4. What Christians Believe About the Bible?
Week 1 • Day 4
Up to this point we have argued along this line of thinking...
The Biblical documents that have been passed down to us replicate the original manuscripts (regardless of whether the content is actually true).
The 4 gospels recount accurate historical events of what happened to Jesus Christ, including his resurrection from the dead.
If Jesus rose from the dead, we should take Jesus’ teachings seriously. Whatever Jesus claims about the scripture, we ought to take seriously since he is Lord.
The English translations of scripture we have in our Bible’s today - from the Old Testament and the New Testament - are faithful representations (although they differ).
Today, we will complete this chain of logic by coming to two more conclusions.
If we follow what Jesus says about the Bible, then we can conclude that the scriptures - from the Old Testament and the New Testament - are authoritative and true.
If the scriptures are both authoritative and true, then we can have confidence to affirm that there is a unique spiritual power at work in the scriptures.
One of the patterns that my friends have pointed out to me is that I tend to ask a lot of questions. And let me tell you, these two concluding statements deserve a lot of questions. There are so many wild things in the Old Testament, is it possible to believe that it is true? Even if it were true, is it actually good that the Old Testament is true considering that these texts have inspired slavery, genocides, misogyny, and other vile acts of humanity throughout history?
In terms of the New Testament, how can we believe that the texts of people after Jesus rose from the dead equate to authoritative scripture? Besides, they are just humans like Paul, James, John, Mark, and Luke writing these documents, right?
Let’s unpack the foundational premise of these questions. Is it possible to believe that the Old Testament and the New Testament are true? First, let’s consider this small sample size of whether or not Jesus thought that the events of the Hebrew Bible actually happened.
Therefore this generation will be held responsible for the blood of all the prophets that has been shed since the beginning of the world, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, this generation will be held responsible for it all. - Luke 11:50–51 (the 1st murder of Abel in the Hebrew Bible cited from Genesis 4 → the last murder of the prophet Zechariah cited in 2 Chronicles 24:20-21).
As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. - Matthew 24:37–39 (cited from Genesis 6-9).
Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” - John 6:32–33 (cited from Exodus 16:4).
For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now something greater than Jonah is here. The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon’s wisdom, and now something greater than Solomon is here. - Matthew 12:40–42 (cited from Jonah and 1 Kings 10).
“Truly I tell you,” he continued, “no prophet is accepted in his hometown. I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah’s time, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land. Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon. And there were many in Israel with leprosy in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed—only Naaman the Syrian.” - Luke 4:24–27 (cited from 1 Kings 17 and 2 Kings 5).
“So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’ spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand— then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.” - Matthew 24:15–16 (cited from Daniel 9:37, 11:31, 12:11).
Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I have said you are “gods” ’? If he called them ‘gods,’ to whom the word of God came—and Scripture cannot be set aside— what about the one whom the Father set apart as his very own and sent into the world? Why then do you accuse me of blasphemy because I said, ‘I am God’s Son’? - John 10:34–36. (cited from Psalm 82:6)
If Jesus, who rose from the dead, saw fit to allude to the Old Testament as authoritative and a depiction of true events, then so can we. In a similar vein, the writers of the New Testament saw the Gospel accounts and the words of the apostles as something to be regarded as equivalent to the Hebrew Scriptures.
For the Scripture says, “You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain (cited from Deut. 25:4),” and, “The laborer deserves his wages (cited from Luke 10:7) .” - 1 Timothy 5:18.
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, 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. - 2 Peter 3:15–16.
If Jesus saw that the Hebrew scriptures were authoritative and true, and the apostles saw the words of the gospels and the words of the Apostles on the level of the Hebrew Scripture, then it logically follows that all of scripture is authoritative and true! However, is it good that these scriptures are true considering all of the ways they have inspired crazed actions by those who claim to follow Jesus? In order to answer this question, we must define what we mean by the word “true”.
