Is the Bible Reliable and accurate – By Josh McDowell

So you call yourself a Christian!? Do you believe what the Bible says? Do you believe the Bible is historically accurate? And if yes WHYYYYY?? Can you answer this simple question?

I.                   The Bible we have now, is what was written in the original Manuscripts.

If you want to know how accurate a manuscript (hand written copy) is to its original there are two questions you ask:

1^st question – What is the time between your manuscript and the original?

2^nd question – how many copies do you have?

A.                 The time gap

1.                  Manuscripts

They were written on papyrus (reeds grown in the Nile) with charcoal. Both the papyrus and the charcoal perishes after a period of time! So when people say that we cannot trust copies of the Bible because we do not have the original manuscripts, of course we cannot have the originals! This also explains why the dead sea scrolls are so well protected today.

2.                  Manuscripts needed to be copied

Because of the deterioration of manuscripts, they had to be copied regularly. We made copies, and the copies of the copies.

3.                  Most valuable manuscripts the oldest?

Generally speaking the one which is earlier is the better copy. So when we have manuscripts today, we value, the older copies.

4.                  How does the Bible hold up faced with other literature?

This test is applied to ancient literature:

Author	Date Written	Earliest Copy	Approximate Time Span between original & copy	Number of Copies	Accuracy of Copies
Lucretius	died 55 or 53 B.C.		1100 yrs	2	----
Pliny	A.D. 61-113	A.D. 850	750 yrs	7	----
Plato	427-347 B.C.	A.D. 900	1200 yrs	7	----
Demosthenes	4th Cent. B.C.	A.D. 1100	800 yrs	8	----
Herodotus	480-425 B.C.	A.D. 900	1300 yrs	8	----
Suetonius	A.D. 75-160	A.D. 950	800 yrs	8	----
Thucydides	460-400 B.C.	A.D. 900	1300 yrs	8	----
Euripides	480-406 B.C.	A.D. 1100	1300 yrs	9	----
Aristophanes	450-385 B.C.	A.D. 900	1200	10	----
Caesar	100-44 B.C.	A.D. 900	1000	10	----
Livy	59 BC-AD 17	----	???	20	----
Tacitus	circa A.D. 100	A.D. 1100	1000 yrs	20	----
Aristotle	384-322 B.C.	A.D. 1100	1400	49	----
Sophocles	496-406 B.C.	A.D. 1000	1400 yrs	193	----
Homer (Iliad)	900 B.C.	400 B.C.	500 yrs	643	95%
New Testament	1st Cent. A.D. (A.D. 50-100)	2nd Cent. A.D. (c. A.D. 130 f.)	less than 100 years	5600	99.5%

5.                  How do you date a manuscript?

1.      The way the papyrus is made

2.      the forms of the letters

3.      Punctuation or not?

4.      First letter of chapter, the art style could help.

6.                  Conclusion

With such a small time period between the original and the earliest found copies, we can be very confident that they were accurate.

B.                  How many copies do you have?

The more copies you have, the easier you can reconstitute the original. Again in our table above we can see how the Bible does compared to other ancient texts. In second place Homer with 643, the NT has 6400, again to show us how confident we can be that the Bible that we have today is the same as the original (or ALMOST!).

C.                  Fun Facts!

1.                  What if we burned all the bibles and manuscripts in the world?

You can burn all every single bible, and all the manuscript, and you can put the Bible back together except for 11 verses! The church fathers quoted all of them except 11 verses, sometimes, they would quote chapters at a time in Sermons and letter correspondence.

2.                   What about uncertainties found in the manuscripts?

None of the uncertainties are found on words that would affect any important doctrine.

II.                 Is the content of the bible true?

A.                 Eye Witnesses

The writers wrote as eye witnesses, or they recorded eyewitness accounts like Mark and Luke.

1 John 1:1  (1 John 1:1) - [Copy][Go][to List]

(1:1) That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life-

2 Peter 1:16  (2 Pet 1:16) - [Copy][Go][to List]

(1:16) For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.

