In a world where it is difficult to know what to trust or who to trust, it is a comfort to know that we can absolutely trust in the reliability of God’s Word. Many have criticized this holy book over the years, but their criticisms have been defeated every time. The truths of the Bible, be they historical, archaeological, scientific, or on matters of faith and practice, have been verified again and again, attesting to the accuracy of God’s Word. Let us examine the evidence that points to the reliability of this amazing book.

The Only Perfect Book

The Bible is not just any book — it is the verbal, plenary, inspired Word of God. The term “verbal” means that the very words of Scripture were inspired by God. The term “plenary” means that the entire Word of God was inspired by God. The terms “inspired” and “inspiration” refer to the method God used to reveal Himself to His creation through His written Word. They guarantee the accuracy and completeness of this revelation.

2 Timothy 3:16-17 states in part, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God…” The phrase “given by inspiration of God” is the Greek word theopneustos, which means “God breathed.” This illustrates the method used by God to provide His written Word to His creation.  2 Peter 1:20-21 supports this view by emphasizing that the Scripture is not of “private interpretation,” but that “holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.” By this work of inspiration, the Holy Spirit worked through the writers such that, though their individual styles and personalities were retained, the product of their efforts was the very Word of God.

Inerrancy

The Scriptures inspired by the authors is inerrant, or completely free from error, because God is holy (Leviticus 11:44), trustworthy (Romans 3:4), all-knowing (Psalm 139:3-6), and all-powerful (Jeremiah. 32:27). Because God is free from sin and error, and because the Holy Spirit superintended the creation of the Scripture, it follows logically that the Scriptures are free from error. In addition, because the Scriptures claim to reveal God’s wisdom (1 Corinthians  2:9-15) and demonstrate God’s divine power (Hebrews 4:12), the Scriptures are therefore inerrant and infallible. We can trust the Bible.

The Scriptures themselves claim to be free from error, by stating that, “The law of the Lord is perfect” (Psalm 19:7), “thy word is very pure” (Psalm 119:140), “thy word is true from the beginning” (Psalm 119:160), and “thy word is truth” (John 17:17). Christ’s teaching also supports the concept of inerrancy and verbal, plenary inspiration of Scripture, and its infallibility. Jesus taught in Matthew 5:17-18 that the entirety of the Law will be fulfilled precisely, including the “jots and tittles”. A jot is the smallest letter in the alphabet used in Jesus’ day, and a tittle is a small mark that distinguishes one letter from another, similar to the small mark we use to distinguish a capital ‘O’ and ‘Q’. Our God is a God of details, and He ensured that His word is just as perfect as He is.

We can take the Bible at its word. Old Testament prophecies such as Psalm 22, Isaiah 7:14, Isaiah 53:1-12, and Micah 5:2 have all been fulfilled literally. Taking Scripture literally is the approach Jesus took for Himself, as can be seen in Luke 24:25-27. (For more on this, read 55 Prophecies Jesus Fulfilled and download the free handout.)

The Role of the Holy Spirit in Interpretation

Why do the unsaved struggle with believing the Bible? The primary reason is that proper interpretation of the Bible requires the Holy Spirit. This means that the unsaved person is spiritually blind and spiritually dead (2 Corinthians 4:4, Ephesians 2:2), the truths of Scripture are spiritually discerned (1 Corinthians 2:14), and, as the Author, He guides the reader to truth through attention to His Word (John 16:13, Psalm 119:18). The Holy Spirit is necessary to interpretation because He wrote the Bible, and through His working in the hearts of believers He directs their attention to the truths of the Bible, and He brings about spiritual growth when they apply the Bible. The Holy Spirit brings about illumination — the comprehension and application of the text, allowing the reader to properly apprehend the meaning of the text (1 John 2:20, 27). Seek God in every Scripture, and you will find Him.

God’s Work of Preservation

In Psalm 12:6-7, the Bible states, “The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever.” This points to the promise of God to preserve His Word, as it identifies God Himself as the One who will preserve it. Psalm 19:7 and 9 describe the Word of God as “sure” and “clean,” implying its preservation from the time it was written. Isaiah 40:8 states that, “The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever,” thus pointing to the permanency of God’s Word. Jesus also said, “My words shall not pass away” (Matthew 24:35), providing the believer with further confidence that God has and will preserve His Word,

God was careful to inspire His Word, and He showed equal care to preserve His Word. Without perfect preservation of His Word, there is no point in an inerrant inspiration of Scripture. This is because errors that were not part of the original autographs of the Scripture would inevitably develop if only fallen humanity were responsible for preserving God’s Word.

Old Testament Preservation

The Old Testament (referred to as the Law, the Prophets, and the Writings or Psalms) was used by the Jews for their faith and practice. They were highly revered as the Word of God. The Jews were careful to accurately copy their religious texts to ensure that succeeding generations could have access to God’s Word. The Jews were committed to the oracles of God (Romans 3:2), and the method used by the scribes to copy Scripture demonstrates the seriousness with which they took their responsibility. The scribes employed safeguards, including counting the specific number of words and lines, and ensuring the middle word of the line, page, and book being copied was properly placed.

The scribes were prevented from writing anything from memory and would bathe before writing the name of God. If a mistake was found in a manuscript, however small, the manuscript was set aside to be used only for purposes other than making accurate copies. Thus, the physical condition of an ancient manuscript may be counterintuitive to the actual value of the manuscript in terms of accuracy.

The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls provided a unique opportunity to prove the accuracy of the modern manuscripts when compared with the ancient manuscripts. Though there were eight hundred years’ difference between the Dead Sea Scrolls and the oldest copies that were available at this time, the manuscripts were almost exact copies of the modern versions. As a result of the strict safeguards and process for copying the Hebrew manuscripts, we can have confidence in the accuracy of the Old Testament.

New Testament Preservation

The New Testament was preserved differently from the Old Testament, but no less accurately or providentially. The large number of manuscripts and the wider availability of Scripture point to God’s preservation of His Word. The early Christians recognized their Scripture as being the Word of God based on the fact that it had been written by an apostle or an associate of an apostle. Additionally, they recognized the divine nature of changed lives produced by the Scriptures.

When compared with ancient writings such as those by Homer, the New Testament has a significantly higher level of manuscript authority. Meaning that many more copies and fragments of manuscripts exist for the New Testament than for the Iliad or the Odyssey. The sheer volume of these fragments and manuscripts speaks to the seriousness with which this task was dealt. Modern technologies not available during the development and early history of the Old Testament, such as the printing press and movable type, became available to those making copies of the New Testament Scriptures in the 1400s.

We Can Trust God’s Word

When we understand how God inspired His Word, ensured that it is free from error, and preserved His Word, we can have assurance that God’s Word is absolutely true and trustworthy. Make it a habit to study God’s Word every day. Ask the Lord to help you, to give you wisdom, and pray Psalm 119:18 “Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.” God gave us His Word because He wants us to know Him. It is an amazing book — do not neglect it.

The Bible is The Word of God

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About Michael Pack