Well, hello again, this is Pastor James Keene with the Anchor Missionary Baptist Church. And again, I'm going to be answering a question that I've received a question from Rufus. And the question is, how do you know the Bible is true? And as I thought about that question, number one, it's an excellent question. I think it's a good question for someone to ask to really think about these things. Lots of people say lots of different things are true, and you need to test it. Even the Bible says that things should be tested. You need to prove what is right and true. Don't just believe everything. And so even the Bible tells us to think and to prove things and to test it. So the question I want to try to address is, how do you know the Bible is true? And before I answer that question, I first want to define what I mean by the Bible. What is the Bible? The Bible, the word Bible actually means book. And in a sense, it is the book, the book of books. And different religions would answer that question differently. The Jews would say the Bible would be just the Old Testament. Mormons would add the Old Testament, the New Testament, and some other writings that they would believe to be also the Holy Word of God. Some Catholics would add some other books between the Old Testament and the New Testament. But my answer to that question, the Bible that I'm defending tonight, are the 66 books that consist of the Old and the New Testaments from Genesis to Revelation. That is what I'm going to defend as the Bible, the true Bible and a Bible that we can trust and believe in. So underneath this question is a kind of an understanding or assumption. When I say, how do I know the Bible is true? There's kind of an understanding under that, that there is some sort of claim the Bible makes. What claim does the Bible make about its origin and its purpose? What does the Bible claim to be and what does it claim to be doing? The origin of the Bible, we read about in 2 Peter 1, verses 20 and 21. Peter writes, but know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God. So Peter in that passage talks about Scripture, which is another term we would use for the Bible. And he said they were moved by the Holy Spirit to speak. They weren't just speaking of their own accord. This wasn't just their opinion or their best guess. This was God's Spirit moving them to speak. In Hebrews chapter 1, verses 1 and 2, it says, God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers and the prophets in many portions and in many ways in these last days, has spoken to us in His Son. That passage is talking about scriptures that were written and that God was speaking to them and through them. 2 Timothy 3.16 talks about scripture being inspired by God. Literally, that means God breathed. God breathed. The Scriptures claim to be the Word of God. You can see that in the Old Testament and you can see that in the New Testament. Many books are very clear. This is a word from the Lord. And so, the origin of the Bible, and it makes this very claim, is that it is from God. Now, this word from God, what is the purpose of it? What does the Bible claim to be the purpose of this communication we have from God? Jesus made the purpose very clear in John 539. He says, you search the scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life. It is these that testify about me. And so Jesus said, that he was the theme of Scripture. From Genesis to Revelation, we see that the theme of Scripture all is leading to and pointing to Jesus Christ. In fact, the book of Revelation tells us the spirit of prophecy is the testimony of Jesus Christ. And so all of these things were leading to him and pointing to him. Jesus is the grand theme of scripture. And that goes back to that passage we read in Hebrews 1 verses 1 and 2, that God has spoken in lots of different ways through the prophets and the fathers. But in these last days, he's spoken to us in his son. Jesus is the ultimate communication of God. And it's no coincidence that Jesus is also called the living word. He was called the word of God and the beginning was the word. The word was with God and the word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. That's the Gospel of John, chapter one, verses one and two. So Jesus is the grand theme of scripture. And as we know about Jesus, we see the plan of salvation put forth, and we also see the plan by which God seeks to draw men to follow after Him in holiness. We read in 2 Timothy 3, 16 and 17, all scripture is given by inspiration of God, and it's profitable or it's good for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work." And so that passage tells us the scriptures are purposed to equip God's people to do all that he has called them to do. And so the Bible claims to be from God, And the Bible claims to be about Jesus and providing God's people with the resources they need to be able to do all of what he's called us to do. Now, I want to ask another question here before I get to the main question. When I try to answer the question, how do you know the Bible is true? I want to ask the question first, how true is the Bible? How true is the Bible? When I answer the question, how do I know the Bible is true? Under that question is how true do I believe it is? Because there's a lot of different beliefs about that. There's a lot of people that would say they believe there is truth in the Bible. But that is altogether a different thing than saying the Bible is true. Someone could could speak a whole lot of different words, a whole lot of different sentences. And you could look at all the things they say. And maybe some of those things in there that they said were true, and some of them were lies. And you could say, out of all they said, something in there was true. And that's the way some people treat the Bible is that, you know, there's a lot of things there. And there are some things in there that are true that they like that they agree with. It's not hard to find anybody that would agree with something the Bible says. But that is altogether different than saying the Bible is