The Seed Blog: Oh My Goodness, It IS True! (Wednesday nights sermons parts 1, 2, 3: Expository Apologetics)

We intend to prove that the Scriptures contained in the Bible are: Accurately preserved Documents; written in unparalleled unity; by eyewitnesses with nothing to gain, and everything to lose; which were verified by contemporary eyewitnesses of friendly, neutral, and hostile persuasion alike; and that these Documents, written like none other in their uniqueness, have been proven trustworthy beyond any reasonable doubt historically, archeologically, and especially prophetically; effecting the entire world for all succeeding generations unlike any Documents before or after; testifying in proof and self-proclamation, they are by absolute necessity, Divine and not human, in origin.

Part 1
Have you ever been in a situation that hurt so badly, or that made so little sense, you actually questioned the very existence of God? Have you ever considered the thought that, “If I’m wrong about this whole ‘Christian’ thing, I have made some big sacrifices in life for nothing!”? Well, believe it or not, that is not an obscure or unusual thought. Paul himself, alluded to this very thing: 1 Corinthians 15:13-19. Why, in this case would we be, “the most pitiable” of all? Because, to live for Christ encompasses your whole being; your hopes, your meaning and purpose in life, your goals, your desires, all center around this Truth. If misplaced, you will have lost so much; but, if true, nothing else in life matters more. With so much at stake, do you ever wonder why God would require you to walk with Him in faith alone? Why not more proof? The Truth is that God never asks you to accept His existence in faith; He gives us proof everywhere that, He is! What He asks of us, is that we accept Him as our Savior, our Beloved, our Master, our God—in faith; meaning faith in who He is; faith in how He loves; faith in His character; faith in His love. Anyone willing to accept the evidence around them in truth must see the existence of God. It is those who choose to push that evidence away consciously, that God holds accountable. Romans 1:18. God gave us undeniable evidence for His existence; and as you see proof for the Truth of God’s Word, you are accountable. “Evidentiary Method.”
Firstly, God and His Scripture do not need defending; His Word and existence speak for themselves. Secondly, we shouldn’t try to use this to argue a point to ‘win’ about God; our only job and ability is to give the Word in real love; only the Spirit can touch a man’s heart with the Truth.
We intend to prove that the Scriptures contained in the Bible are: Accurately preserved Documents; written in unparalleled unity; by eyewitnesses with nothing to gain, and everything to lose; which were verified by contemporary eyewitnesses of friendly, neutral, and hostile persuasion alike; and that these Documents, written like none other in their uniqueness, have been proven trustworthy beyond any reasonable doubt historically, archeologically, and especially prophetically; effecting the entire world for all succeeding generations unlike any Documents before or after; testifying in proof and self-proclamation, they are by absolute necessity, Divine and not human, in origin.
Accurately preserved documents: we’ll focus on the New Testament, its writers, its content and its validity. Comparing the NT to the top picks for most popular and trusted historical writers and understanding that how soon a copy of an ancient writing is found after its original, and how many copies are in existence weigh heavy on proof of the writing’s accuracy and authenticity.
                                                            DATE                         EARLIEST                  TIME                       NUMBER
        AUTHOR                                 WRITTEN:                        COPY:                   SPAN:                     OF COPIES
Caesar                                               1st Century BC                900 AD                1,000 years                 10
Tacitus (Greek History)                       100 AD                           900 AD                   800 years                 2
Aristotle (Philosopher)                         4th Century BC              1,100 AD               1,500 years                 49        
Aristophanes (Grk Plays)                     4th Century BC                900 AD                1,300 years                 10
Suetonius (Rom Hist.)                       150 AD                         1,100 AD                  950 years                 200
New Testament                                  40-100 AD                       125 AD                    25 years                  5800 Greek
                                                         +20K other languages (Latin, Syriac, Coptic)
There are some pieces of Scripture that can now be traced back to either pieces of the original or coexisting with them. There are copies existing today that existed during the lifetime of witnesses to the original writings—completely unprecedented in historical writings of any other kind. (The Ninjews couldn’t have changed all of these copies.)