“God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent; Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good? - Numbers 23:19
When the church says true, we mean the word inerrant. Inerrancy (without error), simply means that the original copies do not affirm or promote anything that is contrary to fact. First, Christians believe that the Bible is inerrant in the sense that all of its words are 100% reliable, true, errorless, and will stand as the ultimate standard of truth when all facts come to bear. Without inerrancy, the church is forced to speculate which scriptures compromise the truth. Inevitably, this opens the door to a flood of accusations in which the scriptures – and subsequently God Himself – could be a liar. And if this is the case, why should anyone live according to God’s good and true character or believe what He has to say? (for more on inerrancy see Ps. 12:6, 119:89; Pr. 30:5; Matt. 24:35; Jn. 17:17; Titus 1:2; Heb. 6:18)
Second, the Bible is inerrant because every word found in the scriptures infallibly tells the truth concerning the content it wants to convey. Infallibility (without fail) acknowledges that the united message of the Bible - namely salvation and righteous eternal life found in Jesus by faith - is written in realistic human prose. The Bible comes to us using different genres and writing styles which utilize ancient observations, stylistic writings, poetry, estimations, quotations, chronological freedom, grammatical “slang”, and a variety of other styles that vary in accuracy and precision. Infallibility suggests that even within the stylistic writing of the Bible, the main message still comes across through the hard work of biblical interpretation. (for more on infallibility see Lk. 24:36-49; Rom.1:16-17, 15:4; Heb. 1:1-3).
Therefore, this 2-fold doctrine of inerrancy allows one to say that the scriptures,“are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus,” they are true and “useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work,” and they affirm that, “every word of God proves true,” (Prov. 30:5; 2 Tim. 3:14-17).
If the Bible is indeed inerrant, then we can finally suggest that there is a unique spiritual power at work amidst the scriptures because that is exactly what the inerrant word tells us.
The Bible is God’s Revelation to Us
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. - 2 Timothy 3:16-17
In the scriptures, we discover a God who transcends all human comprehension (see Is. 40:13, 55:8-9; John 17:3, 6, 25-26). If humans are to understand anything about God at all, He must take the initiative to graciously reveal Himself. In the scriptures, we learn that God has done just that. He has revealed Himself through things like His creation and the natural world around us (see Gen. 1; Ps. 19:1-6; Rom. 1:19-25) as well as His divine breath which brought our consciousness into existence (see Gen. 1:26-28, 2:7; Rom. 2:14-15; Eccl. 3:11). However, it was the human decision to seek the knowledge of good and evil apart from God that distorts our consciousness and our perception of creation around us. Therefore, our fallen human nature thwarts the correct interpretation of God’s revelations apart from the Spirit’s intervention (see Jn. 14:26, 15:26; Rom. 1:18-32).
Since human understanding was distorted, God directly intervenes by revealing Himself...
... through dreams and visions (Gen. 28:10-22, 37:1-11),
... through covenants (Gen. 9:8-17; 12:1-3, 15:9-21; Ex. 19:5-6; 2 Sam. 7:1-17),
... through laws (Ex. 19-31),
… through dwelling places (Ex.40:34; 1 Kgs. 8:10-11),
... through prophets (2 Peter 1:21),
... through the chosen nation of Israel (Gen. 17:7).
... through the scriptures (2 Tim. 3:16-17)
... and ultimately through Jesus – God incarnate, the author and perfecter of our faith (Jn. 1:1-3; Phil. 2:5-11; Heb. 1:3, 12:1-3).
God can be sufficiently known and understood by looking at the material creation, by undergoing mental reasoning, by examining the metaphysical, by fixing our eyes on the Messiah, and by meditating on the manifestations of God and the overall message of redemption that lies within the pages of scriptures.
The Bible is Inspired by the Holy Spirit
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, knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. 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. - 2 Peter 1:19- 21
How does the Bible reveal God? The doctrine of inspiration suggests that when the words of the Bible were penned, the Holy Spirit was guiding the entire process. On the more conservative end, the dictation view of inspiration suggests that the Holy Spirit “dictated” every word that came from the author's hand. On the more liberal end, the limited inspiration view suggests that the Holy Spirit took a more “hand’s off” approach and allowed the human personality to take the lead. The scriptures convey the possibility of both. For example, the scriptures record the Lord providing hyper-specific wordings to people like the prophets (Hab. 2:2; Jer. 30:2). At other times, the Lord allows the more “hands-off” approach such as when the Spirit allows John to describe the vision he sees in (Revelation 1:11).
