WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.800 --> 00:00:03.680 You're listening to the Bible Guys, a podcast where a 2 00:00:03.720 --> 00:00:06.440 couple of friends talk about the Bible in fun, in 3 00:00:06.559 --> 00:00:07.480 practical ways. 4 00:00:11.919 --> 00:00:15.800 Hey, everybody, Wow, you remember you sound excited? 5 00:00:15.919 --> 00:00:20.239 You remember Robin Williams Good Morning Vietnam. Yeah, yeah, that's 6 00:00:20.440 --> 00:00:21.800 I don't know why, but that's what I was thinking 7 00:00:21.800 --> 00:00:21.960 of it. 8 00:00:22.000 --> 00:00:23.960 That's only that movie's only like one hundred years old. 9 00:00:24.079 --> 00:00:28.120 It really is. Anybody older than me, we'll remember that. Actually, 10 00:00:28.359 --> 00:00:29.800 it wasn't even that popular a movie. 11 00:00:29.920 --> 00:00:31.120 Was it A Good Morning Vietnam? 12 00:00:31.239 --> 00:00:32.119 Yeah, it probably was. 13 00:00:32.320 --> 00:00:33.280 I think it was nominated. 14 00:00:33.399 --> 00:00:34.000 It wasn't it. 15 00:00:34.039 --> 00:00:35.880 I didn't like it. I didn't like it at all. 16 00:00:36.159 --> 00:00:37.719 I don't know that anybody cares. 17 00:00:37.920 --> 00:00:40.840 Nobody cares, nobody. But we know what we do care about, Jeff, 18 00:00:40.880 --> 00:00:41.799 what the Bible? 19 00:00:41.880 --> 00:00:42.960 We do? Big fan? 20 00:00:43.159 --> 00:00:45.439 Yes, I'm a big fan of the both in fun 21 00:00:45.439 --> 00:00:47.799 and practical ways. And so we're in the middle of 22 00:00:47.840 --> 00:00:49.759 a series talking about the Beatitudes. But before we get 23 00:00:49.799 --> 00:00:53.280 into that, we have a segment that Desiree has asked 24 00:00:53.359 --> 00:00:56.840 us to do, called something the pastor. 25 00:00:56.399 --> 00:00:58.439 Yeah this is a man we're starting the week off? 26 00:00:58.520 --> 00:01:00.679 Is that gonna be like the new way to introduce it? 27 00:01:01.240 --> 00:01:02.840 Both of you and I, both you and I go. 28 00:01:03.119 --> 00:01:05.040 Stump the pastor is that what we should do? 29 00:01:05.120 --> 00:01:08.239 I don't know. Maybe it says this. We know the 30 00:01:08.280 --> 00:01:11.920 Bible was written thousands of years ago in different languages 31 00:01:12.319 --> 00:01:16.079 and has been has been translated into many other languages 32 00:01:16.159 --> 00:01:21.640 and versions over time. With each language and version translation, 33 00:01:22.319 --> 00:01:25.799 how much of the original meaning may have been lost, altered, 34 00:01:25.879 --> 00:01:29.519 or omitted from the original text. We forgot to say. 35 00:01:29.519 --> 00:01:30.640 This is from Andrea C. 36 00:01:31.040 --> 00:01:31.159 Hi. 37 00:01:31.280 --> 00:01:33.760 Andrea, Hi, Andrea, Yeah, great question. 38 00:01:33.760 --> 00:01:34.560 Great question. 39 00:01:34.799 --> 00:01:39.959 Yes, this is at the foundation of critical theory, which 40 00:01:40.239 --> 00:01:44.640 is designed primarily to disassemble people's belief in the Bible. 41 00:01:45.000 --> 00:01:52.359 And it's a sub sub story on most like History 42 00:01:52.439 --> 00:01:54.879 Channel or Discovery Channel things about the Bible. 43 00:01:54.959 --> 00:01:56.959 Yeah, yeah, that kind of stuff. Is this question? 44 00:01:57.159 --> 00:01:59.319 Oh, it's been translated so many times, it was hand 45 00:01:59.319 --> 00:02:02.400 copied so many times, there's probably a bunch missing. Or 46 00:02:02.760 --> 00:02:04.519 the other side of it is there's usually a hint 47 00:02:04.519 --> 00:02:07.959 that there was some kind of collusion to decide, Man, 48 00:02:08.000 --> 00:02:08.960 we're going to keep out. 49 00:02:08.840 --> 00:02:09.439 The bad stuff. 50 00:02:09.439 --> 00:02:11.639 We're just gonna put in stuff that gives us more control. Right, 51 00:02:11.759 --> 00:02:13.919 So that's that's the other side of that. So, uh, 52 00:02:14.120 --> 00:02:15.599 what what do you have to say for her. 53 00:02:15.719 --> 00:02:17.439 Well, I would say I would say a couple of things. 