Proof of the reliability, accuracy, infallibility of the Bible is both external and the internal.
External:
One great and infinite mind dictated the scripture -
๏ sixty-six books written by nearly forty men, who lived at various times
๏ writers were of different classes and occupations
๏ possessed different degrees of training
๏ perfect agreement of their writings could not, therefore, be the result of any collusion between them
๏ lived in widely different places and ages of the world
Preservation of the Bible -
๏ the Bible is a divine book is proven in that it has survived the wreck of empires and kingdoms and the destruction of costly and carefully gathered libraries
๏ no special human effort to save it
๏ at times all the constituted powers of earth were arrayed against it, but it has made its way against the tide of fierce opposition and persecution
Its Historical Accuracy -
๏ The names of towns, cities, battles, kings, empires and great events, widely apart in time and place, are given without a blunder
๏ The ruins of cities of Assyria, Egypt and Babylon have been unearthed and tablets found that prove the accuracy of the Bible narrative
๏ These tablets corroborate the stories of the creation and fall of man, of the flood, the tower of Babel, the bondage in Egypt, the captivity, and many other things
Its Scientific Accuracy -
๏ It was humanly impossible for a book to have been written that would stand the teat of scientific research, and yet at every point it has proven true to the facts of nature
๏ Its teachings areas to the creation of all animal life is proven in science, in that not a single new species has come into existence within the history of man and his research or experiment
๏ examples: David said the sun traveled in a circuit (Ps. 19:6), and science has proven his statement. Job said the wind had weight (Job 28:25) and science has finally verified it. That the earth is suspended In space with no visible support is declared by Job, who said that "God hangeth the earth upon nothing", Job 26:7
Its Prophetic Accuracy -
๏ At least sixteen prophets prophesied concerning future events
๏ They told of the coming destruction of cities and empires, calling them by name. They told of new kingdoms. They told of the coming of Christ, his nativity, the place of his birth, and the result of his life and death and made no mistake.
๏ Christ himself showed how their old prophecies were fulfilled in Him. He told the destruction of Jerusalem and the nature of his Kingdom and work, all of which has been shown to be true.
Internal:
The Richness and Universality of Its Teachings -
๏ Its contents are fresh and new to every age and people
๏ Its teachings furnish the highest standards for right human government and for personal purity of character
๏ Its virtues are superior to all others
๏ Every generation finds new and wonderful treasures in it, and while hundreds of thousands of books have been written about it, one feels that it is still a mine
The Fairness and Candor of Its Writers -
๏ In portraying its heroes, the Bible does not attempt any gloss.
๏ Their faults are neither covered up nor condoned, but condemned.
Its Solution of Man's Difficulties. -
๏ It provides the origin of the world
๏ It provides the origin of man
๏ It explains how sin came into the world
๏ It explains God's remedy for sin, punishment of man, redemption
๏ It explains God's plan for our future
๏ It provides the way to secure happiness
Its Miracles -
๏ The Bible, which records how God sent his son and others on special missions, also tells how He attested their work by signs or miracles
๏ These miracles were performed in the presence of creditable witnesses and should, therefore, be believed
๏ They are so different from the superhuman deeds of ancient mythology as to stamp them as divine and true and at the same time to discredit all the false
๏ Bible miracles are never for mere exploitation or for personal profit to the one who performs the miracle
๏ Moreover, those who perform the miracle claim no power of their own, but attribute it all to God and only perform the miracle that God may be exalte
Its Spiritual Character -
๏ It is evident that man alone could not have conceived the lofty ideas of the scripture.
๏ All his experience proves that he can not produce anything so far beyond himself
๏ These high truths therefore, have come from a greater than man
Its Fruit -
๏ No other book will do for man what the Bible does
๏ The spread of its truths makes man better
๏ Wherever the Bible goes civilization and enlightenment follow. This is so, no matter what the former condition of the people. Where everything else fails, the Bible succeeds in lifting men out of ignorance and shame.
Its Own Claims to Divine Origin -
๏ It clearly claims to be the the word of God
๏ All scripture is given by inspiration Of God. 2 Tim 3:16
๏ God spake unto the fathers by the prophets, Heb. 1:1
๏ Holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. 2 Peter 1:21
๏ He spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, Luke 1:70
๏ Which the Holy Ghost by the mouth of David spake. Acts 1:16
๏ God showed by the mouth of all his prophets. Acts 3:18
๏ By the revelation of Jesus Christ, Gal. 1:12
๏ Not as the word of men, but as it is in truth the word of God, 1 Thes. 2:13.
