Opening QuestionsOpening Questions1.1. Why is the Bible Why is the Bible

unique?unique? Authorship perspective

(2 Tim 3:16) Literary perspective

Spiritual perspective(Rom 10:8-17)

Opening QuestionsOpening Questions2.2. How did we get the How did we get the

Bible?Bible? Who Spoke?

How did he speak?

How was ‘what he spoke’ recognized?

Opening QuestionsOpening Questions3.3. Can we trust the Bible?Can we trust the Bible?

Do we have the Bible God intended us to have?

Do our Englishtranslations faithfullyconvey God’s words?

Was it Constantine? Was it the church? Was it our own consciences?Was it the creator?

How did we get the How did we get the Bible?Bible?

It Was Through the CreatorIt Was Through the Creator God spoke ‘to’ & ‘through’ the

writers of Scripture

God spoke ‘through’ the OT prophets, then ‘through’ Jesus Christ (Heb 1:1-3)

How did we get the How did we get the Bible?Bible?

It Was Through the CreatorIt Was Through the Creator2 Timothy 3:16 –

“given by inspiration”2 Peter 1:21 –

“holy men of old spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost”

How did we get the How did we get the Bible?Bible?

It Was Through the CreatorIt Was Through the CreatorJohn 14 & 16 –

The Spirit ensures accuracy1 Tim 5:18; 2 Pet 3:15-16 –

Scripture recognizing Scripture as already present

How did we get the How did we get the Bible?Bible?

It Was Recognized as from GodIt Was Recognized as from GodThe ‘Fourfold Gospel’ and the Pauline Letter collection was

almost instantly recognized as inspired Scripture

The church ‘merely recognized’ the writings that bore the mark of

divine inspiration

How did we get the How did we get the Bible?Bible?

It Was Recognized as from It Was Recognized as from GodGod

By the 2d century AD, the shape of the NT canon was clear; Muratorian list (AD 197)

Quotes of NT passages as Scripture in the writings of the

Church Fathers

SummarySummary God spoke through the OT

prophets, Jesus, & NT apostles – thus creating a unique ‘dual

authorship’ What God spoke was inspired, literally from his creative breath What God spoke was inerrant, the Holy Spirit ensured accuracy

Manuscript EvidencesManuscript Evidences to the Old and New Testaments Assurance & ConfidenceAssurance & Confidence of the Old and New TestamentsAccuracy & ReliabilityAccuracy & Reliability of the Old and New Testaments in today’s translations

Can We Trust The Bible?Can We Trust The Bible?YES: YES:

God gave us the Bible through inspiration

Potential problems:Potential problems:The original manuscripts are

no longer available & the existing manuscripts differ; and what about all those

different translations?

Can We Trust The Bible?Can We Trust The Bible?Question:Question:

If the original autographs are lost, and the existing

manuscripts agree only 99% of the time, do we then have only

99% inspired Scriptures?

Can We Trust The Bible?Can We Trust The Bible?Answer: Answer:

What was inspired was not the autographs, but the text in the

autographs; this text is still available to us today in many extant copies; therefore, even

though the original autographs are lost, the original text is not;

we have the 100% inspired text of Scripture.

Can We Trust The Bible?Can We Trust The Bible?Yes we can, because: Yes we can, because: We have a large number of

early manuscripts

Where the manuscripts differ, NO major Christian

doctrine is affected

Can We Trust The Bible?Can We Trust The Bible?As a matter of fact: As a matter of fact: “[The] purity of text [is] of such

a substantial nature that nothing we believe to be doctrinally true, and nothing we are commanded to do, is in any way jeopardized by the variants. … never is a doctrine affected.”

D. A. Carson (Research Professor of NT, Trinity Evangelical Divinity)

Can We Trust The Bible?Can We Trust The Bible?Manuscript Evidence (OT):Manuscript Evidence (OT):

The Dead Sea Scrolls (DSS), were found in thousands of fragments of scrolls: the remnants of 800 manuscripts

Can We Trust The Bible?Can We Trust The Bible?Manuscript Evidence (OT):Manuscript Evidence (OT):

The manuscripts date from 200 BC to AD 68 These are strikingly close to the time at which they were written

Can We Trust The Bible?Can We Trust The Bible? Manuscript Manuscript

Evidence (OT):Evidence (OT):The DSS preserve every OT book except Esther These manuscripts were found in clay jars

Can We Trust The Bible?Can We Trust The Bible?Manuscript Evidence (OT): Manuscript Evidence (OT):

Samaritan Pentateuch (based only on the books Moses wrote, Pentateuch)

Masoretic Text (based on the oldest complete

manuscript, Lenigrad B19a (L)

Can We Trust The Bible?Can We Trust The Bible?Manuscript Evidence (NT): Manuscript Evidence (NT): We have a great abundance of manuscripts. With regard to the

NT, for example, we have approx. 5,800 Greek NT

manuscripts of parts or the entire NT (1,000 times as many manuscripts as for just about any other ancient document)

Can We Trust The Bible?Can We Trust The Bible?Author Author DateDate EarliestEarliest Time Time # of # of Accuracy Accuracy Written Written SpanSpan Copies Copies of of CopiesCopies

CopyCopy

Plato 430 BC AD 900 1200 yrs 7 ---------

Herod- 480- AD 900 1300 yrs 8 ---------utos 425 BC

Caesar 100-44 BC AD 900 1000 yrs 10 ---------

Aristotle 384- AD 1100 1400 yrs 49 --------- 322 BC

Homer 900 BC 400 BC 500 yrs 643 95%(Iliad)

New AD 1st Cent AD 2d Cent less than 5800 99.5%Testament AD 130 100 yrs

Can We Trust The Bible?Can We Trust The Bible?

Manuscript Manuscript Evidence (NT):Evidence (NT): We have very early papyrus manuscripts, such as the John Rylands papyrus (p52) containing portions of John 18 (Jesus’ trial before Pilate) and dating to about AD 125

Can We Trust The Bible?Can We Trust The Bible?

Manuscript Manuscript Evidence Evidence (NT):(NT): Chester Beatty Papyrus (p46), dating to about AD 200 (Eph 4:2-14)

Can We Trust The Bible?Can We Trust The Bible?

Manuscript Manuscript Evidence (NT):Evidence (NT): We have magnificent codices such as Codex Sinaiticus ), written about AD 350, the earliest extant copy of the entire NT (Eph 4:1-12)

Can We Trust The Bible?Can We Trust The Bible?Assurance & Confidence of Assurance & Confidence of the OT and NT: the OT and NT:

Character of these writings

Conformity of these writings

Continuous use of these writings

Can We Trust The Bible?Can We Trust The Bible?Accuracy & Reliability of the OT Accuracy & Reliability of the OT and NT in today’s translations:and NT in today’s translations:

Can we trust our English Bibles? English translations differ, but all

preserve the original message of the biblical writers to a high degree of fidelity.

Most of the differences are related to audience & purpose.

SummarySummary We have a large number of

manuscripts in which their internal consistency is about

99.5% textually pure

We have early dated manuscripts that are closely

related to the originals

SummarySummary We have God’s Word

providentially preserved ‘in’ and ‘through’ a vast number of

manuscripts attesting to the reliability and authority of the

Old and New Testaments

Closing Thoughts!Closing Thoughts! “We have not here a proof of

mathematical precision, but we have evidence of weight and authority,

more than sufficient to justify us in humbly taking up the books that God has put into our hands and receiving

their teaching as his truth.”John Wenham, Christ and the Bible.

WHAT ARE YOU WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH DOING WITH GOD’S WORD?GOD’S WORD?