David Platt Messages
David Platt Messages is a podcast that highlights sermons from teacher, author, and pastor David Platt.
David Platt Messages
Is the Bible Reliable?
How do you know the Bible is the Word of God? That’s a question Christians should be prepared to answer, particularly since we claim to base our lives, and our eternity, on the truths contained in the words of Scripture. In this message from 2 Timothy 3:16, David Platt offers seven reasons we can be confident that the Bible is God’s Word. Whether you’re a Christian looking to strengthen your trust in God’s Word or a non-Christian who is curious about the claims of Christianity, the spiritual stakes are too high for us to be left wondering about the Bible’s authority. These words have been breathed out by God himself.
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You are listening to Radical with David Platt, a weekly podcast with sermons and messages from pastor, author and teacher David Platt. Can we really trust that the Bible, that this book, is the Word of God? Like how? How do we know? It's not just some made-up book written by people recording their thoughts on religion? Is it possible to actually know that this book, the Bible, is the word of God himself? That's a really foundational question. In a sense, it's one of the most important questions for every one of us in this gathering right now to answer. Think about it.
Speaker 1:I mentioned some of you may not be a Christian right now. If that's you, I'm assuming you want to know the truth about. Well, number one is there really a God? I mean, I'm assuming you want to know if one true God really exists and then, flowing from that, I'm assuming you would want to know if this is really his word, this is the way he's chosen to reveal himself to us. And if you're a Christian, you've based your entire life on this book being the word of God, your entire life on this book being the word of God. I'm assuming you wanna know if that's really true. I'm assuming you don't want to base your entire life on a lie or just on tradition. Like I was sharing the gospel with a Sikh man from Punjab, india, this week. He was saying we only believe what we believe because of where we're born, which led to a whole discussion about the truth behind what we believe. Like either there is one true God or there's not one true God. Either Jesus is God or Jesus is not God, which means that wherever we're born, whether in India or the United States or anywhere in between, we need to seek what's true.
Speaker 1:Paul in the Bible, who's writing at one point even says to non-Christians pity Christians. Like feel sorry for Christians if this book is not true. Specifically, if what this book says about the death and resurrection of Jesus is not true, feel sorry for Christians if they're building their lives on a lie. The reality is, this book makes truth claims about who God is, about who we are, about how you and I can have eternal life now and forever. Like if this book is not the word of God, if it's just the traditions or thoughts of a few different people, then you can take it or leave it, like Harry Potter or any number of other best-selling books. But if it's truly the Word of God, then it has massive implications for every one of our lives, forever.
Speaker 1:And now, like I look around this room, I think about other rooms where we're gathered right now. Many of you are walking through so many things. Right now. Many of you are walking through hard things in your life your family, your work, your health, physically, mentally, emotionally, relationally and if this book is just a collection of religious traditions and teachings, then it's probably not that important to pay attention to Optional at best, amidst everything you're walking through today. But if this book is the word of God, then this book has eternal supernatural power to comfort you, to strengthen you, to give you peace, to give you wisdom, to give you perspective, to give you wisdom, to give you perspective, to give you hope, to heal you, to help you through whatever you're walking through or will walk through.
Speaker 1:I think of George in my church group, a brother who not long ago had a headache on a Saturday night, went to the ER. They found a huge tumor on his brain. Within a few days he's being operated on and I talked with him right before he went in to that surgery and to hear George speak with such peace and strength and hope and joy, it was remarkable to hear this brother because he had a rock solid foundation underneath him in God's word as he prepared to go into surgery. I want you to be prepared for that moment when you get that diagnosis or you face this or that in this world. I mentioned, for those who are here at Tyson's on Christmas Eve, that I have two people very close to me who are in hospice care right now. One of them is, I'm pretty sure, watching online. So shout out to my Uncle, john. But these two men who I love are walking through the valley of the shadow of death and they've banked their lives on this book being the word of God. Surely they want to know whether that's true as they're lying in a hospice bed.
