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Although none of the original manuscripts writ- Lord’s supper) as practiced by the early church ten by Moses or Paul or the other biblical writers prior to the circulation and collection of the New have been preserved (no doubt providentially; oth- Testament books, with their initiation as described erwise they might have become objects of worship), therein, can only be explained if the documents we can have full confidence in the integrity and can- onicity of the text as transmitted to us. Some of the considerations supporting this confidence are sum- Authenticity of the Old Testament
Authenticity of the New Testament New Testament Attestation
• Traditional authorship accepted by Christ (Luke Logical Basis of Confidence in the Text
24:27; John 5:46–47; Matthew 24:15–21; etc.).
• Over 20,000 hand-copied manuscripts of the • Included 320 direct quotations from the Old Tes- Greek text are in existence, far more than for any other documents of comparable [age].
• Confirmation in the New Testament of supernat- • Some papyrus fragments, especially of John, are ural events recorded in the Old Testament (Mat- preserved from the middle of the second century.
thew 19:4–5; Luke 17:26; John 6:32; Matthew • Although there are some differences in the pre- served manuscripts, there is no doubt that at least 95% of the text is intact [whole and undamaged] • The complete text of all New Testament books was • Over 1,000 hand-copied manuscripts of the Mas- available to those who lived at the same time as the apostles, and they were satisfied with it.
• Meticulous study and compilation of all earlier • In particular, the portrait of Christ as given in the New Testament was accepted as authentic (accu- • Extremely careful copying and cross-checking by rate and true) by the earliest Christians.
• The conclusion is that the New Testament as we • Completion of writing and editing about the time now have it is substantially identical with the orig- of Ezra, with probably the first Old Testament • Careful preservation and transmission from still • Hundreds of quotations are included in the writ- ings of the early church fathers, probably adequate to construct the entire New Testament, if neces- • Other ancient versions (Septuagint, Vulgate, Syr- • Accuracy of most New Testament historical and • Dead Sea Scrolls (containing most or all of Old geographical references has been confirmed by archaeological and historical research, and no such • Acceptance by Jews and early Christians.
• Old Testament quotations in pre-Christian writ- • The New Testament books were originally written in Koine Greek, the common language of the New Testament era, rather than classical Greek.
- High culture, writing skills, etc., long before • Consistency of church ordinances (baptism, Demolsihing Strongholds Copyright 2007 Answers in Genesis. Copy permission for student handouts granted.
- Geographical and historical accuracy.
been accurately transmitted from the original writings. - Superiority of biblical records to the ethnic Furthermore, the most difficult part to believe in the Old Testament (the Creation and the Flood) is sup- • Witness of Passover to Mosaic authorship.
ported by all true science, and the most difficult to be- • Claims of writers; universal acceptance by Jews.
lieve in the New Testament (the bodily resurrection of Christ) is confirmed by all sound history.
*Taken from Henry Morris, The New Defender’s Study The biblical text as we have it is authentic, con- Bible, World Publishing, Inc., 2006, pp. 2062–2063.
firmed wherever it can be tested. Completely separate from the question of divine inspiration, the text has Demolsihing Strongholds Copyright 2007 Answers in Genesis. Copy permission for student handouts granted.
Digging deeper into God’s Word is a surefire way to grow closer to Him and to mature in your Christian walk. Try to locate a Strong’s Concordance (parent, pastor, church library, etc.) or if you have Internet access, you can log onto www.crosswalk.com and save it to your Favorites for future use. This link gives you access to Strong’s Concordance, Greek and Hebrew lexicons, Bible Dictionaries, Encyclopedias, and a few other resources that can be excellent tools for deep Bible Study.
Read 2 Timothy 3 to get the context (setting) for 2 Timothy 3:16, then look up the key words for 2 Timothy 3:16 in Strong’s Concordance. Look at the number (usually 3 or 4 digits) to the right of the 2 Timothy reference and jot it down beside the word it goes with below. Then look up the Strong’s number at the back of the con- cordance or in a Greek dictionary. On the lines below, write down the Greek word and the italicized definition Inspiration:
______________________________________________________________________________________ Profitable:
______________________________________________________________________________________ Doctrine:
______________________________________________________________________________________ Reproof:
_____________________________________________________________________________________ Correction:
______________________________________________________________________________________ Instruction:
______________________________________________________________________________________ Perfect:
_____________________________________________________________________________________ Now tie it all together. Rewrite 2 Timothy 3:16 in your own words as you understand it now.
______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ Demolsihing Strongholds Copyright 2007 Answers in Genesis. Copy permission for student handouts granted.

Source: http://www.englewoodbaptist.com/docs/Lesson%201.pdf