“Why Can I TrusttheBible?” 40 Days In The Word, 2 of 7 – July 27, 2014 at SBC

2 Timothy 3:16-17

As we go through, 40 Days in the Word, . . . we’re going to learn how, to unlock the Word of God, for yourself, so,that you’re not dependent, upon anybody else. So, you’re not having to say, that’s just, your interpretation! We want to teach you, how to interpret the Word of God yourself, how to feed yourself, from the Word of God.

The Bible, is the most read book, in history. It’s the bestselling book, in history. And, it is themost, translated book,ever. How do we know, it is the Word of God? 2 Timothy 3:16-17 – “All Scripture is God-breathed and,is useful for teaching and rebuking, correcting and training, in righteousness,so that the man of God, may be thoroughly equipped, for every good work.”

We’re going to look at this verse, againnext week,. . . but, I want you to look, at the phrase,“All Scripture is God-breathed.” What does,that mean? Some of the translations, translate the Scripture,. . . as inspired. But, we’re not talking about, an inspiring writer,. . . writing an inspiring book. We’re talking about, God inspired, this book. It is, God breathed. And, the Bible says, that God’s Word,. . . is God’s very breath.

It’s not just, a goodidea. It is God’s Word, to us. Psalm 119:86– “All of your commands, . . . can be trusted.” Everything in the Bible, can be trusted as true, because . . it comes from God. But, how do I really know? How do I know, this is, . . . the Word of God? It’s not just,a bunch of fables, a bunch of stories, that are put together.

That’s a valid, legitimate, important question, that we need to ask,. . . before, we even start, studying the Bible. How do I know, . . . I can trust it? Time magazine said, on it’s cover, . . . “How true,. . . is the Bible?” That’s a good question. And, another cover, of Time magazine, . . . “Is the Bible,. . . fact,. . . or, fiction?”

This morning, we’re going to settle, this issue. Because, there are incredible proofs, evidences, and facts, that you need to know, to help you make up yourmind. So, you’re not making up your mind,. . based on what you’ve heard other people say,. . . but, what the Bible actually claims for itself, and what history,science, and, all these other things, teach us,. . about the Bible. * How do I know,. . . I can trust the Bible? 7 reasons:

1. It is historically accurate. The Bible, is historically accurate. For that reason, I know, I can trust, the Bible. In other words, the Bible isn’t just, doctrinally correct. It’s not just, theologically correct. It’s not just, accurate, regarding morals and ethics. It’s true history. Real people, real places, real time. It is true,. . . historically.

Why is that, important? Because, the Bible tells us this:God cannot lie. A lot of people ask this, . . . is there anything God, . . . can’t do? Yes,. . . there are a lot of things God can’t do. God cannot, . . . deny himself. God cannot, . . . not love, . . . because, God is love. God cannot lie, . . . because,God is truth. Hebrews 6:18– “It is impossible, forGodto lie,. . . because, God is truth.”

If this book has one lie in it, . . . it’s not, a godlybook. It’s not, a book of God. Because,. . . God, cannot lie. Psalm 33:4– “The Word of the Lord, is right and true.” That’s not only true, and right, about salvation. It’s true, and right,. . . about history.

So, how do we know, . . . that the Bible, is historically accurate? By the same way, you know that any other history, is accurate. Youjust go by the test,of good history. For instance, one ofthe ways you test good history is, is it from eyewitness accounts? An historian would say, is this written down, by somebody, who saw it,. . . or, is it second hand,or third hand,. . . or, is it a legend written down, a hundred years later?

The Bible, is primarily,. . . eyewitness accounts. That’s why, it’s good history. Moses was there, when the Red Sea split. Joshua was there, when the walls of Jericho fell. The disciples of Jesus, sat in the upper room, and, saw the resurrected Jesus appear, and then they wrote downwhat happened,. . . and, we read about it.