54 00:02:17.520 --> 00:02:20.520 Number one, even though I don't have the statistics in 55 00:02:20.520 --> 00:02:23.120 front of me, what I do remember reading is like, 56 00:02:24.000 --> 00:02:26.960 in terms of the accuracy of the Bible, Uh, nobody 57 00:02:27.039 --> 00:02:33.360 questions you know, uh, the Iliad, right, yeah, And there's 58 00:02:33.439 --> 00:02:36.360 like there's like a hundred copies of Iliod or something 59 00:02:36.400 --> 00:02:41.840 like this, and there are thousands upon thousands of copies 60 00:02:41.840 --> 00:02:45.199 of the ancient manuscripts of the scriptures, and each one 61 00:02:45.199 --> 00:02:49.479 of them is painstakingly uh you know, walked through by 62 00:02:50.120 --> 00:02:54.240 thousands of people over the years before translation is made complete. 63 00:02:54.800 --> 00:02:57.919 So I have a couple yeah, oh wow, how about that? 64 00:02:58.120 --> 00:03:00.919 Yeah, you went and grab that so so in I 65 00:03:00.919 --> 00:03:04.039 think if you you know, we're going to give you 66 00:03:04.479 --> 00:03:06.560 just kind of off the top of our head answers Andrea. 67 00:03:06.680 --> 00:03:07.280 And that's great. 68 00:03:07.319 --> 00:03:08.960 But if you're the kind of person who likes to 69 00:03:08.960 --> 00:03:11.039 dig in and read some stuff, sure, I think maybe 70 00:03:11.039 --> 00:03:14.039 one of the most approachable, easy to understand books that 71 00:03:14.080 --> 00:03:16.719 deals with this would be a book by Josh and 72 00:03:16.759 --> 00:03:21.280 Sean McDowell, father and son, and it's called The Unshakable Truth, 73 00:03:22.000 --> 00:03:24.319 and it says how you can experience the twelve Essentials 74 00:03:24.319 --> 00:03:27.199 of Relevant Faith, and one of the segments is on 75 00:03:27.280 --> 00:03:30.719 can you Trust the Bible? And it's phenomenal, So on 76 00:03:30.759 --> 00:03:33.439 a casual reading level, this is a great one to do. 77 00:03:33.800 --> 00:03:36.159 And then they have tons and tons and tons of 78 00:03:36.360 --> 00:03:38.000 and notes and all that kind of stuff that you 79 00:03:38.000 --> 00:03:39.800 can go and I have and follow up on. 80 00:03:39.919 --> 00:03:42.599 I have put this graphic or reversion of it on 81 00:03:42.919 --> 00:03:43.759 the screen before. 82 00:03:43.960 --> 00:03:45.520 Oh good, yeah, yeah yeah. 83 00:03:46.039 --> 00:03:48.360 And then the other one that I would recommend is 84 00:03:48.599 --> 00:03:50.719 From God to Us How We Got Our Bible by 85 00:03:50.800 --> 00:03:53.280 Norm Geisler and William Nix. This is going to be 86 00:03:53.319 --> 00:03:55.080 way more academic, but if you want to dig into 87 00:03:55.080 --> 00:03:59.520 the academic side, wow, right, So they're both fantastic. Anyways, 88 00:03:59.639 --> 00:04:02.280 along the lines, you talk about the Homer's Iliad in 89 00:04:02.280 --> 00:04:05.960 the Odyssey. It was written eight hundred BC. The earliest 90 00:04:06.000 --> 00:04:09.280 copies we have were from four hundred BC. There's four 91 00:04:09.400 --> 00:04:12.479 hundred of four hundred year gap and it's six hundred 92 00:04:12.479 --> 00:04:17.319 and forty three years copies, right, and so there's six 93 00:04:17.439 --> 00:04:19.319 hundred and forty three copies. We have a pretty good 94 00:04:19.360 --> 00:04:21.480 sense that, hey, we can trust that Homer actually wrote 95 00:04:21.519 --> 00:04:23.800 that book in that it's pretty authentic. When you get 96 00:04:23.800 --> 00:04:26.240 into some of the others. Herodotus's history, there's a thirteen 97 00:04:26.360 --> 00:04:28.519 hundred and fifty year gap between when he wrote it 98 00:04:28.560 --> 00:04:30.639 and the earliest copy we have. There's only eight left. 99 00:04:30.879 --> 00:04:36.199 We don't argue Herodotus's history about you know, Rome Plato. 100 00:04:36.639 --> 00:04:41.160 Plato's books particularly, probably you talk about the Republic. There's 101 00:04:41.160 --> 00:04:43.120 a thirteen hundred year gap between when he wrote it 102 00:04:43.120 --> 00:04:45.000 in four hundred BC and the very first copy we 103 00:04:45.040 --> 00:04:48.079 have in nine hundred eighty, and there's only seven copies. 104 00:04:48.079 --> 00:04:50.040 But I don't remember a lot of people fighting over 105 00:04:50.120 --> 00:04:51.920 Plato's Republic, Right, I've got a copy of that. 106 00:04:51.839 --> 00:04:52.399 In my office. 