1 CAN WE TRUST THE BIBLE? 2 TIMOTHY 3:14-17 SERMON Four pastors were discussing the pros and cons of various Bible translations. Eventually each one stated his preference. The first pastor explained that he used the King James translation because he loved the Old English style. The second pastor said he preferred the New International Version because of its accuracy of translation and its widespread appeal. The third pastor shared that he loved Eugene Petersen s translation called The Message because it used very modern language. All three pastors waited for the fourth to explain his preference. Finally, he said, I guess when it comes to translations and paraphrased editions of the Bible I like my Dad s translation the best. He put the Word of God into practice every day. It was the most convincing translation I ve ever seen. I m starting a new sermon series on the Bible today. For the next seven or eight weeks we will be examining the Bible. I want to speak about why we trust the Bible, how it can help us navigate the Christian life, review the dangers of drifting from God s Word, discuss the Holy Spirit s role in its inspiration and talk about the Bible s amazing perseverance. I hope you will join us each week in worship for this study of God s Word! We live in a day and age in which many people question the trustworthiness and authority of the Bible. Unfortunately, lots of misinformation about the Bible has been disseminated on the internet through a variety of sources. One needs to exercise great care in trusting information provided on the internet! I encourage you to check the sources and look for multiple references. Listen: we can count on the trustworthiness and authority of the Bible because God inspired it and has preserved it over the ages!! Today I want to speak about the origin and purpose of the Bible. I want to argue that: we can trust the Bible because God inspired it and has preserved it through the ages! Let me say it again: you can trust the Bible because God inspired it and has preserved it through the ages! Having said this, you might be interested to know that not one original autograph or manuscript of any New Testament book still exists. We depend on copies for reconstructing the original text. The closest copy to an original autograph dates from 110-125 AD. However, according to Philip Comfort in his book, The Origin of the Bible At present, we have more than six thousand manuscript copies of the Greek New Testament or portions thereof. No other work of Greek literature can boast of such numbers. Homer s Iliad, the greatest of all classical works is extant in about 650 manuscripts; and Euripides tragedies exist in about 330 manuscripts. Furthermore, it must be said that the amount of time between the original composition and the next surviving manuscript is far less for the New Testament than for any other work in Greek literature. (pg.182) We must realize that though we do not have the original manuscripts of the Bible, God has preserved His Word and the basic doctrines of His Word through the centuries. Sir Fredric
2 Kenyon, paleographer and Biblical and textual scholar wrote, The Christian can take the whole Bible in his hand and say without fear or hesitation that he holds in it the true Word of God, handed down without loss from generation to generation throughout the centuries (Kenyon, Our Bible and the Ancient Manuscripts pg. 55) Before we investigate the origin and purpose of the Bible, I want to discuss the background of our biblical text. Timothy, the recipient of this second letter from the Apostle Paul, served as the pastor of the church in Ephesus. Ephesus is located in modern day Turkey, right on the Mediterranean coast. Sally and I visited Turkey and the ancient city of Ephesus six years ago and were absolutely overwhelmed with the incredible ruins of this ancient city. We have a few slides to show you of Ephesus. Timothy grew up with a godly mother and grandmother. Paul mentioned these two women in the first chapter of this second letter. In vs.15 of our reading today, Paul referred to the fact that Timothy had learned the Holy Scriptures from infancy. His mother and grandmother had taught him. Paul served as Timothy s mentor and friend. Scholars believe that Paul s second letter to Timothy was written just prior to Paul s death in Rome. Paul had been imprisoned during Nero s reign in Rome and was eventually martyred. Shortly before Paul died he wrote this final letter to Timothy. Timothy was an unlikely candidate for such an important pastoral position. From a strictly human standpoint, Timothy didn t seem to be a very good match for the job. He was young, timid, prone to illness, a real introvert! But like many other biblical figures before him, God called him to serve in a capacity far beyond his human abilities! God saw his heart, his sincere faith and called him to serve. Like Timothy, you might be struggling in a ministry for which you feel inadequate and unprepared. God gave Timothy the grace, wisdom and strength to persevere and God provided a wonderful example and mentor to emulate in the apostle Paul. God can give you what you need to manage and thrive as well! Seek the Lord and ask Him for help and He will give it to you! God can give you the grace, wisdom and strength to persevere and endure in your ministry! Let s turn our attention to what Paul says about the Bible. We see first, it has a divine origin. God inspired the Bible! 1.Since God inspired the Bible, it has great power! Look in vs.16, All scripture is God breathed. Some translations use the phrase, inspired by God. But the New International Version captures the meaning of the original text well for the original word theopneustos means literally, God breathed. Does this mean that God simply breathed his words into human authors who then wrote the words down directly from God? Well, not exactly. The Holy Spirit inspired human authors to pen the words of scripture. When we study the scriptures carefully we note differences in style and language among the authors. God inspired human authors to write his words in cooperation
3 with their own unique style, personality and gifts. For instance, an eloquent vocabulary and long sentences characterize the Apostle Paul s writing; the apostle John, on the other hand, possessed a simple, more cryptic style of writing. John was not as well educated as Paul and did not possess the expansive vocabulary that Paul demonstrated. Note the inclusive language that Paul used in vs.16. He wrote, All scripture. We must read all 66 books of the Bible with this understanding. Many seek to chop off or ignore sections of the Bible with which they disagree or do not understand. The cults have had a heyday twisting, ignoring, subtracting, or adding to the scriptures to achieve their own selfish ends. The difficult passages humble us for they remind us of our own finite and limited perspective. The difficult passages in the Bible point to God s sovereignty and omniscience. Many years ago a man by the name of Henry Goodear lived in London. He scoffed at the Bible. But one day he agreed to attend church worship services just to please his niece. The scripture that morning was taken