The Basis for Accepting the NT as Authentic

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The Basis of Accepting the NT as Authentic

Introduction: How do you know if the 66 documents that are collected within the binding of what we call a “Bible” are really, accurate to the original author’s words and were intended by God to be considered inspired writings? We just believe it, don’t we? In fact, we don’t even give it a second thought. “The Bible is inspired! It says it is. how could argue with that?”

We have to admit that there are truths that are critical to the Christian faith that we simply accept because they were passed down to us from from the previous generation. However, just like anything we believe, especially things that are consequential to our eternity, each generation, each person must take the time to test those truths. It is a basic ingredient of faith.

It is one thing to believe, but it is quite another to be able to defend that belief. We have come to a time in our culture where if we are going to teach others, we must be able to give reasons for believing the scriptures as more than just some random  collection of ancient writings.

Consider:

• Only 56% of all Americans believe in the God of the Bible. 44% either do not believe in any divine power (7%) or believe in a divine power but not the God of the Bible.
• Of 18-29 year olds, only 43% believe in the God of the Bible.
• Of 30-49 year olds, 49% believe in the God of the Bible. Thus, less than 50% of those under 50 believe what the Bible says about the existence of God. That is clearly a result of not believing the Bible to be the word of God.

1. Common Misconceptions that Undermine Scripture
   1. Grady Robinson writes, “The Bible was written by human beings, copied by human beings, distributed by human beings and collected into one final canon by human beings – all of whom had their own agenda. According to Elaine Pagels, professor of religion at Princeton and author of the bestseller “Beyond Belief: The Secret Gospel of Thomas,” the bitter battle between early church fathers Irenaeus and Ptolemy determined which gospel would be accepted into the sacred canon, the Gospel of Thomas or the Gospel of John. The differences in the two gospels are numerous, but one specific theme in John and Thomas is dramatic and shaped the history of the Christian religion. Simply put, the Gospel of John, written about a century after the time of Jesus, is the gospel that asserts that the only way to heaven is through Jesus. On the other hand, Thomas teaches that the spirit of Jesus potentially lives within all human beings, and it is that potential spirit that allows one to read God, even if that person in far off China has never heard of Jesus. It was a bitter battle. The Gospel of John eventually won out over Thomas, and therefore down through the ages Christians have taught the only way to heaven is through Jesus. There is much evidence to show that it is unlikely that Jesus ever said, ‘No one comes to the Father but by Me,’ or “I am the vine and you are the branches,’ and these words were added later by those who believed in the ‘only way to God is through Jesus’ doctrines. Those who insist the Bible is to be taken literally should take time to read many of the well-researched books that are available today. Your beliefs could be significantly strengthened through a better understanding of how the Bible was brought together almost 300 years after the time of Christ.”
   2. Summed up, there are three main accusations concerning the Bible and its transmission through time:
      1. The NT was produced by mere human authorship with each having their own agenda.
      2. The Roman church determined the NT canon in a political battle of the 4th century.
      3. There were other “gospels” that were equally credible but were rejected by the Roman church in order to push their agenda that Jesus was divine.
2. Biblical Writings Are First Historical Documents
   1. The first question is not whether NT documents are inspired, but are they accurate historical documents. We need to remember that this is the first approach of scripture, especially when it concerns addressing those who are doubters or who simply where uninformed of the evidence. As we have pointed out in the past, no writer simply said, “I’m inspired, believe me.” Those we teach must understand this, otherwise we will make as much sense to them as does as those religious people who just say they believe because “God talked to them.”
   2. There are numerous examples of this approach by the biblical writers. A few of those will suffice here:
      1. Matthew’s account was primarily a defense of Jesus against the common slurs by the Jews. (Virgin birth, his miracles were not magic tricks learned in Egypt, his birth place, his resurrection–body not stolen, and the acceptance of the Gentiles)
      2. Luke 1:1-4
      3. 2 Peter 1:16-21
