1. Jesus Trusted the Bible
2. Paul Trusted the Bible
3. Peter Trusted the Bible

Last week, I preached a message entitled, "How to Master the Bible." In that message, I sought to encourage you all with a vision of mastering the Bible for yourself. That is, to know what the Bible says, to know how the Bible says it, to know where the Bible says it, being able to "think God's thoughts after Him."^[1] The aim of mastering the Bible is that ultimately, it might master you. That is, that you would come under the teachings of the Bible. That you would believe what the Bible says. That you would follow what the Bible says. That you would believe in our faithful God, who loves us and cares for us, who sent his only Son to die for our sins on the cross, that we might know life eternal! I believe, the better you master the Bible, and the deeper that you know it, and the more you love it, the greater will be your confidence in Jesus Christ, who died for our sins.

So, last week, I challenged you to be intentional about your efforts to master the Bible for yourselves. I said, "If you have a plan that's working for you, that's great. Stay on your plan. I support you 100%." "If you have some Bible study that you are involved with, great! If you have some Bible reading plan that you have found helpful, great! If you have some type of systematic reading of Christian literature, great!" But if you don't have a plan to master the Bible, I would encourage you with one simple piece of advice: Read the Bible. Because, really, the only way that you will ever master the Bible is to spend time reading it. If you aren't reading it, you will never master it. I gave you several other suggestions: (1) Read a little bit every day. (2) Read to understand. (3) Read it through. (4) Read the same books over and over again. (5) Read like your life depends upon it.

To help motivate you to read it like your life depends upon it, I gave you a few statistics. Each and every day, there are approximately 160,000 people around the globe who will die. On average, one person dies every half a second around the world. Every second or two that goes by, there's somebody who is facing the judgment seat of God. Most of those people will perish forever in hell. And when you think about the people that you know, those that you have met, those that you come across, realize that today may be the last day that they have to get right with God. As I close the message, I said, "This is why it is so very important that we would be a people of the word. This is why I give my life to this task of preaching God's word to you. And this is why you need to master the Bible. This is why you need to trust it. Because only when you master the Bible will it master you and your daily walk. And when the Bible masters you, you will go out and proclaim it for the glory of Jesus Christ." I concluded the message by saying, "God only knows how much time you have left. So, please, make the most of it. Read your Bibles like your life depends upon it."

So, that was last week's message. And this week, I want to follow up with this theme by telling you why it is that you should trust the Bible. Because, in order to master the Bible, you need to believe it. In order for the Bible to master you, you need to trust it and believe it is true. I want to show you this morning how you can trust the Bible. And I want to show you why you should trust the Bible.

So, let's get into a mindset this morning. Let's get a proper perspective.

If you are going to go out rock-climbing or mountaineering, and you have a rope and you have carabiners, you spend a lot of time making sure that your knots are right and that your equipment is functioning. You inspect your ropes. You check your rigging. The stakes need to be secure, and you use quality equipment. And one of the ways that you become confident in your equipment is to be familiar with it. To test it. To use it in practice. To push it to its limits, to see when it breaks. This way, you can be familiar with the breaking point of your equipment. Any good mountaineer or rock-climber understands their equipment, and understands where it will fail and will not fail. You trust that your rope is going to hold you in the event that you slip and fall. It would be a terrible thing if you were to climb a cliff and the rope snapped. But you don't climb with that thought. Rather, you climb trusting that the manufacturers made good equipment. You trust the testimony of the thousands and millions of other climbers, who have used that type of rope, and there have been only very rare occasions where the equipment has failed. You trust in the testing and inspections that have taken place to ensure the quality of the equipment. You do so because you are entrusting your life to the equipment. And the day will come when you will be happy that you did. Because one day you are going to be on your climb. You are going to slip and fall and your rope is going to save your life. At that point, you will be so very happy that you inspected your equipment. You will be so very happy that you mastered the equipment with which you were going to climb. Because, that knowledge and that skill that you learned kept you alive.

