Can I trust the Bible is true? Is it really God’s Word?

Rational evidence abounds for the existence of God. The Christian, however, believes in the one and only God revealed in the Bible. The Bible teaches us who God is, what He is like, what He has done, and what He is doing. Mostly the Bible points us to who He is in Christ. Crucial then, for the skeptic and believer alike, are questions like, “Is the Bible really God’s Word?”, “Is the Bible reliable?” and “Can I trust that the Bible is true?”

Who wrote the Bible and how was it written?

The Bible makes an audacious claim concerning itself: “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17

The Bible is inspired by God – literally “Breathed out by God”.  It refers not to the writers but to the words written.

“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.” 2 Peter 1:21

Men wrote the Bible as they were inspired by God. Why do you think God used regular men as “instruments” for His communication?

Over 2,000 times in the Old Testament alone we read, “God said…” or “Thus saith the Lord” It’s interesting that the writers themselves knew they were being used as mouthpieces for God and that He was speaking through them:

“The Lord reached out His hand and touched my mouth and said, “Now I have put my words in your mouth.” Jeremiah 1:9

“The Lord spoke through me.” 2 Samuel 23:2

“What I am writing to you is the Lord’s command.” 1 Corinthians 14:37

What would you expect from a book inspired by God?

Is my Bible reliable?

Some people challenge the reliability of the Bible, not because they’ve read it but because they don’t want to confront its truth.

 Interesting Facts about the Bible

• We don’t have the original hand writings of Paul, Peter, John or any other writer of the Bible. We don’t have any original hand writings, or what are called “autographs”, of any literary work from ancient history of any real significance.
• The real test of the reliability of any ancient work then, depends on the manuscripts (the handwritten copies).

The key is how many manuscripts we have and when they were written.

• The New Testament we read today is based on about 5,500 early manuscripts or pieces of manuscripts all written in the original Greek.
• The Gallic Wars, written about the same time as the New Testament, is based on 9 or 10 manuscripts.  It’s interesting that no one questions the reliability of the Gallic Wars. The New Testament was written from 50 AD to 90 AD.  The earliest fragment dates about 120 fragments dating within 150-200 years. Compare that again to the Gallic Wars, written about that time, where the earliest copy dates about 1,000 years after it was written!
• Another famous work of antiquity is The Iliad by Homer. It was written in 900 BC and the earliest manuscripts are found in 400 BC. The first complete copy is dated about 500 years after it was written.
• The 5,500 manuscripts were found throughout the known world of the New Testament. These manuscripts are surprisingly exact in comparison to one another. The minor discrepancies never alter the meaning of any text. The bulk of these manuscripts agree word for word with one another. Our Bible today is based on these first manuscripts. There has not been a lot of “passing down through the ages” because we have access to these early manuscripts. The famous Dead Sea Scrolls, discovered in 1947, proved that the Old Testament had been passed down correctly through the years by scribes whose job was to copy exactly from one text to another.  Most scholars date the Scrolls at about 150 BC-50 BC.

More amazing facts about the Bible

• The more you dig into the facts concerning the Bible the more reliable it becomes.
• The early church leaders quoted the New Testament in their writings. Almost every New Testament book is quoted by Clement, bishop of Rome, who wrote about 96 AD.
• More that 25,000 sites showing some connection with the Old Testament period have been located in Bible lands.  Archaeologists have found the Bible to be accurate.
• The Bible is full of remarkable prophecies that have been fulfilled. Over 300 prophecies are fulfilled in Jesus alone including His birth, life, and death (i.e. Micah 5:2, Isaiah 52:13-53:12, Luke 24:25-27).
• Jesus Himself quoted Scripture as final authority (Matthew 26:54, 56).

How did we get the Bible?

• It’s important to understand (in this age of the internet, smart phones and iPads) that the simple fact we have the Bible is a miracle in itself. The period of “textual transmission” was a process that was carried out by hand. The moveable type printing press was a product of the 15^th century AD.

Textual Transmission

• Scholars believe the earliest books of the Old Testament were written about 1,400 –1,300 BC
• The books of the New Testament were all completed by about 50 AD to 90 AD.

By 150 BC we know that all the books of the Old Testament had achieved some textual form.

• The “canon” (from the Greek word “kanon” meaning “rod” or “rule”) is the word given to the “list” or “series” or “standard” of Scripture – the authoritative and inspired Word of God.
• The earliest evidence of any Old Testament books is from about 200 BC. There are no complete copies of the Hebrew Old Testament earlier than around 900 AD. The Jewish people held Scripture in such high regard that worn manuscripts were destroyed rather than to risk that they be profaned. Any worn or older manuscripts would be placed in a storage area in the Synagogue (called a “genizah”) where they were kept until proper disposal.
• It should come as no surprise that little archaeological evidence dates back before the time of Christ.

