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ow accurate is the Bible? That is a question many have asked after talking
with a Mormon or after hearing a college professor declare the Bible
to be filled with inaccuracies and therefore not trustworthy. It is understandable
that the cults are motivated to discredit the Bible, and it is understandable
that an unbelieving professor stepped outside of his expertise. But how
should we respond to 200,000 variants in the Bible? Can we really trust
the Bible? To answer our question, we need to start by understanding
the One who wrote the Bible. We need to understand the character of God.
What is God Like? The character of God is
the only real reason we can trust the Bible to speak the truth. Most
critics are not aware they have a faulty assumption that colors their
view of the Bible. Here is how most people view God.
You thought that I was just like you . . . (NASB) Psalm 50:21 God speaks boldly in this verse. He is not like us. He does not make
mistakes. He does not need the Encyclopedia Britannica, the Library of
Congress, or a news reporter to help Him understand something or to collect
information. He already knows everything and the book of Numbers tells
us why we can trust Him when He speaks or writes,
God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent; Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good? (NASB) Numbers 23:19 and,
. . . in order that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie . . . (NASB) Hebrews 6:18
God Wrote The Bible. 2 Timothy 3:16 tells
us that God wrote the Bible,
All Scripture is inspired by God . . . (NASB) 2 Timothy 3:16 The word “inspired” comes from a Greek word which means “God-breathed.” That
is, God “breathed” the words to be written. He wrote all
66 books, all 1189 chapters and all 31,173 verses of the Bible. This
is an easy task for an omnipotent, omniscient God. He is not like us
- He does not grow tired, and He does not sleep. He does not lie! That
is why we can trust what He wrote it.
The sum of Thy word is truth, And every one of Thy righteous ordinances is everlasting. (NASB) Ps. 119:160 The Voice of God. How do we know the Bible
was written by God? Several years ago, I asked a Christian friend why
he believed the Bible was true. He told me that he knew God was real
by the experiences he had and by how God had helped him. I told him the
Hare Krishnas, Mormons, Jehovah’s Witness, members of the occult,
Muslims, Hindus all believe their god is the true god because they have
had an experience. He had not thought about that. If experience is the
test of truth, then are we all correct? If so, we have a problem. How
do we then know that God is speaking to us in the Bible?
The answer is already given to us in the Bible. Listen to
Deuteronomy 18:20-22,
But the prophet who shall speak a word presumptuously in My name which I have not commanded him to speak, or which he shall speak in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die.’ “And you may say in your heart, ‘How shall we know the word which the LORD has not spoken?’ “When a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the thing does not come about or come true, that is the thing which the LORD has not spoken. The prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him. (NASB) Deut. 18:20-22 Fulfilled prophecy is the signature that God has spoken in the Bible.
The Bible is the only sacred book that contains future predictions that
have come true. It is a very sunique book with 737 prophecies recorded
in about 8,500 verses. That is about 25% of the Bible. The prophecies
occur in both the Old Testament and New Testament. The Old Testament
prophets, the New Testament apostles, and Jesus Christ all made predictions
about the future. They have all come true except for those which are
yet future. The Bible is also a book of history whose facts are being
proven to be true with almost every archeological finding. The Bible
is accurate when it speaks to history; and when it makes predictions,
they come true. It is Truth.
Mystery of Authorship. God did not write
the Bible as we do a letter. He used two authors.
. . . for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God. (NASB) 2 Peter 1:21 This verse tells us that God the Holy Spirit “moved” human
authors to write the Bible. The Greek word for “moved” comes
from the root word PHERO which means “to carry,” “to
bring” or “to bring along.” This means the Holy Spirit “brought” men
along. He caused men to write what He wanted them to write. The different
books of the Bible had different authors who used their own style, language
and grammar, but the Holy Spirit “carried” them in their
writing. What they wrote was what the Holy Spirit wanted to be written.
Here is an example,
You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our father David: “`Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? (NIV) Acts 4:25 Who spoke through David? The answer is the Holy Spirit! At the end of
one book the apostle Paul wrote, we are given a hint that the influence
of the Holy Spirit on the writer was, at times, hard to detect,
. . . and I think that I also have the Spirit of God. (NASB) 1 Cor. 7:40 Paul appears to not be sure. In his other books he does not make this
comment. This is remarkable because it implies on the other occasions
he knew the Holy Spirit was guiding him, but this time he was not completely
sure. The Holy Spirit did not dictate the message, but yet He was guiding
the apostle. Who were the authors? The answer is men and the Holy Spirit.
Books of the Bible. Some have wondered
if any books in the Bible do not belong and if any are missing. The answer
to our question comes to us directly from Jesus Christ Himself. |
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| How Accurate Is The Bible? | |||||
