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How Can You Trust the Bible?
Big Question: How can you trust the Bible?
All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. 17 God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work. —2 Timothy 3:16-17
First, the Bible is a library. It isn’t a single book; it is a collection of books. Sixty-six books, to be exact, written by more than forty authors and covering a period of around fifteen hundred years. —James Emery White (Christianity For People Who Aren’t Christians)
Thus for loved – God the world, that the Son, the only begotten, He gave so that everyone – believing in Him not should perish, but should have life eternal. —John 3:16
How can you trust the Bible?
1. The issue of age and amount
The Iliad – 643 copies, with the earliest manuscripts being 500 years after the original.
1st century historians Josephus, Suetonius, and Herodotus – 408 copies, with the earliest manuscripts more than 800 years after the originals.
The Bible – The most conservative numbers indicate there are more than 5,000 copies of the New Testament in the Greek language alone, with the earliest manuscripts as early as 50 years after the originals.
How can you trust the Bible?
1. The issue of age and amount
2. The issue of accuracy
Spelling Variants – 70%
99% of all textual variants in the New Testament manuscripts do not change the meaning or viability of the original text.
In the appendix of the paperback edition of Bart Ehrman’s book Misquoting Jesus, he says: “Essential Christian beliefs are not affected by textual variants in the manuscript tradition of the New Testament.”
How can you trust the Bible?
1. The issue of age and amount
2. The issue of accuracy
3. The issue of acceptance
Then Jesus said to them, “You foolish people! You find it so hard to believe all that the prophets wrote in the Scriptures. 26 Wasn’t it clearly predicted that the Messiah would have to suffer all these things before entering his glory?” 27 Then Jesus took them through the writings of Moses and all the prophets, explaining from all the Scriptures the things concerning himself. —Luke 24:25-27
You’re welcome to reject Jesus and reject the Bible. But what you can’t do is accept Jesus and reject the Bible, because He’s the one who set it apart. He didn’t give you that option. —James Emery White
If you have surrendered your life to Jesus today, we’d like to celebrate that with you and help you with some next steps. Please text Life to 63566.
Reference Books:
✦ The Problem of God by Mark Clark
✦ Christianity for People Who Aren’t Christians by James Emery White
✦ Confronting Christianity by Rebecca McLaughlin
✦ Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis
✦ The Reason for God by Timothy Keller