So far we have studied the internal evidence of the New Testament to see that it was written by eyewitnesses or close associates and contemporaries of the eyewitnesses who left a record that gives a very detailed and accurate description of the people, places, and events of the day in which they lived. The testimony of the authors, borne out in their lives, demonstrates that these men were conducting themselves with the purest motives and highest level of integrity possible. The end result is a accurate and trustworthy historical document bearing witness to the life and teaching of Jesus Christ and the early Christian Church.

Attention can now be focused on the transmission of written documents down through the ages. The important question to be asked is this, " Is the New Testament we now have in our hands today an accurate reproduction of the original New Testament documents as penned by the original authors almost two thousand years ago? The study of the transmission of the text of the New Testament is fascinating and will bring to light the many important facts that will establish the reliability and trustworthiness of the New Testament we posses today.

This aspect of the study of the Bible is vast in scope and cannot be covered here in an exhaustive fashion. The purpose of this topic is to introduce the reader to the important facts to be considered and to provide enough information to satisfy the legitimate questions that are raised in an honest search for the truth. A list of books has been provided in the bibliography for those who wish to investigate this topic even further.

While a Christian is called to exercise faith in many aspect of his life when it comes to the New Testament documents his faith is resting on a solid foundation of fact regarding the trustworthiness and reliability of the written record before him.