Our Most Precious Faith
Statement #1 – The Bible
I suppose that if we wished to begin to define our faith in God, our most precious faith, it would make sense that we begin with our source of truth, the Word of God. So, as we begin our series on “Our Most Precious Faith,” our “What We Believe” doctrinal statement, it is best to start by saying that the basis of our faith is grounded in the Bible. And our doctrinal statement includes many statements that are foundational to our faith, some that have been used in church statements for years. Some of them, however, have been culturally motivated, statements that need to be said because of the opposition from the culture. So, though we have statements regarding the Bible, creation, God, man, salvation, the church; we also have statements regarding marriage, the sanctity of life, complementarianism or the roles of men and women, statements that did not need to be so defined a number of years ago. Not that the culture would have necessarily agreed with these statements, but there was not the blatant opposition that we face today towards these statements.
So, the first statement in our “What We Believe” as a church is foundational to all the statements because every statement must be based upon the “Bible.” And not only do I hope that we know the statement and check it off as something we believe, but it needs to be a statement that we know exactly what every word means when it speaks about the Bible, and that its truth would be something that we not only give lip-service to, but that it be something that we live and hold to dearly, like it is precious to us. So, let’s pray before we begin this very important series. Lord, we as a church, have written statements of what we might call the core truths or foundational truths of our faith. We pray that as we go through these over the next three to four months, that we might become more certain of what we believe. Truth that we live by, truth that we share, and truth that we teach. We thank You for the Word of God this morning, for without the revelation of Your Word to us we would not know truth. So, we praise You for the certainty of Your Word, the encouragement it is to us, and the glory that Your Word brings to You, our great God. Heaven and earth will pass away, but Your Word will never pass away. So may we deepen our faith this AM in the truth of the Scriptures, amen.
Statement #1 – THE BIBLE
We believe the Bible to be the inspired Word of God, inerrant in its original documents, and is the final authority in all matters of faith and practice and without error in all that it affirms.
The B.I.B.L.E., yes that’s the book for me. I stand alone on the Word of God, the B.I.B.L.E. Good that Brethren were taught this, not just the Baptists. There are two core passages that could be identified with this truth statement.
“All Scripture is God-breathed and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be equipped, having been thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
2 Timothy 3:16-17 (LSB)
“And we have as more sure the prophetic word, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts. Know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes by one’s own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever made by the will of man, but men being moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.”
- Peter 1:19-21 (LSB)
In 1978, there were a group of church leaders who were concerned about the acceptance of the Bible as the complete truth received from God. And therefore, they came together and composed a document called, the Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy. Some of the notable signatures to that document were James Montgomery Boice, D. A. Carson, Norman Geisler, Wayne Grudem, John MacArthur (39 at the time), J. I. Packer, and R. C. Sproul. And the central concern was not so much the opposition to the truth of Scripture in the culture, but the roots of opposition occurring within the church, and to bring solidarity the church needed to declare their confidence in the Word of God.
The difficulty is that this is now almost fifty years ago, and really we have an entire generation of church leaders and congregations that has not fought the battle of the inerrancy of the Bible in such a definitive way. And so this is something that we as present-day Christians must see as our responsibility in a society that no longer even considers God’s Word, as well as in present-day churches that are drifting from the truth of God’s Word. The Apostle Peter wrote that we must always be “ready to make a defense (or give an answer) to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you” So, my first point this morning:
- Every Christian is responsible to defend the Bible.
The greatest threat to the church comes from hostile forces inside the church, not outside, as there is no greater offense than to cause people to question the inerrancy of the Scriptures, because then you are causing them to question the authority of the Bible. When Jesus taught, He gave many warnings, but likely one of the greatest was this:
“It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea, than that he would cause one of these little ones to stumble.”