The same is true of a commercial airline pilot. They go to flight school in order to be trained, to learn the craft of flying. They go to flight school in order to learn all the dials and buttons and read-outs and gauges on the cockpit. They spend years doing this before they are certified to fly. When you climb aboard a commercial aircraft, you trust your life in the hands of the pilot. You trust that the pilot has mastered his craft, and you trust that they can carry you to your destination, and land you safely. If a pilot were to encounter serious trouble during the flight (an engine burns out, if there was a gash in the airframe, or some sort of technical difficulty with the plane), you would want the pilot to be able to navigate these situations with grace. It would be a terrible tragedy if the pilot were to panic and not know what to do. No, you trust that the pilot knows what to do when everything goes wrong. You trust that the pilot knows what to do to keep you alive. You want a pilot like Chelsey Sullenberger, who was piloting US Airways Flight 1549, when the plane hit a flock of birds. The engines went out. And in a miraculous recovery, the pilot was able to land in the Hudson river. And all passengers were off safely. It's called the "Miracle on the Hudson."

In these two illustrations, we see that we trust in the equipment and we trust in the person in the cockpit to keep us alive. And the trust comes, because they have mastered their craft. They have learned what to do in each situation. The passengers are able to relax and sit back and enjoy the peanuts and wait to get to their destination, before the flight is even finished. Of course they master the equipment in which they trust. They are entrusting their lives to their equipment. And when it comes to us and the Bible, we are entrusting our eternal lives to the truths it contains. Don't you think we would do well to master it?

So, this morning, I want to give you a few reasons why it is that we should trust our Bibles. At this point, I could go into lots of issues. We could look at the reliability of the ancient manuscripts. We could look at the archeological findings that support the truth of the Bible. We could look at the number of prophesies fulfilled in history. We could look at the non-Biblical literary support that testifies to the truthfulness of the Bible. All of those topics are worthy of our investigation. But we aren't going to look at any of them. I simply want to look at how some of our heroes in the faith trusted the Bible, starting with the greatest hero of all, Jesus.

1. Jesus Trusted the Bible

I want to take you back to my very first seminary assignment. I had just graduated from college. I'm 22 years old. I have moved across the country to Los Angeles. And the first class that I took was Theology I with Marc Mueller. My first assignment was to read chapter 1 of a book entitled, "Inerrancy." The book is a compilation of essays written by various people about the Bible. Chapter 1 was written by John Wenham and is entitled, "Christ's View of Scripture." And this chapter made such an impact upon me that I still remember reading it to this day. Basically, in the chapter, Wenham took the gospel accounts and surveyed them to see how Jesus viewed the Scripture. It is amazing to see how deeply Jesus trusted the Scripture. Jesus believed it was true, every part.

Jesus believed the Bible! Now, of course, Jesus didn't have the Bible like we do today. When Jesus walked the earth, the Bible was still being written. His Bible was the Old Testament. But Jesus never hinted that the Old Testament was not true in any way. As Wenham wrote, "Jesus consistently treats Old Testament historical narratives as straightforward records of fact."^[2]

Jesus refers to people as real, historical people: Jesus spoke of Abel (Luke 11:51), Noah (Matthew 24:37-39; Luke 17:26, 27), Abraham (John 8:56), Lot (Luke 17:28-32), Isaac and Jacob (Matthew 8:11; Luke 13:28), David (Matthew 22:43; Mark 12:36; Luke 20:42), Solomon (Matthew 6:29; 12:42; Luke 11:31; 12:27), Elijah (Luke 4:25, 26), Elisha (Luke 4:27), Jonah (Matthew 12:39-41; Luke 11:29, 30, 32), and Zechariah. Jesus trusted that the Old Testament told the real history of real people.

Jesus spoke of historical events as real events: Jesus spoke of the institution of circumcision (John 7:22), the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah (Matthew 10:15; 11:23, 24; Luke 10:12), the giving of manna in the wilderness (John 6:31, 49, 58), the snake in the desert (John 3:14), David eating the consecrated bread (Matthew 12:3, 4; Mark 2:25, 26; Luke 6:3, 4). Jesus trusted that the Old Testament told reliable history.

Jesus spoke of doctrine that was grounded in historical fact. Jesus understood monogamy to be God's plan from "the beginning of creation" because God made them "male and female" (Matthew 19:4). Further, Moses wrote, "a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh" (Matthew 19:5).