from Genesis 5: All the days that Adam lived were 912 years and he died All the days of Seth were 930 years and he died All the days of Enos were 905 years and he died..etc. As the verses were being read, the niece shrunk in her seat. She wondered why God had permitted such an uninteresting text to be read on this day of all days in the church? Mr. Goodear made no comment as he walked home with his niece. But that night he couldn t get the refrain from Genesis 5 out of his mind: and he died. He went to bed and seemed to hear the clock strike the words and he died. The next morning the phrase continued to haunt him. Finally, he couldn t stand it any longer and he reached for his neglected family Bible and read the words from the lesson again. That night, Mr. Goodear, the sceptic and scoffer, decided to give his life to the Lord, the one who said, He who believes in me shall never die. God truly breathed life and power into the words of scripture! Since God inspired the Bible it has great power, power to reach even the most resistant sceptic! Listen to this: We experience the power of God s Word, the power of the Bible when we obey it. Mr. Goodear, the sceptic who decided to give his life to the Lord, obeyed the word of God which he heard! Pastor and author Eugene Peterson bought some running shoes at the age of 35 and started running in long-distance races. He competed in several 10k races every month and eventually ran a marathon. Peterson subscribed to three running magazines and read every one of them. But one day he pulled a muscle and couldn t run for a couple of months. Though the running magazines were all over his house, he never opened them and read them. He lost interest in them! Peterson reported that he realized his reading of those running magazines was really an extension of his actual running. He read the magazines to deepen his world of running. So it is with the Bible! We read the Bible to deepen our understanding of our Christian discipleship and faith. If we don t live in obedience to the Word of God, simply reading about creation/salvation/holiness won t hold our interest for long. We experience the power of God s Word when we obey what we read!
4 2.Since God inspired the Bible, it has life-changing profit! Look in your Bible in vs.15 where Paul says this about the Bible s profit, and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. God inspired the Bible to teach us about Jesus and faith! The Old Testament prepares us for Jesus and points to Jesus, the gospels tell us about Jesus life and teachings, his death and resurrection. The book of Acts and the epistles help us learn about discipleship and following Christ by faith. So, the primary profit of the Bible is learning about faith in Jesus Christ. But Paul writes of additional profit in the second part of vs. 16. Look in the second part of vs.16 as Paul describes the Bible: is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness. Let s consider each of these life-changing, profitable means: A. It teaches us! We live in a day and age of widespread Biblical illiteracy. Many people simply do not know the contents of the Bible. We spend a lot of time in Sunday worship reading and hearing the Bible preached so that we can know its contents. The Bible teaches us about God, his workings in history, His plan for the ages, it teaches us about His wisdom and other attributes. The Bible teaches us about Jesus, his life and ministry, salvation, faith; it provides moral standards and instructions for living. The Bible teaches us about the early church and the way it functioned. The Bible teaches us how to live the Christian life! Pastor Richard announced in last week s message that our church will once again sponsor the Read the Bible in 90 days program that we did five or six years ago. We will do this early next year. I hope you will participate! B. The Bible rebukes us! Note the next phrase in vs.16 rebuking. The word for rebuke in the original text refers to the conviction of a sinner, punishment. It warns us of the morbid consequences of unbelief. If we fail to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, we face a godless eternity. In the Parable of the Talents Jesus affirmed those who use their gifts for the kingdom of God but he issued a stern warning for those who fail to use their gifts: throw that worthless servant outside into the darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (Matt 25:30) The Bible has the power to rebuke us, to convict us, to warn us that we will be held accountable for the use of the gifts God has given us. Further: C. The Bible corrects our faults. Many of us have difficulty admitting that we have faults. We like to think of ourselves as basically good people. The Bible has a way of slicing right through our pretense and pride. I have a hard time forgiving people who have hurt me. But the Bible commands me to forgive them not once but repeatedly! D. The Bible provides training in righteousness. The Bible provides valuable guidelines for life. The Bible gives great counsel on marriage, including help in fulfilling our roles as husband and wife. We read about the importance of orderly worship, the danger of our tongues, that Christians should avoid lawsuits against other Christians, there s lots of practical advice in the Bible! When I preach on Sunday mornings I try to point out these practical guidelines for living. 3. Since God inspired the Bible it has a wonderful purpose! Paul has been describing the Bible as inspired by God and profitable for teaching, rebuking, correcting and for training in righteousness.
5 Why has God provided his inspired Word? What s the purpose of the Bible? Note the purpose clause in vs.17: so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. That s the wonderful purpose of the Bible for us; that we would be: thoroughly equipped for every good work. In the original, the word for equipped means to be furnished fully. God has provided the Bible to furnish us fully with the knowledge and resources to do good works. So, in addition to the Bible making us wise unto salvation which Paul described in vs.15, the Bible has furnished us fully with the knowledge, the resources and the know-how to do good works! Jesus serves as our example for doing good works! We read in the Bible about the good works Jesus did during His time on earth: he fed the hungry, healed the sick, cast out demons, interacted with societal outcasts, forgave sinners, washed his own disciples feet, challenged the self-righteous, Jesus did many good works! What good works do you do? God wants us to engage, to be involved in doing good works for His glory and kingdom! So, let s get at it! We, as a church provide lots of opportunities to do good works: find a ministry and get involved! Today, we ve learned that we can trust the Bible because God inspired it and has preserved it through the ages! Remember the story I told at the beginning of my message about the pastors who shared their favorite translation of the Bible. The last pastor shared that he liked his dad s translation of the Bible because he put the Word of God into practice every day. That s the most convincing translation we can read! Let us pray.