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Casey Bible ChurchMen’s Systematic Theology Study

Grudem: Systematic TheologyCh. 4 The Authority of Scripture

Grudem, Systematic Theology, pgs. 73-86

Introduction: We’ve determined what the Bible is… The Inspired Word of God, Complete and Canonical

o The OT was recognised by the writers/authors/characters within the New Testamento Four-fold test for Canonicity (NT):

Authoritative – Divine Authorship Apostolic – Apostolic Authors

Mark, received his gospel from Peter and Papias records that Mark either wrote it while Peter was still alive or shortly after Peter was martyred

Luke – Acts, were written by the travel companion of Paul and bears the mark of Paul’s influence

Acceptance - Consistent Usage by NT Church since their authorship Consistency - of message with balance of OT and NT Canon

We need to ask what the Bible is like? What does the Bible teach us about itself?

o What things are stated by the bible authors themselves about their own and other author’s words written as Scripture?

The major teachings of the Bible about itself can be classified into four characteristicso I. The Authority of the Scriptures (Grudem Ch. 4)

The Inerrancy of Scripture (Grudem Ch. 5)o II. The Clarity of the Scriptures (Grudem Ch. 6)o III. The Necessity of the Scriptures (Grudem Ch. 7)o IV. The Sufficiency of the Scriptures (Grudem Ch. 8)

Explanation and Scriptural Basis:

JI Packer: The Christian principle of biblical authority means, on the one hand, that God purposes to direct the belief and behavior of his people through the revealed truth set forth in Holy Scripture; on the other hand it means that all our ideas about God should be measured, tested, and where necessary corrected and enlarged, by reference to biblical teaching. Authority as such is the right, claim, fitness, and by extension power, to control. Authority in Christianity belongs to God the Creator, who made us to know, love, and serve him, and his way of exercising his authority over us is by means of the truth and wisdom of his written Word. As from the human standpoint each biblical book was written to induce more consistent and wholehearted service of God, so from the divine standpoint the entire Bible has this purpose. And since the Father has now given the Son executive authority to rule the cosmos on his behalf, (Matt. 28:18) Scripture now functions precisely as the instrument of Christ’s lordship over his followers. All Scripture is like Christ’s letters to the seven churches (Rev. 2–3) in this regard.

Matthew 28:18 “And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.”

Grudem: “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.” Therefore, the Word of God has authority over us, as God, Himself speaking to us.

In exactly what sense does the Bible claim to be our Authority? How are we persuaded that the Bible’s claims to be God’s Word are true? In exactly what sense does the Bible claim to be our Authority? How are we persuaded that the Bible’s claims to be God’s Word are true?

Outline: A. All the words in scripture are God’s Words B. Disbelief or Disobedience of any Word of Scripture IS to Disbelieve or Disobey God, Himself

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C. The Truthfulness of Scripture D. Written Scripture is our Final Authority

A. All the words in Scripture are God’s words

This is what the bible claims for Itself There are frequent claims that the words in Scripture are God’s Words.

o “Thus says the Lord…” – 419 times in the NASB bibleo The phrase has the force and weight of: “Thus says the king…”o The phrase makes the words that follow authoritative

As surely as if the King himself stood there and with his own mouth spoke them As surely as if God Himself spoke out loud whenever we see that phrase in Scripture

o There was no argument or discussion when the OT kings made such decrees, they were simply obeyed or the hearer was punished for his disobedience. – often by death

o Joshua 7:13 “Rise up! Consecrate the people and say, ‘Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, for thus the Lord, the

God of Israel, has said, “There are things under the ban in your midst, O Israel. You cannot stand before your enemies until you have removed the things under the ban from your midst.”

o Judges 6:8 “…that the Lord sent a prophet to the sons of Israel, and he said to them, “Thus says the Lord, the God

of Israel, ‘It was I who brought you up from Egypt and brought you out from the house of slavery.”o Isaiah 7:7

“thus says the Lord God: “It shall not stand nor shall it come to pass.” o Jeremiah 2:2

“Go and proclaim in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord, “I remember concerning you the devotion of your youth, The love of your betrothals, Your following after Me in the wilderness, Through a land not sown.”

o Matt. 5:18, 20, 22, 26, etc… “For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass

from the Law until all is accomplished. “Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. “For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. “You have heard that the ancients were told, ‘You shall not commit murder’ and ‘Whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court.’ “But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, ‘You good-for-nothing,’ shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell.”