The verbal plenary view of inspiration finds a middle ground and states that the Holy Spirit was involved in guiding the thought processes of the human author of scripture (think limited), but to the extent that each word the author selected was ordained and in fact written by God Himself (think dictation). While the scriptures do not have much to say on the “processes'' by which scripture is brought into existence, the verbal plenary view allows the church to affirm that God walked alongside the human authors in order to shape their personalities and thoughts before they ever penned their written accounts without compromising their individuality. That is why the verbal plenary view provides the “God-Breathed” foundation for all scripture! (for more on Verbal Plenary Inspiration see Deut. 4:2; 12:32; John 14:26, 16:13; 1 Cor. 2:13; 2 Pet. 1:19-21; 2 Tim. 3:16; Rev. 22:18-19).
The Holy Spirit Illuminates Through the Bible
For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. - Hebrews 4:12
Since the Spirit has inspired the writing of every facet of the Bible, it can also be said that the Spirit continues to work through the written words of scripture by means of illumination. The fallen human mind is incapable of receiving God’s truths, but since the Holy Spirit works in the words of scripture, the Spirit is able to regenerate its readers towards an enlightened understanding of God. This turns what was once seen as foolishness in this world into the true wisdom for salvation and righteousness found in the gospel of Jesus Christ!
As the Spirit-filled believer continues to interact with the God-Breathed scriptures, the Holy Spirit continues to illuminate the truths of the scriptural texts (1 Thess. 1:5, 2:13; Heb. 5:14) by teaching believers all things and bringing to their remembrance all that Jesus has taught (Jn. 14:26), by witnessing to Jesus through the text (Jn. 15:26-27), by convicting the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment (Jn. 16:14), and by guiding believers into all truth (Jn. 16:13) all derived from the authority of God and to the glory of Jesus Christ (Jn. 16:13-14). (for more on Illumination see Jn. 3:1-15; Eph. 1:18, 3:14-19; 2 Cor. 3:12-18; Rom. 2:29; Col. 1:9; 1 Jn. 5:20)
The Bible is the Ultimate Objective Authority
If the Bible is God breathed, and the Spirit of God is working through the scriptures, then we can view the scriptures as God’s authoritative word given to us. In the Old Testament, it is common to find a variety of texts that affirm the notion that the scriptures are God’s word:
“Thus says the Lord” 2 Sam. 23:2; Ezk. 2:1-7; Mic. 4:4; Is. 8:11
“Speak through the prophets” Duet. 18:18; Jer. 37:2; Zech. 7:7-14
“write these words down” Ex. 34:27
Additionally, the New Testament routinely affirms the divine inspiration of the Old Testament as well as itself, making the entire canon authoritative scripture.
I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this scroll: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to that person the plagues described in this scroll. And if anyone takes words away from this scroll of prophecy, God will take away from that person any share in the tree of life and in the Holy City, which are described in this scroll. - Revelation 22:18–19.
Therefore, the scriptures act as God’s authoritative word in the life of the church and to disbelieve or disobey any words of Scripture is to disbelieve or disobey the very words of God. This does not negate evidence or wisdom found outside of the scriptures themselves which testify that the Bible is God’s authoritative word (e.g. historical facts, internal consistency, prophecies fulfilled, beauty and influence, scientific and archaeological attestation, logical consistency, 1st century actual events, etc.), however the church must acknowledge that the words of scripture themselves, being the ultimate authority, are the final authority of conviction and truth! (for more on Authority of the Bible see Deut. 18:19; Isa. 66:2; Lk. 10:16, 24:25; 1 Cor. 10:11, 14:37-38; 2 Tim. 3:16-17, 5:18; 2 Peter 3:2, 16; 1 John 4:6; Rev. 22:18-19)
Our hope is that by the end of this series, you will see the beauty of all of these things at work in the scriptures as well!
Share the Gospel: If we follow what Jesus says about the Bible, then we can conclude that the scriptures - from the Old Testament and the New Testament - are authoritative and true. And if the scriptures are both authoritative and true, then we can have confidence to affirm that there is a unique spiritual power at work in the scriptures. We believe that scripture is inerrant and infallible, it is one of God’s revelations to us, it is divinely inspired, the Spirit of God illuminates it, and that it is the final authority on conviction and truth.
