Sermon notes 6-26-16 - Be Prepared - the third tool - The Bible

1. Intro to the Bible
1. Christians believe the Bible is the very Word of God, the revelation of God to man. 
2. If the Bible is true then it reveals to us who the Creator of this world is, it tells us who we are, why we are here, how we should live and what happens when we die? 
3. But the Bible is not the only religious book that claims to be the word of God and give answers to those questions. The Koran, Vedas, the book of Mormon and several other religious books claim to be the revelation of God. But because of our rules of logic that we learned two weeks ago we can determine that if the Bible is the true word of God then anything that contradicts the Bible is false. 
4. We also know if we can find errors and contradictions in the Bible then we can not trust any of the Bible. 
5. Skeptics are quick to point out all the problems they perceive the Bible has. 
1. It is not historically accurate.
2. We don’t have the original documents so we can trust it is the real thing.
3. It was written by man and man is prone to err - therefore we can’t trust it.
4. Because it contains miracles - it’s just a book of myths and fables that has been exaggerated over the centuries.
5. There are too many errors and contradictions in the Bible, therefore we can’t trust it. 
6. But today, I want to share with you five reasons why I believe the Bible is true and accurate and the inspired Word of God. 
2. Reason # 1 - Logically it makes sense.
1. The Bible claims to be the word of God on almost every page. This is not something that the church made up. 
2. The O.T. prophets said more 200 times “Thus says the Lord.” 
3. One Christian writer said that at least 3800 times in the O.T. we hear words like “Then God spoke to me” or “the word of God came to me”. 
4. It is no different in the N.T. 
5. There are several references to the Holy Spirit inspiring Scripture and the words of the authors of the N.T. to be from God. 
1. 1 Peter 1:25 - “The Word of the Lord Abides forever”
2. 2 Timothy 3:16 - “All Scripture is God-breathed.”
3. 2 Peter 1:21 - “No prophecy was ever made by an act of human will.”
6. Within the N.T. we see over 300 verses quoted from the O.T. and at least 4000 allusions that refer back to the O.T. to show it is also the words of God.
7. The point is if you call the authors of the Bible to the witness stand they will affirm with one voice “We are speaking the words of God.” 
8. But just because it claims to be the word of God, doesn’t necessarily mean it is the Words of God.  I could claim to be the greatest surfer in the world, but that doesn’t necessarily mean I am the greatest surfer. 
9. So we are going to have to look at more evidence. 
10. One of the biggest pieces of evidence for the Bible is the unity that we find within it.
11. The Bible was written over a period of 15 centuries, in 3 different languages by more than 40 authors. The 40 different authors come from different cultures, different occupations (fisherman, kings, shepherds, tax collectors, prophets, etc…), under different circumstances (in jail, on mountaintops, gardens, etc..) and on three different continents. During the 1500 years when the Bible was written empires rose and fell and cultures came and went, but yet the Bible is the same. It’s quite remarkable to be honest. 
12. Try and get 10 people from a similar area to agree right their thoughts when it comes to a controversial subject and you’re going to find 10 different opinions and stories.  Yet the Bible discusses diverse theological matters such as the nature of God, the purpose of God, the characteristics of God and Satan, the nature of man, the plan for man’s redemption, and how to deal with the difficulties in life and these authors say the same thing. They write the same message.
13. Imagine a book on science written by 40 different authors over a period of 15 centuries that is still accurate today. You won’t find a science book like that. 
14. But in the Bible - Every book, every chapter, every verse, every page, every word, and every letter speaks the same message. That unified message is all about Jesus Christ coming to save the world from our sins. 
15. Martin Luther said, “All Scripture teaches nothing but Jesus and the cross.”
16. Floyd Hamilton said this about the unity of Scripture, “In its structure the Bible is a unit, each part interlaced with and interpreted by the other parts, so that every part is necessary for a complete understanding of the whole.”
17. Other religions follow the teachings of one man who claims to have heard from God. There is no accountability as to if the message was truly from God or not. Because of that we have many religions all claiming that they have the supreme answer from God because of one man’s revelation. 
18. Yet the Bible contains a message about one man told by at least 40 different authors, over 1500 years and from diverse backgrounds and education. Yet, these authors say the same thing about God and about Jesus. To me… that type of harmony and unity did not happen by coincidence or collusion.  
