Can I Trust the Bible?

"All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work." (2 Timothy 3:16–17)

Maybe a coworker told you the Bible passed through so many hands that nobody knows what it first said. Maybe your grandson came home from college with questions his professor planted. Either way, the question sits heavy: Can I trust this Book?

The Short Answer

Yes. No other ancient book reaches us with more evidence behind it. Historians test old documents in several ways, and the Bible passes every test better than the books scholars accept without a second thought. Even more, the Bible tells the truth about itself. God breathed it out, and God keeps His word.

Test One: How Many Copies Survive?

The original pages of every ancient book crumbled long ago. That holds true for Homer, for Caesar, and for the apostle Paul. So scholars compare the copies that survive. More copies give us more ways to check the wording.

Scholars count more than 5,800 Greek manuscripts of the New Testament, some whole and some in part. Add the early copies in Latin, Syriac, Coptic, and other languages, and the number climbs past 20,000. The runner-up, Homer's Iliad, survives in about 1,800 copies. Most ancient books survive in a few dozen or fewer.

With that many copies, scholars can compare them side by side and spot a copyist's slip. The copies agree on the great truths of the faith: who Jesus claimed to be, how He died, and how He rose.

Test Two: How Close Do the Copies Sit to the Originals?

The shorter the gap between the first writing and the oldest copy, the less time for errors to creep in. Centuries separate Homer from the oldest copies of his poems.

Now look at the New Testament. A scrap of John's Gospel, known as P52 and kept in a library in Manchester, England, dates to the early second century. Scholars place it within a few decades of the day John wrote. No other ancient book comes close.

Test Three: Do Outside Voices Agree?

Writers who did not follow Jesus still recorded facts the Gospels report. The Roman historian Tacitus wrote that "Christus" suffered execution under Pontius Pilate. The Jewish historian Josephus mentioned "James, the brother of Jesus who was called Christ." Pliny the Younger, a Roman governor, described Christians who met before dawn and sang hymns to Christ "as to a god." These men had no reason to help the church. They simply wrote down what everyone knew.

What the Evidence Can and Cannot Do

Evidence clears away excuses. It cannot change a heart. For that, you need the voice of God.

The Bible does not claim to hold good thoughts about God. It claims to hold God's own words.

"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." (2 Peter 1:21)

Jesus trusted the Scriptures without reservation. He said, "Scripture cannot be broken" (John 10:35), and He prayed, "Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth" (John 17:17). Here lies the heart of the matter. If Jesus rose from the dead, His view of the Bible settles the question. The risen Lord trusted every word, so you can too.

The Book Points to a Person

After His resurrection, Jesus walked with two discouraged disciples on the road to Emmaus.

"And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself." (Luke 24:27)

The whole Bible tells one story, and Jesus stands at the center of it. The reliability of the Bible matters because of the message it carries:

"For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures." (1 Corinthians 15:3–4)

You can trust the Book. More than that, you can trust the Savior the Book reveals.

What to Do This Week

• Read one Gospel start to finish. Mark takes about two hours. Read it the way you would read a letter from someone you love.

• Ask one question as you read: What does this show me about Jesus?

• Write down your doubts. Bring them to your pastor, or send them to Ask Pastor T. Honest questions deserve honest answers.

If your Bible has gathered dust on a shelf, take it down. The most trustworthy book in history has something to say to you today.

Free devotional: Get Blessed Are You, 12 devotions from the Sermon on the Mount, free when you join the weekly Faithfully Entrusted letter: https://dl.bookfunnel.com/w05wk4i8uj

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