So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him. 15 Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him. 16 He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction. 17 Therefore, dear friends, since you have been forewarned, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of the lawless and fall from your secure position.
? Introduction
I hope when you heard the text you found yourself agreeing with Peter when he said, sometimes the scriptures are hard to understand. A recent Barna Study entitled “the State of the Bible 2011” showed 45% of Americans say God speaks to them through their bible and 50% say the book is hard to understand. I know it’s the reason we have been trying to answer the question over the last three weeks, why bother with the Bible?
? It’s an interesting question and the answers can and should stimulate our thoughts about our primary way of coming to know God. Have you ever thought about the Bible: who determined which writings were to be included; how do we know it was translated correctly into English and finally, what does inspired word of God mean?
? Opening Bible Story about looking for a first bible or the uses of the bible around the house other than to read
? As I pondered those questions this week, I remembered a story from a pastor friend who said that one night he was asked to come over to a church member’s home for dinner. When he arrived the house looked beautiful, the dinner was on the table and the family was ready to eat. They sat down, had a wonderful meal and then just after the coffee was served and great dessert was placed on the table, the hostess asked if the preacher could read his favorite story from the scriptures for the family. He agreed. So the hostess said to her eldest daughter, “Honey, please go get the good book, the book we love, the one we read every day!” The girl went away for a few moments and came back with IKEA catalog. (ADAPTED from Tony Evan’s book of illustrations. P21. Neglect of the Bible)
? Transition: The real funny thing about that story is the credibility we give the Bible as our primary text as Christians and yet, most of us do not know the history of the Bible or even how it came into existence in the form we hold today. So let’s discuss how we, as Christians, come to hold a bible which is uniform in the books within it. The bible is really two collections of writings which were confirmed as the benchmark of the faith. The word most often used to describe this benchmark is “canon.”
? NEW SLIDE: History of the “Canon”- The rule – Bible: Jerry Sumney, Fortress Press
? The term canon designates a collection of writings that carries authority. The Greek word is “kanon” which means measuring stick. It is a measuring stick by which a community evaluates beliefs, practices and ethical behavior. A Canon is considered the standard of faith and practice as well as considered the “correct” collection and list of inspired writings. It wasn’t until the fourth century the writings both sections, the Old and New Testament writings, were confirmed.
? The first collection of writings is called the Old Testament. The process by which these 39 books become the agreed upon writing is well, complicated.
? The collection we have today was a loose group of writings and oral tradition which circulated among the tribes of Israel and Judah. It wasn’t until 585 BCE the process of gathering books written began. It was sparked in part by the fact that Judah was destroyed by the invading Babylonians that the process really moved forward. It took captivity, exile and the onslaught of a pagan culture to help establish what was really important. The early Jewish culture depended upon its culture but when the culture changed dramatically, they realized the need for an agreed upon and comprehensive “book.”
? The Hebrew bible is comprised of three major sections all of which were formed over a thousand years.
• The first section is called the Pentateuch or the Torah. It’s consists of the first five books of the Jewish Faith and carry great significance. They were originally handed down orally from generation to generation and eventually parts were recorded to preserve the faith. It is said in the earliest of times just after Moses; the word was to be read aloud every seven years to the people to ensure the Israelites would remember it. They were considered so important that the scrolls themselves we kept safely in the temple and handled by only the most elite of the Jewish culture.
• The next section was refined and was termed, “the Prophets.” It contained the 3 major (Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel) and 12 Minor Prophets.
• Finally, the Old Testament is rounded out with what is called, “The writings.” It’s an interesting collection of books which provide insight into God through the lives of those who came before. Many of the books have multiple authors and even reference other source materials for further refining of the message at hand. For example, Numbers 21:14 – book of the wars of the Lord, Joshua 10:13 – book of Jashar, 1 Kings 11:41 – book of acts of Solomon. And there are others. Unfortunately in most cases, we do not have those other writings.