      4. 1 John 1:1-5
   3. The importance of these examples is that everything we believe about historical events is based on testimony by those who were either eyewitnesses or collected testimony of eyewitnesses. NT writers followed this same principle. Eyewitness testimony, especially when there are a number of eyewitnesses that corroborate events without collaborating in their reports, is the best and most reliable record. This testimony is considered even more reliable when it is proven that the eyewitnesses had nothing to gain by lying and in fact, willingly lost their lives for their testimony.
3. Was the New Testament Post-First Century Writings?
   1. Though the belief in the NT writings as after the lifetime of the apostles is unproven, to answer this assertion let’s return to evaluating the writings based on their accuracy as historical documents.
   2. The fall of the nation of Israel and the destruction of Jerusalem and all the fortified cities of Palestine was the most notable event of the first century. Yet, though the NT documents repeatedly speak of the temple, the city of Jerusalem, the nation, and even the coming destruction of the city, they never mention Jerusalem as having been destroyed. This is strong evidence that the NT documents were written prior to 70 AD.
   3. In Luke and Acts, Luke wrote more than any other writer in the NT and spoke of 84 historically confirmed details about the Roman Empire and the early church.
      1. He records the deaths of Stephen and James the brother of John
      2. He records the death of Herod Agrippa I (42-43 AD).
      3. When his writing ends in Acts 28, both Paul and James, the Lord’s brother (notable in the Jerusalem church) were still alive. However, we know from Clement of Rome, that Paul was executed during the reign of Nero which ended in 68 AD. We know from Josephus that James was executed in 62 AD. Therefore, Acts was completed by 62 and the gospel of Luke was completed before that.
      4. Consider that in the midst of 84 confirmed details about the Roman Empire, Luke records 35 miracles. Further, the miraculous accounts show no signs of embellishment or extravagance; they are told with the same level-headed efficiency as the rest of the historical narrative.
   4. There is no doubt “Jesus of Nazareth” was a historical person who lived in the first century. In the 150 years following Jesus’ life, ten non-Christian writers mention Jesus and certain details about his life. In comparison, there are only nine non-Christian writers who mention Tiberius Caesar, the Roman emperor at the time of Jesus. Further, some of the writers (Tacitus, Celsus, Jewish Talmud) are not just non-Christian writers, but anti-Christian writers.
   5. By 110 AD, Christian writers such as Clement (95), Ignatius (107), and Polycarp (110) had referred to all the NT books that we recognize in our Bibles today. Also, these men lived in different parts of the Empire, proving NT documents had been copied and spread.
4. Gnostic Gospels
   1. In 1945, in Nag Hammadi, Egypt, a group of writings were discovered that have come to be known as the “Gnostic gospels.” They have been dated as early as the 2nd century and some have even claimed certain of the gospels, such as the Gospel of Thomas, to predate the gospel John.
   2. The argument is that in the 1st century there was no such thing as Jesus and the apostles teaching that there was only one way to God. Instead, it is said, Christianity was diverse and the gospel John should be no more authoritative than the gospel Thomas. (The DaVinci Code loosely followed the gospel of Mary Magdalene.)
   3. Unfortunately for Ehrman, Pagels, and others who purport this position, the evidence does not back up their conclusions. Here is the problem in a nutshell:
      1. They assume that the NT books and the gnostic gospels are indistinguishable in regard to their historical merits. However, it does not take an expert to see the difference between the gospel of Matthew and the gospel of Mary, and mss experts attest its lack of historical merit.
      2. They assume that God had no standard for determining authorized writings. Everyone admits that these are 2nd century documents. They are not written by the apostles or NT prophets who were designated by Jesus.
      3. There is no consideration to the fact that the NT itself attests to late 1st century false teachers known as Gnostics, whom Paul, John, and Peter condemned. These same apostles even speak of their spurious writings which they tried to claim came from the apostles (Galatians, 2 Corinthians, 2 Thessalonians, 1, 2, 3 John).
      4. Further, we know from secular writings that 1st and 2nd century Christians rejected the Gnostic writings. There was no such thing as Christians everywhere running around with a different set of writings that they called the New Testament and then it all got settled in the 4th century.

Berry Kercheville