Why I choose to believe the Bible Part II

2 Peter 1:16-21

I’m using the personal pronoun ‘I’ for two reason 1) Because I do believe the Bible and 2) It is Peter saying this from his personal perspective with the intent of us following his example. I’m making this personal - you can too.

Last week I said that the majority of the next generation can’t answer the question, ‘Why do you believe the Bible?’ As proof of that statement, I showed…

The reason this shows that the next generation can’t answer the question at hand - is b/c the next generation doesn’t know who God is - let alone why we can trust the book that tells us who He is!

Why do I choose to believe the Bible?

I choose to believe the Bible because it is a reliable collection of

historical documents written down by eye-witnesses during the lifetime of other eye-witnesses. They report to us supernatural events that took

place in fulfillment of specific prophesies and they claim their writings are divine rather than

human in origin.

2 Peter 1:16

• Not a clever myth

• Mormonism

• Islam

• Secular Humanism

• Galatians 1:6-9, 2 Corinthians 11:12-14

Joseph Smith ‘found two golden tablets’ and from them wrote the book of mormons. The tablets have never been found. "... by the wisdom of God, they remained safe in my hands, until I had accomplished by them what was required at my hand. When, according to arrangements, the messenger called for them, I delivered them up to him; and he has them in his charge until this day, being the second day of May, one thousand eight hundred and thirty-eight."

Mohamad’s thought his book was revealed to him by Satan - it caused him to feel suicidal. His wife convinced him that it was not Satan, but Gabriel - so he then presented it to the world(Bukhari, Revelation, no. 3 and Tabari, vol. 6, p. 76 / 1155)

Secular Humanism is continually being shaped - but the just of it is: we came from pond scum and are evolving into God

2 Peter 1:16

• Eye witness

• 1 John 1:1-3, Luke 1:1-4, 1 Corinthians 15:3-8

• During the lifetime of other eye witnesses

The thing that ends a good ‘who-done-it’ more than anything is a good reliable eye witness. More than that, two or more corroborating eye witnesses

‘But you don’t have the original documents - so you can’t know if it is true’

Author Book (s) Topic Year written

Earliest Copy

Time Span

# of Copies

Julius Ceasar

Gallic Wars

The Conquests of the Roman Empire

100-44BC

900AD 1,000 10

Cornelius Tacitus

“Annals”“Histories”

Reign of Tiberius, Claudius, Nero

100 AD 1,100AD

1,000 20

Pliny the elder

“Naturalis Historia”

First encyclopedia ever. All scientific knowledge of his day

61-113 AD

850 AD 750 7

Our friendly neighborhood skeptic and atheist Richard Dawkins in the corner

‘But you don’t have the original documents - so you can’t know if it is true’

Author Book (s) Topic Year written

Earliest Copy

Time Span

# of Copies

Herodotus “The Histories”

Record of the Greco-Persian Wars -- First Historian

480-425 BC

900AD 1,300 8

Aristotle “Poetics” Drama, and the art there of

384-322 BC

1,100AD

1,400 5

God New Testament

salvation of mankind revealed

60-90 AD

130AD 40 14,000

Herodotus - the first historian known to break the Homeric traditions (treat history as fact to be investigated rather than a story to be embellished)Those 14,000 copies were each copied from the original, they each agree with each other.

Yea, but the Bible has evolved over the years as it was copied from one translation to the next - it can’t be true.

• No, each translation was copied from the original - not the translation before.

The idea here is just like the pass the secret around the room game…The lie is buried in the assumption

Conspiracy Myth

• Over-zealous monks modified the ancient texts so that it all matches and so that it could be used by the governments to control the people

• Invented by Joseph Smith - adopted by many atheists

Conspiracy Myth

• Problems with this myth:

• Level 1: There were 15,000+ manuscripts

• Level 2: They were written in 4 languages and scattered on 3 continents

• Level 3: There are 36,289 direct quotations scattered in commentaries in 4 languages on 3 continents.

• All but 11 verses could be reconstructed from those commentaries

Some one had to steal all 15,000 (we have 14,000 now) hand-written manuscripts (written in permanent ink) change each one in different ways to make sure that the handwriting matched, make sure that no one noticed, make sure that no ink-work showed, return them all - no one noticed.Level 3 - ‘the whole making disciples problem’ Matthew 28:19Europe, Asia, Africa - Greek, Syriac, Coptic, Latin

2 Peter 1:17-18

• Supernatural events

• Luke 9:27-36

• Not super-human events

• Not unusual natural events

• True miracles

turned water into wine, cured of leprosy, healing of sickness, healed fever, cast out demons, calmed the storm, forgave the sins of a paralytic, made a paralytic walk, brought a young girl back to life, feeding ~10,000-15,000 with 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish, walked on water, Friday dead - Sunday Alive!!

2 Peter 1:19

• In fulfillment of specific prophecies

• Psalm 22:1, 7-8, 14-18

• There are more than 900 prophecies about the Messiah alone.

• Jesus has fulfilled them all.

