All
Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for
reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God
may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16-17)
Suppose you are jogging on a mountain trail, and you
hear someone groaning. You look over and
see a lady on the ground, just off the path, with blood oozing from her
head. As you stop to help her, she
gasps, “Thank you.” Then you help her
sit up, and she tells you her name, that she tripped while running, bumped her
head and was knocked unconscious.
It is possible she is lying. She may be bait for some thieves in the woods
waiting to rob you. She may have been
hurt running away as an escaped criminal.
She may have been knocked senseless and doesn’t really know who she is,
despite what she claims. But as you hear
the story, see her condition, note she is wearing jogging apparel and running
shoes, you believe her. It is a
reasonable assumption, unless there would be incontrovertible evidence to the
contrary.
The Bible makes some remarkable claims about
itself—that it is inspired by God. Paul believed it. Other Bible writers claim it. Jesus lived by it and fulfilled it as the
object of it. The Bible claims to be the
Word of God—inerrant (without error), infallible (will never lead you astray),
immutable (unchanging), invincible (always accomplishing its purpose), and
indestructible (preserved eternally).
Archaeology, history, prophecy and the unity of the
Bible all testify to its accuracy.
Skeptics will say, “You can’t accept the Bible’s own claims—that’s
circular reasoning.” But, if there is
evidence to support those claims, then we should see that it is reasonable to
trust the Bible. This is the internal
evidence of what the Bible claims and the external evidence that corroborates
those claims and will be the subject we explore this week.
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