Can We Trust The Bible?

What does the Bible say about itself? “TheBible,accordingtoitsownclaims,isbreathedfromGod.Tomaintainthatthereareflawsorerrorsinitisthesame

asdeclaringthatthereareflawsorerrorsinGodhimself.”–E.J.Young

“IftheBibledoesnotwitnesstoitsowninfallibility,thenwehavenotrighttobelievethatitisinfallible.”–JohnMurray

“Godisnotman,thatheshouldlie,orasonofman,thatheshouldchangehismind.Hashesaid,andwillhenotdoit?Orhashespoken,andwillhenotfulfillit?”Numbers23:19

“The words of the Lord are pure words,likesilverrefinedinafurnaceontheground,purifiedseventimes.”Psalm12:6 “EverywordofGodprovestrue…”Proverbs30:5

“Heavenandearthwillpassaway,butmywordswillnotpassaway.”Matthew24:35

“Andnow,OLordGod,youareGod,andyourwordsaretrue,andyouhavepromisedthisgoodthingtoyourservant.” 2Samuel7:28

“…itisimpossibleforGodtolie.”Hebrews6:18

“AllScriptureisbreathedoutbyGodandprofitableforteaching,forreproof,forcorrection,andfortraininginrighteousness…”2Timothy3:16

“Scripturecannotbebroken”John10:35

“Fornoprophecywaseverproducedbythewillofman,butmenspokefromGodastheywerecarriedalongbytheHolySpirit.”2Peter1:21

“Havingpurifiedyoursoulsbyyourobediencetothetruthforasincerebrotherlylove,loveoneanotherearnestlyfromapureheart,sinceyouhavebeenbornagain,notofperishableseedbutofimperishable,through the living and abiding word of God;for‘Allfleshislikegrassandallitsgloryliketheflowerofgrass.Thegrasswithers,andtheflowerfalls,butthe word of the Lord remains forever.’ And this word is the good news that was preached to you.”1Peter1:22-25

“Andwehavethepropheticwordmorefullyconfirmed,towhichyouwilldowelltopayattentionastoalampshininginadarkplace,untilthedaydawnsandthemorningstarrisesinyourhearts,knowingthisfirstofall,thatnoprophecyofScripturecomes from someone’s own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”2Peter1:19-21

What did Jesus believe about the Bible? HebelievedtheScriptureswereuseful. HebelievedtheScriptureswerehistoricallyaccurate. HebelievedtheScripturesshouldbetaughtandstudied. HebelievedtheScriptureswereworthsubmittingyourlifeto.

Is the Bible really inerrant? Definitions: Inerrant:“Exemptfromerror,freefrommistake.”ThisdefinitiondoesnotdescribeanyBiblethatweuse;instead,itis describingonlytheoriginalautographs. “TheinerrancyofScripturemeansthatScriptureintheoriginalmanuscriptsdoesnotaffirmanythingthatiscontraryto fact.”–WayneGrudem TheBibletellsthetruthabouteverythingittalksabout.

Misunderstandings of inerrancy Itmustholdtoastrictadherencetotherulesofgrammar. Itmustnothavefiguresofspeechorusecommonliterarygenres.

TYLER DURHAM | NOVEMBER 11, 2018

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It demands historical precision. Itdemandsthetechnicallanguageofmodernscience. ItdemandsverbalexactnessinthecitationoftheOTbytheNT. ItdemandsthatthesayingsofJesusmustcontaintheexactwordsofJesus. Itdemandsanexhaustivecomprehensivenessofanysingleaccount. Itdemandsthatthesourcesusedbythewritersareinfallibleandinerrant. Itdemandsthatallcopiesoftheoriginalautographsmustbeinerrantaswell.

Arguments against inerrancy “We don’t have the original manuscripts.” Answer:Forover99%oftheBibleweknowwhattheoriginalmanuscriptssay.Ofthe1%thathasvariations,theyaffect the meaning little, if at all. Dr.TimothyJonessaysthat“theNewTestamenttextisthebestpreservedtextoftheancientworld.”