The prophetic formula was equivalent in OT times to thus says the kingo It had the full weight and authority of the king in themo The man speaking this way was invoking the full weight of the King’s authority behind his words – in fact

he is only a mouthpiece for the king

God spoke through the prophets, so what the prophet said in God’s name is equivalent to what God says, o 1Kings 14:18 – “according to the word of the Lord, which he spoke…”o 2Kings 9:36 – “this is the word of the Lord which he spoke…”o Zechariah 7:7 – “Are not these the words which the Lord proclaimed by the former prophets, when

Jerusalem was inhabited and prosperous along with its cities around it, and the Negev and the foothills were inhabited?’ ”

Important Implication: Therefore to disbelieve/disobey a prophet was to disobey Godo Hence the extreme importance of the genuineness of the prophet’s call by God to speak in God’s nameo Failure to accurately proclaim God’s words or misrepresentation of God was punishable by death because:

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if the people obeyed what God had not spoken, then the prophet was not only not speaking for God, He was misleading the people – even leading them into error

o Hence the extreme importance for us of correctly understanding the scriptures o Deut. 18:19

‘It shall come about that whoever will not listen to My words which he shall speak in My name, I Myself will require it of him. “

whoever will not hear (obey)… I will require it - discipline o 1Sam. 10:8 and 13:13 – command from Samuel = command from the Lord

10:8, Samuel speaks: “And you shall go down before me to Gilgal; and behold, I will come down to you to offer burnt offerings and sacrifice peace offerings. You shall wait seven days until I come to you and show you what you should do.”

13:13, Samuel equates his own words as God’s commandments “Samuel said to Saul, “You have acted foolishly; you have not kept the commandment of the Lord your God, which He commanded you, for now the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever.

o 1Kings 20:35-36 Now a certain man of the sons of the prophets said to another by the word of the Lord, “Please strike

me.” But the man refused to strike him. Then he said to him, “Because you have not listened to the voice of the Lord, behold, as soon as you have

departed from me, a lion will kill you.” And as soon as he had departed from him a lion found him and killed him.

These verse are speaking of specific sections where men spoke for God, representing God to His people OT cumulative force of 100’s of “thus says the Lord” passages shows that within OT we have records of God’s words

spoken thru prophetso Not every word in the OT was a “thus says the Lord” situationo But the words, passages and sections were written (under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit) but not

necessarily spoken to the People of God as a prophetic pronouncement.

In NT we have many passages indicating OT Scriptures are considered God’s word’s o 2Tim. 3:16

“All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness…”

o Scripture = πᾶσα γραφὴ, written Scriptureo Inspired = θεόπνευστος, breathed out by God – a metaphor for speaking the words of Scriptureo The OT Scriptures represent God’s words in written form

For every word, God spoke it, using human agents to write it downo 2Peter 1:19-21

“So we have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts. 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.

o Not a violation of men’s will in writingo The work of the Holy Spirit in their lives such that they were compelled to write, in so doing in some

mysterious way they wrote every word that God intended, in their own style, and language without addition or deletion or varying from God’s purpose.

The New Testament writers believed that all of the written Scripture of OT are spoken “from God” - “they are God’s own words”

o Matt. 1:22 – “Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet…” (Isa.7:14) the Lord had spoken by the Prophet Isaiah

o Matt. 4:4, “But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘MAN SHALL NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE, BUT ON EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDS OUT OF THE MOUTH OF GOD.”

o Matt. 19:5 God said – words fr, Gen.2:24 – not otherwise attrib. to God

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o Acts 1:16 – Psalm 69 & 109 are words the Holy Spirit spoke The words of Scripture are said to be spoken by the Holy Spirit, showing his part in the inspiration of

Scripture.o Acts 2:16-17, quoting Joel 2:28, Peter inserts ‘God said’

Luke, writing the speech of Peter, ascribes the words of Joel the prophet to God, even though there is no prophetic formula (thus says the Lord) before it in Joel

The NT attributes the words in the OT to the authorship of God, directly/indirectly. It is all the words of the prophets or the words of the OT that are said to compel belief, or to be from God.

o Luke 24:25, 27, 44 – all the things the prophets have spoken, that compel belief – o Belief in turn compels obedience because true belief always brings obedience.

