Word of Salvation – Vol.29 No.11 – March 1984
How True Is The Bible? (John 10:35b & Mat.5:18)
Sermon by Rev. S. Voorwinde v.d.m. on John 10: 35b, Matthew 5: 18
(cf. Belgic Confession, Art. 5)
Scriptures: John 10: 31-42; Matthew 5: 14-20
Suggested Hymns: 438:2,3,4; 287:1,2; 412; 27; 482:5; or BoW.6
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
Just after Christmas in 1974, there was a bright colourful picture of the three wise men on the cover of “Time” magazine. And above that picture was the title of the cover article: “How True is the Bible?”
The article then proceeds to give an impressive summary of what Biblical scholarship has come up with over the past 200 years. It gives the findings and opinions of Protestants, Catholics and Jews. It states the positions of liberals and fundamentalists; of radicals and conservatives. All in all the article tries to be as non- committal as possible and comes down on neither one side nor the other. And yet here and there it cannot help but come to some interesting, and I would say, encouraging conclusions. Early in the article it has this to say: “In 100 licensed sites in Israel, archaeological digging continues to turn up new evidence that the Bible is often surprisingly accurate on historical particulars, more so than earlier generations of scholars ever suspected.” And then towards the end of the article there is this rather positive remark: “After more than two centuries of facing the heaviest scientific guns that could be brought to bear, the Bible has survived, and is perhaps the better for the siege.”
Nevertheless, the article failed to answer the question on the cover of the magazine: “How True is the Bible?” The answer was left up in the air. The burning issues were not resolved. The doubters were still left with their doubts and the questioners with their questions. And for us as believers, there is still that all-important question that faces the Church today. That question is this: Can I believe the Bible not only when it talks about great doctrines and about moral principles, but also when it speaks about historical details, about numbers and dates? Can I believe the whole Bible or do I only have to believe it when it talks about my salvation. Do I believe everything that the Bible teaches or do I believe the Bible only when it speaks about faith and morals? These are some of the most basic, vital questions affecting the church today. The way we answer them is going to affect our devotional life, our church life and ultimately the lives of our children. So, “how true is the Bible?”
Well, for a start we have some very interesting scientific evidence that sheds new light on the Bible. Let me give you just a few examples:
- Firstly there is the case of Abraham. For a long time many scholars didn’t believe that Abraham was a historical figure, and they thought that the land from which he came could not have been as civilized as the Bible suggests. However, modern discoveries have shown that ancient Mesopotamia had a very advanced culture, and in the excavation of Haran a tablet was found on which the Abraham name was mentioned.
- Then there’s the example of Sodom and Gomorrah. For a long time people doubted whether they were actual place names. But once again inscriptions have been found, and scientists have discovered an extensive geological fault line in the area where those cities once stood. The nature of the earth’s crust in that place explains how that great catastrophe could have happened to Sodom and Gomorrah.
- For a long time people wondered how reliable the documents of the Old Testament really were. Then the Dead Sea Scrolls were found in 1947 and they dated back to 100 B.C.
- The Book of Acts was once accused of errors in historical details. But these have since been proved by archaeologists and historians to be correct.
Of course I could go on and on and cite many more examples, but I think just one quotation will suffice. It comes from the pen of Dr. Nelson Glueck, a famous Jewish archaeologist. This is what he writes: “….it may be stated categorically that no archaeological discovery has ever controverted a Biblical reference. Scores of archaeological findings have been made which confirm in clear outline or exact detail historical statements in the Bible.”
Now that’s quite a claim. With all that has been dug up in the Middle East, all the inscriptions, the pottery, the walls, the cities, none of it disproves or contradicts anything that is written in the Bible. That’s remarkable and for every believer it should be quite encouraging.
But now I must ask myself an honest question: Do I ultimately believe that the Bible is true because scientists and historians and archaeologists are able to prove more and more of it to be true? Or do I believe that it is true for some other reason? Very basically, why do I believe that the Bible is true?
To answer that, let me give you a couple of illustrations from everyday life:
- First of all, how do you know when it’s your birthday? How can you be sure about the day you were born? Isn’t it because your mother told you? She was there and she had a lot to do with it. On the subject of your birthday she is the highest authority, and I doubt whether you’ll ever question her authority. She tells you and that settles it. There may be other evidence that proves when you were born, such as your birth certificate or baptism certificate or maybe you even know the doctor or the nurses who were there when you were born. They can testify to the truth of what your mother tells you, but basically you simply believe your mother because she is the highest authority. It doesn’t say very much for your relationship with your mother if you don’t believe what she says about your date of birth.
