| Why Should I Believe By Pastor Paul Bridges |
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WHY SHOULD I BELIEVE THE BIBLE?Lesson for 2:42 Follow-up1. Reviewa. Read 1 Peter 3:15-16.b. Discuss the three topics presented to this point for reasons to believe the Bible is God’s Word, is reliable, and is Truth: i. Faith. (Read Hebrews 11:1-2, 6 and discuss – God “commends” people who respond by faith). But what about those who want to believe but need more evidence? ii. Evidence of the reliability of ancient manuscripts. There is more documented evidence for the existence of Jesus Christ than there is of Julius Caesar[i]. There are no surviving manuscripts of Shakespeare’s 37 plays, published after the invention of the printing press[ii]. The second most documented text of antiquity is Homer’s Iliad, of which 643 manuscripts still exist and were written at least 500 years after Homer lived. Yet more than 24,000 partial and complete copies of the New Testament still exist, most of which were written 25 to 400 years after the life of Jesus.[iii]Question: What other manuscript evidence would help the case for the Bible as Truth? iii. Evidence of archaeology. Archaeological digs have discovered evidence of the Hebrew people, Abraham and his lineage, David’s palace, the walls of Jericho, and validated names and places specifically included in New Testament writings.Question: What other archaeological discoveries would help the cause of Christianity?2. Diga. More Evidence: i. The Bible was written by at least 40 people over a 1500 year period.Question: What do you see as the common message weaved throughout the Bible? ii. Prophecy. Review these scriptures and discuss their reference to Jesus.1. Psalm 222. Psalm 41:93. Psalm 78:24. Isaiah 8:145. Isaiah 53:96. Zechariah 9:97. Zechariah 11:12-13 iii. Martyrs1. Men don’t die for a known lie – they die for what they believe to be true. Agree or disagree?2. Men don’t die because of an event – they die for a philosophy. Discuss this in view of Islam martyrs. 3. Reflecta. What other standards are used for those who don’t believe the Bible? b. What could you say to someone who asks you about the hope you have without memorizing all these facts?(How about, “Have you ever investigated the evidence for yourself?” or “Have you taken a look at the evidence of manuscripts and archaeology?”)c. Why is this study important?
[i] http://www.bible.org/page.php?page_id=4054 [ii] http://www.onlineshakespeare.com/whowrote.htm [iii] http://debate.org.uk/topics/history/bib-qur/bibmanu.htm |
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