March 21, 2004 Luke 1:1- 4; 2 Peter 1:16 – 2:3
“Can I trust the Bible?”
NOTE: unless otherwise indicated, all quotes are from the “Tough Questions” series by Judson Poling and Garry Poole published by Zondervan
INTRODUCTION
How many of you have had a Mormon come to your door? If your experience was like mine, then when they came, they offered you a copy of the Book of Mormon. They told you that the Book of Mormon is a further revelation of the truth about God. When you asked about the credentials of this book looking for reasons why you should believe it, they said: “’If you pray about it and ask the Holy Spirit to tell you if this book is from God, He will show you personally. Read it and find out.’ Archaeological research [is] unnecessary, historical inquiry [is] not needed – just a direct word from God and you’d know.”
The fact is that every major religion of the world has their own writings that they consider to be sacred, holy and worthy of trust. Muslims believe that the Quran was “dictated by God to the prophet Mohammed early in the seventh century A.D.” Hindus hold to the teachings of the Baghavad Gita. We Christians revere the Bible, believe its words are straight from God and live our lives according to the truths found there – or at least we’re supposed to.
“Take a biblical Christian, a Muslim, and a Mormon and lock them in a room, and they would all try to get the others to accept their book as the true revelation of God’s Word. ... Each religion’s representative telling you to accept theirs, with no further proof than ‘You’ll know once you read it.’ How would you know which books, if any, were the truthful ones?”
If we were to use popular opinion as our judge of truth, the question would still not be settled. In shear volume, there are more Bibles in the world than any other book. It has been translated into more languages than any other book, read by more people than any other book, and it is sold by more stores than any other book. So the Bible wins in popularity as a book. But, there are more Muslims, followers of the Quran than there are Christians who are followers of the Bible. So which is more popular? Doesn’t really matter when it comes to truth because as someone has said, “If 50 million people believe a foolish thing, it is still a foolish thing.” – Anatole France
And that’s exactly what some people would call this quest for a message from God. They would call it a foolish thing because from their perspective, there is no God to deliver a message.
There’s a story of a guy on an airplane who was an atheist. He was sitting next to a little girl who was traveling alone, and the little girl brought out a Bible to read during the trip. The man struck up a conversation with the little girl, and after a while, he asked her about her Bible. “Do you like reading that Bible?” “Yes, I do,” she replied. “How do you know it’s true?” “Because it’s God’s Word.” “Yeah, but take Jonah and the Whale. Do you really believe that?” “Yes, I do.” “How can you explain how God would make a whale swallow a man like that?” “I don’t know. I guess I’ll ask Jonah when I get to heaven.” “What if Jonah’s not in heaven?” “Then you can ask him.”
In that little story, we have the central issue of what’s at stake here. We’re not just talking about which cookbook is the best, with the only consequence of our choice being a bad meal. We’re talking about eternal things here – the existence of heaven and hell and what it takes to get you to heaven and keep you out of hell. We have to come to a conclusion about whether or not we believe that God has spoken and where we believe that message is located. – p. 9-10
I believe that God has spoken and that His words are recorded in the Bible and the Bible alone. This morning, I want to give you four reasons that you can know that you are safe to put your trust in the Bible both for this life and for the next.
You can believe the Bible because:
1. The Bible is an accurate transmission of God’s words.
From God to man - inspiration
If I’m going to put my trust in the Bible, I need to know a little bit about where it came from and how it got to me. Did it just drop down from heaven right into the shelf at my local Wal-mart written by the hand of God Himself or at least by the hand of an angel? Part of me wishes that I could say that it did, but it did not. The fact is that the authorship of the Bible was a partnership between God and humans.
“All scripture is given by inspiration of God...” (2 Tim. 3:16 KJV) “All Scripture is God-breathed...” (2 Tim. 3:16 NIV)
“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 Pet 1:21 NIV) “...it’s not something concocted in the human heart. Prophecy resulted when the Holy Spirit prompted men and women to speak God’s Word.” (2 Peter 1:21 NLT)
God worked through men to record the actual words that He wanted us to have. It wasn’t dictation, and it wasn’t just a general thought that God put in their heads that they recorded however they wanted. In some mysterious way, God’s words were written down by men’s hands. The God part of the equation is okay with me. God doesn’t make mistakes. It’s the human factor that makes me nervous, because humans do make mistakes. How do we know that they got it right? I’ll give some evidence for that in a minute. For now, suffice it to say that the God who has the power to create the universe has the power to make sure that His message got recorded accurately.
