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Proofs of Biblical Inspiration. Ever had this conversation? “How do you know that’s wrong/right?” “Because the Bible says so.” “But how do you know the Bible is really inspired?”
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Proofs of Biblical Inspiration Ever had this conversation? “How do you know that’s wrong/right?” “Because the Bible says so.” “But how do you know the Bible is really inspired?” “It says it is inspired” or “I just believe that it is” are conversation enders, and likely deal-breakers with regard to converting that person as well. So to bolster our faith and help us to be better prepared to help others to faith in God, let’s spend a few minutes on…
Proofs of Biblical Inspiration While this will not be a full-blown lesson on Textual Criticism and Canonical Tests for what is to be considered “Holy Scripture,” and what isn’t, we will examine a few areas that should be helpful in convincing others that the Bible is indeed the revealed Word of God.
Proofs of Biblical Inspiration I. Internal Claims of Inspiration • While internal claims of inspiration, if that is all that there was especially, would be circular logic, it is important to realize that the Bible does claim to be inspired, 2Tim.3:15-17; 2Pet.1:20-21. (You don’t determine the value of a Chevy just by listening to all that Ford says about it- examine the Chevy itself.) • Understand that the word inspired(theopneustos) is literally god(theos) + pneo(to breathe/blow). • This process of inspiration was accomplished by the Holy Spirit giving/guarding the words to be sure they conveyed the mind of God to man, 1Cor.2:10-12; John 16:13-14. • Therefore, Paul was thankful for the Thessalonians’ reception of what he had written as God’s Word, 1Thess.2:13.
Proofs of Biblical Inspiration II. Internal Proofs of Inspiration • Imagine going into any library in the world- or several for that matter, and selecting 66 books spanning 1500 years, penned by 40 different authors with backgrounds that ranged from shepherds, to fishermen, to doctors, in three different languages (Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek), on three different continents (Africa, Asia, Europe), that share a common storyline in cohesively answering the three most important questions of mankind: 1) From where did I come? 2) Where am I going? 3) How do I get there? And one more thing, these 66 books must do all this without contradiction. Impossible, right? Since this is exactly what the 66 books of the Bible do, how could they not be inspired? Man has not, and could not, produce such a work of himself, cf. Luke 18:27.
Proofs of Biblical Inspiration II. Internal Proofs of Inspiration • Fulfilled Prophecy. There are many prophecies recorded in the Bible that were made hundreds, or in some cases, thousands of years before they came true. How could any uninspired man know/write such specific things so far in advance? For the sake of time, let’s look at just a couple of them: • Isaiah 7:14predicts, some 700 years before the event (cf.1:1), that “a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.” > Matt.1:18-23. How, and why, would a man say such? • Isaiah 44:28 – 45:1ffpredicts that a foreign ruler named Cyrus would free God’s people from a captivity that they were not yet in, and help rebuild the city of Jerusalem that had not yet been destroyed. Isaiah died some 150 years before the days of Cyrus!
Proofs of Biblical Inspiration II. External Proofs of Inspiration • Scientific Foreknowledge. This proof of inspiration shows that God’s word revealed certain scientific facts long before man “discovered” them. How could such be without inspiration? Please consider: • Psalm 8:8referred to “the paths of the sea” 2700 years before Matthew Maury “discovered” the circulation systems of the seas. • Isaiah 40:22speaks of one who sits “on the circle of the earth” some 2200 years before man “discovered” that the world was not flat, but round, after all!
Proofs of Biblical Inspiration III. External Proofs of Inspiration • Archaeology. Time and time again, archaeology has proven the accuracy of the biblical record with regard to: • Geological Events- Scientists find fossilized sea animals and creatures in the middle of a desert; the Bible tells how they got there, 2Pet.3:3-7. • For many years, biblical skeptics and detractors pointed to the Hittite civilization (see Gen.23:7 and 2Kings 7:6) in an effort to prove the inaccuracy of the Bible, and therefore its lack of inspiration, since no such civilization was known- that is, until archeology confirmed them to have lived exactly where and when the Bible said they lived.
Proofs of Biblical Inspiration III. External Proofs of Inspiration • Anthropology. This is the study of humankind in all its aspects, but especially in regard to cultural interaction and development. • Virtually every culture has some form of Higher Power that it worships, or fears, or petitions for blessings. • Why is this so, if we are the mere product of evolutionary development from single-celled animals? • From what lower form of life did this “god-concept” evolve? • The existence of God, and the revelation of Himself to mankind is the only plausible answer, Eph.3:3-5!
Proofs of Biblical Inspiration IV. Conclusions • I completely discard the notion that “thinking people” must reject the inspiration of the Bible, and thus reject it as the Word(s) of God; • And instead submit that there is ample evidence, both internally and externally, to understand the Bible to be inspired of God. • As such, it is His communiqué to mankind. • To reject it, is to reject Him.
