1. 1 Peter 1:22-25

2. THE RELIABILITY OF THE BIBLE I. PROMISES & QUESTIONS A. God promised (Is. 40:6-8; Mt. 22:32). B. God promised again (Mt. 24:35; Jn. 15:16; 1 Pet. 1:22ff). C. Yet, men question the trustworthiness of the Bible….

3. THE RELIABILITY OF THE BIBLE II. ORIGINAL WRITINGS TO COPIES A. Originals – papyrus scrolls didn’t last long centuries. 1. Eyewitnesses (Lk. 1:1-4). B. Many copies were made & shared: 2. Inspiration (Eph. 3:3). 1. Commanded (Col. 4:16). 2. Clement of Rome (96 AD) had 9 of 27 letters.

4. THE RELIABILITY OF THE BIBLE II. ORIGINAL WRITINGS TO COPIES B. Many copies were made & shared: 3. Polycarp (150 AD) had 15 of 27 letters, wrote of the custom of sharing letters. 4. Irenaeus (185 AD) had 21 of 27. 5. Old Latin version (150 AD) in N. Africa has 26 books, omitting 2 Peter.

5. THE RELIABILITY OF THE BIBLE II. ORIGINAL WRITINGS TO COPIES C. F. E. Peters, “…on the basis of manuscript tradition alone, the works that made up the Christian’s New Testament were the most frequently copied and widely circulated books of antiquity.” (ETDV v. 1 Josh McDowell p. 39)

6. THE RELIABILITY OF THE BIBLE III. THE COPIES A. What We Have Today: 1. Early manuscripts in Greek (5300+). 2. Early translations into other languages (19,300+). 3. Quotations of the NT by ancient authors (enough to rewrite the Bible several times). (ETDV v. 1 Josh McDowell p. 39)

7. THE RELIABILITY OF THE BIBLE III. THE COPIES B. Statistical Analysis: 200,000 variants. DOES THIS PROVE THE BIBLE IS FULL OF ERRORS? 1. Geisler & Nix, “There is an ambiguity in saying there are 200,000 variants in the existing manuscripts of the New Testament, since these represent only 10,000 places in the New Testament. If one single word is misspelled in 3000 different manuscripts, this is counted as 3,000 variants or readings.”

8. THE RELIABILITY OF THE BIBLE III. THE COPIES B. Statistical Analysis: 200,000 variants. DOES THIS PROVE THE BIBLE IS FULL OF ERRORS? 2. Parable Of The Will: Rich man dictated his will to a secretary, who then made hand copies for his 10 children. At his death, the house burned & the original was destroyed. Lawyer gathered all the copies, found that they differed. Misspellings, dictation errors, copying errors & other differences – easily corrected.

9. THE RELIABILITY OF THE BIBLE III. THE COPIES C. Most Manuscript Errors Are Easily Detected & Corrected: 1. Misspellings – spell “resurrection” 5 ways. 2. Dictation errors – one word written for another (here, hear). 3. Copying errors – accidentally omit or repeat line. 4. Transposed letters, words, phrases: Mt. 2:3 Herod the king, King Herod Mt. 2:3 all Jerusalem, Jerusalem etc.

10. THE RELIABILITY OF THE BIBLE III. THE COPIES D. Breaking Down The Numbers: 1. Of all copies, 87.5% are the same, undisputed. 2. Eliminate misspellings, etc., then 98.33% are the same. 3. Dr. Hort said 1 in 1,000 might affect doctrine. 4. So, of all variants, MAYBE 10 TRULY QUESTIONED PLACES! 5. BUT, we have all the variants, footnotes, etc. (cf. John 3:36)!

11. THE RELIABILITY OF THE BIBLE III. THE COPIES E. The NT “has been transmitted to us with no, or next to no, variation; even in the most corrupt form in which it has ever appeared… the real text of the sacred writers is competently exact… nor is one article of faith or moral precept either perverted or lost… choose as awkwardly as you will, choose the worst by design, out of the whole lump of readings.” (Benjamin Warfield, Intro To Textual Criticism via ETDV v. 1, McDowell p. 44)

12. THE RELIABILITY OF THE BIBLE III. THE COPIES F. “One word of warning already referred to, must be emphasized in conclusion. No fundamental doctrine of the Christian faith rests on a disputed reading…” (Sir Frederick Kenyon via ETDV v. 1, McDowell p. 45)

13. THE RELIABILITY OF THE BIBLE IV. ONE EXAMPLE OF QUESTIONED TEXTS A. Mark 16:9-20 1. Raised first day (Mt. 28). 2. Appeared to M. Magdalene first (Mt. 28). 3. She told others who disbelieved (Jn. 20). 4. Appeared to 2 in the country (Jn. 21). 5. Told 2 others, but disbelieved (Lk. 24). 6. Jesus with the 11 at meat (Lk. 24). 7. Great commission (Mt. 28). 8. Believe + baptize = saved (Acts). 9. Purpose of signs (Acts 14:3). 10. Lord ascended (Lk. 24).

14. THE RELIABILITY OF THE BIBLE CONCLUSION: NOTHING LOST! THE SAME TRUTHS ARE FOUND IN UNQUESTIONED PASSAGES! Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth… Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever. For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you. (1 Peter 1:22-25)