Jesus understood that the flood was a precursor to the final judgment. He said,

Luke 17:26-27
Just as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of Man. They were eating and drinking and marrying and being given in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all.

Jesus contrasted the belief of the Queen of Sheba with the unbelief of those in his day. And he drew the terrible consequence:

Matthew 12:42
The queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something greater than Solomon is here.

In a similar way, he described the repentance of those in Jonah's day.

Matthew 12:41
The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.

In all of these cases, Jesus believed that they were all historical events: Creation, the flood, the Queen of Sheba, and Jonah.

Although Jesus brought the gospel to the people of Israel, he never denied the law. In fact, Jesus encouraged obedience to the law. When talking about the hypocrisy of the Pharisees of his day, he said,

Matthew 23:2-3
The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses' seat, so do and observe whatever they tell you, but not the works they do. For they preach, but do not practice.

In other words, follow the teaching of the law, even if those who teach it are flawed men. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said,

Matthew 5:18-19
For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

Such was his view of the law.

When he battled with the Pharisees and Sadducees, Jesus didn't claim that it was his authority that was right. Rather he said things like,

Matthew 22:29
You are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God.

Jesus saw the Scriptures as authoritative. He trusted them, as being written by God, and must be fulfilled. He often referred to the fulfillment of the Scripture in his ministry. When preaching in Nazareth from Isaiah 61, Jesus said,

Luke 4:21
Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.

When talking about John the Baptist, Jesus said,

Matthew 11:10
This is he of whom it is written, "Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way before you."

This was a fulfillment of Malachi 3:1. Jesus knew that his death was prophesied in the Scriptures.

Luke 18:31-33
See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished. For he will be delivered over to the Gentiles and will be mocked and shamefully treated and spit upon. And after flogging him, they will kill him, and on the third day he will rise.

When risen from the dead, he rebuked the men on the road to Emmaus as not trusting in the Scriptures.

Luke 24:25-27
And he said to them, "O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?" And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.

Jesus believed it all! He trusted it all! He trusted the history. He trusted the law. He trusted the prophets. He trusted it to the detail. And the words were so important to Jesus that when he was being tempted by the devil in the wilderness after being baptized, Jesus used Scripture to battle the devil. He said, "It is written," and quoted Scripture. This was Jesus' weapon. Three times the devil came and tempted Jesus and three times Jesus responded with "It is written," and quoted Scripture. He didn't concoct a good argument against Satan. He used the living and active word of God! He believed it was true! Jesus knew it to be true, because it was written. And Jesus believed the Scripture to be God-breathed.

One of my favorite encounters of Jesus took place in Matthew 22. The Sadducees, who didn't believe in the resurrection, were testing Jesus. They presented a difficult question. In the law of Moses, it was instituted that if a man would die before having a child with his wife, the brother of that man was to marry the man's widow and bear children in the name of the dead brother. The children would be considered the children of the dead brother and his name and inheritance would continue (Deuteronomy 25:5-10). Now, the question was this: If a woman was married to seven brothers, each one dying before producing a child, which wife will be the woman in the resurrection? Or, as the Sadducees might have said, "That's absurd to even think of it! So, there must not be a resurrection!" But Jesus responded this way,

Matthew 22:29-32
You are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God. For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. And as for the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was said to you by God: 'I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'? He is not God of the dead, but of the living.

This is remarkable! Jesus responds by quoting Exodus 3:6, where God appeared to Moses in the burning bush and identified himself as "the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." Jesus then draws a conclusion. He says, "God is not God of the dead, but of the living." So Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob must be alive somewhere! The tense of the verb "to be" is in the present tense. "I am," not "I was." So, Abraham is alive. Isaac is alive. Jacob is alive! They live somewhere in some state. Jesus makes this argument and defends the resurrection of the dead by appealing to a verb tense! Such was Jesus' view of the inspiration of the Scriptures. He believed the Scripture right down to the verb tenses!

