God’s Inspiration – Captain Moy Hernandez, Jr.
(The Salvation Army Doctrine 1 - Sermon Series)
2 Timothy 3:16
http://pomonacorps.blogspot.com/2009/01/gods-inspiration-salvation-army.html
What is a Doctrine? According to the dictionary it is defined as a code of beliefs, or tenets, especially about philosophical or theological matters; the body of teachings of a religion, or organization.
In order words it is the set of interpretations - in this case of a Church about what the Bible teaches us as followers of Christ.
According to our mission statement The Salvation Army is an evangelical part of the universal Christian Church.
This simply means that we indeed are a Christian Church in fact we are recognized as an independent denomination although we share many of our beliefs and doctrines with other independent denominations.
Our theological interpretation is based on Wesleyan Theology from which many other well knows denominations such as the Methodist and the Nazarene Church derive their own statements of beliefs and practices.
But as a Salvationist, whether you are a soldier, an active members or just someone who enjoys worshiping as a part of our Christian family, do you know what our Church stands for? Do you know what we believe?
Well starting today on every second Sunday of the month we will begin a study through the eleven official Doctrines or statements of beliefs of The Salvation Army.
If anyone of you where talking our membership or soldiership classes we would spend more time on each of these topics, but consider these sermons as reviews of the overall meaning of these biblical interpretations.
Let us begin with doctrine number one, the necessary foundation on which all other believes must be based on. Our first Doctrine then reads:
We believe that the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament were given by inspiration of God and that they only constitute the divine rule of Christian faith and practice.
It is important to understand that these doctrines are not statements that where merely dreamed up by our founder but they are rooted and indeed based on Biblical principles.
Their interpretations and understanding will be what we will cover in this series.
In fact the direct interpretation for this doctrine is found in our scripture for today, 2 Timothy 3:16-17 where we read: All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.
But let us break it down to gain a deeper understanding of what it should mean to each of us. We will look at three different aspect of this doctrine.
First we’ll take a look at its historical development of the doctrine not just in The Salvation Army but in the Church and the importance of this doctrine to our Christian faith.
Secondly, we’ll look at the essentials of this doctrine and we’ll finish off with the issues that this belief presents to us as Salvationist and members of this denomination.
Our Old and New testaments were combined to form the “Canon” which is the English equivalent of the Greek word Reed. A reed was sometimes used as a measurement instrument.
The word was used in that sense and it was eventually extended to refer to all kinds of rules or means of measurements, even to rules, standards or models.
Meaning that the scriptures become the ruler by which faith and practice were to be measured.
But how where different books chosen to be a part of the bible?
The Old Testament as we know it had already been around for a while so it was simply accepted as the inspired word of God.
But three criteria where put in place to choose the books in the New Testament.
1. The writing had to conform to the rule of faith and creed handed down in the church;
2. It had to have apostolic origin meaning containing teachings from the apostles;
3. It had to be in general use in the churches.
Many books where indeed rejected as unauthentic from our Christian Bible. Some of these books such as the Gospel of Thomas can be found in other cannon such as the apocrypha which is a bible used by the Catholic practice.
For centuries the Latin version of the Bible was authoritative but since most people did not speak Latin it limited access only to those who spoke it. Usually the priests and scholars.
It was not until the time of the pre-reformers and reformation in the 14th and 15th century that other translations began to appear.
Now a day there are many translations, interpretation and paraphrases available to us all. And all though we are grateful for the many attempts to help each of us to understand the important word of God, we must be watchful and choose translations that seek to maintain the true meaning or the original Hebrew and Greek texts rather than others that simply engage the reader in countless paraphrasing and interpretations.
Both have value but we should be aware that a translation is always more complete and true to its original meaning than a paraphrase will be.
Understanding this we can then realize why this doctrine was placed in the first position. The scriptures are crucial to the Christian belief system.
Therefore if we cannot accept them as God inspired then we might as well move along and forget about everything else.
But this doctrine is so much more than a mere statement of faith. It actually has great importance to our Christian faith.
As Christianity is a religion of revelation the question as to whether or not God actually reveal himself to us is an important one. Can God actually speak to us and if he can, has he?
In The Salvation Army we believe that He has. We are opposite to those who believe that they shape their own destinies and so therefore they believe that God has nothing to do in their lives. But that is not where we stand.
Without our belief in God’s revelation then we are merely a people who does not believe that God created us, or that he invites us to be His children, or that he leads us and that indeed we are his own. So without revelation we are left to find our own ways.
But how many of you can testify to the opposition of this. That indeed we serve a God who is alive and very much involved in our lives. Who inspires us every day to be the best that we can be for His honor and glory? Amen!
So then does the Bible accurately convey how God has revealed Himself in the history of his people in the life of Jesus and in the history of the early church as well as to its writers? And so we say yes.
Because if such revelation is a fantasy, than so is our claim that the scriptures are the Word of God. But we do believe that indeed it is his inspired word for us and that it holds the key to life.
This doctrine also defines the bases of the reliability of the divine revelation in Scripture. When we say that the scriptures are inspired we are saying far more than they are mere inspirational.
We are saying that it is God-breathed and therefore fully reliable and definitive.
We are saying that the writers where so filled of the Spirit and inspired that they conveyed the truth and action of God – full redemption and salvation for all mankind.
Throughout generations in the words of the bible we come to find God and he comes to find us. Making them the true means of God’s grace.
William Barclay a famous bible commentator said: the bible did not become scripture by the decision of any man. It became the scriptures because out it readers in their sorrow found comfort, in their despair, hope, in their weakness strength, in their temptations power, in their darkness, light, in their uncertainty, faith, and in their sin, a Savior.
