Memorable Reasons Why We Can—And Should—Trust the Bible

Is it true that the Bible is just a book of fables, fairy tales, or allegorical “stories” that were never meant to be interpreted “literally” or understood to be historically factual?  Hasn’t the Bible been translated and changed so many times that we can’t possibly know what the original writings said?  And isn’t faith in the biblical God just a blind, irrational exercise of “wishful thinking” or a “leap in the dark” that isn’t grounded in any objective evidence?

In reality, on all points, nothing could be further from the truth.  These oft-repeated cultural canards may pack a powerful rhetorical punch, but thoughtful analysis reveals them to be careless caricatures of Christianity that demonstrate striking ignorance about—and in some cases, willful denial of—both the content of Scripture itself and the many substantive reasons why multitudes of people down through the centuries have believed the Bible to be true, even to the point of giving their very lives for its truth claims. 

Far from being a “blind leap,” biblical faith—properly understood—is an evidence-based confidence grounded in eyewitness testimonies that contain a preponderance of historically verifiable facts and which are corroborated by greater and higher-quality manuscript evidence than all other major writings of antiquity combined.  In short, there are very good reasons to believe the Bible contains trustworthy information and that its words ultimately originated from the mind of God Himself.  The purpose of this article is to show you in a memorable way what some of those reasons are.  

“God does not expect us to choose to serve Him out of nothing, but based upon overwhelming evidence—and through the evidence of the centuries. . . . And so, in the New Testament, when we read the history of the Church . . . in the very first chapter of Acts, we are told that Christ showed Himself alive after His Passion for 40 days by ‘many infallible [or “convincing”] proofs.’  And so, we do not have ‘blind’ faith, which is a leap into the dark—faith without evidence.  But rather, we have faith in overwhelming and incontrovertible evidence, which has never been and can never be overturned.  And that’s what Christian faith is; it is a leap out of the dark and into the light.” —Dr. D. James Kennedy, from a sermon titled “As for Me” [emphasis mine]

 

Years ago, Christian apologist Hank Hanegraaff cleverly devised a helpful mnemonic for defending the historical reliability and divine origin of the Bible:  M-A-P-S, an acrostic that brings to mind the fact that virtually all modern Bibles are published “with maps” of the Holy Land, Jesus’ ministry travels, Paul’s missionary journeys, etc.  In an attempt to complement Hank’s original mnemonic, which covers the external evidence for the historicity and divine authorship of sacred Scripture, I came up with an acrostic for the preposition W-I-T-H to cover the internal biblical evidence for the same.  Let’s begin there.

[Note:  If you are not a Christian, you will probably want to start by examining the external evidence for the Bible’s trustworthiness, so just scroll down to the “MAPS” acrostic and begin there.  Then, after you’ve read that section, I encourage you to scroll back up and examine the internal evidence.]

Internal Evidence: The Testimony Inside Scripture

The Bible demonstrates itself to be authentic and of divine origin.

WITH

Witness of the Holy Spirit
Inexhaustible Depth and Riches of the Bible
Testimony of Jesus and the Apostles
Harmony of the Scriptures

 

Witness of the Holy Spirit

Working in conjunction with holy Scripture, the Spirit of God convinces an individual of the truthfulness of God’s written Word and convicts that person of his/her own sins and desperate need for a Savior (cf. John 16:8-13).  When one is spiritually born again by faith in Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit permanently indwells and abides with the believer (cf. Romans 8:9, 1 Corinthians 12:13, and Ephesians 1:13-14) and opens his/her previously blinded spiritual eyes to see and comprehend the formerly veiled spiritual truths of Scripture.  According to the Bible, spiritual truths are spiritually appraised (cf. 1 Cor. 2), which means that the unregenerate (i.e., spiritually dead and lost) person cannot properly understand the written Word of God or fully obey its precepts.  Being indwelt by the Spirit of Truth, however, the Christian has a personal Helper and Teacher (cf. John 14:16-17) who provides continual assurance not only of the believer’s salvation but also that the words of Scripture are true and that they in fact emanated from the very mind of Yahweh, the one true God, rather than being the product of mere human invention (cf. Romans 8:12-16 and 2 Peter 1:16-21).

[Note:  All human beings, including non-Christians, can and do have a basic knowledge of the spiritual realm (the existence of God, in particular) as a result of God’s “common” or general grace and His general or natural revelation — that is, through the light of creation, conscience, and cognition (cf. Romans 1:18-28 & 2:1-16).  However, in order to be saved (i.e., spiritually born from above) and placed in a right relationship with God, one must receive and obey God’s special revelation, which He makes known through the 66 canonical books of the Bible and the Person of Jesus Christ.  Through special revelation, God personally discloses the specifics of His moral will as well as His salvation plan for mankind.  Thus, it is only through the written Word of God that people can learn that their sinful condition puts them at enmity with a just, holy God, and that they must repent of their sins and trust in Jesus Christ alone for the forgiveness of their sins, resulting in justification (i.e., being legally declared “righteous” in God’s supreme court of law) and reconciliation with the God we have all sinned against and from whom our sins have estranged us.  Saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ, then, is made possible only by the Holy Spirit working supernaturally through the Scriptures (cf. Romans 10:17 and 2 Timothy 3:14-17).]

Keep in mind that it was by the superintending guidance of the Holy Spirit that the Bible was written in the first place, and this was divinely accomplished through ordinary men whom God specially chose to record His thoughts to us (cf. John 14:26 and 2 Peter 1:21).  The Spirit of God testifies to the believer’s spirit that the Bible is the unique, authentic, personal Self-revelation of the living God and is, therefore, completely without error in its original form. 

[Note:  Please refer to the letter ‘M’ in the M-A-P-S acrostic below to learn why we can be confident that the English Bibles we read today are faithful and trustworthy reproductions of the original biblical writings or autographa.] 

“Without the present illumination of the Holy Spirit, the Word of God must remain a dead letter to every man, no matter how intelligent or well-educated he may be. . . . “I never knew you” (Matthew 7:23), says Christ to those who have not been born through this seed of the Word being brought to life within them by the Holy Spirit.  Since a birth is only the beginning of life, the Word of God through which we are begotten becomes the necessary food that nourishes the Christian.  Even so, the Holy Spirit must continue His work within those who are born of the Spirit, illuminating and applying the Word to men’s hearts for Christian growth.” —William Law (The Power of the Spirit, 1761) [emphasis mine]

 

In sum, the Holy Spirit illuminates the Bible, enables us to understand and apply its spiritual/supernatural truths, and works the Word of God into believers’ lives to conform us to the likeness of Christ (i.e., sanctification).

For further study, see the following:

1) “The Spirit’s Internal Witness” by Dr. R.C. Sproul 

2) “Answering Critics of the Inner Witness of the Spirit” by Dr. William Lane Craig and Kevin Harris

 

Inexhaustible Depth and Riches of the Bible

Just as it is impossible for finite beings to learn all there is to know about an infinite God, it is also impossible for us to learn all there is to know about the Word of God.  Truly, the wisdom and treasures contained within the sacred pages of Scripture are inexhaustible and unlimited.

Indeed, the more we study the Bible, the more truth and insight the Holy Spirit reveals to us so that God’s written Word remains forever fresh and applicable; it never becomes outdated or irrelevant.  This is why a person can read the same passage of Scripture multiple times over many years and continue to gain new insights about and grow in his understanding and appreciation of the biblical text and the God of whom it speaks.  Because its Author is timeless and changeless, the Bible is always relevant for every person, culture, epoch, location, and generation.  It truly is “living and active”!  (See 2 Timothy 3:16-17 and Hebrews 4:12.) 

“The Scriptures . . . are a treasure of divine knowledge, which can never be exhausted. . . . The most learned, acute, and diligent student cannot, in the longest life, obtain an entire knowledge of the Bible.  The more deeply he works the mine, the richer and more abundant he finds the ore.  New light continually beams from this source of heavenly knowledge to direct the conduct and illustrate the work of God and the ways of men; and he will, at last, leave the world confessing that the more he studied the Scriptures, the fuller conviction he had of his own ignorance, and of their inestimable value.” —Thomas Scott, English clergyman, from the preface to his Commentary on the Bible, 1804 

“The [Bible] is so simple that children can understand it, and it is so profound that studies by the wisest theologians will never exhaust its riches.” —attributed to Charles Hodge, Presbyterian theologian and principal of Princeton Theological Seminary between 1851 and 1878

 

Testimony of Jesus and the Apostles

Perhaps most tellingly of all, Jesus Himself believed and taught that the Bible is the very Word of God.  He never once criticized the Tanakh (i.e., the Old Testament), nor did He ever point out any errors or contradictions in the Hebrew Scriptures or the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Old Testament, which was used during the time of Christ and the Apostles).  On the contrary, Jesus held Scripture in the highest possible esteem, affirmed its inerrancy, and acknowledged its divine authority by frequently identifying God as its Author and by using it to correct and rebuke the Pharisees, His own disciples, and even Satan when the Scriptures were misunderstood, abused, or disobeyed (cf. Matthew 4:4, Matthew 5:17-18, Mark 7:6-13, Luke 24:18-27, John 10:34-36, and John 17:17). 

“Man shall not live on bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. . . . You do not have His [i.e., God the Father’s] word abiding in you, for you do not believe Him whom He sent.  You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me. . . . [Father,] sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.” —The Lord Jesus Christ, the Living Word of God (Matthew 4:4; John 5:38–39; John 17:17)

“The Bible was the only book Jesus ever quoted, and then never as a basis for discussion, but to decide the point at issue.” —attributed to Leon Morris, Australian New Testament Scholar (1914–2006)

The Bible of Jesus’ time was what we know as the Old Testament, and it was intimately known by Jesus’ Jewish contemporaries.  So, how did Jesus view the Scriptures?  He had complete respect for them. 

In Mark 7:6-13, Jesus argues with the pious Jews because He believed them to be acting contrary to the Scriptures.  Quoting a passage from the prophet Isaiah, He proclaims that the Jews have “invalidated the word of God.”  In this statement, Jesus both affirms the truth of the prophet and proclaims the writings to be the very Word of God.

Perhaps the best example of Jesus’ respect for the Scriptures can be seen in Luke 24:18-27.  In this wonderful scene, Jesus walks with mourning disciples on the third day after the crucifixion.  Temporarily concealing His identity from them, the Lord divulges the Old Testament references that point directly to the coming of a Savior, Jesus Christ.  In doing so, Jesus [i.e., the living Word of God], put His stamp of approval on the fact that the [Old Testament] is indeed the written Word of God.

Jesus’ affirmation of the Bible’s validity is not only limited to the Old Testament; the Gospels also clearly assert the trustworthiness of the entire Word of God.  To refute this assertion is to say that Jesus must have been mistaken.  How can a believer in Jesus Christ as the perfect, holy Son of God ever believe that He would have made a poor, uninformed, or ignorant decision?  My friend, this is simply not an option.  Therefore, we can trust the Bible as God’s Word because Jesus had this confidence Himself. —Dr. Charles Stanley, InTouch Faith Foundations Course (no longer available, sadly)

 

Furthermore, the Apostle Paul refers to the Hebrew Scriptures as “inspired by God” or “God-breathed” (2 Timothy 3:16-17) and his own writings as “the Lord’s commandment” (1 Cor. 14:37).  In addition, the Apostle Peter affirms that Paul’s letters are equally inspired (literally, “God-breathed”) as the “rest of the Scriptures,” thereby equating Paul’s writings with the Tanakh (2 Peter 3:14-16).  Beyond that, there is abundant historical evidence that the early Christian Church recognized the divine inspiration of all 27 books of the New Testament as well as the entire Old Testament. 

To learn more, see the following:

1) “Is the Bible Inspired?” by Matt Slick  

2) “Is the Bible Authoritative?” by Greg Koukl

 

Harmony of the Scriptures

The Bible comprises 66 individual books written by 40 independent authors from very diverse backgrounds (kings, peasants, philosophers, poets, prophets, military leaders, fishermen, shepherds, teachers, a cupbearer, and even a physician and a tax collector) on 3 different continents (Asia, Europe, and Africa) in 3 different languages (Hebrew, Aramaic, and Koine Greek) over the span of approximately 1,500–2,000 years, and covers hundreds of topics.  [Note:  Significantly, given these facts, it is obvious that most of the Bible’s authors had no possible means of collaborating or colluding.]  Yet despite the radical differences in time, location, language, circumstances, and perspectives that separated the authors, this extraordinary collection of writings maintains a single redemptive theme (sometimes referred to as the “scarlet thread of Christ”), and its central message and doctrines are completely consistent and harmonious from cover to cover, without any legitimate contradictions (not to be confused with paradoxes or divine mysteries—see here for more on this point). 

