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link to live.mcleanbible.org]
Lon's sermon today WHY is the Bible Trustworthy
Services live 9am, 10:45am, 12:30pm and 5:30pm Sundays
The sermon is ususally about 30 minutes into the worship service.
So about 11:15 or so 1pm 6pm.
Here are the notes:
WHAT does the Bible claim for itself?
WHY is the Bible trustworthy?
HOW do we properly interpret the Bible?
“Inspired” – God’s exact words supernaturally “breathed out” onto paper
“Inerrant” – without error
“Infallible” – utterly trustworthy in everything it says about everything
Proof #1 – Archaeology
The archaeological discoveries in the Near East over the last one hundred years have done an amazing job
of confirming the reliability and trustworthiness of the Bible.
If the parts of the Bible that can be corroborated empirically all prove to be right, then it’s logical to
assume that the parts that can’t be corroborated empirically are most likely right as well.
Why would the Bible tell the truth regarding secondary issues (history, geography, anthropology, etc.) – and
then lie regarding its main issue (God, salvation, heaven)?
#1 – “Writing was unknown in the ancient Near East at the time of Moses (1500 B.C.). Therefore, Moses
could not have written the first five books of the Bible like the Bible claims.”
#2 – “Ur of the Chaldees (where the Bible says Abraham was from) never existed.”
#3 – “The Sodom and Gomorrah story is ridiculous. The valley south of the Dead Sea was never green and
luscious like Genesis 12 says.”
#4 – “The Bible speaks of the Hittites, but they never existed.”
#5 – “The account of all that gold that the Israelites brought out of Egypt in the Exodus is preposterous.”
#6 – “We don’t know whether David even existed, since we’ve never found his name anywhere outside the
Bible.”
#7 – Pontius Pilate never existed, nor did the High Priest Caiaphas who presided over Jesus’ trial. We’ve
never found either one of their names outside of the Bible.
Sir William Ramsey
“My study showed that the Book of Acts could bear the most minute scrutiny.”
“I set out to look for truth on the border line where Greece and Asia meet, and found it there in the Book of
Acts.”
“You may press the account of Luke to a degree beyond any other historian and it stands the keenest
scrutiny and the hardest treatment.”
“After more than two centuries of facing the heaviest guns that could be brought to bear, the Bible has
survived, and is perhaps better for the siege. Even on the critics’ own terms – historical facts – the
Scriptures seem more acceptable now than they did when the attack began!” Time Magazine
“The more they dig out of the ground the more the Bible proves to be right!”
Proof #2 –Fulfilled Prophecy
Fulfilled prophecy is THE greatest proof of the supernatural nature of the Bible.
Isaiah 7:14 – Virgin Birth
Isaiah 11:1 – Descendant of David
Micah 5:2 – Born in Bethlehem
Isaiah 9:1 – Headquarters in Galilee
Zechariah 11:12 – 30 pieces of silver
Psalm 22:16 – Crucifixion
Psalm 22:18 – Casting lots for clothes
Isaiah 53:6 – Buried in rich man’s tomb
Psalm 16:11 – Resurrection
“Lon, during this past week I was talking with a research scientist and mathematician (formerly employed
at the Pentagon) who researched 30 of the clearest Old Testament prophecies referring to Jesus, and she
calculated that the probability of one and the same person fulfilling all 30 prophecies is one chance in 10
with 100 zeroes after it.” - - Richard Parke
The Bible claims to be a (1) supernatural book (2) from a supernatural God (3) giving us supernatural truth
(4) about a supernatural Messiah who died on the cross (5) to give us a supernatural relationship with God
(6) so we can live a supernatural life on earth (7) that has a supernatural destination in heaven at its end!
Until people can figure out a way:
• To un-transform your life
• To un-discover all that archaeology has discovered
• To undo 1 chance in 10 with 100 zeroes
You stick with the Bible as the inspired, inerrant Word of God!
“The Bible says . . .” Billy Graham
United States
