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2-1-8-Accurate Bible

In spite of the fact that most people have a lot of respect for the Bible, many of them don't believe it is true.  Some modern teachers doubt the accuracy of the Bible.

In today's lesson we are going to learn about three different kinds of evidence found outside of the Bible itself, which shows it to be very accurate.  So, after a brief prayer asking for God's help in today's study, let's begin.

Someone who seriously doubts the accuracy of the Bible may ask for external evidence.  External evidence is evidence which comes from outside the Bible itself and shows the accuracy of the Bible stories.  As example:

Discoveries of ruins which show that the walls of Jerico fell as the Bible says they did.

The writings of a Jewish historian named Josephus which supports many of the details of the New Testament.

First of all, Let's see how trust worthy the text of the Bible really is.  We can do this by looking at some of the very old writings.  We don't have any of the original writings of the new Testament.  Never the less, we do have copies of these first manuscripts which were made very soon after the original.

A fragment of Papyrus (a early form of prayer) containing three verses from John 18.  Found in Egypt.  Scientific testing has shown that this fragment from John's Gospel dates from before the year 150 A.D.  But, the Gospel of John was not written in Egypt.

Reliable historical records tell, us that the city of Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans in the year 70 A.D.  The city of Jerusalem was considered a holy city by the Jewish people and it's destruction was an extreme importance in their history.  Almost all of the writers of the new Testament were Jews.  If they had written after the destruction of Jerusalem: there would be some mention of the event in the New Testament.

Instead Read Matthew 24:1-2.  What does Jesus say is going to happen to the temple in Jerusalem?

This means that most of the books of the New Testament must have been written before the year 70 A.D.

We know that Jesus was crucified about the year 30A.D.  In other words most of the books of the New Testament were written within years of Jesus death.  There would be many people still living who knew Jesus.  Many people would have known that it was false if it was not accurate; if that was the case.

Read 1 Corinthians 15:6 very carefully.

To how many people did Jesus appear after the resurrection?

How many of these people were still alive when Paul wrote 1 Corinthians?

The authors of the New Testament were very careful to use First Hand information when they were writing.  This means that they themselves used people who actually saw the events for themselves.

Read 1 John 1:2.  "The earliest preachers of the Gospel knew the value of firsthand testimony, and appealed to it again and again; 'We are witnesses of these things was their constant and confident assertion." (Professor F. F. Bruce, a well known and highly respected Bible scholar).  He also wrote: "And it can have been by no means so easy as some seem to think to invent words and deeds of Jesus in these early years, when so many of his disciples were about (who could remember what had and what had not happened.

The quotation below is taken from the writings of a man named Bishop Papias.  He lived in a town called Heiropolis in what is now the country of Turkey about the year 130 A.D..

"Mark having been the interpreter of Peter wrote down all that He (Peter) mentioned, whether saying or doings of Christ... For he (Marl) was neither a hearer nor a companion of the Lord... So then Mark made no mistake writing down in the ways some things as the (Peter) mentioned them; for he (mark) paid attention to this one thing, not to omit anything that he had heard, not to include any false statement among them." 

The following words are those of a noted Bible scholar and archaeologist Sir Frederick Kenyon. Scholars are satisfied that they posses substantially the true text of the principal Greek and Roman writers where works have come down to us, of Sophocleus, of Thucudides of Cicero, of Virgil, yet our knowledge of their writings depend upon a mere handful of manuscripts, where the manuscripts of the New Testament are counted in the hundreds and even thousands."

There are literally hundreds of archaeological finds that provide evidence for the trustworthiness of the Bible.  Indeed, the Bible has proven to be so trustworthy that many archaeologist in the Middle Eastern countries including those who are not Christians, use the Bible as a guide book when they are hunting for new discoveries.

Examples are: Payment in the Court of Antonio, Jerusalem found in 1933.  Inscription (cut into stone) mentioning the Roman Emperor Tiberius and Pontius Pilate, Found in Caesarea in 1961.

Read John 19:13.  What is the name of the place where Pilate sat in judgment during Jesus' trial.  Give the English name not the Hebrew name?

Read Luke 3:1 carefully.  What archaeological discovery gives external evidence for the people involved .

The Bible has so much external evidence to support its accuracy that a great preacher once said: "Defend the Bible; I might as well try and defend a lion."

Materialism

1.  List four reasons why materialism is unable to solve social, economic, and political injustice and give a Bible reference for each.

2.  Give four ways in which the justice of the kingdom of God is better than the justice offered through materialism.

3.  Take part in a discussion of the ways in which materialistic solutions are being offered as solutions to the social, economic, and political problems which face people today.

4.  Tell two ways in which believers fall into the sin of pride and be able to use two simple steps to overcome this temptation in your own life.

One of the first temptations Jesus had to face was the temptation to solve his personal problems through materialism.  How ever Jesus had to face this same temptation throughout this entire ministry.

The Jewish people were an oppressed people.  As a Good Jew, Jesus faced the temptation to try to believe the social and political injustices of his day through materialistic means.  Jesus didn't do this though, because he knew that materialism is not an adequate solution to social and political problems.  Materialism has four major defects.  In this lesson you will discover what these defects are.

Before you continue, take a brief moment and ask the Lord for his help.  Good, now Let's continue...

In our world there is a great deal of political and social injustice.  Just as in Jesus' time; this injustice has come from both the government (Luke 3:18-20; Matthew 2:16, 14:1-12, 27:27-30) and from those who claim to believe in God (Matthew 21:3).  But we must remember that social, economic, and political injustice is not something new.  Jesus also faced it.  Throughout His entire ministry, Jesus would be tempted to try to solve the social, economic, and political problems of His people Without God.

Satan has not changed.  He still tempts mankind just as he did Jesus, to seek a solution for poverty, hunger, oppression, and injustice by trying to get "Bread Without God Providing;" or in other words, to solve social, economic, and political problems through

Materialism does offer a kind of human justice to those who are oppressed and suffer social, economic, and political injustice.  Materialism's justice is primarily Economic Justice.  It tries to bring justice to all men by forcing them to share material goods.

One thing ought to be clear.  The kind of Justice that Materialism offers to us has a great many defects.  We are going to look at these defects now.

Read Matthew 4:4

Is it possible for material goods alone to satisfy the needs of mankind? (Yes or No)

The Bible teaches men need something more than material things (Proverbs 15:16-17; 17:1).

In Luke 12:15, Jesus put it this way: "Watch out!  Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions."

Materialism cannot satisfy the needs of mankind is the first defect.

Read Matthew 6:19-20

This tells us that material goods

Materialism tries to solve problems by changing the environment in which men live.  Although these changes have some times caused dramatic improvements in the living conditions of the poor, they have never taken care of the root problems.  At the bottom of all social and political injustices lies the evil in the human heart.  Materialism has never been able to change the heart of mankind.

Read Deuteronomy 8:13-14.  What is the great sin which materialism lends to?

Read Deuteronomy 8:2-3.  What warning about the dangers of materialism did the Jewish people forget?

The justice which materialism offers can never come to pass because it does not change the real problem which lies in the hearts of men.  There will always be some selfish and violent men in positions of power.  Even though all existing social structures may one day be changed, there will still remain social injustice and poor people.

Read Proverbs 23:4-5.

What happens to riches at the very moment that the poor reaches out his hand to grasp them?

When God created man, He made man Body, Soul, and Spirit.  Materialistic attempts to solve injustice brings about changes in the environment for man's Bodily good.  But, changes on man's environment can never save man's soul.

Peter speaks about the only thing which can change the condition of the soul in 1 Peter 1:18-19.  What does it take to save the Soul?

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