The Bible is literally without parallel among religious and secular works, and no intellectually honest person would ever consider it to be a mere fabrication of man.

For further study, see the following:

1) “Do the Books of the Bible Form a Unified Whole?  Is This Evidence of Its Divine Inspiration?” by AIIA Institute

2) “Paradox, Mystery, and Contradiction” by Dr. R.C. Sproul

3) The Bible: Fast Forward by Greg Koukl/Stand to Reason

[Note:  This outstanding 8-session course presents a practical and unforgettable historical overview of the entire Old Testament and powerfully demonstrates that the Old and New Testaments—that is, the entirety of Scripture—are linked together by one cohesive theme:  God’s unfolding plan of salvation.  Special attention is given to God’s various covenants with the nation of Israel, and perhaps most importantly, the course persuasively explains how the major promises, events, types/symbols, and covenants recorded in the 39 books of the Old Testament found their ultimate and perfect fulfillment in the Person and Work of Jesus of Nazareth.]

 

External Evidence: The Testimony Outside Scripture

Several extra-biblical factors also strongly support the historical reliability and supernatural nature of the Bible.

MAPS

Manuscript Evidence
Archaeological Discoveries
Prophecies Fulfilled
Scientific Facts, Societal Transformation, and Survival of the Bible

 

Manuscript Evidence

Remarkably, the Bible is corroborated by greater manuscript evidence than any other book of antiquity, including the ten best pieces of ancient literature combined.

A manuscript is a handwritten copy of an original writing (a.k.a. an autograph).  With approximately 14,000 Old Testament and 5,700 Greek New Testament manuscript fragments (and counting), not to mention over 20,000 additional manuscripts of early translations of the New Testament (e.g., Latin, Coptic, Syriac, Arabic, Armenian, etc.) at their disposal, textual critics can faithfully reconstruct the text of the original biblical writings with a high degree of certainty by painstakingly comparing and contrasting the astounding superabundance of biblical manuscripts currently available.

“The interval between the dates of original composition (of the New Testament) 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 Kenyon, former director and principal librarian of the British Museum and one of the foremost experts on ancient manuscripts and their authenticity (The Bible and Archaeology, pp. 288-89)

 

NOTE:  For deeper study, I have compiled an extensive list of New Testament Manuscript stats here.  Also see the following:

1) “M-A-P-S to Guide You Through Bible Reliability” by Hank Hanegraaff

2) “Manuscript Evidence”       

3) “Manuscript Evidence for Superior New Testament Reliability” by Matt Slick

4) The Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts

 

Archaeological Discoveries

Unlike other religions and worldviews, Christianity actually invites historical investigation, and it rests on a firm foundation of verifiable, physical, archaeological evidence that helps substantiate the many historical, cultural, geographical, topographical, and socio-political truth claims recorded in both the Old and New Testaments.

For instance, on historical grounds, the writings of Luke — that is, the Gospel of Luke and Acts — stand out as arguably the best-attested works of antiquity.  This is because Luke included in his accounts meticulous eyewitness details that can be—and which have been—empirically verified.

Classical scholar and Roman historian Colin Hemer painstakingly identified 84 facts in just the last 16 chapters of Acts that have been confirmed to a T by historical and archaeological research (see Colin J. Hemer, The Book of Acts in the Setting of Hellenistic History).  Likewise, in just the first three chapters of his Gospel account, Luke mentions the names of 11 leaders who have been historically confirmed.

Classical scholar and archaeologist Sir William Ramsay, a skeptic of the Bible, once set out to disprove Luke’s historical claims.  At the end of his investigation, however, Ramsay had no choice but to conclude, “In various details, the narrative [Acts] showed marvelous truth.”  He further remarked, “Luke’s history is unsurpassed in respect of its trustworthiness,” and “Luke is an historian of the first rank. . . . [He] should be placed along with the very greatest of historians” (see William M. Ramsay, St. Paul the Traveller and the Roman Citizen, p. 8, and F.F. Bruce, The New Testament Documents: Are They Reliable?, p. 82).

The apostle John also has been vetted and proven to be a reliable historian in his own right.  New Testament scholar Craig Blomberg performed a detailed analysis of John’s Gospel account and found more than 50 details that either have been historically confirmed or found to be historically probable (see Craig Blomberg, The Historical Reliability of John’s Gospel).

Moreover, archaeologists and ancient non-Christian writers have confirmed the historicity of at least 30 persons mentioned in the aggregate of New Testament documents (see Norman Geisler and Frank Turek, I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist, Table 10.1, p. 270).

“It may be stated categorically that no archeological discovery has ever controverted a single biblical reference.  Scores of archeological findings have been made which confirm in clear outline or in exact detail historical statements in the Bible.” —Nelson Glueck, Jewish Archaeologist (Rivers in the Desert: A History of the Negev, 1960, p. 31)

 

In addition to the plentiful extra-biblical attestation we have from the independent, first- and second-century writings of the early church fathers to Jesus’ historicity, several independent, non-Christian, non-biblical writers also affirmed the historicity of Jesus of Nazareth within 150 years of His life, including the basic details of His ministry and death, as well as the beginnings of the Christian Church.  Some of these secular sources, several of whom were critics and/or hostile enemies of Christianity, include the following: 

Josephus (the most important Jewish historian of the 1st century A.D.), Tacitus (the most important and arguably the best Roman/Gentile historian of the 1st and early 2nd centuries A.D.), Pliny the Younger (Roman politician of the mid-1st and early 2nd centuries A.D.), Phlegon (a 2nd-century freed slave of Roman Emperor Hadrian who wrote histories), Suetonius (Roman historian of the late 1st and early 2nd centuries A.D.), Lucian of Samosata (a 2nd-century Greek satirist who mocked Christians), Celsus (2nd-century anti-Christian Greek philosopher), and Mara Bar-Serapion (a Syrian prisoner of Rome who wrote a private letter to his son sometime between the late first and early third centuries, although most scholars date the letter to A.D. 73).  [Note:  For deeper study into the ancient non-biblical evidence for the historicity of Jesus of Nazareth, watch this video.]

Counting both Christian and non-Christian sources, Drs. Gary Habermas and Michael Licona have found that Jesus of Nazareth is referenced by at least 42 independent authors before the close of the 2nd century, nine of whom were eyewitnesses to Jesus’ life and/or contemporaries of the events recorded in the New Testament.

To put this in perspective, consider that only 10 total ancient sources reference Tiberius Caesar, the Roman emperor at the time of Christ’s death, within the same 150-year time frame. 

Furthermore, in his remarkable investigative masterpiece Person of Interest: Why Jesus Still Matters in a World That Rejects the Bible, former atheist and cold-case homicide detective J. Warner Wallace carefully and cogently demonstrates through meticulous documentation, minutely detailed hand-drawn illustrations, and copious annotations that even if there weren’t a single copy of the Bible — or even so much as a manuscript fragment of the New Testament — still in existence anywhere in the world, we could still confidently reconstruct the central details about the life, character, nature, ministry, miracles, teachings, deity, death, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth simply by observing His absolutely unparalleled and uniquely inspiring impact on nearly every aspect of world history and the collective imagination and creative output of the human race from the time Jesus lived to the present. 

Specifically, by looking merely at Jesus’ king-sized influence in the areas of literature (obviously including the writings of Christians from ancient to modern times, but also the even more pervasive writings of secular authors, novelists, poets, playwrights, songwriters, screenwriters, biographers, researchers, editors, columnists, lexicographers, encyclopedists, etc.), science (including the founders of every branch of modern science, the vast majority of whom were Christians who rightly understood the discipline of science to be a means of worshiping and learning more about the Creator God, and many of whom wrote extensively about the Bible, Christian theology, and the person of Jesus of Nazareth), education (including the oldest libraries, monasteries, public schools, and universities throughout the world whose founding charters and buildings are replete with plaques, monuments, statues, etc., featuring quotes from the New Testament and sundry other references to Christ and the Gospel message), non-Christian religions/worldviews (i.e., the sacred texts of competing religions throughout the world and statements from their spiritual leaders give us enough information to piece together all the most important details about Jesus Christ without the need for a Bible), and every conceivable category of the Arts (e.g., architecture, painting, sculpting, graphic design, music, filmmaking, etc.), Wallace makes an undeniable case that to erase the ineradicable “evidential trail” of Jesus’ historicity from this planet would require the greatest of all miracles!   

For more information, see the following:

1) “Archaeology and the Bible“

2) “Archaeological Evidence Verifying Biblical Cities” by Matt Slick

3) “Archaeological and External Evidence“

4) “50 People in the Bible Confirmed Archaeologically” by Lawrence Mykytiuk

5) Rose Book of Bible Charts, Maps & Timelines, Volume 1 – “Archaeology & the Bible–Old Testament” (pp. 73-78) and “Archaeology & the Bible–New Testament” (pp. 113-118)

 

Prophecies Fulfilled

The Bible records over 2,000 predictive prophecies that have come to pass in world history, including more than 300 events that Jesus perfectly fulfilled several centuries after the predictions were made.  Many of these prophecies have been corroborated by secular sources and archaeological findings.

For example, Isaiah the prophet, who wrote approximately 700 years before Jesus was even born, foretold Christ’s virgin birth; the significant titles He would be called and unique roles He would fulfill; the beginning of His forerunner’s (i.e., John the Baptist) ministry, which was essential to preparing the way for Christ’s own earthly ministry; the central message Jesus would preach and the divine works He would accomplish during His ministry; and most amazingly of all, detailed and vivid descriptions of the incomparable suffering/Passion that Jesus would endure on the Cross for the sins of humanity.

Or consider the prophet Daniel, who, writing in the 500s B.C., successfully predicted the succession of the world’s four greatest empires:  the Babylonian Empire, the Medo-Persian Empire, the Grecian (Greek) Empire, and the Roman Empire. 

No less remarkable was Jesus’ own foretelling of the destruction of the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem, which He spoke some 40 years before the Romans fulfilled His prophecy.  This is one of the best-attested events in ancient history.  Manifold other examples abound of biblical prophecies being fulfilled.  To learn more, please refer to the links below.      

“Our Redeemer was foretold at the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:3–5), affirmed at the fall of humanity (Genesis 3:15), reported by the prophets, and etched onto the very heart of Israel.  For example, God announced that the Messiah would be a fulfillment of the covenant to Abraham and would come from his line (Genesis 12:3).  And not only from Abraham—but a specific great-grandchild of Abraham, named Judah [cf. Genesis 49:10]. . . . Eventually, a monarch was born through Judah’s line—a man named David, one of Israel’s most famous kings.  But God restricted the possibilities of who Christ would be even further when He told David, “Your house and your kingdom shall endure before Me forever; your throne shall be established forever” (2 Samuel 7:16)—indicating that the Redeemer would be his [i.e., David’s] descendant.  So, the Messiah came to be known as the “Son of David” (Matthew 1:1).  One after another, the Lord God provided astounding details about who our Savior would be (Isaiah 7:14; 11:1), where the Messiah would be born (Micah 5:2), when He would appear (Daniel 9:25–26), what He would do (Isaiah 61), and even His main region of ministry (Isaiah 9:1; Matthew 4:12–17).  Thousands of these prophecies revealed the only One who could make us right with God—and that is Jesus.” —Dr. Charles Stanley, The Gift of the Cross: Embracing the Promise of the Resurrection, 2022, pp. 31–32

“The many predictions of Christ’s birth, life, and death were indisputably rendered more than a century before they occurred, as proven by the Dead Sea Scrolls of Isaiah and other prophetic books, as well as by the Septuagint translation, all dating from earlier than 100 B.C. [i.e., more than a century “Before Christ”] . . . It is statistically preposterous that any, [much less] all, of the Bible’s specific, detailed prophecies could have been fulfilled through chance, good guessing, or deliberate deceit.” —Hank Hanegraaff [emphasis mine]

 

For further study, see the following:

1) “365 Messianic Prophecies“

2) “Fulfilled Prophecy As Evidence“

3) “M-A-P-S to Guide You Through Bible Reliability” by Hank Hanegraaff

4) Rose Book of Bible Charts, Maps & Timelines, Volume 1 – “100 Prophecies Fulfilled by Jesus” (pp. 81-86)

 

Scientific Facts, Societal Transformation, and Survival of the Bible

[Note:  I modified the letter ‘S’ in M-A-P-S to represent “Scientific Facts,” “Societal Transformation,” and “Survival of the Bible” in place of the original “Statistics”]    

Scientific Facts – The Bible contains many scientific facts about biology, cosmology, geology, medicine, meteorology, physics, etc., that modern scientists were unable to confirm until recent times.  The following Web page presents 101 of these fascinating facts, which further serve to demonstrate the amazing foreknowledge and trustworthiness of the holy Scriptures:  http://www.eternal-productions.org/101science.html

Societal Transformation – The Bible is responsible for the spiritual and moral transformation of countless individuals, societies, and nations down through the ages.  This is largely because the Bible gave the world the very concepts of human dignity, human rights, and gender and ethnic equality (according to the Bible, there is only one race — the human race — and all humans are created equally in the image of the same God).  Indeed, the precepts found in the holy Scriptures have inspired men and women to work tirelessly toward the abolition of such crimes against humanity as abortion, infanticide, gladiatorial combat, and slavery.  The Bible has also revolutionized science, healthcare, education, government, the arts, literature, and countless other fields.  Question:  Is it plausible to believe that an ancient collection of mere man-made writings comprising fictitious folklore or unhistorical myths could have had such an undeniably profound, pervasive, and positive impact on world history and human flourishing?  I think not.

