Can We Trust the Bible?

Every scripture is inspired by God and useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the person dedicated to God may be capable and equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 

Above all, you do well if you recognize this: No prophecy of scripture ever comes about by the prophet's own imagination, for no prophecy was ever borne of human impulse; rather, men carried along by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.  2 Peter 1:20-21

  Christians look to the Bible as the Word of God.  We trust that what it says is God speaking to us. But how do we know this is true? Let's take a look today at how we can trust the authority of God's Word.

 There are two types of evidence regarding the Bible: internal and external.  Internal evidence is what the Bible says itself. In today's verses (above) we read that all scripture is God breathed.  The prophets didn't imagine it or make it up, it came from God.  We can see that this is true because the prophecies that were written down later came to be.  We can also see an undeniable unity in scripture from beginning to end.  There are no contradictions or errors. This is not a humanly possible feat.  There are over 40 authors of the Bible sites out over about 1,500 years.  I love the joke,  “What is the ideal number of people in a committee? “ The answer?  0.7! In addition, God Himself testifies to the Bible’s accuracy both through Jesus (John 17:17 ESV) and the Holy Spirit (John 16:13). Finally,  we can see the longevity of the Bible.  It has endured for thousands of years.  (1)

 When we talk about external evidence, it involves things like history, archeology and science.  Over and over throughout history, major findings in these areas have proven things about scripture to be true.  These include things like: a synagogue storehouse (geniza) in Cairo, Egypt, the Ataroth stone altar, the Rosetta Stone, and the Behistun Rock (1). In addition to these, in 1947, a shepherd found the dead sea scrolls.  These scrolls date back further than any previously known manuscript.  When they were compared to modern texts, they were found to be an astounding 95% accurate. The 5 percent of variations consisted chiefly of obvious slips of the pen and variations in spelling. This is not the norm as you can imagine.  Have you ever played the game, telephone? It’s impossible to get around a small room of people with the same message, let alone hundreds of years of history and copying! (1)

 Here's the Thing: God’s Word is incredible, but we can trust that it is true.  It has been proven over and over, and I believe that will continue to be the case.  So, now that you know you can trust the Bible, it's probably time to dig into what it says!

(1) Wilund, J. (2024, July 2). What is the authority of Scripture, and how can we trust it? Bible Study Tools. https://www.biblestudytools.com/bible-study/topical-studies/what-is-the-authority-of-scripture-and-how-can-we-trust-it.html

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