Another proof, is in archeology. You look at archeology, and it proves, again and again, that the places, and the people, . . . all that the Bible talks about,. . . are true. It’s not,. . fiction. You can go,. . . find these places. We’ve dug up, these places. We can see them, today. The Bible, has proved itself, . . . to be right.

2. The Bible is, . . . scientifically accurate. There is somuchmisunderstanding, and baloney about this, in the world, I want tospend a little timeon this point, because people who think the Bible is scientifically inaccurate means: a)they’ve never studied the Bible, and, b) they probably don’t know science. Because, the truth is, God always sets up the laws of science, and He made sure, that His Word,. . does not contradict, the laws of science.

The Bible, was not given,. . to be a scientific textbook, obviously. You don’t study the Bible, to build a rocket. And, the Bible doesn’t use scientific language. But, the Bible never gives, bad science. Not once, in over 1600 years, in which this book was written, does it give bad science. In fact,it is always ahead,of science. There are things in the Bible, the Biblesays were true,. . . that, we’ve just discovered a 100, 200 years ago.

JohannesKepler, the famous mathematian, the famous astronomer said, “Science is simply, . . . thinking God’s thoughts, after Him.” In other words, God established the laws of physics,. . . and, then, we discover them. God established the laws of biology, and we discover them. God established the laws of mathematics, and we discover them. One of the reasons, why we know the Bible can be trusted, is it’s scientifically accurate.

The laws of the universe,. . . were invented, by God. One thing about truth is,. . . it never changes. But, one thing about science is,. . it constantly changes.There’s nothing more worthless, than, an obsolete science book.

I guarantee you, that the science book youhad in the third grade, is not beingused in the third grade, today.

Truth, . . . does not change. One way, that we know, that this book, is not simply manmade, that this book came from God, that God directed men and women, to talk and speak, and write things down, and we know it’s the Word of God,. . . is what’s . . . not in it. Because, if this were a human book, you would expect it, to be filled with scientific facts,. . . of the prevailing day. But,they’re not,. . . in the book.

For instance, for thousands and thousands of years, people believed that,. . . the earth was flat. It’sround. So, you would expect the Bible, to say the earth is flat, because it was inexistence, and being written, during those years, when everybody thought, the earth was flat. Not a verse in the Bible,saysthe earth,. . is flat. Not at all.

In fact, it says,the exact opposite. 2600 years ago, God said this, in Isaiah 40:22,“God is enthroned, above the sphere, of the earth.” 2600 years ago, the Bible says,the earth is round, the earth is a sphere, . . . it’s a globe. Long before,. . . anybody knew it. When that was written, nobody believed it. But, God said it, and it was true,. . . whether, anybody believed it,. . . or, not.

I could go into, so many different areas. Into biology, and show you what the Bible says, about biology. Into chemistry, and show you what the Bible says, about chemistry. Into medicine. We could go, on and on. The Bible is always,. . . scientifically accurate. It isalways,. . . ahead, of science.

Proverbs 30:5– “Every Word of God,. . . is flawless.” Mine aren’t, yours aren’t, human beings’ aren’t. But, every word of God,. . . is flawless. It’s not,only flawless, Psalm 12:6 says“The words of the Lord are flawless, like silver refined in a furnace of clay and purified seven times!” God’s Word,. . . is flawless.

3. We know we can trust the Bible, because, it is prophetically accurate. That means that, the predictions in the Bible,. . . always, come true. The Bible is filled with literally, thousands of prophecies, where God says,. . . “This is going to happen,. . . at suchand such a time, in such and such a way.” Over all of the centuries, thousands of these prophecies, have already been fulfilled, everyone of them,. . . exactly, as God said. And, some of them, are still yet,. . . to be fulfilled.

There are over 300 prophecies, in the Bible, about Jesus, the Messiah, up to a 1000 years, before he was born. And, over a 1000 year period,300prophecies said things like, This is when,He’ll be born, this is where,He’ll be born, thisis how,He’ll be born. Youcan’t control that, if you’re trying to make yourself, the Messiah.

