Sunday Sermons
The Bible: Internal Evidences of Inspiration
The Bible
Evidences Of Inspiration
The Bible claims to be the Word of God (2 Timothy 3:16-17). If that claim is true then the Bible will contain overwhelming evidence to back up that claim. In this lesson I want to examine some of that evidence.
Fulfilled Prophecy
If the Bible is the Word of the God who can predict the future, then we would expect the Bible to contain a number of predictions concerning future events. In fact, the Bible itself notes that the true prophet was 100 percent accurate in their predictions concerning the future (Deuteronomy 18:21-22). The prophecies against the ancient city of Tyre were spoken between 595 and 570 B.C. (Ezekiel 1:2; 29:17). Ezekiel clearly predicted that God would make Tyre “a bare rock” (26:5), “a place for the spreading of nets” (26:5), “throw your stones and your timbers and your debris into the water” (26:12), and “You will be built no more” (26:14). In 332 B.C. Alexander the Great came against Tyre. The Inhabitants had deserted the mainland city to take up residence on the island city of Tyre half a mile off shore. Alexander built a causeway (which still exists today), connecting the mainland to the island city. To build this land bridge Alexander had the complete mainland city cast into the sea, even to the point of scraping off all the topsoil down to bedrock, hence Tyre became a bare rock. If you visit this site today, you will find no mainland city, but a place that fishermen use to spread their nets.
The Bible and Archaeology
The Mari letters reveal the existence of such names as Abraham, Jacob, and the Benjamites. These letters also support the record of the war fought in (Genesis 14). For example Genesis 14:1 mentions an Amorite king Arioch; the Mari documents render the king’s name “Ariwwuk”. The Ebla tablets (found in Syria) date from the third millennium B.C., and contain the names of the cities Ur, Sodom and Gomorrah, and the personal names, Adam, Eve and Noah. One of the most important contributions of modern archaeology is the information that is given about the laws and customs of the people. For example, Sarah’s actions in Genesis 16:1-3 were a common custom of the time. It was quite common for the man’s wife to take a slave woman and present her to her husband in order to raise up a child for herself. If a man had no son he would normally adopt an heir (Genesis 15:2-3).
Minute Accuracy
Luke gives a tremendous amount of historical and political detail. The Bible is not a book that attempts to remain vague. The writers deliberately cited a number of details whereby others could check their accuracy. Numerous Roman governors appear in Luke’s writings including Pilate, Sergius Paulus, Gallio, Felix, Festus, and descendants of Herod the Great—Herod Antipas, Herod Agrippa I and II, Bernice and Drusilla, as well as leading members of the Jewish priestly caste, Annas, Caiaphas, Ananias, and the famous Rabbi Gamaliel. Luke mentions the proconsul of Achaia, Gallio (Acts 18:12), who came to prominence according to the Delphi Inscription, in July of A.D. 51. Luke places the gospel that bears his name and the history of the early church (Acts) within a specific time frame. It’s either true or false, it either happened then, at that time, or it did not, there is no room for error. One of the most minute and amazing details is the mention of Erastus (ih RAS tus). This man was a Christian and an official in the city of Corinth (Romans 16:23 “Erastus, the city treasurer greets you”). In 1929, while excavating the ruins in Corinth, Professor T.L. Shear found a pavement bearing the following inscription, “Erastus, procurator and aedile, laid this pavement at his own expense.” The pavement dates from the first century A.D. The word “aedile” is a Latin term, and research has shown that the duties of such men, included responsibilities concerning the financial affairs of the city.
Geographical Detail: Deuteronomy 11:14 “the early rain and the late rain”. The early rain begins in October or November, it continues to rain throughout the winter with the late rain arriving in early April. Joshua 2:16 “Go to the hill country”. Just two-and-a-half miles west of Jericho the land abruptly arises. Luke 8:23 “And a fierce gale of wind descended upon the lake”. Such storms are not uncommon on the Sea of Galilee, due to the elevation of the sea and the rifts in the surrounding mountains. Luke 19:4 “A sycamore tree”. This type of tree only grows along the coast and in the Jordan Valley in Palestine. Jericho is located in that valley. This statement would have been inaccurate if Zacchaeus had been in a sycamore tree located in Jerusalem (some 20 miles away). Hundreds of other minute details could be cited on this point. In view of the above facts, we must conclude: Such writers were themselves eyewitnesses (2 Peter 1:16; 1 John 1:1), or recorded the testimony of eyewitnesses. They were greatly concerned with accuracy (Luke 1:1-4; Acts 26:25). If the time was real time, and if the place was a real place, and both can be confirmed, then without any evidence to the contrary, how can anyone say that the event was not a real event?
Very Candid and Honest about Life
The Biblical writers give a very honest and truthful picture of life. Unlike man-made religions and philosophies, they did not view this world or its trials as an illusion. They did not teach an easy way to instant happiness or wealth, and neither did they advocate or justify unethical means to spread their teaching (2 Corinthians 10:5; 4:2 “not walking in craftiness”). Consider the following passages (1 Peter 4:12,15; James 2:1-3; 1 Tim. 6:9-10; Colossians 4:1; Phil. 2:3-4).
