Lesson 4: The Authority of the Bible

Phil guessed that he would find a solution to his problem in the Bible. But is the Bible accurate and relevant for today? When we consider the Bible as the word of God, we must accept one of two conclusions: If the Bible is the word of God then it would be timeless in its application and would need to be read and obeyed by all men. Men would eagerly study it because it reveals the message and mind of our Creator. To snub it or treat it like common books would be to treat God in a like manner. If it is the word of God, we should seek to know it for ourselves as best we can. If the Bible is not the word of

God

, then it is untrustworthy, unreliable, without authority, and the hopes and promises contained in its pages are vain and worthless. It would have no more value than any other book, in fact, it would be worse because it claims to be the word of God and commands submission to its precepts. The Bible claims that it speaks for God with phrases such as “it is written,” “thus says the Lord,” “God spoke,” “The Spirit says,” and other variations. Either men are writing presumptuously in God’s name, or they are writing the words of God. Paul told Timothy, in 2 Timothy 3:16- 17 that “all scripture is inspired by God.” Just as God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed life into him, so God took the language of man, and formed it into His living word. In that same passage Paul told Timothy that the word was profitable for teaching, developing faith, changing lives, and equipping every person for God’s work. Old Testament as Scripture Some have estimated that 10% of Jesus’ sayings come from the Old Testament. Jesus recognized the Old Testament as authoritative when He rebuked Satan in Matthew 4 with “It is written.” Jesus refers to the Old Testament as scriptures in Matthew 22:29 and John 5:39-47. In John 5, Jesus rebukes His audience for searching the scriptures but not obeying the message as it related to Him. Paul says that the Old Testament scriptures provide examples for us, Romans 15:4. New Testament as Scripture The New Testament also claims to be inspired scripture. Jesus gave the apostles the authority to bind and loose commandments while on earth, Matthew 18:18-20. He also promised that the Holy Spirit would help them remember the things He taught, John 14:25-26. When the apostles wrote, they wrote from authority expecting their commands to be followed, 2

Thessalonians 2:15; 3:6-14. Peter

recognizes Paul’s writings as scripture, 2 Peter 3:15-16. Both the Old and New Testaments are scriptures inspired by God. However, only the New Testament is binding on the Christian today (see Lesson 5). How Is Scripture Inspired? There are three ways to consider inspiration:

Questions for Discussion & Study

1. Writing that inspires, like motivational literature.

2. God gave writers ideas and they chose the words.

3. God gave the writers the words themselves. If number one were true, the Bible would simply be the product of man’s imagination and of little use to us. A Unitarian preacher thought that one should have a “loose leaf” Bible in which he could add or remove writings that he found inspirational. If the Bible is not the word of God, this is a valid approach for it would be like any other book. Some liberal scholars consider the Bible to be more the work of man than God. Consider the following quote: “Its [the Bible] God was not longer the holy one who revealed himself to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and finally in Jesus Christ, the eternal word made flesh. Revelation was conceived more as a human achievement than a divine gift; the Bible as a collection of human insights and opinions than a message from God. Since Liberalism rejected all miracles, it believed Christ to be only human; salvation meant self-improvement, and the church was interpreted in sociological and ethical terms. Liberalism’s optimism concerning the possibilities of human nature is matched only by its repudiation of the traditional doctrine of human sin and the fall” (M. E. Osterhave, “Theology in the Twentieth Century.” Christian Faith and Modern Theology .) The Bible itself refutes this concept of inspiration. 2 Peter 1:19- 21 tells us that “no scripture is of private interpretation…but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.” It was not of man’s motivation or human endeavor, but men wrote as God moved them. Some might argue, however, that the Holy Spirit gave the apostles the ideas. However, the New Testament writers recognized that they were writing the words of God and not speaking from their own authority. In 1 Corinthians 2:10-13, it seems clear that God gave the apostles the words to write. The words given were not from man’s wisdom but from the Holy Spirit. Though about 40 men wrote the Bible over a period of 1,500 years, the message is a beautiful, seamless story of God’s love and plan. Linguistic specialists who study the word of God note that the writing styles of the writers are different. If you read Paul and John, you can see their unique styles. Yet God could still have chosen the words based on the background and education of the apostles. Though they had different characteristics, the author is the same. For example, if I pick up a pencil, a fine point pen, a medium point marker, a crayon, and paintbrush I could write the same message but the writing would look different based on the characteristics of the writing instrument. Similarly, the Bible has the same author, God, but uses the characteristics of different writers to bring His message to life. Evidence of Inspiration - Prophecies We can see the evidence of inspiration in the fulfillment of many prophecies. These prophecies could have no rational explanation if God had not given the prophecy. The prophets claimed to speak the words of God. There were prophecies about the rise and fall of nations and the fate of Israel. Of great interest to us are the prophecies of Jesus. Most estimate that no less than 300 prophecies apply to Jesus. Many of these, such as His virgin birth, His birth in Bethlehem, His death on the cross, the soldiers casting lots for His garments, were out of His control. What is more amazing is that the prophets predicted these things hundreds of years before the events and their prophecies were preserved in the Greek Old Testament, the Septuagint, 250 years before Jesus’ birth. The statistical chance of just a few of the prophecies being fulfilled is staggering. Evidence of Inspiration – Brevity of the Message The inspiration of God is also evident in the brevity of the Bible message. The Bible covers so many important events briefly or not at all. Only a couple of stories record Jesus’ yo uth an d re lative l y little information is recorded about His three years of ministry. John did not lack material for he said that he could have kept writing and the world could not contain the books that men could write, John 20:30-31; 21:25. But John recorded the events he did to build faith in Jesus. If uninspired men were recording the events of the Bible, we would expect greater detail and more personal observations. Pick up a history book on any event or nation and you will find much more information about these historical characters than you will find in the Bible regarding its main characters. I have a book on America’s involvement in World War II and it is much more detailed than the thousands of years recorded in the Bible. This brevity shows the wisdom of God. Evidence of Inspiration – Simplicity Another strong evidence of God’s hand in bringing us His word is the simplicity of the message. When Jesus came to earth, the common people heard Him gladly. He spoke deep universal truth in simple form. God used common language to preserve His message. If theologians wrote the Bible, none but the scholars would be able to understand it. As an example, in a book on the interpretation of scripture, the author says, “The reshaping and development of normative traditions is the focus of ‘canonical criticism’” (Goldingay 21). The author does not speak in the language of the common person as Jesus did. Phil realized that religious confusion began when men left the simple teaching of the Bible and followed the doctrines and traditions of men.

   • 1. Do you think people give “lip service” to the idea that the Bible is the word of God? Explain your answer.
   • 2. How does an understanding of inspiration affect Bible interpretation?
   • 3. How are prophecies evidence of God’s inspiration?

4. Why do you think so little is written about the early years of Jesus or the details of His crucifixion?

5. Why do you think some people say the Bible is too tough to understand?