Class Lesson February 9, 2014

Real Questions People Ask

Christians in the 21st century need to know what they believe and why they believe it. The six sessions of the “Honest to God” study will enable you to grow in your own faith and equip you to be more effective in sharing that faith with others. These sessions address foundational issues in the life of every person: The origin and significance of human life,the existence and nature of God, and how God reveals Himself and relates to people.

Last week we explored the third real question people ask: What About People Who've Never Heard About Jesus? And we learned from Paul in Romans that there are "No Excuses" God has made Himself known to all people. This week we will look at another challenging question that real people ask.

Real Question #4: Why Should I Trust The Bible?

Where do we rank?

The study defines “Bible-mindedness” as a combination of how often respondents read the Bible and how accurate they think the Bible is. “Respondents who report reading the bible within the past seven days and who agree strongly in the accuracy of the Bible are classified as ‘Bible Minded,’” says the study’s methodology. 

Most Bible-Minded Cities/2013

1. Chattanooga, Tenn.
2. Birmingham, Ala.
3. Roanoke/Lynchburg, Va.
4. Springfield, Mo.
5. Shreveport, La.
6. Charlotte, N.C.
7. Greenville/Spartanburg, S.C./Asheville, N.C.
8. Little Rock, Ark.
9. Jackson, Miss.
10. Knoxville, Tenn.

Least Bible-Minded Cities/2013

1. Providence, R.I./New Bedford, Mass.
2. Albany, N.Y.
3. Boston
4. San Francisco
5. Cedar Rapids, Iowa
6. Buffalo, N.Y.
7. Hartford/New Haven, Conn.
8. Phoenix
9. Burlington, Vt.
10. Portland, Maine

There are many people that acknowledge the value of the Bible, but affirming its value doesn’t mean that they build their lives on it, or that they even find it reliable. Skeptics want to dismiss Christianity, saying that it’s based on a flawed document. If the Bible is flawed, then how can we trust it for matters of eternal significance? But the Bible continually shows us its trustworthiness and reliability, and we can trust it in all matters.

Click Here to Watch

Our Lesson Says:

The only safe place to build your life is on God’s Word.

I. GOD’S WORD IS ______, _______, and _______ – PSALM 119:137-144

137 You are righteous, Lord, and Your judgments are just. 138 The decrees You issue are righteous and altogether trustworthy. 139 My anger overwhelms me because my foes forget Your words. 140 Your word is completely pure, and Your servant loves it. 141 I am insignificant and despised, but I do not forget Your precepts. 142 Your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and Your instruction is true. 143 Trouble and distress have overtaken me, but Your commands are my delight. 144 Your decrees are righteous forever. Give me understanding, and I will live.



Fill in the blanks: Righteous, Pure, and True



Why was the Bible given to us?

• To Tell Man He Is Lost: If God had not given man the Bible, man would not know: About heaven, hell or sin. He would not know he is lost. He would not know he has a need for a Savior. Every effort to save man has been and will continue to be futile until he is made to recognize he is lost and needs salvation. Galatians 3:19-25

• To Assure Man That God Desires All to Be Saved

• To Explain All God Has Done to Save Man

• To Reveal the Meaning of Salvation

• To Reveal What One Must Do to Be Saved

God’s purpose in giving man the Bible is only fulfilled when each person learns its message and applies it to his life so that he might have the salvation of his soul.

• The Bible was not given to be a science text book and it doesn't use scientific language, but it never uses bad science. In fact, the Bible is always ahead of scientific discoveries. Things have been told in the Bible thousands of years before scientists actually discovered it, confirmed it, or even paid attention to what the Bible had already said about it.
• The reason the Bible is scientifically accurate is because the laws of the universe were invented by God. Don’t you think that God knows the scientific laws of the universe better than we do?

What words does the psalmist use to describe God’s Word? What did God’s Word mean to him personally?

