1. EVIDENCES FOR BELIEVING THE BIBLE IS GOD’S WORD

2. But Is The Bible Still God’s Word? Given that the Bible was once a reliable and accurate historical document containing the very message of God, can we be as sure today that we have the same message from God as those who first received it?

3. The Critics Say: “Not only do we not have the originals, we don’t have the first copies of the originals. We have only error-ridden copies, and the vast majority of these are centuries removed from the originals and different from them in thousands of ways. Mistakes multiply and get repeated; sometimes they get corrected and sometimes they get compounded. And so it goes. For centuries. In some places, we simply cannot be sure that we have reconstructed the text accurately. It’s a bit hard to know what the words of the Bible mean if we don’t even know what the words are.” Bart Ehrman

4. Stories in the New Testament “were changed with what would strike us today as reckless abandon. They were modified, amplified, and embellished. And sometimes they were made up.” “Many of our cherished biblical stories and widely held beliefs concerning the divinity of Jesus, the Trinity, and the divine origins of the Bible itself stem from both intentional and accidental alterations by scribes.” Bart Ehrman

5. “I believe the Bible as it read when it came from the pen of the original writers. Ignorant translators, careless transcribers, or designing and corrupt priests have committed many errors.” Joseph Smith (alleged prophet of Mormon fame) “… for behold, they have taken away from the gospel of the Lamb many parts which are plain and most precious; and also many covenants of the Lord have they taken away. And all this have they done that they might pervert the right way of the Lord, that they might blind the eyes and harden the hearts of the children of men.” from the Book of Mormon, 1 Nephi 13:26-27

6. IS THE BIBLE STILL GOD’S WORD?

7. The Old Testament 1500 BC – 400 BC 900 AD – For many centuries, the oldest Hebrew manuscript Dead Sea Scrolls discovered in 1947 – The Hebrew Old Testament from 150 BC – 70 AD “The new evidence confirms what we had already good reason to believe – that the Jewish scribes of the early Christian centuries copied and recopied the text of the Hebrew Bible with the utmost fidelity.” F.F. Bruce

8. The New Testament Over 5,300 ancient manuscripts available Over 2,200 Lectionaries, and many translations Other ancient works: – Plato (7), Sophocles (193), Aristotle (49) – Plato (1,200 yrs.), Aristotle (1,400 yrs.) No other document from antiquity even compares with the Bible!

9. Holman Bible Publishers, 1985 The Lockman Foundation, 1977 Scripture, Text, References, and Concordance

10. Disputed Passages: Mark 16:9-20 John 7:53 – 8:11 Acts 8:37 Acts 9:5-6 1 John 5:7-8 None of these passages contains truths not found in multiple other places in the New Testament.

11. The Critics Are Wrong! We have God’s perfect and entire revelation today, and we can be as sure of that as were those who first received it from the pens of the original inspired writers.

12. Now It Is Your Turn! What will you do with the truth God has revealed and preserved?