107 00:04:52.480 --> 00:04:52.680 Right. 108 00:04:54.360 --> 00:04:57.480 Demosthenes, same thing, his writings, there's only two hundred copies, 109 00:04:57.519 --> 00:05:00.720 and there's a fourteen hundred year gap. Caesar, Julius, Caesar, 110 00:05:00.800 --> 00:05:04.279 the Gaelic Wars. Nobody argues that there's a thousand year 111 00:05:04.360 --> 00:05:06.959 gap between when he wrote it and when we have 112 00:05:07.040 --> 00:05:11.319 the first copy, and there's only ten copies, Right, Yeah, 113 00:05:11.439 --> 00:05:15.240 isn't that crazy? Tacitus, same thing, But when you get 114 00:05:15.240 --> 00:05:18.720 to it, there's fifty eight hundred copies of the New Testament. 115 00:05:19.199 --> 00:05:23.199 The earliest is within fifty years of a gap of 116 00:05:23.439 --> 00:05:25.360 the Book of John right, is a fifty year gap. 117 00:05:26.519 --> 00:05:29.519 You have the rest of the New Testament, there's fifty 118 00:05:29.560 --> 00:05:33.240 six hundred copies, fifty eight hundred. Now there's nineteen thousand 119 00:05:33.240 --> 00:05:37.079 plus translated copies within a three hundred year window. But 120 00:05:37.480 --> 00:05:39.800 we've got copies of Mark, and we have copies of 121 00:05:39.879 --> 00:05:42.439 John that are within fifty years of when they were written, 122 00:05:42.560 --> 00:05:46.279 and literally thousands and thousands and thousands of copies. So 123 00:05:46.519 --> 00:05:50.079 the relevance of it's an overwhelming evidence with regard to 124 00:05:50.120 --> 00:05:53.680 the amount of copies we have, So keep going yep. 125 00:05:53.720 --> 00:05:55.920 And then I was going to say, there's textual accuracy 126 00:05:55.959 --> 00:05:59.959 when you translate into another language, right, are we translate 127 00:06:00.279 --> 00:06:03.279 it best? You know, the earliest Hebrew, Greek, Aramaic texts. 128 00:06:03.600 --> 00:06:07.480 There's linguistic accuracy does the translation convey with the words 129 00:06:07.800 --> 00:06:12.480 in the grammar actually mean? And then there's conceptual theological accuracy, 130 00:06:12.759 --> 00:06:15.879 which is does this preserve the author's intent without adding 131 00:06:16.279 --> 00:06:21.720 or removing doctrine? Right? And so basically the the translations 132 00:06:22.560 --> 00:06:24.839 have to be you know, first of all, they have 133 00:06:25.519 --> 00:06:31.319 linguists who are you know, hundreds of linguists who usually 134 00:06:31.319 --> 00:06:34.639 gather for a single translation copy of brand new copy. 135 00:06:35.240 --> 00:06:40.480 And then also theologians from different denominations who check the translations, 136 00:06:40.839 --> 00:06:47.639 and then there are people who speak the languages who 137 00:06:47.720 --> 00:06:51.000 actually back translate them. So once it's translated, then what 138 00:06:51.000 --> 00:06:53.120 they do is they translate it back into Greek to 139 00:06:53.160 --> 00:06:55.439 make sure that it actually makes sense the other way. 140 00:06:56.040 --> 00:06:58.600 And so there are people who basically are going to 141 00:06:58.639 --> 00:07:02.720 make sure that it's not just text to word, you know, 142 00:07:02.800 --> 00:07:05.360 word for word translation. They want to make sure that 143 00:07:05.399 --> 00:07:09.360 it actually translates into the meaning of that language. Yeah, 144 00:07:09.399 --> 00:07:13.480 because you know it's basically fought and intent and meaning. 145 00:07:14.199 --> 00:07:18.199 Sometimes it needs to be checked over just word for 146 00:07:18.240 --> 00:07:19.360 word accurate translation. 147 00:07:19.920 --> 00:07:22.600 So her question is because it was hand copied so 148 00:07:22.720 --> 00:07:25.319 much and there's been so many copies of it, the 149 00:07:25.399 --> 00:07:27.879 imagination would be in what some professors would want to 150 00:07:27.959 --> 00:07:30.680 argue is it's like a game of telephone, right right? 151 00:07:30.680 --> 00:07:32.120 If I tell you, if I whisper something to you 152 00:07:32.160 --> 00:07:34.759 and you whisper something to Dez and does risp something 153 00:07:34.800 --> 00:07:37.439 to Christy Christy, then all of a sudden, by the 154 00:07:37.439 --> 00:07:39.839 time it gets seven, eight, nine, ten levels deep, it's 155 00:07:39.879 --> 00:07:40.639 not going to be anything. 