Speaker 1:And then let's just bring this back to what's happening in this gathering right now. Like, when you think about it, this is a pretty interesting scene, right? The thousands of us would gather together right now to open up a book and read it and talk about it, with the expectation that we will do whatever it says. Like that may not seem strange to you, but that seems strange to a lot of people in the world. I would say to an increasing number of people in our culture Like what is? Is this One big, massive book club? You're like the book club guru, like what's so significant about this book? I think about one woman who was visiting a small group Bible study and somebody said, let's turn to the book of John. And later on she pulled her friend aside who had invited her and said who is John and why do I care what he thinks? I think it's a pretty good question and many of you have it Whether you're, as I mentioned, not a Christian that's one of the things I love about NBC is that every week we gather together, there are people exploring Christianity here.
Speaker 1:So if that's, you just know you are not alone. Or maybe you're a student whose parents bring you to church but you're not really sure what the Bible has to do with your life. Or maybe you've been a Christian for years, maybe decades. Let me put it this way If someone were to ask you this week how do you know the Bible is true, how do you know the Bible is the word of God, what would you say? How would you answer that question? And I want you to be able to answer that question with confidence, without hesitation, on one hand, so that you can share the truth of God's word with somebody else, but, on the other hand, I want you to know the answer to that question, because knowing the answer to that question is critical to you actually reading it.
Speaker 1:If you don't really believe the Bible is the word of God, then you're naturally gonna be pretty casual with it. But if you know that the Bible is supernatural, that it's the living Word of God that has what you need to live a full, meaningful, blessed life that your creators made you for now and for the next 10 trillion years and beyond, if you know that the Bible brings supernatural comfort, strength, peace, joy, hope, help for you in everything you face, from highs in this life to hospice in your home, if you know that the Bible has power to transform your life and others' lives around you for eternal good on a day-by-day basis, then you're gonna read it, because you know this is the word of God to me. You're not just gonna read it, you're gonna treasure it. This book is gonna be more valuable to you than your Instagram feed or your news feed or the endless videos available to you on YouTube or Netflix. We're talking about the eternal Word of God that, when everything in all this world is faded away, this will still be standing. If you believe this is the Word of God, you're going to prioritize it every single day in your life, and then on the weekend, yes, you're going to prioritize it every single day in your life. And then on the weekend, yes, you're going to prioritize gathering with the church around this book.
Speaker 1:If this book is just a made-up book of religious traditions, then well, I'll just speak for myself. Personally, I have better things to do with my life on Sunday than be in a book club with all of you, and I don't mean that because I don't love being with you. But let's do something else. Like the Bible isn't the word of God, then by all means like, don't get up early on Sunday morning. Corral the whole family together. Just come serve in kids ministry teaching this book Now go to the ball field instead. Take your kids to play sports on Sunday morning. Go on a hike, do something, get extra work done, whatever.
Speaker 1:But if this book is the word of God, then put it at the top of your priority list for the weekend to gather together with the people of God, to hear the voice of God, to serve in kids or student ministry to make sure the generation knows who God is and what God has said, absolutely. So here's what I want to do. I want to give you seven reasons why we know this book is God's Word, and I want to encourage you to write them down again for your own confidence in God's word and then so you can share with others how you know this book is the word of God, not just for you but for them. I want every one of you to be able to say here's why I've banked my life on this book and here's why you should too. And kind of like Mike mentioned last week, this message is kind of different than normal because we're not just in-depth, studying one passage in God's word, like we normally do. Instead, we're looking big picture at the Bible. But I do want to set the stage with two of the most important verses in the Bible that tell us about the Bible and why we can trust it. So that's where 2 Timothy, chapter three, verse 16 and 17, come in.
Speaker 1:Listen to this. All scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction and for training in righteousness. That the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. That is amazing. Did you hear that language? All scriptures, the whole Bible, every word in it is breathed out by God. What a picture, inspired, directed, given to us by God himself. All scripture, this book, god breathed words and as such, it's profitable. It is beneficial in so many ways to teach us, to instruct us, to reprove us, admonish us, to correct us when we are going the wrong way, away from the life God's made us for, to train us in what is right.
Speaker 1:So that purpose clause. Listen to this purpose, so that a man or a woman made by God may be complete. What a word. Whole. And who doesn't want that? Do you want to be all you were made to be and equipped for every good work? What a phrase. Who doesn't want to have everything you need to do, every good thing you were made to do? That's a bold claim about the Bible. So how do we know that's true, that Scripture is God breathed and leads to all these things? Seven reasons we know the Bible is breathed out by God. One because of its internal consistency. So the Bible contains 66 books written by over 40 different authors in three different languages over the course of 1,500 years, and they all together tell one consistent story and nothing at any point contradicts that story. So if you're new to church, here's a summary of the story.