true. You see, when you say there's truth in the Bible, you are setting yourself up to be the judge of what is true. You are the one looking at it and saying, I believe this is good. I believe this is bad. And so you are setting yourself up as the judge. You are setting yourself up above God's word. I am not going to argue that there is truth in the Bible. I am going to argue that the Bible is true. That every bit of it is true and that the Bible is above our thoughts and opinions. And the Bible is the very thing that we are judged by, that we are tested by, by God's Word. Now, let me just phrase this really clearly. I believe every word of the Bible. as accurately translated from the original text, is absolutely 100 percent true without any error. Jesus, when he was speaking about the scriptures, the Old Testament, and I believe the same truth applies to the new, Jesus said, For truly, I say it to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the law until all is accomplished. Jesus was talking about the dotting of an I or the crossing of a T, in a sense, in the scriptures, that every bit of it must come to pass. Every bit of it is there for a reason. When the Apostle Paul was referring to the Old Testament and he was looking back to the book of Genesis in Galatians chapter 3, verse 16, Paul was talking about the promises that were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. to his seed in the singular. Paul goes on and says he does not say and to his seeds as referring to many, but rather to one and to your seed. That is Christ. Now, my point in pointing out that passage is the apostle Paul was looking back to see whether a word was singular. or whether it was plural, whether it referred to one or whether it referred to many. And he was basing his understanding from that, which means that what Paul believed that even down to whether a word was in the singular or in the plural was inspired by God. Psalm 12, six says the words of the Lord are pure words as silver tried in a furnace of the earth. refined seven times. God's word, I believe, is true. The whole thing is true. And so now let's get to this question. How do I know the Bible? Those 66 books from Genesis to Revelation, which claims to be the word of God, which has as its grand theme, Jesus Christ, and has its purpose to equip all of God's people to do all that he's called them to do. How do I know the Bible is true? It would be very easy to go inside the Bible And from reading the things the Bible has to say, to say, look, the Bible says that it's true. That is an internal look at the scripture. And I want to address that a little bit later. But first, I want to look at the Bible from the outside. Now, I can't do that without looking at some of the things that it says. But I want us to kind of look at the outside evidence that the Bible is true. And I want to give you 10 reasons, and I'm going to try to go through these quickly and not dwell on each one very long. But I want you to think about it. Number one, the Bible is unique because of the message of Jesus Christ. I've said it before when I've recorded messages to send to Liberia, and I've preached it here in the pulpit at the anchor. There really come down to only being two religions in this world. Now, you say, that sounds crazy. There are lots of religions. But yeah, when it boils down, there's really two. There is the religion of human accomplishment by which man does something himself to come to God on his own, works his way to God. And then there is the religion of divine accomplishment where God has done the work. And I would propose to you that only the Bible, only the Word of God, only the revelation of Jesus Christ is the religion of divine accomplishment and everything else is about somehow humans trying to work their way to God. Whether you look at Islam or you look at Buddhism or you look at all sorts of false Christianity that's out there, they are all about people trying to work their way to God. The message of the Bible is unique and you would expect a message from God to be unique. Number two, it's important to notice the Bible claims to be the Word of God. There are lots of books in this world. Most of those books, the vast majority of those books do not claim to be the Word of God. The Bible says that it is. And so it deserves getting a second look. It deserves being tested. And I think it should be tested. I think you should look at it and consider whether it's true. Number three. You should notice the proven fulfillment of prophecy. There are hundreds, if not thousands of prophecies in the scriptures of things that will take place. Many of them already have. And when you can go back and see that something was written and foretold years Tens of years, hundreds of years, even thousands of years before it happened. Certainly, it is cause to give pause and say, how could this be true? How could they know? The answer is this is the Word of God. There are over 300 prophecies about Jesus alone. And when you read the New Testament, which was clearly written About 400 or 500 years after the Old Testament was finished. And the Old Testament was written over about 1500 years. And then another 400 plus years after that, we have the New Testament, it is very clear when you read the life of Jesus that he fulfilled those Old Testament prophecies. So looking at Fulfilled prophecy gives us another evidence externally, on the outside, the Bible's true. Number four, look at the lives of people who have truly been changed by the Word of God. Notice how the Word of God convicts people unlike any other writing. Notice how it can convince them in their heart, unlike other writings, notice how it can convert them to change them, not just turning over a new leaf, but they've been changed on the inside. If you meet somebody who has truly been saved, you are meeting someone who has truly been changed. And how do they get changed? The Bible tells us that faith which is what it takes to be saved, comes by hearing. And hearing ultimately comes from the word of God. At the root of anyone being saved, there