19. So, logically it makes sense.

1. The second reason I trust the Bible is because of the authenticity of the original manuscripts.
1. Skeptics are quick to point out that the Bible is just a human book written by flawed humans. They attempt to strip away all its miracles, divine teachings, and make Christ into a mere man or someone that never truly existed. 
2. But I actually think this makes it more believable. For one, the New Testament contains 27 books written by 9 authors. These are 27 different scrolls that were written over a span of 20 to 50 years. These writings were collected and put together to form the Bible in which we have. 
3. The problem is we don’t have any of the original documents that the N.T. was written on. They have either been destroyed or not yet been discovered. But that’s ok.
4. All ancient literature is reconstructed into its original form by comparing manuscripts (hand written copies) that survive. The more manuscripts we have, and the earlier manuscripts that we find, the more accurate the reconstruction.
5. So how does the New Testament stack up. Well here is what I have found out. There are close to 5700 handwritten Greek manuscripts of the N.T. that have been found by archaeology. In addition there are more than 9,000 manuscripts in other languages (Latin, Coptic, and Arabic). That is close to 15,000 manuscripts that we have - some which are complete Bibles, others are books or pages of the bible. 
6. The next closest ancient literature we have is the Iliad by Homer with only 643 manuscripts. 
7. You ask, well when are these manuscripts dated.  Historians and archaeologist believe the most early manuscript we have is from the book of John that is dated between 117-138 A.D. 
8. Let me show you a chart that may help you see how this compares to others from the book by Norman Geisler. This shows that we have far more reason to trust the Bible than other ancient documents. 
9. You also need to know that early church history the church fathers (Tertullian, Irenaeus, Origen, etc…) quoted the Bible in their writings over 36,000 times. So much so, that if all the manuscripts were destroyed of the Bible, we would be able to reconstruct the New Testament (all but 11 verses) just from the early church fathers quotations that have been discovered.
10. This proves that we have an accurate copy of the original Bible that was written.
11. But skeptics are quick to point out the many textual problems in the manuscripts. Since the manuscripts were copied by hand there are many errors in the reconstruction. But these are minor textual problems. A word missing here, a letter there, a grammar problem, etc… 
12. In fact, one scholar named Philip Schaff calculated that there were only 400 problems that would change the meaning of a passage, and not one affected a theological problem. 
13. Princeton professor Bruce Metzger estimated that the ancient writings of Hinduism the Mahabharata is copied with only 90% accuracy. Homer’s Illiad is copied with about 95% accuracy. While the New Testament is 99.5% accurate and that 0.5% that is not accurate does not affect a single doctrine of the Christian faith. 
14. It is safe to say that we have a pretty accurate copy of the Bible. But that doesn’t mean the Bible is true. It only means that we have an accurate copy of what the original writers wrote. 

1. The third reason I believe the Bible is because it is historically reliable?
1. Christianity is different than other religions in that it basis it’s claim to be true based on historical facts. If the resurrection of Jesus never happened than Christianity is a false religion. 
2. The Bible has several claims to history that can and should be tested for accuracy. In order to find out if it is historically reliable we must use a couple of historical tests.
3. The first test is how early or close to the story was the new testament written. 
4. To answer this question quickly - most historians and theologians believe that most if not all the books were written before AD 70 - most likely between 40-62 A.D.. That is about 40 years after Jesus death. More likely, many of the books of the N.T. were written with 20 to 30 years after Jesus died and the events recorded. 
5. This is important because the historians know that the earlier the sources are to the actual event the more accurate the testimony. 
6. For example, there are some that have started to come out recently and claim that the Holocaust never happened. They are beginning to do this today, b/c many of the eye witness are dying and cannot speak against them. But fortunately, we have written eyewitness testimony that the Holocaust did happen and the revisionists cannot change history. 
7. The same holds true for the N.T. If the N.T were written within 60 years of the events recorded, we know that these events could not be exaggerated or made up without eyewitnesses speaking against the lies. But the evidence points to a closer date to the actual events. 
8. There are times when Paul calls for his readers to ask about eyewitness testimony to confirm what he is saying. He couldn’t do that if the eyewitnesses had died. So we know the Bible was dated within the lifespan of several eyewitnesses who could confirm the facts written in it. 