[Note for future reference. This would be the point to include the human factor in the Scriptures – all the historical detail and human interest stories – brings a human quality to the book. It is not just pronouncements from God. All the humanness of it shows us the “why’s” of certain requirements, the consequences when they are not followed, and the rewards when they are. It also shows us that the things recorded in Scripture are not only true; they also work in daily life.]
From man to man - copying
Even if God did communicate His words to Moses, Elijah and Paul, and they wrote them down, there is still a problem. I can’t go to those original writings and see what they have to say. None of those original writings – what we refer to as the autographs – have survived the years. All that we have today are copies of those original writings. In fact, all that we have is copies of copies of copies. And with each generation of copies, there is the possibility of errors creeping into the writing.
Think of it like this. How many of you used to play the game “Telephone”? The game began with one person whispering a statement into someone else’s ear. That person would then pass along what he heard, who would then pass it to the next person and it would continue in this fashion until it got to the last person. The last person would then say out loud what he had received, and everyone would die laughing because the information the last person received would be some weird statement that was nothing like what the first person had said. Invariably, there would be some jokester in the group that would intentionally mess up the statement to make the message that much crazier at the end. But that was the point of that game – to get the message wrong so that it would create laughter.
The men who copied the text of God’s message had a much different purpose. They knew that they had a responsibility to transmit God’s truth. Because of that, they were very careful in their copying and went to unusual lengths to guarantee the accuracy. For example, one group of copyists, known as the Massoretes (500-900 A.D.) “numbered the verse, words, and letters of every book. They calculated the middle word and the middle letter of each... [That way, when they got to the end of a book, they could count how many letters and words were in the copy, compare it to the book they were copying from and be able to tell if they had accidentally left something out or added something extra.] These trivialities, as we may rightly consider them, had yet the effect of securing minute attention to the precise transmission of a respect for the sacred scriptures... The Massoretes were indeed anxious that not one jot or tittle, not one smallest letter nor one tiny part of a letter, of the Law should pass away or be lost.” – Sir Frederick Kenyon, Our Bible and the Ancient Manuscripts – p. 39 Other copyists would only allow between one and three copying errors in an entire book. Imagine getting to the end of the book of Genesis – 50 chapters. You’ve made two mistakes in the whole book. You get to the last letter of the whole book. It’s supposed to be an “l”, but you accidentally cross it and make a “t”. Guess what, you have to burn the whole thing! And that’s exactly what they would do because they wanted to be so careful that no errors crept into God’s Word.
How well did they do? “In March of 1947 an Arab shepherd was looking for a lost lamb when he tossed a rock into a hole in a cliff on the West side of the Dead Sea about 8 miles south of Jericho. To his surprise he heard the shattering of pottery. He discovered the Dead Sea scrolls that had been written around [200 years before Jesus was born]. They were hidden in the cave ... just before Jerusalem was destroyed in 70A.D. There were several jars with leather scrolls that had been unopened for over 1900 years! Guess what they found. When they looked at the scrolls, there was a full scroll over 24 feet long and 10 inches high that contained the entire book Isaiah. Two of the Isaiah scrolls when translated proved to be 95 % word for word identical to our Hebrew Bible. The 5% variation consisted of obvious slips of the pen and variations in spelling!” Between the time of the writing of these scrolls and the manuscripts on which our current Hebrew Bible are based, there was a time span of well over 1000 years. That’s plenty of time for many generations of copies and many errors to have crept in. But there were no significant differences between the text today and the text then. It stands as a testimony to the trustworthiness of the copying process that they used.
When it comes to the New Testament, there are over 5000 full or partial copies of the New Testament in Greek. By comparing all those copies, you can weed out the errors. In your note sheet that I have provided, you have passages of Scripture printed for you. If you had all the note sheets that I have ever provided along with the printed sermons in my files, imagine how much of the Bible you would be able to reconstruct. Preachers of the first few hundred years after Jesus would often do the same thing. They would quote passages of Scripture in their written sermons and letters. “Those ancient sermons, letters, and other writings include so many New Testament citations that even if we were to lose every copy we have of the Bible – including all those ancient manuscripts – scholars could reconstruct the entire New Testament with the exception of eleven verses!” – p. 38-39
“Because [of quality and quantity of] the copies we have..., although the originals are lost, there is certainty about virtually 99.9% of the Bible. And no questionable verse is the basis for any doctrine.” – p. 36
From past to present - collection
Every now and then, you will see a headline like this: “Lost book of the Bible found!” For some people that creates doubt about whether the 66 books that comprise our Bible today are the books that God intended. For others of us, it at least causes us to be curious about how the books in our present Bibles were collected into one volume. “Who did the picking and choosing”, and why did they leave some books out? – p. 12
“When Christians centuries ago evaluated the books they received they used a three-fold test:
1. “Did the book come from a prophet or an apostle?”