John 3:36 “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”

– the opposite sides of the same coin, Believing is expressed through obeying what the Bible teaches

o That Compulsion to obey or believe is Authorityo The Scriptures have the Authority to command us to believe/obey

o Luke 24:25-27, “And He said to them, “O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! “Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?” Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures.”

o Luke 24:44, “Now He said to them, “These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.”

o Acts 3:18 “But the things which God announced beforehand by the mouth of all the prophets, that His Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled.”

o Acts 24:14 “But this I admit to you, that according to the Way which they call a sect I do serve the God of our fathers, believing everything that is in accordance with the Law and that is written in the Prophets…”

The concept extends to the NT writings as well The Greek word graphe referred in the NT only refers to the OT inspired, canonical writings, never an outside ‘sacred’

book or writing. Everything belonging to the category of Scripture is considered to be God-breathed.

o 2 Peter 3:14–16 “Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless, and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation; just as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given him, wrote to you, as also in all his letters, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which the untaught and unstable distort, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction.”

Paul is here quoting both an OT text and the words of Jesus (found in Luke10:7), both as Scripture.o 1 Timothy 5:18 “For the Scripture says, “YOU SHALL NOT MUZZLE THE OX WHILE HE IS THRESHING,” and

“The labourer is worthy of his wages.”

The prophets, the apostles are equivalent – authoritative o 2 Peter 3:1-2 “This is now, beloved, the second letter I am writing to you in which I am stirring up your sincere

mind by way of reminder, that you should remember the words spoken beforehand by the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior spoken by your apostles.”

o Ephesians 2:19–22 “So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit”.

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Jesus promised the Holy Spirit who would give remembrance and lead the disciples into all truth, allowing them to remember later perfectly all that He said – for evangelism and its inscripturation

o John 14:26 “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.

o John 16:13 “But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.

Paul (and other writers) had received the Holy Spirit to know and speak the things given them by God o 1 Corinthians 2:12–16 “Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so

that we may know the things freely given to us by God, which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words. But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised. But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no one. For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he will instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ.”

Paul is speaking by the Word of the Lord – similar to OT “Thus saith the Lord” Paul equated his writings and instructions to the Corinthians as the commands of the Lord

o 1 Thessalonians 4:15 “For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep.”

o 1 Corinthians 14:37 “If anyone thinks he is a prophet or spiritual, let him recognize that the things which I write to you are the Lord’s commandment.”

o 1 Corinthians 7:12 “But to the rest I say, not the Lord, that if any brother has a wife who is an unbeliever, and she consents to live with him, he must not divorce her.”

In context with 1 Cor. 7:12-40, especially 7:25, and 7:40, it would seem very clear that Paul means he had no earthly word spoken by the Lord about this, and no earthly teaching given by Jesus on the subject of marriage to an unbelieving spouse.

Because the NT writers saw what they were writing as Scripture, with the equivalent value and authority as the OT Scriptures which they clearly stated as authoritative, we can be sure that the NT writings are as authoritative as the OT writings

Being authoritative they compel belief To disobey the writings of either the OT or the NT is to disobey God’s word itself.