• God keeps His promise! God’s word is reliable! God’s word is True!

2 Peter 1:19

• Peter’s aside: you would do well to pay attention!

• Imagery

• We are in a dark place - it is ruled by evil

• God’s word is a lamp in this dark place!!

“A lamp in a dark place”

God’s word is a lamp in a dark place

2 Peter 1:19

• Aside - you would do well to pay attention!

• Imagery

• We are in a dark place - it is ruled by evil

• God’s word is a lamp in this dark place

• The darkness will end - the dawn is coming!

“the morning star rises in your hearts”

Venus is the brightest object (besides the moon and the sun) in the night sky. Depending on where it is in its rotation, It is either first star in the evening or the last star in the morning. When it is the morning star, after a long cold dark night, the morning star heralds the dawn of day…Set Starry Night to February 6, 2016 at 6:00AM at 300X the normal speed to view it happening

2 Peter 1:20-21

• Divine - not human - in origin

• The Bible makes more than 500 claims to be God’s words

• This is why the prophecies were fulfilled: God is sovereign!

“thus says the Lord”, “and God said to ...”

But men put the pen to the paper, therefore I can’t trust the Bible!

• Try telling that to your math teacher.

1. Is it externally consistent?

2. Is it internally consistent?

3. Is it corroborated?

1 - is it historically, archeologically, and physically backed up?2 - Does it line up internally - do the chapters agree with each other?3 - It was written in 3 languages (Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic), on 3 continents (Asia, Africa, Europe), 40 Authors (most of whom did not know each other), 1500 years, 1 singularly woven together story!

Yea, well its not proven scientifically!

• You cannot use the scientific method to prove that George Washington was the first president.

• The scientific method does not go backwards in time - it can’t

• For historical events you must use the evidentiary method:

• eyewitnesses

• corroborating stories

2 Peter 1:20-21

• Well, what if I don’t understand what it means?

• There is one true answer

• We need to search scripture for that answer - not our hearts.

• It is divine in origin - not human.

Read more scripture - searching for the answerPray - ask God to show youRead commentariesAsk Pastor Bill

You can’t seriously be a part of this church and not have your understanding of God’s word be challenged - trust God’s word, not your heart.

Why do I choose to believe the Bible?

I choose to believe the Bible because it is a reliable collection of

historical documents written down by eye-witnesses during the lifetime of other eye-witnesses. They report to us supernatural events that took

place in fulfillment of specific prophesies and they claim their writings are divine rather than

human in origin.

“It is a lamp in a dark place…you would do well to pay attention”

We need to know God’s word, understand God’s word and share God’s word - especially with our children.

2Peter 1:16 For we did not follow zcleverly devised amyths when we made known to you bthe power and ccoming of of of our Lord Jesus Christ, but dwe were eyewitnesses of his majesty.

2Peter 1:16 For we did not follow zcleverly devised amyths when we made known to you bthe power and ccoming

of our Lord Jesus Christ, but dwe were eyewitnesses of his majesty. 1John 1:1 aThat which was bfrom the beginning, cwhich we have heard, dwhich we have seen with our eyes, ewhich whichewhich we looked upon and fhave touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— 2 gthe life hwas made manifest, mamanifest, and we have seen it, and itestify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, awhich was with the Father and and and hwas made manifest to us— 3 cthat which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may mamay have fellowship with us; and indeed jour fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.

1John 1:1 aThat which was bfrom the beginning, cwhich we have heard, dwhich we have seen with our eyes,

ewhich we looked upon and fhave touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— 2 gthe life hwas made

manifest, and we have seen it, and itestify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, awhich was with the Father

and hwas made manifest to us— 3 cthat which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too

may have fellowship with us; and indeed jour fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. Luke 1:1 Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that ahave been accomplished among amamong us, 2 bjust as those who cfrom the beginning were deyewitnesses and eministers of fthe word ghave delivered delivereddelivered them to us, 3 it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write han anhan orderly account for you, imost excellent jTheophilus, 4 that you may have kcertainty concerning the things lyou yolyou have been taught.

Luke 1:1 Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that ahave been accomplished

among us, 2 bjust as those who cfrom the beginning were deyewitnesses and eministers of fthe word ghave

delivered them to us, 3 it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write

han orderly account for you, imost excellent jTheophilus, 4 that you may have kcertainty concerning the things

lyou have been taught. 1Corinthians 15:3 For lI delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died mfor our sins nin innin accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised oon the third day pin accordance with the tthe Scriptures, 5 and that qhe appeared to Cephas, then rto the twelve. 6 Then he appeared to more than five hundred hunhundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to toto sJames, then tto all the apostles. 8 Last of all, as to one untimely born, uhe appeared also to me.