156 00:07:40.680 --> 00:07:41.759 And we've all played that game before. 157 00:07:41.839 --> 00:07:43.720 Yeah, the only problem is it doesn't go back to 158 00:07:43.720 --> 00:07:44.680 the original source. 159 00:07:44.439 --> 00:07:46.959 Every time, right, So that's what we're what the what 160 00:07:47.000 --> 00:07:49.759 the implication is usually when people are worried about that 161 00:07:50.120 --> 00:07:52.959 is that maybe it got degraded over time. So let's 162 00:07:52.959 --> 00:07:56.399 go to the beginning when they began to copy the Bible, 163 00:07:57.199 --> 00:08:00.160 from the very beginning, when when the first when when 164 00:08:00.319 --> 00:08:02.920 Moses's people began, you know, when he wrote, and then 165 00:08:02.920 --> 00:08:07.079 the people began copying. The scribes became a very significant 166 00:08:07.319 --> 00:08:12.639 class of people within Israel. They were highly educated people, 167 00:08:13.079 --> 00:08:15.480 and the job was because back then you didn't have 168 00:08:15.560 --> 00:08:19.680 preservation techniques like we do now. So they're writing on papyrus, 169 00:08:20.000 --> 00:08:22.199 or they're writing on some faulty kind of you know, 170 00:08:23.079 --> 00:08:26.199 not a long term paper, or they're writing on vellum, 171 00:08:26.199 --> 00:08:29.319 which would be like animal skin, and so they knew 172 00:08:29.319 --> 00:08:31.160 that it wasn't gonna last a long time. So the 173 00:08:31.680 --> 00:08:33.679 answer to the fact that every copy is not going 174 00:08:33.720 --> 00:08:36.639 to last a long time was to have an overwhelming 175 00:08:36.679 --> 00:08:39.960 number of copies. So they had an entire class of people, 176 00:08:40.080 --> 00:08:43.279 not just a couple of scribes. There would be hundreds 177 00:08:43.320 --> 00:08:48.279 and hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of highly compensated, highly educated, 178 00:08:48.679 --> 00:08:52.879 highly skilled scribes copying the Bible. Right, yes, and then 179 00:08:54.200 --> 00:08:59.080 the reverence of it was so high that if you 180 00:08:59.720 --> 00:09:03.200 may made more than a mistake or two, you could 181 00:09:03.200 --> 00:09:07.519 lose your job. They would take it such as a 182 00:09:07.600 --> 00:09:09.919 holy thing that when they came to the name of 183 00:09:10.000 --> 00:09:13.720 God Yahweh, they would get rid of their old pen. 184 00:09:13.879 --> 00:09:15.679 They would wash their hands, and they would use a 185 00:09:15.720 --> 00:09:18.799 brand new pen only to write God's name. Then they 186 00:09:18.799 --> 00:09:20.879 would discard that pen and pick up another pin and 187 00:09:20.919 --> 00:09:24.639 keep going because it's so holy. And then you and I, 188 00:09:24.639 --> 00:09:26.600 if we were both scribes and we were copying the 189 00:09:26.639 --> 00:09:30.000 same page, we were not allowed to copy by memory. 190 00:09:30.720 --> 00:09:31.120 That's why. 191 00:09:31.120 --> 00:09:33.080 So we wouldn't keep copying the same pages over and 192 00:09:33.080 --> 00:09:36.120 over again. So we had to copy eye to paper. 193 00:09:36.200 --> 00:09:39.080 Eye to paper, I'd look at God blesses those God 194 00:09:39.159 --> 00:09:42.799 blesses those who are poor, who are poor, right, and 195 00:09:42.799 --> 00:09:45.080 we'd write it down that word for word. I wasn't 196 00:09:45.080 --> 00:09:48.960 allowed to write from memory. And then every page was 197 00:09:49.000 --> 00:09:51.919 laid out exactly the same way, so that our supervisor 198 00:09:52.200 --> 00:09:55.399 had the exact number of letters that were on the 199 00:09:55.440 --> 00:10:00.559 page and then the exact middle letter. Knew what that 200 00:10:00.600 --> 00:10:03.080 would be, right, so then he would test us, and 201 00:10:03.120 --> 00:10:05.399 then all of our work would be sent to a 202 00:10:05.440 --> 00:10:10.720 new group of supervisors supervising our supervisor, and our supervisor 203 00:10:10.759 --> 00:10:13.360 could lose his job if he passed our pages that 204 00:10:13.480 --> 00:10:19.200 had a letter wrong, not words or ideas. So on occasion, 205 00:10:19.279 --> 00:10:22.519 throughout history there have been a few alterations. There's been 206 00:10:22.559 --> 00:10:26.559 things that have changed, minor things, sometimes errors. On occasion 207 00:10:26.559 --> 00:10:29.480 you'll find a scribe who will write a note in 208 00:10:29.559 --> 00:10:32.679 the corner or whatever of a page, but there are 209 00:10:32.879 --> 00:10:40.440 no theological things. It's ninety nine points something percent consistent throughout. 