Recently I had a conversation with a gentleman who related several instances in his life that seemed to be miraculous interventions. Because of these experiences he ascented to being a believer. When I asked him if he read the Bible, however; he related that he didn’t because of all the different interpretations out there.  In his view, the Bible was not reliable.  His experiences were his authority.

It is always interesting to me when individuals can relate to Jesus, but cannot relate to His written word. The written word is where we get our information concerning Christianity and Jesus Christ.  

If we study how much the Lord quoted the Scripture and how He referenced it’s written authority, we have to conclude that the Lord Jesus identified Himself with Scripture and that the Old Testament Scripture is full of references to Jesus the Messiah.

To believe in Jesus Christ and hold a low view of the Bible at the same time is an oxymoron.  It is a contradiction.  To deny the written word is to deny Christ. 

Speaking concerning the Scriptures, Christ said; “…..these are they which testify of me and ye will not come to me that ye might have life.”

The Bible is reliable and trustworthy.

Up until the middle of the last century, the oldest manuscripts of the Old Testament, that we possessed, were dated about 1000 AD. When the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered, we suddenly had manuscripts that predated Christ.  

As the Bible scholars compared those Old testament manuscripts to the texts we have today, they found them to be ninety-five percent in agreement. The five percent discrepancy had nothing to do with doctrinal teaching.

The New Testament manuscripts are all about quantity and families of manuscripts.  When a holy man of God, an apostle, wrote a letter as he was moved by the Holy Spirit to a particular church, it was copied and redistributed not only to the church for which it was intended, but to other churches as well.  

These letters were treated as they claimed to be, as from God. These letters were instructions from God and were received as such by the churches.

As the letters from the apostles were sent out and redistributed, families of manuscripts were created and preserved.  These letter manuscripts were not always saved complete.  Sometimes there were only pieces of letters that survived, but there were many of them.

The quantities of these families of manuscripts made it possible for scholars not only to study and compare them for authentication and genuineness, but to know with accuracy what the complete letter contained.  

In some cases there are more writings available for authentication of the New Testament books than there are for many ancient secular writings.  In other words, the case for the historicity of many New Testament books is stronger than it is for some of the ancient Greek philosophers.

For those who argue that the Bible, as we have it, is unreliable and subject to the errors of oral tradition, you and I may say with confidence; that is simply not the case.  

The Bible, because of what it claims for itself, has been subject to the utmost skepticism and scrutiny.  Through it all the Scripture has survived as the most printed and published book in the history of mankind.   

As a Christian, you and I need not apologize for believing the Bible. The burden of proof is upon those who would deny it.