Speaker 1:This is a summary of Mike's message from last week. There is one true God who created the world and everything in it, including you and me, but he made you and me unlike anything else in creation. We have the unique capacity to be in relationship with God, to walk and talk with God. Unlike animals, unlike mountains and seas, we are created in the image of God for life in relationship with him. Now the problem in the world is we have all you have I have. We have all turned aside from God and his ways to ourselves and our own ways. We think we know better than God what's best for our lives and what's best for this world.
Speaker 1:And the Bible calls this sin rebellion against God. And our sin leads to all kinds of effects in what we experience in this fallen world, in our lives, in nature, in everything around us. And if we die in this state of separation from God, we will spend eternity in judgment due our sin against God. But the good news of the Bible at the center of this book, promised from the very beginning and fulfilled in the person of Jesus is that God has not left us alone in this state, but God has actually come to us in the person of Jesus, and Jesus has lived a life of no sin. And then, even though he had no sin for which to die, jesus chose to die on a cross to pay the price, the penalty, for the sins of anyone who will trust in him. After he died, three days later, he did what no one in history has ever done or will ever do he rose from the dead never to die again. He is alive. He has conquered sin and death so that anyone, anywhere, no matter who you are, no matter what you've done in your relationship to God, if you will turn from your sin and yourself and trust in Jesus as Savior and Lord, as the picture of God's love for you, then God will forgive you of all your sin. Simply by faith in Jesus, not earning your way to God, but by trusting in his love for you, god will forgive you of all your sin and restore you to relationship with him, now and forever. And God is going to make all things right for all who trust in him for all of eternity. That's the story From Genesis to Revelation 66 books, 40 authors, three languages, over 1,500 years. Every single line of every single page consistently tells that one story and there's not a single passage that contradicts it.
Speaker 1:Now I hear people say the Bible's full of contradictions, to which I always kindly respond it's interesting. Just show me one, let's look at it. And most people can't name one because there are so few, even apparent contradictions, and such instances are relatively minor. But the Bible is either completely true or not. So it's good for biblical scholars and everyday Christians to do the work to examine those apparent contradictions. I dove into them in a thing we call Secret Church that we do A few years ago. The title of that Secret Church was Scripture and Authority in an Age of Skepticism. So you can dive into that. If that would be a helpful resource, just search my name and Scripture and Secret Church and it will come up.
Speaker 1:And I'm convinced that the more you honestly and humbly dive into the Bible and see how all these passages not only relate to but reinforce one another over the course of 1500 years, with multiple books and multiple authors in a way that no human author could ever plan, the more you will be amazed by its internal consistency. Just think about it this way If I took 40 of you right now and asked you to write down your views on God, what's wrong in the world and how it can be made right, there's no way I could get you to agree. And that's all at the same time speaking the same language. These were 40 simple authors, a few of them well-educated, others simple farmers, shepherds, soldiers, fishermen, just for comparison's sake and I say this with all respect to my Muslim friends but just think about the Quran and Islam. These are just facts, not even commentary on the Bible and the Quran, just plain facts.
Speaker 1:The Quran was written not by 40 authors and three languages over 1,500 years, but by one man, Muhammad. This one man who had visions that he dictated to his followers. Then, after he died, those recitations were written down. Those written documents contained discrepancy. So one other person combed through the writings to determine what he believed was true and then he burned any documents that might contradict his conclusions. So one man dictating visions, written down after he died, that one other man cleaned up and burned. The differences, simply based on the facts. There is no comparison with this book, and one of Islam's most prevalent criticisms of the Bible is that it's been changed.