Survival of the Bible – Finally, despite ruthless criticism and unrelenting persecution, the Bible has endured as the most influential and bestselling Book (read: collection of 66 books) in the world for more than 3,400 years.  Moreover, the Bible has not merely survived but also triumphantly risen high above rebellious humanity’s innumerable attempts throughout history to outlaw and/or destroy it.

“The grass withers, the flower fades,
But the word of our God stands forever” (Isaiah 40:8).

“In the ancient world, the teachings of Jesus Christ elevated brutish standards of morality, halted infanticide, emancipated women, abolished slavery, inspired charities and relief organizations, created hospitals, established orphanages, and founded schools.  In medieval times, Christianity almost single-handedly kept classical literature alive through recopying manuscripts, building libraries, moderating warfare through truce days, and providing dispute arbitration.  Christians invented colleges and universities, dignified labor as a divine vocation, and extended the light of civilization to barbarians on the frontiers.  In the modern era, Christian teaching advanced science, instilled concepts of political and social and economic freedom, fostered justice, and provided the single-greatest source of inspiration for magnificent achievements in art, architecture, music, and literature.” —Alvin J. Schmidt

 

For deeper study, see the following:

1) “101 Scientific Facts & Foreknowledge” 

2) The Moody Institute of Science Video Collection 

3) Illustra Media’s “Intelligent Design” DVD Collection

4) Illustra Media’s “Design of Life” DVD Collection

5) “The Impact of Christianity“

6) How Christianity Changed the World by Alvin J. Schmidt 

7) “What Christianity Has Done for the World: 50 Key Contributions” by Rose Publishing  

8) What If the Bible Had Never Been Written by D. James Kennedy and Jerry Newcombe

9) The Indestructible Book – a 4-hour documentary on the amazing history of the origin, transmission, and translation of the Bible from Mt. Sinai to America, hosted by Dr. Ken Connolly

 

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“The Indestructible Book” by Dr. Charles Stanley, InTouch Faith Foundations Course (no longer available, sadly)

Over the past few lessons, we’ve studied several different reasons why we can trust the Bible as God’s holy Word.  As we talk about the Bible’s impact throughout history, I want to share an important lesson with you:  God’s Word is absolutely indestructible.

I want you to think about this for a moment.  There has never been a single book in history that has been as hated as this book.  The enemies of God have done everything possible to hunt it down and destroy it.

Men have confiscated it.  They have passed laws against it.  They burned it.  They [the Roman Catholic Church] even chained the Bible to church pulpits to prevent common people from reading it for themselves.  Why did these men think it was so important to prevent the Bible from being distributed around the world?  It is because when men and women begin to read the Word of God, they become free.

So, people throughout history have done their best to destroy it.  They have done everything possible to convince people that the Bible isn’t true; that it isn’t important.  But their arguments proved to be completely false.

One example is Voltaire, a famous French scholar who died in 1778.  He proclaimed that within a hundred years of his death, the Bible would be a forgotten book.  Ironically, just 25 years after Voltaire died, the old publishing house that had printed his atheistic philosophies was used by a Bible society to publish the Word of God.  [How’s that for poetic justice!]

Another example is the story of William Tyndale.  He was the first person to use the printing press to produce a complete New Testament for widespread distribution.  The leaders of that time were so enraged that Tyndale was exiled from England.  When he finally returned, they caught him, strangled him to death, and then burned his body.  Why?  Because he attempted to make the Word of God available to all people.

Just before Tyndale died, he uttered a prayer to God to open the eyes of the king so that the Bible could be produced.  One year later, the king affirmed the printing of the Bible, and it was distributed among the people.

This Book we hold in our hands has cost a lot of people their very lives.  All of your possessions combined cannot even come close to the value of one single copy of the Word of God.  It is powerful, it is without error, and my friend, it is completely indestructible.

“Century follows century—there it stands.  Empires rise and fall—there it stands.  Dynasty succeeds dynasty—there it stands.  Kings are crowned and uncrowned—there it stands.  Emperors decree its extermination—there it stands.  Despised and torn to pieces—there it stands.  Storms of hate swirl about it—there it stands.  Atheists rail against it—there it stands.  Agnostics smile cynically—there it stands.  Profane, prayerless punsters caricature it—there it stands.  Unbelief abandons it—there it stands.  Higher critics deny its inspiration—there it stands.  Thunderbolts of wrath smite it—there it stands.  An anvil that has broken a million hammers—there it stands.” —Dr. A.Z. Conrad on the indestructibility and perpetual survival of the Bible

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Knowing what the Bible teaches is imperative, but knowing the reasons why the Bible is true, reliable, and divinely inspired — and being able to demonstrate that — is just as vital.  Thus, the next time someone challenges you to explain why you believe what the Bible says or when doubts enter your mind causing you to question the authenticity or accuracy of Scripture, try to remember that Bibles come WITH MAPS, and recall this acrostic:

Witness of the Holy Spirit
Inexhaustible Depth and Riches of the Bible
Testimony of Jesus and the Apostles
Harmony of the Scriptures

Manuscript Evidence
Archaeological Discoveries
Prophecies Fulfilled
Scientific Facts, Societal Transformation, and Survival of the Bible

I hope this mnemonic and the related resources help equip you to be “ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you” (1 Peter 3:15) and to “contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints” (Jude, v. 3).  

New Testament Manuscript Stats

Originally published on 4-07-15
Last revised on 4-26-24

Glossary of Select Terms Used in This Document

autographs / autographa – the original, God-breathed, inerrant New Testament writings penned by the Apostles or close associates of the Apostles, most or all of which were composed between A.D. 40 and A.D. 70, and certainly no later than A.D. 100; these are no longer available to us, most likely due to the extremely perishable nature of the primitive material on which they were written (namely, papyrus)

canon –

1. a measuring stick, standard, or rule of faith and truth
2. the 66 books of Scripture (39 Old Testament books; 27 New Testament books) recognized by the Church as being the divinely inspired (God-breathed), authoritative Word of God

canonicity – the character of a biblical book that marks it as a part of the canon of Scripture

codex (plural form = codices) – a manuscript in book form — that is, with sheets bound together rather than rolled up like a scroll

extant – existing or surviving

manuscript – a handwritten copy

MSS – manuscripts

NT – New Testament

OT – Old Testament

papyrus (plural form = papyri) – a kind of ancient paper or writing material made from the pith of a plant by that name, which grew in the marshes of the Nile River in Egypt

Septuagint (or LXX) – Greek translation of the Old Testament; LXX is the Roman numeral for “70” and refers to the 70 or so Jewish scribes who purportedly translated the OT into Greek ca. 250 B.C.  The Septuagint was in use during the time of Jesus and the Apostles, and they even quoted from it.

variant – any difference in wording from a standard or base text, including spelling, punctuation, grammar, word order (syntax), omission, addition, duplication, substitution, or a total rewrite of the text

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A note about canonicity and the dating of the New Testament autographs:

A book is not the Word of God because it is accepted by the people of God.  Rather, it was accepted by the people of God because it is the Word of God.  That is, God gives the book its divine authority, not the people of God.  They merely recognize the divine authority which God gives to it. . . . Precisely speaking, canonicity is determined by God.  In other words, the reason there are only sixty-six books in the canon is that God inspired only that many.  Only sixty-six books were found to have the stamp of divine authority, because God only stamped that many, or invested that number with authority for faith and practice. —Norman Geisler and William Nix, A General Introduction to the Bible [emphasis mine]

 

Biblical and extra-biblical evidence strongly suggest that all 27 of the original New Testament documents (a.k.a. autographs or the autographa), which were composed by nine, independent eyewitnesses or close associates of eyewitnesses to the persons, places, and events written about, were completed no later than the end of the 1st century A.D.  Moreover, many scholars believe that at least 24 of the 27 NT books were composed prior to the Romans’ destruction of the Temple and the city of Jerusalem in A.D. 70.

Until fairly recently, John’s five writings (i.e., the Gospel of John; 1, 2, and 3 John; and Revelation, respectively) were long believed to have been written in the ’80s or ’90s A.D., or later.  However, a  number of renowned liberal (e.g., John A.T. Robinson) and conservative NT scholars now believe that all NT books, with the possible exception of Revelation, were composed before A.D. 70, primarily because not a single New Testament writing makes even a passing reference to the extremely significant Roman destruction of the city of Jerusalem and the sacred Temple.  This was also something Jesus Himself predicted would happen (cf. Matthew 24:2, Luke 21:6, and Luke 23:27–31), so it’s highly unlikely that His followers would have neglected to mention the fulfillment of this momentous event.  What’s more, whenever the Temple is mentioned in the NT, it is spoken about as if it were still standing.  Very telling.        

For more info on the dating of the books of the New Testament, see the following:

1) “When Were the Gospels Written and by Whom?” by Matt Slick 

2) “Wasn’t the New Testament Written Hundreds of Years After Christ?” by Matt Slick 

Key Question:  Regardless of the number of variants (i.e., differences in wording) between existing NT manuscripts, can we recover the original reading of the NT with a high degree of confidence?

Answer:  Yes, we most certainly can.

Scholars and historians achieve this through the academic science of textual criticism, which the Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary defines as follows:

Textual criticism is the art and science of reconstructing the text of a work that no longer exists in its original form.  We should note that the word criticism is not a negative term.  Rather, it refers to methods of careful study and analysis.  When applied to the New Testament, the ultimate purpose [of textual criticism] is to determine the original text of each book with the greatest possible degree of detail and accuracy through the careful study and comparison of all extant manuscripts.

“Far from being a haphazard effort based on guesses and religious faith, textual criticism is a careful, analytical process allowing an alert critic to determine the extent of possible corruption of any ancient document (not just religious writings) and, given certain conditions, to reconstruct the original text [i.e., the autographs] from existing copies [i.e., manuscripts] with a high degree of certainty.” —Greg Koukl (Solid Ground newsletter, Sept./Oct. 2010,2)

 

Gordon Fee explains, “The goal of textual criticism is to determine which reading at any point of variation is most likely the original text, and which readings are the errors” (New Testament Exegesis, 61).

[Note:  The slightest discrepancy in the wording of a manuscript is counted as a “variant” or an “error.”  This is one of the points Bart Ehrman and other skeptics conveniently fail to mention to their audiences when attacking the reliability of the Bible.]

To sum up, the primary goal of all textual criticism is to recover the exact wording of the original autographic text—that is, exactly what the document said in its final form before it left the control of the author who wrote it.  They do this by following one fundamental principle:  Choose the reading that best explains the rise of the other readings.

In order to know whether the original reading of any ancient text (not just the Bible) can be faithfully reconstructed from surviving copies, historians need to know the answer to three pivotal questions:  

1) How many manuscripts exist?

2) How old are the manuscripts?

3) What is the exact nature of the differences (or variants) between/among the manuscripts?

Historians call this process the Bibliographical Test.

Important:  If the number of manuscripts available for comparison is high, and if there is a short historical distance/gap of time between the date the original autograph was written and the date the oldest extant manuscripts (copies) were written, then the easier it will be to reconstruct the original and, likewise, the greater our confidence should be that the copies we have today are faithful and accurate reproductions of the original compositions.

Put simply, what we want is a large quantity of manuscripts and a small time gap between the originals and the earliest existing copies.  And with the New Testament manuscripts, that’s exactly what we find.

“There are three times more NT manuscripts within the first 200 years [of the original writings] than the average Greco-Roman author has in 2,000 years.”
—Dr. Daniel Wallace [emphasis his]

 

[Note:  Having a large number of copies of a document and distributing those copies over a wide geographical area is important because it increases the chances of preserving/protecting the original text from physical destruction and editorial changes.  Think about it:  If zero copies had been made of the original NT documents (i.e., the autographs penned by the Apostles or their close associates), the New Testament almost certainly would have been lost over time due to the relatively rapid decay rate of papyri, the ancient material on which the original books and epistles of the New Testament were likely composed.  However, for sake of argument, let’s suppose that the NT autographs could have survived intact for 2,000 years.  Even if this were possible, how could anyone determine whether or not those writings still contained the precise wording of the original text after such a long lapse of time and with no checks and balances along the way?  Without replicas of those original documents being made rather quickly and disseminated rather broadly, it would be impossible to know whether or not the inspired authors’ actual words had been tampered with.  Thankfully, given the staggering preponderance of largely identical copies available to us of the New Testament documents from over a wide area of distribution, we can know beyond a reasonable doubt what the original NT writings said.]

