“Decoding the Past”
Can the Bible be Trusted?
May 7, 2006
Introduction: Today we are starting a three part series dealing with some serious issues being raised in our culture. For a couple of years now the book “The Davinci Code” has been a national best seller and has sparked controversies and questions about the church, the life of Christ and the authority of scripture.
Before we begin, let me tell you what you are not going to be hearing.
1) I am not going to tell you to read the book or watch the movie. I am also not going to tell you not to.
2) I am not going to give you all the reasons Dan Brown is right or wrong in certain areas.
3) I am not going to tell you that Christians need to boycott or picket. In fact, please don’t!!
Here is what I will tell you.
1) If you are planning to engage non-believers or non-church members in a conversation, you need to have truth to share.
2) If you are going to be a part of this cultural conversation, you must be familiar with the arguments.
3) If you are unwilling to be informed and communicate with understanding and with intellect, and with respect for others, don’t participate in the conversation.
Today we are going to begin with the question of “Can the Bible be Trusted?” Many Christians have no idea of how we got the bible we have, where it came from, or how we know it is a reliable document of history.
However, if we are going to participate in a cultural conversation with people who do not believe in the bible, we must have a better argument than, “Well it is in the bible so it must be true.”
One of the principle marketing schemes of “The DaVinci Code” is the tagline, “Seek the Truth.” That is such an important saying. However, we must understand that in seeking truth we must seek the whole truth and not simply parts of the truth. Truth is everywhere and all truth is God’s truth.
The bible is filled with truth. Everything in the bible is true. But it is not true because it is in the bible; it is in the bible because it is true. All truth is God’s truth. And we can see God in all kinds of places.
Paul, who wrote the majority of the New Testament, quoted pagan philosophers and authors in his letters. Those quotes ended up in our bible. Let me give you an example.
Paul is writing to Titus who lives on the island of Crete. The people of Crete were dishonest, lazy and untrustworthy people. But, instead of Paul simply saying that about them, he says this:
“Even one of their own prophets has said, "Cretans are always liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons." This testimony is true. Therefore, rebuke them sharply, so that they will be sound in the faith and will pay no attention to Jewish myths or to the commands of those who reject the truth.” Titus 1:12-14 (NIV)
So, the writing of an atheistic, pagan philosopher ended up in scripture. Why? Because what he said was true and Paul claimed that truth to teach a spiritual lesson.
It also points out that the apostle Paul was not a big fan of boycotting literature or art of his day that didn’t necessarily agree with his particular theology. But, he was discerning in his application of it. So how does this deal with the accuracy of the bible? Today we want to talk about seeking the entire truth.
I. What does the bible say about itself?
The bible has a lot to say about its authority and its truth. We need to begin by looking at the claims of the bible to determine if those claims are true.
If the bible is not true, then it is of no significance to our lives.
“Every part of Scripture is God-breathed and useful one way or another—showing us truth, exposing our rebellion, correcting our mistakes, training us to live God’s way.”
2 Tim. 3:16 (The Message)
The scripture tells us two very important things:
1) The Bible is inspired by God.
That means that it flows from the heart of God into the lives of men.
This is the same idea used at the center of creation when God brought life into humanity.
“The Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.” Genesis 2:7 (NIV)
Scripture flows from the heart of God to us. It is his idea and not the creation of man. We are going to look at where the bible came from in a moment, but ultimately what we need to understand is that this is God’s design.
2) The Bible is applicable into every area of our lives.
The whole point of the scripture is that it is to shape our lives and teach us how to lvie the best life possible. It points out our flaws, our weaknesses and shows us the correct way to live our life.
“For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” Hebrews 4:12 (NIV)
The Bible makes demands of us to respond to what it has to say.
If the bible is not true, we do not need to pay any attention to it or use it to shape our lives. However, what about some of the things it has to say? Do those things help our lives to be better?
Let’s start with something basic. The bible says not to commit murder.
"You shall not murder.” Exodus 20:13 (NIV)
I hope we can all agree that not killing other people is a good thing.
But, that’s an Old Testament thing and really, most people have no problem accepting the Old Testament as true.
In the New Testament, Jesus takes this same idea and expounds on it.
"You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ’Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, ’Raca,’ is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, ’You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.” Matthew 5:21-22 (NIV)
What Jesus is saying is that not only is murder harmful, but anger has consequences in our lives. Anyone here willing to debate that it is better to live peacefully than to live in anger?
The scripture is designed to help us to understand how God wants us to live and the best way to do that. It is intended to change our lives.
Jesus believed the Old Testament writings to be true.
“He said to them, "This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms."
Luke 24:44 (NIV)
The Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms covers the three areas of the Hebrew scripture. It is how the Jewish people divided their works. So, Jesus is affirming all of the Old Testament by saying what they say is true.
There are at least 61 separate prophecies about what the Messiah would be like.
Some, such as what he would say would have been within Jesus’ control. Others however were not. Let’s look at just three and see if they came true.