210 00:10:40.320 --> 00:10:41.360 All of the copies. 211 00:10:41.919 --> 00:10:45.480 And we would struggle with believing that, like, is that true, 212 00:10:45.480 --> 00:10:48.279 because historians were saying that, you know, in the early 213 00:10:48.360 --> 00:10:51.759 nineteen hundreds that it appears that it's ninety nine percent 214 00:10:51.799 --> 00:10:54.519 accurate across all the different things. And then remember God 215 00:10:54.879 --> 00:10:59.200 preserved all those languages, so all those languages are dead. 216 00:10:59.399 --> 00:11:02.080 That version of Hebrew, that version of Greek, that version 217 00:11:02.120 --> 00:11:05.039 of Arabic, it's not exactly spoken that way anymore. So 218 00:11:05.039 --> 00:11:07.639 we know exactly what it means. English is a living language. 219 00:11:07.440 --> 00:11:11.759 Like the word gay today doesn't mean what gay meant 220 00:11:11.799 --> 00:11:15.600 back when they were singing it in White Christmas right right, 221 00:11:15.639 --> 00:11:17.799 We're happy and gay. They didn't mean it back then 222 00:11:17.840 --> 00:11:19.440 the way that we mean it now because we live 223 00:11:19.480 --> 00:11:22.720 in the English. Our English language is a living language, 224 00:11:22.759 --> 00:11:26.039 is what keeps changing. But after the New Testament was written, 225 00:11:26.120 --> 00:11:29.000 coin a Greek died, nobody speaks it anymore. After the 226 00:11:29.000 --> 00:11:32.039 Old Testament was done written being written, that version of 227 00:11:32.080 --> 00:11:35.279 Hebrew is died. It's no longer spoken anymore. The other 228 00:11:35.360 --> 00:11:39.480 portions that were written in Aramaic in Jesus Day, that 229 00:11:39.679 --> 00:11:42.120 version of Arabic is dead. Nobody speaks it anymore, so 230 00:11:42.279 --> 00:11:46.200 it cannot change. We know exactly what it meant, right, 231 00:11:46.200 --> 00:11:49.759 which is super cool. So the ideas have not changed. 232 00:11:49.879 --> 00:11:54.399 And then the copying was nearly perfect. It wasn't absolutely perfect, 233 00:11:54.600 --> 00:11:56.960 but as perfect as humans can make it. And then 234 00:11:57.159 --> 00:12:00.759 we were overwhelmed with the evidence of all different manuscripts 235 00:12:00.799 --> 00:12:04.440 compared to any other ancient document, It's unbelievable. It's tens 236 00:12:04.440 --> 00:12:08.399 of thousands of pieces, over fifty eight hundred copies of 237 00:12:08.440 --> 00:12:12.200 the New Testament, right, so nearly perfectly done. So then 238 00:12:12.240 --> 00:12:14.639 when you measure that extra tiny one percent, there's not 239 00:12:14.679 --> 00:12:20.039 a single theological thing that Christians believe that is altered 240 00:12:20.039 --> 00:12:25.799 at all. It's often the spelling of a name os 241 00:12:25.879 --> 00:12:27.919 versus iOS at the end of their name or something 242 00:12:27.960 --> 00:12:30.360 like that. It's sometimes it's a grammar thing where you'd 243 00:12:30.399 --> 00:12:33.600 put their version of a comma or something like that. 244 00:12:33.879 --> 00:12:37.360 And so those things combined, God controlled it in a 245 00:12:37.360 --> 00:12:42.279 way that made it very, very difficult to have perverted 246 00:12:42.720 --> 00:12:45.360 the thing. So then the question would be, well, then 247 00:12:45.639 --> 00:12:47.840 was there some kind of conspiracy to make sure some 248 00:12:47.919 --> 00:12:51.360 things were kept in and other things were kicked out? 249 00:12:52.080 --> 00:12:54.679 So there'd be some giant conspiracy. And all I would 250 00:12:54.720 --> 00:12:57.399 say is, have you ever been in the Church of 251 00:12:57.440 --> 00:12:58.399 the Holy Sepulcher in. 252 00:13:01.279 --> 00:13:01.679 Jerusalem? 