9. Skeptics are then quick to point out that history (especially ancient history) can’t be known. 
10. If that is true then we can’t say that Alexander the Great existed or George Washington was the first president of the United States or that The baltimore orioles won the world series in 1983 because we weren’t there to witness it. But that defies common sense.
11. We can and do know history because it is recorded for us to know. And the Bible has many sources that show that it is accurate account of historical events.
12. For example, the Bible has many outside resources and inner proofs to show that it is an accurate representation of historical events.
13. There are at least 10 known non-Christian writers who mention Jesus within 150 years of his life. These are historians who did not want to see the advance of Christianity, (Tacitus, Josephus, and Pliny the Younger) but they wrote about many of the historical events recorded in the Bible. 
14. By contrast, over the same 150 years, there are nine non-christian sources who mention Tiberius Caesar and the Roman emperor at the time of Jesus. So discounting the Christian sources, Jesus is actually mentioned by one more source than the most important and famous political figures of his day. If you include Christian sources the authors mentioning Jesus outnumber those mentioning Tiberius 43 to 10.
15. In other words, we have legitimate outside resources to show that Jesus was a legitimate person and did some amazing things. Without the bible we would know several things.
1. Jesus lived during the time of Tiberius Caesar
2. Jesus did many miracles and was called a wonder-worker.
3. Jesus had a brother named James
4. Jesus was acclaimed to be the Messiah
5. Jesus was crucified under Pontious Pilate on the eve of Passover
6. When Jesus died darkness and an earthquake occurred.
7. Jesus disciples claimed that Jesus rose from the dead and were willing to die for their belief.
8. Christianity spread throughout Rome very quickly  
16. Ironically, none of these non-christian resources disagree with the Biblical accounts of Jesus life.
17. There has also been several archaeological finds that have confirmed stories in the Bible. Archaeology is the study of non-perishable debris that has survived the ravages of time. 
18. Now it is important to note that archaeology without history is meaningless. It is basically finding all kinds of things in this dirt. But when we hear of history and find things in archaeology it gives us more information about events, people and places.
19. Archaeology has helped prove several stories we read about in the Bible. From names of kings, to places, to proper titles referred to in Scripture. 
20. One writer confirmed over 85 facts in the last 16 chapters of Acts because of archaeological finds. 
21. Also, the writers of the N.T. also include over 30 historically confirmed people. By implicating real people into the story they leave it up for everything to be scrutinized. There is no way they could get away with telling lies about people of such power like Pontius Pilate, Festus, Caiphas, Felix and Herod. 
22. The same cannot be said about other historical documents. We still have not found one piece archaeological evidence that supports the Book of Mormon. 
23. So we have shown that the we have an accurate copy of the Bible and that it is historical accurate so now what do skeptics say. 

1. Fourth, I believe the Bible to be true because of the stories it contains.
1. First, and foremost the writers of the Bible contains embarrassing details about themselves. They are dim-witted, uncaring, easily rebuked, cowards, and doubters.
2. When you write a story about yourself you tend to leave out those embarrassing stories that would put you in a negative light. Think about it would you include stories about yourself that had a primary leader call you Satan, or how you denied Jesus three times, hid during the crucifixion. Would you depict yourself as a coward or a bumbling idiot. 
3. And if you were making up a story would you include testimony from people whose testimony was not even admitted in a court of law. That’s how women were depicting in Jesus day. 
4. But the authors of the Bible give all these details. If they were making it up, this would not be the story I would want to tell. I tell how I was the hero, and how God revealed something cool to me. And I make it all about how great I am. 
5. Second, They not only include embarrassing details about themselves but they also recored embarrassing details about their leader Jesus. For example, His family calls him crazy (Mark 3:21). His brothers don’t believe in Him (John 7:5). He is thought to be a deceiver (John 7:12). Many of his followers leave him (John 6:66). He is called a drunkard, demon-possessed and a mad-man. There are things that if you want people to believe in Jesus you might not include in the story. 
6. In addition, they record sayings of Jesus that are hard to understand and even more difficult to follow yet the writers of the New Testament didn’t hold back. Let me explain.
1. I tell you the truth that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has committed adultery with her in his heart (Matthew 5:28)
2. I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, causes her to become an adulteress, and anyone who marries the divorced woman commits adultery. (Matthew 5:32)
3. Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. (Matthew 5:44-45)
4. Be perfect… as your heavenly Father is perfect (Matthew 5:48)
5. Do not judge, or you will be judged. (Matthew 7:1-2)
7. Here is the point, all of these commands are difficult or impossible for human beings to keep and seem to go against the best interests of men who wrote them down. They most definitely are contrary to the desires of many today who want a religion or spirituality that has no moral demands. 