We are convinced of the Bible’s claims to be God’s Words as We Read the Bibleo The Bible certainly claims to be the Word of God o Are we convinced these claims of Scripture are true?o Our ultimate conviction comes when the Holy Spirit speaks in and through the words of the Bible to our

hearts, giving us the inner assurance that these are indeed God’s words. John Calvin: For as God alone can properly bear witness to his own words, so these words will not

obtain full credit in the hearts of men, until they are sealed by the inward testimony of the Spirit. The same Spirit, therefore, who spoke by the mouth of the prophets, must penetrate our hearts, in order to convince us that they faithfully delivered the message with which they were divinely entrusted. This connection is most aptly expressed by Isaiah in these words, “My Spirit that is upon thee, and my words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed’s seed, saith the Lord, from henceforth and for ever,” (Isa. 59:21.)1

o 1Cor. 2:14, the natural man and spiritual mano 1 Corinthians 2:14–16,

“But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised. But he who is spiritual appraises

1 John Calvin and Henry Beveridge, vol. 1, Institutes of the Christian Religion (Edinburgh: The Calvin Translation Society, 1845), 94-95.

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all things, yet he himself is appraised by no one. For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD, THAT HE WILL INSTRUCT HIM? But we have the mind of Christ.”

o For those, in whom Spirit dwells and is working, there’s a conviction that they’re true. Christ’s Sheep hearing Christ’s words, are convinced they are true.

o John 10:1–4, “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbs up

some other way, he is a thief and a robber. “But he who enters by the door is a shepherd of the sheep. “To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. “When he puts forth all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice.

o John 10:27, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me;

o The conviction that the words of Scripture are the words of God does not come apart from the words of Scripture does not come in addition to the words of Scripture It is as we read that we are convinced, by the Holy Spirit that the Scriptures are what they claim to be

– God’s Words

Other Evidence is useful but not finally convincingo Historical, scientific evidence is helpful, but not necessary or convincingo The facts of its influence in the lives of others is interesting, but unconvincingo If outside evidence was convincing what would the problem be?

Scripture is now potentially dependent on outside evidence to support its own internal claims to be authoritative word of God

o It is helpful to know The Bible is historically reliable The Bible is internally consistent The Bible contains prophecies that have been fulfilled 100’s of years after they were made

The details of Cyrus King of Persia Isaiah 44:28

“It is I who says of Cyrus, ‘He is My shepherd! And he will perform all My desire.’ And he declares of Jerusalem, ‘She will be built,’ And of the temple, ‘Your foundation will be laid.’  ”

Isaiah 45:1 “Thus says the LORD to Cyrus His anointed, Whom I have taken by the right hand, To subdue

nations before him And to loose the loins of kings; To open doors before him so that gates will not be shut…”

Ezra 1:1 Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the LORD by the

mouth of Jeremiah, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he sent a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and also put it in writing, saying:

The Bible has influenced countless 1,000,000’s of lives But, All of these facts do not prove much… It still comes down the internal testimony of the Holy Spirit to the truthfulness of Scripture and the

reality of it’s divine origin and authority

o West. Conf. of Faith Ch. 1, Para 5 (Grudem, pg. 78) We may be moved and induced by the testimony of the Church to a high and reverent esteem of the Holy Scripture. And the heavenliness of the matter, the efficacy of the doctrine, the majesty of the style, the consent of all the parts, the scope of the whole (which is, to give all glory to God), the full discovery it makes of the only way of man's salvation, the many other incomparable excellencies, and the entire perfection thereof, are arguments whereby it does abundantly evidence itself to be the Word of God: yet notwithstanding, our full persuasion and assurance of the infallible truth and divine authority thereof, is from the inward work of the Holy Spirit bearing witness by and with the Word in our hearts.

The Words of Scripture are self-attesting

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o Scripture cannot accept outside testimony to attest to its authorityo Any appeal to an outside/higher authority would prove the Bible not to be the highest level of authority o If something else is used outside of the Scriptures to prove the Scriptures authority, then the Scriptures are

now subordinate to whatever is being used to validate its authority… and no longer independently authoritative and hence not authoritative… (Pass the Panadol its headache time)

Objections: circular argument of (above)o The Scripture claims that it is the highest authority, o We believe that Scripture is God’s word, because it says it is God’s wordo We believe that it is God’s word because it is Scriptureo It’s a circular argument…o All arguments for an absolute authority must ultimately appeal to that authority for proof, otherwise the

authority would not be an absolute authorityo Ultimately the truthfulness of the Bible will commend itself as being far more persuasive than any other

religious booko It will be more persuasive because in actual experience of life all of the other candidates for absolute

authority will be seen to be inconsistent or will eventually fall short in such a way as to disqualify themselves

