Can God Protect His Words from Error?
Psalm 12:6,7
May 15th 2011 PM
Pastor Craig Ledbetter
I.
Introduction
A.
The Bible… Unlike all
other books!
1.
The number one best seller in
the literary field year after year. Over 6 billion copies printed since 1815!
2.
Did you know?
a.
It can be read through in just
72 hours!
b.
Half a million copies are
given away every day!
c.
The whole world had the Bible
in their language by 300 AD
d.
After the Dark Ages faded, the
whole world got the Bible AGAIN by 1900
B.
Some Facts About the
Bible
1.
The Bible is ONE Book made up
of 66 separate books
2.
The Bible is completed
3.
The Bible is divided into two
main sections
4.
It was written for BOTH the
heart and mind
5.
The Bible is perfectly
accurate in all areas: history, people, places, and even about the future!
6.
The Bible is perfect, having
no error because it is both inspired, and preserved by God (Psalm 12:6,7)
C.
How the Bible was
Written (Hebrews 1:1,2)
1.
By the Holy Spirit of God
a.
Inspiration (2Tim 3:16) – God
breathed out the words INTO men!
b.
God spoke, they heard, and
they wrote
1)
From the moment it was spoken
by God (Mt 4:4)
2)
From page 1, chapter 1, and
verse 1 (Psalm 119:160)
3)
God moved
4)
Man spoke and wrote
5)
God moved again
6)
Man made copies
2.
Across 1,500 years (1400 BC -
95 AD)
3.
By 40 different authors – name
some of them
4.
In different places (ie,
wilderness, dungeons, palaces)
5.
At different times (ie, war,
peace, famine, storms)
6.
In different moods (ie,
heights of joy, depths of despair)
7.
On three continents (Asia,
Africa, and
8.
In three languages (Hebrew,
Aramaic, and Greek)
a.
The Old Testament was written
in Hebrew and Aramaic
b.
The New testament was written
in Greek
9.
On stone, on paper, and on
hearts!
D.
The Value of the Bible
to Jesus
1.
Jesus was from 400-1900 years
AFTER the Old testament was written!
2.
Yet, Jesus quotes it over 180
times
a.
Mat 12:3
But he said unto them, Have ye not read what David did,
when he was an hungred, and they that were with him;
b.
Mat 12:5
Or have ye not read in the law, how that on the sabbath
days the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are blameless?
c.
Mat 19:4
And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that
he which made them at the beginning made them male and female,
d.
Mat 22:31
But as touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read
that which was spoken unto you by God, saying,
e.
Mar 12:10
And have ye not read this scripture; The stone which the
builders rejected is become the head of the corner:
f.
Mar 12:26
And as touching the dead, that they rise: have ye not read
in the book of Moses, how in the bush God spake unto him, saying, I am the God
of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob?
g.
Luk 6:3
And Jesus answering them said, Have ye not read so much as
this, what David did, when himself was an hungred, and they which were with him;
3.
He thought the Bible was God’s
perfect word
a.
The Lord Jesus Christ taught
that every word of Scripture proceeded from God (Matt 4:4; 2Tim 3:16) – that is
called inspiration.
b.
He taught the doctrine of the
preservation of Scripture (Matt 5:17-18; 24:35; Luke 6:17) – what good is a
perfect Bible that gets lost???
4.
The Lord never corrected or
criticized Scripture (John 17:17).
5.
He taught the absolute
authority of Scripture (John 10:34-36).
6.
Christ Jesus accepted the Old
Testament Jewish Scriptures, but rejected the Apocrypha (Luke 24:44).
7.
He taught that man will be
judged by God's written word (John 12:47-48)
8.
Jesus seemed to think the word
of God was all anyone needed to live well
II.
Message - The
Preservation of the Words of God (Psalm 12:6,7)
A.
The Words Are Preserved
1.
God’s Words are Pure
Already (Ps 119:14; Prov 30:5)
a.
Purified seven times – HEATED
over and over, making sure it had no dross. No one puts silver into a furnace
more than seven times – there is absolutely no more dross by then! Same is true
with God’s words!
b.
Every word of God has been
tried and tested, compared and contrasted, and proven to be true!
c.
Your King James Bible was
translated across SEVEN years, by 54 men, cross checking every word and every
phrase six times to make sure every word was translated RIGHT!
d.
There are NO errors in the
Bible – may be printing errors, but no errors – NONE!
2.
God’s Words are
Plural – not WORD (singular)
a.
Literal words from God (Rom
10:17)
b.
