The Doctrine Of Scripture

Audio and powerpoint slides available at

http://www.adrian.warnock.info/2007/02/audio-what-is-bible.htm

“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.” (2 Tim 2:15)

Introduction to Bible Study

Aim of our studies

– Equip you to answer “What does God say about a certain subject?”

– Help you understand certain books of the bible and use them as tools in your tool bag

– Set you on a lifetime of bible study

What is the bible?

• The Authority of the Bible

– Why we can trust the bible

• The Clarity of the Bible

– We can understand the bible

• The Necessity of the Bible

– Why we need the bible

• The Sufficiency of the Bible

– The bible is enough for us

The AUTHORITY of the Bible

• The reported words of God “Thus says the LORD” (Ex 4:22, Deut 18:18-20, Josh 24:2, 1 Sam 10:18, Is 10:24, Jer 1:9)

• Also “all Scripture is breathed out by God” (2 Tim 3:16)

• God longs to bless those who submit to his word

– “But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word.” (Is 66:2)

Peter saw Pauls letters as part of scripture

“..just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters. There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures” (2 Peter 3:15-6)

Paul saw Luke as scripture

• 1 Timothy 5:18

“For the Scripture says, “You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain,” and, “The laborer deserves his wages.”

• Deuteronomy 25:4

“You shall not muzzle an ox when it is treading out the grain.”

• Luke 10:7

”And remain in the same house, eating and drinking what they provide, for the laborer deserves his wages. Do not go from house to house”

Paul said he was writing the Lords commands

“If anyone thinks that he is a prophet, or spiritual, he should acknowledge that the things I am writing to you are a command of the Lord.”

( 1 Cor 14:37)

The Bible is All About Jesus

• “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs” (Heb 11:1-4)

How did the Bible come to us?

• By the time of Jesus the Jewish Bible had been accepted for hundreds of years

• “many ways” in which the bible was written (Heb 1:1)

• Direct speech of God (Rev 2:1, 8:12)

• Interviews and research (Luke 1:1-3)

• Spirit caused the disciples to remember (John 14:26)

• God used their personalities but ensured the result was perfect – not “only human”

How do we know which books are in the NT?

• The Spirit attests to the genuineness of the biblical books

• Early Church Fathers quote the NT as scripture

• A series of informal lists of helpful books were written

• These were compared with each other and our current list emerged quickly

The so called “disputed books”

22 lists of the books of the NT up to 8th Century

The bible is the very words of God

“Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.

Do not add to his words, lest he rebuke you and you be found a liar.” (Prov 3:5-6)

• We must not add to God’s words

Every Word of the Bible matters

“I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.” (Rev 22:18-19)

The Bible is True

• The Spirit reveals to us the truth of the bible

– “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me” (John 10:27)