how do you know that the bible is the inspired, infallible word of god? how do you know that the...

• How do you know that the Bible is the inspired, infallible word of God?

• How do you know that the Bible isn’t like the Book of Mormon or Koran – just another religious text written by uninspired men?

• How do you know the Bible hasn’t been corrupted over time?

2 Timothy 3:16-17

“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 Peter 1:21

“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.”

Why do you believe the Bible is inspired?

• Because of your family and/or upbringing?

• Because you want to believe it?• Because you’re afraid of the

consequences if you don’t believe it?

These are not good reasons!

Five Reasons I Trust the Bible

And Why You Should, Too!

Reason 1: Diverse Authorship – Unified Message

• Written by over 40 men.• These men were from different walks of life.

The Bible was written on three different continents: Asia, Africa, Europe.

• Written over a span of 1,500 years!How could over 40 different men write such a perfectly consistent story and

address so many controversial topics with such accuracy and precision unless they

were inspired by a timeless, eternal, loving God?

By way of comparison…

• The Koran was written by one man over a span of 40 years, from 610-650 AD.

• The Book of Mormon was written by two men – Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery – over a span of three years, from 1827-1829, according to Mormon sources.

• The Bible clearly stands out, doesn’t it?

Reason 2:Bible Prophecy

• What is prophecy?• Just one example: Isaiah 44:28.• The prophecies of the Book of Daniel.• How could mere men make such

detailed prophecies about the future?

Reason 3: It Best Explains Human Nature

• How do atheists explain human nature?• The Bible on human nature:– Man is unique (Gen. 1:26)– Man has dominion (Gen. 1:26)– Man has innate awareness of eternity (Eccl.

3:11)– Man is religiously inclined (Rom. 1:20)– Man has a moral compass (Rom. 2:14-15)– Man is concerned about justice (Gen. 3-4)

Reason 3: It Best Explains Human Nature

• Two specific points…1. Morality becomes totally subjective without

God (a binding, universal standard). 2. In a purely material (physical) world, love

is reduced to a chemical reaction. • The chemical reaction of love becomes no more

meaningful than the chemical reaction of a drug high. Both have equal merit. Why not?

• How can love be valued over hatred? We have been conditioned to value one over the other.

• And yet, “God is love” (1 John 4:7).

Reason 4: Its Message is Transformative

• The Bible will not pass away; it is incorruptible (Matt. 24:35; 1 Pet 1:23-25):– In 303 A.D., Diocletian issued an edict to destroy

Christians and their sacred book. Ironically, 25 years later, the emperor Constantine commissioned Eusebius to prepare 50 copies of the scriptures at the expense of the government.

– Voltaire (1694-1778), the famous French philosopher, was a brilliant atheist. He wrote a number of tracts deriding the Bible. He once made a very bold statement: “One hundred years from today the Bible will be a forgotten book.” After Voltaire died, for nearly 100 years, his homestead was used as the book depository for the French Bible Society.

– Two examples of MANY!

Reason 4: Its Message is Transformative

• It tells the story of Jesus – unlike any other:– While exiled on Helena, Napoleon said: Well then, I will

tell you. Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne and I myself have founded great empires; but upon what did these creations of our genius depend? Upon force. Jesus alone founded His empire upon love, and to this very day millions will die for Him. . . . I think I understand something of human nature; and I tell you, all these were men, and I am a man; none else is like Him: Jesus Christ was more than a man. . . . I have inspired multitudes with such an enthusiastic devotion that they would have died for me . . . but to do this is was necessary that I should be visibly present with the electric influence of my looks, my words, of my voice. When I saw men and spoke to them, I lightened up the flame of self-devotion in their hearts…

• “…Christ alone has succeeded in so raising the mind of man toward the unseen, that it becomes insensible to the barriers of time and space. Across a chasm of eighteen hundred years, Jesus Christ makes a demand which is beyond all others difficult to satisfy; He asks for that which a philosopher may often seek in vain at the hands of his friends, or a father of his children, or a bride of her spouse, or a man of his brother. He asks for the human heart; He will have it entirely to Himself. He demands it unconditionally; and forthwith His demand is granted. Wonderful! In defiance of time and space, the soul of man, with all its powers and faculties, becomes an annexation to the empire of Christ. All who sincerely believe in Him, experience that remarkable, supernatural love toward Him. This phenomenon is unaccountable; it is altogether beyond the scope of man's creative powers. Time, the great destroyer, is powerless to extinguish this sacred flame; time can neither exhaust its strength nor put a limit to its range. This is it, which strikes me most; I have often thought of it. This it is which proves to me quite convincingly the Divinity of Jesus Christ.”

Reason 4: Its Message is Transformative

• It is living and powerful:– “For the word of God is living and active,

sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12)

– It’s intrinsic beauty. It’s practical solutions. It’s unconventional wisdom. It’s honesty – the faults of its leading heroes and heroines. It’s message of hope. The way it transforms us completely. The way its message angers those who oppose it – why?

Reason 5: It Resolves Our Inner Guilt

• Because we are programmed with a moral compass and a desire for justice, we all deal with guilt and shame on a regular basis because we ourselves fail, fall and flounder.

• And because we are programmed and wired this way (by our Creator), we cannot overcome our guilt by forgiving ourselves or being forgiven by others. We need the forgiveness of our Creator!

• The Bible resolves our inner guilt!!!

Reason 5: It Resolves Our Inner Guilt

• A great example of this in Psalm 32:1-5.• The fact is:– We have all sinned (Rom. 3:23)– Our sin separates us from God (Is. 59:1-2).– The wages of sin is death (Rom. 6:23).– “He Himself bore our sins in his body on the tree,

that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By His wounds you have been healed.” (1 Pet. 2:24)

– We can be set free from our sins and find true forgiveness and purpose in Christ (Rom. 6:20-22).

5 Reasons I Trust the Bible

1. Diverse Authorship – Unified Message2. Bible prophecy.3. It best explains human nature.4. Its message is transformative.5. It resolves our inner guilt.

We haven’t even considered the historical accuracy of the Bible, the

evidence from archaeology, scientific foreknowledge, and other evidences.

Conclusion

“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