The Authoritative BiblePart 3: The Written Word was Inspired by God and Without Error

Why Study Theology?

Why Study Theology?

Forward Disciple

a track for growth

This track is designed to take one of the systematic theologies or doctrinal stances, explain it and the importance of it for the first four weeks and then work on the practical application of the theology for four week.

The 2012 Forward Disciple TrackFebruary - The Character and Attributes of God March - Practical Incarnation

May - The Authoritative BibleJune - How to Study the Bible

September - A Theology of Heaven and HellOctober - Persevering with Hope

EFCA Doctrine on the BibleWe believe that God has spoken in the Scriptures, both Old and New

Testaments, through the words of human authors. As the verbally inspired Word of God, the Bible is without error in the original writings,

the complete revelation of His will for salvation, and the ultimate authority by which every realm of human knowledge and endeavor

should be judged. Therefore, it is to be believed in all that it teaches, obeyed in all that it requires, and trusted in all that it promises.

National Association of EvangelicalsWe believe the Bible to be the inspired, the only infallible, authoritative Word of God.

Assemblies of God (Pentecostal)The Scriptures, both the Old and New Testaments, are verbally inspired of God and are the revelation of God to man, the infallible, authoritative rule of faith and conduct.

United Methodist Church (Weslyan)In thinking about our faith, we put primary reliance on the Bible. It’s the unique testimony to God’s self-disclosure in the life of Israel; in the ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus the Christ; and in the Spirit’s work in the early church. It’s our sacred canon and, thus, the decisive source of our Christian witness and the authoritative measure of the truth in our beliefs. In our theological journey we study the Bible within the believing community. Even when we study it alone, we’re guided and corrected through dialogue with other Christians. We interpret individual texts in light of their place in the Bible as a whole. We use concordances, commentaries, and other aids prepared by the scholars. With the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we try to discern both the original intention of the text and its meaning for our own faith and life.

Lutheran Church (Missouri Synod)Of the Holy Scriptures1. We teach that the Holy Scriptures differ from all other books in the world in that they are the Word of God. They are the Word of God because the holy men of God who wrote the Scriptures wrote only that which the Holy Ghost communicated to them by inspiration, 2 Tim.3:16; 2 Pet. 1:21. We teach also that the verbal inspiration of the Scriptures is not a so called "theological deduction," but that it is taught by direct ‐statements of the Scriptures, 2 Tim.3:16, John 10:35, Rom. 3:2; 1 Cor. 2:13. Since the Holy Scriptures are the Word of God, it goes without saying that they contain no errors or contradictions, but that they are in all their parts and words the infallible truth, also in those parts which treat of historical, geographical, and other secular matters, John 10:35. 2. We furthermore teach regarding the Holy Scriptures that they are given by God to theChristian Church for the foundation of faith, Eph. 2:20. Hence the Holy Scriptures are the sole source from which all doctrines proclaimed in the Christian Church must be taken and therefore, too, the sole rule and norm by which all teachers and doctrines must be examined and judged. With the Confessions of our ‐‐Church we teach also that the "rule of faith"(analogia fidei) according to which the Holy Scriptures are to be understood are the clear passages of the Scriptures themselves which set forth the individual doctrines. (Apology.Triglot, p. 441, Paragraph 60; Mueller, p. 684). The rule of faith is not the man made so called ‐ ‐"totality of Scripture" ("Ganzes der Schrift"). 3. We reject the doctrine which under the name of science has gained wide popularity in the Church of our day that Holy Scripture is not in all its parts the Word of God, but in part the Word of God and in part the word of man and hence does, or at least, might contain error. We reject this erroneous doctrine as horrible and blasphemous, since it flatly contradicts Christ and His holy apostles, set up men as judges over the Word of God, and thus overthrows the foundation of the Christian Church and its faith.