In Psalm 110, we see David writing about his Lord sitting at the right hand of God. And Jesus used this Psalm to demonstrate that the Messiah will be more than David's son, but actually the Lord. The text says, "The LORD says to my Lord, 'Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool'" (Psalm 110:1). Jesus said, "If then David calls him Lord, how is he his son?" (Matthew 22:45). Jesus doesn't question David's authorship of the Psalm. He doesn't question the wording of the Psalm. He doesn't question the meaning of the Psalm. Rather, Jesus believed it! He believed that David called the Messiah, "Lord." And he based his entire argument upon the pronoun "my" in the phrase, "my Lord." That single pronoun was the foundation of Jesus' argument. Such was Jesus' view of the inspiration of the Scriptures. He believed the Scripture right down to the pronouns!

2. Paul Trusted the Bible

Not only did Jesus trust the Bible, but Paul trusted the Bible. When the persecution of the early church broke out in Jerusalem after the stoning of Stephen, the believers were scattered. Philip went down to Samaria and preached the gospel (Acts 8). Saul (who would later be called Paul) went throughout the region, "breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord" (Acts 9:1). But the Lord stopped him in his tracks. The Lord appeared to Saul on the road to Damascus with a light from heaven and a voice saying, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?" (Acts 9:4). And Saul was converted! He would go on to be the greatest missionary and church planter the world has ever known. He would pen at least 13 books of the New Testament. And his trust in the Bible was clear.

We see Paul's trust in the Bible early on in the book of Acts. After he was converted, he went to the synagogue in Damascus and proclaimed that Jesus is the Son of God (Acts 9:20). The Jews were amazed, because this was the one who had been persecuting the church! But Paul went on to prove that Jesus was the Christ by using the Scriptures (Acts 9:22). Later, when Paul and Barnabas were in Pisidian Antioch, Paul stood up and preached in the synagogue. And what did he preach? He preached the history of Israel! He spoke of the patriarchs, the exodus, the conquest, the judges, Saul, and David (Acts 13:17-22). He then proclaimed that Jesus is the Savior that God promised (Acts 13:23). He went on to quote from the Psalms and the Prophets to show that Jesus is the Christ (Acts 13:33-37). Paul believed the Old Testament! He trusted it! And he used it to proclaim Jesus!

When Paul and Silas came to Thessalonica, what did Paul do? "As was his custom, Paul went to them, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, 'This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ'" (Acts 17:2-3). Paul used the Scriptures! He trusted them! When Paul came to Berea, the Bereans were more noble than those in Thessalonica because "they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so" (Acts 17:11). The Bereans trusted the Scriptures! They examined them to see if what Paul was saying was true! And Paul commended them for it!

In Athens, Paul preached to the philosophers at the Areopagus. He quoted from their own poets to make his point (Acts 17:28). But the foundation of his message was the resurrection of Jesus from the dead (Acts 17:31). Paul trusted the Scriptures! In Corinth, Paul testified to the Jews that the Christ was Jesus (Acts 18:5). He used the Scriptures! In Ephesus, when Apollos was teaching, he was "competent in the Scriptures" and he "powerfully refuted the Jews in public, showing by the Scriptures that the Christ was Jesus" (Acts 18:24, 28). Those who trusted the Scriptures used them to proclaim Jesus!

In Paul's letters, we see his trust in the Bible as well. In Romans, Paul quotes the Old Testament extensively to make his arguments. In fact, in Romans 3 alone, Paul quotes from Psalms, Isaiah, and Proverbs to show that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:10-18). Paul trusted the Old Testament! In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul quotes from Isaiah, Hosea, and Psalms to show the reality and power of the resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:54-55). Paul trusted the Old Testament! In Galatians, Paul quotes from Genesis, Deuteronomy, Leviticus, and Habakkuk to show that we are justified by faith, not by works of the law (Galatians 3). Paul trusted the Old Testament!

In 2 Timothy, Paul is writing his last letter. He is in prison, about to be executed for his faith. What does he tell Timothy? He says,

2 Timothy 3:14-17
But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

This speaks to Paul's trust in the Bible. Even the Old Testament can lead you to salvation in Jesus. Such was Paul's belief in the Bible.

