Can You Trust the Bible?

Justin and I are Christians. We believe that we have been saved by Jesus Christ. It's important to me to share my faith and I feel like I haven't been doing a great job at that. I am a crazy note taker (it's probably why I'm an awesome student). Since college, I've taken notes during sermons and so I have tons of notes for many, many sermons, but I've never done anything with them. So here is one way that I want to improve in sharing my faith, I'm going to share my notes with you every week. They won't be perfect and these are just the major points that I took from the teaching, but I feel like God is calling me to put them out there. I think last night's sermon is a great place for us to begin. The topic we discussed was "Can You Trust the Bible?" Here we go!

CAN YOU TRUST THE BIBLE?

"All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work."
2 Timothy 3:16-17

First, we discussed how the Christian faith is built on believing that the Bible is true. Without the Bible, our entire faith collapses. So how do we know that we can trust the Bible? First we have to believe that there is a God. God reveals himself to us in 3 ways.

1. In Creation. The world and the human body are so detailed and intricate that they are truly the work of an artist.

• "Since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities-his eternal power and divine nature-have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made so that men are without excuse." Romans 1:19-20
• "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands." Psalm 19:1
• "Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory." Isaiah 6:3

2. In Conscience. Mankind has a basic conscience built in us that knows right from wrong. This isn't the work of evolution, but rather a Divine good Creator.

• "Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law, since they show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts now accusing, now even defending them." Romans 2:14-15

3. In the person of Jesus Christ.

• "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." John 1:1
• "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth." John 1:14

Next, we looked at the fact that God is true and can be trusted. He has revealed himself over and over to us in many ways. Every promise made in the Bible is fulfilled. Every prophesy is satisfied. We look to the character and nature of God. He is truth and so is the Scripture because it is rooted in him.

Here are 3 reasons that we can trust the Bible.

1. It is inspired. The Word of God was inspired by God. When people wrote the Bible, they were inspired to do so by God and they actually saw the events that they wrote about. They were not dictated to, but moved by the the Holy Spirit. These authors were inspired in many times and in different ways, because they were different men. The Word of God is forever. It is unchangeable and never lies.

• "We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty." 2 Peter 1:16
• "Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit." 2 Peter 1:20-21
• "In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways." Hebrews 1:1
• "The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the Word of God stands forever." Isaiah 40:8

2. It is credible. Archaeologically, the Bible is accurate. It has never been disproven and never contradicts itself. Historically, it has been proven chronologically true. The Dead Sea Scrolls was a great find for proving the Bible's truth. It is an ancient document, that has been studied more than any other book ever written. The amazing thing about the Dead Sea Scrolls is that the translation between them and the more recent manuscripts that had been found was that they were perfectly translated. Hundreds, even thousands, of years could pass and nothing changed in the Bible.

3. It changes lives. If you were to look in the Bible or just look around at the people you see, you can see that the Scripture changes lives.

• "For the Word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edge sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart." Hebrews 4:12

So, these were my notes from last night's sermon. The sermon was taught by Jarret Stephens at Prestonwood Baptist Church. You can check the Church out here at www.prestonwood.org.