2. “Did the book have doctrinal integrity – did it match revelation already accepted?”
3. “Did the book have wide acceptance – did many of God’s people in several places validate these writings?” – p. 31 (leader guide)
“The Old Testament books were accepted by a group of Jewish scholars in the city of Jamnia in 90 A.D. ... In Jesus’ day, the Old Testament was referred to as the Law, the Prophets, and the Writings... This designation referred to the same books which are in our Old Testament today. Jesus repeatedly validated the Old Testament as a whole.”
(Mat 5:17-18 NIV) "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.
“The first list of all the New Testament books together as we find them in our Bibles today was written in 367A.D by [a church leader named] Athanasius. ...his list and Councils of Hippo (393A.D.) and Carthage (397 and 419 A.D.) formalized the New Testament as it’s come down to us today.” – p. 16-17 “The fact that the Bible was confirmed throughout a centuries-long process would safeguard against one person dominating the choices of which books to include or a faction imposing their theological bias.” – p. 31 (leader guide)
TRAN: Even if I accept that the writings of David and Paul have been accurately transmitted to me, there’s no way that I can verify all the theology – the teachings about the spiritual world – until I go there. And then, it will be too late to change my mind, and it will definitely be too late to pass on to you what I find. Is there anything in the Bible that I can test and prove to be true to help me gain greater confidence in the things that I cannot test? Yes, there is.
2. The Bible is an accurate historical record of God’s world.
The Bible not only records theological truth – truth about God – but it also records scientific, mathematical and historical truth. Those are things that I can test and measure. If the Bible is not 100% accurate in physical things, then I would have good cause to doubt whether it is 100% accurate in spiritual things. Jesus used this same line of reasoning in His encounter with Nicodemus.
(John 3:12 NIV) “I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things?”
That is the value of including all those seemingly insignificant pieces of information in the Bible – numbers of troops, genealogies, and histories. I can verify much of that information from sources other than the Bible.
Based on eyewitness accounts
(Acts 4:19-20 NIV) But Peter and John replied, "Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God’s sight to obey you rather than men. For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard."
(1 Cor 15:3-8 NIV) For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance : that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also...
(2 Pet 1:16 NIV) 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.
(1 John 1:1,3 NIV) That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched--this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. ... We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard...
Verified through extrabiblical literature
At a trial, you expect the defendant to proclaim his innocence. He’s got a personal stake in the outcome. You might even expect his family and friends to stick up for him – maybe even lie. So defense lawyers will do their best to bring in witnesses who have no personal interest in the outcome of the trial to back up the story that the defendant is telling.
When it comes to the Bible, we have other witnesses besides the Bible and other religious writings that point to the truthfulness of things recorded in the Bible. These are very helpful in increasing our faith in the hard to believe events of the Bible. It’s not hard to see why people have a hard time accepting the trustworthiness of the Bible. Think about some of the things recorded there – Jonah and the whale, the creation of the universe in 6 days, the crossing of the Red Sea on dry ground, Joshua commanding the sun to stand still for a period of 24 hours. The one event that has come under perhaps the greatest fire is the world-wide flood recorded in Genesis in which all life died except those 8 people on the ark along with all their animals. But even that can be corroborated by non-biblical writings.
“Myths about a great flood exist in many cultures. One famous Babylonian story, The Gilgamesh Epic, tells of a man who built a big ship to ride out a flood. His boat was a huge cube, however, which would slowly roll in the water. By contrast, the proportions of Noah’s ark (approximately 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, 45 feet high) are those of a stable, seaworthy vessel.” – p. 24
“If a worldwide event such as a flood in Noah’s time truly happened, one would expect there would be many stories concerning that event in various cultures. [That would definitely be something worth writing home about.] ... The presence of numerous accounts distributed among many peoples increases the historic probability that the event described actually occurred.” – p. 34 (leader guide) Even if some of the details of the stories do not match up with the biblical account, they at least give reason to believe that a world-wide flood did happen.