3. Peter Trusted the Bible

Let's move on. Again, I bring you back to the book of Acts. Do you remember the day of Pentecost, when Peter stood up and preached? Acts 2. Do you remember what he preached? He preached the fulfillment of Scripture! Peter preached the fulfillment of Joel 2 in the miracle of the tongues! Peter preached the fulfillment of Psalm 16 in the resurrection of Jesus. Peter preached the fulfillment of Psalm 110 in the exaltation of Jesus. He preached these portions of the Bible, because he believed them to be true! And he believed them to be fulfilled in Jesus! That's why he called the Jews of his day to believe in Jesus, who was crucified! (Acts 2:36).

Continuing on in the book of Acts, we see a crowd gathered after Peter healed the lame beggar. Again, in this sermon, Peter demonstrated that he trusted in the Bible. He mentions Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Moses by name. Of the Prophets, he says,

Acts 3:18
What God foretold by the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ would suffer, he thus fulfilled.

In other words, Peter believed the prophets, that what they prophesied about Jesus was true! Peter trusted the Bible.

I want to show you how much Peter trusted the Bible in 2 Peter. In this book, we see Peter's trust in the Bible shine forth.

2 Peter 1:16-18
For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased," we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain.

With these words, Peter is putting forth how secure our faith is! First off, it's not a matter of myth. It's not folklore! It's not some made up tradition! No, what Peter made known was seen and experienced by Peter, himself. In verses 16-18, Peter is referring to his experience on the Mount of Transfiguration, when they were "eyewitnesses of his majesty" (verse 16).

If you remember the story, this is the time when Jesus brought three of his closest disciples, Peter, James and John, up to the top of the mountain. As they were there, the appearance of Jesus was "transfigured." "His face shone like the sun and his clothes became white as light" (Matthew 17:2). Essentially, the divinity of Jesus began to shine through his skin. What was veiled in his flesh during his days upon the earth, was shining through! Jesus was making known his divinity! Moses and Elijah appeared as well. They were talking with Jesus about his "exodus," that is, his crucifixion and "exit" from the world. Then, on that mountain, they witnessed Jesus receive honor and glory from God the Father with a voice that was spoken from heaven, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased" (verse 17). Peter said, "We were there! We saw him! We heard the voice from heaven! We were with him."

What a wonderful experience! What a wonderful confirmation to our faith! Seeing Jesus in his glory! Hearing the voice of God from heaven. We might think that Peter would tell us to trust him because of his experience of the miraculous on the mountain. But Peter goes on to direct our attention to the Scripture. He says,

2 Peter 1:19
And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.

In other words, Peter says, the transfiguration was great and all, but you need to pay attention to "the prophetic word," that is, the word of Scripture! It is "more fully confirmed." It is "a lamp shining in a dark place." Indeed, the voice of God on the Mount of Transfiguration was a great confirmation to Peter. But Peter is saying that the Scriptures are more confirmed than his personal experience! This ought to give us confidence in the Scriptures! Peter, who was an eyewitness to the glory of Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration, says that the Scriptures are more confirmed than his experience! We should trust the Scriptures!

Peter goes on to explain the nature of the Scriptures. He says,

2 Peter 1:20-21
Knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone's own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

The Scriptures are not the product of man's will. Rather, the Scriptures are the product of the Holy Spirit working through men. The Holy Spirit "carried along" the writers of Scripture. The word "carried along" is the same word that is used in Acts 27:15, 17, where the ship was "driven along" by the wind. The Holy Spirit drove the writers of Scripture to write what they wrote. This is why we can trust the Scriptures! They are not the product of man's imagination. They are the product of God's inspiration! Peter trusted the Bible! We should too!

So, why should you trust the Bible? Because Jesus trusted the Bible. Because Paul trusted the Bible. Because Peter trusted the Bible. These are our heroes in the faith. These are the ones who have gone before us. These are the ones who have shown us the way. And they trusted the Bible! So should we!

This sermon was delivered to Rock Valley Bible Church on December 5, 2021 by Steve Brandon.
For more information see www.rockvalleybiblechurch.org.

[1] Martin Anstey, How to Master the Bible (London: Victory Press, 1931), 54.

[2] John W. Wenham, “Christ’s View of Scripture,” in Inerrancy, ed. Norman Geisler (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1980), 6.