Day 19: Why Do We Trust the Bible?
2 Timothy 3:14–17
“But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the Sacred Writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the person dedicated to God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”
We have been referring to the Bible all the way through these readings. It may seem strange for us to deal with the question of why we trust the Bible now. We have intentionally waited to deal with this question because we believe it is important to have a basic understanding of what the Bible says—the story it tells—and what it offers before we deal with the issues we will deal with this week. Many people reject the Bible without reading it or understanding it’s Message.
The Bible, from beginning to end, presents itself as The Message from God to humanity. This is not enough to “prove” that the Bible is what it claims, however. We do not expect or believe that we can prove that the Bible is true to anyone. Although we cannot prove the reliability and truthfulness of the Bible, we can produce evidence to support this claim. The Bible as a whole has survived the test of time for nearly 4,000 years. If we read it carefully and put it to the test we will see that it does not fail.
A Point of Commitment:
Before we go any further, there is an important issue we need to discuss. As we move through this study, there will be key times when we will highlight key issues that will require you to make a decision and commit to a way of thinking. These points of commitment are significant “mile markers” in all our spiritual growth. The first key question and commitment that you need to think through and maybe wrestle with is: “Can I be open to the idea that I can trust the Bible to tell me the Truth?”
It is important to come to a decision on this question and make a commitment before you move on. It will be hard to make other commitments until you have decided how you will deal with this first issue. By the end of this session, you should have some idea of how you are going to answer this question. Since everything we will be discussing is based on the Bible, it is important that you are at least willing to hear what it says for the rest of this study to have any impact.
The Master Story of the Bible is unified and coherent.
One of the best evidences, at least for the Bible’s uniqueness, is its unity. The Bible was written by over 40 different human authors from various backgrounds, on three different continents (Africa, Asia, Europe), in three different languages (Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek), over a period of about 2,000 years. Yet with this incredible history of composition, the Bible tells one unified and coherent Story. This Story answers our Core Life Questions and also creates a frame of reference for understanding The Gospel—the Good News of Jesus—as we have already discussed.
Historical, archaeological, and manuscript evidence supports the Bible’s truth claims.
Archaeology is the study of physical remains (fossil relics, artifacts, and monuments) of past human life and activities. Archaeologists dig in the dirt to find evidence that sheds light on human culture from the past. Archaeology would be meaningless if we did not have history, a written record of things that have happened in the past. This written history would be meaningless if the ancient manuscripts were faulty or untrustworthy. So you should see that history, archaeology, and ancient manuscripts go hand in hand as we try to rediscover what happened in the past.
The Bible continues to this day to be a valuable tool to both archaeologists and historians. In fact, much of the work in archaeology being done in the Middle East begins with the historical accounts from the Bible as the first clue in knowing where to look for ancient civilizations. Over the past 100 years archaeology has verified much of the history that is contained the Bible.
Critics of the Bible from past generations attacked the Bible because they claimed there was no evidence for people and places that it mentioned liked the Hittites and King David. Now archaeological evidence has proved the skeptics wrong, not the Bible.
One of the most important areas of evidence pointing to the reliability of the Bible is based in the ancient versions and manuscripts of the Bible. It is true that we do not have any of the original manuscripts of the Bible. What we do have are numerous copies and versions. There are literally thousands of ancient copies of the books of the Bible. The Bible is the most copied book of the Ancient World. This fact alone speaks to its significance.
When all of these ancient copies are compared, another incredible fact emerges. These copies are all in agreement about 98% of the time regarding what the text of the Bible says. The number of copies of the Bible that have come to us from the Ancient World along with the degree to which they agree makes the Bible unique among ancient writings and supports the claim that the Bible we have today is the same one that the Holy Spirit inspired.
Until the 1940’s critics of the Bible maintained that the copies of Old Testament could not be reliable since some of the earliest copies at the time were made around AD 900 – almost 1500 years after the originals. Then a shepherd discovered the The Dead Sea Scrolls in the caves of Qumran. In the Dead Seas Scrolls, there was a nearly complete copy of The Book of Isaiah that was 1,000 years older than the earliest copy then known. This copy was nearly identical to the ones that were 1,000 younger. Again, the critics were shamed to silence.
If you want to dig deeper into this evidence, you will find that the Bible is a unique book, it is historically reliable, and the text that we have today is the same as what was written in the original manuscripts inspired by the Holy Spirit.
**If you would like to get more information about this topic, we suggest these books: The Origin of the Bible edited by Philip Wesley Comfort | Nothing But the Truth by Brian H. Edwards | “The Doctrine of the Word of God” in Systematic Theology by Wayne Grudem | Inerrancy by Norman Geisler.
People have been transformed by the Message of the Bible.
For me personally, the greatest affirmation of the Bible and it’s truth-claims comes in the way it has changed my life. It has transformed the lives of many others as well. Our Western world has been shaped by The Message of the Bible. There have been many men and women who have literally given their lives to protect the Bible and pass it on to the next generation. In our times, there are many men and women who are still sacrificing their lives so that others may come to know The Way, The Truth and The Life that is found in Jesus.
In the 20th Century the Bible was still the most read book in the Western culture. Why would people still turn to this ancient Book if it were not truly relevant to life? If we read the Bible intending to Hear what it says, we will find that there is no other book that speaks with greater clarity and power to the human condition. It is powerful in and of itself; all we have to do is read it and hear it.
So we would invite you to read the Bible to hear how it leads us to Jesus—the One who created us, sustains us and will bring all things to their conclusion in Him.
Think about what we have discussed today.
What sticks out to you?
Have you ever read through the whole Bible?
Do you lean more toward trusting the Bible or distrusting the Bible?
*You can find a complete list of all the MilktoMeat readings here.
