THE BIBLE ISÉ

 

What comes to your mind when I say, ÒThe Bible IsÉ?Ó Skeptics have attacked the Bible for centuries.  Our perception of what the Bible is will profoundly influence our response to it.  If I view the Bible as a production of fallible men, I will treat it as such.  If I believe the Bible to be the infallible word of God, my response will be one of reverence and respect that is unparalleled.  Hebrews 4:2, states, ÒFor unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.Ó  When one doubts the validity of the Bible, the BibleÕs message will produce the same non-profitable results.  The question arisesÑIs there evidence for the BibleÕs inspiration?  Can we know for sure the Bible is from God?  After all, the Koran claims to be inspired of God.  The Book of Mormon claims to be inspired of God.  How do we know the Bible is inspired?  We can indeed know that the Bible is inspired of God. It is reasonable to think that God would wish to communicate with His creation.  Some form of personal communication between the intelligent Creator and His intelligent creation would be expected. Some form of revelation from the Creator would be needed in order to instruct mankind in certain areas, such as the character of God, the origin of evil, origin of mankind, the purpose of mankind, the destiny of mankind. 

Just as important to us is the question ÒWhat do I do with the information I glean from GodÕs Holy Word?Ó What does it mean to you and to me? 

 

I)         The Bible claims inspiration.

A)   2 Tim. 3:16,17

1)    English word ÒinspirationÓ comes from Greed word Òtheopneustos.Ó

2)    It means ÒtheoÑGodÓ and  ÒpeustosÑbreathedÓ

3)    All Scripture is God-breathed, it is inspired of God.

B)   II Peter 1:20,21

1)    God inspired holy men through the agency of the H/S to write down His words.

2)    God used men to write it down, but is not the word of men

3)    I Thess. 2:13

4)    I Cor. 2:12,13

C)   Other statements

1)    Exodus 20;1ÑAnd God spake all these words.

2)    Psalm 119:89ÑFore ever O Lord, Thy word is settled in heaven.

3)    Matt. 22:31Ñhave you not read that which was spoken unto you by God?

D)   The Bible claims to be inspired, but what evidence do we have?

II)       Internal evidence  of inspiration. (some highlights)

A)   Unity of the Bible

1)    Written by more than forty different men from practically every walk of life.

2)    Written in there languages (Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek)

3)    Written from at least two continents (Europe and Asia)

4)    Time span of 1600 years.

5)    Yet the Bible exhibits such astounding harmony, such consistent flow, and such unparalleled unity that it defies any purely naturalistic explanation.

B)   Factual accuracy of the Bible.  (much of this is seen in external evidence. 

C)   Prophecy of the Bible. 

D)   Scientific foreknowledge of the Bible.  Bible is not a science book, yet what it says in relation to science is accurate.

1)    Isaiah 40;22Ñsitteth upon the circle of the earth.

2)    Eccles 1:7É Amos 9:6b   (water cycle).

III)     Some external evidence. 

A)   Field of Archaeology

1)    Pool of Siloam

(a)      Discovered in Dec. 2004. 

(b)      John 9:4É

2)    The Hittites

(a)      Abraham purchased a cave for burial place from Ephron the Hittite.

(b)      For centuries there was no physical evidence of Hittites

(c)      In 1906 archaeologists located the Hittite capital.

3)    Moabite stone..

(a)      German missionary found the stone in 1868. 

(b)      Writing on this ancient artifact spoke of Mosha, king of Moab, and Omri, king of Israel.   (I Kgs 16:16)

4)    Literally thousands of findings from the field of archaeology, which verify and substantiate the accuracy of recorded Bible history.

IV)     LetÕs touch briefly on manuscript evidence.

A)   The authenticity or reliability of ancient writings is often assessed in three ways.

1)    The number of copies available.

2)    The time span from the original writings to the earliest preserved copies

3)    The consistency within the documents when cross-examined.

B)   There are over 24,000 N.T. manuscripts

C)   Compare this to other ancient writings. 

V)       LetÕs change gears for a few minutesÉ

A)   The Bible is the Indestructible, eternal word of God.

1)    Matthew 24:35

(a)      Efforts such as those found in Jeremiah 36:22-23 are to no avail. 

(b)      I Peter 1:22-25

B)   The Bible is the ultimate source of truth.

1)    70% of Americans now believe there is no such thing as absolute truth.

2)    Psalm 119:142, 151, 160

3)    John 8:32

4)    John 17:17

5)    We are not involved in a search for truth because it is lost; we are involved in a search for truth because without it we are.Ó [Rock Solid FaithÑHow to Build It, p.7] 

C)   The Bible is the standard for moral living and final judgment.

1)    2 Peter 1:3

2)    Romans 1:16

3)    Jeremiah 10:23Ñnot in man who walks to direct his own steps.

4)    Acts 17:31

5)    2 Cor. 5:10

6)    John 12:48

VI)     The question that comes to mind is, what are we doing with this information.

A)   The survey taken by Javin at JSCYC.

B)   6th-12th grades.

1)    55 out of 57 were Christians

2)    Read their Bible 3 to 4 times a week.

3)    Read it four minutes per day.

4)    15% have a family devotion at least once a week.

5)    86% said they either were too lazy or too busy to read.

6)    Average time on the Internet was two hours.

7)    Sent 135 texts per day.

8)    Three hours watching TV or movies per day.

9)    61% were involved in sports and spent 1.5 hrs a day seven days a week at practice or games

10) 98% believed the Bible to be accurate and true.

11) 100% did not know everything about the Bible

12) 98% wanted to know more about the Bible

13) 12% had read the entire Bible.

14) 92% said they needed to study more.

C)   Adults at JSCYC

1)    100% were Christians

2)    Read their Bibles 4 to 6 times a week.

3)    Read it 15 minutes a day.

4)    30% have devotions once a week.

5)    Majority said they were too busy or too lazy to read.

6)    Spent average of one hour on Internet.

7)    Sent 15 texts per day.

8)    Two hours watching TV/movies

9)    100% said Bible was true.

10) 93% do not know everything about the Bible.

11) 100% wanted to know more about the Bible

12) 43% have read entire Bible.

13) 93% wanted to study more.

D)   Chart to compareÉ

 

Con:  The Bible IsÉ.

            The Bible is GodÕs Word.  It reveals God to us and His will for our lives.

            The Bible containsÉ

                        The mind of God

                        The state of man

                        The way of salvation.

                        The happiness of believers.

                        The doom of sinners.

                        The hope of the world.

 

            It will be the standard of judgment when we stand before God on judgment day.

 

[Based on Material written for Jackson/Smith County Youth Camp by John Anderson]