Some time ago a Christian brother told me of undergoing a spiritual struggle, during which he said God told him not to open his Bible for an entire year. I expressed my concern, as respectfully as I knew how, that he had misidentified the spirit that gave him such an instruction. It is possible to make too much of the Bible, as we discussed in the previous gracEmail, but it is also possible (and perhaps far more common) to make too little of it. That mistake we also wish to avoid. Jesus Christ himself viewed with the greatest respect the Scriptures which we call the Old Testament (John … [Read more...]
BIBLE INSPIRED (1)
A gracEmail subscriber in Arkansas writes, "I've always been taught that the Bible was divinely given word by word (I think this is called verbal inspiration). But some passages just sound like a believer pouring out his heart to others. Could you offer some thoughts on inspiration and the Bible?" * * * Unlike the Qur'an, the Bible does not claim to be dictated word for word by God, except for certain portions which repeat oracles given to prophets and which usually are introduced by the statement, "Thus says the LORD . . . . " The Apostle Paul does say that "all Scripture is inspired by … [Read more...]
BIBLE INERRANCY
Someone asks: "I hear a lot about the 'inerrancy' of Scripture, and some people get very emotional about the word. Do all faithful Bible scholars believe that the Bible is 'inerrant'? If I say I believe that it is, just what am I actually saying?" * * * I have respected the late British commentator F. F. Bruce as a sound New Testament scholar as long as I can remember. I corresponded with him over a number of years, and I was one of many "little people" who were recipients of his gracious beneficence in the form of forewords he contributed to two of my books. In the mid-1970's, I was … [Read more...]
THE BIBLE’S FORMATION
A gracEmail subscriber writes: "We consider the Bible to be the infallible word of God, based largely on the idea that the authors were directly inspired by God. How do we know that they are inspired writings? Why were these books chosen?" * * * The divine authority of the Bible is a subject of faith which cannot be proven scientifically or mathematically. The covenant people of God, first the Jews and then the followers of Jesus as well, gradually collected the foundational writings which we call the Bible for themselves and their posterity. These sacred writings served both as a … [Read more...]
BIBLE CANON AND CHURCH
A gracEmail subscriber writes: "You said that 'the question of which books belong in the Bible is ultimately one of faith in God's providence as manifested through the church fathers of the first five centuries.' Do you apply this statement to all that was established by the early church fathers? If not, why pick and choose? There was also the role of Pope, Bishops and so forth." * * * This is a reasonable question, to which I believe there is a reasonable answer. The selection of Scriptures to be included in the New Testament canon (alongside the older Jewish Scriptures which Jesus used and … [Read more...]
ACCURACY OF THE BIBLE
A gracEmail subscriber writes, "Can you recommend a good book that gives an explanation of the authenticity of the Bible, how the canon of scriptures developed and survived into its current form? I grew up being taught and believing in the inerrant accuracy of the Bible in its current form. Now I find myself unsure of this and also frustrated with my inability to give a reasoned explanation about this. * * * Concerning the origin and reliability of the New Testament, two classics hard to beat are F. F. Bruce's The New Testament Documents: Are They Reliable? and The Canon of Scripture. You … [Read more...]
BIBLE A LIVING WORD
A gracEmail subscriber asks: "Is the Bible a living, breathing, document like the U.S. Constitution, that can be variously interpreted in different times and circumstances? Or is it final, authoritative and absolute, not subject to different interpretation anytime or anywhere?" * * * I confess with the historic Christian church that the Bible is authoritative in all that it teaches. Its affirmations are unchanging: God will always be infinite and personal, faithful but forgiving, merciful and also just. Jesus is always the Son of God, born of a virgin, crucified for our sins, raised from the … [Read more...]
A SAVIOR NOT A SYSTEM
A brother whom God has gifted for special ministry to the divorced and remarried has lately taken on the task of exposing what he considers to be false doctrines creeping into his particular Christian fellowship. However well-intentioned, his misguided efforts in this regard illustrate the harm that can result when a believer attempts to perform ministry outside the sphere of God's calling and personal gifting (2 Cor. 10:15-18). His comments also reveal an unscriptural perspective when reading the Bible -- a focus on a man-made doctrinal system rather than on Jesus Christ our Savior. In his … [Read more...]
CORNERSTONE IS PERSON
A gracEmail subscriber wonders whether we should use the Protestant Bible or the Catholic Bible, since they are not exactly the same. He is concerned that he have the "real" Bible. * * * The Jewish scriptures (our "Old Testament" books) were first written in Hebrew or Aramaic. Beginning about 275 B.C., they were translated into a Greek version called the Septuagint. That Greek version (which New Testament writers primarily used) included several books (called the Apocrypha) not found among the Hebrew scrolls. When Jerome translated the Bible into everyday Latin (the Vulgate) about 400 A.D., … [Read more...]