On the Rock: Why Can I Trust the Bible?
Pastor Scott Applegate
Sermon Notes:
“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.” Matthew 7:24 NIV
“Make them holy by your truth; teach them your word, which is truth.” John 17:17 NLT
1. The Bible is self-affirming
• It is Inspired
“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17 NIV
• It is Infallible
“Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things. For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” 2 Peter 1:20-21 NIV
• It is Inerrant
“And the words of the LORD are flawless, like silver purified in a crucible, like gold refined seven times.” Psalm 12:6 NIV
2. The facts of M.A.P.S.
• Manuscripts
Ancient Writings # of Manuscripts
Plato’s Terralogies 7
Caeser’s Gallic Wars 10
Homer’s Iliad 643
New Testament over 5,000
Old Testament over 10,000
• Archeology
Over the last 100 years or so major archaeological evidence for the accuracy of the Bible has been discovered. No archaeological discovery has ever contradicted a biblical reference. They have only enforced them.
2 Kings 20:20, 1 Kings 9:15, 1 Samuel 1:3, Joshua 6:1-21
• Prophecy
Prophecy concerning Jesus Christ:
Isaiah 7:14 / Matthew 1:18-25
Jeremiah 23:5 / Luke 3:23-31
Micah 5:2 / Luke 2:11
Psalm 41:9 / Matthew 10:4
Isaiah 53:5 / Matthew 27:26
Psalm 16:10 / Matthew 28:5-6
• Scientific Evidence
“He alone stretches out the heavens and treads on the waves of the sea.” Job 9:8 NIV
“He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth, and its people are like grasshoppers. He stretches out the heavens like a canopy, and spreads them out like a tent to live in.” Isaiah 40:22 NIV
The gravitational field around the earth
“He spreads out the northern skies over empty space; he suspends the earth over nothing.” Job 26:7 NIV
The meteorological circulation of the atmosphere
“The wind blows to the south and turns to the north; round and round it goes, ever returning on its course.” Ecclesiastes 1:6 NIV
The hydrological cycle
“All streams flow into the sea, yet the sea is never full. To the place the streams come from, there they return again.” Ecclesiastes 1:7 NIV
The principle of evaporation
“He makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth; he sends lightning with the rain and brings out the wind from his storehouses.” Psalm 135:7 NIV
The law of progressive entropy
“In the beginning you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment. Like clothing you will change them and they will be discarded. But you remain the same, and your years will never end.” Psalm 102:25-27 NIV
3. The reality of a changed life
“For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” Hebrews 4:12 NIV