253 00:13:01.759 --> 00:13:02.159 Jerusalem? 254 00:13:02.440 --> 00:13:07.480 Okay, so churchill Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem. Nobody actually runs 255 00:13:07.519 --> 00:13:13.360 that church. It's seven denominations that run it. And it's 256 00:13:13.399 --> 00:13:16.279 because there's all these people who claim it. Nobody can 257 00:13:16.279 --> 00:13:18.519 actually claim all of it, and they can't get along. 258 00:13:19.120 --> 00:13:21.360 So you would think this is one of the most 259 00:13:21.360 --> 00:13:25.080 holy places in Christendom. And when you're in there, doesn't 260 00:13:25.080 --> 00:13:30.320 it just seem like it perpetually needs maintenance? Right, it's dirty, 261 00:13:30.679 --> 00:13:37.480 it's overrun. It's because the just these seven patriarchs cannot agree, 262 00:13:38.840 --> 00:13:44.600 so they can't move a chair without unanimous honestly, they can't. Yeah, 263 00:13:44.600 --> 00:13:46.480 there's a ladder that has not been moved even though 264 00:13:46.519 --> 00:13:47.279 it doesn't go anywhere. 265 00:13:47.320 --> 00:13:48.759 Yeah, it's like fifty years or something. 266 00:13:48.879 --> 00:13:53.519 Yeah, Yeah, they cannot agree. So God has even used 267 00:13:53.519 --> 00:13:56.559 the frailty of humanity not being Christians, not being able 268 00:13:56.559 --> 00:14:00.000 to get along right to set to be able to 269 00:14:00.200 --> 00:14:02.600 preserve the fact that we could not come to some 270 00:14:02.679 --> 00:14:08.600 kind of super conclusion for a conspiracy with leaders from 271 00:14:09.480 --> 00:14:16.120 Morocco and Tunisia and Algeria and Egypt and Syria and 272 00:14:16.240 --> 00:14:22.840 Jerusalem and Iraq and Greece and Turkey and Rome and Spain. 273 00:14:23.279 --> 00:14:24.879 You know, when they would bring. 274 00:14:24.759 --> 00:14:28.360 Those groups together, they could not agree on anything other 275 00:14:28.440 --> 00:14:31.440 than Jesus is the Son of God and salvation is 276 00:14:31.519 --> 00:14:34.440 by grace to your faith. They could not agree. So 277 00:14:34.480 --> 00:14:36.840 the idea that they could come up with some kind 278 00:14:36.840 --> 00:14:44.840 of conclusion to have a conspiracy to eliminate things that 279 00:14:44.919 --> 00:14:47.559 weren't included or weren't part of the Bible, it's pretty 280 00:14:47.559 --> 00:14:49.679 absurd when they can't even decide to move a ladder 281 00:14:49.720 --> 00:14:51.279 in the most holy church on the planet. 282 00:14:51.559 --> 00:14:54.120 Right. And then also I would just add to all 283 00:14:54.120 --> 00:14:57.960 of that that there's also a faith component. Ye sure, 284 00:14:58.039 --> 00:15:01.360 So what the Word of God says about right, So 285 00:15:01.399 --> 00:15:04.440 it says it's biblically accurate. It says it's the words 286 00:15:04.480 --> 00:15:07.720 of God. Even even the piecing together of the Word. 287 00:15:07.960 --> 00:15:10.720 Either you believe that God had his hand upon that, 288 00:15:11.360 --> 00:15:14.879 or you don't, right because God himself, you know, or 289 00:15:14.919 --> 00:15:18.480 the Word actually talks about itself in that way. These 290 00:15:18.480 --> 00:15:20.879 aren't the words of authors that these are the words 291 00:15:20.960 --> 00:15:24.879 of God and how God pieced it together. So so 292 00:15:24.919 --> 00:15:27.360 there's a faith component that says, hey, I'm going to 293 00:15:27.440 --> 00:15:31.399 believe that. You know, if God wanted to piece together 294 00:15:31.440 --> 00:15:34.000 his Holy Word for his people, he was going to 295 00:15:34.039 --> 00:15:36.639 have his hand upon that. So in other words, you know, 296 00:15:36.720 --> 00:15:39.559 he's going to just like you said, use us even 297 00:15:39.600 --> 00:15:43.600 in our you know, mistakes to do that. But but 298 00:15:43.639 --> 00:15:45.720 God is also going to make sure that no mistake 299 00:15:45.840 --> 00:15:48.879 does happen. You know, He's not going to allow that, right, right, 300 00:15:48.919 --> 00:15:52.240 it's his Holy Word to his people, Which means there's 301 00:15:52.279 --> 00:15:54.600 a faith component that says, if I believe and trust 302 00:15:54.639 --> 00:15:57.759 God and what God's Word says about itself, I believe 303 00:15:57.799 --> 00:16:01.759 that the meaning and the translations are also preserved, and. 304 00:16:01.720 --> 00:16:02.879 Then you can have confidence. 