Sir Frederic Kenyon: “It cannot be too strongly asserted that in substance the text of the Bible is certain. Especially is this the case with the New Testament. The number of manuscripts of the New Testament, of early translations from it, and of quotations from it in the oldest writers of the Church is so large, that it is practically certain that the true reading of every doubtful passage is preserved in some one or other of these ancient authorities. This can be said of no other ancient book in the world…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.”
Written in unparalleled unity: The Bible is a collection of 66 Books, written over 1500 years, by 40 individual writers, on 3 continents, in 3 languages, from different classes/cultures regarding hundreds of controversial topics. It could not have been unified by men, yet was written seamlessly about the same topics, telling the story of Redemption from beginning to end, without controversy.
By eyewitnesses with nothing to gain, and everything to lose: 1 John 1:1-4; 2 Peter 1:16-18; John 20:27-29. The writers of NT emphatically claim to have actually witnessed what they are writing about first-hand (Luke claims he spoke with those who had), and on several occasions they make direct and bold references to their readers of the same generation that ‘everyone knows what they are saying is true,’; proving that not only must they be known witnesses by the early hearers and readers of the NT, but that many of them were known as witnesses to all that the writers said. Many of these claims were made to people of great power who could easily have proven or disproven their claims. You can’t fabricate such incredible claims, and tell such amazing untrue stories, that are accepted as true and recorded and passed on by others who have actually been there at that time and not have one person from that time refute their truth. Not a single witness had anything to gain from what they were saying and doing; each one of them had very much to lose. Why would tens of thousands of people change their lives, suffer, and even sacrifice themselves for what they could clearly see was a lie? They had to abandon 1500-year-old deeply held convictions, leaving a comfortable religion and good place in society to become completely ostracized from their culture to lose property, citizenship and family, to be mercilessly tortured (and worse)—all to follow a ‘lie’? Would a sane person go through all of this for what they knew was a complete lie (much less all twelve)? Peter denied Christ three times before, what happened to change him and thousands of others? [See Antonin Scalia for perspective.}
The NT is proven beyond any ancient manuscript to have been preserved in its original content. We have what was written by the authors of the New Testament in our hands today. The NT, and the entire Bible, has a unity that defies the ability of men- spanning generations of time, culture, and education—telling one awesome story, without contradiction. It takes much more faith to believe tens of thousands of people gave up everything they had, to die horrible deaths—in support of something they saw themselves—knowing it to be a complete lie. When you have those moments of worry and doubt, remember these proofs we are studying, that will turn your "Faith" into "solid evidence."
Part 2
Many people go through life never looking at the evidence, or deciding anything about whether God is real, their real reason for existence, their purpose for this life or how they might spend eternity, what their worth in this world is; they simply accept on blind faith what the world tells them. Some people have lived a life following Christ, with hope, worth and love, but then something happened that challenged what they believed, made their faith falter and left in a dark place of doubt and worry.
God doesn’t want you to follow Him in ‘blind faith’; He gives clear and abundant evidence of His existence and for His Word. Many choose to ignore or hide the truth because they don’t want to accept the fact of His existence. Romans 1:18.
Our next step is to ask the obvious question concerning this evidence: Are the testimonies included in these writings trustworthy in what they tell us actually happened? Just because they are accurately kept, doesn't mean they are not fabricated; couldn't they be the heart-felt stories of a bunch of religious fanatics, caught up in the moment? Are the witnesses reliable?
