Why the Bible can be trusted

Sometimes I get phishing messages from myGov, Centrelink, the tax office, banks, tech support and internet providers. And I see clickbait for investment frauds, fake prizes, fake jobs, shopping scams, romance scams, ticket scams and inheritance scams. And photos and videos can be generated by AI. Did you know that not everything online is true?

This blogpost looks at “Why the Bible can be trusted”. It shows that, The Bible can be trusted because it comes from God and its ancient words have been preserved since it was written. It is the most reliable document we have from antiquity.

Context

Peter was a disciple of Jesus. He failed many times and even denied knowing Jesus at His trial. But from the day of Pentecost he was one of the leaders of the early Christian church. He lived in a pre-Christian world that was influenced by Greek and Roman philosophy and we live in a post-Christian world that is influenced by many ideologies. There are two of his letters in the Bible.

His first letter was written to Christians who had scattered cross what is now Turkey to avoid persecution. And they were about to go through great persecutions by the Roman Emperor Nero. Peter told them to stand firm in the faith in the face of suffering and persecution. Every chapter refers to suffering and Jesus is the ultimate example of righteous suffering. They were encouraged to look back at the example of Jesus Christ who endured suffering for them (1 Pt. 2:21-23), and to look ahead with hope to their eternal inheritance (1 Pt. 1:3).

Peter’s second letter was written towards the end of his life (2 Pt. 1:13-15). It was probably written to the same people as his first letter – Christians who had scattered cross what is now Turkey (3:1). This time he warned them about false teachers, who were denying that Jesus was divine (2:1); promoting sexual immorality (2:2, 10, 14); telling lies (2:3); giving Christians a bad name (2:2); acting arrogantly and despising authority (2:10-11); deceiving people (2:17-19); distorting Scripture (3:16); greedy for money (2:3, 14); and scoffing and ridiculing the idea that Jesus would return to judge the people of the world (3:3-4). They were apostates who had infiltrated into the church, but had not trusted Christ as their Savior (2:20-22).

Purpose of this letter (2 Pet. 3:1-2)

Peter gives the purpose of this letter: “Dear friends, this is now my second letter to you. I have written both of them as reminders to stimulate you to wholesome thinking. ² I want you to recall the words spoken in the past by the holy prophets and the command given by our Lord and Savior through your apostles” (2 Pet. 3:1-2NIV).

Peter wanted Christians to know that false teachers and heretics would appear to deceive them. But that Jesus would return to resolve matters. He wanted to stimulate their minds. To wake them up as to how the Bible can change our lives. If we know the principles of God’s Word, we can apply those principles in our lives. The Bible is our main criterion for determining what is true. Christians need the ability to think through things using God’s Word as the standard. There should be an extra dimension in our thinking – the vertical – which includes God, Christ and the Bible.

Peter linked Old and New Testament writers of the Scriptures, showing the unity of both testaments. In chapter 1, Peter presents two “weapons” in the war against false teachers and heretics in the Christian church. They are the spiritual growth of Christians and the Bible.

Spiritual growth (v.3-11)

First, before warning about false teachers and heretics, Peter tells them how to live the Christian life. The power comes from God and the guidance and knowledge comes from the Bible. Then he lists seven characteristics of godly living. Such godliness is evidence of salvation. The fruit of the Spirit is evidence of spiritual life (Gal. 5:22-23). Ongoing godliness is evidence of genuine Christian faith. Actively increasing these characteristics year by year deters sin from controlling us and shows that we are destined to spend eternity with the Lord. Spiritual growth in our lives is an essential part of combating false teachers.

Peter’s contribution (v.12-15)

Second, before warning about false teachers and heretics, Peter tells them about the Bible.

“So I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them and are firmly established in the truth you now have. ¹³ I think it is right to refresh your memory as long as I live in the tent of this body, ¹⁴ because I know that I will soon put it aside, as our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me.” (2 Pet. 1:12-14)

Peter emphasises “remembering” the things in the Bible (1:12, 13, 15; 3:1, 2). In this instance it was the importance of developing godliness (or Christian character). God’s Word is worth repeating. We need truth for times of success. And we need it in times of trouble. We need to know God’s Word so thoroughly that we cannot forget it. Do we memorize the Bible? Although Peter was near the end of his life he kept on emphasizing the importance of the truths that had been revealed to him.

When it reaches 10%, my phone tells me “low battery” and it needs to be recharged. Likewise with us, we need to be recharged regularly with the life-giving message of Scripture.

Then Peter says, “And I will make every effort to see that after my departure you will always be able to remember these things” (2 Pet. 1:15).

Peter wrote it down so that his message could continue after his death. About 1,965 years later we can read what he wrote in the letters of 1 and 2 Peter. And the gospel of Mark is probably based on what John Mark learnt from Peter. The written word lasts. I wonder how long digital records will last? Can you read a floppy disk or view a video tape?

