Introduction:

In many important matters everyone recognizes the need for authority - a "supreme court of appeal" higher than which no one can go. To many this "final authority" lies in a church, religious hierarchy, minister, priest, rabbi, or "scholar" when it comes to matters of supernatural things. Those of us who are saved and have a thirst for the truth know that all men are fallible and prone to error and prejudice. The Bible makes higher claims to divine inspiration, inerrancy, preservation and authority; and if it is true that the Sovereign God of the universe has condescended to reveal himself supernaturally in his Book, even as he has revealed himself naturally in the material universe, then man even in a world ruined by sin - has a firm foundation on which to build for time and eternity.

That the Sovereign God of creation has done this in the Holy Scriptures is acknowledged by many earnest Christians, but a question arises which demands a clear answer: "Which Bible do you mean?" It is to this question that we dedicate this series of studies. Even a brief study reveals that they don't all say the same thing and a closer examination demonstrates that they did not all come from the same source. I pray that all of us will set aside all the religious "programming" that we may have been subjected to and ask God to make us objective and willing to learn.

The Bible has much to say about itself. The problem is what do you mean by Bible? Which Bible? Authority? How authoritative? Absolutely authoritative, or 99 44/100% pure? Herein lies our problem. One would then say, "What does the Bible say about itself... that will settle this hassle!" Again, Which Bible?

For Example:

"The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever." Ps. 12:6-7 (AV 1611)

"And what the Eternal promises is true, sterling as silver seven time purified, so are we kept by thee, O thou Eternal, safe ever from this world of men." PS. 12:6,7 (Moffatt 1922)

Note the underlined words! The R.V. and R.S.V. read very similarly and there are alterations which are significant in most, if not all other "translations." What did God say?!

I. Inspiration:

What is meant by the term "inspiration"?

This question is best answered by Scripture itself! See 2 Tim. 3:16! For an in depth study of the word Scripture, see Matt. 22:29; Mk. 12:10,24; 15:28; Lk. 4:21, 24:27; Jn. 2:22, 5:39, 7:38, 10:35; Acts 17:11; Rom. 1:2, 4:3; Gal. 4:30; 2 Tim. 3:15; 2 Pet. 1:20, 3:16.

A careful study of the above verses will reveal information about the Scriptures without even consulting the Greek!!

A. Claims of O.T. writers to inspiration. The words "God said" occurs ten times in the first chapter of Genesis. It is claimed that such expressions as "The Lord said," "The Lord spake," "The word of the Lord came," are found 3,808 times in the O.T.

See - Ex. 4:10-15; Deut. 4:2; Jer. 1:7-9; Eze. 2:2, 3:4; Micah 3:8; 2 Sam. 23:2; Neh. 9:30; Amos 7:15.

B. Claims of N.T. writers to inspiration. By examining the following scriptures, it is evident that the writers of the N.T. considered themselves inspired of God to write the scriptures.

See - 2 Pet. 1:20,21; 1 Pet. 1:10,11; Acts 1:16, 28:25, 2:4; 1 Cor. 2:13, 14:37; 1 Thess. 2:13; 2 Pet. 3:1,2; Matt. 10:20; Mk. 13:11; Lk.12:12, 21:14,15.

 

II. Preservation:

Practically any fundamentalist or evangelical will agree to the inspiration of the "originals." (See any of their churches Statement of Faith.) But no one wants to talk about preservation - EXCEPT GOD THAT IS!

Ps.12:6-7; Isa. 59:21; Jer. 36; Matt. 24:35; Mk. 13:31; Jn. 17:17; Ps. 100:5, 119:89; Josh. 1:8

Preservation will be accomplished by the Spirit of God. the Spirit would guide us into all truth and protect us from error - Jn.16:13,14 (See Prov. 1:23; 1 Cor. 2:12-14)

In light of these verses ask yourself this question - Would God write a book and lose it or any part of it?

 

III. Purity, Perfection and Place of The Bible:

Proverbs 30:5 - "Every word of God is Pure..."
Proverbs 12:6 - "The words of the Lord are pure words..."
Psalm 119:140 - "Thy word is very pure..."
Psalm 19:7 - "The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul."
2 Tim. 3:15-17 - " ...the holy scriptures...that the man of God may be perfect..."
Neh. 9:5 - "...blessed be thy glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise."
Phil. 2:9 - "...and given him a name which is above every name."
Psalm 138:2 - "...for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name."