? It’s also interesting to note, The Septuagint is a translation of the Hebrew Bible in to the Greek that was completed near the end of the second century. It included all the books of the OT and the books often called the Apocrypha (7 additional books + Daniel & Esther). It was the primary Bible of the Early Church (first century). It is also interesting that before the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem in 70CE by the Romans, the scriptures were considered important but there had been no definite limiting of the Jewish canon until the end of the first century. It wasn’t until after the destruction, the OT canon was formalized by the Jewish leadership at that time.
? As Christians, we honor the writings of the Jewish canon because Jesus taught His disciples to respect it (Matt 5:17-18).He also taught or referenced the Old Testament some 300 times
? The New Testament has a similar history in that it took a little while to firm up what was considered essential to the faith.
? All 27 of the books were written over a 75 year period of time between 50CE and 125CE.
? The process by which the writings became the Christian canon we know as the New Testament too place by reviewing each writing and determining if it Apostolic Authority (Was it written by a disciple of Jesus or leader of the Church?), was it an Authoritative Writing (that is, did its content reveal the Truth about Christ, the church or the community) and finally was the information widely used and accessed by the body of Christ, These were the determining factors for them to be called the “rule of Faith.”
? It took couple of centuries for the Christian canon to evolve but it did get solidified and affirmed in the fourth century the Bishop of Alexandria in Egypt. The books with the largest disagreements and debates were Hebrews, Revelation and the shepherd of Hermas.
? While much of the bible was formed and recorded, it didn’t stop the discussion of what was truly inspired and important for informing the faith. In fact, it was Martin Luther’s questioning of Hebrews, James, Jude and revelation that in part led to the Holy Huddle called the Council of Trent in 16th Century. This was where the Protestants pushed out 13 books which make up what we call the Apocrypha and the Catholics and the eastern orthodox kept them. The word apocrypha is Greek and means, “Hidden.” These works were deemed less because they were not included in the original Hebrew bible.
? Transition: Where ever you fall in the debate about what is to be called the inspired word of God, the earlier believing communities gathered these writings, claiming them as the texts by which they would lead their lives and derive their understanding of God, the world and one another.
? The primary language of the day was at first Hebrew, transitioned to Greek, then in the 4th century to Latin and then in the 1390, the entire Bible was translated from the Latin to English. This was so shocking to the established church that some actually wanted John Wycliffe and his associates tried as heretics. It was in 1536, that another translator was tried and burned at the stake for his work, William Tyndale. Do you find it as fascinating as I do that just the change in language (words really) created such an uproar.
? I was hanging out with my family and some of the next generation on father’s day. I was amazed at the difference in language between generations. Just say cool to a person over 80 and see how they respond. Or use the word hook-up with the next generation to describe getting together for coffee. The list is endless but the point is language has a big influence on our perception of the world. I think its becoming even more important as we add technology in the mix. Different mediums, like texting, the phone, face-time, email and even plain old paper change how we receive and perceive messages.
? NEW SLIDE: It’s why there is always some discussion about which Bible translation a person uses. The different translations can affect the way one process the information.
? This is a great chart of differing translations of God’s Word. (Scale of translation slide-p.28)
? Read the Different translations – RSV, NSRV, NIV, TNIV, ESV, etc.
? The translations all vary slightly depending upon the translators’ philosophy and views of what is the most accurate form of the biblical text. This is often called textual criticism and there is two forms:
• Formal correspondence (word for word) vs. dynamic equivalence (Paraphrases). Formal correspondence attempts to get a word for word translation and Dynamic tries to get as close to the original meaning taking into account nuances in the original language.
• Most translations fall somewhere between the two extremes. KJV, NKJV, RSV lean closer to original wording and structure. NRSV, NIV,NNIV are one step closer trying to make the text more readable while remaining faithful to some language and some structure of the original.