New Testament witnesses (v.16-18)

Then Peter wrote about the New Testament.

“¹⁶ For we did not follow cleverly devised stories when we told you about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in power, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty. ¹⁷ He received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to Him from the Majestic Glory, saying, “This is my Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased.” ¹⁸ We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with Him on the sacred mountain” (2 Pet. 1:16-18).

The false teachers were saying that the second coming of Jesus was only a made-up story – a myth. But Peter said, no, it’s a fact. The Bible is based on historical facts, not myths or legendry stories. Christianity came from divine revelation, not from human invention. It is based on fact, not fiction.

As an apostle, Peter was an eyewitness of many of the events during Christ’s ministry. He saw, heard and was present physically at the transfiguration of Jesus, which he describes in this passage (Mt. 16:28 – 17:9). He saw the majesty (magnificent glory) of Jesus that will be revealed to all at the second advent of Christ. It was a preview of Christ’s coming in power to rule over all the earth (Mt. 16:28-17:8; Mk. 9:1-8; Lk. 9:27-35). The trustworthiness of Christianity relies on the witness of historical facts, not stories. Peter defends the doctrine of the second advent on the historicity of the Transfiguration of Jesus. Jesus had told them that He would come “in His Father’s glory” (Mk. 8:38).

So Peter is saying that his account is accurate and authoritative. The other writers of the New Testament were also either apostles who were eyewitnesses, or their associates. Therefore, their accounts are also accurate and authoritative. So, the New Testament is accurate and authoritative.

Old Testament reliability (v.19-21)

Then Peter wrote about the Old Testament.

“¹⁹ We also have the prophetic message as something completely reliable, and you will do well to pay attention to it (in your hearts), as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. ²⁰ Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things [mind]. ²¹ For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” (2 Pet. 1:19-21).

The Old Testament was written by God’s prophets. Peter says that it is “completely reliable” and it also teaches about the second advent of Christ. God wants us to pay close attention to the Bible and apply its principles to our life. Its like a light shining in a dark world until Jesus returns to the earth.

The prophets “spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit”. The word “carried along” (phero, Strongs #5342) is used in Acts (27:15, 17) to describe the effect of strong winds upon Paul’s ship. Luke says that the ship was “driven along” by the wind in a storm, meaning that it was no longer under the control of the sailors, but of the wind. Just as the sailors were active, though not in control, so the human authors of Scripture were active, but not in control. The Holy Spirit moved the authors so that the words they wrote were the words God intended. Since the Holy Spirit is “the Spirit of truth” (Jn. 16:13), He did not direct errors. And Jesus taught that the Bible is trustworthy and without error (Mt. 5:18).

When we read the Bible we need to know that it was inspired by God. Whereas the false teachers and heretics claimed their writings came from personal visions, signs, and dreams – they had a human origin.

The word “prophecy” here is the written message of a prophet or a writer of Scripture. The message came from God and not from the prophet’s mind. The Bible is reliable because of its source. Scripture is trustworthy because God, as its origin, is reliable. The Holy Spirit created Scripture.

So God is saying through Peter that the writings of the Old Testament prophets were accurate and authoritative.

In chapter 3, Peter wrote “I want you to recall the words spoken in the past by the holy prophets (in the Old Testament) and the command given by our Lord and Savior through your apostles (in the New Testament)” (2 Pet. 3:2). Here he places the Old Testament prophets and the New Testament apostles on an equal plane. Both of them are reliable. The whole Bible is accurate and authoritative.

So, the Bible is an essential part of combating false teachers and heretics.

How the Bible came to us

The way the Bible came to us is summarised in the diagram.

The original text (autograph) was given to the prophets and the apostles by the Holy Spirit. We have seen this from the letter of 2 Peter. And Paul said “all scripture” was “God-breathed” (2 Tim. 3:16). It’s also called inspiration. The Old Testament was written in Hebrew and Aramaic and the New Testament in Greek.

Handwritten copies of the books of the Bible were made. These are called manuscripts. Many ancient manuscripts have been preserved for us to examine today. The best known are the Dead Sea Scrolls which were written between 150 BC and AD 70. There are many minor variations between the different manuscript copies, but they don’t affect the meaning. Just like a typographic error doesn’t affect the meaning of a written message.

Scholars have reconstructed the original text from the many manuscripts available. This is possible because of the large number of manuscripts available.

The original text has been translated into English and many other languages. Our current English translations are translated directly from the original biblical languages.

We can be thankful for the Bible’s preservation in this way over thousands of years.

Mind the gap

“Mind the gap” is a warning phrase to take caution while crossing the gap between  the station platform and a train doorway. It’s used by many train and rapid transport systems. Let’s look at the “memory gap” and the “copy gap” for the New Testament.