What are the odds,of me making 300 predictions,. . . about you,. . . and, every one of them,. . . coming true? The odds are soastronomical,. . . you couldn’t write that number down. It takes more faith,. . . to believe it, was all just a coincidence,. . . than, to believe, that God planned it.

2 Peter 1:21 – “No prophecy, ever originated, from humans. Instead, it was given,. . . by the Holy Spirit, as humans spoke, under God’s direction.” During Bible times, nobody wanted to be, a prophet. Youknow why? Because the law was this, in Israel: A prophet of God, had to be correct,100%of the time. If you were wrong, just once,. . . then,you were considereda false prophet, and you would be put to death. So, nobody wanted to be a prophet,. . . because, you had to be accurate,. . . 100%of the time.

There are a lot of people claiming to be prophets,today. Thereare prophets, . . . false prophets. By the way, let me just give youa little tip: don’t ever trust a psychic,. . . who asks for yourname. If you’re sopsychic, . . . you shouldn’t have to, ask for my credit card, . . . you should, just know it.

The Bible is, prophetically accurate. Jesus said,. . . in Matthew 26:56,“But, this is all happening,to fulfill the wordsof the prophets, as recorded in Scriptures.” Jesus said, it’s all coming true, just like, God predicted.

Revelation 22:6, John said “The angel said to me,‘These words are trustworthy,and they’re true. The Lord . . . sent His angel to show His servants, the things that must soon take place.” It is prophetically accurate. And, the odds of all these prophecies, happening just the way they did, over thousands of years, . . . areastronomical.

4. The fourth reason I know, that the Bible is trustworthy, is it is thematically unified. What’s that mean? It has the same theme, through the entire book, from cover to cover, from Genesis toRevelation. It is the same theme,of redemption, from Genesis,to the end. Jesus is, the star. It is, a thematically,. . . unified book.

What’s the big deal, about that? I know a lot of books, that carry the same theme,. . . from, beginning to end. Written over 1600, by forty different authors? I don’t think so. This book, was written, over 1600 years, from the first book to the last, by forty different authors, on three different continents, in three different languages,. . . and,they didn’t know,. . . about, each other.

Howdo youthink,they all got,. . . the same story? It wasn’t even collected in one book, until, a thousand years later, after they’d died, in the Old Testament. How do you think, they knew that? It’d be one thing, if one person, wrote this book. The Quran, was written by one person– Mohammed. TheAnalects of Confucius, are written byConfucius. The writingsof Buddha, are written by Buddha. You would expect them, to be uniform.

The Bible was written,. . . by forty different people, in every age and stage of life, on three different continents, in three different languages,over 1600 years. And, they got, the same story. This book was written, by poets and prophets. It’s written, by princes and kings. It’s written, by sailors and soldiers.

This book waswritten, by attorneys and a doctor. It’s written, by kings. It’s written, by prisoners. It’s written,. . . by common people. It’s written, by prophets. All kinds of people,. . . wrote the Bible.

And, it was written,in all kindsof locations. Some of the Bible, was written in a cave. Some, . . . on ships. Some of it, was written in homes, . . . in palaces, . . . in prison. And, they all come up, with the same theme. You’ve got, to be kidding me! It has the same theme,of redemption, from cover to cover, over 1600 years. Youcouldn’t get a more diverse group – fishermen, and tax collectors, and scholars, and businessmen,and over that period,. . . coming up with the same story.

It was many places,many people and many centuries, and, yet, it all fits together, with the same, unified theme.

Jesus said, inLuke 24:27 –“Beginning withMoses [that’s the first five books of the Bible] and allthe Prophets, [that’s the rest of the Old Testament] Jesus explained to them, what was said, in all the Scriptures,. . . concerning Himself.”

Did you get that? Most people think,the New Testament, is about Jesus, and the Old Testament, is about Israel. Wrong! The New Testament, wasn’t even written, when Jesus said that. He’s talking about the Old Testament. It says,He wentthrough all the Scriptures, and showed what it said, about Him. The story is about Jesus, from beginning, to end. Everything in Scripture,. . . is about God’s plan,. . . to redeem people,and build a family, for eternity. The star of the story,. . . is Jesus. You can see Him,. . . inevery book.