? I remember a few years ago, I was up in the youth room and a youth brought in a youth bible based in street slang. It was so funny to watch the kids listen to the reading and then compare it to the NIV text. There was a line in the Old Testament from Moses and the 10 commandments that read: “Yo Dudes, Let’s chill it on the sleeping around scene!” We were howling about the words used but the kids did say the comparison was somewhat helpful. There are all types of these translations out in the world, the deeper question for some is does it remain the inspired word of God?
? New Slide - Inspiration of Scripture
? The inspiration of scripture always produces controversy. In many cases, pastors and teachers will reference 2 Tim 3:16-17 as proof of the Bible’s inspiration…
? All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. – However, the text is referring primarily to the Old Testament which at the time, had already been established as primary, in the walk with God. The New Testament had not been yet been written so the next question is does it apply to the New Testament? I would say yes and by doing so I am establishing that I believe God continues to reveal himself through the Gospel accounts as well as the other New Testament writings. In so doing, I am claiming that New Testament scripture still connects and directs our lives. The question is to what level? There are
? Two different types of Inspiration: Inspired Content and Inspired Effectiveness
? Inspired Content which means the Bible’s stories reveal who God is, what God expects of His people and God’s interaction with them.
? The second form is Inspired Effectiveness. Inspired effectiveness has to do with way the texts function when read among believers. Inspiration occurs as the believing community reads the text, not only when the writer penned the words.
? 7 different ways to understand the Biblical inspiration. Seven Definitions of Biblical Inspiration– Robert Gnuse
1. Plenary or verbal inspiration – the words are inspired or even dictated by God in various ways and are without error, in faith and morals and scientific and historical references. God is perfect and so is his word so His scripture tells the truth- Fundamentalism
2. Moral flexible concept of inerrancy – it is not necessary to believe in inerrancy to be a true Christian. Inerrancy is limited to the original manuscripts and that errors and inconsistencies might be discerned in the biblical text by modern scholarship.
3. Scripture is not inerrant in matters of history and science, but is still infallible in regard to matters of faith and morals. God communicated religious truth to humanity through accommodation – through limited human knowledge in specific historical and cultural settings.
4. Content inspiration – maintain that only the ideas, not the actual words, of the Bible inspired. The words were entirely the product of finite human beings and their cultural eras. It still speaks authoritatively because of its origin in the divine presence found in human experience.
5. Only the experiences of the initial spokesperson were inspired. With this view, the interpreter may analyze both ideas and words of the biblical text but affirm its overall religious message or the direction of intellectual evolution the Bible affirms.
6. Neo-Orthodox inspiration – The Bible may contain the Word of God, which confronts the reader or listener. The word of God is found in the viva vox or “living voice.” The inspiration of God is located in the living encounter between God and the Christian. The text is only inspired when it speaks to an individual.
7. Social inspiration – the community as a whole creates a sacred text and both the speakers, scribes, editors as well as their supporters may be described as inspired.
So after giving you those two (or seven), “to say the Bible is inspired may simply make the broad claim that God’s Spirit works through those that wrote, canonized, and now read and apply the texts. Christians claim that the Bible is inspired because it is through these texts that God has chosen to be with them, and it is through these texts that they learn how to enter the relationship with God.” p. 43 Bible
? So now what do I do you ask? I never knew who determined which writings were to be included; how do we determined a correct translation or what inspired word of God meant However it makes me wonder if I can be confident in the Bible. Yes. You can be confident in the Bible because any person who has read and study and meditated on its precepts will tell you, It is alive, reading us, speaking to us, providing insight and knowledge and in living and wrestling with it God’s word and the authority in our lives. It is our measuring stick as a Christian. If you want a good bible, ask the clerk at the Christian book store for A Life application bible, The ESV if you want the latest word for word attempt with a very conservative commentary, or a Quest Bible which offers tons of questions and some answers or a total paraphrase like the Message. It’s all God’s word. Just get started.
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