Many people do not believe that the Bible is reliable but we will see that the Bible is very trustworthy.
“All scripture {a particular collection of writings} is given by inspiration {divinely breathed} of God, and is profitable for doctrine {teaching}, for reproof {conviction of what is wrong}, for correction {making something right}, for instruction in righteousness {learning what is right}.” (2Timothy 3:16).
“For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man {The Old Testament was not the result of men’s ideas or speculation}: but holy men of God spake as they were moved {borne along} by the Holy Ghost.” (2Peter 1:21) So these holy men were not acting according to their own wills and thoughts but as moved by the Holy Spirit.
The Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, believed that the Bible was inspired of God and so was reliable as follows:
- 1. “For Moses said, Honour thy father and thy mother; …. the word of God” (Mark 7:10, 13). 1.2. “And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded {explained fully} unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself” (Luke 24:27). 1.3. “The Scripture cannot be broken”(John 10:35). 1.4. “Howbeit, when He, the Spirit of truth is come, He shall guide you into all the truth” (John 16:12).
There are Old Testament prophecies concerning the Messiah which the Lord Jesus fulfilled, for example:
2.1. “But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.” (Micah 5:2) 2.2. “But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:5)
Other references to the Bible are:
3.1. “Thy word is truth” (John 17:17). The Bible has in it nothing but truth, while all the other books have truth mixed with error. 3.2. “Thy word is true from the beginning: and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth for ever” (Psalm 119:160). The Bible contains all the truth. There is not a truth to be found anywhere on moral or spiritual subjects that you cannot find in the Bible. There are no better teachings are given elsewhere. 3.3. “For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.” (Psalm 100:5). 3.4. “For the word of the LORD is right; and all his works are done in truth.” (Psalm 33:4) 3.5. “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: … and he will shew you things to come.” (John 16:13)
The Bible contains more truth than all other books together and accurately foretells the future.
It could be said that the Bible is a book of history. It describes places, people, and events in various degrees of detail. It is essentially an historical account of the people of God, the Jews, through
thousands of years. If you open to almost any page in the Bible, you will find a name of a place and/or a person.
Much of this can be verified from archaeology. Though archaeology cannot prove that the Bible is the inspired Word of God, it does prove the truth of the Bible. So far, however, there isn’t a single archaeological discovery that disproves the Bible in any way. A couple of examples are: 4.1. An inscribed stone was found that refers to Pontius Pilate, named as Prefect of Judaea.’ (The New Bible Dictionary, (Wheaton, Illinois: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.; 1962). “Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea . . . ” (Luke 3:1) 4.2. A decree of Claudius found at Delphi (Greece) describes Gallio as proconsul of Achaia in AD 51, thus giving a correlation with the service of Paul in Corinth (Acts 18:12). (The New Bible Dictionary). “But while Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews with one accord rose up against Paul and brought him before the judgment seat.” (Acts 18:12)
Consequently when the Lord Jesus, and the apostle John, made the following statements they are completely trustworthy:
5.1. “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28)
5.2. “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” (John 10:10)
5.3. “But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.” (John 20:31)
However it is possible to see that Christ spoke the truth and wants to richly bless you and still to turn from Him and have to take the eternally sad consequences of that decision:
“And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life” (John 5:40).
May you take the eternally blessed decision as said in: “And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house” (Acts 16:30).