We need EVERY word from God
(Mt 4:4)
1)
66 Books (Genesis to
Revelation)
2)
1,189 Chapters
3)
31,101 Verses
4)
783,137 Words
5)
Only 12,000 different words
are used throughout the 1200 pages of the Bible
6)
Shakespeare’s writings used
30,000 words
7)
Most of us know well over
40,000 different words by the time we are 20 years old
8)
Written so a 12 year old with
a 6th class education could read it with no difficulty
3.
God’s words are
Powerful (John 6:67,68) – words of eternal
life! Words that still CHANGE lives
4.
God’s Words are
Preserved - Preservation
B.
The Promise of
Preservation
1.
Both Inspiration and
Preservation are works of God, not people, not the church
a.
Mt 24:35
b.
Mt 5:18
c.
1Peter 1:23-25
d.
Pretty specific!
2.
Ps 100:5 For the LORD is
good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.
3.
Ps 119:89 For ever, O LORD,
thy word is settled in heaven. Not changing
4.
Ps 119:152 Concerning thy
testimonies, I have known of old that thou hast founded them for ever. They
will exists forever!
5.
Ps 119:160 Thy word is true
from the beginning: and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth for ever.
6.
Isa 40:8 The grass withereth,
the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.
C.
What a waste of God’s
time perfectly inspiring His words onto paper if He didn’t or couldn’t preserve
them!
D.
The Procedure of
Preservation
1.
They are protected, kept,
preserved by God from the time of inspiration – from the time the pen was put to
paper - Autograph pages
a.
Started with Job (Job
19:23,24) – wish granted! The oldest Book in the Bible (1,900 BC)
b.
Then Moses (Dt 31:9) – we
still have God’s words through Moses (Genesis thru Deuteronomy).The Levites
preserved the first five Books
1)
Check-sums
2)
Taking the task VERY seriously
c.
Then Joshua – he made sure we
had Moses’ very words (Cf Josh 8:32) and added HIS words to it (Josh 24:26)
d.
Then Samuel (1Sam 10:25)
e.
Then David wrote the Psalms
f.
Then Ezra wrote 1st
and 2nd Chronicles (Ezra 7:6)
g.
Then the major prophets
(Isaiah, Jeremiah, etc) wrote their prophecies
h.
Then the minor prophets
(Hosea, Amos, Micah, Zechariah, Malachi, etc) wrote their prophecies
i.
Then the Apostles and New
Testament prophets wrote: Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Paul, Peter, James, Jude
j.
Until the Apostle John wrote
the Book of the Revelation
k.
A total of 40 writers,
scribes, and prophets wrote (2Pet 1:21) the words of Almighty God down onto
pages and pages, and then, were tested and proven, and combined into one Book of
books – the Bible!
2.
God has kept them, preserved
them, for us!
a.
In 5,300 pages and manuscripts
in Greek
b.
In about 70,000 Hebrew pages
c.
d.
Not only that, but in quotes
by writers throughout history
e.
By dozens of early
translations made in the first 300 years after the resurrection
f.
By the sacrifices of thousands
and thousands of men and women who gave their lives copying, and faithfully
translating the Scriptures
1)
Adonirum Judson – Burmese
2)
William Carey -
g.
And God always will preserve
them (Mt 24:35)
3.
Here is a thought… If He can’t
preserve His word, then He can’t preserve YOU!
E.
The Power of
Preservation
1.
Over-riding copyist errors
a.
Scribal system – copyists and
counters
b.
Multiple copies made,
guaranteeing that it can be reconstructed
c.
God’s Holy Spirit
1)
The power behind the
Inspiration
2)
He is also the power behind
Preservation “THOU shalt keep them, preserve them”
2.
Over-ruling Satan’s attacks
(Gen 3:1; 2Cor 2:17)
a.
Example of Jacob’s sons
attempt at destroying Joseph – God preserved both JOSPEH and all of
b.
Persecution never destroys the
work of God, it just reveals it (1Cor 3:13)
3.
Over-whelming every obstacle
a.
Decay – the paper and inks
naturally decay
b.
Disinterest – people’s
interest wanes
c.
Destruction – by the Catholic
Church, the Communists
F.
The Purpose of
Preservation
1.
So that people can know God
2.
So that people can trust God –
by trusting His words
3.
So that people can PREACH
unashamedly “Thus saith the LORD!”
III.
Conclusion and Study Questions
A.
What does INSPIRATION mean?
God spoke His word into the minds of His prophets
B.
How pure are God’s words?
VERY pure!
C.
Peter said Jesus’ words where what kind of words?
Words of eternal life!
D.
Just as miraculous as Inspiration, what else has God done to
His word?
Perfectly Preserved it
E.
What does PRESERVATION mean?
F.
List a verse that says God will preserve His word…
Matthew 24:35