305 00:16:02.919 --> 00:16:04.480 And as we wrap up, because we took a long 306 00:16:04.519 --> 00:16:06.519 time to answer this question, but I think it's fundamental 307 00:16:06.879 --> 00:16:09.480 to your ability to be a student of the Bible. 308 00:16:10.720 --> 00:16:13.279 You can have confidence that the book you hold in 309 00:16:13.320 --> 00:16:18.720 your hands, the modern translation, the ancient versions are the 310 00:16:18.759 --> 00:16:22.480 word of God. They don't just contain words from God. 311 00:16:23.120 --> 00:16:27.720 This is the complete, infallible, authoritative word of. 312 00:16:27.679 --> 00:16:28.679 God to you. 313 00:16:29.080 --> 00:16:29.440 That's right. 314 00:16:30.080 --> 00:16:33.080 There's no other book ever that has had the accuracy 315 00:16:33.519 --> 00:16:37.399 or the clarity or the preservation nearly to perfection that 316 00:16:37.440 --> 00:16:40.360 this book has. And you can be sure when you 317 00:16:40.399 --> 00:16:44.360 read these words that God is speaking through those words 318 00:16:44.399 --> 00:16:46.519 to you. I agree, right, it doesn't just contain the 319 00:16:46.519 --> 00:16:46.879 word of God. 320 00:16:46.919 --> 00:16:47.720 It is the word of God. 321 00:16:48.039 --> 00:16:52.879 And you know, anybody who doubts the validity of the Bible, 322 00:16:53.200 --> 00:16:54.559 Jeff gets. 323 00:16:54.360 --> 00:16:56.360 Me angry, Oh do they? 324 00:16:56.639 --> 00:17:01.039 Well then Chris, listen, you wouldn't like me when I'm angry? 325 00:17:02.120 --> 00:17:03.240 Do you turn into incredible home? 326 00:17:03.320 --> 00:17:09.119 Yeah, that's right, that's Bill vicksv line. So anyway, but hey, 327 00:17:09.200 --> 00:17:10.079 today you. 328 00:17:10.039 --> 00:17:12.240 Only did that because this is a transition. 329 00:17:12.039 --> 00:17:14.319 Yes, yea yea yeah yeah yeah yeah. Well today we're 330 00:17:14.319 --> 00:17:17.240 talking about anger. That's my transition. Yes, So Jesus is 331 00:17:17.279 --> 00:17:19.640 talking about anger. And it's okay that we spent so 332 00:17:19.799 --> 00:17:22.680 much time on the stunf the pastor question, because honestly, 333 00:17:22.920 --> 00:17:24.599 this is going to be a pretty quick read today. 334 00:17:24.759 --> 00:17:28.240 Yeah, well, grab a copy of The Unshakable Truth by 335 00:17:28.359 --> 00:17:31.480 the McDowell's Josh and Sean McDowell or From God to 336 00:17:31.559 --> 00:17:33.839 Us by Norm Geisler, and I think that they'll really 337 00:17:33.920 --> 00:17:35.119 begin down that path for you. 338 00:17:35.519 --> 00:17:37.400 I think it'd be great. But here's what it says. 339 00:17:37.559 --> 00:17:41.680 We're building our entire conversation over the last several weeks 340 00:17:41.720 --> 00:17:46.519 over the beatitudes, the first promises of God's blessings at 341 00:17:46.559 --> 00:17:49.559 the very beginning of jesus Sermon on the Mount in 342 00:17:49.599 --> 00:17:53.359 Matthew chapter five, six and seven. And today we're still 343 00:17:53.400 --> 00:17:56.160 talking about God blesses those who work for peace. Last 344 00:17:56.160 --> 00:17:58.319 week we talked about the fact that you know, any 345 00:17:58.400 --> 00:18:00.400 piece of any part of paradise you want, you have 346 00:18:00.440 --> 00:18:02.039 to cultivate it and work at it. And peace is 347 00:18:02.039 --> 00:18:03.640 one of those things. You have to work at peace. 