The major way in which events and ideas were communicated in the ancient world was through the spoken word. But an audio message can become unreliable if it passes through many intermediate speakers between the original speaker and the final listener. Have you ever played the telephone game (or Chinese whispers) where the message gets distorted along the line?

The “memory gap” (the delay until events were recorded) for the gospels is 30-55 years, which is one lifetime and not many lifetimes. And for the other books of the New Testament it is usually less than 30 years. So, the telephone game (Chinese whispers) doesn’t apply to the New Testament. It was written when eyewitnesses were still alive who could contest the account if it wasn’t accurate.

The “copy gap” is the time gap between the original autograph and the oldest complete manuscript available today. The copy gap for most non-biblical classical sources is about 700-1400 years. But the copy gap for the New Testament is about 300 years.

A longer gap means more copies of copies, which means more potential for copy errors to appear in the text. So the version of the New Testament we have today should be a more accurate copy of the original than is the case for most other ancient historical documents.

As the memory gap is less than one generation and the copy gap is significantly less than for other ancient documents, we can trust the accuracy of the New Testament.

What about the Old Testament? Before the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered, the Old Testament was translated from the Masoretic Hebrew text of the 9^th century AD. This is a long time (over 1,300 years) after the original manuscripts were written between the 15^th and 5^th centuries BC. But then the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in 1946-1956. Amazingly, there is a virtual agreement between the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Masoretic text from 1,000 years later! The meticulous Jewish scribal process preserved the textual integrity for at least 1,000 years! This means that we can confidently trust the Old Testament we have today. There is no evidence of grand changes through a great historical game of telephone (or Chinese whispers) because it was in writing, not audio, and because of the Jewish scribal methods of ensuring accurate copies.

Because the text of the Old Testament has been preserved amazingly by Jewish scribes, we can trust the accuracy of the Old Testament.

I have seen a cricket score book when Don Bradman scored 452 not out in 1930, 95 years ago. For this manuscript, the memory gap was zero days (as the autograph was written on the same day) and the copy gap was probably less than a week. And this was the first copy of the autograph. So it is reliable.

Other evidence of the reliability of the Bible

We have seen that the Bible has been inspired by God (it’s “God-breathed” and the writers were “carried along” by the Holy Spirit”). And it has been preserved through history, which is an example of God’s providence.

Here are eight other evidences of the reliability of the Bible.

– Based on evidence from the students of the eyewitnesses, the New Testament didn’t change over time during the copy gap.
– Its historical accuracy. For example, Ancient history and archaeology have confirmed the existence of 83 people mentioned in the Bible.
– It has historically correct naming conventions, and travel routes.
– Its internal consistency and unity, despite being a collection of 66 books written over 1,500 years by about 40 different authors.
– It includes people’s sins, failures and weaknesses, not just their successes.
– The fulfilled prophecies.
– Jesus and the apostles trusted the Bible (Mt. 19:4-5).
– Its power to change lives. The transformation of lives through its teachings.

Lessons for us

Christianity is based upon a book – the Bible. Because the Bible is trustworthy and reliable, Christianity has a reliable foundation. It’s important to know that we have the right Bible because our entire faith and hope of salvation depend on the historical fact of Christ’s death and resurrection as documented in the Bible.

The parable of the wise and foolish builders showed that only those with a solid foundation (like rock) will stand in the face of adversity and false teaching (Mt. 7:24-27). Whereas those with a weak foundation (like sand) will collapse. Our faith needs to have the foundation of Scripture to survive against false ideas. The foundation is to know the principles of the Bible and to apply them in our life.

In a world of fake-news it can be hard to sort fact from fiction. Fortunately, God has given us the facts we need to know in the Bible. It’s a fact-checker – the standard. That’s why the Bible is an essential part of combating false teachers and heretics.

God speaks to us through the Bible. If you want to hear from God, read it regularly. It contains all we need to know about God, Christ, sin, salvation, spiritual growth, Christian living and eternity.

Are we memorizing Scripture? Are we being recharged regularly with the life-giving message of Scripture? When we put the Bible in our minds, it deters sin from controlling us (Ps. 119:11).

Conclusion

The Bible can be trusted because it comes from God and its ancient words have been preserved since it was written. The biblical manuscripts have been reliably transmitted from the authors to us today. It is the most reliable document we have from antiquity.

No other book is inspired of God, given by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, revealing God’s truth without any error. Unlike what we see online, the Bible is as trustworthy as God Himself.

This means that the teachings of the Bible are also trustworthy. The main story of the Bible is the gift of salvation through believing that Jesus died for our sin. Have you responded to His act of love and continued to follow Him?

May God help us to build our lives, our ministry, our church, our family and our nation on His unchanging Word.

Written, January 2025

Also see: How the Bible came to us
Mind the gap
Do we have the right Bible?