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Something to Think About

MYTH: WE CAN'T TRUST THE BIBLE
A message from Pastor Jeff Duchemin

Have you ever seen that TV show called "Mythbusters"? Their job is to separate truth from "urban legend." Each week special-effects experts Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman take on three myths and use modern-day science to show you what's real and what's fiction. We are kicking off a Mythbusters teaching series, and during this series we are also going to separate truth from fiction. We are going to dispel the myths that are out there.

Have you ever noticed that there are a lot of myths out there about God, faith and spirituality? In his book "A New Earth", Echart Tolle presents the myth that Heaven is not an eternal destination but an inner realm of consciousness. Oprah has bought into this; she dismisses the idea of one way to God when she says "there can't possibly be just one way." Instead, she says, there are "many paths to what you call God."

Other people want you to believe in myths about God as well. Sometimes people come to your door or involve you in conversations at work. You know something about what they are saying isn't quite right, but you just can't put your finger on it. These are not bad people at all; it's that their beliefs do not line up with the Bible. And the Bible says that we need to be prepared for that so when we face myths we are not led astray. Collosians 2:2-4 reads, "My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I tell you this so that no one may deceive you by fine-sounding arguments."

Today we are going to deal with the myth that we can't trust the Bible. Some say that the Bible is a book of stories and fairy tales, that the Bible is an ancient book that has no relevance today, that we can't trust the authenticity or accuracy of the Bible, or that men wrote the Bible, not God. So, let's bust this myth! There are two points for today, and they both begin with the letter "C":

1. CONFIDENCE
We can have great confidence in the reliability of the Bible. The myth out there is that we can have no confidence in the reliability of the Bible, whereas the opposite is actually true. In fact, we can trust the Bible more than any historical book ever written. Confidence is an important thing. It is good to have! We can have great confidence that the Bible is the Word of God, and that will change our entire outlook on life! It changes how we view the Bible and how we read it.

We believe that the Bible is God's word (message) to all people. Written by human authors under the supernatural guidance of the Holy Spirit, the Bible is the supreme source of truth for Christian beliefs and living. Because it was inspired by God, it is truth in its entirety. 2 Peter 1:20-21 reads, "Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit."

Have you ever noticed that there are maps at the back of Bibles? There are maps in the Bible and not other books because the Bible is historical and evidential. We don't just follow blindly; we believe the Bible because it is true!

There is so much information that gives us confidence in the Bible that it would take hours to go through. I want to just highlight three of those reasons today. They form the acronym "MAP".

Manuscripts
Since we have no original copies of the Bible or other historical documents, the question is how reliable are the copies or the manuscripts that we have? There are three main manuscript tests that are applied to any historical document:

Bibliographical Test - this refers to the number of manuscripts that we have and the time interval between the earliest copy and the original.
• The Bible has stronger bibliographical support than any other classical literature. For example, there are 20,000 ancient manuscripts of the Bible versus 643 of Homer's Iliad. There are 14,000 manuscripts and fragments from the Old Testament.
• The short time between the Old Testament originals (400 B.C.) and the first extensive copies (250 B.C.) is significant. The time gap between Homer's Iliad original work and the earliest copy is literally thousands of years, but for the Bible, the time gap is just a few decades.
• The more copies there are, the better we are able to work back to the original with a greater amount of confidence! For example, if I wrote an essay and had five people copy it, it would be easy to work back to the original because everyone who copied it would not make the same mistake.
• There were no printing presses at that time, so people were trained to copy documents. These professional scribes believed that they were dealing with the very Word of God, and were therefore extremely careful in their copying. The earliest copy of the complete Old Testament dates from 900 A.D.
• During the early part of the 10^th century there was a group of Jews called the Massoretes. They were meticulous in their writing. They used all capital letters without punctuation or paragraphs. When there were through with a book, they would count to the middle letter. If it wasn't the same, they would start over. The Bible passes the Bibliographical test.

