The Bible: Worthy of Personal Study

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The Bible Worthy of Personal Study
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How can you motivate personal study?

• Self motivation comes from
• Understanding what the Bible is
• Focusing on why study the Bible
• Knowing how you learn
• Choosing what you want (need) to study
• Having a worthwhile goal and plan
• Reviewing progress toward the goal
• Praying

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The Book We All Need to Study

• What is the Bible?
• What does the Bible claim for itself?
• It claims to be the Word of God
• It claims to be the absolute Truth
• It claims purity
• It claims completeness
• It claims to be the only means of faith in God
• It claims to be able to save us
• It claims to be eternal
• It claims to be that which judges us

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The Book We All Need to Study

• Are the Bibles claims believable?
• God is obligated to protect His Word
• Philology confirms that He is
• Textual Criticism of Bible involves 2 things
• Biblical text passes manuscript reliability tests

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Bibliographical Test

• Of all of the literary compositions by the Greek
  people, the Homeric poems are best suited for
  comparison with the Bible In the entire range of
  ancient Greek and Latin literature, the Iliad
  ranks next to the New Testament in possessing the
  greatest amount of manuscript testimony.
• Bruce Metzger
• Chapters in the History of New Testament Textual
  Criticism
• p. 144 (full reference p. 9, Bible Study for Joy
  and Profit)

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Bibliographical Test
(Only 35 of 142 books remain)
McDowell, Josh, Evidence that Demands a Verdict,
Vol. 1, p. 43
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Bibliographical Test
McDowell, Josh, Evidence that Demands a Verdict,
Vol. 1, p. 43
Philip Schaff says not one of the variations
altered an article of faith or a precept of duty
which is not abundantly sustained by other
undoubted passages, or by the tenor of Scripture
teaching.
Schaff, Philip, Companion to the Greek Testament
and English Version, Rev. ed. P. 177 cited by
McDowell, Josh, Evidence that Demands a Verdict,
Vol. 1, p. 44
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Bibliographical Test
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Bibliographical Test
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Bibliographical Test
Where a slash occurs, the first date is
conservative, and the second is liberal.New
Testament manuscripts are fragmentary. Earliest
complete manuscript is from ca. 350 lapse of
event to complete manuscript is about 325 years.
Williams, Jimmy, Are the Biblical Documents
Reliable http//www.leaderu.com/orgs/probe/docs/bi
b-docu.html
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Bibliographical Test

• "The interval, then, between the dates of
  original composition and the earliest extant
  evidence becomes so small as to be in fact
  negligible, and the last foundation for any doubt
  that the Scriptures have come down to us
  substantially as they were written has now been
  removed. Both the authenticity and the general
  integrity of the books of the New Testament may
  be regarded as finally established."
• Sir Frederic G. Kenyon
• The Bible and Archaeology (1940)
• New York Harper and Brothers, p. 288ff

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Internal Test

• Three types of internal evidence
• Unique unity of Bible content
• Fulfilled prophecy
• Unique power and authority to change lives

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External Test

• 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.
• Nelson Glueck
• Rivers in the Desert
• p. 136 (full reference p. 11, Bible Study for Joy
  and Profit)

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The Book We All Need to Study

• How difficult is the Bible to understand?
• Can everyone understand alike?
• Why not leave theology to theologians?
• Cant someone else do it for me?

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Why Should I Study?

• Reasons to study the Bible
• Study to know the Truth
• Study to increase faith
• Study to please God
• Study to experience the joy of discovery
• Study to change behavior
• Study to teach others
• Study to live forever
• Is Bible study worthy work or drudgery?

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You can motivate your own study!

• Motivate yourself by
• Understanding what the Bible is
• Focusing on why study the Bible
• Knowing how you learn
• Choosing what you want (need) to study
• Having a worthwhile goal and plan
• Reviewing progress toward the goal
• Praying

Why not start this weekend?!