Sermon Summary
The Internal Evidence Test concerns the trustworthiness of the writers as revealed by the text.
Dr. Gleason Archer, retired former chairman of the division of the Old Testament, Trinity Evangelical Seminary, concludes:
As I have dealt with one apparent discrepancy after another and have studied the alleged contradictions between the biblical record and the evidence of linguistics, archeology, or science, my confidence in the trustworthiness of Scripture has been repeatedly verified and strengthened by the discovery that almost every problem in Scripture that has ever been discovered by man, from ancient times until now, has been dealt with in a completely satisfactory manner by the biblical text itself—or else by objective archeological information…There is a good and sufficient answer in Scripture itself to refute every charge that has ever been leveled against it. But this is only to be expected from the kind of book the Bible asserts itself to be, the inscripturation of the infallible, inerrant Word of the Living God.
The External Evidence Test asks whether other historical and archaeological materials confirm or deny the internal testimony provided by the documents under scrutiny.
Dr. Nelson Glueck, former president of Jewish Theological Seminary and one of the world’s greatest archaeologists, concludes:
It may be stated categorically that no archaeological discovery has ever controverted a biblical reference.
Top Three Archaeological Finds from 2016 That Confirm Biblical History
The Bibliographic Test asks how many copies we have and how close those copies are in time to the originals.
Application / Challenge
- If you have been skeptical about the Bible, read the Gospel of John with an open, teachable heart.
- If you have neglected the Bible, confess your neglect, experience His forgiveness, and dive back into his life-changing Word.
- If you have been cowed into silence by those who ridicule Scripture, be confident that there is more evidence for its reliability than the next ten works of ancient literature put together. Use the above chart to start conversations with skeptical friends.
- If you know that you are not rightly-related to God (or suspect that you are not), place your trust in Jesus Christ. If you would like to know God personally, contact us here. Scroll down to the Ministry Information Request section and mark the first or second checkbox. We look forward to helping!