1. Grace Bible Church Glorifying God by Making Disciples of Jesus Christ

2. 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.

3. 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.”

4. 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).

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

6. 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.

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

8. 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

9. 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: ; Isaiah. 51:6; Gen.3:17; Rom. 8:21,22

10. 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

11. 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

12. 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

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

14. 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

15. 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

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

17. 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

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

19. 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;

20. 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

21. 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

22. 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.

23. Grace Bible Church Glorifying God by Making Disciples of Jesus Christ