Explore The Bible

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If we want to know how God wants us to live, what book should we go to for that information and instruction?

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The Bible Is...

• Our Instruction Book
• It tells us how to love God
• Love one another
• Find salvation
• Requirements for our relationship with God
• The most complete "How-To" Book

Bible

• Written by over 40 authors that very few met each othe
• 2 original languages (O.T. - Hebrew; N.T.- Greek)
• Written over a period of 15 centuries
• Has ONE theme
• ZERO contradictions
• All writings in the Bible show the plan of God for man's salvation

Jeremiah 36

Jeremiah 36

• God's Word written on scrolls
• Warning to turn from evil or face punishment
• King Jehoiakim heard the words from God and became angry
• King cut up and burned the scrolls
• Jeremiah 36:28-31

Lesson Learned:
Importance of hearing, preserving, and sharing God's Word
(Isaiah 40:8)

What Does the Bible Say?

II Timothy 3:16

• "All scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness"
• God guided the men who were writing. They wrote what He wanted them to write.
• God is the "divine source and origin" of all scripture.

II Peter 1:20-21

• "knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone's own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit."

O.T. Proof

• Jonah 1:1 "Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah..."
• Joel 1:1 "The word of the Lord came to Joel..."
• Hosea 1:1 "The word of the Lord that came to Hosea..."
• Many other examples of the prophets speaking for God!

Source of Wisdom & Truth

Psalm 19:7-8

• The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes

Psalm 119:98-99, 160

• "Your commandment makes me wiser than my enemies, for it is ever with me. I have more understanding than all my teachers, for your testimonies are my meditation."
• "The sum of your word is truth, and every one of your righteous rules endures forever."

One Source for Wisdom

• God's Word is our source to wisdom & understanding.
• Knowing His Word will make us wise.
• His Words are our true, trustworthy, & eternal source for authority.

Prophecies & Archaeology

Prophecies

• Many predictions of details about things that would happen hundreds of years in the future.
• Future kings, kingdoms to rise to positions of power, kingdoms to fall, births, deaths, and many other details of the coming Jesus.
• This agreements between the prophecies and events proves inspiration!

Archaeology

• Archaeologists dig in the ruins of cities of the Bible, they find records that fit exactly with Biblical records!
• These new pieces confirm the words of the O.T. and N.T.
• Confirm the accuracy in the telling of events that happened long ago.
• No archaeological discovery has ever contradicted a Bible reference to it!

How Did We Get the Bible?

Ancient Writings...

• Old Testament - Hebrew
• New Testament - Greek
• Most writings were written on papyrus or parchment
• Scrolls were made by sewing or gluing sheets into long strips
• Copies were made by copying from another manuscript or dictation

Ancient Manuscripts...

• No original manuscript of the Bible exist today
• Dead Sea Scrolls found in 1947 - complete scroll of Isaiah from 2nd century B.C.
• Other caves in the area contained fragments of every O.T. book except 1

Why Do We Believe...

• Bible has 1 central theme
• Written by over 40 writers
• Written over a period of hundreds of years
• No part contradicts any other part
• Writings state that it is the word of the Lord

Why Do We Believe...

• Hundreds of prophecies were fulfilled in exact detail many years after they were written
• Archaeology continues to confirm what is written
• Bible manuscripts from early days are exact same message we read in the Bible today

The Bible...

• Brings great blessings to mankind
• Its words bring wisdom, righteousness, love, joy, and peace
• ill last forever