Thirteen years ago, I conducted an informal survey of over 500 Email and Facebook Contacts, asking them what they thought were the most important questions people are asking today about God, Christianity, the Bible and life in general.
Based on this simple research, the number 1 question the participants thought people were asking was, “How do you know the Bible is true?”
73% of those surveyed thought this question was very important; while 21% thought of it as important. Only 6% thought it was unimportant. If the same survey is conducted today, I am sure the majority would still think this question is important, “How do you know the Bible is true?”
In obedience to 1 PETER 3:15 - which says to “always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you….” I shall endeavor to answer this important question again, in honor of this holiest of books.
WHY THIS SACRED BOOK SHOULD BE HONORED AND BELIEVED
1. THE BIBLE HAS NO PEER IN ANCIENT LITERATURE.
The most reliable of old manuscripts are the books of the Bible in terms of their sheer number, age and closeness in age to the time of their being written originally.
Aristotle wrote his writings around 350 BC, of which there are only 5 ancient manuscripts that are dated at around AD 1100; thus placing them 1,450 years away from the actual time he wrote his original copy.
From Plato’s work, there are 7 old manuscripts that are 1,200 years away from his lifetime.
The writing of Herroditus (sometimes called the father of history) has 8 aging manuscripts that are 1,300 years in time distance from the date of their origination.
For the book called Caesar’s “Gaelic Wars”, there are only 10 ancient manuscripts that are around 1,000 years from their original authorship.
For Sophacles works, there are around 100 manuscripts, the closest of which are at 1400 years from his lifetime.
The manuscript evidence for the New Testament is superior to all ancient documents by comparison.
In 1980, there were 5,366 separate parts and fragments of the NT’s 27 Greek books, some of which can easily be dated back to the second century AD; which is less than 100 years from their originality. In fact, there are 50 complete ancient New Testament manuscripts.
Check out these links that connect to more details about these manuscript facts:
http://www.carm.org/questions/about-bible/manuscript-evidence-superior-new-testament-reliability
http://www.faithfacts.org/search-for-truth/maps/manuscript-evidence
When it comes to the Old Testament, we have the Hebrew people as a testimony who have preserved its integrity for centuries. The faith of devout Jews in these Scriptures has kept them as an identifiable people group’ which is in spite of genocidal attempts to destroy them and their scriptures.
Jewish scribes were very meticulous in copying and preserving Scripture to the point they would stop and take a bath if they made a mistake.
In 1947, the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered; which were dated from the third century B.C. to the first century A.D. They represent every Old Testament book except Esther (as well as some non-biblical writings). These scrolls were word for word identitical to the more current Hebrew Bible books in more than 95% of the cases. The 5% variation consists mostly of slips of the pen and spelling.
2. THE BIBLE HAS NO PEER IN MODERN LITERATURE.
The world’s first printed book was a Bible.
The world’s most expensive book is a Bible.
The most widely read book in history is the Bible.
The most widely read book every year is the Bible.
The #1 international best seller each year is the Bible.
Globally 100 million copies are being printed each year.
Annually, 20 million Bibles are sold in the U. S. A. alone.
The longest telegram in history was the New Testament.
The largest first edition of any book in history was the Bible.
The Bible continues be the most translated book in the world;
with 724 complete Bible and 1,617 New Testament) translations,
and 3,589 partial translations.
Ironically, the Holy Bible is also the most stolen book in history.
If the Bible were a music CD, we could safely say that it would go platinum hundreds of times every year. The Holy Bible is peerless in the world of modern literature.
3. IT HAS HARMONY IN SPITE OF SOME CONTRARY ELEMENTS.
The Bible is actually a volume of 66 books, written over a span of 1,500 years; in 3 languages, Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek; on 3 continents, Africa, Europe and Asia.
These books were written by 40 writers, who were fishermen, shepherds, farmers, kings, prophets, priests, an architect, a poet, physician, lawyer/tax-collecter and tentmaker.
They wrote in different settings, including prisons, palaces, boats, houses and tents; in the desert, cities, villages and on the sea; during times of war and peace, travel and captivity, prosperity and famine, loss and restoration.
These men of God wrote about hundreds of controversial subjects with amazing unity, in spite of their cultural, class and historical differences, It’s easy to see the miraculous nature of this book we call The Bible.
I believe this harmony exists because the Biblical writers were inspired by God to write what they wrote; making Him its ultimate author, even though they all wrote in their own personal words and styles of expression.
2 TIMOTHY 3 16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete,
thoroughly equipped for every good work.
2 PETER 1 20 knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, 21 for prophecy never came by the will of man,
but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.
