Why the Da Vinci Code?

Audio Messages:
Pastor Wade Burleson

Why the Da Vinci Code (Part IV)
The Truth About the Word of God

II Timothy 3:16 (KJV)

All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.

Why the DaVinci Code? (Part IV)
The Truth About the Word of God
II Timothy 3:16

"The Bible is a product of man, my dear. Not of God" (The Da Vinci Code, page 231). You must either believe the word of Dan Brown and men like him or the Apostle Paul:

Where did we get our Bible?
"The Bible as we know it was collated by the pagan Emperor Constantine" (p.231), says Dan Brown, but Paul says "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God." The Syriac version states: "All Scripture is written by the inspiration of God." Forty authors over a 1600-year span on three continents in three languages -- Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek -- and yet it is said to be God-breathed. He speaks through it. The Old Testament concluded with Malachi (430 BC) and Chronicles (400 BC) and the New Testament finished with Revelation no earlier than AD 68), completing the Bible. "A book is not the Word of God because it is accepted by the people of God. Rather it is accepted by the people of God because it is the Word of God" (Norman Geisler).
How do we know our Bible is God-breathed?
1. Only God could forcefully insure writers at their destination in full freedom.
  Despite its diversity, the Bible presents a single unfolding story: God's redemption of man.
2. Only God could inspire writers to faithfully prophesy future events of the world. There are multiple prophetic statements in the Bible that include prophecies regarding cities, kings, events, but most of all, the Messiah. Prophecies of the Messiah Because there are so many and such telling prophecies about Christ in the Old Testament, some have tried to late-date those portions of the Old Testament which speak of the future coming Messiah. But these attempts are in vain because of the existence of the Septuagint. The Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures) was initiated in the reign of Ptolemy Philadelphus (285-246 BC). It is rather obvious that if you have a Greek translation initiated in 250 BC, then you had to have the Hebrew text from which it was written. This will suffice to indicate that there was at least a 250-year gap between the prophecies being written down and their fulfillment in the person of Christ.
  
  Floyd Hamilton, The Basis of Christian Faith (a modern defense of the Christian religion), write: "Canon Liddon is authority for the statement that there are in the Old Testament 332 distinct predictions which were literally fulfilled in Christ" (Hamilton, BCF, 160).
  
