Scripture: I Peter 1:22 - 2:2

C.I. “…A Book Written by Men?”

Last week…. – In this series we are answering questions raised by skeptics!
In last week’s lesson we saw that God’s fingerprints were all over His creation. – Today…

I. Four Evidences for the Validity of the Bible

A. Introduction:
a. Bible Facts:
1) The Bible was written by over 40 different men (kings, shepherds, prophets, slaves, etc.).
2) The Bible was written over a 1,500 year time span.
3) The Bible was written in three different languages (Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek).
4) Yet it has one unifying theme – “God’s Desire to Redeem Man from His Sins!”
b. Concerns Voiced by Skeptics…
1) “How can we trust that what we have today was what was originally written?”
2) “How can we be sure the Bible is from God and not just some ‘religious book’?”

2. Legal authorities recognize the validity of a prima fascia case.
a. Such a case exists; “When adequate evidence is available to establish the presumption of a fact,
which, unless such can be refuted, legally stands as fact.”
b. Inferential proof: “The culmination of many lines of evidence into only 1 possible conclusion
is an invaluable part of a prima fascia case. – There is a vast amount of inferential evidence!
c. Thus, in this lesson we will use various means to demonstrate the validity of the Bible. – The
acrostic M.A.P.S. will help us remember these pieces of evidence.

B. “M” = Manuscript Evidence

1. “What evidence is there for the accuracy of the manuscripts?”
a. Lets begin by looking at some ancient, non-biblical texts…
1) Josephus’, “Jewish Wars” – 9 completed manuscripts from the 5th century.
2) Tacitus’, Annals of Imperial Rome (Roman history) – 2 partial manus. from Middle Ages.
3) Thucydides’, History – 8 copies
4) Plato’s works – 7 copies
5) Caesar’s, Gallic Wars, - 10 copies – Yet most ancient history is from these kinds of evidence.
b. The count from 1980 – was 5366 manuscripts of the New Testament!!
1) We don’t have the originals – but we can determine what these said. - ILLUST.: Grandma’s
recipe – 3copies sent to 3 women who made 10 copies each (then original was lost).
2) Textual Criticism: Age – Geographic Distribution – various languages – etc.!!!
3) Before 1947 (DSS), oldest O.T. document dated 12th century (explain Masoretic ). – But with
this discovery – it took us back to within 200 years of the writing. – NO CONSEQUENTIAL
DIFFERENCES!! – John Ryland’s papyrus WAS WRITTEN NEAR THE 1st CENTURY!!!
4) Thus, as Jesus said, “Heaven & earth will pass away, but My words will…, ” ( Matt. 24:35).

C. “A” = Archeological Evidence

1. “Hasn’t archeology proven that the Bible is unreliable? For instance, where’s Noah’s boat?”
a. There are numerous finds that at one time appeared to “prove” the Bible “unreliable”…
1) “Hittites”? – 1906, outside Ankara, Turkey, Hittite capital discovered – Gen. 23; 2 Sam. 11, “Ephron the H. answered Abraham….”v. 10 – “…Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah the H.” v. 3.
2) Uzziah’s burial plaque – “Here the bones of U., king of Judah were brought. Do not open.” – 2 Chron. 26:21, “King Uzziah was a leper until the day of his death.”
3) Cylinder of Cyrus – permitting the Jews to return to Jerusalem – Ezra 1:3, “Whoever there is among you of all God’s people, may his God be with him. – Let him go up to Jerusalem…!”
4) Thus, archeologist have not disproven the Bible – but validate it with every turn of the spade!
5) And if Noah’s ark is ever found – two things will be true: believers won’t require it – and some skeptics won’t believe it anyway!”

D. “P” = Prophetic Evidence

1. “How do we know that prophecies weren’t written in after the event & made to appear prophetic?”
a. The Old Testament includes many prophetic events and fulfillments;
1) Cyrus’ exodus (see above), prophecied by Jeremiah, Jer. 29:10, “Thus says the Lord, ‘After 70 years in Babylon … I will cause you to return to this place.” – 60 years before the decree!
2) (Isa. 44:28), “It is I who says of Cyrus, ‘He is My shepherd! – And he will perform all I
desire.’” – (This was written over 170 years BEFORE Cyrus decree… and Cyrus!!!)
3) But there are some skeptics who will say this was a later insertion.
b. No one will argue that the New Testament was written at least 400 years after the O.T. finished.
1) 24 were fulfilled in the last 24 hours of His life – show list of ones requiring others to fulfill!!
2) (II Peter 1:20-21), “But know this first of all, no prophecy of scripture is a matter of….”

E. “S” = Statistical Probability

1. “But the chances of all of this just happening if written by man are just too great to consider!”
a. The “Chance” of something happening is measurable – (insurance companies do it all the time).
1) Chance of Rockies winning the pennant (1:50), the World Series (1:1000), both (1:50,000)!
2) But in all reality the chance that something will happen is 1:2 (either it’ll happen or it won’t).
b. The chance of all 24 of the above “just happening” (i.e, a “guess”) = 224, or 1 in 17,777,216!!!!
1) There are over 300 Messianic prophecies in the O.T. – all fulfilled in Jesus.
2) 2300 = more seconds from creation to now! – More atoms than there are in all the universe!
c. So what is more reasonable to believe – the Bible just “happened” to get all of these right – or
that the Bible truly is inspired by an all-knowing, all-powerful God???!!!


CONCLUSION:
1) So the next time someone asks, “How can you believe in a book written by men?” – Just take out
your M.A.P.S. and show them – how they too can believe!
2) (I Peter 3:15), “Sanctify Christ as Lord in your heart, always being ready to make a defense….”
3) In Acts 2:37-41, when people heard the truth and wanted to respond – God tells us what to do…!