- Or let’s take another example. You’re a husband and you come home after a hard day’s work. But even though you’re tired you’re a good husband, and you’re very interested in what your wife has done during the day, and so you enquire about the day’s activities. And of course she’s delighted to tell you. She’s done the washing, the ironing, the shopping, entertained 10 visitors and changed a couple of dozen nappies; it’s been a routine kind of day. When it comes to what she did during that day, she’s the highest authority. You believe what she says and you don’t go checking with your children and neighbours and friends to see if what she says is true. If you did, it wouldn’t say much for your marriage. If what your friends and neighbours and children say in passing agrees with what your wife says, well and good. But basically you will believe her because of who she is.
No doubt you can see where I’m heading. When it comes to the truth of the Bible, it’s not the scientists or the historians or the archaeologists or even the theologians who are the highest authority. God is the highest authority. When these people can prove and back up what God says, that’s nice and helpful and encouraging. But when it comes right down to it we don’t believe because of what these people say, but we believe because of what God says. And what does God say? What claims does He make for the Bible? Well these questions are answered for us beautifully in our texts by Jesus Christ Himself. In very clear terms we have the answer from His own lips. In John 10 Jesus says: “The Scripture cannot be broken.”
In this chapter Jesus is once again arguing with the Jews about truth. Especially in John’s Gospel we notice that Jesus is far from shy about doctrinal argument. Now in the course of this discussion He slips in a remark that could almost have gone unnoticed. It was a point on which both He and His opponents could see eye to eye. He says: “…and the Scripture cannot be broken.” This was an assumption that was basic to Jesus’ teaching and it was something that the Jews never quibbled with Him about. He is able to silence His critics by quoting one obscure little verse from the Old Testament. And as He quotes it He says in passing: “…and the Scripture cannot be broken.”
But what exactly does it mean that the Scripture cannot be broken? Well, the word translated “broken” can also mean “loosed”, “melted”, “dissolved” or “destroyed”. Therefore some of our modern English translations are quite to the point:
“The Scripture cannot be untrue.”
“Scripture cannot be set aside.” (Living Bible) (N.E.B.)
“What the Scripture says is true forever.” (G.N.B.)
“The words of Scripture have binding force.” (Knox Bible)
And what Jesus says so clearly in John’s Gospel He says perhaps even more strongly in Matthew’s Gospel in the Sermon on the Mount: “Truly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the law until all is accomplished.”
Jesus had not come to lay aside the Old Testament. He has come to perfect it, to complete it and to fulfil it. How beautifully we see this demonstrated in His life and in His death. During His life He did not break a single commandment of the law, and in His death so many of the Old Testament prophecies were fulfilled. Think of Isaiah 53, for instance. Every iota and every dot of the prophecy was fulfilled when Jesus died and rose again. Isaiah wrote of these events some 700 years before they occurred and his prophecy was perfectly fulfilled.
What has not been fulfilled yet, is still to be fulfilled in the future. “Not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass away from the law until all is accomplished.” Every “i” will be dotted and every “t” will be crossed. Even the most insignificant details of the Old Testament will be fulfilled in Christ before heaven and earth pass away. No law will be ignored, no promise will be unkept and no prophecy unfulfilled.
In another context Jesus expresses an equally high view of the Old Testament when He says: “It is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than one stroke of a letter of the Law to fail.” (Luke 16:17) So if Jesus Himself regards the Old Testament so highly, can we permit ourselves the luxury of believing that it has errors and mistakes, no matter how small? If Jesus had such respect for the Old Testament, shouldn’t we at least follow His example?
“It is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one stroke of a letter of the Law to fail.” Now if Jesus is emphatic about the Old Testament, He is equally emphatic about His own words in the New Testament: “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.” (Matthew 24:35) The words of Jesus and the Word of God itself are the most lasting and the most permanent thing in this changing world. They are always valid. They are always relevant and will never be proved wrong.