Which were verified by contemporary eyewitnesses of friendly, neutral, and hostile persuasion alike: 1) friendly, but non-Biblical source: Justin Martyr (well-educated philosopher, 150AD).  Apology 1.48. 2) neutral source: Flavius Josephus (Pharisee, Jewish commander in Galilee)-Antiquities xvii.33; Antiquities , 20:9.1. He was born several years after Jesus’ death, but could’ve personally spoken to many who witnessed everything firsthand; he was a historian for the Emperor with access to any documents he wanted. 3) Cornelius Tacitus (Roman Historian and Governor of Asia) Annals 15.44. He was proclaimed to be the greatest historian of that era in the Latin language, had Roman allegiance; he confirmed the NT in areas. 4) hostile source: Sanhedrin (the High Court of the Jews) Babylonian Sanhedrin 43a. Altogether, there only 10 non-Christian writers who tell of Jesus within 150 years of his life (43 including religious writers). In comparison, only 9 writers mention Tiberius Caesar—Emperor at that time (10 including religious writers). Many non-Christian writers are considered anti-Christian sources in history. None of them joined together to discuss or harmonize their stories, yet we can put together a collective, fluent storyline in history that all but parallels the Gospels telling us: a) Jesus lived during the reign of Tiberius Caesar b) He lived a virtuous life c) He did miracles (wonder-worker) d) He had a brother named James e) He was called Messiah by those around Him f) He died by crucifixion, under Pontius Pilate g) He died on the Eve of the Jewish Passover h) Darkness and an earthquake occurred at the moment of His death i) His disciples believed He rose from the dead j) His disciples denied Roman gods and worshipped Jesus as God k) His disciples died for that belief l) Christianity spread rapidly as far as Rome.
Written like none other in their uniqueness; have been proven trustworthy: uniqueness: 1) they wrote about a new way of worship (religion) that attacks and embarrasses their own people for rejecting Jesus (proclaiming judgment); 2) they wrote on multiple occasions in ways that embarrass and belittle themselves (principle of embarrassment). a) Often shown as failing to understand or believe Jesus (Mark 9:32, Luke 18:34, John 12:16) b) Shown as uncaring or immature,  Falling asleep in garden (Mark 14:32-41),  Fighting over who would be greatest (Luke 9:46) c) Often shown as being rebuked and corrected by Jesus, "Get behind me Satan" (Mark 8:33) d)Shown as cowards,  Who will not stand by Him at His trial or death, while women (of low esteem) are shown standing bravely (Matt 26:56-27:56), Will not give Him a proper burial, while again women present at burial (Matt 27:57-61), Let the women be the first on the resurrection, while they cower in fear (Matt 28:1-9) If you were writing a new religion, that you were to be a major leader and missionary over, would you allow yourself to be a bumbling idiot in the stories of the writing, or a brave, solid follower to be trusted? 3) they wrote about the new Messiah whom they want the world to follow, in ways that would often cause just the opposite response: a) Showing Him being loving and merciful to their enemies (Samaritans and other gentiles) b) Showing Him loving and siding with terrible sinners over righteous, respected leaders of the day c) Showing Him behave in ways that bordered sexual misconduct with prostitutes d) Showing Him as rejected by His own family e) Showing Him give equal care and worth to women, sinners, other nations f) Showing a weak, helpless, dying Jesus who seemed to accomplish nothing in His ministry (when the world was looking for a powerful, conquering King). 3) The NT writers included over 30 historically confirmed people in their writings (many with great notoriety and power: Pilate (Prefect of Roman Province of Judaea), Caiphas (High Priest), Felix (Roman Procurator), Festus (Roman Procurator), King Herod's whole family, etc.)—these lies would’ve been recognized and revealed instantly. 5) they wrote as at least 8 separate authors, describing events with minor details differing, yet not contradicting; showing similarities in a common experience, adding information—(similar to reading three news stories on a single event and seeing the different details shared)—the differences show they weren’t collaborating together to pass off a lie. They wrote with excitement and eagerness for others to verify their words: Acts 26:25-26, 1 Corinthians 15:3-8: How and why would writers speak of massive, life-changing events that were lies and challenge people to acknowledge their truth?