What Did They Gain? “All that is known about the apostles testifies to their honesty and integrity. That they taught honesty, sincerity, and truthfully is abundantly clear from their writings. What is recorded of their lives clearly supports their teachings: (1) They did not fear men, even under threat of death (Acts 4:18f; 5:27f). (2) They did not tolerate lying (Acts 5:1f). (3) They refused to be bought with money (Acts 8:18; 24:26). (4) And on top of all of it, they remained steadfast in their testimony under extreme persecution, and even to the point of death (Acts 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 4:9-13; 2 Corinthians 11:23-33; 2 Timothy 4:6-8). Men will sometimes die for what they believe to be true but never for what they know to be false. A man becomes extremely honest and truthful under the threat of death” (Christian Apologetics, Norman Geisler, p. 315). Added to the above, I am impressed that the apostles did not fall into the vices or errors that have entrapped various religious leaders. They did not become ascetics over time (1 Timothy 4:1-4), neither did they practice polygamy (1 Corinthians 9:5), they did not become millionaires at the expense of the members (Acts 3:6), and neither did they endorse terrorism, isolationism, or communal living(1 Corinthians 5:10; 10:27).
The Bible’s High Moral Standard
Right up front, let us be impressed that the Bible stresses inward as well as outward purity (2 Corinthians 7:1; 1 Peter 2:1-2; 1 Corinthians 13:1-3). The writers have no tolerance for hypocrisy or religion that is merely external or from ulterior motives(Matthew 6:1-4). While other books may have a flash of moral teaching (the Koran, Bhagavad-Gita (Hindu), Tripitaka (Buddhist), the Bible is the only book that sums up the totality of all religious and moral truth (2 Peter 1:3; Jude 3; John 16:13). Justin Martyr noted, “Whatever things were rightly said among all men, are the property of us Christians” (Apology, II). The point is that when people hit the nail on the head concerning some moral issue, they are only agreeing with what God has already said. Geisler argues, “A book that sums up and transcends the best morality of all books of all time is best explained as God’s Word. The Bible is such a book. Therefore, the Bible is best explained as God’s Word” (A General Introduction to the Bible, Norman L. Geisler and William E. Nix, pp. 120-121).
The Bible’s Unity
Although written over a time span of 1500 years, by about 40 different human authors, on three continents, there exists not even one contradiction in doctrinal teaching from Genesis to Revelation. Doctrinal Unity: Most sermons that you will hear confirm this truth, as a preacher will cite passages from various books in both Testaments to make his point (Psalm 119:89 “All Thy commandments are faithful”; 119:128). Organic Unity: That is, all parts of the Bible are necessary to the complete whole. Every book of the Bible is essential. What book of the Bible could we afford to discard? Genesis? Exodus? Leviticus? Psalms? Proverbs? Jeremiah? Matthew? Acts? Romans? Or, in other words, which book of the Bible has proven fruitless in promoting your understanding of God and His will? (Psalm 119:160 “The sum of Thy word is truth”; James 2:11). Unity In Style: The Bible is a very condensed collection of books, yet contains one epic after another. The Creation of the universe and mankind, is told in only two chapters. Sin enters the world in one chapter. The birth of Jesus is revealed in Matthew 2 and Luke 2. The death of John the Baptist we find in Matthew 14:10. The whole life of Jesus Christ upon this earth is found in four short Gospels. Throughout the Bible, the reader can perceive the divine restraint that prevented the human authors from elaborating or rambling. Any human writer, relying upon his own inspiration, would have written volumes concerning the Creation, what God was doing before the Creation, the flood, the birth, life and death of Jesus (John 21:25), and the lives and deaths of each one of the apostles, and so on. Thus, we must conclude, that the extreme brevity of the Biblical record reflects the truth that “men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God” (2 Peter 1:21).
Pre-scientific Foreknowledge
The Bible mentions many scientific truths long before man discovered such with his technology. The earth is round (Isaiah 40:22). Oceanography, the paths in the sea (Psalm 8). Life is in the blood (Leviticus 17:10-16). Sanitation, quarantine, and infectious diseases (Leviticus 13-14). The number of the stars (Genesis 13:16). The water vapor cycle, the process of rain, evaporation and condensation (Ecclesiastes 1). The dimensions of the ark (Genesis 6:15), dimensions still used in ship building to this day. The law of biogenesis, life begets life and that after its own kind (Genesis 1:11). The first law of thermodynamics, no new matter is being created (Genesis 2:1). The second law of thermodynamics, matter and energy can become unusable and the universe is running down (Hebrews 1:10-12). Both men and women have a seed of procreation (Genesis 3:15). The eighth day is the best day to circumcise a newborn boy (Acts 7:8).
In addition, the Bible does not contain any of the ignorance, superstition or junk science of the time and surrounding cultures when it was written. None of the men who wrote the Bible claimed to be scientists, so how did they know all these things without having any scientific tools or instruments?
The Alternate Possibility
Concerning who Jesus is, we often point out to people that one cannot claim that Jesus was a good man, good religious teacher, but not God because a mere good man does not claim to be God when he is not. The same lack of any middle ground exists also concerning the Bible. Some want to believe that the Bible is a good book, a good guide for life, helpful and practical, but not the Word of God. But the Bible does not claim to be merely a good book (John 12:48; James 1:21; 2 Timothy 3:16-17). The Bible is either the Word of God, or it is a book of lies, for merely a good book does not claim to be the Word of God when it is not.
Mark Dunagan/Beaverton Church of Christ/503-644-9017
www.beavertonchurchofchrist.net/mdunagan@easystreet.com