The Roman Catholic Church"Did God intend that the Bible alone should be the guide to salvation? No, because certain things in the Bible can be misunderstood, and because the Bible does not have everything God taught" -Catechism, p. 51. "Do we get from the Bible alone all our knowledge and certainty about what God has told us? No, there is also Sacred Tradition … What is tradition? The Word of God handed on to us by the Apostles in their preaching and by their successors in the church to the present day … Do you have to believe in tradition? Yes … we are obliged to accept all the truths contained in the Bible and Tradition…" - Catechism, pp. 9,10. "Does Jesus require us to follow the Pope in matters of religion? Yes, because obedience and loyalty to the Pope are among the chief requirements of Our Lord's plan for unity … Can the Pope make an error when teaching religion? Not when he is speaking solemnly (ex cathedra) as head of the church. Then he has that special protection from error which God gives as a spiritual safeguard for all the members of the church" - Catechism, p. 56.

The Doctrine of InspirationEFCA: “We believe that God has spoken in the Scriptures, both Old and New Testaments, through the words of human authors. As the verbally inspired Word of God…” The Doctrine of Inspiration Defined - God speaking thru specially chosen men using their own personalities, styles and vocabularies so that what was written was exactly what He wanted written.

The Doctrine of InspirationEFCA: “We believe that God has spoken in the Scriptures, both Old and New Testaments, through the words of human authors. As the verbally inspired Word of God…” The Doctrine of Inspiration Defined - God speaking thru specially chosen men using their own personalities, styles and vocabularies so that what was written was exactly what He wanted written.

Inspiration refers to the autographs, not translations or copies

The Doctrine of InspirationAuthor When Written Earliest Copy Time Span No. of Copies

Homer (Iliad) 900 BC 400 BC 500 years      643

Ceasar (The Gallic Wars)

100 - 44 BC 900 AD 1,000 years   10

Plato (Tetralogies)

427 - 347 BC 900 AD 1,200 years 7

Aristotle 384 - 322 BC 1,100 AD 1,400 years 49

Herodotus (History)

480 - 425 BC 900 AD 1,300 years 8

Euripedes 480 - 406 BC 1,100 AD 1,500 years 9

New Testament 50 - 90 A.D. 130 AD 30 years 24,000

The Doctrine of InspirationTypes of Copy Errors (Daniel Wallace, New Testament Scholar)1) Spelling & Nonsense Errors. 2) Minor Changes.  3) Meaningful but not Plausible. 4) Meaningful and Plausible.

The Doctrine of Inspiration

The Circular Reason Argument

The Doctrine of InspirationKey Passages for the Doctrine of Inspiration

Divine Inspiration Comes Through the Holy Spirit1 Corinthians 2:9-139 But, as it is written,“What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him”— 10 these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. 11 For who knows a person's thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.12 Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. 13 And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.

TO THE VERY WORDS

Exodus 24:44 And Moses wrote down all the words of the LORD. He rose early in the morning and built an altar at the foot of the mountain, and twelvepillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel.

The Doctrine of InspirationKey Passages for the Doctrine of Inspiration

Method of Inspiration2 Peter 1:19-21“19 And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, 20 knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone's own interpretation. 21 For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”

The method for how the Holy Spirit inspires revelation is: • Not by human will • Moved by the person of the Holy Spirit • Uses the Man as the Instrument

The Doctrine of InspirationKey Passages for the Doctrine of Inspiration

Declaration of Inspiration2 Timothy 3:15-18“15 and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16  All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”  

1 Timothy 5:18“18 For the Scripture says, “You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain,” and, “The laborer deserves his wages.” So what Paul says is:

• ALL Scripture (Old and New) • Are given by Inspiration (the only place this word is used in scripture) • And are profitable for equipping the man of God for every good work

The Doctrine of InspirationKey Passages for the Doctrine of Inspiration

Zechariah 7:12"Yes, they made their hearts like flint, refusing to hear the law and the words which the Lord of hosts had sent by His Spirit through the former prophets. Thus great wrath came from the Lord of hosts."  Matthew 15:3, 6"He answered and said to them, “Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition? …then he need not honor his father or mother.’ Thus you have made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition."  Galatians 1:11-12 "But I make known to you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through the revelation of Jesus Christ."

The Doctrine of Inspiration

Summary • God desired and initiated communication to us. • Language is valuable as a means of communication. • God used languages precisely to communicate specific details of

His truth to us. • God used the personality and vocabularies of the author to

communicate.• God’s attention was even down to the very words that were

used. • Every part of the Bible is the revealed Word of God given by the

Spirit of God using chosen Men of God.