8. It incriminates even the writers who wrote these things - making them sinful. These commands clearly are not the commands that man makes up or would impose on Himself.
9. They also include details to events that would have and could not have been invented.
1. For example, they explain that Jesus was buried after he died on a cross by Joseph of Arimathea, a member of the Sanhedrin. This is the same Sanhedrin that had condemned Jesus to die for blasphemy. Considering the relationship the Christians had with the Jews why would they put a member of the Sandhedrin in a favorable light? They also reveal exactly where to go and find Jesus body if his body was still in the tomb. This would easily be debunked by the Jews if any of it was false.
2. The first witnesses to the resurrection were women. Women’s testimony carried no weight in the Jewish court of law in those days. If they were making up the resurrection story you think they would have used a better witness - like priest or judges that found Jesus alive first. Citing that it was women, especially ones who were demon possessed like Mary Magdalene, would only hurt their attempt to pass on the message of Christ.
3. These are just two of the many examples of things that if the writers of the N.T. were making the story up would not make sense to include. 
10. Skeptics are quick to point out that the Bible contradicts itself. Now if there are contradictions in the Bible then I would have to agree that we can’t trust it to be true. But I yet to find contradictions. For example, Matthew says there was one angel at the tomb of Jesus, while John mentions two. Or the Gospel of Matthew records two women who came to the tomb, while the book of Luke records at least three women coming to the tomb. Critics are quick to point out that the contradiction. But this is not true. These divergent details actually strengthen the case. For one, Matthew never says there were just one angel at the tomb or there was just two women who came to the tomb. You would have to add a word to Matthews account to make it contradict the other gospels account. 
11. So, why did the authors tell two different accounts. The same reason why two different news sources cover the same event choose to include different details in their stories. The major event is still the same, but the details are different. The same is true for the Bible accounts in different gospels. Jesus rose from the dead, but the details are different. 
12. It’s clear that the N.T. writers didn’t get together to smooth out their stories. Instead they told their eyewitness account and we have different details to the same story. If they had made up the story then we would have seen them get together and make sure their details were right. 
13. I have heard others say - well you can’t trust the Bible - it is a book of myths and fables. Most recently, I had a friend say how do you believe in a book that contains unicorns.
14. This intrigued me b/c I had never heard the Bible mention a unicorn. But sure in the book of Job we read a list of unique animals that God points out in chapter 38-39 to show His uniqueness to Job. One of these animals sounds like a unicorn.
15. But this is not the fairy tale unicorn that flies around and has magical pixie dust. This is a horned beast like a rhinoceros or horned horse. 
16. The absence of this animal in the modern world is not uncommon. think of the dodo bird or dinosaurs. We find archaeological finds of them and know they existed in the ancient past, but we don’t have them still. And we have actually found a animal with a single horn direction his head in the 18th century in Southern Africa. 
17. Most likely it was a wild ox that had a horn. 
18. The point is the bible has evidence to point to us that it is accurate and true on all accounts.

1. The fifth reason I trust the Bible is because personally it changed my life.
1. When I began to accept the Bible as the Word of God - I found not just truth, but a purpose for my life. 
2. It gave me hope is this broken world. It help me cope with lost of loved ones who died before their time. It has helped me understand how to deal with the ever changing circumstances of this life. It gave me a reason to live and by showing me who my Creator is. Teaching me to love him, to love others and serve people. 
3. The Bible’s message is one message for all people. It is the idea that God loves you and me so much that He came to this world to die for us. Why? We were not good. We needed someone to help us to be good. 
4. Which by the way is another indication that there is a God. The fact that we have a moral standard by which we know in our hearts there is good and there is evil. God sent his Son, Jesus. Jesus came and lived the life we couldn’t live and died the death we deserve so that we could be with Him forever. 
5. He says whoever believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life. On every page of the Bible we are taught about this great love that wants to be with us forever. 
6. I pray today you will believe the words of the Bible, but even more so believe in the person the Bible is about. That you will place your faith in trust in Jesus who loves you so much that He gave His life so that He could be with you forever.