We often highlight how by inspiration God gave the very words of the Scriptures to the men who wrote the books of the Bible (1 Cor. 2:11-13; 14:37; 2 Tim. 3:16-17; 2 Pet. 1:20-21). But how do we know that what God originally gave is preserved in the Bible today? Some make the charge that the Bible has been corrupted over the centuries, but can that be substantiated? While space prevents an exhaustive answer, the evidence indicates that we can be confident that the Bible we read today is the faithfully preserved word of God.

While all the autographs (the original writings of each book of the Bible whether it was on stone, clay, papyrus, etc.) no longer survive to this day, an abundance of copies have been made of the originals beginning soon after the time of their composition. Beginning with Moses and Joshua his successor, reference is made to the book of the law (Deut. 31:24, 26; Josh. 1:8; 8:31, 34; 23:6). A copy of the book was to be made for Israel’s leaders (Deut. 17:18). The scribes throughout OT times were very serious about preserving the words of God. This can be seen from the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, which include copies of the OT books dating as far back as the second century BC. The Isaiah scroll is amazingly preserved and shows negligible variation from the Isaiah we have in our Bibles today. When the Ethiopian eunuch was reading from Isaiah in his chariot, he no doubt had a copy­—not the original autograph—of Isaiah, yet what he read was the scripture (Acts 8:32).

When we open the New Testament, we can see early copying took place. Paul’s letter to the Galatians was not written to one congregation, but multiple congregations in the region of Galatia (Gal. 1:2); thus, it would be necessary for each to makes its own copy. That Paul’s letters were thus circulated is seen in his instruction to the church at Colossae, “And when this epistle is read among you, cause that it be read also in the church of the Laodiceans; and that ye likewise read the epistle from Laodicea” (Col. 4:16). Peter alluded to the fact recognized among first-century Christians that Paul’s epistles were part of the body of inspired Scriptures (2 Pet. 3:15-16). Paul referenced the Gospel of Luke as Scripture, thus he had access to at least a copy of it just as he had to the Old Testament (1 Tim. 5:18; cf. Lk. 10:7; Deut. 25:4). Certainly, early Christians would make copies of writings they regarded as inspired Scripture. This copying has continued throughout the centuries and many fragments and large portions of these copies still exist and can be seen today in libraries around the world. There are more than 5,800 Greek manuscripts of the NT that have been catalogued. Additionally, over a million quotations of the Scriptures can be found in the writings of men known as “church fathers” who lived from the late first century to the middle ages. These “church fathers” obviously quoted extensively from the books of the Bible for they regarded them as inspired of God and authoritative. Their quotations corroborate the accuracy of the Bible text we now possess in line with the manuscripts from each century.

People do not question whether we have the words of Homer, Herodotus, or Shakespeare, yet the Bible has so much more evidence of faithful transmission than these writings. Take some time to investigate and you will find the Lord has kept His promise: “my words shall not pass away” (Mt. 24:35).

 

-Mark Day

In Acts 9:36-37, Luke records: “Now there was at Joppa a certain disciple named Tabitha, which by interpretation is called Dorcas: this woman was full of good works and almsdeeds which she did. And it came to pass in those days, that she was sick, and died: whom when they had washed, they laid her in an upper chamber.” Dorcas is described as a woman full of doing good for others and expending her energy in acts of charity. There are women like this in the church who silently go about helping others. They are not up front, but they are helping. They are unsung heroes that further the work of the Lord by their labors.