[Sources:  Bruce Metzger, Daniel Wallace, James White, Craig Evans, Greg Koukl, Hank Hanegraaff, Clay Jones, Timothy Paul Jones, Josh McDowell, Norman Geisler, and Frank Turek]

• In toto, the New Testament is supported by an astonishing 25,000 (and counting) existing MSS, and new MSS continue to be discovered.  (Homer’s Iliad has the most impressive manuscript evidence for any secular work, with nearly 1,800 existing MSS, as of writing, but this obviously puts The Iliad in a very distant second place behind the New Testament.)
  

• More than 5,700 Greek NT manuscripts have been discovered and catalogued. 

[Note:  The New Testament was originally written in Koine Greek, the common language of Greek-speaking people living in the Mediterranean world from the close of the Classical period to the Byzantine era.]

• Over 20,000 additional NT manuscripts were translated early on into different languages, such as Latin (over 10,000, and the average length of these manuscripts is 450 pages), Arabic, Armenian, Coptic, Ethiopic, Gothic, Hebrew, and Syriac.   

• Keep in mind that the majority of NT manuscripts are incomplete fragments, and only about 50 manuscripts contain all 27 books of the NT in their entirety.  “Even so,” says Greg Koukl, “the textual evidence is exceedingly rich, especially when compared to other ancient works” (Solid Ground newsletter, Sept./Oct. 2010, 3).
  

  “The accumulation of fragments is now so large that one can piece together most of the New Testament from fragments that are dated [to] within two centuries of Christ’s death and resurrection.” —Hank Hanegraaff, The Bible Under Siege, 27  

• The earliest New Testament MSS are called majuscule (or “uncial”) manuscripts.  Majuscules are capital letters, so majuscule manuscripts were written in all-caps and do not contain any punctuation or spaces/separation between words.  Currently, there are more than 300 NT majuscule MSS in existence, several of which have been dated to as early as the 3rd century.  The most important majuscule MSS are the parchment Codices Sinaiticus and Vaticanus, which will be discussed in more detail later in this document. 

[Note: The earliest NT manuscripts are all of the “Alexandrian” text-type, meaning that they were discovered in or near the area of Alexandria, Egypt.  The “Critical” or “Eclectic” New Testament Greek base text, which serves as the foundation of nearly all English Bible translations post-1945, beginning with the RSV (first published in 1946), makes use not only of the most reliable Alexandrian majuscule papyri MSS and codices (i.e., Vaticanus, Sinaiticus, and Alexandrinus) but also the “Western,” “Caesarean,” and “Byzantine” text-types of manuscripts.  Older English Bibles, such as the beloved King James Version (1611), did not have access to these invaluable MSS and were based exclusively on a dozen or less of the much later Byzantine-type New Testament MSS, which are dated between 1100 and 1300 A.D.  (Incredibly, the translators of the New King James Version, which was released in 1982, had access to these magnificent and much earlier MSS, but they chose instead to follow the outdated Textus Receptus Greek base text.  Still, the textual differences between the various Greek New Testaments that translators use today are mostly insignificant and doctrinally inconsequential, as explained in greater detail later in this document.)]

• The majority of NT manuscripts are known as minuscules.  Minuscule is essentially a cursive style of writing that emerged circa A.D. 800.  Currently, there are close to 3,000 NT minuscule MSS.  These later manuscripts are typically of the “Byzantine” text-type, meaning that they were discovered in or near the area of the ancient Greek city of Byzantium (modern Istanbul).  The Byzantine minuscule MSS form the basis of all the “Elizabethan” English Bibles published in the 16th and 17th centuries—namely, William Tyndale’s translation, the Coverdale Bible, the Matthews Bible, the Great Bible, the Geneva Bible, the Bishops Bible, and the King James Bible.  One major disadvantage of these vintage translations of God’s Word is that the translators did not have access to the amazing Dead Sea Scrolls, which were discovered at Qumran between 1947 and 1956 and which contain the oldest-known copies of portions of the Old Testament (dated between 100 B.C. and A.D. 100), including a stunning scroll containing the entirety of the book of Isaiah that is 1,000 years older than any MSS available prior to this time.  The reason these older English Bibles used only a smattering of very late Byzantine-type Greek New Testament MSS and much later Hebrew Old Testament MSS is very simple:  These were the only manuscripts available to the translators at the time.  (In other words, they used what they had!)    

• According to the late Dr. Bruce Metzger, who was an eminent biblical scholar, translator, and textual critic, also counted among the NT Greek MSS are “lectionaries, which contain New Testament Scripture in the sequence it was to be read in the early churches at appropriate times during the year” (Hanegraaff, The Bible Under Siege, 49).  More than 2,400 of these Greek lectionaries containing sizable citations of the NT text have been catalogued.  

• For the majority of ancient secular Classical Greek documents, only a small number of manuscripts exist (see next bullet point for more on this); and the time gap between the author’s original writing and the earliest surviving copies of most ancient secular works is a substantial 400 – 1,500 years or more, compared to an historical distance of only 40 – 250 years for the New Testament MSS!  Nonetheless, most textual critics and historians are confident that they have accurately reconstructed the original readings from the vastly inferior secular manuscripts and do not question their reliability.  In fact, virtually all of our knowledge of ancient history depends on documents such as these.  

• The NT has substantially stronger manuscript support — superior both in quantity, quality, and external corroboration — than any other text of antiquity, including the works of Homer (1,800 MSS for The Iliad), Caesar (251 MSS for Gallic Wars), Plato (210 MSS for Tetralogies), Tacitus (33 MSS for Annals), and Aristotle (5 MSS for Poetics).  Indeed, the ten best pieces of ancient literature combined can’t hold a candle to either the quantity of NT manuscripts or the brief lapse of time between the original compositions and the earliest extant copies.  In sum, we have, on average, more than a thousand times as many manuscripts for the NT than we do for the average classical Greco-Roman author.  
  

[Note:  A nifty table comparing NT and ancient secular MSS can be found midway through this article.]

• The average classical Greek writer has fewer than 20 total copies/manuscripts of his works still in existence.  According to renowned textual critic and NT scholar Dr. Daniel Wallace, if one were to stack manuscript evidence for the average classical Greek writer and the NT side by side, the stack of MSS for secular Greek writings of antiquity, the reliability of which no credentialed scholar questions, would stand about four feet high, while the stack of MSS for the NT would stand approximately one mile high!
  

• The average NT manuscript is over 475 pages long, and over 43% of all NT verses are found in the earliest surviving papyri MSS, which date to within 100 to 125 years of the originals.  Most of these MSS are of the four Gospels (i.e., Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John).  In contrast, within 125 years of the completion of almost all classical literature, 0% of the authors’ writings are available.
  

• The earliest undisputed manuscript fragment dates to within 100 years of Christ’s death and resurrection.  The stunning John Rylands Papyrus, a.k.a. p52, includes portions of the 18th chapter of John and is dated between A.D. 110 and 150; and it may be even earlier.  Significantly, if one accepts a late date for John’s Gospel (e.g., the ’90s A.D.), p52 could very well be a first-generation copy of the Apostle John’s original writing.

• Even earlier than p52 are nine disputed fragments believed to be part of six NT books (Mark, Acts, Romans, 1 Timothy, 2 Peter, and James) that were discovered with the Dead Sea Scrolls.  Some scholars date these copies from A.D. 50 to 70, when many of the Apostles and other eyewitnesses to Christ were still alive.  Also, if they are correct, this means that at least Mark’s original Gospel account was likely written in the ’40s or possibly even the ’30s A.D.  (Bear in mind that Jesus died in either A.D. 30 or A.D. 33.)
  

•  Three early Apostolic church fathers (so named because they were either personal disciples of, or otherwise had direct contact with, the Apostles of Christ) quoted passages from 25 of the 27 NT books between A.D. 95 and 110.  These men are Clement of Rome, Ignatius of Antioch, and Polycarp. 

[Note:  Clement of Rome, who was the fourth bishop of the church in Rome, is believed to have been a disciple of the Apostle Peter, and he may have been the same Clement the Apostle Paul refers to as a “fellow worker” in Philippians 4:3.  And according to early church fathers such as Irenaeus of Lyons, who was a pupil of Polycarp, both Ignatius of Antioch and Polycarp were students of the Apostle John.] 

• Clement of Rome, writing from Rome around A.D. 95 when the Apostle John was plausibly still living, confirmed the synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke), as well as five Pauline epistles (Romans, 1 Corinthians, Ephesians, 1 Timothy, and Titus) and three general letters (i.e., the occasionally disputed books of Hebrews, James, and 1 Peter).  

Moreover, Ignatius of Antioch, writing from Smyrna around A.D. 107, referenced all four Gospels, along with the book of Acts, 12 of Paul’s 13 epistles (i.e., all except 2 Thessalonians), and the remaining books of the NT, with the exceptions of 2 John and Jude. 

[Note:  Concerning the point above, Drs. Norman Geisler and Frank Turek note that “Jude had [certainly] written his short letter by this time [i.e., prior to the close of the first century] because, being Jesus’ half brother, he was almost certainly dead by A.D. 100; and 2 John had also been written because it [logically predated] 3 John, [the latter of] which was one of the 25 books quoted.”  They also observe that “since Clement was in Rome, and Ignatius and Polycarp were hundreds of miles away in Smyrna, the original New Testament documents had to have been written significantly earlier; otherwise, they could not have circulated across the ancient world by that time.  Therefore, it’s safe to say that all of the New Testament was written by A.D. 100, and at least the [writings confirmed by Clement were written] several years before A.D. 95.”]

And Polycarp, writing from Smyrna around A.D. 110, recognized 2 Thessalonians and several other NT books already confirmed by Clement and Ignatius. 

Such remarkably early external attestation—which, by the way, is absolutely extraordinary for writings from the ancient world—goes a long way toward substantiating the transmissional accuracy and historical reliability of the original New Testament documents, as well as their early dating and authorship.  Significantly, it also demonstrates that the early Christians recognized and accepted only four Gospel accounts (i.e., Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) and that the apostolic authorship or divine authority of the 13 epistles of Paul and the books of Acts and 1 John (at least) were never questioned or contested.  And of course, Athanasius’ well-known “Easter letter” (i.e., his Thirty-Ninth Festal Epistle) shows that all 27 books found in the New Testament of modern Bibles were definitely recognized throughout Christendom as being canonical/authoritative by the year A.D. 367.

• Further, the Fragment of Muratori (c. A.D. 150–220, Milan) references or alludes to 20 NT books (all but Matthew, Mark, Hebrews, James, 1 and 2 Peter, and one of John’s epistles, although it’s not clear which one, as two of his three epistles were acknowledged but not with specificity).  Being a fragment, however, the Muratorian manuscript is an incomplete document, and some scholars believe that the remaining 7 NT books were probably mentioned in the portions that have been lost to us.
  

• The Chester Beatty Papyri (c. A.D. 250) contains the bulk of the NT (i.e., 30 leaves/pages of the Gospels and Acts, another 10 leaves of the Pauline epistles, and 10 leaves of Revelation), and the Bodmer Papyri II collection of fragments (c. A.D. 200 or earlier) includes most of the first 14 chapters of John’s Gospel and much of the last 7 chapters, as well as significant portions of Luke’s Gospel.

• The earliest copies of the NT in codex (i.e., bound-book) form include the famous codices Codex Vaticanus (c. A.D. 325-350), Codex Sinaiticus (c. A.D. 350), and Codex Alexandrinus (c. A.D. 425-450).  Vaticanus contains most of the Greek OT (Septuagint) and most of the NT.  Sinaiticus contains approximately half of the Septuagint and virtually all of the NT.  Alexandrinus contains the whole Septuagint and a nearly complete NT.  

[Note:  Remarkably, Daniel Wallace believes that whenever Codices Sinaiticus and Vaticanus agree about a textual reading, that particular reading probably dates back deep into the 2nd century, at the latest, and is probably the original reading of the New Testament autographs.]