4. EVEN THOUGH IT WAS WRITTEN DURING TIMES OF SCIENTIFIC MISUNDERSTANDING, THE BIBLE DOES INCLUDE SCIENTIFIC FACT.
Early astronomers believed they could count the stars while the Bible said it was not possible. Prolemy counted 1,056 and Kepler saw 1,005 and Tycho Brahe 777. The invention of the telescope proved JEREMIAH 33:22 was right which had read for centuries, “The host of heaven cannot be numbered……”
Modern science has discovered that all matter is made up of invisible atoms. For almost 2,000 years the Bible has said this very thing, “…the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.” HEBREWS 11:3
For centuries it was believed the earth was flat, while the Bible referred to it as round in ISAIAH 40:22, “…. the circle of the earth.”
When people had little concept of planets and the universe, JOB 26:7 spoke of the earth being hung upon nothing.
World discoverers were inspired by the Scriptures and the founder of oceanography was moved to study the oceans by a verse that speaks of the “paths of the sea.”
ECCLESIASTES 1:17 and AMOS 9:6 refer to what we understand is the hydrologic cycle.
In 1644 AD, Evangelista Torricelli discovered that air has weight but for centuries JOB 28:25 said that God established weight for the wind.
The medical field at one time practiced bleeding as a treatment for certain ailments. It has since been proven to be harmful for the sick; while for centuries LEVITICUS 17:14 said that “…blood is the life of all flesh. Its blood sustains its life…” (America’s first President, George Washington died at 67 years of age, on December 14, 1799, after being bled 3 times for a sore throat).
The practice of circumcision has been proven to greatly reduce cervical cancer cases for the wives of circumcised men. It has also been proven that the 8th day of a male’s life is the ideal time for circumcision as prescribed in GENESIS 17:12. (Prothrombin, a clotting agent in our blood, is 10% higher on that day than any other).
The need to wash our hands with running water after touching a sick or dead person was prescribed in the Bible for centuries before the medical profession made it an official part of their practice.
From the link below you can connect to the interesting story of Viennese Doctor Ignaz Semmelweis and his breakthrough discovery of “cadaverous poisoning” which led to the developing of germ theory.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ignaz_Semmelweis
While the Old Testament laws of hygiene were previously ignored by the medical profession, it is discoveries like this that can easily be seen as proof of their inspiration.
5. ARCHAEOLOGY CONTINUES TO CONFIRM BIBLE RECORDS.
In the 19th Century, skeptics believed that Abraham was a mythological figure and that Moses could not have written the Torah because writing had not been invented yet. Both of these theories and others like them have been thoroughly disproven by Biblical archaeology.
More than one archaeologist has found increased respect for the Bible from their own experience of excavating in the Holy Land. Using the Bible as a guide, Nelson Glueck discovered over 1,000 ancient sites.
So vast is the evidence here that I will only make mention of it and encourage the reader to do some digging and to research this for his or her self.
To get started one can read the following article from the Christian Research Institute:
Check out Biblical Archaeological Review: http://www.bib-arch.org/
6. MANY PROPHECIES HAVE AND ARE COMING TO PASS.
The life of Christ alone, as recorded from and by eyewitnesses, fulfilled over 300 prophecies that had been dormant in the Old Testament for centuries.
The religion of Judaism, which rejects Jesus as their Messiah, still preserves faith in Old Testament prophecies that predated His earthly life for centuries, thus helping prevent prophetic hoaxes.
The historical scattering of the Jewish people across the earth was a fulfillment of ancient Bible prophecy while the re-gathering of them to their original homeland is a present day fulfillment of Bible prophecy; as are the conversions of many of them to faith in the Lord as their Messiah.
The current chaos in the world, economically, ecologically and politically is also predicted in the Bible and is being fulfilled before our eyes on a daily basis.
Read the words of Jesus in MATTHEW 24 or LUKE 21 and then watch the real news and you will see why I believe the Bible is true.
The things we will see daily might include something from the following list:
Wars and rumors of wars
Nations rising against nations
Famines, pestilences and diseases
False prophets and deception
False teachers and teachings
Lawlessness and rebellion
Persecution of the righteous
Men’s hearts failing them from fear
Selfishness and stressfulness
Materialism and greed
Homosexuality increasing
Calls for peace and no peace
Earthquakes and natural disasters
Here is a link to some interesting information about earthquakes.
7. THE BIBLE HAS SURVIVED MANY EFFORTS TO DESTROY IT.
It continues to be printed - read and believed - in spite of many past and present efforts to discredit it. The famous author Voltaire denounced and predicted its demise but - years after his death – his house became the home of a Bible Publishing Society.