had to be the proclamation of God's truth from God's revealed word. And so notice how the Bible, this book is alive and it has changed people. Number five, consider the inexhaustible infinity of the message. There are people who have devoted their entire lives to studying this book, these 66 books that are in a collection of one. And they still, time after time, find themselves coming and learning and growing and being inspired and being encouraged over and over. People reading the same passages they've read for years and finding new strength. That is an evidence that this book is not like any other book. It is a book that speaks to us. It is the word of God. And therefore, it has a life in it that continues to strengthen us. Number six, consider the unity of the message from diverse, different human sources. This book, the Bible, has over 40 different authors, and it was written over 2000 years And yet you see this amazing harmony, this amazing agreement from Genesis to Revelation of all these things coming together. You could not get 40 people to come together to write something like this today and get them to agree, much less 40 different people over 2,000 years to write such a thing and for it to agree. That only happens one way. that there was a divine author behind it. There are books today that claim to be a revelation of God, like the Book of Mormon written by one man or the Koran written by one man, and they claim to be the word of God, but they do not have the harmony. They do not have the infinity. They do not have this evidence that the Bible, the word of God has. Number seven, notice the transcultural appeal of the Bible. Here I am standing today in Alaska, in the United States, and I am preaching to you in Liberia, Africa. And there is a great audience listening to this. Here I am from a different culture, preaching into your culture. And what am I preaching? I am preaching the Word of God. I am preaching the Bible. I am proclaiming Jesus. And there are people from all different countries who are proclaiming this same message. The Bible, back in 2012, had been translated into almost 3,000 different languages at that point. This word has an appeal that speaks across cultures, across generations, that speaks to all people, which is what you would expect from a word from God. Number eight. This word is immeasurably superior to all other literature. There have been thousands, millions of other books written, but there is only one best selling book of all time. And it's the Bible. And it's no surprise because of who its author is. When you look at the Bible, you see this amazing picture from Genesis to Revelation, 2000 years between beginning being written and the end being written. We see paradise lost in Genesis. We see paradise gained again at the end of Revelation. We see this whole coming together. God had this great plan the whole time and he was bringing this perfect word together. There is no other book, no other book that can even compare. to this one. Number nine, the test of experience. It works. It works that the truth here transforms, it has transformed me. I came to the word of God hungry here just again recently and was touched, was moved. God gave me exactly what I needed. When I came to it hungry, looking, seeking for answers, he was there to give me what I needed. It works. It is a living word. And finally, number 10. There have been many attempts to destroy the Bible since it was written. And it has miraculously endured Over these last 2000 years, despite all of those attempts, maybe you've heard of that French philosopher Voltaire, who said that within 100 years of his death, the Bible would be extinct. And within that time period, his castle where he had lived was used as a printing press for Bibles. This book has endured, which, again, should not surprise us because of who its author is. So if if any of those things that I have just mentioned there made you at least a little convinced or curious that this book is somehow beyond the capability of man to produce, let me share with you then just a few things from inside the word. The reason I believe. That every word of scripture is true, Begins with the character of the one who I believe wrote it. The one who I believe wrote it. Ultimately, was God, he used people to get this done, but he was the great mover behind it. He is the inventor of language. He is the first one who spoke. He is the one who said, let there be light. And there was light. We read back in Genesis 1 3. He is the creator of the different languages. If you look in Genesis chapter 11, verses 7 and 8, he is the one who created the different languages. We speak some different language, a different language here than many of you speak there in Liberia. Yet it is the same one who created both of these languages. And as I mentioned earlier, he's called the living word. He is the first communicator, not only was he the first one to speak, but he is the one who initiates communication with mankind. If you go back to the Garden of Eden, when man sinned, what did man do? Man ran away. What did God do? God went and pursued man. and spoke to them. He spoke truth to them. The Bible tells us in Romans 311 that no man seeks God. We don't seek him on our own, but he comes and pursues us. He is the initiator of communication. And so it should not surprise us that this God who desires to communicate with us has given us a word that we can look at, that we can read, that we can comprehend with his help. And he has made it available throughout this world for all who would hear and listen to be able to test, to be able to taste and see that it's true. I believe this word is true because of who spoke it. This word is a reflection of his character. Now, if someone very poor came up to you and said to you, I will give you a hundred dollars in your currency, that word would not mean very much to you because you would have no respect for their ability to be able to pay you that money. But if someone very wealthy came up to you, and told you they would give you a large sum of money, you would have much