John 20:31  (John 20:31) - [Copy][Go][to List]

(20:31) but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

John 20:31 many things Jesus did, in the presence of the disciples. Evidence for Christianity is sufficient not exhaustive, but sufficient.

1 Corinthians 15:6-8  (1 Cor 15:6-8) - [Copy][Go][to List]

(15:6-8)  6Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. 7Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. 8Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.

1 Cor 15:6-8 appeared to more than 500, who are still alive.

Acts 10:39-42  (Acts 10:39-42) - [Copy][Go][to List]

(10:39-42)  39And we are witnesses of all that he did both in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree, 40but God raised him on the third day and made him to appear, 41not to all the people but to us who had been chosen by God as witnesses, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. 42And he commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one appointed by God to be judge of the living and the dead.

Acts 10:39-42 witnesses of all the things he did, put him to death, God brought him from the dead, and appeared for people to witness for 40 days,

Luke 1:1-2  (Luke 1:1-2) - [Copy][Go][to List]

(1:1-2)  1Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that have been accomplished among us, 2just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word have delivered them to us,

Theophilus wanted the exact truth, Luke has examined from the eye witnesses.

B.                  Appealed to the knowledge of their hearers and see what happens!

They appealed to the knowledge of the hearers who saw these things, in the presence of those who knew Jesus. They say: “we saw Jesus, but you did too!”

If you are going to do that, you better be right!

Acts 2:22  (Acts 2:22) - [Copy][Go][to List]

(2:22) “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know-

Acts 2:22 Jesus a man attested to YOU by God. Just as you yourselves know!

If the audience had not seen the miracles, Peter would have been in trouble. But we know what happened, many converts!

Acts 26:24-26  (Acts 26:24-26) - [Copy][Go][to List]

(26:24-26)  24And as he was saying these things in his defense, Festus said with a loud voice, “Paul, you are out of your mind; your great learning is driving you out of your mind.” 25But Paul said, “I am not out of my mind, most excellent Festus, but I am speaking true and rational words. 26For the king knows about these things, and to him I speak boldly. For I am persuaded that none of these things has escaped his notice, for this has not been done in a corner.

Acts 26:24-26 Paul is brought before the king, I speak to the king with confidence because I am persuaded that none of these things I said you are not aware of. The answer – be careful, or I will become a Christian.

1.                  The witness of the early Christian Community

The early Christian community is the number one determinant that what we have is true. It was presented in the presence of hostile audience who would not have been afraid to correct it.

C.                  The lives of the Apostles - 2 Arguments

1.                  They died for what they knew

10 of the 12 died martyr deaths for an empty tome. The lived and walked with him, with 500 people at one time.

You can say: Well a lot of people have died for a lie!? So what’s the big deal?

Yes that is true, but they always thought it was the truth. If the resurrection was a lie, the men must have known it. They died for a lie, and believed that it was a lie, would 10 people do that!?

That signed their testimony by their blood!

2.                  They died horrible deaths, because of how certain they were!

A lot of people died for a great cause! Their great cause died on the cross! In the face of the most horrible deaths, they did not withdraw their statements!

III.              Conclusion

We can conclude that what we have in our bible is what is written down, and what they wrote down is true!

Gossip

Do you remember that time where you were just frustrated with somebody. You were so angry with them, trying to cool down, but as soon as you find someone you know, you just can’t hold it in, and you tell them about how horrible that ‘somebody’ is. Maybe it’s not how horrible they are but just something stupid they did, or something maybe you just found out about them, something unusual, something embarrassing, or something that you would never do, and you just cannot keep it inside. You share it. I do this a lot, I have trouble controlling what I say. I know I break the golden rule, I tell people stuff, that I would definitely not want others to say about me, but it seems beyond me, I feel like I almost cannot resist!

In my life I have had so many: "WHY couldn't I just keep my big mouth shut Moments!" I get so frustrated with myself, that I get to the point where I make this resolution: “from now on I will never ever mention anybody who is not present unless, it is just because I cannot help but to praise them!”