Eyewitness Test - this really focuses on the credentials of the authors.
• The New Testament writers claimed to be eyewitnesses of Jesus. Luke wrote in Luke 1:1-3, "Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word. Therefore, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, it seemed good also to me to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus." John wrote in 1 John 1:3, "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."
• These guys walked with Jesus. They knew that if they lied or stretched the truth that they would be exposed as frauds. There were people such as the Romans who would have loved to bring down Christianity and expose these guys if they lied. If they lied, there were thousands of people who could have come forward and refuted their testimony, but none did.
• Several writers of the Bible died brutal deaths. They were executed. Why would so many men knowingly die for a lie? They had nothing to gain and everything to lose. While many people have died for something they believe in, these men were in position to know the truth of their written accounts. They were eyewitnesses, and they clung to their testimonies even to their brutal deaths. The Bible passes the Eyewitness test.

External Test - this looks outside of the texts themselves to look at the historical reliability of the events, geographical locations, and the cultural consistency of the Bible texts. This Bible is a history book and its assertions have been proven time and time again. The Bible passes the External test.

Archaeology
Archaeological evidence confirms the trustworthiness of the Bible! The greatest archaeological find was the Dead Sea Scrolls, discovered in 1947 in clay jars. The scrolls revealed that farmers flourished in the land from 150 B.C. to 70 A.D. It is believed that when they saw the Romans invade their land, they put the scrolls in jars and hid them in caves near the Dead Sea. The Dead Sea Scrolls contained a complete copy of the book of Isaiah and fragments of almost every Old Testament book. The materials were dated to around 100 B.C. Dr. Merril Unger, a Bible theologian, said, "This complete document of Isaiah quite understandably created quite a sensation since it antedates by more than 1000 years the oldest Hebrew texts preserved in the Massoretic tradition."

What is the huge value of the Dead Sea Scrolls? It was the ability of Bible scholars to compare them with the Massoretic Texts of the 10^th Century. If, upon examination, there were little or no textual changes, then an assumption can be made that the scribes had been just as faithful in their copying of the other biblical texts which could not be compared with the Qumran material. And what was learned? They were extremely close in accuracy. For example, in Isaiah 53, only 17 letters differed from the Massoretic Texts, and 10 of those were just spelling (such as "honor" versus "honour").

There is a lot of archaeological evidence that supports the Bible! One of the most well known examples concerns the books of Luke and Acts. A Bible skeptic names Sir William Ramsay trained as an archaeologist and then set out to disprove the historical reliability of this portion of the New Testament. However, after many trips to the Mediterranean, he became converted as--one after another--the historical statements of Luke were proven true. For instance, in The Exodus Revealed, the authors state how chariot wheels were embedded in coral along the land bridge at the bottom of the Red Sea.

Prophecy
The greatest evidence for the Bible is the fulfillment of Bible prophecy. The fulfillment of Bible prophecy is huge when it comes to having confidence in the Bible. The Bible has hundreds upon hundreds of prophecies. Many have already come to pass and have been verified by history. There are as many as 100 prophecies about Jesus alone!

Prophecies about Jesus:
• Jesus was born of a virgin. Isaiah 7:14--Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. Matthew 1:18--This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit.
• Jesus was born in Bethlehem. Micah 5:2--But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times. This prophecy about where Jesus was born was obviously written before Christ and yet it tells of His birthplace. And it took a worldwide census from Caesar Augustus in Luke 2 to fulfill it.
• Jesus was crucified and had pierced hands and people drew lots for His clothes. Psalm 22:16-18--Dogs have surrounded me; a band of evil men has encircled me, they have pierced my hands and my feet. I can count all my bones; people stare and gloat over me. They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing. This was prophesied 1,000 years before Jesus was born and 400 years before crucifixion was invented.

As we look at the MAP acrostic, we can have great confidence in the reliability of the Bible! And that should lead us to have a great conviction.