The Authoritative BiblePart 4: The Written Word is Sufficient and Complete for Salvation and Obedience, Authoritative and Necessary for our Daily Living and Clear and Trustworthy.

The Doctrine of InerrancyEFCA: “…the Bible is without error in the original writings…”

The Doctrine of Inerrancy Defined - The autographs of scripture are without error and completely true. “Inerrancy is the view that when all the facts become known, they will demonstrate that the Bible in its original autographs and correctly interpreted is entirely true and never false in all it affirms, whether that relates to doctrine or ethics or to the social, physical or life sciences” (P.D. Feinberg)

The Doctrine of Inerrancy is Important

The Doctrine of InerrancyLogic (Systematic Theology):The Doctrine of Inerrancy should be pretty clear simply as a result of the Doctrine of Inspiration. The Inspiration says that the Bible is God’s Word. If God is God, then He is true. Therefore His Word is true.

• God (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) cannot err• And the Bible is the Word of God (as proved in the Doctrine of Inspiration)• Therefore, the Bible cannot err

Psalm 119:160 – “The sum of your word is truth, and every one of your righteous rules endures forever.”

1 John 4:6 – “We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error.”

The Doctrine of InerrancyKey Passages for the Doctrine of Inerrancy

2 Peter 1:19-21“19 And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, 20 knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone's own interpretation. 21 For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”

Matthew 4:1-4Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.”4 But he answered, “It is written,“‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

The Doctrine of InerrancyKey Passages for the Doctrine of Inerrancy

Matthew 22:23-3323 The same day Sadducees came to him, who say that there is no resurrection, and they asked him a question, 24 saying, “Teacher, Moses said, ‘If a man dies having no children, his brother must marry the widow and raise up offspring for his brother.’ 25 Now there were seven brothers among us. The first married and died, and having no offspring left his wife to his brother. 26 So too the second and third, down to the seventh. 27 After them all, the woman died. 28 In the resurrection, therefore, of the seven, whose wife will she be? For they all had her.”

29 But Jesus answered them, “You are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God. 30 For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. 31 And as for the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was said to you by God: 32 ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not God of the dead, but of the living.” 33 And when the crowd heard it, they were astonished at his teaching.

The Doctrine of InerrancyObjections to Inerrancy• Authors were Human and to Err is Human

• Scripture Contains Approximations

• There are discrepancies in parallel accounts

• Scripture refers to science inconsistencies

• Scripture freely quotes other portions

The Doctrine of InerrancySummary

The Bible does not contain errors. It only makes sense that it is true if it is God’s Word (or we make God a liar). Christ and the other authors have believed this as true. This only applies to the autographs and it is very easy to see when copies introduce errors.

The Bible is Complete and SufficientAnswers the question: Is the Bible enough for us to know what God wants us to think or do?

EFCA: “…the complete revelation of His will for salvation…”

Defined: Scripture contains all the words of God he intended his people to have at each stage of redemptive history, and that it now contains all the words of God we need for salvation, for trusting him perfectly, and for obeying him perfectly. (Grudem – “Systematic Theology”)

The Bible is sufficient in that it is in scripture alone that we are to search for God's words to us. It is complete in that all that God desired to reveal to the world is found in the canon and it is complete in that nothing else needs to be added to it for us to grow in the grace and knowledge of God.

The Bible is Complete and Sufficient2 Tim 3:15-16

15 and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,

Deuteronomy 29:2929 “The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.

The Bible is Complete and SufficientPractical Applications (Grudem)

1. The sufficiency of Scripture should encourage us as we try to discover what God would have us to think or to do.

2. The sufficiency of Scripture reminds us that we are to add nothing to Scripture and that we are to consider no other writings of equal value to Scripture.

3. The sufficiency of Scripture also tells us that God does not require us to believe anything about himself or his redemptive work that is not found in Scripture

4. The sufficiency of Scripture shows us that no modern revelations from God are to be placed on a level equal to Scripture in authority.

5. With regard to living the Christian life, the sufficiency of Scripture reminds us that nothing is sin that is not forbidden by Scripture either explicitly or by implication.

“Blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the LORD!” Psalm 119:1

The Bible is AuthoritativeAnswers the Question: Can God’s Word really be trusted as a guide for my life?

