The Bible Can Be Trusted: Luke 16:17
“17) But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one stroke of a letter of the Law to fail.”
Luke 16:17
This verse corresponds to Matthew 5:17-20. In these verses Jesus established accuracy and reliability of the Law. This could extend to include the inspiration and trustworthiness of the entire Old Testament.
Notice in Luke 16:16, He talked about “the Law and the Prophets.” This was a Jewish reference to the whole of the whole Old Testament.
So the question is; “Can the Bible be trusted or has it been corrupted and tampered with over the years as ignorant skeptics often charge? This is an important question.
In these two texts of Luke and Mathew, Jesus actually said God preserved the accuracy of the Biblical text down to the smallest letter of stroke. He said It is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for Gods Word to be changed, altered or corrupted.
God watches over His Word in two ways. He both preserves the text and He performs its promises. Gods Word can be trusted!
For years a group called the “higher critics” charged that the textual integrity of the Bible had been corrupted over time. They were chipping away at the trustworthiness of the biblical text mostly through conjecture and baseless allegations.
That all changed on 1947 when the Dead Sea Scrolls were found. They contained extant manuscripts or portions thereof that dated back hundreds and in some cases thousands of years older than previous manuscripts.
This allowed scholars to compare manuscripts and document any change or corruption in the text. They were shocked! The text was basically exact with the exception of some writing style differences.
The Bible has been put through more scrutiny than any other manuscript either sacred or secular. The end result is that God has preserved His written Word beyond any doubt.
Josh McDowell did extensive research on this subject in His classical books; “Evidence that Demands a Verdict” and its sequel, “More Evidence that Demands a Verdict.” He basically destroyed the textual critics of the late 1800’s and early/mid 1900’s.
The bottom line is that the original text for the Bible can be trusted. It is accurate and has been scrutinized more than and other ancient writings.
So how does this apply to you and me? Well, since God removed all doubt about the accuracy of the Bible, it is the only reliable foundation upon which to build your life.
It surpasses science that is in constant flux, philosophy that often changes, psychology which ebbs and flows with the generational tide and any religious documents from other world religions. Because of this truth, the Bible will be the basis of God judging humanity.
Let me give a word of advice from over 50 years of walking with God and studying the Bible. Rather than questioning the accuracy of the text, just start studying and obeying it!
Forget the false teachers today who are constantly pointing to the discovery of lost books that question the message of the Bible. They are full of rotting baloney! They have no understanding of the transmission process needed to preserve genuine ancient manuscripts over time.
Both parchment and papyrus, which were the two basic kinds of material used as “paper”, decayed rapidly over time and had to be copied over and over again. Only Judaism had a trade in place called the “scribes”, who dedicated their lives to this laborious task. They were the copy and printing machines of the ancient world.
For some reason, only Judaism had a system in place to preserve the accuracy of the text. God was watching over His Word! No other world religion took these precautions! Of course, Christianity is grafted into this same system.
Daily Bible Commentary
By Terry Baxter: Cofounder of GoServ Global