"But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel whose origins are from of old, from ancient times." Micah 5:2 (NIV)
The prophecy is that the Messiah would come from Bethlehem.
“So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.” Luke 2:4-7 (NIV)
“I told them, "If you think it best, give me my pay; but if not, keep it." So they paid me thirty pieces of silver.” Zechariah 11:12 (NIV)
"What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?" So they counted out for him thirty silver coins.” Matthew 26:15 (NIV)
Judas betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver.
“Dogs have surrounded me; a band of evil men has encircled me, they have pierced my hands and my feet.” Psalm 22:16 (NIV)
This speaks of a crucifixion.
“When they came to the place called the Skull, there they crucified him, along with the criminals--one on his right, the other on his left.” Luke 23:33 (NIV)
This speaks of the crucifixion of Jesus. The interesting thing is that at the time of the writing of Psalms, crucifixion had not been invented.
Now, I know what you are thinking; “This is just coincidence.”
Well, maybe or maybe not.
Peter Stoner estimated that the likelihood of only eight of the 61 prophecies coming true in only one person were 1 in 100,000,000,000,000,000. That’s 1 with 17 zeros behind it.
This is about the same as covering the state of Texas with silver dollars two feet deep and asking someone to travel as far as they can in either direction and pull out the right silver dollar.
The chances that 48 prophecies would come true in one individual are the odds of 1 with 157 zeros behind it.
The Bible is unmatched in its record of predicting the future and proving itself.
II. What does history say about the bible?
One of the main backdrops to “The Davinci Code” is that the bible was created as a huge cover-up somewhere in the 4th century.
Dan Browne in the book says that Emperor Constantine developed a plan to change history by taking out parts of the bible and replacing it with other parts to eliminate the humanity of Jesus and make him godlike. Here is the problem. By the time Constantine lived, the bible, and in particular the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John were well established as authoritative in the lives of Christians.
The Role of People in History
As early as A.D. 180, the writer Irenaeus named the gospels. 25 years before Irenaeus wrote, Justin Martyr spoke of the authority of the gospels. He called them the “memoirs of the apostles.” They were firmly established in the life of the church.
So, how did we settle on the 27 books of the New Testament?
1) They were a response to heretics. Marcion- A.D. 140
In A.D. 140 a heretic named Marcion developed a list of writings that he propelled as the “canon” of scripture. They included writings that were obviously opposed to the teachings of Jesus and the apostles. So, the early church had to offset his writings by listing what books were true writings.
2) They were a response to persecution. Diocletian- A.D. 303
In A.D. 303, the Emperor Diocletian declared the destruction of all sacred books of Christians. No one wanted to die for simply a religious book. Christians needed to know which ones were real and which ones were not.
3) They were upheld by the early church leaders.
Polycarp (A.D. 115) Justin Martyr (A.D. 100-165) Ignatius (A.D. 50-115)
These early church leaders were able to define for the Christians of the day what books were truly of the apostles and the early church and which were not.
All of these agreed upon the same 27 books that we have today.
The New Testament canon was formalized at the Synod of Hippo in A.D. 393.
The Role of Archeology
In dealing with any writing of history there are two key questions that must be asked:
1) How close to the original writing arethe earliest copies?
2) How many copies are there?
Here the bible is proven overwhelmingly accurate.
The number 2 book of all time in ancient manuscripts is “The Iliad” by Homer.
There are 643 copies that we have in our possession. The time frame between the original manuscript and the earliest copy is 500 years.
For comparison, Plato’s “Republic” has 7 copies with 900 years between original and manuscript.
The New Testament has over 24,000 copies or partial copies that we have found. The earliest copy we have is 50 years from original manuscript.
History is overwhelmingly on the side of the authenticity of the New Testament.
III. What does it mean to us?
If the Bible is true, you are forced to make a choice?
All of us are going to make a choice by what standard we live our lives. We can choose to live according to our own hearts desire. But, is that the best way to live?
“Whoever trusts his own heart is a fool. Whoever walks in wisdom will survive.” Proverbs 28:26 (God’s Word)
If the bible is true, then what it has to say about Jesus is true and he really is the Son of God.
If it is true, you must decide are you willing to change your life to live out what it says. Jesus himself said that the way we show we are serious is by taking his word and living it out.
"Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash." Matthew 7:24-27 (NIV)
Today, are you willing to make changes in your life to live according to what Jesus and the bible have to say?
My goal is to challenge you to “Seek the Truth.” However I want to encourage you to seek the whole truth. Investigate the claims of scripture. See for yourself if they hold up against any kind of examination. If they do, then you are faced with major life decisions.
Resources:
The DaVinci Code: A Companion Guide to the Movie: Campus Crusade for Christ, 2006
Evidence That Demands a Verdict, Josh McDowell, 1972
The DaVinci Code: Fact or Fiction?, message by Jim Butcher, www.sermoncentral.com
www.leestrobel.com