Speaker 1:But that's actually the second reason we know this is the Word of God, because of its manuscript reliability. We base our knowledge of world history on writings, where we have a handful of manuscripts, you think, just like, for example, plato. Most everyone believes that the works ascribed to Plato were actually authored by Plato and we have about 250 manuscripts of his works. The oldest manuscript we have is from over a thousand years after he died. In contrast, we have over 5,000 full or partial manuscripts of the Greek New Testament. More manuscripts are found every year, that's thousands more manuscripts that exist for the Bible than any other ancient writing. Some of them dated to within decades of the original autographs, and none of those manuscripts that have been found have ever resulted in a major revision. In fact, they're about 99.5% textually consistent. In other words, they're 99.5% the exact same, only a few and relatively minor variations. All of this makes the Bible by far the most reliably attested writing in all of history, just like you would expect the Word of God to be, and it's filled with history.
Speaker 1:That's number three, historical accuracy. Again, books like the Quran or a variety of other religious books are not a history that can be attested to like the Old and New Testament of the Bible are covering over 1,500 years and over and over again the Bible has been proven historically, geographically and archaeologically accurate. So one non-Christian, non-jewish archaeologist said it may be stated categorically that no archaeological discovery has ever controverted a biblical reference ever. And the Bible has predicted history. That's reason number four fulfilled prophecy.
Speaker 1:The Bible contains multitudes of prophecies fulfilled with uncanny precision, including 300 specific places in the Old Testament written over hundreds of years that are fulfilled in detail in the life and death and resurrection of Jesus. The odds of that happening are tiny. Josh McDowell puts it this way Imagine that the state of Texas is covered with silver dollars two feet deep and one of them is marked, all of them thoroughly mixed. A blindfolded man is instructed to reach down and pick up the marked coin on his first try. The chances of him getting that one silver dollar are the same as Jesus fulfilling just eight of those prophecies, but Jesus fulfilled them all. In the words of RC Sproul, the very dimension of the sheer fulfillment of prophecy of the Old Testament scriptures should be enough to convince anyone. We're dealing with a supernatural piece of literature, and it's not just the things we're made up to try to conform to what had been prophesied.
Speaker 1:The Bible's the book number five of eyewitness testimony. In other words, people were writing down what they saw, what actually happened, in a way that somebody else could have similarly written down at the same time. That wasn't true, and they wrote what they saw, at great personal cost. Just imagine being one of the authors of the New Testament, risking your life to write about Jesus. Nobody can deny what you've written about his life, his death and his resurrection, because they saw the same things with their own eyes. So, instead of disproving you, they threaten you, they imprison you, they persecute you and they eventually kill you. Yet you keep writing all the way to the end, because this truth is worth your life, as Blaise Pascal once said. I believe only the histories whose witnesses got themselves killed. All of that leads number six, to the Bible's timeless authority. I want to be careful, by even using worldly categories to judge the Bible when the reality is.
Speaker 1:Century after century after century, the Bible has shown itself to be our judge. Its authority has been attacked, questioned, criticized, disputed and denied in every age, and yet it remains. I've shared with you before how the famous French philosopher and atheist Voltaire once claimed, a hundred years from now, the Bible will be a forgotten book. Yet after he died, in a twist of irony, the house where he lived became a printing press for the distribution of Bibles across the world. People have totally forgotten Voltaire, but not the Bible, because the Bible. So this is reason number seven, and it's, in a sense, the most important. This supernatural book, written by 40 authors who were carried along, inspired by the Holy Spirit, over the course of 1,500 years, contains supernatural authenticity, and by that I mean that throughout history, in every age and place where this book has gone, it has supernaturally changed lives. In every century and setting where it has spread, the Bible has shown itself to be inspired, breathed by God, to transform people, relationships, to bring peace, joy, eternal life to those who open it and read it and bank their lives on it. And it's doing so today, just like it always has Every year.
Speaker 1:The American Bible Society does an extensive survey of Americans' lives in relation to the Bible, and they release their findings, and many of them are fascinating. Look at this one. So, at one point in their research, they use a metric designed by Harvard University called the Human Flourishing Index. That covers five main areas in a person's life, happiness and life satisfaction, physical and mental health, meaning and purpose, character and virtue and close social relationships. They just talk about how all these things contribute to human flourishing. So the American Bible Society took that index and matched it with how often people read the Bible and look at the results. So I know this is hard to see, but over here these are people who never read the Bible and their human flourishing index is 6.6.
