Lesson Series
10 Good Reasons to Believe the Bible
Series: 10 Good Reasons...10 Good Reasons to Believe the Bible
1. Its Unity
Unity of style, brevity, getting to the point, and giving the most important information is the common style of every one of the 66 books that make up God's word. Although the Bible addresses thousands of topics, most of them quite controversial, yet each one of the forty writers, though from different time periods and cultures, come together in complete unity of doctrine: (Genesis 19:5-7; Leviticus 18:22; Romans 1:26-27; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10; 1 Timothy 1:10). There is also the unity of the over-all story. Details mentioned early in the Bible, are the same details mentioned in books written thousands of years later (Genesis 3:1-4; 2 Corinthians 11:3; Genesis 19:26; Luke 17:32). Surely this is a book that came from one Mind: God's.
2. Its Historical Accuracy
The Bible mentions real people, real places and real events. Many things that skeptics one challenged and claimed were fiction, such as the existence of the Hittites, writing in the time of Moses, the city of Babylon, Pilate as governor of Judea at the time of Christ, or Gallio, procounsul of Achaea (Acts 18:12-17) have now been confirmed by archaeology. The Bible is also accurate in all the little details. In the book of Acts, Luke, the writer, gives correct titles for the following officials: Thesslonica—“politarchs”, Ephesus-“temple wardens”, Cyprus—“proconsul”, Malta—“the first man of the island”. Each one of these titles has been confirmed by Roman usage. In all, Luke names thirty-two countries, fifty-four cities, and nine islands without making a single error. Today, young people are often told by skeptics that the Bible is filled with errors, but what they are not told is how consistently the overconfident skeptics in the past were completely wrong. As William F. Albright noted, “The excessive skepticism shown toward the Bible by important historical schools of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, certain phases of which still appear periodically, has been progressively discredited. Discovery after discovery has established the accuracy of innumerable details” (Evidence that Demands a Verdict, Josh McDowell, p. 65). In other words, the Bible is not a book that becomes less relevant and weaker as new discoveries surface, but only gains credibility.
3. Its Scientific Accuracy
Not only does the Bible contain a lot of good science, it states things as fact long before the scientists discovered it, including the earth being a circle (Isaiah 40:22), the earth being suspended in space (Job 26:7), the ocean currents (Psalm 8:8), or the truth that matter is not eternal and the universe had a definite beginning (Hebrews 1:10-12). While many human theories are in conflict with the Scriptures, and have always been, the Bible and the facts of the universe have always been in agreement.
4. Its Detailed and Fulfilled Prophecies
It would be impressive if the Bible had only one detailed prediction about the future that came true. But what is even more impressive, is that the Bible contains many, not only for nations, but for individuals as well. I have been impressed with both the sheer number and minute detail found in the prophecies. For example, 700 years before Jesus was born, here is what Isaiah said about Him:
- He would be pierced: 53:5
- He died for our sins: 53:5,6
- He was scourged: 53:5
- He was silent before accusers: 53:7
- He was buried in a rich man’s grave: 53:9
- He would be resurrected: 53:10
- Many would be saved because of Him: 53:11
- He was numbered with the transgressors: 53:12
- He interceded for the transgressors: 53:1
Isaiah 53 is just one of many prophecies. The prophecy is all the more impressive when one considers what a daunting task it would be to give only ten specific predictions about someone who would be born seven hundred years from our own time, including such things as how they would die, and what others would say to them during that time (Psalm 22:8), how others would specifically treat them, and what they would accomplish in life. No other book on the planet comes even close to the Bible in this area of fulfilled prophecy.
5. Its Truthful Style
The Bible is not a book of flawless heroes, rather it describes its characters accurately, complete with both their failures and their sins. The adultery of king David is mentioned, the apostasy of Solomon, the fear of Abraham, and even the misdeeds of Moses (Numbers 20:12) despite the fact these are heroes of faith.
6. Its Moral Teachings
The Bible is both very deep and broad in the subjects it discusses. It is far from superficial, and when it comes to morality, it gets right down to the heart of the matter (Matthew 5:22, 28). The instruction on how to maintain happy marriages and other relationships is not dated, and though it is an ancient book, it does not favor one gender over the other. Rather, it is uniquely balanced (1 Peter 3:7; Ephesians 5:22-33; Titus 2:4-5). No other book has a higher level of morality. As someone noted, “The book that sums up the best morality of all time, is best explained as God’s book”.
7. The Survival and Accuracy of the Biblical Text
The Bible has survived thousands of years despite repeated attempts by both individuals and empires to suppress and destroy it. The Jewish people were surrounded by enemies in the Old Testament and were overrun by both the Assyrians and Babylonian Empires, and then subjected to the Persian, Greek and Roman Empires—yet through all this, the Old Testament survived. In 303AD, a decree was issued by the Roman Emperor to destroy all Christian places of worship and to burn the Scriptures—yet the New Testament not only survived, but is the single best authenticated work of the ancient world. We have more than 24,000 ancient manuscript copies or portions of the New Testament in existence today. In second place, are the writings of Homer, of which only 643 manuscripts still exist. What Jesus and others said about the Scriptures still describes the reality of the situation some 1900 years after the New Testament was finished, that the word of God would abide (1 Peter 1:23-25; Matthew 24:35).
8. The Character of Those Who Accept It
Something has to be said about the Bible based on simply looking at the type of people who accept it and act upon it, versus those who either reject it or give it lip service. As was true in the First Century, those who accept and do God's will are noble-minded people (Acts 17:11) and make this world a much better place.
9. Changed Lives
In over fifty years of living I have never seen book or any kind of media so drastically change people’s lives for the better than the Bible. This very congregation is filled with living and walking examples of the fact that the gospel is the power of God unto salvation to all who believe (Romans 1:16).
10. What Jesus said about it: Matthew 5:17-18; John 17:17; 10:35
Some might consider this circular reasoning, but it isn’t. Jesus was not or is not just some relative or man on the street, rather, even many people who do not believe He is the Son of God, would still consider Him one of the most impactful individuals in history, an expert on God and more, and someone whose point of view is not to be lightly dismissed. Jesus has had more impact than any human being on world history. His teachings are simply amazing, containing the highest and uplifting standard of morality and ethics known to the human race.
Mark Dunagan | mdunagan@frontier.net
Beaverton Church of Christ | 503-644-9017
www.beavertonchurchofchrist.net