• The Word of God is righteous, reliable, practical, eternal, and life-giving. God’s Word is righteous and reliable because He is righteous and reliable.
• We should not obey God’s Word only because we are compelled or obligated to do so but because we love God’s Word and delight in it.
• Judgments – Verdict in a court of law. Here it refers to God’s decisions about right and wrong.
• Decrees – Covenant stipulations, often translated “testimony.” God’s decrees bear testimony to what is true.
• Precepts – A precept is a properly appointed principle, a mandate, a guideline for covenant living.
• Instruction – Also translated Torah, refers to a statute, the Ten Commandments, and even the first five books of the Bible.

What are some reasons people question the reliability of the Bible?

• People often say, “You can’t trust the Bible. It has been changed so many times over the years. And it is disproved by science.” Nothing could be further from the truth. Of all the ancient manuscripts considered trustworthy by scholars, the Bible is the best attested and most reliable work in existence today. Biblical principles guided our Founding Fathers as they created a great and enduring form of government. Lives built upon the principles in Scripture are like sturdy steel ships that safely sail the stormy seas of life. To a person skeptical of God’s Word, one could rely, “Try it; you’ll like it.”

How do you explain the reliability of the Bible?

• There is more evidence that the bible is a reliable source than there is for any other book from the ancient world.
• The bible’s unity: 66 books written in different literary styles by perhaps 40 different authors with diverse backgrounds over 1,500 years and yet the bible amazingly unfolds one continuous drama with one central message. These points to the existence of the divine Mind that the writers claimed inspired them. Look at the bible’s transforming power – from the beginning, it has renewed people; given them hope, courage, purpose, wisdom, guidance, and power and formed an anchor for their lives.
• There have been thousands of archaeological findings in the Middle East that support the picture presented in the biblical record.
• It all goes back to whether the first verse of the bible is true when it says, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” I believe there is overwhelming evidence that this is true – everything that has a beginning has a beginner. The bible is the only book in the world that has precise, specific predictions that were made hundreds of years in advance and were literally fulfilled. You can tie the reliability of Jesus to everything I’ve just mentioned as well – He was there from the beginning, He lived, He died and He rose again.
• Everything that was written in the Bible points to who He was and what He would do – for you! The Lord has revealed Himself through His Word. The Lord’s Word to us is completely reliable. The Lord’s Word is powerful in its effect on those who obey it.

Psalm 119 is loaded with claims for the reliability and truthfulness of the Bible. We refer to this as internal evidence. Relying on claims the Bible makes about itself is circular reasoning (a method of false logic in which “A” is used to prove “B,” and “B” is used to prove “A”). Many wonder if there is evidence outside of the Bible that confirms the trustworthiness of Scripture.



Consider the external evidence:

• Archaeology. Archaeological discoveries have confirmed many locations and events in the Bible such as the location of Nineveh, the pool of Siloam (where Jesus healed the blind man), the Davidic dynasty, and the rule of Pontius Pilate. Archaeology has not disproved any event, person, or location in Scripture.
• Multitude of manuscripts. There are vast numbers of both Old and New Testament manuscripts, compared with the relatively few manuscripts of other works of antiquity. For example, the discovery of the Dead Sea scrolls in 1947 included a nearly complete copy of the Book of Isaiah from 100 B.C., and demonstrated how accurately scribes had copied the text for almost a thousand years. The manuscript support for the New Testament is even more impressive. Today, there are more than 5,000 manuscripts of the Greek New Testament.
• The impact on humanity. No book has changed the world more than the Bible. Kings and presidents, sailors and astronauts, and soldiers and peacemakers have invoked its words and articulated its principles. Many of us have read or heard stirring accounts that demonstrate the impact of the Bible.

Having addressed the issue of the Bible’s reliability, we should ask ourselves the question, “If we believe it is reliable, are we relying on it as our guide for living?

What do these verses teach us about God and His Word?

