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Introduction
A common name for the Bible is “the Word of God.” That’s a big claim to make.
What does it mean, and how do we know it’s a true statement?
Furthermore, if it is true, how does it affect our lives?
These are important questions to answer.
If we are to allow the Bible to inform our worldview, then we must learn more about its origin and be confident we can trust it.
Satan has waged constant attacks on God’s Word since he first tempted Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.
In fact, a challenge of God’s Word was the basis of his temptation to Eve.
Satan encouraged Eve to doubt God’s words and honesty with the simple phrase, “hath God said?”
In the same manner, Satan often suggests to us that the Bible isn’t really true.
He tells us that we have no means to verify the accuracy of Scripture, and therefore, no need to obey it.
History has revealed continuing attempts to question God’s Word.
Many of these attempts have weakened the faith of our society.
As recently as the twentieth century, theological liberalism swept through Europe and then the United States, dramatically changing the landscape of mainline denominations.
At the heart of these discussions and changes were severe challenges to the accuracy of the Bible.
Seminaries, theologians, and pastors began to question the inspiration of Scripture (a truth we’ll define in a moment) and the facts of the Bible including its miracles and the deity of Christ.
Some suggest that entire books in the Bible should be removed.
This questioning of Scripture continues today.
Due to the pervasive influence of secularism, many people — even in Bible-preaching churches— have been led astray and have accepted false views about God and the Bible.
One author wrote, “Secularism has desensitized many people sitting in the pews of faithful, gospel-preaching churches, leading them to unwittingly hold even heretical doctrines.”
Although many deny the historicity and veracity of the Scriptures, they do so without credible reasons.
Biblical scholar F.F. Bruce wrote, “The evidence of our New Testament writings is ever so much greater than the evidence for many writings of the classical authors, the authenticity of which no one dreams of questioning.
And if the New Testament were a collection of secular writings, their authenticity would generally be regarded as beyond all doubt.”
Yet, people still insist on denying the credibility of the Bible.
A Christian lady seated next to a skeptic on an airplane was reading her Bible.
“You don’t really believe all that stuff do you?” he questioned.
“Of Course I do,” replied the woman.
“Well, what about that guy who was swallowed by a whale?
How do you suppose he survived all that time?” quipped the unbeliever.
The woman responded that she didn’t know, but would ask Jonah about it when she got to heaven.
Not to be outdone, the man sarcastically said, “What if he isn’t in Heaven?”
To which the woman responded, “Then you’ll be able to ask him!”
Although many people doubt or deny the reliability of the Bible, there are many reasons to trust it.
There are several reasons that we will view tonight that we can trust the Word of God and be strong in our belief of God.
I.
The Reliability of the Bible
The Bible itself claims to be a reliable source of truth, coming directly from God Himself.
Let’s break this verse down:
A. Inspired Words
The Bible is given by inspiration of God.
God Himself is the author of Scripture.
The Greek word for inspiration is theopneustos, which means, “God-breathed.”
This definition is paralleled in the English phrase inspiration of God.
Our English word inspire has multiple definitions.
In this case, it uses the definition, “to breathe into.”
This is the exact manner in which God gave Scripture.
Just as God breathed life into Adam and he became a living soul, God breathed life into His words.
In turn, these words give life to all men who believe on Jesus Christ.
The Bible is a living book, and it produces heart-penetrating conviction.
Sometimes that conviction feels like a sword, sharply cutting through our hearts and revealing our thoughts.
The Bible is also an incorruptible seed that will never die.
Just a physical seed produces a plant and then fruit, God’s Word produces fruit and a new life.
So, how did God breathe His Word into existence?
Although God is the author of Scripture, He used human writers to record His Word.
While skeptics often claim that the Bible is just man’s opinion, because it came through the pens of human writers, this is a misleading and even illogical claim.
Think about it this way: The Bible was recorded by about forty human writers from a variety of backgrounds and occupations.
It was written over a period of approximately fifteen hundred years.
It was penned in three languages and on three continents.
And it covers hundreds of controversial subjects.
yet, the entire Bible has a single theme and complete unity within itself.
This could only be achieved if it were inspired by a sole author.
And there is only one Author who spans every age, language, location and subject—God Himself.
There was only one writer—God the Holy Spirit.
He moved men to write what He wanted, yet He used each person’s words and writing styles.
The writers themselves expressed awareness that Scripture was God’s Word, not their own thoughts.
David was used of God to write some of the largest portions of Scripture, and he claimed that God gave him the words.
There were also New Testament writers who quoted verses from the Old Testament.
They claimed those words to be the Word of God, revealing that they considered the Old Testament to be inspired Scripture.
“There are, in fact, over 320 quotations from the Old Testament recorded in the New, as well as over 1,000 clear and definite references to it.
Always, the context indicates the belief of the speaker or writer that he was referring to the authoritative Word of God whenever he made such a quotation or reference.”
Henry Morris
The Bible is reliable because it has been given by a Divine Author who spoke through human writers.
We can trust it to provide the truth and direction we need.
B. Inerrant Facts
Looking back to 2 Timothy 3:16, we saw from the beginning of the verse that the Bible is given by inspiration of God, but the verse further states that the Bible is profitable for significant areas of life.
The bible is unique in that it is inerrant.
It literally says nothing that errs from the truth.
Although the purpose of the Bible wasn’t to record all of history or teach science, where it does state facts regarding history science, or any other subject, it is without error.
Notice a few of the unique aspects of the Bible in relation to facts.
• It is the only book of antiquity that gives an account of special creation of all things out of nothing.
• The Bible is the only ancient book that gives a continuous historical record from the first man to the present era.
We find accurate descriptions of historical events and people throughout the Bible.
• The Bible is the only religious book containing detailed prophecies of events that, at the time of the writing, had not yet happened but which have since been fulfilled.
From a historical standpoint, it is amazing to see how Scripture recounts history which modern-day historians are only recently catching up with.
For instance, for years, historians questioned the biblical account of a people known as the Hittites as well as the Babylonian king, Belshazzar.
In both instances, skeptics said since there was no evidence of either of these, the biblical authors had simply made them up.
Over time, however, archeological discoveries have revealed material proof for these peoples and stories.
These confirmations, thousands of years after the events were recorded, should assure us that we can trust the Bible’s historical accuracy even before archaeology catches up to history.
From a scientific standpoint, we see that Scripture recorded accurate scientific facts, even before they were discovered by man.
For instance, the earth was flat.
The Bible, however, always taught otherwise.
Long before Sir Isaac Newton discovered gravity and its ramification, God had already told us about the gravitational pull of the earth.
Newton simply realized what God had previously explained.
Our knowledge about the earth matters to God.
The one who created the earth knows everything about it, and the Bible’s voice on history and science—as well as on any other topic,—is always an accurate record.
C. Infallible Truth
One of the best showcases for the infallibility of Scripture is found through its prophecy and fulfilling of it.
Author Henry Morris wrote, “One of the strong objective evidences of biblical inspiration is the phenomenon of fulfilled prophecy.”
The Bible is unique in this respect among all other religious books.
While some contain vague forecasts of future events, none of them hold anything comparable to the vast number of specific prophecies given in Scripture which have subsequently been fulfilled.
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