I have pledged this so many times, and failed each time! And just think, Oh what a Wretched man am I!

I picked this topic of Gossip, to study what scripture says about it, apart: “Don’t do it!”, because I am keen to get serious, to see how this problem can be fixed, if it can at all. I also believe scripture helps you cultivate a stronger prayer life when you pray God’s words back to him.

Bible

Proverbs 21:23
Whoever keeps his mouth and his tongue ​​​​​​​keeps himself out of trouble. ​​​

God created us, so he known us. He knit us in our mother’s womb, we are wonderfully and fearfully made! God loves us, wants us to delight in him, and live a life of Joy, that we might have life abundantly in Christ. With this goal in mind, his very Words warn us against misusing our tongue, being careful of what we say. Proverbs 21:23 warns us that if we don’t mind our tongue, we will encounter trouble.

Gossiping might seem so harmless, after all what is it more than just a few words, but the Bible tells us that it leads to much ungodliness (2 Tim 2:16), special quarrelling directly (Pro 26:20). Because of all this as men and women of God, who call Jesus our saviour, we must get our act together, and seek better discipline in our life. The problem is that our own the Bible says this is an impossible task:

James 3:8
but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.

Going through the scriptures, we will see that gossip helps us to understand our sinful condition, it gives us some reasons why we must stop gossiping, it teaches us what to do about it, but at the end we are desperately in need of a savior to be merciful, to guide us with his Spirit to conform us to the image of his beloved son, and to forgive us our sin.

We are foolish sinners in need of a Savior

1 Corinthians 13: Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;

Love does not Gossip, if it is not resentful. We gossip when we envy, we spread the darker side of people lives we are jealous of. We are irritated about something or someone, we speak negatively about them behind their back, we resent them. This is not love. Love humbly seeks to bless, seeks other people’s interests, it is OPC: Other Person Centeredness.

And it is not just when we are the ones spreading the rumours, the lies, the negative resentful speech. Even we are simply listening. It takes two to gossip. It takes one to delight in listening as well as the one talking. If you think about it, who would be able to gossip, and slander others, if no one stuck around to listen. An evildoer listens to wicked lips, and a liar gives ear to a mischievous tongue.(Prov 17:4).

Further than saying that if we listen do gossip we are evil doers, or that if we gossip, we do not love, the Bible calls us Foolish! Whoever utters slander is a fool! (Prov 10:18).

Reasons to Stop Gossiping

The Bible condemns Gossip. Really intense language is used referring to Gossip. The one who sows discourse among brothers in an abomination to the Lord (Prov 6:16-19). Gossip takes away all your good works, if you are not able to bridle your tongue, your religion is worthless (James 1:26). The Lord promises to destroy the one who gossips (Ps 101:5). The ten commandments tell us not to bear false witness against our neighbour (Ex 20:16), the law tells us not to slander (Lev 19:16), Jesus warned us that on the day of judgement we will have to give an account for every word that we speak (Mat 12:36) this is also found in Paul (1 Tim 5:13).  

What do you do about it?

The main thing we need to do is change our whole attitude towards people. Instead of bringing people down with gossip and slander with corruptible speech, Paul demands that the only things that be spoken be for building up, that our words might be a blessing to those who hear (Eph 4:29). We are to think about good things, rather than dwell on the bad, and complain about things for the sake of complaining (Phil 4:8). Our standards must be raised to the point that we will tolerate no gossip, Proverbs 20:19 instructs us not to associate with those who gossip.

Jesus

It is our responsibility as Christians to do everything in our power not to sin. We must take every step then to avoid gossiping. Whatever the step, it must be taken. This is not because we want to earn our salvation, but because we are warned that it is behaviour associated with evil doers and fools! The Bible helps us understand the consequences which can be varied between all kinds of ungodliness, but more precisely dividing friends, and stirring up quarrels. Having said that, on our own, we are still fighting to stop sinning, as sometimes gossip just beats us! As James writes, no human being can tame the tongue! So we know that we fall short, and need Jesus to do the work for us, we must really on him to guiding, and trust that when we are tempted we always have a way out. 1 Cor 10:13

What is it that we mean when we say everybody?

