2 Timothy 3:16-17

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.

1 Peter 3:15

But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect 

The Bible is the most essential thing every Christian believer should know and understand since this is the revered God's Holy Word by Christians and the primary source of authority and teaching which Christians follow.

This same book also is the best-selling book in history and the most controversial nowadays. Now, many people doubt the authenticity and reliability of the Bible and consider it a fantasy book with no significant weight to one's life. With this, many Christians also stumble on this question when being asked by doubters about the Truth which the book carries. According to 1 Peter 3:15 " ... Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect".

Why do you think we need to understand the Bible?

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As a Christian believer, the Bible is teaching us not to have blind faith in what we believe and hope for but to have full confidence in it by being able to share and communicate it to others when asked. This understanding will also help equip every Christian believer to share the gospel of God for those who doubt or don't believe in it.

How do we know that the Bible is true? And how does it compare to other religious books?

Bible deals with historical accounts of people who saw and experienced supernatural events during their lifetime. Due to this reason, making the appeal that the Bible is true should be done using the evidentiary method since things in the past cannot be repeated and tested like the scientific method. The best way to present factual things that happened in the past is by presenting eyewitness accounts. This is also the same thing the disciples were saying when they were presenting and sharing the gospel during their time.

2 Peter 1:16-19

16 For we did not follow cleverly devised stories when we told you about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in power, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. 17 He received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”[a] 18 We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain.

19 We also have the prophetic message as something completely reliable, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts

1 John 1:1-3

 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. 2 The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. 3 We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.

What do you think the impact if the Bible is written by eyewitnesses?

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Unlike other religious books, which are written by only one or a few authors who claimed to be divine, the Bible contains 66 books and is written by at least 40 different authors coming from 13 different countries on 3 different continents, over a period of about 1600 years. The authors come from different professions and statuses in life. It was written in at least 3 different languages which all tell a unison truth that does not contradict itself theologically, morally, ethically, doctrinally, and historically. 

Why do you think there is unison truth in the Bible despite it being written by different authors from different backgrounds?

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No one ever doubted the existence and writings of Plato and Aristotle even though the available number of written copies they had is only about 50 pieces (Plato – 7 copies, Aristotle – 49 copies). It is funny that many people doubt the Bible while it is greatly supported by manuscript evidence. For the New Testament alone, there were over 20,000 known manuscript documents. This makes the New Testament in the Bible the most reliable document of antiquity, even the document written before the printing press.

If there is a lot of available textual evidence of the Bible, what does it means to its credibility?

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Before discovering that the earth was topographic, many people believed that the earth was flat and had an end. Also, many people believed that the earth was being carried on the back of a big elephant or a man (Atlas). However, recent science confirms the claims of the Bible even before it was being discovered.

Astronomy:

Isaiah 40:22

 22 He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth,

   and its people are like grasshoppers.

 He stretches out the heavens like a canopy,

   and spreads them out like a tent to live in.

Job 26:7

 7 He spreads out the northern skies over empty space;

   he suspends the earth over nothing.

Meteorology:

Ecclesiastes 1:6

 6 The wind blows to the south

   and turns to the north;

 round and round it goes,

 ever returning on its course.

Another way the Bible differs from any other religious book with regard to prophecy. Bible includes multiple prophecies regarding what will happen in the future. The Old Testament was written between approximately 1450 BC and 460 BC. 

During this time, the prophets made many Bible predictions, and all of them were fulfilled with 100% accuracy, just as they predicted. All fulfilled prophecy was also based on the intended timing. 

There is still some prophecy yet to be fulfilled since it is regarding the end of days and the second coming of Christ.

One of the fulfilled prophecies we can look at is the Prophecy of the coming Messiah and His suffering on the cross of Calvary. Psalm 22 described what would happen to Jesus on the cross before the penalty through crucifixion was invented since psalm 22 was written in 979 BC. 

Please read the whole chapter of Psalm 22.

Now that we know and understand that the Bible is true, let us TRUST and put our faith in it. Also, let us fully follow and obey what it says.

Copyright © 2022 by God@Work Church - Singapore.

All quotations from scripture in this training material unless otherwise indicated are taken from the

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