• God intends for His Word to transform every aspect of our lives. As Psalm 119 so eloquently displays, God’s Word is a treasure that illuminates the pathway to eternal life.
• In verse 144 the writer repeats his assertion of verse 142. God’s Word is righteous forever. One constant of human existence is change. God’s Word, however, is unchanging. It will never be less righteous, pure, or true than it is now or has been in the past. This is the case because God’s Word reflects His character (Heb. 13:8). 

What is a source of advice people look to on these topics?

Work / Career: _______________________________________________________

Marriage: ___________________________________________________________

Finances: ____________________________________________________________

Raising Kids: _________________________________________________________









Next we’ll consider what happens to us when we follow God’s Word.



II. WHAT HAPPENS WHEN WE FOLLOW GOD’S WORD? – PSALM 119:1-8

1 How happy are those whose way is blameless, who live according to the Lord’s instruction! 2 Happy are those who keep His decrees and seek Him with all their heart. 3 They do nothing wrong; they follow His ways. 4 You have commanded that Your precepts be diligently kept. 5 If only my ways were committed to keeping Your statutes! 6 Then I would not be ashamed when I think about all Your commands. 7 I will praise You with a sincere heart when I learn Your righteous judgments. 8 I will keep Your statutes; never abandon me.



What happens when we follow God’s Word?

• We are blessed. The blessing of the Lord comes to those who are diligent and faithful to live according to God’s Word. Instructions for refraining from sin and knowing what is expected from the Lord are provided in God’s Word.
• Living according to God’s Word calls for devotion, a willingness to learn it, and a commitment to applying it to one’s life. Living according to God’s Word keeps a person in a right relationship with the Lord. The psalmist was determined not just to know God’s Word, but to order his life by it.
• Happy and blessed is the state of those who value God above all things. It is also the state of those who experience firsthand the joy that flows from conformity to God’s Word. The psalmist begins by blessing those whose ways are blameless. These people live consistent with God’s principles. Certainly, the psalmist was not sinless, and neither are we. But, like him, we aim for growing in conformity to God’s Word rather than simply being satisfied with our current state. The psalmist was determined not just to know God’s Word, but to order his life by it.

When have you seen the Bible’s instruction work? What would be your testimony to another person about why you value the Bible as God’s Word?



How do we grow in obedience and avoid what is wrong?

• The answer is to learn to walk – to live – in the ways of the Lord. This requires intense and diligent effort on our part. This effort is not an attempt to earn favor with God but rather, it is a response to His gracious revelation of Himself.

We have examined some aspects of the psalmist’s love for God’s Word. Studying God’s Word was more than an academic exercise for him.

1. He found God’s Word to be revelation; in it he learned about God.
2. He found it to be reliable; in it he found truth.
3. He found it to be a delight; in it he found joy.
4. He found it to be practical; it gave, restored, and enabled life, no matter what the situation was in life.
5. By it he was blessed.

But what about you and me, how much of the psalmist’s experience is our experience? Do we give verbal affirmation to the value of the Bible, but refuse to use it in our daily lives?





Because the only safe place to build our lives is on God’s Word, let’s identify some ways to do this.



Live It Out

So what are some ways we can do this?

1. Schedule time to read God’s Word. To discover how God blesses, start with Proverbs and read a chapter each day for a month.
2. Dig deeper. Read chapter 2, How Can I Know The Bible Is True? In How Can I Know? By Robert Jeffress.
3. Disciple a new believer. Coach someone else in developing a lifelong habit of Bible reading and study.

What would be your testimony to another person about why you value the Bible as God's Word?

• Psalm 119 calls us to move from abstract generalities to concrete realities about the Bible. Honoring the God of the Bible means personalizing and applying His commands.

Prayer of Commitment


Dear Lord, “Order my steps in thy word: and let not any iniquity have dominion over me” (Ps. 119:133), that I may know You better and serve You well. Amen.

Have a blessed rest of the week and we'll see you on Sunday!!

In His Love,

David & Susan