So how true is the Bible? It is completely true. I believe that not on the authority of historians or scientists or archaeologists, no matter how encouraging their findings may be, I believe it on the authority of Jesus Christ, my Lord and my Saviour. As a Christian, I want to follow His example and let His view of Scripture be my view of Scripture. That high view of Scripture has also historically been the view of the Reformed Church. From the Belgic Confession it is clear that as a church we hold to an inerrant Bible:
Article 4:
“We believe that the Holy Scriptures are contained in two books, namely the Old and New Testament …against which nothing can be alleged.”
Article 5:
“We receive all these books …believing without any doubt all things contained in them.”
With all the winds and currents of change in our time the Bible stands as a Rock of Gibraltar. It stands as a solid base on which to build our lives. Or, you can compare the Bible to precious gold. You put anything in a vat of sulphuric acid and it will be eaten away and dissolved, but not so pure gold. It will remain intact and endure the acid test. And so the Bible has stood the acid test of time. It is none the worse for wear, but it has survived the bitterest attacks that have been levelled against it. That’s the Bible, the Word of God, as solid as a rock and as precious as gold.
But now I want to continue with a word of caution. If you believe that the Bible is completely true, that’s wonderful, but it’s not the waving of a magic wand so that you have no more problems or difficulties with the Bible. There will still be passages that we find hard to interpret, or we will come up with interpretations that are quite different from those of others who believe in the Bible every bit as much as we do. There will be points where we find it hard to reconcile science with the Bible. There will be verses in Scripture that seem to contradict other verses, and as yet we can’t explain these contradictions. But that’s still no reason to believe that there are mistakes in the Bible. Surely we don’t have to wait till every problem is solved to our complete satisfaction.
Let me give you a couple of examples of what I’m getting at: The first comes from my own personal pilgrimage. For several years I found the idea of an inerrant Bible very difficult to accept. But as I continued my theological training I became more and more convinced that it was so. Still I wanted to discover it for myself. So in my last year I made a study of Peter’s quotations from the Old Testament in his two letters. All told, he quoted the Old Testament 18 times. Do you know what I discovered? Only nine of these quotes agreed word for word with the Old Testament, i.e. only half. But as I went to work on the nine that didn’t agree, I found that there were good reasons why they didn’t. All the deviations could be explained in every quote but one. In that case I had to admit that I didn’t yet know the – solution to the problem. Perhaps I didn’t know all that was involved. There was still a problem, but that didn’t lead me to the conclusion that there are errors in the Bible.
Let me give you another example – the long day in Joshua 10. That was the day the sun stood still and the moon stopped till Israel had conquered their enemies. The Bible says that “there was no day like that before it or after it.” In other words, it was quite a miracle and it touches on history and astronomy. But now how do you explain something like that? What do you make of it?
A few years ago, a member in my previous church gave me an article called, “The Day Joshua Helped the Space Programme.” As you can imagine I read it with interest. According to the article a computer was used to figure out the position of the sun and the planets over the last several thousand years. At one point in the investigation, the computer stopped and put up a red signal. The scientists claimed that there is a day missing in space in elapsed time. One member of the research team was a Christian and he pointed to Joshua 10 for the explanation.
Now all of this sounds rather sensational, but as I researched the article a little further and made some enquiries, I discovered that the report was unfortunately not factual. Besides there is no way a computer can discover a missing day in the universe. Of course I was a little disappointed at my discovery, because it would have been nice to have that kind of evidence. At the moment there is no hard and fast scientific evidence for Joshua 10 that I know of. We are not even sure whether the earth stopped spinning or whether the sun somehow stopped in space. All we know is that it was a very long day and that the Lord helped Joshua.
We have no scientific evidence… but that won’t shake our faith.
We can’t explain exactly what happened. We believe, not because scientists and historians tell us it’s right, (nice as that would be) but because the Bible tells us and because we have the say-so of God Himself. As Jesus said: “The Scripture cannot be broken.”
And if this is so then what comfort we can draw, what strength we can derive from a Bible that speaks with authority! When we read: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life;” when we read John 3:16 how great it is that we can echo the words of Jesus: “The Scripture cannot be broken.” Or when we read the words of Paul: “It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners….!” how happy we are when we can say: “The Scripture cannot be broken.” Jesus said it of the Old Testament, and we can say it of the Bible as a whole, and therefore with the little children we can sing:
“Jesus loves me, this I know,
For the Bible tells me so.”
Amen.