Essentials: Is the Bible really God s Word? The Bible. Who wrote and assembled it? Is the Bible reliable? Isn t the Bible full of contradictions?

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1 Essentials: The Convictions We Share The Bible Is the Bible really God s Word? Who wrote and assembled it? Is the Bible reliable? Isn t the Bible full of contradictions? The Literalist error: we must believe in a literal interpretation of every passage of scripture. The Liberal error: all scripture is allegorical Revelation vs. Discovery All the wisdom of this world is but a tiny raft upon which we must set sail when we leave this earth. If only there was a firmer foundation upon which to sail, perhaps some divine word. --Socrates

2 Revelation 1. Creation 2. Scripture 3. Jesus Christ The Bible OT/NT 66 books Written over a 1600 year period of time (1500 BC-100 AD) Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek 40 diverse authors Around 1500 BC Then the LORD said to Moses, Write this in a book as a memorial and recite it to Joshua... - Exodus 17:14 Around 600 BC In the OT book of Daniel we read that Daniel, observed in the books the number of the years which was revealed as the word of the LORD to Jeremiah the prophet Around 450 BC In the OT book of Nehemiah we read how Ezra, a priest & scribe read from the book of the law of Moses Around 250 BC The Septuagint, a Greek translation of the ancient Hebrew scriptures is compiled by Jewish scholars in Alexandria, Egypt

3 Time of Jesus all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me. - Luke 24:44-45 During the Patristic period (AD ) the writings that would become the NT were circulated widely. By the period of the Apologists (2nd-4th century) we begin to find references to lists that are parallel to our 27 book list. The Synods of Carthage (AD 397 and AD 418) officially recognized our current 27 NT books. From that period, Athanasius, Jerome, Augustine all recognized the authority inherent in the NT writings The criterion used for including various writings in the NT canon included: 1. witness of the Holy Spirit 2. apostolic connection 3. usage by the church 4. intrinsic content 5. spiritual and moral impact All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work. - 2 Timothy 3:16-17 But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one s own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God. - 2 Peter 1: 20-21

4 What is the purpose of the Bible? The Bible is not an end in itself, but a means to bring men to an intimate and satisfying knowledge of God, that they may enter into Him, that they may delight in His Presence, may taste and know the inner sweetness of the very God Himself in the core and center of their hearts. - A. W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God The greatest single secret of spiritual development lies in personal, humble, believing, obedient response to the Word of God. It is as God speaks to us through his Word that his warnings can bring us to conviction of sin, his promises to assurance of forgiveness, and his commands to amendment of life. We live and grow by his Word. --John Stott Our approach to the Bible If we come to Scripture with our minds made up, expecting to hear from it only an echo of our own thoughts and never the thunderclap of God's, then indeed he will not speak to us and we shall only be confirmed in our own prejudices......we must allow the Word of God to confront us, to disturb our security, to undermine our complacency and to overthrow our patterns of thought and behavior. --John Stott

5 The (written) Word is the wire along which the voice of God will certainly come to you if the heart is hushed and the attention fixed. --F. B. Meyer, The Secret of Guidance 1. Read through the passage casually 2. Identify the literary genre of the passage. Historical narrative Law Prophecy Poetry Wisdom Literature Epistle/Letter Parable Apocalyptic 3. Learn as much as you can about the author and their historical/cultural setting. 4. Set the scene of the passage 5. Allow what is clear to interpret what is not clear.

6 6. Distinguish between Descriptive and Prescriptive passages. The Holy Scriptures tell us what we could never learn any other way: they tell us what we are, who we are, how we got here, why we are here and what we are required to do while we remain here. --A. W. Tozer Only if your God can say things that outrage you and make you struggle (as in a real friendship or marriage!) will you know that you have gotten hold of a real God and not a figment of your own imagination. So an authoritative Bible is not the enemy of a personal relationship with God. It is the precondition for it. --Timothy Keller, The Reason for God