The Significance of the Dead Sea Scrolls

• As mentioned earlier, the Dead Sea Scrolls were found in 1947 in what has been called the greatest archaeological discovery of the century.  These scrolls, found in ancient jars are dated to 150 BC – 50 BC. In one dramatic stroke, the age of the manuscripts we now possess were hurdled back almost 1,100 years!
• Comparing the scrolls with the Masoretic text (10^th century AD) we found that the accuracy of transmission over the period of nearly a millennium was miraculous!

Significant translations and the standardization of the canon.

• As early as the narrative of Exodus 24 we know of a document called “the book of the covenant” as Moses “wrote all the words of Yahweh”. (Ex. 24:4-8
• The idea of a closed canon was seen as early as the book of Deuteronomy which has attached the warning – “you shall not add to the word which I command you, nor take from it”. (Deut. 4:2; 12:32)
• By the time of the destruction of the temple in 70 AD, the standardization of the Old Testament seemed almost complete.  (The need for a closed cannon became evident with the advent of synagogues.)
• The Council of Jamnia (90 AD) was a group of rabbis who gathered to debate certain books and to determine which ones did and did not “defile the hands”.
• Rabbi Akiba (55 – 137 AD) insisted that the smallest details in the text had great significance providing an impetus to the standardization process.
• The work of the Masoretes (from about 200 BC). This group of Jewish scribes passed on the Scriptures with incredible accuracy and gave us the “Masoretic Text”. They accurately passed on the Scriptures until about 1200 AD.
• The Septuagint or LXX (because it was reputedly done by 70 Jewish scholars) is the Greek translation of the Old Testament and is dated at about 300 BC.  The LXX became the “Bible” for the early church.
• The Latin Vulgate (384-405AD) was the primary Latin version which became the official version of the Roman Catholic Church.
• The Wycliffe Bible, dated 1382 was the first complete English translation.  William Tyndale (1484-1536 translated from the original languages (not the Vulgate).  The King James Version of 1611 was a translation (not a revision) of all available textual evidence.

Some helpful definitions

• Those who accept the Bible as the Word of God are often accused of taking the Bible literally.  What does it mean to take the Bible literally? (Read Isaiah 55:12 or Psalms 114:4,6). Isaiah 55:12 says, “All the trees of the field will clap their hands.” The Bible is to be interpreted in the sense in which the authors intended it to be received by its original readers.
• Another important term we must clearly define is “inerrancy” which means “lack of error” or infallible”. Some use the words inerrancy and infallibility as one in the same; others do not. Biblical inerrancy is the doctrine that the Bible, in its original manuscripts, is accurate and totally free from error of any kind; and does not affirm anything that is contrary to fact. Biblical infallibility is the belief that what the Bible says regarding matters of faith and Christian practice is wholly useful and true. It is the belief that the Bible is completely trustworthy as a guide to salvation and the life of faith and will not fail to accomplish that purpose.
• We must remember that the Bible was written, not as a science textbook or history book (though accurate in both), but as a love letter (a story) of God’s redemptive work throughout history, and namely through the life and salvific work of Christ. We must avoid imposing on the biblical writers our own twentieth century standards of scientific and historical precision and accuracy. For instance, Scripture often describes things “phenomenologically”- which simply means, as they appear to be. We speak in these terms when we say, “The sun is rising!” We don’t mean that the sun is rising. Scientifically we mean that the rotation of the earth and the trajectory of the it’s orbit is bringing the Western Hemisphere into a direct angle to view the sun’s rays coming to earth. But a scientific description is not why we are making the statement.

 No other writings even attempt to make the claims the Bible does of itself or make bold predictions with 100% accuracy.

Which do you think is truer?

• I must understand in order to believe.
• I must believe in order to understand.

Faith always precedes reason when we approach our infinite and eternal God. Don’t forget that the Bible is a spiritual book and the Holy Spirit speaks through Scripture to your heart. We cannot rely on reason alone.

Consider and discuss these questions:

If you are a follower of Christ, did you believe the Bible was inspired before you became a Christian? Did you think it was reliable?  What can we expect from a letter from God that we could not expect from any other literature?

You can have full assurance that your Bible is the Word of God. Read it, study it, cherish it, but most of all, obey it as you walk with the Savior to Whom it points.