Acts 9:37 says of Dorcas, “she was sick, and died.” We are not told the nature of the sickness nor what caused it. One wonders if she was like Epaphroditus who “because for the work of Christ he was nigh unto death, not regarding his life” (Philippians 2:30). Godly women who function as caretakers for others often take years off their own lives because of their toil and yet are focused on the health of others.
While a woman like Dorcas certainly embodied the selflessness of Christ to the extent that all who knew her were confident her death would lead to her eternal reward, they still grieved because she was no longer with them. All the widows stood weeping over her and showed the clothing she made (Acts 9:39). A loved one of ours who dies and is a faithful child of God provides us hope of a reunion but that prospect does not take away all sorrow (1 Thessalonians 4:13-14). “Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints” (Psalm 116:15). But the departure of saints from this life still leaves those on earth who will miss their presence.
Through Peter the Lord raised up Dorcas and presented her alive to the saints and widows who had mourned her death (Acts 9:40-42). The result of this miracle is recorded in Acts 9:42, “And it was known throughout all Joppa; and many believed in the Lord.” Miracles were worked to produce belief (John 20:30-31). Today, there are many wonderful women like Dorcas who serve others. We are grieved when such individuals die. God has already worked sufficient miracles, including raising the dead, and recorded them in the Bible (Mark 16:16-20; Hebrews 2:3-4). But while miracles have had their time and served their purpose, the hope of a future resurrection is not out of the picture. Writing of the final coming of Christ and the resurrection of the righteous, Paul explained, “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord” (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17). If the Lord returns before our deaths we can be confident that those righteous individuals who have already died will be raised first and meet us and the Lord in the air. If we are living faithfully, we have this glorious expectation of Christ’s return that can occur at any moment.
We are thankful for Christian women like Dorcas. Those who have gone on to their reward we hope to meet again. It is up to us to follow their example as they followed Christ.

-Mark Day

Denominations abound in the religious world today. Some have estimated there are as many as 33,000 denominations presently in existence. Whether this is even close I am unsure, but one can readily see around us many different “churches” teaching and practicing many different doctrines. Some have claimed that this is a good thing and are thankful for this situation for one reason or another.

 

When we consider denominations, what are we referring to? What is a denomination? A denomination is a religious organization who considers themselves to be a “branch of the Christian Church”. In other words, and to be more specific, the Baptist Church considers itself to be a “branch” of the “Christian Church,” or the church of the Bible. No true denomination considers itself to be the church of the Bible, only to be one division or part of the true church. However…

Denominationalism is unscriptural in origin. Jesus promised to build only one church. He said in Matthew 16:18, “And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” Jesus promised to build His church upon the bedrock truth Peter had just confessed, that Jesus is “the Christ, the Son of the living God” vs. 16. The Bible teaches there is only one church. Colossians 1:18 speaks of Jesus saying, “And he is the head of the body, the church…” (See also Ephesians 1:22-23) The body = The church. Ephesians 4:4 says, “There is one body”. Therefore “one body = one church”. The Bible, which was written long before any denomination came into existence, only speaks of THE church and does not mention nor give approval for denominationalism.

Denominationalism is unscriptural in authority. The Lord Jesus Christ did not die for any denomination. He did not build any denomination. The Bible gives no authority for the existence of any denomination. In fact, to build a denomination requires the Bible plus the doctrines of men. To stand upon the Bible and only the Bible would be the end of denominationalism. For a denomination to exist requires the Bible plus such things as the decisions of counsels, synods, conventions, claimed ongoing revelation, and on and on the list goes. In the first century there were no “hyphenated Christians” there were only Christians (cf. Acts 11:26, 26:28; 1 Peter 4:16). The reason was because they stood upon the Word of God and not the doctrines of man. Today if we take our stand upon the only Word of God in worship and doctrine, just as they did in the first century, we can be what they were, Christians only and the only Christians.

Unity is found in the one church, not denominations. In the first century Christians “continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine” (Acts 2:42). The result, UNITY! Their unity is described as they “were together” (Acts 2:44) and “with one accord” (Acts 2:46). The Lord expects there to be unity in His church and it was achieved from the very beginning. Years later, Paul would write to the church of Christ at Corinth addressing the division of the Lord’s church there and admonish them “Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.” 1 Corinthians 1:10. The context of this passage is the Lord’s church (cf. 1:2) not denominations. The point we learn from this passage is that division within the Lord’s church is condemned. That being the case, how can denominationalism, which has no part with the Lord or His church, with all its division, be pleasing to Him? It is not.

 

-Jerry D. Sturgill