Let’s jump over to the New Testament. Some people would have us question not only whether Jesus was God and Savior but whether or not He ever existed to begin with. Well, according to the Roman leaders of the time, He did.
“Hence to suppress the rumor, he falsely charged with the guilt...the persons commonly called Christians, who were hated for their enormities. Christus (or Christ), the founder of the name, was put to death by Pontius Pilate, procurator of Judea in the reign of Tiberius...” – Tacitus, Annals XV.44, writing around 100 A.D.
Verified through archaeology
Dr. Nelson Glueck, probably the greatest modern authority on Israeli archeology, has said: "No archeological discovery has ever controverted a Biblical reference. Scores of archeological findings have been made which confirm in clear outline or in exact detail historical statements in the Bible. And, by the same token, proper evaluation of Biblical descriptions has often led to amazing discoveries." (in other words when archeologists want to know where to dig they use the bible as a map) -
“Since 1974, 17,000 tablets have been unearthed from ancient Ebla (now northern Syria). These writings corroborate the world of the patriarchs (around 2000 B.C.). In his book Evidence that demands a Verdict, Josh McDowell states,
“The victory of Abraham over Chedolaomer and the Mesopotamian kings has been described as fictitious and the five Cities of the Plain (Sodom, Gomorrah, Adamah, Zeboiim, and Zoar) as legendary. Yet the Ebla archives refer to all five Cities of the Plain. ...the tablets ...depict that, before the catastrophe recorded in Genesis 14, the area was a flourishing region experiencing prosperity and success, as recorded in Genesis.
“In 1963, a tablet was found during a renovation of the amphitheater in Caesarea (on the Mediterranean Sea). This tablet had the name ‘Pontius Pilate’ inscribed on it. Up until that time, the name Pilate was found only in the New Testament and in a few other secular historical sources.” – p. 41
“The fact that nonbiblical sources and archaeological discoveries support various details about biblical history helps us see with even more certainty that the Bible writers were concerned with accurate history, not just with writing a biased ‘sales brochure’ for Christianity.” – p. 36
TRAN: So far, we have given evidence that the Bible has been accurately transmitted to us from ancient times and that the historical information recorded there is accurate. But I could prove those same things about the writings of George Washington and about the history book that you use at your school. These facts don’t prove the Bible is from God or that it should be trusted in areas of the spiritual and supernatural. So far, it could be just a book authored by a knowledgeable group of men. What about the Bible gives validity to the claim that it is from God?
3. The Bible alone contains only accurate prophecy of God’s will.
4. The Bible alone contains only accurate theology of God’s ways.
CONCLUSION
The Bible is far more than a book that accurately records history. It is the record of God’s desire to reach into the fallen heart of man, change that heart and bring Him into relationship with Himself.
Dr. W.A. Criswell tells of a small New Testament that was taken from the breast-pocket of a fallen American soldier in Vietnam, a young boy from Georgia. When Mr. Pat Zondervan held up that New Testament before the congregation of the First Baptist Church of Dallas, Dr. Criswell could see the light of a bullet hole through its middle. Later, when Dr. Criswell held it in his hands, he saw that the pages were stained with the blood of that fallen soldier. Flipping through it, he found an inscription in the back that had survived intact. It read, "On this date, I Wilton Thomas take Jesus Christ as my personal Savior." Then it was signed and dated by the hand of that young man. That is what the Bible is for. It is not to amaze us with its scientific accuracy or impress us with its historical integrity, but to lead us to a personal knowledge of God through Jesus Christ as Savior.
In our world today, there are more people who do not believe in the absolute authority and accuracy of God’s Word, the Bible, than there are people who do believe in it. But, as I stated at the beginning, “If 50 million people believe a foolish thing, it is still a foolish thing.” To not believe in the Bible just because so many others don’t or because others scoff at it is a foolish reason especially since the implications of what you believe are so signicant. Mark Twain did not believe in the Bible, but at least he understood the significance of his belief. He said, “It ain’t the parts of the Bible that I can’t understand that bother me, it is the parts that I do understand.” – Mark Twain
Believing and practicing the truths of the Bible will change your life here on earth and prepare you for eternity. Refusing the truth of the Bible will separate you from God both now and forever. The consequences are great. You’d better choose well.