See Dr. Norman Geisler, ‘I Don't Have The Faith To Be An Atheist’
Isaiah 26:3
Part 3
These Documents have been proven trustworthy beyond any reasonable doubt historically, archeologically, and especially prophetically;: 1) proof of historical accuracy: The Book of Acts in the Setting of Hellenistic History by Colin Hemer: 84 facts verified in 16 Chapters of Acts—including great knowledge and specific details of local information (customs, names, places, landmarks, slang language for that time/place, names/locations of images, superstitions of the time, weather patterns, depth of sea and local shipping routes, local laws and penal/justice code, officials in power). Dr. Norman Geisler, ‘I Don't Have The Faith To Be An Atheist’. Roman Historian A.N. Sherwin-White. Historian and archaeologist William M. Ramsay investigated [Acts] in order to refute NT (geographic and historical references), and was overwhelmed with evidence he found, he converted to Christianity. Craig L. Blomberg: John’s Gospel proves almost 59 details. Combine with Acts- that’s over 140 details shown to be accurate historically and archeologically. Why would an author be so intensely detailed and honest about facts like water depth, local slang and wind direction, and not be just as detailed and careful about the miraculous events he witnessed or investigate about Jesus? When a writer’s credentials have been proven, why would we question the details of the miracles just because we don’t want to believe them? Doesn’t that warrant having more faith than the world accuses Christians of having? Wouldn’t there more unfair bias to claim these writers are lying than to claim they speak Truth? (Especially when non-Christian writers confirm some of the same miraculous events in their own writings?) There have been 200 years of archeological excavations and discoveries that can be used as evidence for Scripture: The Tel Dan Stele and The Mesha Stele (confirms stories/kings from 2Kings), The Nabonidus Cylinder (confirms King Belshazzar in Daniel 5), The Caiaphas Ossuary (bones from High Priest over Jesus’ trial), Pilate Dedication Stone (confirms Pontius Pilate), ancient city of Hattusa (confirming Hittites) The Walls of Jericho, water tunnel beneath Jerusalem (confirming 2Chronicles 32:30), multiple seals and inscriptions have proven numerous people and empires of OT/ NT. William F. Albright (scholar, archeologist- former critic of Biblical archeological accuracy): Nelson Glueck (0ne of the greatest Jewish archeologists of 20thC- was on cover of Time Magazine). If the Scriptures are shown to be so accurate in detail and truth, and archeology shows proof of many prophecies coming truth throughout history, why do we have the right to doubt their validity (against evidence) simply because we don’t want to believe? It’s estimated that 1/3 of all Scripture is prophetic in nature- and not one (in 1000’s) have ever been proven wrong. Daniel 2&8 (540-530C) tells of every world power to ever rise in history (Babylonians, Medes & Persians, Grecians, Romans…), Jeremiah 25:11-12 (Babylonians conquered Israel for 70 years), Isaiah 44:28, 45:1: King Cyrus was mentioned by name 200 years before he came to power, Deuteronomy 28 & Luke 21 (in 70AD- Jerusalem was conquered and the Temple destroyed, driving Jews from their homeland). There are over 270 detailed prophecies of the coming Messiah- all fulfilled in Jesus (who His parents would be, where and when He’d be born, how He’d die (method wasn’t invented yet), who He’d die with, where He’d be buried, that the world would believe He’d accomplished nothing) (Psalm 22:1-18- written 1000’s of years before Jesus was born). Scripture predicts that in the last days on earth, the Jews would be miraculously returned to their own land (happened), the surrounding nations would hate her and work for her destruction, the world would suffer because of their conflict, a man (Anti-Christ) would rise and create a peace treaty in the Middle East, a nation would rise with 200 million man army (East of Euphrates-China), Russia would join Iran (and others) in last day alliance, 1/3 world would be destroyed by warfare involving fire, world would have economy involving no money- but a number on their body. See Josh McDowell.
Dr. Simon Greenleaf, the Royal Professor of Law at Harvard University wrote the standard of what constitutes legal evidence (A Treatise on the Law of Evidence) considered by many to be the greatest legal volume ever written. He believed the resurrection to be a hoax and was determined to expose it; but after careful examination, he became a Christian, and wrote ‘An Examination of the Testimony of the Four Evangelists by the Rules of Evidence Administered in the Courts of Justice’.
Twelve, simple, uneducated, uninvolved men (politically, religiously, militarily), caused a moral and spiritual shift in mankind’s history so powerful so radical, so moral, so intellectual, and so indisputable... That for 2000 years no king, scientist, philosopher or lawyer has ever been able to disprove or silence it. Many a court case has been won on a fraction of the evidence presented.
What will YOU DO with what you have witnessed? Romans 1:18