In most cases when we think we are referring to everybody, some people will be left out.

When we cast a vision, for what the ideal world would look like, the ideal family would look like, the ideal church would look like, the ideal community would look like. We see the world through certain spectacles that are going to influence our view of what is ideal.

What about all the people who might not fit in what we call ideal? People from different cultures, homosexuals, the old people, the mentally ill? What do we have for them?

There is only one God, and one truth. Most of the ideals that we create are actually based on our upbringing, not from what we read in scripture. Scripture is universal, relevant for all. Soo I want to suggest that when people are rejected, or feel that way, it is not God's fault, but man's fault. So I want to suggest that when people go against what the Bible teaches, they are actually rejecting the way Bible believers have wrongly applied the passages, and brought condemnation on different people groups such as: women, people of color, homosexuals, the poor.

After a class I took yesterday focusing on all that, I realized that sometimes we really do think narrow! When we hear of a theology different than our own, we just want to dismiss it, call it unbiblical and move on. But what about all the hurt that was involved in the development of this new theology? How did it come to be? Why haven't they just simply accepted orthodox theology? I think the answer is that they were mistreated, in a way Jesus would never approve of. I believe that instead of just calling these people heretics, we must befriend them, get to know them, and through our love, allow them to have a personal encounter with the living God!

1 Cor 9 16 For if I preach the gospel, that gives me no ground for boasting. For necessity is laid upon me. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! 17 For if I do this of my own will, I have a reward, but if not of my own will, I am still entrusted with a stewardship. 18 What then is my reward? That in my preaching I may present the gospel free of charge, so as not to make full use of my right in the gospel.
19 For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them. 20 To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. 21 To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law. 22 To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. 23 I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings.

Devotional Challenge Day 6 - Pride n Humility

1 Sam 2:2-3 ​​​​​​​​“There is none holy like the LORD; ​​​​​​​there is none besides you; ​​​​​​​there is no rock like our God. ​​​ 3​​​​​​​​Talk no more so very proudly, ​​​​​​​let not arrogance come from your mouth; ​​​​​​​for the LORD is a God of knowledge, ​​​​​​​and by him actions are weighed. ​​​

We see that Hannah, is a great example for us all, in the story of Samuel's birth. First, she makes her request known to God (1 Sam 1:11), she wants a son, and she wants to dedicate him to the Lord. This is a noble request.

She has Samuel: 'I have asked for him from the Lord' - Samuel's name shows her dedication to the Lord.

1 Sam 2 begins with a prayer from Hannah. Some comments she make about humility/ Pride are fascinating!

We often feel the we have something to boast about. Hannah articulates it so well, when she give the reason for not being proud, first being that: The Lord is a God of knowledge! Who are you trying to convince that you are good? God knows already! And secondly, most of the time we look around us, at other people, to make ourselves feel better, but God is the one who will weigh our actions. His standards are so much better than ours. Proper humility, properly placing our confidence, having an acurate perception of reality, leads to us to the praise of God, rather than ourselves!

Devotional Day 5 - True Repentence

1 Samuel 7:3 “If you are returning to the LORD with all your heart, then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtaroth from among you and direct your heart to the LORD and serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.”

Real repentance must be with your whole heart. You heart cannot be separated, it must be pure. You can only pursue one thing at a time. No one can serve two masters (Mat 6:24). Serve only him!

We need to examine how we spend, our time? and how we spend our money? Often this will reflect what our priorities are. What other thing than God are we serving in this life? Is there anything we need to do? Anything we need to get rid off? This is a very personal issue, but nobody has probably got it right yet, there will always be room for improvement. And so I say to all... Good Luck! It is worth it. Through Christ, we can find the wisdom to be more obedient to this commandment, and through his power better at keeping!