John 5:39, Jesus says – “You search the Scriptures, because you believe, they give you, eternal life. But, the Scriptures,. . . point to me!” Remember,the New Testament, hasn’t been written,. . . when He said this.

He’s talking about,. . . the Old Testament. All the Scriptures,. . . point to me.

5. The fifth way, I can trust the Bible, is because,. . . it’s confirmed, by Jesus. Jesus trusted,. . . the Bible. You may have heard somebody say, youmay have even thought, . . . “I trust what Jesus said, I’m just not so sure, about those other guys.” Here’s the challenge to that, . . . Jesus trusted, the rest of the Bible. So, if I trust Jesus, then I have to trust, the rest of the Bible,. . . because, Jesus trusted,. . . the rest of the Bible.

Matthew 5:18, Jesus said,“I’ll tell youthe truth,until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallestletter,not the least stroke of a pen, will disappear from the Law, until everything, is accomplished!” Jesus says the Bible, is going to last,. . . until,the end of time. It’s going to accomplish,. . . what God wants, to accomplish.

John 10:35,Jesus said,“Scripture is, always true.” Jesus proclaimed the truth, of the Bible. And, when Jesus talks about, the truth of the Bible,. . . I’ve got to listen to that, in my own life. When Jesus says, that every sentence and word, of the Bible is true,. . . that’s why, I believe, . . . it’s true.

Its’ crazy, when some people say, “I’m going to trust, that part, and I’m not going to trust,that part. Based on my subjective, or emotional feelings, I’m going to accept that part, and I’m not going to accept that part.” Jesus trusted,. . . all of it. Jesus trusted it,. . . so, I trust it.

6. The sixth reason, you can trust the Bible, as the absolute, authoritative WOG,It has survived, all attacks. That makes it, an unusual book. The Bible, is the most despised book, the most derided,the most denied, the most disputed, the most dissected, the most debated, the most outlawed, the most destroyed, the most banned book,. . . ever,. . . in history.

Millions of people have died, because they refused, to give up their Bible. People were killed. It was illegal. It’s still illegal,in some countries. Today,if you take a Bible into North Korea, you can get killed for it.

This Bible,. . . has been under attack, for century after century,. . . by everything, youcan imagine.

Yet, it is still, themost read book in the world, the most published book in the world, the most translated book in the world, the bestselling book in the world,. . . and,it is still, making a difference,. . . in people’s lives.

Jesus said this, inMathew 24:35“Heavenand earth, will pass away,. . . but,myWords, willnever pass away.” The only thing, on this planet,. . that’s going to last,. . . is the Word of God. It’s eternal. Everything else, is going to burn up, . . . but, the Word of God, is eternal, . . . because truth,. . . is lasting forever.

Voltaire, the famous French philosopher, was a flat-out brilliant man. He was an atheist,. . but, he was flat-out brilliant. He wrote a number of tracts, deriding the Bible. Voltaire made a very famous statement,. . . in whichhe said,. . . “One hundred years from today, the Bible, will be a forgotten book.”

Everybody’s forgotten that quote! After Voltaire died, for nearly 100 years, his homestead was used, as the book depository, for the French BibleSociety. They soldBibles, out of his house. It’s now, a museum. People have forgotten,. . . Voltaire. Nobodyforgets, . . . the Bible.

1 Peter 1:24-25– “The grass withers, and the flowers fall,. . . but, the Word of God, stands forever.” And, the truth,will always,. . . be the truth. Whether, I believe it or not,. . . it’s the truth. You may believe the moon, is made of cheese. It’s proven that themoon is made of rock. We’ve brought rocks back from the moon. And no matter how much you say,you believe the moon is made of cheese, it doesn’t change it. It’s made, out of rock.