• “Patristic quotations” — thousands of citations made by early church fathers — include substantial portions of the New Testament.  For years, it was believed that all but 11 verses from the New Testament could be recovered from these writings alone.  Recently, however, some NT scholars announced that it’s more likely the case that approximately 46% of the New Testament could be reconstructed from patristic quotations.  Regardless of whether this is true, the fact remains that even if we didn’t have a single NT manuscript or copy of the Bible available anywhere in the world, we could still reconstruct nearly half of the entire New Testament — and certainly the teachings about Christ that are essential to one’s salvation — from sermons, catechisms, lectionaries, and other writings of the 2nd- and 3rd-century church fathers who frequently quoted the NT.
  

• The New Testament is approximately 95% to 99.5% textually pure, meaning that, of the thousands of New Testament MSS in existence, their wording agrees about 95 – 99.5% of the time.  This is absolutely astonishing.
  

• Approximately 400,000 differences (i.e., “variants”) in wording exist among the NT manuscripts currently available.  The reason there are so many variants is simple:  We have a massive number of NT manuscripts!  As Dr. Daniel Wallace points out, however, whether it is one manuscript or 2,000 that all contain a particular variant—for example, hypothetically, the word “beginning” written as “inning” in John 1:1 in 2,000 different manuscripts—that particular textual variant still counts as only one total variant, not 2,000 variants.  (In other words, when counting textual variants, textual critics don’t multiply a variant by the number of manuscripts that contain that same variant.  This point is frequently misunderstood by even the brightest and most devout Christian pastors, scholars, and apologists, not to mention critics of Christianity.)

• Less than 1% (i.e., 1,500 – 2,000) of the total NT manuscript variants are both “meaningful” (i.e., potentially affecting the meaning of the NT author’s original wording) and “viable” (i.e., having a sufficient pedigree potentially to represent the authentic wording of the original autograph).  When put in proper perspective, 1,500 to 2,000 meaningful and viable variants spread over 3.5 million pages total of hand-copied text spanning approximately 1,500 years (prior to the invention of the printing press) is an amazingly small percentage of the text, demonstrating an amazingly accurate history of NT textual transmission.  In other words, over such an immense span of time and with 5,700 handwritten copies, one would expect there to be hundreds of millions of meaningful and viable NT manuscript variants!
  

[Note:  An example of a variant that is both meaningful and viable is Philippians 1:14, which reads, “. . . and that most of the brethren, trusting in the Lord because of my imprisonment, have far more courage to speak the word of God without fear” (NASB).  The words between “speak” and “without fear” appear as simply “the word” in several manuscripts, as “the word of God” in several others (i.e., the Alexandrian manuscripts, which are the earliest and often considered the best-quality NT copies because they were copied by scholarly specialists in the prestigious academic city of Alexandria, Egypt, and were more carefully controlled than other NT “text-types”/manuscript families), and as “the word of the Lord” in still others.  Given the context of the passage, however, it seems clear that the Apostle Paul was referring to the Gospel message, which is variously referred to as “the word of God,” “the word of the Lord,” and “the word of Christ.”  What other “word” would these newly emboldened believers have been speaking fearlessly, to Paul’s great delight?)]

• The vast majority of NT manuscript variants (i.e., 99%), including the earliest papyri manuscripts, many of which were copied by scribes who weren’t professionally trained (however, these early scribes were often meticulous “bean counters,” accountants, etc., who were trained to be very attentive to detail, which means they were actually less likely to make intentional changes or “corrections” to the text, and these “unprofessional” scribes also often painstakingly copied words one letter at a time), consist of theologically inconsequential grammatical disparities and other common, unintentional scribal errors that are easy to detect, such as spelling mistakes (more than half — yes, well over 200,000 of the total variants!), changes in word order/syntax (e.g., one manuscript may read “Christ Jesus,” while another reads “Jesus Christ”), the transposition of characters (i.e., inadvertently switching around the order of letters, words, or phrases), the addition or omission of letters or words (e.g., one manuscript may read “The Lord Jesus said” instead of “Jesus said,” or “the James,” while another simply reads “James,” without the preceding definite article), the repetition or duplication of words or lines (e.g., “John was was baptizing”), the substitution of a synonym (e.g., one manuscript may read “above,” while another reads “over” in the same place), accidentally skipping lines, etc.
  

• Some textual alterations, however, most of which are found in the later and longer (i.e., expanded or “fuller”) Byzantine text-type of manuscripts, were intentional in nature and are clearly the result of “pious” theological motivation on the part of well-meaning scribes who were eager to protect the deity of Christ and other essential Christian doctrines.  One example of this “expansion of piety,” as some scholars describe it, would be when a scribe expanded a verse whose source manuscript simply read “Christ” to read more reverently as “the Lord Jesus Christ.”  A more noteworthy example of this phenomenon can be seen in the KJV’s (and NKJV’s) notorious rendering of 1 John 5:7, a.k.a. the Comma Johanneum, which forces the doctrine of the Trinity into John’s text without warrant (i.e., because there are ample other places in Scripture that teach that God is one in essence and three in person).

[Note:  Significantly, outside of the 3rd edition (1522) of Catholic priest Desiderius Erasmus’ Greek New Testament, which eventually (i.e., 1633) came to be dubbed the “Received Text” (or Textus Receptus in Latin) and which serves as one of the fundamental base texts behind the King James translation, the Trinitarian formula (i.e., “For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit [or Ghost]”) is not found in any early Greek MSS of John’s first epistle or in any ancient versions of the Bible, with the exception of Jerome’s Latin translation of Scripture (i.e., the Vulgate).  In fact, the Comma Johanneum is found only in 9 very late Greek MSS, and the earliest one containing this particular reading in the text of 1 John 5:7 is dated to the 14th century.  Also, in half of those MSS, the phrase is relegated to a marginal note.  With such inadequate and/or dubious manuscript support, it is little wonder why Erasmus chose not to include the reading in the first two editions of his Greek NT.  Remarkably, the reading is also not mentioned in any of the vitally important early ecumenical church councils that affirmed and clarified the essential Christian doctrine of the Trinity.  If that particular rendering of 1 John 5:7, which emphatically teaches Trinitarianism, had been available to those early Christians, it stands to reason that someone surely would have appealed to it at some point as scriptural support for the Tri-Unity of God, but there’s no record of this, which is a good indication that 1 John 5:7 never read that way originally and was, therefore, a later addition to the text.]

• A complete Greek New Testament (i.e., in this example, the Nestle-Aland/United Bible Society’s text, which is the primary Greek base text underlying most modern English Bible translations) contains approximately 138,000 words.

• Of the 200,000 lines of text in a Greek NT, only 40 lines (approx. 400 words) are in doubt; and, again, not a single one of these variants affects any significant Christian doctrine.  (To help put this in proper perspective, this means that we can be confident that roughly 137,600 of the 138,000 words of a complete Greek New Testament are the very words that God revealed to the NT writers!)  Therefore, it does not matter that there are more textual variants than there are words in the New Testament, as popular atheist Bart Ehrman loves to point out, because none of those variants change the meaning of any important Christian teaching or truth claim.

Textual critic and Christian apologist Dr. James R. White observes, “The reality is that the amount of variation between [even] the two most extremely different manuscripts of the New Testament [i.e., the two NT manuscripts that are the most unalike in their wording] would not fundamentally alter the message of the Scriptures!”  He continues:  “The simple fact of the matter is that no textual variants in either the Old or New Testament in any way, shape, or form materially disrupt or destroy any essential doctrine of the Christian faith” (The King James Only Controversy, 40).

“The purity of text is of such a substantial nature that nothing we believe to be true, and nothing we are commanded to do, is in any way jeopardized by the variants.”
—Dr. D.A. Carson, Research Professor of New Testament, The King James Version Debate, 56

Incredibly—and ironically—none other than Bart Ehrman, himself a textual critic, actually admitted this fact in the appendix of the paperback version of his bestselling (and greatly misleading) book Misquoting Jesus (emphasis mine): 

“Essential Christian beliefs are not affected by textual variants in the manuscript tradition of the New Testament.” 

The Bottom Line:  As of writing, we can be confident that we have the original wording of 95 to 99% of the 27 New Testament books, and that includes what those books say about ALL of the most important teachings of Christianity.  But here’s even better news:  As time goes on and as more NT manuscript copies continue to be unearthed — and despite the fact that this also logically means that the number of textual variants (wording differences) will increase, for the reasons explained above — we are nevertheless getting closer and closer to reconstructing 100% of the original text/reading/wording of the God-breathed New Testament autographs.

Is What We Have Today Really the Word of God?

Can we be confident that the Bibles we read today still contain the words God wants every human to read, understand, and obey?  Concerning this paramount question, which is really the crux of any discussion about the transmission and translation of the Bible down through the centuries, an article from the Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary stresses the following:

It is important to remember that prior to the printing press [which was invented by Johannes Gutenberg around the 1450s], every copy of Scripture was made [painstakingly] by hand, and all hand-copied documents of substantial length of the same document [naturally] differ from one another.  No two handwritten NT manuscripts of any NT book or group of books are identical.  But we have every reason to believe that every original reading has survived in some manuscripts.  That is why textual critics study as many manuscripts as possible. [emphasis mine]

 

Please don’t miss that last point.  The fact that the original, God-breathed reading/wording of the New Testament has survived and been divinely preserved down through the ages in the superabundance of ancient NT manuscripts available to us, in spite of the fact that we no longer have the original material documents (i.e., papyri) on which the Apostles and their close associates originally penned the New Testament, is absolutely imperative for all Christians and Bible readers to understand.  Dr. James R. White explains this well (emphasis his):

The whole point of the “tenacity” of the New Testament text, however, is that the original readings still exist, faithfully preserved in the New Testament manuscript tradition. . . . [Some critics ridicule] the idea that we can determine what words Paul [for example] wrote originally, and [they object to this idea] solely on the basis that with a small percentage of those words, we have textual variation, ignoring the entire fact of the [predominant] purity of the New Testament text, and the fact that in the vast majority of the writings of Paul (or any other writer of Scripture), we can determine exactly what was originally written [and why is that?] because there are NO textual variants to hinder us from doing so [in most cases]!  One example of this:  At Colossians 2:9, Paul wrote that all the fullness of “deity” dwells in Jesus Christ in bodily form. . . . There are no textual variants regarding this passage.  [What this means is that] we can be certain that when Paul wrote to the Colossians, he used this very term [i.e., the Greek term for “deity”]. —The King James Only Controversy, 124–125

Conclusion:  At the end of the day, if we’re going to doubt the reliability of the New Testament, then, to be consistent and fair, we ought to doubt everything we think we know about ancient history; and if we’re going to repudiate the textual authenticity of the NT, then we ought also to reject every piece of historical information for which the original source writings (i.e., autographs) are no longer available.  

 

Recommended Resources

1) The New Testament Documents: Are They Reliable? by F.F. Bruce

2) The King James Only Controversy by Dr. James R. White

3) Textual Criticism by Dr. Daniel Wallace

[Note:  This highly recommended 35-lecture course is often made available for free in digital video format by the generous folks at Credo House.  Subscribe to their e-mails, and they’ll notify you when these course files (and many others) are available for free download.  The only major point of disagreement I have with Dr. Wallace is with regard to his perplexing recommendations for modern English Bibles.  (FYI, he heavily promotes the NET Bible because he was one of its principal translators, and he criticizes some of the best Bibles available because he thinks they are “slavishly literal,” and this is because he prefers a translation methodology that results in a “more readable” text.)  Just ignore that particular lecture in the series and follow this advice instead:

For serious Bible study that will help you get as close as possible to the wording of the original God-breathed autographs, I strongly recommend using a combination of the 1995 (or 1977) New American Standard Bible (NASB) and/or the Legacy Standard Bible (LSB), which are the most literal and accurate word-for-word English translations of the Bible currently in print, along with the New King James Version (NKJV), the original Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB), and the English Standard Version (ESV), and then supplement those with the 1984 or 1978 New International Version (NIV) and the New Living Translation (NLT).  You honestly cannot go wrong with that approach! 

That said, if you only have the time or desk space to compare two different Bibles, then my advice would be to use the 1995 New American Standard Bible (note:  make sure you get a copy that contains the complete translators’ notes in the margins instead of the abridged notes) and the New King James Version.  Textually speaking, this will give you the best of “both worlds,“ meaning that you will be able to compare the most literal and readable English translation based upon the earliest Old and New Testament manuscripts yet discovered (e.g., the Alexandrian text-type of NT manuscripts, most of which date before A.D. 300) and the most literal and readable English translation based upon the much later Byzantine text-type of NT manuscripts (i.e., dated between A.D. 1100 – 1300).  This will give you a very good idea of the major variant readings that exist among/between the different manuscript textual families, and you will be amazed at how few disagreements there actually are and also how inconsequential those discrepancies are in terms of Christian doctrine!]

