Christ Wesleyan Church
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2 Timothy 3:16-17 ESV
A. Why should we pack lots of Scripture for the journey?
1. Because Jesus confirmed it!
Luke 24:44 NIV
1. Because scribes protected it!
Quotes from “The God Questions” Hal Seed pg 34-36
a. It was written in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek.
b. The Talmud (A.D. 100-500)
c. The Massoretes (A.D. 500-900)
d. The Dead Sea Scrolls – “When we compare the 100 B.C. scrolls to our ninth century manuscripts (a 1,000-year gap), we find that an amazing 95% of the tests are identical, with only minor variations.” *Hal Seed
e. The New Testament has 24,000 manuscripts to compare.
Other writings that seem to be accepted as reliable:
Author: When Written: Earliest Copy: Time Span: # of copies:
Caesar 100-44 BC AD 900 1,000 years 10
Plato 427-347 BC AD 900 1,200 years 7
Tacitus AD 100 AD 1100 900 years 20
Thucydides 460-400 BC AD 900 1,300 years 8
Herodotus 384-322 BC AD 900 1,300 years 8
Aristotle 450-385 BC AD 900 1,400 years 49
Homer (Iliad) 900 BC 400 BC 500 years 643
New Testament AD 40-100 AD 125 25 years 24,000
3. Because time has preserved it!
a. It is the single-most published book in the history of the world with over 6 billion copies printed.
b. It is the single-most translated book in the world with over 2500 languages.
c. It has survived bans, burnings, ridicule, and criticism. And, it still has the most original manuscripts.
“The Bible must be the invention of either good men or angels, bad men or devils, or of God. Therefore:
- It could not be the invention of good men or angels, for they neither would nor could make a book and tell lies all the time they were writing it saying, ‘Thus saith the Lord,’ when it was their own invention.
- It could not be the invention of bad men or devils, for they would not make a book which commands all duty, forbids all sin, and condemns their souls to hell to all eternity.
- Therefore, I draw this conclusion, that the Bible must be given by divine inspiration.” - Charles Wesley
B. We should pack lots of Scripture because it has equipped followers throughout time…
Ephesians 2:20 NLT
1. Every book of the Bible was written by a prophet, an apostle (one who had been an eyewitness of the risen Christ), or someone with a direct link to one.
2. The Bible is unique.
a. It was written over 1600 years.
b. It was written by 40+ authors.
c. The authors have different backgrounds.
d. It was written in 3 different languages, and from 3 different continents.
e. It is written with unmistakable continuity and agreement from cover to cover.
3. Both Old and New Testaments speak truth.
Old Testament –
History Books: Genesis through Esther
Poetry Books: Job through Song of Songs
Prophecy: Isaiah through Malachi
New Testament –
History Books: Matthew through Acts
Letters: Romans through Jude
Prophecy: Revelation
2 Peter 1:20-21 NLT
C. We should pack lots of Scripture because it is reliable...
1. The Old Testament predicted the coming of Jesus and was fulfilled in the New Testament.
2. 322 prophesies were fulfilled in Jesus' first coming.
3. The probability that even 8 of these were fulfilled in one person is 1 in 1017. The probability of 48 of these fulfilled would be 1 in 10157.
1 Thessalonians 2:13 NLT
D. We should pack lots of Scripture because God wants to use it to speak personally to each of us...
2 Timothy 3:16-17 NLT
1. S – Scripture: Select a passage of Scripture and write down the main passage.
2. O – Observation: Read the passage with an open heart and Jesus will give you words of encouragement, direction and correction.
3. A – Application: Make personal application of the Scripture. Write how you will be different today because of what you read.
4. P – Prayer: Turn this thought into a prayer.
2 Timothy 2:15 NLT
E. So, pack lots of Scripture for the journey...
1 Peter 2:2 NLT
1. It will guide you through life.
2. It will change your view of this world.
3. It will change your values and ethics.
4. It will change your vocabulary.
5. It will change your view of eternity.