Archives for February 2012

A Canadian preacher requests my response to an inquirer who asks how we "know with certainty and without doubt that the Bible is God's revealed and trustworthy Word." The inquirer says that he wants to believe that, and that if he could, it would launch him into "a life of faith." * * * We know almost nothing "with certainty and without doubt," and we do not normally require that standard in our daily lives. At most, we usually go with the preponderance of the evidence -- what is more reasonably likely than not -- what tilts the scales in its favor. If we could prove something "with … [Read more...]

A gracEmail reader asks, "How do we know that the words ascribed to Jesus were actually his words? I have read that they were written down a century or more after his death? Was Mark even one of the original 12 disciples?" * * * The earliest Gospel was probably Mark's, which scholars generally agree was written within 30 years of Jesus' death and resurrection. Within a generation after Jesus' resurrection, the eleven Apostles (Judas had killed himself after he betrayed Jesus) and the special Apostle, Paul, carried the message about Jesus throughout the inhabited world. Eleven of these twelve … [Read more...]

A university religions professor chides my quoting the Gospels with an assumption that they correctly record what Jesus actually said. "If you exclude the Bible from historical-critical scrutiny," he warns, "you will remain impervious to any historical argument and a discussion is indeed useless." * * * I certainly believe that Scripture will stand up to historical and scientific investigation, but I am not convinced that the various "criticisms" which attempt to go behind the text themselves meet the canons of rigorous science. That is particularly true when those who originally create … [Read more...]

"All my life, I have seen preachers hold up the Bible and say, 'This is the Word of God,'" writes a counselor in the Midwest. "When New Testament writers use the expression, 'the word of God,' do they not have something in mind other than the Scriptures themselves? We must not make the Bible our god, which is one form of idolatry." * * * Surely you raise a worthwhile caution, since Jesus himself warned his hearers not to allow a theoretical study of the Scriptures to distract them from recognizing the very Messiah-Savior to whom the Scriptures point (John 5:39-40). If the Old Testament … [Read more...]

A gracEmail reader asks, "How do we know that the Bible is inspired by the Holy Spirit? Those who wrote the Bible say so, but how do we know? How can I convince someone who is not a Christian to believe that?" * * * The Apostle Paul says that "all Scripture is inspired by God" and is therefore "profitable," adequately equipping the Christian worker for every required task (2 Tim. 3:16-17). This word "inspired" is literally "God-breathed," which reminds us of the story of God creating Adam from dirt, then breathing life into him to become an animated man (Gen. 2:7). That is a faith statement … [Read more...]

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...]

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...]

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...]

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...]

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...]