Does not imply that dictation is the sole means of God’s communicationo We’ve just argues that all the words of scripture are in fact God’s Wordso God did not dictate every single word to the human authors of Scriptureo “All the Words of the Bible are God’s Words”, describes the end-result of the process of bringing Scripture

into existence o God did not use one single process in order to bring Scripture into existenceo Hebrews 1:1

“God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways…”o There a few scattered references to God dictating Scripture to its human authorso Isaiah 38:4-6,

“Then the word of the Lord came to Isaiah, saying, “Go and say to Hezekiah, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of your father David, “I have heard your prayer, I have seen your

tears; behold, I will add fifteen years to your life. “I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city.”  ’

o Revelation 2:1-2 “To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: The One who holds the seven stars in His right hand, the

One who walks among the seven golden lampstands, says this: ‘I know your deeds and your toil and perseverance, and that you cannot tolerate evil men, and

you put to the test those who call themselves apostles, and they are not, and you found them to be false;

o Revelation 2:8-9 “And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: The first and the last, who was dead, and has come to

life, says this: ‘I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich), and the blasphemy by those who

say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.o Other methods of God’s inspiring of Scripture are seen:o Luke 1:1-3, Dr. Luke researched and made careful inquiry (under the Holy Spirit’s inspiration) and wrote a

“hero-narrative” of Jesus Christ – a gospelo Luke 1:1–3,

“Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile an account of the things accomplished among us, just as they were handed down to us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word, it seemed fitting for me as well, having investigated everything carefully from the beginning, to write it out for you in consecutive order, most excellent Theophilus…”

o The Psalms are known to have been compiled and edited and arranged into their final form in the Psalter – no less inspired through-out the process of the compilation

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o The OT Historical books:o 1 & 2Kings, 1 & 2Chronicles, 1 & 2Samuel, Ezra & Nehemiah, etc., are all regarded to be the work of several

men including both their original composition and their subsequent arrangement and final editing and presentation – no less inspired than the works that were dictated by God’s voice directly

{read pg. 81, last paragraph in section A}

B. Therefore to Disbelieve or Disobey any Word of Scripture IS to Disbelieve or Disobey GodScripture Has Authority

All this to say that all the words in Scripture are the words of God To disobey or disbelieve the words of Scripture is to disobey or disbelieve God himself For this reason Jesus can rebuke his disciples for failing to believe and obey the OT

o Luke 24:25, “And He said to them, “O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!”

Christians are encouraged to remember the commandments of our Lord and Saviour through your apostleso 2Peter 3:2,

“that you should remember the words spoken beforehand by the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior spoken by your apostles.”

To disobey Paul’s writings was to make oneself liable to church discipline such as excommunication and spiritual punishment

o 2Thessalonians 3:14, “If anyone does not obey our instruction in this letter, take special note of that person and do not

associate with him, so that he will be put to shame.”o 2Corinthians 13:2-3,

“I have previously said when present the second time, and though now absent I say in advance to those who have sinned in the past and to all the rest as well, that if I come again I will not spare anyone, since you are seeking for proof of the Christ who speaks in me, and who is not weak toward you, but mighty in you.”

Throughout church history the greatest preachers have recognised that in themselves they have no authority in themselves (Macarthur) and have seen their task as being to bring and explain and proclaim the words of scripture and apply them to the lives of their hearers

o Note: An individual elder/preacher has no authority in his own, however, when the combined group of elders makes a decision or sets the course or calls someone to do something, then as a governing body, in agreement on what the scriptures teach, they do have authority in the church.

We must stand in the pulpit point to the scriptures and say this is what it means, this is what you must believe and obey with all your heart, for God himself your creator and your Lord is saying this, to you, today.