1Corinthians 15:3 For lI delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died mfor our sins

nin accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised oon the third day pin accordance with

the Scriptures, 5 and that qhe appeared to Cephas, then rto the twelve. 6 Then he appeared to more than five

hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared

to sJames, then tto all the apostles. 8 Last of all, as to one untimely born, uhe appeared also to me. Matthew 28:19 jGo therefore and kmake disciples of lall nations, jbaptizing them min* nthe name of the Father and of the tthe Son and of the Holy Spirit,

Matthew 28:19 jGo therefore and kmake disciples of lall nations, jbaptizing them min* nthe name of the Father and of

the Son and of the Holy Spirit,2Peter 1:17 For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic MajeMajestic Glory, e“This is my beloved Son,* with whom I am well pleased,” 18 we ourselves heard this very voice borne bborne from heaven, for we were with him on fthe holy mountain.

2Peter 1:17 For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the

Majestic Glory, e“This is my beloved Son,* with whom I am well pleased,” 18 we ourselves heard this very voice

borne from heaven, for we were with him on fthe holy mountain. Luke 9:27 But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who will not btaste death cuntil they see the kingdom of God.”GGod.”

Luke 9:27 But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who will not btaste death cuntil they see the kingdom of

God.”Luke 9:28 dNow about eight days after these sayings he took with him ePeter and John and James and fwent up on the tthe mountain to pray. 29 And as he was praying, the appearance of his face was galtered, and hhis clothing became becamebecame dazzling white. 30 And behold, two men were talking with him, Moses and Elijah, 31 who appeared in glory glglory and spoke of his departure,* which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. 32 Now Peter and those who were wewere with him iwere heavy with sleep, but when they became fully awake jthey saw his glory and the two men who whowho stood with him. 33 And as the men were parting from him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good that we are areare here. Let us make three ktents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah”—lnot knowing what he said. said. said. 34 As he was saying these things, ma cloud came and overshadowed them, and they were afraid as they entered entereentered the cloud. 35 And ma voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, nmy Chosen One;* olisten to him!” hihim!” 36 And when the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. pAnd they kept silent and told no one in those days dadays anything of what they had seen.

Luke 9:28 dNow about eight days after these sayings he took with him ePeter and John and James and fwent up on

the mountain to pray. 29 And as he was praying, the appearance of his face was galtered, and hhis clothing

became dazzling white. 30 And behold, two men were talking with him, Moses and Elijah, 31 who appeared in

glory and spoke of his departure,* which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. 32 Now Peter and those who

were with him iwere heavy with sleep, but when they became fully awake jthey saw his glory and the two men

who stood with him. 33 And as the men were parting from him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good that we

are here. Let us make three ktents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah”—lnot knowing what he

said. 34 As he was saying these things, ma cloud came and overshadowed them, and they were afraid as they

entered the cloud. 35 And ma voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, nmy Chosen One;* olisten to

him!” 36 And when the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. pAnd they kept silent and told no one in those

days anything of what they had seen. 2Peter 1:19 And gwe have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention has to to to a lamp shining in a dark place, until ithe day jdawns and the morning star rises in your hearts,

2Peter 1:19 And gwe have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention has

to a lamp shining in a dark place, until ithe day jdawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, Psalms 22:1 �uMy God, my God, why have you forsaken me?��Why are you so vfar from saving me, from the words of my wgroaning?

Psalms 22:1 uMy God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

Why are you so vfar from saving me, from the words of my wgroaning? Psalms 22:7 �All who see me gmock me;��they make mouths at me; they hwag their heads;

Psalms 22:7 All who see me gmock me;

they make mouths at me; they hwag their heads; 8 �i“He trusts in the LORD; let him jdeliver him;��let him rescue him, for he kdelights in him!”

8 i“He trusts in the LORD; let him jdeliver him;

let him rescue him, for he kdelights in him!” Psalms 22:14 �I am spoured out like water,��and all my bones are tout of joint;� my uheart is like vwax;��it is melted within my breast;

Psalms 22:14 I am spoured out like water,

and all my bones are tout of joint;

my uheart is like vwax;

it is melted within my breast; 15 �my strength is wdried up like a potsherd,��and my xtongue sticks to my jaws;��you lay me in the dust of death.

15 my strength is wdried up like a potsherd,

and my xtongue sticks to my jaws;

you lay me in the dust of death. Psalms 22:16 �For ydogs encompass me;��a company of evildoers zencircles me;� they have apierced my hands and feet*—

Psalms 22:16 For ydogs encompass me;

a company of evildoers zencircles me;

they have apierced my hands and feet*— 17 �I can count all my bones—� they bstare and gloat over me;

17 I can count all my bones—

they bstare and gloat over me; 18 �cthey divide my garments among them,��and for my clothing they cast lots.

18 cthey divide my garments among them,

and for my clothing they cast lots. 1Peter 1:20 He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but wwas made manifest xin the last times for the sake sasake of you 21 ywho through him are believers in God, zwho raised him from the dead and agave him glory, so that that that your faith and hope are in God.

1Peter 1:20 He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but wwas made manifest xin the last times for the

sake of you 21 ywho through him are believers in God, zwho raised him from the dead and agave him glory, so

that your faith and hope are in God.