“The Bible has contradictions in it.” Answer:ThefirstquestionIwouldaskis,“Showmewhere.”Oftentimes,whenyou’reabletolookatthepassageindetail (especiallyintheoriginallanguages)youcansolvethedilemma.It’salsohelpfultorefertocommentariesaaidsalongtheway. “TheinerrancyofScriptureisnotdependentuponourabilitytoprovide,ineverycase,arationalexplanationofdifficulties encountered.”–RogerNicole

“The Bible is only authoritative for faith and practice.” ThesecriticssaythattheBibleisonlyconcernedwith“faithandpractice.”TheyleaveopenthepossibilitythattheBiblewill makeerrorsregardinghistoricaldetailsandscientificfacts. Answer:Paulsays,“AllScriptureisisGod-breathedandprofitableforus”(2Tim3:16).InRomans15Paulsays,“whatever waswritten”intheOTwas“writtenforourinstruction”(Rom15:4).Jesussaysthatthedisciplesare“foolishmen” becausetheyare“slowofhearttobelieveallthattheprophetshadspoken”(Lk24:25).

Problems with denying inerrancy Ifwedenyinerrancy,howcanweputourfulltrustinanythingtheBiblesays? DenyinginerrancyputsourmindsinauthorityoverScripturebecausewewillbepassingjudgmentonGod’sWord,insteadof God’sWordpassingjudgmentonus.

Who decided which books to include? Whatwasthecriteriaforinclusion? Wasitwrittenbyaprophet/apostle? DoesitfitwiththerestofScripture? HasitbeenconsistentlyacceptedandusedbythepeopleofGod? DoesitdisplaythepowerofGodtochangelives?

The Apocrypha AddedtotheBibleattheCouncilofTrentin1546 Containednumeroushistoricalandtheologicalerrors NeitherJesusnoranyotherwriteroftheNewTestamentreferredtothem

Gnostic Gospels NotwrittenbytheauthorscreditedWrittenmuchlaterthantheGospels InconsistentwiththefourGospels Someaccountsaresimplyridiculous

AUDIO & HANDOUTS ON OUR WEBSITE: www.ccbcfamily.org/sermons/old-testament-surveyAUDIO PODCASTS (no handouts) ON iTUNES: search “Christ Chapel Bible Church Old Testament 2018”

FOR NEXT WEEK: Job 1-2 ____________________

The Dead Sea Scrolls havebeencalledthegreatestmanuscriptfindofalltime.Discoveredbetween1947and1956,theycomprisesome800documentsinmanytensofthousandsoffragments.TheScrollsdatefromaround250B.C.to68A.D.andwerewritteninHebrew,AramaicandGreek;theycontainBiblicalandapocryphalworks,prayersandlegaltextsandsectariandocuments.TheScrolls’materialsaremadeupmainlyofparchment,althoughsomearepapyrus,andthetextofoneScrollisengravedoncopper. Themostwell-knowntextsamongtheDeadSeaScrollsaretheancientreligiouswritingsfoundinelevencavesnearthesiteofQumran.ThecavesarelocatedaboutonemilewestofthenorthwestshoreoftheDeadSea,whencetheyderivetheirname. AmongtheScrollsarepartialorcompletecopiesofeverybookintheHebrewBible(exceptthebookofEsther).ManybiblicalmanuscriptscloselyresembletheMasoreticText,theacceptedtextoftheHebrewBiblefromthesecondhalfofthefirstmillenniumC.E.untiltoday.Thissimilarityisquiteremarkable,consideringthattheQumranScrollsareoverathousandyearsolderthanpreviouslyidentifiedbiblicalmanuscripts. TheIsaiahScroll,foundrelativelyintact,is1,000yearsolderthananypreviouslyknowncopyofIsaiah.Infact,thescrollsaretheoldestgroupofOldTestamentmanuscriptseverfound.

A section of the Isaiah scroll found at Qumran

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