The inspiration of the Scriptures themselves are the basis of the Bible’s authority. All faiths have some source or sources, that for them are authoritative. For the Christian, it is the Bible that speaks with authority.
It is unique in matters of faith and practice because it revels thoughts and actions of God that we would never be able to know about otherwise or on our own.
The message of the bible is often surprising, revolutionary, unsettling and bathed with a grace outside human bounds.
It is the bible that shows the way to life and that point to Him who is the way, the truth and the life.
The assumption of the authority of the bible is validated by the experience of countless believers and different races and cultures who have proved the truth of its promise of salvation. With minds and hearts that are quicken by the Holy Spirit of God.
Lastly, the Holy Spirit is the one that not only inspired the Scriptures but he also confirms it’s witness .
As we read the bible, it comes alive as the Spirit breathes upon the word, and brings the truth to sight and more especially as we find the Lord Himself beyond it’s sacred pages.
Many read the scriptures without seeing nor understanding. If a person reads the bible and his mind is not open to thoughts and ways that are not his own, he will not know what he is reading.
But if he puts on the contacts of the Holy Spirit, he will see God at work. The witness will be confirmed.
Other forms of confirmations are what we call internal verification whereby the scriptures illuminate themselves, one passage confirming and enlightening another.
The second way is called experiential verification whereby a person finds truth about themselves in scripture.
Lastly, what’s called social verification whereby scripture has played a positive and decisive guiding role in the course of human events and in the lives of countless communities.
But let us break it down even further and look at the essentials of this doctrine.
It is God who speaks – the first doctrine of The Salvation Army is based on the assumption that God communicates with us. This means first that he is involved in our lives and in our history.
What unifies the scriptures is that through it all we are dealing with a living God who enters our lives and speaks to us and through us when we make ourselves his willing vessels.
Without God’s ever presence voice in our lives and in our history, doctrine is no more than us speaking our own thoughts.
It is a revelation with primary authority – the scriptures not only claim that God speaks but hey carry his word.
Because as we said Christianity is a faith of revelation then for this reason alone the scriptures become the main source of such a communication of God with us.
It is a completely inspired Book – If the scriptures have not been inspired by God and His Holy Spirit then we cannot make this claim.
The doctrine of inspiration is the necessary foundation for our belief that the scriptures simply must be heard and headed and that they indeed point the way to salvation.
The bible tells the salvation story upon which our own salvation rests confidently.
Because of this Christ is the key to it all – Essential to our understanding of the message of Scripture is our belief that Christ is the key to unlocking the meaning. We make this claim for the Old Testament as well as the New Testament.
For example, we understand Isaiah 53 as a prophecy that points to Christ. Spirit-led Philip encounters the eunuch reading the book of Isaiah and explains to him that Christ is the messianic savior to who Isaiah refers.
Likewise other parts of the New Testament identify Old Testament passages as pointing to Christ. They also agree with one another for example:
The word is light
Old testament – Proverbs 6:23 – For the commandment is a lamp, And the law a light; Reproofs of instruction are the way of life
Jesus – John 8:12 - “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”
Spiritual Food
Old Testament – Deut. 8:3 - man shall not live by bread alone; but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the LORD.
Jesus – John 6:35 - I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.
Jesus does not compete with the Old Testament he simply affirms it and personifies its teachings.
Christ is in fact, the final meaning of all the saving words of the Bible. Words like grace, peace, love, mercy, wisdom, righteousness. He is the one in whom they all become real.
He is the embodied word of God. In fact in John 1:1 we read: in the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God.
So what are the issues for us Salvationist?
We must have knowledge of the scripture – it is extremely important that we be biblically literate. To say that the scriptures are our divine rule of Christian faith and practice and not to immerse ourselves in them and grapple with their message as a continuing discipline is to lie to our doctrinal claim.
If we are not reading it regularly and coming to terms with the God who speaks through its pages, we cannot assume that we are living in obedience to the word of God, and therefore will not be able to discern God’s leading.
We must understands that God’s Holy Spirit still inspires us and teaches us concerning the authority of God’s word even today. Obedience to the word of God is first of all obedience to the living Word, Jesus Christ.
And lastly we must beware of other so called authorities.
As early as the first century in the church, congregations within a church would develop creeds or creedal statements that summarized basic Christian beliefs as revealed by Scripture. (doctrines of you will)
That would carry a certain authority that would be seen as helpful guides for Christian beliefs.
As Salvationist we affirm the basic truth and value of the classic Christian creeds but we do not give them any authority over the scriptures themselves as some traditions do.
It is worth considering how the erosion of authority in the modern worlds affects the appeal of a Christian faith that relies on the authority of the scriptures.
There is also the view that all viewpoints are equally valid, or that those who hold any view have full right to claim the equal validity of that view.
In today’s world, any claim to scriptural authority will not be imposed on people; it will only be proven by the authenticity and attractiveness of those who take that claim seriously. And that’s you and me.
In other words one of the biggest issues for us will be how we live our lives in reflection to this doctrine. The behaviors others see in us as Christians those they will imitate.
If we live right and faithfully others will be attracted to God’s word and in it they too will come to find the inspired word of God which indeed constitutes the divine rules of Christian faith in practice.
Then we will be able to affirm along side with our scripture for today in 2 Timothy 3:16-17 - All Scripture is indeed given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness. That the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.
It is good for us to know what we believe and why we believe it so that we may defend it and share it with others. But pray that God will guard our hearts and protect us from our own inclinations.
Remember doctrine is determined by the correct interpretation of God’s word and never but the assumptions of man.
Anything that gets in the way of us faithfully seeking God and serving him has no place in the Christian life. Do you believe that? Can you believe it? Then let us pray.
