Is the Bible Reliable and Trustworthy?

All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.

  2 Timothy 3:16-17

Procedure for Testing a Document’s Validity:

1. Bibliographical Test: The textual tradition from the original document to the copies and manuscripts of that document we possess today. In other words, how did the document you hold in your hand get to you? And how close to the original document is the copy that you now possess?
2. Internal Evidence Test: What the document claims for itself.
3. External Evidence Test: How the document squares or aligns itself with facts, dates, and persons from its own contemporary world.

Evidence that the Bible is true and trustworthy

1. Life, Death, Burial, Resurrection, and Ascension of Jesus:

 The purpose of the Bible is to reveal God to us more perfectly. Its more precise purpose is to reveal God’s Son, Jesus Christ. In other words, both the Old and New Testaments testify about Jesus… The fact that it all came to pass confirms its accuracy.

And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all. Ephesians 1:22-23

…Beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself. Luke 24:27

2. The Testimony of Jesus:

Referring to the Old Testament, Jesus said that it “cannot be broken” and it “must be fulfilled,” John 10:35; Mark 14:49; Luke 24:44

If he called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be broken), John 10:35

Every day I was with you in the temple teaching, and you did not seize Me; but this has happened that the Scriptures might be fulfilled.” Mark 14:49

Now He said to them, “These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” Luke 24:44

3. The Testimony of the Apostles

Both Jesus and the Apostles recognized the Old Testament as the Inspired Word of God, and they believed it to the place that they staked their lives on it. The Old Testament was the only Bible that Paul had we he wrote to Timothy saying… all scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness. 2 Timothy 3:16

Referring to his letter to the Thessalonians, Paul said…you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God… First Thessalonians 2:13

Paul also told the Corinthian church, If anyone thinks himself to be a prophet or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things which I write to you are the commandments of the Lord, First Corinthians 14:37

4. The Testimony of the Early Church Fathers:

Thousands of quotations of the New Testament are found in the writings of the early church fathers. These are the leaders who followed the Apostles and gave leadership to the fledgling church beginning with Clement of Rome 96 A.D.  It has been observed that if all the New Testament manuscripts were to disappear overnight, it would still be possible to reconstruct the entire New Testament with quotes from the Church Fathers, with the exception of fifteen to twenty verses!

5. Remarkable Survival of the Bible:

Old Testament:

Bibliographical test – concerning the textual tradition from the original document to the copies and manuscripts of that document we possess today.

Scribes

            Massoretic Text

            Dead Sea Scrolls

            The Septuagint

            Quote: In his book, Can I trust the Bible, R. Laird Harris concluded, “We can now be sure that copyists worked with great care and accuracy on the Old Testament, even back to 225 B.C. … Indeed, it would be rash skepticism that would now deny that we have our Old Testament in a form very close to that used by Ezra when he taught the word of the Lord to those who had returned from the Babylonian captivity.”

New Testament:

The Greek Manuscript Evidence – there are more than 4,000 different ancient Greek manuscripts containing all or portions of the New Testament that have survived to our time. These are written on different materials.

Papyrus – Made from Highly durable reed from the Nile Valley

Parchment – Made from the skin of sheep or goats… Scarce and expensive, it was reserved for the most important documents

Codex Vaticanus and Codex Siniaticus: These are two excellent parchment copies of the entire New Testament, which date from the 4^th century (325-450 A.D.)

To be skeptical of the 27 documents in the New Testament, and to say they are unreliable is to allow all of classical antiquity to slip into obscurity… We have more reliable evidence of the authenticity of Scripture then we do of Shakespeare’s plays.

6.      Unity of the Scripture: 

The Bible consists of 66 books, penned by 40 men, over a span of 1600 years. A consistent theme, without contradictions, or errors. This work provides consistent accuracy in history, science, literature, archeology, and so on… It can be tested in every way and it holds unified and true.

7. Claims of the Scripture itself:

8. Accuracy of Scripture:

Historically, scientifically, archeologically, geographically etc. This work has been tested!

Steve Youngblood