Only the written words of scripture can give this type of authority to preaching

*Interlude* Martyn Lloyd-Jones: The Authority of the Bible All the scriptures point to and focus on Christ The scriptures have but one theme and song – Jesus Christ Notice in the Gospels how often Jesus quotes and/or alludes to the Old Testament

o Jesus assumed that the Old Testament is authoritativeo Jesus simply said “it is written”o Luke 19:46

“…saying to them, “It is written, ‘AND MY HOUSE SHALL BE A HOUSE OF PRAYER,’ but you have made it a ROBBERS’ DEN.”

o John 6:45 “It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught of God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned

from the Father, comes to Me. Jesus regarded that what was written in the Old Testament as authoritative for all of mankind

o Matthew 19:4

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In the last analysis our authority for understanding the inspiration of the scriptures (and their authority over us) is found simply in the fact that the Lord Jesus Christ Himself regarded them as authoritative – That was His View of the scriptures

C. The Truthfulness of Scripture God Cannot Lie or Speak Falsely

o The essence of Scripture’s authority is it’s ability to compel us to believe and obey and to make such belief and obedience equivalent to believing and obeying what God has said

If scripture calls us to fast and pray, it is as if God, Himself has called us to Fast and pray If scripture calls us to preach the word, (same) If scripture calls us to repent of sin (same) If scripture calls us to believe in God, trust Christ for salvation and forgiveness, (same) If scripture gives us certain liberties – then God, Himself has given those liberties, even as if he spoke in

an audible, intelligible voice from heaveno Belief and obedience requires confidence in the complete truthfulness of scripture

Eg. If I am not convinced of the truthfulness of the warnings that excessive speed on the highways of Victoria will result in excessively high fines, I’m probably not going to obey the limit

If I am convinced of the truthfulness of the sign that says “thin ice” I am almost certainly not going to skate or walk out into he area marked off as thin ice….

o The Bible writers repeatedly affirm that the words of the Bible are God’s words – God’s words are indeed true.

Numbers 23:19, “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?

Titus 1:1–2, “Paul, a bond-servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the faith of those chosen of God and the knowledge of the truth which is according to godliness, in the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised long ages ago…”

Lit. the unlying God, the God who never lies – God does not practice lying

Hebrews 6:18, “so that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us.”

It is not possible for God to lie

2 Samuel 7:28 “Now, O Lord God, You are God, and Your words are truth, and You have promised this good thing to Your servant.”

Therefore, all the words in scripture are completely true and without erroro Because God is truth; Because God does not lie; Because God cannot lie; Because the words of scripture are

undoubtedly the words of God – There is no untruthfulness or error in any part of the words of scripture

o Scripture is undiluted purity of trutho There is no imperfection in the truthfulness of the scriptures

Psalm 12:6, “the words of scripture are pure words, as silver refined in the fire” Proverbs 30:5 “Every word of God is tested (proved to be true); He is a shield to those who take

refuge in Him. o Because the words of all the scriptures are perfect they are also eternal

Matt. 24:35, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away. Numbers 23:19, “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?

God’s words are the ultimate standard of Trutho John 17:17 “Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.”

God’s word is not simply true, it is truth

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The Bible does not simply conform to a higher standard of truth The Bible IS the standard by which all other truth is measured The Bible defines what is true The Bible defines what is not true The Bible itself is truth

o What is truth? – It is what God says It is God, Himself – “I am the way the truth and the Life…” Jesus We have all that God desires for us to know We have it accurately if not exhaustively

no book could contain all of that… All of eternity will be required to understand all that God desires for us to know

Could there be a discovery of some new Fact that contradicts the bible?o No, the answer is impossible to be correcto God, who is truth, has given us His thoroughly accurate Word which defines what is true and what is not – o God, who is omniscient, has known from eternity past all things past, present, and future and there is nothing

that could happen that he did not already know about, therefore there are no facts that he did not take into account when he caused scripture to be written…

o New discoveries, may cause us to re-examine what we thought the bible teaches The bible does not teach that the sun rotates around the earth, yet many prior to astronomical

research and development, simply assumed that to be true… until it was re-examined from scripture New discoveries of “fact” should be carefully examined to ensure that they are in fact true… New discoveries should prompt us to search the scriptures to see whether they in fact teach or state

what we thought was true All data correctly understood will only witness to the truth of the bible Misunderstood data will almost certainly seem to contradict scripture No true fact will ever contradict the words of the God who knows all facts and who cannot, will-not

and does not ever lie.

