The Bible & Faith: Trusting God's Word
Pastor Tan Thai · Jan 1, 2015
This sermon presents reasons why the Bible is the firm foundation of Christian faith, including the history of Vietnamese Bible translation and archaeological evidence confirming Scripture's reliability. The primary goal is to help the congregation fully trust the Bible as the living Word of God so that their faith grows stronger.
The sermon opens by affirming that the Bible is the foundation of faith and the living Word of God. The pastor quotes 2 Timothy 3:16 to confirm that all of Scripture, both Old and New Testaments, is God-breathed and profitable for doctrine, reproof, correction, and instruction in righteousness. Any sermon, Bible class, or church that does not rest on Scripture cannot be from God.
The sermon introduces the history of Vietnamese Bible translation, beginning with the work of the Cadmans and scholar Phan Khôi from 1914 to 1926 when the complete Bible was printed in Hanoi. Subsequent revisions were made in 1948, 1995, and the Revised Edition was released in 2010. Other translations include the version by Pastor Lê Hoàng Phu (1994), the New Translation (2002), and the Popular Version (2010) by Professor Phạm Quang Tấn. The pastor emphasizes that Christians trust the content of Scripture itself, not any particular printed edition or translation.
Regarding archaeological evidence, the sermon discusses the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls at Qumran in 1947, which yielded 825 to 870 scrolls containing all Old Testament books except Esther. These manuscripts date to approximately 125–150 BC, more than 1,000 years older than the Masoretic texts. Scholar Gleason Archer confirmed that the Isaiah scroll matches the standard Hebrew text at over 95% word-for-word accuracy, demonstrating remarkable preservation of the biblical text across centuries. The New Testament is supported by nearly 25,000 manuscript copies in various languages, far exceeding any other ancient literary work.
The sermon highlights the remarkable unity of the 66 books of the Bible, written by more than 40 authors from diverse social backgrounds, from multiple locations across three continents, over more than 1,500 years, in three different languages. Despite such diversity, the entire Bible shares one unified theme: God's plan of salvation through Jesus Christ. Jesus himself confirmed this in John 5:39 and Luke 24:27, 44. This unity is evidence that the Holy Spirit inspired the authors to record God's Word.
The concluding section stresses the importance of proper Bible study methods and making Scripture the foundation of the believer's life. The pastor warns against reading personal biases into Scripture and affirms that the Holy Spirit uses the Word to transform billions of people across all nations and all ages. Hebrews 4:12 is quoted to confirm that the Word of God is living and powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword, able to pierce to the very depths of human thought and intention.