Speaker 1:Over here are people who read the Bible four or more times a week and their human flourishing index is 8.2. And you'll see it just gradually increases up to that based on how much people read the Bible. Like almost two points higher for people who read the Bible four more times a week than those who don't read it at all. Or check out this in the meaning and purpose category. The difference is over two points higher. Like, people who read the Bible four more times a week experience significantly more meaning and purpose in their life. That's not an accident, like it's really clear. And the data goes on to show that people who read the Bible four times more or a week experience significantly less stress, less anxiety and less loneliness. And it's not even close. It's up to 30% lower in some categories. And some of you might think well, I read the Bible, I still experience stress, to which the data would say just imagine what your stress would be like if you didn't read the Bible then and you know what's really interesting.
Speaker 1:These differences are most pronounced in Gen Z, which is the youngest generation they survey. So the data shows not just in this survey, we've seen it all over the place Gen Zers have more fears, higher anxiety, lower self-esteem, less affirmation from their peers than any older generation. But look at this specifically when it comes to anxiety. So Gen Zers the light blue here says Bible disengaged, those who are totally disengaged from the Bible, their anxiety scored at 7.1. Then in the middle they call it the movable middle it's kind of people who are a little more open to the Bible, maybe dabbling it here or there. But then you've got the dark blue. That's Scripture engaged. For those who in G, in Gen Z, who are Scripture engaged, that number plummets to 3.4, which is like almost the lowest of any category, like it's even lower than millennials, for example, who are scripture engaged when it comes to anxiety, like over half. And the same percentage drops when it happens when it comes to loneliness, like Gen Zers, who don't engage scripture are twice as likely over twice as likely to experience loneliness as those who do engage Scripture, like see it Next generation.
Speaker 1:Do not underestimate the effect of this book on your life, like it's so much better than everything else the screens of this world offer you these screens. There's so much here that's killing you. The data's there. It's destroying your mind and your heart, and God wants you to experience life and peace and joy, the affirmation that can only come supernaturally from him. He's given it to you. So you put all this together and you see a book that is literally unlike any other book in the world. And even for the skeptic, just imagine if there was a book breathed out by God. Wouldn't you expect it to have these characteristics Internal consistency, manuscript reliability, historical accuracy, fulfilled prophecy, eyewitness testimony, manuscript reliability, historical accuracy, fulfilled prophecy, eyewitness testimony, timeless authority and supernatural authenticity.
Speaker 1:Now here's the deal I mentioned. Part of me walking through this with you today was so that you'd be able to know this as well as share this with somebody else, how you, they can know that the Bible is the true, reliable Word of God. But I've been thinking how are you going to remember all seven of these characteristics of Scripture. So here's what I did I spent hours racking my brain to try to come up with an acronym that I could give you, like rearranging all the letters of the words that you see in front of you to try to help you remember these characteristics, and I'm gonna share with you the best one I came up with and if you can come up with a better one, more power to you. So, but this is the best I can do.
Speaker 1:So here it is talking about the scriptures. Remember this acronym, acronym them no cap. Some of you are clueless why people are laughing right now, because you're not familiar with this slang term, and others of you are laughing because you're well just laughing at me and my attempt to use this slang term, as if I talk like this all the time. So cap is a slang term for a what A lie? So no cap is a slang term for no lie or truth. So the scriptures them no cap. That's it. So here's the way it works. Here's the way it works T timeless authority, h historical accuracy, I eyewitness testimony. M for manuscript reliability, then you have no by itself. Then you have C internal consistency. You have A supernatural authenticity and P for fulfilled prophecy, them no cap.
Speaker 1:It's my best effort to help you remember these seven characteristics of the Bible that show you one of the most significant truths in the world that this Bible is the word of God. And part of me I mentioned it kind of before is hesitant in a sense to defend the Bible's truthfulness, because when you read it you will realize that the Bible is more than sufficient to do that itself. Charles Spurgeon once put it this way. He said suppose a number of persons were to take it into their heads that they had to defend a lion, full-grown king of beasts. There he is in the cage. Here come all the soldiers of the army to fight for him. Well, I should suggest to them, if they would not object and feel that it was humbling to them, that they should kindly stand back and open the door and let the lion out. I believe that would be the best way of defending him, for he would take care of himself, and the best apology or defense for the gospel is to let the gospel out.