4) I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist by Drs. Norman Geisler and Frank Turek

5) Various Apologetics Videos on the Bible’s Reliability and More by Dr. Josh McDowell

Bible Study Tips

Last revised on 4-25-24

 

Hermeneutics [her-muh-NEW-tix] – the science of interpreting documents; a hermeneutic (sing.) is a set of guidelines and procedures for deriving meaning from any document; used of the Bible student’s system of approaching the Bible to understand it  —Paul S. Karleen, The Handbook to Bible Study

 

Let’s face it:  Reading the Bible (especially if you’re using an archaic translation written in, say, Elizabethan English) is not exactly as easy as reading a Dr. Seuss book — nor should anyone expect it to be.  After all, we’re talking about a one-of-a-kind compilation of 66 books written in a variety of literary genres by 40 different authors in three different languages (before being translated into English, of course) over the span of 1,540 years (give or take a few) — AND which writings claim to be the very God-breathed Self-revelation of the Creator Himself in written form.  A “book” with those credentials should make any reasonable person tremble with the utmost awe and reverence!  And indeed, the Lord has told us that such a response is precisely what He desires:

“But to this one I will look:  to him who is humble and contrite of spirit and who trembles at My word.” —Isaiah 66:2b (emphasis mine)

 

Accordingly, as a basic prerequisite to reading the Bible or even listening to the Bible being read, one should always approach the sacred Scriptures with a spirit of humility and an appropriate posture of reverence. 

Moreover, it is equally essential to pray before and/or during Bible reading.  Why do I say this?  Again, Scripture explains the reason: 

“But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.” —1 Corinthians 2:14 (emphasis mine)

 

Here’s what this means:  The natural, unregenerate (i.e., spiritually dead and lost) person cannot properly understand the written Word of God or fully obey its precepts, because he has not been made alive spiritually and indwelt by the Spirit of God (Holy Spirit).  The Christian, however, is indwelt by the Spirit of God and, therefore, has a personal Helper and Teacher (cf. John 14:16-17) who provides continual assurance not only of the believer’s salvation but also that the words of Scripture are true and that they in fact emanated from the very mind of Yahweh, the one true God, rather than being the product of mere human invention (cf. Romans 8:12-16 and 2 Peter 1:16-21).  In sum, the Holy Spirit illuminates the Bible, enables us to understand and apply its spiritual/supernatural truths, and works the Word of God into believers’ lives to conform us to the likeness of Christ (i.e., sanctification).       

Realizing how utterly dependent I am on God’s Spirit to enlighten my mind, to protect me from error (and distractions, misunderstandings, etc.), and to help me rightly interpret and accurately comprehend the thoughts of God as revealed in Scripture, prior to opening God’s Word, I often pray a prayer that includes several verses from the magnificent 119th Psalm, especially these:

“My flesh trembles for fear of You, and I am afraid of Your judgments.” —Psalm 119:120

“Open my eyes so that I may behold wonderful things from Your law!” —Psalm 119:18

“Teach me, O Yahweh, the way of Your statutes, and I shall observe it to the end. . . . Give me understanding in order that I may observe Your law and keep it with all my heart.” —Psalm 119:33–34

“Blessed are You, O Yahweh;
Teach me Your statutes!” —Psalm 119:12

“The unfolding of Your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple.” —Psalm 119:130

“Your testimonies are righteous forever;
Give me understanding in order that I may live!” —Psalm 119:144

 

Clearly, without God’s help, no one can truly understand the Bible or rightly apply it to one’s life.  At the same time, however, that does not mean that we can just pray and expect God to teach us everything there is to know about His Word without our putting forth any effort to learn, meditate on, memorize, and obey the teachings of Scripture!  On the contrary, the Lord commands each of us to “be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth [i.e., the Bible].”  Assuredly, each of us is personally responsible for diligently studying and obeying the Bible; God is not going to study (or obey) it for us!

With all that having been said, there are certain tools/study helps a student of Scripture would do well to keep handy in order to get the most out of Bible study and to help clarify unfamiliar terms, confusing passages, and/or apparent contradictions in the text of Scripture.  For example, it is often necessary to consult a concordance (e.g., Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible) and/or a lexicon (e.g., any of the free dictionaries Bible Gateway generously provides) to learn the original Hebrew, Aramaic, or Greek words on which our English translations of the Bible are based. 

Additionally, keeping a number of reputable commentaries (e.g., The Bible Knowledge Commentary, or take your pick from some free electronic ones) and study Bibles (e.g., the Wiersbe Study Bible) handy for quick reference will help deepen and sharpen one’s understanding of God’s Word.  (Better yet, if you’d like to have all of these resources and much, much more conveniently available in one place and accessible at the tap of a finger or the click of a mouse, check out the remarkable Logos Bible app and software!)

Nevertheless, as helpful as these hermeneutical aids can be, THE most fundamental and indispensable Bible study principle one can learn is this: 

** NEVER read the Bible out of context! **

Context Is Everything

In order to read the Bible responsibly and interpret its contents correctly, we first need to understand how language works.

In all forms of communication, regardless of the medium, the old saying holds true:  “Context is king.”  Since words are not univocal but equivocal (i.e., a given word can have numerous definitions/meanings, depending on how, when, and why the term is being used), there are many times when one must explore the circumstances, ideas, or themes surrounding a word or phrase in order to ascertain which sense or meaning the author had in mind when using that particular word or phrase.

[FYI:  On that last point, keep in mind that the meaning of a message always flows from the author of the information to the recipient of the information — never the other way around.  In other words, the individual or group who reads or hears a message does not get to determine the meaning of the message.  Rather, the author always determines the meaning of his own communication.  Postmodern deconstructionists believe the exact opposite, but they are wrong — very, very wrong!]   

One of the surest ways to misinterpret — and, consequently, misapply — the Bible is to read a verse or passage of Scripture in isolation while disregarding the flow of thought in the verses, paragraphs, chapters, or books that precede or follow the isolated text, because it is this flow of thought that usually provides essential clarification to the meaning of the text. 

[Note:  The practice of plucking verses of Scripture out of context is often called “Bible Dipping” or, to get technical, “decontextualizing.”  Unfortunately, most daily devotionals, even those by trusted Christian authors, do this very thing and inadvertently encourage bad Bible study habits.] 

Bear in mind that a text without a context is merely a pretext.  Accordingly, if we’re going to read the Bible for all its worth and rightly interpret — as well as accurately apply — God’s Word to our lives, it is imperative that we pay close attention to context.  

[For more on this crucial discipline, please read the article “Never Read a Bible Verse.”]

A multitude of biblical misinterpretations and false teachings could be resolved or avoided if Bible readers would get in the habit of applying this simple principle.  The beauty of this is that anyone can do it!

“There is nothing tricky about the process.  No advanced degrees are necessary, and no knowledge of Greek is required.  All that’s needed is a little care.  Look closely, read thoughtfully, compare with other relevant passages, then collect your data and see what you’ve uncovered.” —Greg Koukl

 

Moreover, it is equally vital to understand that the Bible, which is a collection of 66 different books of literature, naturally consists of various literary genres (e.g., didactic epistles, historical narratives, poetry, prophecy, etc.) and figures of speech (e.g., hyperbole, idioms, metaphors, parables, similes, etc.) that must be interpreted according to particular literary guidelines/rules. 

For instance, Leviticus is a legal brief on the Mosaic Law, while Revelation is a prophetic letter rich with symbolism and apocalyptic imagery.  Thus, we shouldn’t read those two books in the same way.  Likewise, a parable is metaphorical in nature and should not be interpreted in a wooden, literalistic sense.  On the other hand, the theological and ethical teachings found in 1 Corinthians and James, for instance, must be taken at face value lest one risk disobeying the moral will of God and/or misunderstand an essential doctrine of Christianity (e.g., the physical/bodily resurrection of Christ as discussed in 1 Corinthians 15).

To be sure, we need to be mindful and appreciative of the diverse literary elements featured in the Bible and know how and when to distinguish between literal and figurative language.   

Most of the time, the plain, ordinary, “literal” reading of Scripture is the safest way to interpret the Bible.  If, however, a literal reading of a biblical text produces a meaning that is absurd or, more significantly, outright contradicts another passage or clear doctrine of Scripture, that would be a very good indication that the writing in question was meant to be understood in some other sense.  As Dr. Norman Geisler once quipped on The John Ankerberg Show, “If the literal sense makes good sense, seek no other sense, lest it result in nonsense!”

Let’s quickly look at one easy example from the New Testament to see this principle in action.

When Jesus says in John 6:35, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst,” are we to interpret those words to mean that Jesus’ body was composed of flour and yeast — that our Savior is literally a walking, talking loaf of bread?

And, when He further declared, “This is the bread which came down out of heaven; not as the fathers ate and died; he who eats this bread will live forever” (John 6:58), was Jesus teaching cannibalism?  Did He intend for His disciples literally to start gnawing on His arm and to consume His physical flesh in order to inherit eternal life?  (Eww!)

Of course not!  Shortly before the Lord made these comments, He had miraculously fed more than 5,000 people with only five loaves of bread and two fish.  And many of these same people had come looking for Jesus not because they wanted to follow Him or hear more of His teaching, but so that they could get another “free meal,” as it were.  Accordingly, Jesus rebuked them, saying, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled.  Do not work for the food which perishes [i.e., physical food—the stuff of this world], but for the food which endures to eternal life [i.e., spiritual food—the stuff of heaven], which the Son of Man will give to you, for on Him the Father, God, has set His seal” (John 6:26–27).

Jesus then went on to explain to the crowd that He left heaven and came to Earth to give spiritual/eternal life to sinners:  “Truly, truly, I say to you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread out of heaven, but it is My Father who gives you the true bread out of heaven.  For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven and gives life to the world” (John 6:32–33).  

In the context of the sixth chapter of John’s Gospel, the word bread is being used as a metonym.  Metonymy entails using a related or associated attribute, characteristic, or behavior of a person, place, or thing as a substitute for the specific name of that person, place, or thing.  For example, because of its close association with filmmaking, the word “Hollywood” is often used as a metonym to refer to the movie industry at large.  Likewise, business executives are sometimes referred to as “suits,” because they typically wear suits.  The words “crown,” “scepter,” and “throne” are also metonymically used to refer to the kingship or the ruling power and authority residing in a monarchy form of government, because a king/monarch, at least in ancient times, typically wore a crown, carried a scepter, and sat upon a throne.  Thus, the figurative phrase “wielding the scepter,” for example, is often used in place of the literal phrase “exercising power” or “governing with supreme command.”      

Similarly, the word “bread” is closely associated with life-sustaining nourishment and life itself and, therefore, can be used metonymically to refer to that which is necessary, life-giving, and sustaining.  Thus, in referring to Himself as “bread,” Jesus is emphasizing that He is the sole and necessary Source of man’s life, provision, and sustenance, both physically and spiritually, yet Jesus’ emphasis in John 6 is on the spiritual.

The main point in this exchange is that spiritual life or “bread” is something only God can give to a person.  Jesus, of course, is God in human flesh—the sinless Savior who perfectly kept His Father’s commands and voluntarily offered His life as the perfect sacrifice God required to satisfy His holy wrath against sin and to rescue everyone who puts their trust in Christ alone for salvation.  Apart from Jesus, then, there can be no reconciliation between sinful humans and holy God.  Indeed, none but Christ—the “Bread of Life,” the “True Bread out of Heaven,” and the “Bread of God”—can offer life-giving, soul-resurrecting heavenly manna (i.e., eternal spiritual life/salvation) to spiritually dead, morally famished sinners.

More could be said about this passage, but the main point I want to get across here is that a wooden, literalistic interpretation of Jesus’ metaphorical titles (e.g., “Bread of Life,” “Door of the Sheep,” “Light of the World,” “Lion of Judah,” etc.) would result in an preposterous misunderstanding of God’s intended meaning.

Key Idea:  In one sense, we should approach sacred Scripture like no other writing (or collection of writings) in human history, because it is the very Self-revelation of the living God in written form and, therefore, deserves our utmost reverence, trust, and obedience. 

On the other hand, since God graciously condescended to reveal Himself to humanity using language we could understand and by using human writers whom He graciously allowed to use their own writing styles, the Bible should be interpreted the same way we read any other written communication (e.g., personal correspondence, magazines, newspapers, novels, encyclopedias, and so forth).  In other words, we should read the Bible in the way in which it was actually written—that is, according to its literature or its literary forms, genres, techniques, and grammatical features, each of which is governed by specific rules of interpretation. 

Remember that this is the way ALL written communication should be read if correct and rational understanding of an author’s intended meaning is our goal—and it better be!

 

Never Ask Yourself, “What Does This Verse Mean to Me?”

Some additional words of caution are in order here.  Never, ever ask yourself, “What does this verse/passage/teaching mean to me?” 