2. CONVICTION
I am not as close to some of my friends as I used to be. I have moved away and we just aren't able to spend much time together. When you don't spend time together, relationships tend to grow apart. That is why every one of us must have an inner conviction to read and study God's Word--because it is spending time together with God so our relationship with him can grow. We must take personal responsibility to dive in and study the Bible.

Did you ever receive a letter or an e-mail that you just cherished? How many times did you read it? God wrote this letter to us, and it is important that we pore over it! This is crucial for us! As we face myths that are out there, we have got to be rooted in the truth.

Do you know how law enforcement officers learn how to spot counterfeit money? They study real money. They pore over every detail of real money and memorize what it looks like so they can easily spot a counterfeit. Christians need to be serious about protecting themselves from false teachings, and the best way to do that is to study the Bible. We have to learn what it says--and doesn't say--so we are better able to spot myths. It is not automatic! Look what the Bible says in 1 Tim. 4:7: "Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives' tales; rather, train yourself to be godly." It is a process, and it takes discipline.

3 ways to succeed at studying the Bible
• Choose the right time. Mark 1:35--Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. The best time to have your quiet time is when you are at your best! This takes conviction because you are giving God your best, and there are many things vying for your attention when you are at your best.
• Choose the right place. Mark 1:35--Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. Jesus found a quiet place to talk with His Father.
• Choose the right attitude. Psalm 119:18--Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law. Look at the attitude of David! He was ready to learn new things from God's Word. As you read the Bible, think about God sitting across from you and talking to you.
 

Messages Online

Note: Hyperlinks to sermon notes for the upcoming weekend are typically active by Friday afternoon. To view all messages available for download, visit http://www.bca-online.com/messages.htm.

Sermon Notes: Mythbusters: Dispelling Myths About the Christian Faith -- Myth: The Bible Restricts my Life

• Adobe PDF: http://www.bca-online.com/messages/jeff/myths/restricts7_13_08.pdf
   

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Sunday at 10:30 AM in the Chapel

A worship experience centered around the inspiring hymns and choruses of our faith heritage.  Tradition provides a softer Sunday worship experience that includes responsive readings, prayer, and the Sunday sermon via large screen video.

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Fusion combines a fresh guitar-driven sound with a relaxed environment.  Each service gives opportunity for worship, prayer, and communion in an atmosphere that allows for personal reflection, with video and live messages that relate to everyday life situations.
 

Vacation Bible School: Power Lab

Mark your calendars now for July 21 - 24 as we make plans to discover Jesus' miraculous power! Get ready for an exciting adventure, following Jesus as he heals, helps, and gives power to people who need him.

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Single Moms Support Group

If you are a single mom, come join other moms for a wonderful time of support, encouragement, Bible study, and prayer in a warm and inviting environment each Wednesday at 7 PM in the BCA Family Room. Raising kids is not easy, especially if you are doing it as a single mom. During this 6 week group, you will be encouraged as you connect with other moms facing some of the same challenges you are. As you study the Bible and other resources you will gain helpful insights and hope as you journey forward. This will also be a great time of making friends and having fun together! Don’t miss out!
 

Shuttle Ministry

We need your help to keep our parking lot open for guests!  Our goal is to have 100 families commit to helping us in this endeavor by parking in the PUD parking lot, located on the corner of California Street and Virginia Avenue.  Shuttles will be running between the PUD lot and the church for continuous pick-up and drop-off from 7:15 - 9:15 AM, 10:00 - 10:45 AM, and 11:30 AM - 12:30 PM.  Drivers may find it easier to drop off their families at the front doors before going over to the PUD parking lot.  If you need to stay later after church, you can ride the shuttle back to the PUD lot directly after church, and bring your car back.  As an extra incentive, each driver using the shuttle will receive a coupon for a free drink of their choice (16 oz. size) from the Cedar Street Espresso Stand, located in the foyer outside the Activity Center.

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