348 00:18:03.839 --> 00:18:05.880 God's blessed it. Not if somebody wants peace, you have 349 00:18:05.920 --> 00:18:07.559 to work at it. And he says for they will 350 00:18:07.599 --> 00:18:10.559 be called the children of God. So today the premise 351 00:18:10.599 --> 00:18:13.640 would be that he introduces these things that God blesses 352 00:18:13.680 --> 00:18:15.400 at the beginning of the message, and then throughout the 353 00:18:15.440 --> 00:18:18.319 message he gives you all these little caveats, little ideas 354 00:18:18.400 --> 00:18:21.880 that supplement or support these statements. And so in Matthew 355 00:18:21.920 --> 00:18:24.960 five twenty one through twenty six, Jesus says, you've heard 356 00:18:25.000 --> 00:18:27.440 that our ancestors were told you must not murder. If 357 00:18:27.519 --> 00:18:29.599 you commit murder, you're subject to judgment. But I say, 358 00:18:29.640 --> 00:18:32.599 if you're even angry with someone, you are a subject 359 00:18:32.599 --> 00:18:34.759 to judgment. If you call someone an idiot, you're in 360 00:18:34.839 --> 00:18:36.920 danger of being brought before the court. And if you 361 00:18:36.960 --> 00:18:38.920 curse someone, you're in danger of the fires of hell. 362 00:18:39.400 --> 00:18:41.400 So if you're presenting a sacrifice at the altar in 363 00:18:41.440 --> 00:18:44.039 the temple and you suddenly remember that someone has something 364 00:18:44.039 --> 00:18:47.599 against you, leave your sacrifice there at the altar, and 365 00:18:47.640 --> 00:18:50.440 go and be reconciled to that person, and then come 366 00:18:50.480 --> 00:18:52.799 and offer your sacrifice to God. When you're on your 367 00:18:52.799 --> 00:18:56.480 way to court with your adversary, settle your differences quickly. Otherwise, 368 00:18:56.480 --> 00:18:57.920 your accused you may hand you over to the judge, 369 00:18:57.920 --> 00:18:59.400 who will hand you over to the officer, and you'll 370 00:18:59.400 --> 00:19:01.839 be thrown into pricer And if that happens, you surely 371 00:19:01.839 --> 00:19:03.839 won't be free again until you've paid the last penny. 372 00:19:04.519 --> 00:19:07.920 So he's talking here we've read this passage before in 373 00:19:07.960 --> 00:19:11.599 this conversation of the Beatitudes, but here today, what we're 374 00:19:11.599 --> 00:19:16.240 really highlighting is this idea that if you're presenting a 375 00:19:16.279 --> 00:19:19.240 sacrifice at the altar and suddenly you remember someone has 376 00:19:19.240 --> 00:19:24.079 something against you, leave your sacrifice and go and be reconciled. 377 00:19:24.160 --> 00:19:28.240 Yeah. Yeah, yeah. So it's a definite, clear statement that 378 00:19:28.400 --> 00:19:34.039 Jesus is saying that your anger towards someone affects your 379 00:19:34.039 --> 00:19:35.279 relationship with your heavenly father. 380 00:19:35.400 --> 00:19:35.799 That's right. 381 00:19:36.279 --> 00:19:40.920 And so it's amazing how when God tries to, you know, 382 00:19:40.960 --> 00:19:44.799 give us commands like hey, forgive somebody, we recognize that 383 00:19:44.839 --> 00:19:48.720 we're the beneficiary of that command. So and that's probably 384 00:19:48.759 --> 00:19:52.079 the biggest revelation for all forgiveness. If you came to 385 00:19:52.160 --> 00:19:55.279 Heritage Church during Christmas time, you probably saw Sonia Moletta 386 00:19:55.359 --> 00:19:58.720 story on video. It's very powerful and it was very powerful. 387 00:19:58.759 --> 00:20:02.000 And Sonia said, I went into prison and forgive my father. 388 00:20:02.079 --> 00:20:03.880 He was in there for murder and he had he 389 00:20:03.920 --> 00:20:06.480 had abused the family and things for years and years, 390 00:20:06.839 --> 00:20:10.400 and so she goes into prison to forgive him, and 391 00:20:10.559 --> 00:20:12.960 actually she ends up leading him to Christ on his deathbed, 392 00:20:13.240 --> 00:20:16.440 which is incredible. But anyway, She goes in there and says, 393 00:20:16.759 --> 00:20:20.079 I didn't realize I'm going into prison to forgive my father, 394 00:20:20.200 --> 00:20:22.119 only to discover I'm the prisoner. 395 00:20:22.880 --> 00:20:24.680 And she's because she struggled to forgive. 396 00:20:24.920 --> 00:20:26.799 Yeah, and she said I was the one that was captive. 397 00:20:27.359 --> 00:20:30.440 So it's it's an amazing thing. How you know when 398 00:20:30.519 --> 00:20:32.880 Jesus says, you know, come to me who you are. 399 00:20:32.960 --> 00:20:36.039 You know, you who are weary and heavy, have heavy burdens, 400 00:20:36.039 --> 00:20:38.920 and I will give you rest. You know he's he's saying, 401 00:20:39.319 --> 00:20:41.720