That’s the wrong question, because it relativizes the text and lets the reader decide what the Bible means.  The right question is, “What did this verse/passage/teaching mean to its author, and how was it understood by its original readers or hearers?”  More specifically, what message has God, the ultimate Author of all Scripture, intended for all people to understand when reading His Word? 

As Dr. R.C. Sproul used to teach, the first principle of biblical interpretation, with the exception of certain Bible prophecies that feature a dual fulfillment (e.g., Messianic prophecies such as Isaiah 7:14, which often feature both a near fulfillment and a remote fulfillment), is that there is only one correct meaning of any biblical text (i.e., not 7 billion different meanings — one per each person on Earth!).  Thus, if your interpretation of a passage of Scripture and my interpretation of that same passage conflict, then at least one of us has the wrong interpretation.  Of course, it’s possible for both of us to have the wrong interpretation, but we cannot both be right if our interpretations contradict each other.  

Let me give you a simple example.  In John 14:6, Jesus said, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life; no one comes to the Father except through Me.”  Now, my interpretation of that verse is that Jesus is plainly saying that He is the exclusive, solitary way for human beings to be reconciled to God the Father—the only possible means of salvation and forgiveness.  In other words, if anyone does not turn to Christ alone in repentance and faith, then that person will spend eternity separated from God in hell.  I am completely confident that this is the correct meaning of that biblical text because it matches everything else Jesus and His apostles taught about Christ and the “narrow way” or exclusivity of the Gospel message. 

But now suppose that another person comes along and says, “Well, to me, I think Jesus was saying that it’s important to believe in Him as a great moral example, but I don’t think He ever meant that it’s absolutely necessary for everyone to trust in Him or follow Him exclusively.  I’m a practicing Hindu, and I think God will still let me into heaven because I am a pretty good person and sincerely believe in God as I understand him.  I try to live a moral life, and I also think that Jesus was probably the best person who ever lived, but I don’t think He’s the only way to God.  I think a lot of Christians misunderstand His teachings.”  

Obviously, these two interpretations of John 14:6 are mutually incompatible (i.e., “Jesus is the only way to God/heaven” versus “Jesus is NOT the only way to God/heaven”), which is to say that they contradict each other and, therefore, cannot both be correct interpretations.  So, how do we find out which interpretation of Jesus’ words is the one that Jesus actually meant to convey?  The only way to do this is to study the Scriptures carefully and to follow the guidelines of sound biblical hermeneutics.         

 

Don’t Confuse Application with Meaning

This brings to light another mistake that is easy to make concerning the Bible:  confusing the application of Scripture with the meaning of Scripture.  To reiterate, while there may be a multitude of ways to apply a specific principle or teaching of Scripture, there is only one correct meaning of any biblical text (not counting prophecies that feature a dual fulfillment, but even with those, the near fulfillment of the prophecy has only one correct meaning, and the remote fulfillment of the prophecy has only one correct meaning), and a text’s meaning never changes because God, who ultimately authored every book of the Bible, is changeless.  In other words, whatever the Bible meant to the Apostles and the inaugural Church is exactly what it meant to Christians in the Middle Ages and the Reformation era, and what it still means to Christians living in the 21st century.  Just because we may be able to apply a scriptural principle in a variety of different circumstances, however, does not mean that the biblical text is open to a variety of interpretations or multiple meanings.  That is an error in logic.  

[Note:  Of course, as a Christian matures spiritually through a faithful, obedient relationship with Christ, his/her knowledge and comprehension of a biblical text should develop and expand.  In addition, he/she will likely learn how to employ biblical precepts in a host of situations.  This is a normal part of the sanctifying and illuminating work of the Holy Spirit in a Christian’s life.  And, yes, as we grow closer to the Lord and study the Bible more carefully, the Holy Spirit gives believers “fresh insights” into well-known Bible passages.  However, notice what has changed or, to be more specific, improved:  the reader’s understanding or comprehension of the text, not the meaning of the text itself.]

Furthermore, it’s important to point out that, even though God may teach us how to apply a biblical principle to our lives in different ways, not every application of Scripture is legitimate.  (Remember, misinterpretation invariably results in misapplication.)

Consider the following lesson and advice I received from my pastor:

“Here’s the rub:  Even the term application can be misused.  Since there are multiple applications, there can be a real temptation to get careless and extend the application far beyond legitimate applications.  For instance, I heard one preacher tell a boy to follow the battle of Jericho and march seven times around a girl.  By doing so, her resistance would ‘fall down,’ and she would be in love with him.  An application?  Yes.  Legitimate?  No way!  This is where things get dicey.  You must keep the application true to the original intent [of the author].  For instance, as I have been considering how Jesus applied the Word [i.e., Deuteronomy] at His first temptation [cf. Matthew 4 and Luke 4], there was legitimate application.  If He had missed the application, He would have sinned!  This is why we must immerse ourselves in the Word, so that we can use it as the Sword of the Spirit.” —Dr. Peter Youmans

 

These are excellent points.  If we misunderstand the Author’s original intent or, to be even clearer, God’s intended meaning of His own thoughts, then we will never know how to obey or apply His Word accurately to our lives and will be incapable of using the Bible as the Sword of the Spirit, which is the single most important spiritual weapon in the Christian’s arsenal.  One might even say that if we misapply Scripture (such as the misguided preacher did in my pastor’s anecdote above), the Bible becomes as impotent and useless in spiritual warfare as a plastic butter knife!  Worse, when the Bible is either misinterpreted or misapplied, it loses its divine power to convict, convert, counsel, and comfort human hearts. 

 

Don’t Expect to Find Hidden Meanings or Secret Codes in the Bible

This is also why we need to beware of allegorizing Scripture or expecting to uncover hidden layers of meaning, secret codes, or prophetic symbols lurking behind every verse.  If we approach the biblical text in this occultic way, we can manipulate the Bible to make it say literally anything we desire, and many people down through the centuries have done exactly that, to their own peril. 

Make no mistake about it:  The God of the Bible does not hide secret, esoteric messages in His Word that only specially gifted initiates have the ability to decode.  Far from concealing divine truth from us, the Bible was intended to reveal the very mind/thoughts of God to all who read it carefully and responsibly. 

As one person phrased it, “God’s Word can never mean today what it never meant originally.”  I believe that accords with the point I have been emphasizing.  Before we can understand how to apply Scripture to our lives as God (the Author) intends, we must first understand the information God communicated to the men He selected and inspired to record His special revelation.  And to accomplish this, we must figure out what those original recipients of His Word understood God to mean when He revealed to them the words and ideas He inspired them to write down, which is a task that can sometimes require hard work from the Bible student.  

Much of the time, though, if we will simply pay close attention to the literary form and historical context of a passage and compare what we’re reading with other relevant portions of Scripture (i.e., cross-referencing), the Author’s intended meaning will emerge with crystal clarity. 

 

Beware of Allowing Subjective Experiences, Personal Feelings, or Extra-Biblical Revelation to Influence Your Interpretation of Scripture

Furthermore, if someone ever says to you, “God spoke to me about you and told me to tell you . . .,” or if you think you’ve heard God “speak” to you and give you a personal command, be very leery and extremely careful.  Beware also of the popular, but dangerous, notion that God “whispers” or sends private, personalized directions to individuals, especially if no Christian down through the ages has ever held the belief in question or, more alarmingly, if a known false teacher espouses that belief!

[Note:  I strongly recommend Greg Koukl’s insightful three-part PDF series on this subject, which is titled “Does God Whisper?”:  Part 1, Part 2, Part 3.]

Always remember that the human heart/mind is deceitful above all else (cf. Jeremiah 17:9), and never forget that we have an ancient foe who is always trying to deceive God’s people (cf. John 8:44, 1 Peter 5:8, 1 John 4:1–3, and Revelation 12:9).  For these reasons, it is imperative that we follow the example of the noble-minded Bereans (cf. Acts 17:10–11) and compare our personal feelings and experiences, as well as all allegedly “divine” messages and extra-biblical revelation (i.e., information derived from outside of the written Word of God), with what the Bible says. 

Simply put, if any message ever compromises, conflicts with, confuses, or contradicts the clear teachings of holy Scripture, you can rest assured that the God of the Bible is not the source of that message.  [Note:  Satan, the father of lies, is ultimately behind any idea or claim that opposes God and distorts or denies His Word.]  As Christian apologist Frank Turek often reminds his audiences, “The will of God will never contradict the Word of God [and vice versa].”

Once again, the truthfulness or falseness of any subjective, private experience can be determined only by evaluating/testing that experience in the light of the Bible — the objective, eternal standard of unchanging, God-breathed truth.  Bear in mind, too, that the LORD has not given new revelation or prophecy to anyone since the end of the first century A.D. and the closing of the biblical canon.  The 66 canonical books of Scripture (i.e., Genesis through Revelation) constitute the all-sufficient Word of God for all Christians for all times (cf. Deuteronomy 4:2 & 12:32, Proverbs 30:6, 2 Timothy 3:14-17, and Revelation 22:18-19).  

“The brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews.  Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they [i.e., the Bereans] received the [spoken] word with great eagerness, examining the [written] Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so” (Acts 17:10–11).

 

The Importance of Asking Questions When Reading the Bible

To recap, our goal in interpreting Scripture, as with any type of communication, should always be to determine the author’s intent for communicating his message.  (That’s called exegesis — deriving the author’s meaning out of the text.)  Remember, if we misunderstand God’s intended message in His written Word, then it’s not the inspired Word of God we’re believing at that point, but the uninspired word of someone else.  By asking certain questions about the text and carefully following a biblical author’s flow of thought, however, we can avoid reading our own presuppositions (i.e., assumptions that may be true, partially true, or entirely false) and preconceived theology and biases (which we all have) into the text.  (That’s called eisegesis — reading our own ideas into the text). 

The simplest way to determine the grammatical-historical context of any book or passage of Scripture and to steer clear of common interpretive pitfalls is to develop the healthy habit of asking investigative questions while studying the Bible. 

[Note:  Good study Bibles, which feature informative book introductions, and nifty Bible reference “handbooks” have already answered most of these questions for you.  For the latter, I personally use and highly recommend the Holman Bible Handbook.] 

Here are some examples:

• • • Is this book part of the Old Covenant or the New Covenant?

• • • Who is the author of this book or epistle/letter?

• • • Why is he writing?  (What’s the occasion or purpose that prompted him to write this?)

• • • To whom is the author writing?  (Who was the original audience?)

• • • Where is he writing from, and where is his audience located?

• • • When was this book or epistle/letter written?

• • • What type or genre of literature is this?

• • • Is the text prescriptive (i.e., instructing or commanding modern readers to do something) or descriptive (i.e., merely describing what a person did in history, though not requiring us to repeat or imitate their behavior)?

• • • What were the historical, social, political, religious, and moral circumstances surrounding this writing?  (What was going on in the culture or the local church congregation at the time of writing?)

• • • How might this text apply to the body of Christ today, and how should I apply it to my personal life as a follower of Christ in the 21st century?

To help readers remember to stop and ask the right questions before reading a passage of Scripture, Dr. Frank Turek created the nifty acrostic S-T-O-P:

 

S – Section of the Bible?  (Old Testament or New Testament?)

T – Type of literature?  (Historical narrative, legal text, poetry, prophecy, didactic epistle, etc.?)

O – Object and Occasion?  (Who or what topic is being addressed, and why?)

P – Prescriptive or descriptive?  (In other words, is the inspired author communicating that God is prescribing/ordering the modern reader to obey a particular command, or is the author merely describing what certain individuals did under certain circumstances in biblical times?)

 

Remember the story I shared earlier about the preacher who once instructed a young man to go all “Walls of Jericho” on his love interest?  Well, prior to advising the impressionable lad to “march around the girl seven times,” that preacher probably would have saved the poor boy a great deal of embarrassment and heartache if only he had “stopped” and asked the ‘P’ question:  “Is God’s direct command to Joshua [or anyone else in the Old Testament] intended to be a prescription/injunction for Christians living today; and, if so, can it be applied to persons as well as to fortified structures, or is this text merely describing an event that happened in Church history that tells us something about the character and power of God, the man Joshua, and the nation of Israel?”

Clearly, not everything in Scripture is a direct personal command to all people!  As Christian apologist Greg Koukl puts it, “Just because a biblical command is intended to be understood literally does not mean it is intended to be applied laterally — that is, universally, across the board, to all peoples at all times in all places.” [emphasis mine]

To illustrate this point, Koukl uses the following amusing example from the Gospel of Luke:

“Consider this situation.  Jesus told Peter to cast his net in deep water (Luke 5:4).  That’s exactly what Peter did because he took Jesus’ command literally, in its ordinary sense.  He had no reason to think otherwise.  However, [just] because Jesus’ command to Peter was literal does not mean the same command applies laterally to everyone else.  We’re not obliged to cast nets into deep water just because Peter was.” [emphasis mine]

 

What Is Therefore There For?

