word of God.
b. If God wrote the Bible, we would expect His truthfulness to claim He is the author.
c. If the Bible were written by God, it would have a unique message from God, (Jesus Christ), a unique avenue of writing (inspiration), a unique credibility to be believed (revelation), a unique preservation and a unique receptivity (illumination).
3. Empirical evidence of fulfilled prophecy:
a. Since no one but God knows the future, then a book written by God should predict the future.
b. Dead Sea Scrolls.
4. The convicting, convincing, converting power of the message:
a. Convicts of sin. John 16:7-9.
b. Transformation. II Cor. 5:17.
c. New desires. Phil. 3:10.
5. The inexhaustible infinity of the Bible:
a. Mystery in every doctrine, yet a child can understand it.
b. The infinite detail principle.
6. The unity of the Bible’s message from a multitude of different sources:
a. Occupations.
b. Geography.
c. Time.
d. Age.
e. Education.
f. Living conditions.
g. Subjects.
h. Yet there is one theme, one thrust, one purpose, one implied set of values, one orientation and one author, i.e., the Holy Spirit.
7. The transcultural appeal of the message:
a. Translatableness.
b. Each culture makes the Bible it’s own.
8. The unmistakable honesty of the Bible:
a. If the Bible were “invented,” it would be more reverent of the mistakes of its leaders.
b. The truthful nature of God.
9. The immeasurable superiority of the Bible when compared to other literature:
a. Religious books say, “Do this . . . .” The Bible says done.
10. The pragmatic test of experience:
a. All religious books produce an experience.
b. The Bible transforms heathen cultures, rapists, thieves, etc.
c. The Bible promises a transformed life based on:
(1) The indwelling Christ.
(2) The power of the resurrection.
(3) The nature of God.
(4) A heavenly hope.
C. CONCLUSION
Since God is what He is—infinite, loving and the Redeemer—we can only expect that a loving and wise God would reveal a plan of redemption to man powerful enough to save him. Since man is what he is—limited, sinful and needy—we can only conclude that he needs a message of help that will meet his need. Therefore, we expect the message of redemption from God that is given to meet the needs of sinful man to be authoritative, accurate and reliable.
1. Churches met in great homes of the wealthy (villas) that usually had a library, where the New Testament manuscripts were kept. Slaves called Scribes copied manuscripts for their masters. They took or went to copy books from other churches. “Now when this epistle is read among you, see that it is read also in the church of the Laodiceans, and that you likewise read the epistle from Laodicea” (Col. 4:16).
2. What sources do we have?
a. 5,000 total Greek manuscripts
b. 13,000 portions of manuscripts
c. 8,000 copies of original Latin Vulgates
d. 1,000 copies of other original translations
e. Ostra
f. Patristic quotations
g. Lexionaries. A total of 40,000 sources
3. What sources of contemporary writings?
a. Plato, 10 copies.
b. Aristotle, 5 copies.
c. Pliny, 7 copies.
d. Euripides, 9 copies.
4. It is wrongly assumed the greater number of copies, the greater likelihood of error. The opposite is true. The greater number of copies, the more precision is required.
5. In both the Old Testament and New Testament there were canon criteria. These were word count formulas to determine accuracy of every word and every letter.
6. What does the above mean to me?
a. I can have confidence that I am holding in my hand God’s Word.
b. That a perfect God would give His people a perfect book, and protect it against imperfections of message and methods of communication to us.
c. I can trust the message of the Bible, it will not mislead me.
d. I expect those who reject God’s standards and hate God’s control of their life will attempt to deny the Bible and discredit its authority over them.
e. Since the Bible is God’s message, I must consider it as the greatest and only authoritative guide for my life.
If you have never really accepted Jesus as your personal Savior, would you do it right now? Do not delay or put it off. If you would like to receive Christ by faith, pray this simple prayer in your heart:
Dear Lord, I acknowledge that I am a sinner. I believe Jesus died for my sins on the cross, and rose again the third day. I repent of my sins. By faith I receive the Lord Jesus as my Savior. You promised to save me, and I believe You, because You are God and cannot lie. I believe right now that the Lord Jesus is my personal Savior, and that all my sins are forgiven through His precious blood. I thank You, dear Lord, for saving me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
If you prayed that prayer, God heard you and saved you. I personally want to welcome you to the family of God and rejoice with you.
Dr. Towns’ email is eltowns@liberty.edu.
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