Speaker 1:That is my prayer for you that you would decide to read the Bible this year and in the process you would realize that you can trust the Bible is the word of God you would realize you can trust. The Bible is worthy of your life, and not just your trust, but your treasure and your time Every day. This book is worth prioritizing, reading and discussing with family, with friends. This work, this word is worth prioritizing, coming together with a church family on the weekend to read it and study it and respond together to it. Because this book is breathed out by God over the course of thousands of years and it will profit you. It will benefit you, empower you to be all that you're made to be, to do all that you're made to do.
Speaker 1:You know I was preaching in Southern California this last week to an incredible gathering of 18 to 25-year-olds, and I say incredible because they were so hungry for God's Word. I saw the same thing the week before in a gathering of about 15,000 18 to 25-year-olds, including some from our church family, at the Cross Conference in Louisville, kentucky. I saw the same thing a couple days before that with a group of college students at a crew conference here in downtown DC. Like when I preach to these gatherings of 18 and 25 year olds, I wish you could see what I see, like I don't walk up on a stage, look out and see a bunch of guys and girls with their arms crossed. I sit in there like prove it to me, show me what you got. No, I see crowds of 18 and 25 year olds sitting on the edge of their seats with their Bibles open, hungry to listen and take notes and soak in God's Word. I've seen them standing when God's Word is being taught with their hands raised, some fired up, standing up on their chairs, just passionate about the Word of God. It's totally distracting but beautiful at the same time. Of God, it's totally distracting but beautiful at the same time, and I pray for that kind of hunger for God's Word to spread across every generation in the church and across every generation in this church family.
Speaker 1:God, raise up students and teenagers. That's what they're talking about. They're sitting around talking about encouraging each other with truth that'll last forever. Young adults like investing their lives in this treasure, building each other up, and singles and couples and moms and dads like pouring it in, like showing children what it looks like to treasure God's word more than anything else in this world. All the way up to senior adults saying, ah, building my life at 80 on what's going to matter forever. May it be so.
Speaker 1:So I just want to encourage you here at the beginning of this year to make a decision that this year you, in your life, right where you're sitting right now, are going to experience God's word in deeper ways than you ever have before in your life. Just think what would that look like for your life this year to experience this word in a deeper way than you ever have before, and that might look different for different ones. Obviously, we're encouraging all of us to read through the Bible, whole Bible, over the course of this year and help each other do that. Some of you have never done that before. Others of you may have done that before. I want to encourage you to consider how can you treasure, prioritize, experience this word in a deeper way as we do this?
Speaker 1:So, as we close, I just wanna encourage you to answer this question what practical steps is God calling you to take in order to experience his word more this year than you ever have before? Again, for some of you, that's just reading it like period setting aside the time. So maybe practical steps you need to think through. How are you gonna set aside that time? When are you gonna do that Morning, lunch, at night, set yourself a daily alarm. What are some practical things you can do to make sure to prioritize this? Maybe another practical step is to talk with somebody else or others maybe your church group about doing this together, helping each other, holding each step is to talk with somebody else or others maybe your church group about doing this together, helping each other, holding each other accountable.
Speaker 1:Another practical step could be to listen, to pray the Word. I hesitate to recommend my own podcast, but the whole point is to help you, so that's kind of why I do it. So each day, I take one of these verses from our Bible reading and say a few thoughts about it and then help you pray according to what's in God's word. So just five minutes. Maybe another practical step you could take is to do a journal where you write down just a few reflections of what you read every day, write out maybe a prayer based on what you've read, even just a sentence or two a day.
Speaker 1:What a treasure that would be at the end of this year and, as I mentioned earlier, even if you're not a follower of Jesus at this point, maybe just to read this book, this best-selling book, with an open mind, an open heart.
Speaker 1:See what happens. Just think how can I experience God's word this year in a deeper way than ever before? And I guarantee you, I guarantee you, I have the data to back it up you will not regret taking those steps. You will not regret filling your life with the supernatural Word of God. What else in this world are you going to fill your mind and heart with that is able to do what this book can do? So let me give you a moment just to reflect on this question, just between you and God, and I, or someone at your location will lead us from there. But what practical steps is God calling you to take in order to experience His Word more this year than you ever have before? We hope you've enjoyed this week's episode of Radical with David Platt. For more resources from David Platt, we invite you to visit radicalnet.