Why Do You Believe the Bible Mike Riddle
Why Do You Believe the Bible? Mike Riddle www. Creation. Training. org
Why believe the Bible and not other religion books?
Many Religions (Books) u Judaism u Islam Two Questions u Hinduism 1. What separates u Mormonism them? u Christianity 2. Why would I u Humanism choose one over u Catholicism the other? u Humanist Manifesto u…
How To Make A Decision (6 Criteria) 1. Testimony of the Book (internal) 2. Are there any differences between religions? 3. Who wrote the book (Bible)? 4. Which one agrees with reality? 5. Which one answers ultimate questions? 6. How do we get saved?
1 Why Believe the Bible? It testifies to be the Word of God All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3: 16 17
For this reason we also thank God without ceasing, because when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe. 1 Thessalonians 2: 13 2
His Word is Everlasting The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever. Isaiah 40: 8 Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away. Mathew 24: 35
Why Believe the Bible? Over 3, 000 times the Bible declares, “God said, ” or “Thus says the Lord”. u Paul recognized that the things he was writing were the Lord’s commandments. u Peter recognized it was the Word of God (2 Pet. 1: 16 21). u John recognized that his teaching was from God (John 17: 17). u
Why Believe the Bible? Jesus made dogmatic assertions to the truthfulness of His Word. Greek: amen – trustworthy, certain Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life. John 6: 47 KJV: Verly, verly NASB: Truly, truly
Clifford Mc. Mannis (M. Div. , Ph. D. Ecclesiology), Biblical Apologetics, 2013, p. 38. “Our job as Christians is not to promote the potential, theoretical plausibility of Christianity as being possibly more likely than not. Our job is to defend and promote its truthfulness. ”
Why Believe the Bible? The nature, condition, and cure for man’s sin Only the Bible describes man’s sin condition and demonstrates the impossibility for man to deal with his sinfulness apart from God’s grace.
Why Believe the Bible? The Bible gives revelation beyond human comprehension u u u u u The Bible is about an all knowing, all powerful, all loving God. He created all things He controls the weather (calming a storm) He can heal instantly He can walk on water He can raise the dead to life His grace is big enough to cover any sin Only He can forgive sin He is a God of ultimate love (John 3: 16)
2 What Separates Religions? Are all religions the same? What about Christianity?
What makes Christianity different from all other religions? Other religions Do Christianity Done Grace
Accuracy of Prophecy Fulfilled prophecy makes the Bible unique among other religious works such as the writings of Muhammad, Buddha, Confucius or the Book of Mormon.
Evidence from Prophecy J. Barton Payne’s Encyclopedia of Biblical Prophecy lists 1, 239 prophecies in the Old Testament and 578 prophecies in the New Testament, for a total of 1, 817. These encompass 8, 352 verses or about 27% of the Bible.
Evidence from Prophecy Genesis 12: 1 3 Jesus would come from the linage of Abraham Genesis 49: 9 10 Jesus would come out of the tribe of Judah Isaiah 11: 1, 2, 10 Jesus would come from the linage of Jesse
Isaiah 7: 14 Jesus would be born of a virgin Micah 5: 2 Jesus would be born in Bethlehem Psalm 22: 14 18 Jesus would be crucified Psalm 16: 9 11 Jesus would be resurrected
In the fifth century B. C. Zechariah declared that the Messiah would be betrayed for the price of a slave (thirty pieces of silver) Zec 11: 12 13. Almost 400 years before crucifixion was invented, both Israel's King David and the prophet Zechariah described the Messiah's death in words that perfectly depict that mode of execution.
u Jeremiah prophesied that Israel would be in captivity by Babylon for 70 years. u In 700 BC, Isaiah named Cyrus as the king who would allow Israel to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the Temple. This was 150 years before Cyrus became king. u At the height of Nineveh's power, the prophet Nahum prophesied they would be conquered and never recover.
2 Timothy 4: 3 -4 Prophecy for today For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.
Reliability / Trustworthiness Accuracy of content
Accuracy of Content u Jewish Scribes and the Torah u There are more than 24, 000 partial and complete manuscript copies of the New Testament in existence today. Jesus viewed the Old Testament as reliable. Have ye not read… (11 times) It is written. . . (30 times)
Accuracy of Content “To date, over 25, 000 sites in biblical lands have been discovered, dating back to Old Testament times, which have established the accuracy of innumerable details in the Bible. ” Ron Rhodes, Th. D. , Answering The Objections of Atheists, Agnostics and Skeptics, 2006, p. 130.
Accuracy of Archaeology The City of Jericho “The archaeological evidence supports the historical accuracy of the Biblical account in every detail. Every aspect of the story that could possibly be verified by the findings of archaeology is, in fact, verified. ” Bryant G. Wood (M. A. in Biblical History, Ph. D. in Syro Palestinian archaeology), Bible and Spade, 1999, vol 12, no. 2
Accuracy of Content Floyd Nolan Jones, Th. D. , Ph. D. , Chronology of the Old Testament, 1999, p. 20. The Dead Sea Scrolls of Isaiah agree with the Hebrew Masoretic Text… The earliest Masoretic Text which we have is dated c. 900 AD. Almost no changes have occurred in the book of Isaiah 53, for example, contains only one word of three letters which is in doubt after nearly eleven hundred years of copying.
