Grace Bible Church Glorifying God by Making Disciples of Jesus Christ

Why We Believe the Bible Bible; Scriptures; Word of God = God’s revelation to us so that we know Him, what He has done and how He wants us to live.

Why We Believe the Bible “We believe the Holy Scriptures, consisting of the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments, to be the verbally and plenary inspired Word of God, His only special revelation to man, the final authority for faith and life, inerrant in the original writings, infallible and God-breathed.”

Common to post-modern thought Corrupted by sin Source of Knowledge Conscience Common to post-modern thought Corrupted by sin Limited to knowledge available Can be trained to good or evil (Hebrews 10:22; Romans 2:15; 1 Timothy 4:2; Hebrews 9:14).

Source of Knowledge Empiricism – Based on Five Senses Foundation for materialism & hedonism All senses can be deceived

Source of Knowledge Rationalism – Based on logic & thought Foundation of philosophers Mind corrupted by sin (Eph. 4:17,18; Col. 1:21; 1 Tim. 6:5 Limited by information available The supernatural can be beyond logic and comprehension.

Source of Knowledge Supernatural Revelation Foundation of religion Claim cannot be verified except where claim intersects the natural world

Claims of the Word of God 2 Timothy 3:16-17 2 Peter 1:21 Exodus 17:14; Jeremiah 30:2 1 Peter 1:10-11; 1 Thessalonians 2:13 2 Peter 3:15-16 Psalm 19:1-9; Matt. 24:35; John 17:17

Proof from the Physical World Psalm 19:1; Romans 1:19,20 The Earth is Round – Isa. 40:22; Prov. 8:27 The number of stars cannot be counted Jer. 33:22; Heb. 11:12 Law of Conversation of matter & energy: 2 Pet. 3:7; Gen. 2:1,2; Ex. 20:11; Heb. 4:3; 1:3 Hydrologic Cycle – Eccl. 1:7; Job 36:27,28 Law of increasing entropy – Psalm. 102: 25-27; Isaiah. 51:6; Gen.3:17; Rom. 8:21,22

Proof from the Physical World Atmospheric circulation - Eccl. 1:6,7; Job 28:25; 37:9 Life is in the blood – Lev. 17:11 Gravitational field - Job 26:7 Springs in the oceans - Job 38:16; Gen 7:11; 8:2; Prov. 8:28 Stars emit sound - Job 38:7; Ps. 19:1-3 Animals reproduce after their own kind – Gen. 1:21; 6:19 Earth and moon formed separately – Gen. 1:1, 14-19

Historical Accuracy Hittites Luke The Bible presents both the victories and the defeats, the good and the evil Archaelogy is a friend of the Bible

The Biblical Writers Men of integrity / Religious leaders – prophets & apostles Eyewitnesses or access to them Material directly from the Lord Welcomed others to check what they said / wrote with earlier scriptures Writings were widely circulated

Prophecy 100% accuracy – Deut. 18:21-22 Specific, not generalizations Near in time (Moses to Pharaoh – Exod) Distant in Time

Prophecy Genesis 15:13 cf. Exodus 1 Kings 12 & 13 cf. 2 Kings 13 Deut. 28; 1 Kin. 14; Amos cf. 2 Kin. 17 Isa. 39:7; Jer. 25:11f cf. 2 Kings 24 & 25 Jer. 25:11f cf. Daniel 5 Isa. 44:28; Jer. 29:10 cf. 2 Chron. 36; Ezra 1

Prophecy Ezekiel 26:1-21 Nebuchadnezzar – 573 B.C. Alexander the Great – 332 B.C. Antigonis – 314 B.C. Muslims / Crusaders – 7th – 12th Cent. Muslims – 1291 A. D. Present

Prophecy Daniel – rise & fall of Babylon, Medo- Persia, Greek & Roman empires Daniel 11 – detailed account of Selucid vs. Ptolemy Kingdoms – 300-400 years prior to their occurance Many more including those concerning Messiah’s coming, ministry & return

Internal Character of the Bible “It is not a book as man would write if he could, or could write if he would“ – Lewis Sperry Chafer unsurpassed in subjects treated, quality and variety of literature and its realistic treatment of man's condition

Internal Character of the Bible Written by 40 authors over 1500 years, yet unified in purpose, theme and factual harmony Most read of all books Translated into the most languages Most influential book ever

Answers Philosophical Questions Is there a God? Gen. 1:1; Heb. 1;1 Where did man come from? Gen. 2:7 What is man's nature? Gen. 1:26,27 What is man's purpose? John 10:10; Rom. 8:29; 11:26; Eph.2:10 Is man immortal? John 11:25,26; 14:14,15;

Answers Philosophical Questions What is truth? John 14:6; John 17:17 Why does evil exist? Isaiah 14; Eze.28; Rev. 20:10 What determines history? Dan. 4:17 What is right conduct? Matt. 22:37-39 What is beautify and valuable? Psalm 27:4; Phil 4:8 What is man’s future? Revelation

Preservation Best preserved of all ancient texts 5,000+ N.T. Greek manuscripts Parts as early as 1st Century ~ 25 years after original. 20,000+ N.T. translations in 14 languages Dead Sea Scrolls proved accuracy of transmission of text over millennia

Conclusions We can accurately determine what God gave to the prophets & apostles God does not lie (Num. 23:19) Jesus said, “Thy word is truth” (John 17:17) and that it would not pass away (Matt. 5:18) We have God’s word, we can believe it.

Grace Bible Church Glorifying God by Making Disciples of Jesus Christ