After writing some excellent papers on freedom, Thomas Paine wrote The Age Of Reason, of which he said, “This will destroy the Bible. Within 100 years, Bibles will be found only in museums or the musty corners of second hand book stores.”
Later he recanted and lamented, “I would give worlds, if I had them, had The Age Of Reason never been written.” Paine’s book became the scourge that tormented him until his death.
In our lifetime, governments have and are denouncing the Bible or restricting its availability to their citizens but - as the old song says - “His truth is marching on.”
Watch places like China, North Korea, and the Islamic world; they will surely fail to suppress this mighty book. In fact, while it may seem suspicious, China is the main publisher of Bibles sold in this country.
8. THE BIBLE CONTINUES TO CHANGE LIVES FOR GOOD.
The world is a better place because of the Bible. When properly understood, nations have abolished things like chattel slavery because courageous people allowed the Bible’s authority to promote justice in their culture. Accepted injustices in history past like infanticide and genocide have faced successful opposition from those who were truly impacted by the truth of the Scriptures.
The following link connects to an amazing Online London Times article, written by Matthew Parris an atheist who has seen the positive impact that Bible believing Christianity has had on Africa. His title, “I Truly Believe Africa Needs God,” reveals this fact.
AS AN ATHEIST I TRULY BELIEVE AFRICA NEEDS GOD
https://www.baptistpress.com/resource-library/news/atheism-both-agree-africa-needs-god/
NOTE: Those who have used the Bible to promote injustice and suffering in the world have done so out of ignorance and gross misinformation because when rightly understood the opposite results will ultimately and always come from the Bible.
9. BIBLICAL APPLICATION HAS BLESSED ME PERSONALLY.
Taking the principles from the Scriptures seriously has stabilized and strengthened my family, our relationships and personal business transactions. The faith and hope that comes from believing the Bible’s promises have always encouraged us when struggling with difficult circumstances of all kinds, from the days of our youth until now.
Being married for 45 years now, I must give credit to the truth of the Bible’s commands and principles, to which my wife and I are both committed for applying to ourselves and our marriage.
I have found that the Bible’s wisdom will bring blessing to anyone - if applied and obeyed - over a course of time. As a pastor, I have seen this to be true many times in the lives of Bible believers.
10. THE BIBLE’S MESSAGE CAN TRANSFORM YOUR LIFE TODAY.
The Bible clearly defines and portrays who God is and all that separates us from Him, which it calls sin. This Holy Book points us to Jesus Christ as the remedy for this problem that keeps us from knowing Him.
Having never succumbed to sinning Himself, according to the Scriptures, Jesus Christ lived and died as the perfect sacrifice, as prescribed by the Law of the Old Testament. He died a death He did not deserve so that - through faith in Him - we can escape the punishment we do deserve for sinning; thus clearing everything out of the way that separates us from God. This is the good news the New Testament brings to us: we can now have a relationship with the Almighty.
The Bible declares that if we will believe in Jesus Christ, we can call on His name and be saved from our sins: JOHN 3:16-18; ACTS 2:21; ROMANS 10:10-13.
You can experience this truth of the Bible and its promise of freedom from the guilt and separating consequences of sin. This promise is for all who will call upon the Name of Jesus for the forgiveness of their sins today. I challenge you to right now, wherever you are, to begin to call upon the Name of Jesus, whom the Bible reveals as God with us.
Here is a sample prayer just to get you started.
Jesus, I call upon Your Name. Please forgive me for my sins and all that is not Your will.
Jesus, I call out for You to transform my life and make me clean before You right now.
Jesus save me from everything that separates me from knowing You and Your will.
As you talk to God from your heart, more words will come to you and you can begin praying in your own words. (This is how the above mentioned transformation begins).
If you find yourself believing what you have been reading here, then faith is being born in your heart and God is beginning to give you the desire to follow His will for your life. It all starts with believing and continues by calling upon Him for His forgiveness and for His will for your life to be revealed to you.
After praying like this, it is also very important to begin reading the Bible and meeting with people who can teach you what they have learned and are learning from it.
Generations Church of Granbury is such a place, made up of real men and real women, both young and old, who love Jesus and the Bible. While we do not know all the answers to life's questions, we are getting to know the One who does and are sharing with others what we are learning.
An open invitation is extended for all - who do not have a Bible believing church home - to come and worship God with us here in Granbury.
https://www.generationspeople.org/
Thank you for taking the time to read this little article. If you have any questions, please feel free to call at 817.326.5378 or email me at: alan@generationspeople.org
This was preached as a sermon at Generations Church of Granbury on February 12, 2203.
