Post on 26-Jun-2015
description
The authority
and inspiratio
n of Scripture
Ten claims we’re going to investigate in ten lectures...
NATUREAUTHORSHIPTEXTCANONEFFECTSINVESTIGATIONCONTENTSINTERPRETATIONSILENCEUSE
NATUREAUTHORSHIPTEXTCANONEFFECTSINVESTIGATIONCONTENTSINTERPRETATIONSILENCEUSE
The Bible claims an authority and nature which no other book possesses.
Its ultimate author is God himself.
We possess the accurate text as it was first written.
The books in our Bible are the correct ones.
The Bible makes an impact on human lives when it is read properly.
Careful scholarship reinforces our confidence in the Bible.
The contents of the Bible are free from error.
The Bible is not inscrutable; its meaning can be interpreted confidently.
There is no situation in life which the Bible does not address.
If we use it carefully and appropriately, it will transform our lives.
The nature
of Scriptu
re
The nature of ScriptureWhat does the Bible actually claim to be?
The Law
The former prophets
The latter prophets
The writings
given directly
by God
not just
history books
“thus says the
Lord”
books that “defiled
the hands”
The nature of ScriptureWhat does the Bible actually claim to be?
The Gospels and Acts
The NT letters
Revelation
more than biography
(1 Tim 5:18)
straight from God (1 Cor
7:25, 2 Pet 3:16)
“don’t change the words of
this book”
The NT attitude to the OTWhat did the first Christians think of the OT?
The OT contains God’s words
It reflects what God is still saying
God has spoken in many different ways – but it all counts, and leads towards Jesus
Acts 4:25, Romans
9:14, 25
1 Cor 1:18, 2:9, 1
Pet 2:6
Hebrews 1:1-2,
Acts 26:22
WRITEWRITERSRS
WORWORDSDS
VALVALUEUE
EXTEXTENTENTCHARACHARA
CTERCTER IMPORTIMPORTANCEANCE
LIMITATLIMITATIONSIONS
POWPOWERER
The Bible’s claims about itselfIt covers at least eight different areas...
And so the Bible claims that:
WR
ITE
RS
God’s spokesmen have the same authority as God himself
WO
RD
SThe words of Scripture, not just the ideas and stories, come from God
And so the Bible claims that:
And so the Bible claims that:
VA
LU
E
The written Word of God has a permanent value
EX
TEN
TAll of it is God’s Word, and all of it fits together
And so the Bible claims that:
CH
AR
AC
TERGod’s Word reflects
his character, can be understood, and can be trusted
And so the Bible claims that:
IMP
OR
TA
NC
EWithout God’s word, we’d be lost; it’s necessary, vital, sufficient, special revelation
And so the Bible claims that:
Without God’s word, we’d be lost; it’s necessary, vital, sufficient, special revelation
We’d never work it out
for ourselves
We can’t get anywhere without it
It tells us all we need to
know
It takes us further than experience
can
LIM
ITA
TIO
NSScripture is not
magic; it’s in ordinary words and it doesn’t tell us everything
And so the Bible claims that:
PO
WE
RGod’s Word and God’s Spirit act together to transform our lives
And so the Bible claims that:
Donald Gee
With only the Word, you dry up.With only the Spirit, you blow up!With the Word and the Spirit... you grow up.
“
”
The authorsh
ip of Scriptur
e
coming next time:
What do we mean when we say it’s “inspired”?