Written Scripture is our Final Authorityo It is important to remember that it is the written form of the Scriptures that remain authoritative

It was the words of God written on the stone tablets It was the written Scripture that Paul affirmed as God-breathed, 2Tim. 3:16 Paul’s writings are a command of the Lord 1Cor. 14:37 Paul’s writings are classified by Peter with “other scriptures”, 2Peter 3:16

o Important to maintain that it is the written words since some will try to assert “what Jesus really said”o Important to maintain what the written text states and not attempt to correct, replace or improve on what

was really meant by the author – or use the situations behind the writing to achieve some other interpretation of the text

o The written form of the text of scripture is under the sovereignty of God in Authorship Preservation

o Read p. 85 last para in Main section of text (highlited)

Questions for Application:1. If you want to persuade someone that the Bible is God’s Word, what do you want that person to read more than any

other piece of literature?

2. Who would try to make people a. Disbelieve something in Scripture?b. Disobey something in scripture?

3. Is there anything in the bible that you do not want to believe or obey?

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4. How do we deal with the problem of not wanting to believe or obey anything in scripture?

5. Do you know of any proven fact in scripture that has shown the bible to be false?

6. Can the same be said of other religious “holy” books? Quran?, book of Mormon?

7. What spiritual effect has the Bible had on you?

8. Can you say that when you read the bible you hear the voice of your Creator speaking?

AUTHORITY: GOD GOVERNS HIS PEOPLE THROUGH SCRIPTURE

J. I. Packer

2 Timothy 3:16-17 “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.

The Christian principle of biblical authority means, on the one hand, that God purposes to direct the belief and behavior of his people through the revealed truth set forth in Holy Scripture; on the other hand it means that all our ideas about God should be measured, tested, and where necessary corrected and enlarged, by reference to biblical teaching. Authority as such is the right, claim, fitness, and by extension power, to control. Authority in Christianity belongs to God the Creator, who made us to know, love, and serve him, and his way of exercising his authority over us is by means of the truth and wisdom of his written Word. As from the human standpoint each biblical book was written to induce more consistent and wholehearted service of God, so from the divine standpoint the entire Bible has this purpose. And since the Father has now given the Son executive authority to rule the cosmos on his behalf, (Matt. 28:18) Scripture now functions precisely as the instrument of Christ’s lordship over his followers. All Scripture is like Christ’s letters to the seven churches (Rev. 2–3) in this regard.

Matthew 28:18 “And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.”

Where is God’s authoritative truth to be found today? Three answers are given, and each appeals to the Bible in its own way.

The Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches find God’s truth, as they believe, in the interpretations of Scripture that are embodied in their own tradition and consensus. They view the Bible as God-given truth, but they insist that the church must interpret it and is infallible when it does so.

By contrast, individuals labeled liberal, radical, modernist, or subjectivist find God’s truth in the thoughts, impressions, judgments, theories and speculations that Scripture triggers in their own minds. While dismissing the New Testament concept of the inspiration of Scripture, and not treating their Bible as totally trustworthy or as embodying absolute and authoritative transcripts of the mind of God, they are confident that the Spirit leads them to pick and choose in such a way that wisdom from God results.

Historic Protestantism, however, finds God’s truth in the teaching of the canonical Scriptures as such. It receives these Scriptures as

inspired (i.e., God-breathed, 2 Tim. 3:16), inerrant (i.e., totally true in all they affirm), sufficient (i.e., telling us all that God wills to tell us and all that we need to know for salvation and eternal life), and clear (i.e., straightforward and self-interpreting on all matters of importance).

The first two positions treat human judgments on the Bible as decisive for truth and wisdom; the third, while valuing the church’s heritage of conviction and appreciating the demand for coherence that rational thinking involves, systematically submits all human thoughts to Scripture, which it takes seriously as canon. Canon means a rule or standard. The first two positions refer to Scripture as the canon, but they fail to take it with full seriousness as a functioning rule for faith and life. Thus they do not in practice fully accept its authority, and their Christian profession, however sincere, is thereby flawed.