 

IV. Adding and Subtracting From The Bible:

Deut. 4:2 - "Ye shall not add...neither shall ye diminish ought..."
Prov. 30:6 - "Add thou not unto his word, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar."
Rev. 22:18,19 - "...If any man shall add...and if any shall take away..."
(See also Jer. 26:2 and Deut. 12:32)

 

V. Every Word Is Important To God:

"Every word of God is pure..." Prov. 30:6
SEE - "All these words" - Jn. 12:48; Mk. 8:38; Jer. 7:27, 11:6,8, 26:2, 44:28; Jn.14:23; 17:8,17; Prov. 22:21; Matt. 24:35
"In a book" - Jer. 25:13, 30:2, 36:2; Job 19:23

 

VI. Corruption Warned Against:

When the Apostle Paul foretold the coming of the great apostasy in his epistle to the Thessalonians, he declared that there would "come a falling away" (2 Thess. 2:3); and then he added that the "mystery of iniquity doth already work" (2 Thess. 2:7).

Later when Paul had gathered together, on his journey to Jerusalem, the bishops who were over the church of Ephesus, he said, "of your ownselves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them. Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears." (Acts 20:30-31)

When Paul had warned of the coming apostasy, he aroused the Thessalonians not to be soon shaken or troubled in spirit "by letter as from us" ( 2 Thess. 2:2). It would have been bold at any time to write a letter to a church and sign to it the apostle's name; but who would have the guts to commit that forgery while Paul was still alive. Even in Paul's day, apostasy was built on lawless acts.

Later in his labors, Paul specifically pointed out three ways in which the apostasy was working:

A. False knowledge exalted about Scriptures - "O Timothy, keep that which is commited to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings and oppositions of science falsely so called." (1 Tim. 6:20)

The Greek word in this verse which is translated "science", is, "gnosis." "Gnosis" means knowledge. The apostle condemned, not knowledge in general, but false knowledge. False teachers were placing their own interpretations on Christian truth by reading into it human ideas. This tendency grew and increased until a great system bearing the name of Christianity, known as Gnosticism, was established. To show that this religion was not a theory without an organization among men, but that it had communities and was widespread, I quote from Milman: "The later Gnostics were bolder, but more consistent innovators on the simple scheme of Christianity...In all the great cities of the East in which Christianity had established its most flourishing communities, sprang up this rival which aspired to a still higher degree of knowledge than was revealed in the Gospel, and boasted that it soared almost as much above the vulgar Christianity as the vulgar paganism."

B. Spiritualizing the Scripture away - The next outstanding phase of the coming apostasy - spiritualizing the Scriptures away - is predicted by the apostle: "But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness. And their word will eat as cloth a canker: of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus; who concerning the truth have erred, saying that the resurrection is past already and overthrow the faith of some" (2 Tim. 2:16-18).

The Bible teaches the resurrection as a future event. One way these prominent teachers, full of vanity, could say that it was past, was to teach, as some of their descendants do today, that the resurrection is a Spiritual process which takes place, at conversion. The prediction of the apostle was fulfilled in a great system of Bible spiritualizing or mystifying which subverted the primitive faith. Turning the Scripture into an allegory was a passion in those days. In our day, allegorizing is not only a passion, but is also a refuge from truth for many leaders with whom we have to do.

C. Substituting Philosophy for Scripture - The third,way in which the apostasy came, was predicted by the apostle thus: Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ" (Col. 2:8).

The philosophy condemned in this passage is, not the philosophy found in the sacred Word, but the philosophy which is "after the tradition of men. "Even before the days of Christ, the very existence of the Jewish religion was threatened by intellectual leaders of the Jews who were carried away with the subtleties and glamour of pagan philosophy. This same temptress quickly ensnared multitudes who bore the name of Christian.

"Greek philosophy exercised the greatest influence not only on the Christian mode of thought, but also through that on the institutions of the Church. In the completed church we find again the philosophic schools.

The greatest enemies of the infant Christian church, therefore, were not found in the triumphant heathenism which filled the world, but in the rising flood of heresy which, under the name of Christianity, engulfed the truth for many years. This is what brought on the Dark Aqes.