Another helpful Bible study tip to remember is this:  Whenever you see the word therefore in Scripture, ask yourself, “What is that word there for?”  In English grammar, this term is categorized as a conjunctive adverb, which, when used properly, provides a smooth transition from an argument to a concluding point that follows from the preceding ideas. 

The term therefore literally means “for that reason,” so I find it helpful mentally to substitute that phrase every time I come across the word therefore in my reading.  Let me give you an example:

“Therefore [For that reason], there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1).

 

When you spot the word therefore, your natural inclination should be to ask, “For what reason?” or, in this specific example, “For what reason is there now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus?”  To answer that question, you’re going to have to back up and read the argument that Paul builds through the first seven chapters (yes, chapters) of Romans to determine the apostle’s underlying reasons for arriving at his conclusion in Romans 8:1.

 

Don’t Lose Sight of the Big Picture: Jesus Christ Is the Star of the Scriptures

Finally, in the words of a well-known maxim, “The New Testament is in the Old Testament concealed, and the Old Testament is in the New Testament revealed.”

Always keep in mind that the whole counsel of God’s Word—all 66 books—point to the Person and redeeming work of Jesus Christ and progressively reveal God’s plan of redemption/salvation from cover to cover.  In the end, then, the best way to study the Bible is to allow Scripture, all of which is God-breathed (2 Timothy 3:16-17), to interpret itself.  (The OT book of Leviticus, for example, cannot be rightly understood apart from the NT book of Hebrews, which conveniently and gloriously serves as a divinely inspired commentary on the Old Covenant sacrificial system and priesthood, both of which were ultimately and perfectly fulfilled by Jesus Christ.)

[Note:  For more on the supernatural relationship between the Old and New Testaments, read this brief article.]

One of the major reasons we misunderstand the Bible is that we approach it with “tunnel vision”—that is, when reading a given passage of Scripture, we frequently fail to consider the overarching “big picture” of the Word of God and its central story of redemption that I talked about above.  On this point, I cannot speak highly enough about an extraordinary Bible I’ve been using and giving away as a gift for the past few years:  Reading God’s Story: A Chronological Daily Bible.  For one, this Bible arranges the biblical text chronologically—that is, in the order in which most historians and Bible scholars believe the recorded events actually happened in history.  I can’t overstate how beneficial it is to study Scripture in this way, as it considerably helps the reader to avoid taking the Bible out of context—a mistake that always results in misunderstanding and misapplying God’s (the Author’s) intended message to us.  

The way the books of Scripture are traditionally arranged in English Bibles is pretty confusing because the books are chronologically out of order.  They are typically arranged according to literary genre (historical narratives, poetry/wisdom books, prophetic writings, etc.), which has its benefits, but if you try to read the Bible straight through with that arrangement, things get really confusing in a hurry.  

Reading God’s Story was designed to remedy that problem, and it succeeds beautifully.  If you read this Bible exactly as it is laid out (this is a must!), you won’t be skipping all over the place or hopping back and forth between the Old and New Testaments, various time periods, events, and covenants, which only results in confusion.  Instead, things that didn’t make sense before will suddenly become clear as you witness the progressive revelation of God’s glorious drama unfold in a systematic, linear sequence, much as the original hearers/readers did.  (In my opinion, this is precisely how the Creator intended for His Word to be read.)  

In Reading God’s Story, you will see, for example, the Psalms David wrote while he was on the run from King Saul positioned within the book of 1 Samuel where the account of Saul’s persecution of David is recorded.  This is immensely helpful in making sense of the strong emotions David conveys in those particular Psalms, because it explains the precise events and circumstances that prompted him to write them.  In other words, with this Bible, you won’t be asking yourself with brow furrowed, “Why was David so upset here?” or “What is he complaining about?”  That’s just one of countless examples of the advantages of reading the Bible chronologically.

Perhaps the most remarkable distinctive about Reading God’s Story, though, is that it cleverly and powerfully presents the Bible as God’s Grand Story of Reality—that is, the history (“His Story”!) of divine redemption—and divides the narrative into 3 memorable Acts and 17 Scenes, as if you’re watching a play or a movie.  This approach, perhaps more than any other, will open your eyes to see that Jesus Christ is the central character or “star” of the entire Bible, from Genesis through Revelation.  It will also help you see that God, the Author, has graciously and masterfully created a unique role/part for you and me to play in His Divine Drama.

Finally, there’s a built-in, one-year reading plan with check boxes you mark when you finish each day’s reading, and there are helpful introductions and reading summaries at the end of each week that remind you where you are in His Story.  To get the most out of this Bible, though, I strongly recommend consulting the Holman Bible Handbook before you begin reading a new book of Scripture so you can get an excellent overview and summary of the book, including its historical, cultural, and theological context.  Furthermore, Stand to Reason’s outstanding DVD teaching series on the Old Testament, titled The Bible: Fast Forward, and Greg Koukl’s wonderful The Story of Reality serve as perfect companion pieces to Reading God’s Story, even though the authors, to my knowledge, don’t even know each other.  (I smell providence!)

 

The Plain Things Are the Main Things

I will leave you with these parting words of practical hermeneutical advice from Dr. Norman Geisler:

“[When reading the Bible], don’t worry about all the little details.  Scholars will argue from now until Doomsday what the seven thunders uttered, who the rider on the red horse and the white horse is, which end of the Tribulation we’re coming out of, [etc.].  Don’t worry about those things. . . .  You can’t read the Bible and understand what the author meant and not come to a conclusion there’s a God, miracles are possible, Jesus is the Son of God, Jesus died on a cross, Jesus rose from the dead, Jesus is coming again.  Okay.  So, the fundamentals are all there if we just keep this principle in mind:  The main things are the plain things, and the plain things are the main things.  [Put another way, the clearest teachings in the Bible are the most important teachings of Christianity.]

“The second part of that principle is that, if it’s not a main thing, it’s probably not a plain thing.  But don’t worry about it.  As Mark Twain said, ‘It’s not the part of the Bible I don’t understand that bothers me the most; it’s the part I do understand that bothers me the most.’  So, get hung up on the main things and the plain things [i.e., the essential doctrines of Christianity].” [emphasis mine]

 

Afterword: A Note About Bible Translations

Concerning Bible translations, your safest bet for serious study of the Scriptures is to use a combined “arsenal” of the most literal, word-for-word, modern English translations, which would be the 1995 (or 1977) version of the New American Standard Bible (NASB), the newly released Legacy Standard Bible (a slightly revised “special edition” of the NASB translated by a team of scholars from The Master’s Seminary in an effort to preserve the word-for-word translation legacy of the NASB and to make it even more literal in places), the New King James Version (NKJV), and the original Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB).  That would be my order of preference for word-for-word
(or “formal equivalence”) translations. 

[Note:  The English Standard Version (ESV) isn’t a bad translation either, but it’s not as faithful to the original biblical languages as the translations mentioned above.  Moreover, the ESV translators neglected to capitalize divine pronouns, and that drives me crazy.  😉  However, that’s a matter of personal preference.]

Additionally, the pre-2011 (i.e., the 1984 and 1978 editions) of the New International Version (NIV) and the New Living Translation (NLT), while “looser” and more “thought-for-thought” translations, are also enjoyable and easy to read, and they can be quite helpful in simplifying and clarifying some of the more ambiguous readings found in the more literal English translations of the Bible.  The NLT also makes for an excellent choice for young children. 

To get the most out of the Bible, I recommend studying and comparing the word-for-word translations mentioned above and supplementing your study with the NLT and one of the older editions of the NIV, or simply when greater clarity is needed for a particular verse or passage.  You really can’t go wrong with that approach!  

That said, if you only have the time or desk space to compare two different Bibles, then my advice would be to use either the 1977 or 1995 edition of the New American Standard Bible (read:  make sure you get a copy that contains the complete translators’ notes in the margins instead of the abridged notes, which can be a challenge) and the New King James Version.  Textually speaking, these two translations will give you the best of “both worlds,“ meaning that you will be able to compare the most literal and readable English Bible based upon the “Critical” (a.k.a. “Eclectic”) Greek New Testament, which is based upon more than 5,000 NT MSS, including the earliest manuscripts yet discovered (e.g., the Alexandrian text-type of NT manuscripts and codices, most of which are dated before A.D. 400) and the most literal and readable English Bible based upon the “Textus Receptus” Greek New Testament, which almost exclusively comprises a small number of very late Byzantine-type NT manuscripts (i.e., dated between A.D. 1100 – 1300).  Doing this will give you a very good idea as to the variant readings that exist among/between the different biblical manuscript textual “families,” and you will be amazed at how few disagreements actually exist and also how inconsequential those discrepancies are in terms of Christian doctrine!

[Note: The earliest New Testament manuscripts are all of the “Alexandrian” text-type, meaning that they were discovered in or near the area of Alexandria, Egypt.  The “Critical” or “Eclectic” NT Greek base text, which serves as the foundation of nearly all English Bible translations post-1945, beginning with the RSV (first published in 1946), makes use not only of the most reliable Alexandrian majuscule papyri manuscripts and codices (i.e., Vaticanus, Sinaiticus, and Alexandrinus) but also the “Western,” “Caesarean,” and “Byzantine” text-types of manuscripts.  Older English Bibles, such as the beloved King James Version (1611), did not have access to these invaluable MSS and were based exclusively on a dozen or less of the much later Byzantine-type New Testament manuscripts, which are dated between 1100 and 1300 A.D.  (Incredibly, the translators of the New King James Version, which was released in 1982, had access to these magnificent and much earlier MSS, but they chose instead to follow the outdated Textus Receptus Greek base text.  Still, the textual differences between the various Greek New Testaments that translators use today are mostly insignificant and doctrinally inconsequential.]

WARNING:  Certain Bible translations and paraphrases are very dangerous and should be avoided at all costs.  The most notorious example of these would be the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ New World Translation (NWT), which is a heavily biased corruption of the Bible that forces the Watchtower Society’s heretical doctrines into the biblical text. 

Also, in spite of its popularity, Eugene Peterson’s The Message, which is one man’s paraphrase of Scripture (not to be confused with an actual translation), is fraught with theological problems and actually compromises some essential Christian teachings.  (For example, Peterson essentially erased every prohibition against homosexuality found in the New Testament, and some of his paraphrasing even erases or at least diminishes the deity of Christ in certain passages, among other egregious errors.)  To learn more, read Justin Peters’ brief critique here. 

The deceptively named Passion Translation may be even more pernicious than The Message.  In reality, this book doesn’t even qualify to be called a “paraphrase” (or re-wording) of the Scriptures, much less a new English “translation” of the original biblical languages.  Instead, The Passion Translation is, in many ways, a complete re-write of the Bible by a man named Brian Simmons, who brazenly manipulates God’s Word and actually adds his own thoughts into the text to advance his unbiblical and spiritually dangerous New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) theology.  One critique of The Passion Translation is available here.

Recommended Resources

1) “Never Read a Bible Verse” by Greg Koukl

2) “Do You Take the Bible Literally?” by Greg Koukl

3) “Does God Whisper?” by Greg Koukl

[Note:  This is a three-part series.  Be sure to read the articles in proper sequence.]

4) “Context! Context! Context!” by Steve Bright

5) How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth by Gordon Fee and Douglas Stuart

[Note:  While I do not agree with some of Fee and Stuart’s views, particularly concerning Bible translations, this is an overall excellent, accessible book on hermeneutics and exegesis.]

6) “How to Interpret Your Bible Correctly (Part One)” by Thomas A. Howe

7) “The Christ of the Old and New” by Burk Parsons

8) The Bible: Fast Forward by Stand to Reason

9) The New Inductive Study Bible by Precept Ministries

[Note:  Kay Arthur and Precept Ministries’ “inductive” system of studying Scripture (i.e., observation, interpretation, and application) is an extraordinary way to learn how properly to interpret and exegete every book of the Bible, and if you’re willing to put forth the effort it requires, there’s probably no better method available to help you mine the depths of God’s Word.]

10) Reading God’s Story: A Chronological Daily Bible by Holman Bible Publishers (edited by George H. Guthrie)

[Note:  Please read my review of this outstanding Bible above, in the section titled “Don’t Lose Sight of the Big Picture: Jesus Christ Is the Star of the Scriptures.”]

11) The Holman Bible Handbook

12) Knowing Scripture by Dr. R.C. Sproul

[Note:  I heartily recommend Dr. Sproul’s series of lectures titled “Knowing Scripture” to anyone seriously interested in understanding the Bible, as it is essentially a crash course in the art and science of sound biblical interpretation.  Ligonier Ministries has graciously made the entire video series available free of charge on the Bible Gateway website (link above).  Watch it while you still have the chance!]