  The following prophecies predicted various aspects of Christ's first coming:
  - The Fact: Genesis 3:15; Deuteronomy 18:15; Psalm 89:20; Isaiah 9:6: 28:16; 32:1; 35:4; 42:6; 49:1; 55:4; Ezekiel 34:24; Daniel 2:44; Micah 4:1; Zechariah 3:8.
  - The Time: Genesis 49:10; Numbers 24:17; Daniel 9:24-26; Malachi 3:1.
  - His Divinity: Psalm 2:7, 11; 45:6, 7, 11; 72:8; 89:26, 27; 102:24-27; 110:1; Isaiah 9:6; 25:9; 40:10; Jeremiah 23:6; Micah 5:2; Malachi 3:1.
  - Human Generation: Genesis 12:3; 18:18; 21:12; 22:18; 26:4; 28:14; 49:10; 2 Samuel 7:14; Psalm 18:4-6, 50; 22:22, 23; 29:36; 89:4; 132:11; Isaiah 11:1; Jeremiah 23:5; 33:15.
  - His Forerunner: Isaiah 40:3; Malachi 3:1; 4:5.
  About His birth and early years the Old Testament includes:
  - The Fact: Genesis 3:15; Isaiah 7:14; Jeremiah 31:22.
  - The Place: Number 24:17; Micah 5:2.
  - Adoration by Magi: Psalm 72:10, 15; Isaiah 60:3, 6.
  - Descent into Egypt: Hosea 11:1.
  - Massacre of innocents: Jeremiah 31:15.
  Prophecies about His mission and office include:
  - Mission: Genesis 12:3; 49:10; Numbers 24:19; Deuteronomy 18:18, 19; Psalm 21:1; Isaiah 59:20; Jeremiah 33:16.
  - Priest like Melchizedek: Psalm 110:4.
  - Prophet like Moses: Deuteronomy 18:15.
  - Conversion of the Gentiles: Isaiah 11:10; Deuteronomy 32:43; Psalm 18:49; 19:4; 117:1; Isaiah 42:1; 45:23; 49:6; Hosea 1:10; 2:23; Joel 2:32.
  - Ministry in Galilee: Isaiah 9:1, 2.
  - Miracles: Isaiah 35:5, 6; 42:7; 53:4.
  - Spiritual graces: Psalm 45:7; 78:2; Isaiah 2:3; 61:1; Micah 4:2.
  - Purification of the Temple: Psalm 69:9
  Regarding His passion are the following:
  - Rejection by Jews and Gentiles: Psalm 21:1; 22:12; 41:5; 56:5; 69:8; 118:22, 23; Isaiah 6:9, 10:8, 14; 29:13; 53:1; 65:2.
  - Persecution: Psalm 22:6; 35:7, 12; 56:5; 71;10; 109:2; Isaiah 49:7; 53:3.
  - Triumphal entry into Jerusalem: Psalm 8:2; 118:25, 26; Zechariah 9:9.
  - Betrayal by own friend: Psalm 41:9; 55:13; Zechariah 13:6.
  - Betrayal for thirty pieces of silver: Zechariah 11:13
  - Betrayer's death: Psalm 55:15, 23; 109:17.
  - Purchase of Potter's Field: Zechariah 11:13.
  - Desertion by disciples: Zechariah 13:7.
  - False accusation: Psalm 2:1, 2; 27:12; 35:11; 109:2.
  - Silence uder accusation: Psalm 38:13; Isaiah 53:7.
  - Mocking: Psalm 22:7, 8, 16; 109:25.
  - Insults, buffeting, spitting, scourging: Psalm 35:15, 21; Isaiah 50:6
  - Patience under suffering Isaiah 53:7-9.
  - Crucifixion: Psalm 22:14, 17
  - Offer of gall and vinegar: Psalm 69:21.
  - Prayer for enemies: Psalm 109:4.
  - Cries upon the Cross: Psalm 22:1; 31:5.
  - Death in prime of life: Psalm 89:45; 102:24.
  - Death attested by convulsions of nature: Amos 5:20; Zechariah 14:4-6.
  - Casting lots for garments: Psalm 22:18.
  - Bones not to be broken Psalm 34:20.
  - Piercing: Psalm 22:16; Zechariah 12:10; 13:6.
  - Voluntary death: Psalm 40:6-8.
  - Vicarious suffering: Isaiah 53:4-6, 12; Daniel 9:26.
  - Burial with the rich: Isaiah 53:9.
  - His resurrection predicted: Psalm 2:7; 16:8-10; 30:3; 41:10; 118:17.
  - His ascension: Psalm 16:11; 24:7; 68:18; 110:1; 118:19.
  - His Second Coming: Psalm 50:3-6; Isaiah 9:6, 7; 66:18; Daniel 7:13, 14; Zecharaiah 12:10; 14:4-8.
  - His dominion universal and everlasting: I Chronicles 17:11-14; Psalm 2:6-8; 8:6; 45:6-7; 72:8; 110:1-3; Isaiah 9:7; Daniel 7:14
3. Only God could insure the preservation of the Scriptures through the centuries. The preservation of the Word of God is seen via the Dead Sea Scrolls in 1947.
What is the uniqueness of God-breathed words?
There are two things true about God-breathed words that aren't true of man's.
1. Only God-breathed words impart spiritual life --
  "Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever" (I Peter 1:23).
2. Only God-breathed words facilitate spiritual growth --
  "Sweet are thy words O Lord to my taste" (Psalm 119:103). Jesus told us that man shall live not by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from God. The bread on the table of showbread in the Tabernacle was perpetually fresh.
Why is the Bible so offensive to people in our modern culture?
Justin Martyr, a Palestinian philosopher who converted to Christ and was eventually martyred, wrote in A.D. 160, "We who formerly murdered one another now refrain from making war even upon our enemies." This is the influence of the Scriptures. If the soul is held captive by the devil, then the battle will be to diminish the Bible.
Who do you know needs a God-breathed word today?
"Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path" (Psalm 119:105). It is one thing to proclaim your love for God's Word, it is altogether another to use it.

Questions? Comments?
Pastor Wade