Can We Trust the Bible?
Common Misunderstanding about Bible
Expecting an instruction manual
Expecting explicit answers for every question
Expecting it to read like a history book
Expecting no tension or complexity
Expecting it to affirm what I already believe
What the Bible Is…
God Inspired
2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NIV) | All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God[a] may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
God Guided its Writers
2 Peter 1:20–21 (NIV) | Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things. 21 For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were.
God Preserved It Through History
40 authors, written across 1,500 years, in 3 languages, and tells 1 consistent story
Dead Sea Scrolls discovered in 1946 contain original copies of the Old Testament.
The New Testament has over 5,800 Greek manuscripts — far more than any other ancient text
God Proved It Through Prophecy and Fulfillment
The New Testament is hidden in the Old Testament, and the Old Testament is revealed in the New. ~ St. Augustine
God Uses It to Transform Lives
Hebrews 4:12 (NIV) | For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.
The real question isn’t “Will you read the Bible,” but “will you let it read you?”
Ways to read: Information; Formation; Transformation.
Reflection Questions
1. What are some common objections you’ve heard about the Bible’s reliability? How would you answer them now?
2. Which part of the Bible’s preservation story (scribes, manuscripts, prophecy) strengthens your trust most?
3. How does knowing that Scripture is both human and divine deepen your view of God’s involvement in history?
4. How can you cultivate a daily habit of engaging Scripture as God’s living voice — not just information?
5. Who in your life might need to hear why the Bible can still be trusted — and how can you start that conversation?