3 Who wrote the Bible? 66 books u Over 40 authors u Over a span of 1, 600 years u 3 languages u Kings, prophets, shepherds, fishermen, tax collectors, farmers, physician u
Consistent Message The Bible, written by over 40 men over a period of 1, 600 years, has a unified and common theme: Paradise Created, Paradise Lost, Paradise Restored, And It All Points To Christ. The redemption of sinful man by a loving Creator
Who wrote the Bible? The words were penned by men under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
Who wrote the Bible? 2 Peter 1: 20 21 Knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.
Who wrote the Bible? 2 Timothy 3: 16 17 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.
4 The Bible Agrees with Reality Origin of the Universe (matter) u Origin of stars u Origin of life u Fossil record (Cambrian, graveyards, . . . ) u History (archaeology) u Origin of dinosaurs u Age of the earth (about 6, 000 years) u Purposeful design in all life u
Amazing Creatures That Defy Evolution
Giraffe
Rete mirabile Regulates the surge in blood pressure The Giraffe’s valves help control blood flow.
Giraffe e D n g i s
Leviathan Out of his mouth go burning lamps, and sparks of fire leap out. Job 41: 19
Bombardier Beetle Chemical storage chamber
Monarch Butterfly How do we go from a caterpillar to a Monarch butterfly?
n g i s e Adult lays an egg u Reaches maturity in 20 days u Grows from 0. 08 to 1. 8 inches u Increases its weight by 2, 700 times u At maturity it builds a silk pad (6 hours) u Builds a chrysalis u Dissolves into a green liquid u After 8 days appears as a complex flying insect u D I d n a n o i t a m r o f n
The Incredible Human Body
u An adult human being is made up of about 7, 000, 000, 000 atoms (7 octillion). u Everyone has a unique tongue print. (similar to fingerprints) u There about 9, 000 taste buds on the surface of the tongue, in the throat, and on the roof of the mouth. u The surface area of a human lung is equal to half a tennis court.
u Humans shed about 1. 5 pounds of skin each year, which is about 105 pounds of skin by age 70. u Every square inc h of skin on the human body has about 32 million bacteria on it; most of them are harmless. u If the human eye was a digital camera it would have about 570 megapixels (top cameras have about 50 MPs).
u There about 2. 5 trillion red blood cells in your body. To maintain this number 2 ½ million new ones must be produced every second by the bone marrow. u In one square inch of our hand we have 9 feet of blood vessels, 600 pain sensors, 9, 000 nerve endings, 36 heat sensors, and 75 pressure sensors. u When we touch something, we send a message to the brain at 124 mph.
u In the human body there are _______ 60, 000 miles of blood vessels u A heart that pumps over 100, 000 times a day u Red blood cells that transport oxygen to tissues u White blood cells that rush to identify enemy agents in the body and mark them for destruction
u Eyes and ears which are more complex than any man made machine u The human body is made of 60 trillion cells. u Each second, 10 million cells die and are replaced. u Bones u. A stronger than concrete nose that can recognize and remember 50, 000 different scents
u You get a new stomach lining every three to four days. u A liver with over 500 different functions u Sneezes that exceed 100 miles per hour u Teeth that start growing 6 months before you are born u Eyes that are fully grown at birth u It takes 17 muscles to smile and 43 to frown.
Human Brain u About 200 billion nerve cells (neurons) u Over 100 trillion connections (synapses) u About one quadrillion calculations a second u Storage capacity: 1 quintillion bytes (1, 000, 000)
Purposeful design by our Creator God, Jesus Christ d n a y l l u f e d a Fear M y l l u f r e d n o W Every human body is a testimony to an all knowing, all powerful Creator
5 u Where The Bible Answers Ultimate Questions did we come from? u Why is there death and suffering? u What is the purpose of life? u What happens when we die?
What Happens When We die? And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment. Hebrews 9: 27 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me”. John 14: 6
What Happens When We die? And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. Revelation 20: 15
6 What Must We Do To Be Saved?
The Gospel John 3: 16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3: 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
Gen 1: 1 Gen 1: 31 Gen 2: 16 17 The beginning A perfect beginning One warning The Bad News Gen 3: 6 Gen 3: 17 19 Rom 6: 23 a Mat 5: 48 Rom 3: 23 Isa 59: 2 Rebellion (sin) God keeps His promise (death) Wages of sin is death God demands perfection No one is perfect Separated from God No Hope
The Good News Gen 3: 15 John 3: 16 1 Cor 15: 3 4 2 Cor 7: 10 Rom 6: 23 b Eph 2: 8 9 Eph 2: 4 5 Rom 5: 8 John 14: 6 Rom 1: 19 20 Rom 10: 9 Promise of victory Promise fulfilled The core of the Gospel Repent (leads to salvation) A free gift Works not good enough God’s grace God demonstrates His love Only one way e h T No excuses l e p Confess/believe Gos
Conclusion: Why Believe the Bible? Jesus’ Prayer for His Disciples John 17: 17 Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth. Jesus is confirming that every part of God’s Word is truth. This means the history presented in the Bible is true as well as the salvation message.
5 -Day Apologetics Teachers College When: August 6 11, 2018 Where: Glorieta Conference Center, Glorieta, NM Who: 50 students (pastors, youth leaders, school teachers, parents, college age)
Who will train the next generation? And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. (2 Timothy 2: 2)
For more information www. Creation. Training. org Email: Info@Creation. Training. org Building an “Army” of Christian Educators
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