more reason to believe them because you believe they have the power to do what they said they would do. You see. The power of the person who speaks gives weight to their words, gives meaning to what they say. I want you to consider the power and the character of the one who spoke this word. He is the God who speaks and things happen. He speaks into nothing and something comes into being. He is the God whose character is true and pure and faithful. Whoever lives, who never dies, who never sins, and he is able to make whatever he has said happen. Therefore, I believe the word that he has spoken is number one, it is true. Psalm 119, 160 says, the sum of your word is truth and every one of your righteous ordinances is everlasting. I believe that about God's word. That's why I believe it's all true is because I believe God's behind it all. And it's also faithful. Number two, it is a faithful word, which means he is going to stick with what he has said. Hebrews 6, 18 tells us that it is impossible for God to lie. And therefore, we have a strong place of refuge, a strong place to hide if we put our hope into what he has said. Number three, this word, because of who spoke it, it contains spiritual power. It contains spiritual power. Hebrews 4.12 says, For the word of God is living. and active and sharper than any two edged sword piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit of both joints and marrow and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. This word is unlike any other word you've ever read. And if you get into this word and you seek to understand it, it will touch you in ways that nothing you have ever read has touched you because of who spoke it. And finally, I want to mention number four, it will endure forever because the one who spoke it endures forever. First Peter 1, 24 and 25 says, All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers and the flower falls off. But the word of the Lord endures forever. And this is the word which was preached to you. You see, life comes and life goes. Life is fragile, just like the grass, just like the flower. But God's word is not fragile. It is solid, it is a rock, and it will endure forever. And I also want to draw your attention to this before I start to close. Jesus believes that this Word is infallible, that it's perfect. Jesus said in John 10.35, if he called them gods to whom the Word of God came, and the Scripture cannot be broken, do you say of him whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, you are blaspheming because I said, I am the Son of God. Jesus said, Scripture cannot be broken. Scripture cannot be broken. So in summary, I am convinced both by the external or the outside evidence, those 10 reasons I gave you, and also the internal evidence of what it says what's inside the Word of God. Those things convinced me that the Bible is the Word of God and that it is true. That tied to my own personal experience as God has used his word to change me. I have become convinced this word is true. I don't go to test it every time I read it. Because of my conviction that the word of God is true, this word holds a place above my opinions. It holds a place above my judgment. It is the rock that is the touchstone of my thoughts and opinions. It is the tuning fork to which I tune my thoughts, the way I think, the way I look at things. I'm not changing it, it's changing me. It is the source of truth and stability. And I am the one who needs to be sharpened on its anvil, not the other way around. And I want to give a word of advice to you, too, before I close here. Realize that God's word is spiritual. It's not something you can go and deduct and figure it out all on your own. You need God's help to understand it. 1 Corinthians 2.14 says, The natural man does not accept the things of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them because they are spiritually appraised. It is no wonder that many people do not believe the Word of God is true, because many people are not spiritual. Many people are not willing to look. Many people are not willing to seek and to ask. But to those who would seek the scripture, to seek to understand, to seek to know it is true. God has promised that all who seek him will find him. There's a great illustration in the scripture of a man who was sitting and reading from the book of Isaiah, trying to understand what it was talking about. And he really wanted to know. Who was this passage speaking of? And you know, when the Lord sent a man named Philip, as that man, other man was reading the scriptures, he was a man from Africa. He was a man from Ethiopia. And he was reading the scriptures, trying to understand them, and he didn't get it. And God sent a man there named Philip to come alongside him as he was reading the Bible and ask him, do you understand what you're reading? And that man who was reading scripture from Ethiopia, he said, how can I unless some man show me? And you know what? Philip took that passage and he opened up and he showed him Jesus. And when that man saw Jesus in that word, God's spirit worked in his heart, made it real. That man got saved on that very spot as he was interacting with God's word. I want to say in concluding here, Rufus, I encourage you to spend some time with God's Word. Spend some time with God's Word. You've asked good questions, and I hope you get this answer, and I hope that it helps you. But will you please spend some time with God's Word, and my prayer is that when you do, God will meet you there, and that God will show you, and He will help you. If you have a seeking heart, He will help you to see, He will convince you. Don't just listen to what other people say about it. You dig into it. Because ultimately, this is the truth by which you will be judged. It is this standard that God has put out there that you will answer to someday, whether you submit and humble yourself and believe in what he has said or whether you reject it. This is the standard and God has graciously given it to us. He's given it to me. He's given it to you. The Bible, I believe, I know is true.