Is the Bible reliable?

In our modern day, the influence of the Bible continues to be transforming. To the unsaved it is the ‘sword of the Spirit’ (Eph 6:17), and to the saved is a cleansing, sanctifying, and effective power (John 17:17; 2 Corinthians 3:17, 18; Eph. 5:25-26). The Bible continues to be the only divine basis for law and morality.
– Lewis Chafer

The Bible. The very Word of God. It is described as inerrant, infallible and holy. The Bible is one book comprised of 66 total books. There are 39 books in the Old Testament and 27 books in the New Testament. It was written by more than 40 different authors living over a period of about 1,600 years. Today, there have been over 70.5 billion Bibles printed over the world and it remains at the top of the best seller list every year.

For Christians, the Bible offers saving truth to a fallen world in need of salvation through Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Let’s specifically look at what the Bible has to say about Jesus as the Messiah.

The Old Testament contains over 60 prophecies specific to the Messiah that are fulfilled and recorded in the New Testament. Isn’t that amazing? One may ask the question, “How do we know that Jesus wasn’t just a great teacher who knew the Old Testament well enough that He specifically set out to fulfill the prophecies of the Messiah?” Well, there are 8 specific prophecies that were out of His direct control (apart from being God Himself). This includes the place of birth (Micah 5:2), time of birth (Daniel 9:25; Genesis 49:10), manner of birth (Isaiah 7:14), betrayal, manner of death (Psalm 22:16), people’s reactions (mocking, spitting, staring, etc.), piercing of His side, and the burial.

So what are the odds of those events happening out of coincidence? – Peter Stoner in Science Speaks (Chicago: Moody Press, 1963) determines the probability of one man fulfilling eight of the prophecies of the Old Testament for the Messiah to be 1 in 10 to the 17th power. – And for one Man to fulfill all prophecies found in the Old Testament, the odds jump to 1 in 10 to the 157th power. The Christian believes that Jesus is the fulfillment of those prophecies

Apart from the Bible, are there accounts of Jesus of Nazareth? Yes there are! What has been said about Jesus and His disciples by those who did not believe in his teachings and claims? There are many writings available that speak of Christ by those who did not receive him. They are beneficial because they are proof of his existence, and they are literature that skeptics to the faith of Jesus may see as nonbiased. Among these hostile references (meaning, not in support of Jesus) is Flavius Josephus, a Jewish historian who made these statements in his completed work, “Antiquities of the Jews”–

...convened the judges of the Sanhedrin and brought before them a man named James, the brother of Jesus who was called the Christ, and certain others. He accused them of having transgressed the law and delivered them up to be stoned.
At this time there was a wise man who was called Jesus. And his conduct was good, and [he] was known to be virtuous. And many people from among the Jews and the other nations became his disciples. Pilate condemned him to be crucified and to die. And those who had become his disciples did not abandon his discipleship. They reported that he had appeared to them three days after his crucifixion and that he was alive;...
-Flavius Josephus

Josephus’ statements, even though he did not believe in Christ’s deity, show support of the gospel and the accounts of the Jesus and his disciples. For the one looking for outside sources of the historical existence of Jesus, they are available. Along with Flavius Josephus there was also Cornelius Tacitus, Plinius Secundus, and Lucian, who were other non-Christ following historians that wrote about the life of Christ and His disciples.

Ultimately, the reader of the Bible should read and decide whether he believes the Bible and accepts its claims. There is a profound amount of evidence in support of the Bible. This evidence in support of the Bible can be found in archaeology, other Historical literatures, the fulfillment of prophecy and Hostile Witnesses (meaning those who didn’t believe in Jesus’ claims of Deity). However, I will stress that is it is only through the power of the Holy Spirit that one could believe the Word, and receive the gift of salvation. So to the Christian this means there’s never a need or greater gain to argue the points of the Bible. Jesus, himself did not argue, but simply shared the Word, and there were many that would not receive his teaching from Him and his followers. We as believers are called to share the gospel with others, and trust the Lord to turn hearts to Him.