Text: 2 Timothy 3:16-17
Many believe the Bible is an ancient book created by men. They reject the idea that it is from God. On the other hand, Christians believe the Bible contains the word of God given by inspiration. What proof do we have that the Bible is from God? We will consider a few points in this lesson.
The Bible’s Claim of Inspiration
- It is important to notice this first – if it claims to be inspired but is not, we should ignore it; but if it claims to be inspired and is, then we must follow what it says
- Passages that affirm the inspiration of the Bible (2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:20-21; 1 Corinthians 2:10-16)
The Accuracy of the Bible
- Historical accuracy – events in the Bible can be corroborated with secular historians; Luke’s record in Acts contains 32 countries, 54 cities, 9 islands, 95 persons (62 of which are not named elsewhere in the NT); all of these, when checkable, are always correct
- Archaeological evidence – discoveries are always being made, providing confirmation for what is in the Bible; example: the Hittites (Genesis 23:10-11); for years there was no archaeological evidence this people existed, but archaeological discoveries in Turkey have confirmed the existence of this ancient nation
- Consistency with science – the Bible is not a science textbook, but it harmonizes with true science; example: the paths of the sea (Psalm 8:8); this led to the discovery of ocean currents by Matthew Maury (19th century); example: circumcision on the eighth day (Genesis 17:12); why? … highest levels of vitamin K (helps with clotting) exist on the eighth day after birth
The Consistency of the Bible
- Written by 40 authors with different backgrounds, levels of education, etc. – most never met one another; they wrote over a period of about 1500 years in three languages
- Despite this, there are no real contradictions – it harmonizes with itself (cf. John 10:35)
Fulfilled Prophecies in the Bible
- This may be the most powerful proof for the inspiration of the Bible (John 14:29; Isaiah 46:9-10) – the Bible gives a test to see if a prophet spoke for God (Deuteronomy 18:20-22); if the Bible prophesied things that did not come to pass, we should ignore it; but its prophecies have been fulfilled
- Prophecies about people in the Bible
- Sennacherib – conquered cities of Judah (2 Kings 18:13), but would not take Jerusalem (2 Kings 19:32-36); he boasted of shutting up Hezekiah “like a bird in a cage,” but never took the city
- Ahab – Micaiah prophesied his death in battle (1 Kings 22:17, 28); Ahab even disguised himself (1 Kings 22:30), but was killed by a random arrow (1 Kings 22:34, 37)
- Cyrus – prophesied by name before the Babylonian captivity (Isaiah 44:28; 45:1); ruled over Persia, conquered Babylon, and allowed the Jews to return from exile (Ezra 1:1-3)
- Prophecies about Jesus
- His birth was prophesied (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:23), including its location (Micah 5:2; Matthew 2:1)
- Throughout His life, He did things “to fulfill” various prophecies (Matthew 2:23; 4:13-16; 13:34-35)
- Specific prophecies about His crucifixion (Psalm 22:7-18)
Relevancy of the Bible
- The Bible claims to be from God and reveals His will to man – He is our creator and knows what we need; He gave us a timeless message that is always applicable to our needs; never irrelevant
- He has given us everything pertaining to life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3) – not missing anything we need
- He has equipped us for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16-17) – nothing He forgot to tell us
- He has given us the standard of judgment for the last day (John 12:48) – no need to be surprised
Conclusion
- The Bible’s claim of inspiration demands that we either accept it or reject it
- If it were from men, we would be free to ignore it
- But since it is from God, we must believe and obey it to have hope of eternal life (cf. Acts 20:32)