EFCA: “…and the ultimate authority by which every realm of human knowledge and endeavor should be judged.”

Defined: The authority of Scripture means that all the words in Scripture are God’s words in such a way that to disbelieve or disobey any word of Scripture is to disbelieve or disobey God.

The Bible is AuthoritativeAuthority of God Throughout the Old Testament

18 I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. And I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. 19 And whoever will not listen to my words that he shall speak in my name, I myself will require it of him. 20 But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in my name that I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that same prophet shall die.’

The Bible is AuthoritativeThe Authority of Scripture is Confirmed in the New Testament

2 Tim 3:16

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness…

The Bible is AuthoritativeThe New Testament Is Affirmed as Authoritative

2 Peter 3:15-16

15 And count the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, 16 as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters. There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures.

1 Tim 5:18

18 For the Scripture says, “You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain,” and, “The laborer deserves his wages.”

The Bible is AuthoritativeThe New Testament Is Affirmed as Authoritative

John 16:13

13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.

The Bible is AuthoritativeTo Disbelieve or Disobey Any Word of Scripture Is to Disbelieve or Disobey God

Luke 24:25

25 And he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken!

2 Peter 3:2

2 that you should remember the predictions of the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior through your apostles…

The Bible is Clear and Necessary and Trustworthy

Answers the Question: Can I really understand and trust the Bible for salvation and a guide for my life?

EFCA: “Therefore, it is to be believed in all that it teaches, obeyed in all that it requires, and trusted in all that it promises.”

Defined: God’s Word can be clearly understood to all that the Holy Spirit enlightens, is necessary for living an obedient life and can be fully trusted as the embodiment of truth itself.

The Bible is Clear and Necessary and TrustworthyGod Cannot Lie or Speak Falsely

Hebrews 6:17-18

17 So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath, 18 so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us.

God’s Words Are the Ultimate Standard of TruthJohn 17:17-19

Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. 18 As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. 19 And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth.

The Bible is Clear and Necessary and TrustworthyGod’s Word is Neccesary“The necessity of Scripture means that the Bible is necessary for knowing the gospel, for maintaining spiritual life, and for knowing God’s will, but is not necessary for knowing that God exists or for knowing something about God’s character and moral laws.”

Romans 10:13-17

13 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” 14 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? 15 And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written,“How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” 16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?” 17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

The Bible is Clear and Necessary and TrustworthyGod’s Word is Necessary

Matthew 4:4

4 But he answered, “It is written,“‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

The Bible is Clear and Necessary and TrustworthyBut the Bible Is Not Necessary for Knowing That God Exists

Psalm 19:1

The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above[a] proclaims his handiwork.

Romans 1:19-21

19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.

The Bible is Clear and Necessary and TrustworthyThe Bible Is Not Necessary for Knowing Something About God’s Character and Moral Laws

Rom. 2:14–15

14 For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. 15 They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them

The Bible is Clear and Necessary and TrustworthyGod’s Word is Clear

“The clarity of Scripture means that the Bible is written in such a way that its teachings are able to be understood by all who will read it seeking God’s help and being willing to follow it.”

The Bible is Clear and Necessary and TrustworthyGod’s Word is Clear

Then Why Do People Misunderstand Scripture?

The Bible is Clear and Necessary and TrustworthyGod’s Word is Clear

Hermeneutics - the study of correct methods of interpretation

Exegesis - the process of interpreting a text of Scripture

“Even though we admit that there have been many doctrinal disagreements in the history of the church, we must not forget that there has been an amazing amount of doctrinal agreement on the most central truths of Scripture throughout the history of the church. Why is this true, no matter what the society, or culture, or denominational affiliation? It is because they all have been reading and believing the same Bible, and its primary teachings have been clear.”

The Bible is Clear and Necessary and TrustworthyThe Role of Scholars

1. They can teach Scripture clearly, communicating its content to others and thus fulfilling the office of “teacher” mentioned in the New Testament.

2. They can explore new areas of understanding the teachings of Scripture.

3. They can defend the teachings of the Bible against attacks by other scholars or those with specialized technical training.

4. They can supplement the study of Scripture for the benefit of the church.

Sundays in June:

How To Study The Bible with Pastor Don

Held in the Practical Christian Living class on the right (East) side