Previous Challenge Entry (Level 2 – Intermediate)
Topic: Proverbs 30:5 (04/20/23)
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TITLE: The Bible Can Be Trusted | Previous Challenge Entry
By Lisa Marcelina
04/27/23 -
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I love the Old Testament, especially the stories of the patriarchs, the story of Esther and the story of Ruth. The story of Ruth has taught me not only about loyalty and caring for the elderly but about God's redemption and how He restores what was lost.
The Old Testament story begins with God and is the foundation of the Bible. It tells us about creation, how humanity fell and the consequences of that fall. By studying the events of the Old Testament, we better understand the teachings of the New Testament.
For instance, Jesus taught us about forgiveness and to love our enemies. The Old Testament demonstrates how hatred and revenge wrecked people's lives and destroyed relationships like King Saul's and David’s (I Samuel 18-22). If we follow Jesus' instruction to love our enemies, there will be fewer hate crimes and conflicts.
I recently discovered that there are no original manuscripts of the Bible remaining as, over the centuries, all have been lost or destroyed. However, from AD 900 to 500, a dedicated group of Old Testament scribes, the Masoretes, copied the texts and ensured their accuracy. After copying, the Masoretes counted the number of letters on the copied and original pages to see if they agreed. If not, they discarded the copied page and started all over again. Moreover, the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, written almost 1000 years before the Masoretic texts, further cements the accuracy of the copied texts. A comparison of both texts reveals that they were identical, down to the last letter proving that every word of God is flawless (Proverbs 30:5 NIV).
The New Testament completes the story begun in the Old. It records the teachings of Jesus Christ and tells the story of His life, death and resurrection. Approximately 400 years passed between the end of the Old Testament and Jesus’ coming in the New Testament. The New Testament teachings bring God to us and can bring us to Him, effectuating Proverbs 30:5 last statement, “…he is a shield to those who take refuge in Him.”
The New Testament as well has been copied thousands of times. There are 14,000 copies of New Testament manuscripts dating from as early as 125 AD. Apart from some spelling differences, the copies are identical to each other. Since there are minor discrepancies, we can trust that the New Testament we read today is the same as the original.
Other New Testament writers, such as Peter, acknowledged Paul’s writings as inspiration coming from God (2 Peter 3:15-16). Paul was initially a persecutor of Christians but turned his life around after meeting Jesus on the Damascus road. Since then, Paul, through his teachings, planted quite a few churches and wrote letters to encourage them. These letters now make up a part of the New Testament. Paul couldn’t have done all this on his own strength but only through Jesus working in him.
The fulfilment of prophecy is another medium that proves the Bible’s accuracy, such as Jesus’ virgin birth, prophesied in Isaiah 7:14 and fulfilled in Luke 1:26-35, and birth in Bethlehem, prophesied in Micah 5:2 and fulfilled in Matthew 2:1.
Those who don’t trust the Bible want proof of all its teachings but not everything recorded in the Bible can be scientifically proven. They see the Bible as outdated and not a book for today and prefer to live by sight rather than by faith.
The Bible was inspired by God. He gave the words to human authors. The Bible is accurate, and we can believe what it says. Even though the Bible embodies many books written in different timelines, its structure and flow are all connected. We can also trust it due to fulfilled prophecies and archaeological evidence proving its reliability. But the best way to trust the Bible is to live by it. Examining the stories in the Old Testament, and meditating on Jesus' teachings in the New Testament can help us live more abundant lives (John 10:10).
The opinions expressed by authors may not necessarily reflect the opinion of FaithWriters.com.
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I enjoyed your piece.
Blessings~
The structure and flow of your entry is very user-friendly and honoring of the flawless Word.
Thank you.