Luke 17:2 (LSB)
And this warning has much to do with either questioning the Scriptures or directly being disobedient to the Scriptures. In other words, our actions and thinking offending those we influence. And we expect offences from the world, for the world will not naturally receive truth, as there is in every human heart a natural opposition to God and His Word. We need to understand that when we are trying to share with someone outside of Christ, the truth of God’s Word, that there will be opposition. Jesus said:
“But because I speak the truth, you do not believe Me. Which one of you convicts Me of sin? If I speak truth, why do you not believe Me? He who is of God hears the words of God; for this reason you do not hear them, because you are not of God.”
John 8:45-47 (LSB)
Paul wrote (1 Cor 2:14) that the natural man does not accept the truth of God’s Word, for it is foolishness to him. So, the serious offense for us is to cause people to doubt the truth of the Bible, for this is what Satan did to Eve, he caused her to distrust the Word of God. This is why Paul pleaded with Timothy:
“O Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you, turning aside from godless and empty chatter and the opposing arguments of what is falsely called knowledge—which some, while professing, have gone astray from the faith.”
1 Timothy 6:20-21a (LSB)
And Jude also wrote that the believer is to “contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints.” Why? Because this is the responsibility of every believer. Therefore, we need to be careful that we would never be guilty of what is called “higher criticism.” In other words, placing our own opinion above or on par with the Bible. I trust that you are not really that enamoured with my opinion but only enamoured with what the Bible says. Because when we become “opinionated” Christians, people will rightfully begin to question everything. And this is exactly what leads churches to liberal thinking, when church teaching becomes my thoughts and not God’s thoughts. Listen folks, we do not have the right to an opinion. We are obligated to defend the truth as recorded in the Bible. We cannot give our own opinion on homosexuality or euthanasia or abortion. We must directly answer these issues from the Bible. Paul said:
“For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the tearing down of strongholds, as we tear down speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.”
2 Corinthians 10:3-5 (LSB)
Paul also said that the gospel is the power of God. Your opinion will not possess the same power that the Word of God produces. My little peabrain will not accomplish this. When we were having a picnic with a couple of our families, one of our sons asked the question as the summer was coming to an end, what did each of you accomplish this summer? And our granddaughter Claire (age 12) quickly started to talk about playing tennis and winning the soccer championship. And little Rose (age 10) who was lightly worried that it was coming to her turn turned to Anne and said, “Nana, I didn’t accomplish anything this summer.” Our accomplishments and our opinions pale in comparison with who God is, what God can do, and the power of His Word. This is why “All Scripture is God-breathed and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be equipped, having been thoroughly equipped for every good work,” only the Bible can accomplish this. One last reference in this section. The prophet Jeremiah warned:
“A horrible and appalling thing
Has happened in the land:
The prophets prophesy with lying,
And the priests have dominion by their own hand;
And My people love it so!”
Jeremiah 5:30-31a (LSB)
You and I are responsible to defend the Bible, therefore, number two, we are all called to speak of God’s Word.
- Every Christian is responsible to declare the Bible.
This is becoming one of the greatest challenges for the Christian, as the truth of the Bible is so opposed to the culture. And this will require love and concern for people, and great discernment on our part. Understand that the Word of God will not always find a gentle landing place in the ears of unbelievers, nor often in the ears of churchgoers. This is why Paul told Timothy:
“[P]reach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and teaching. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths.”
2 Timothy 4:2-4 (LSB)
Many will already be well-educated by the Internet and will fall into the trap of being enticed by things that will interest them, and so too will many church folks. But this cannot discourage us from sharing truth in season and out of season, in other words, when it is received and when it is not received. And we can never try to apologize for the Bible or be embarrassed by biblical truth, that we might be afraid to declare its truth. R. C. Sproul said that we often treat God as the poorest teacher that ever was because he said that everyone wants to improve upon His message and His way of salvation. So, we must be prepared that most will want to stand above the Bible. Yet with wisdom and as Paul said that with gentleness, we might correct those in opposition and be ready to give an answer for the hope that is within us. And this brings us to our next point, for how can we defend the Bible and declare the Bible, if we do not know the Bible?
- Every Christian is responsible to know the Bible.
There is no excuse for any of us not to be learning more of God and more of His Word, as we are more educated than any preceding culture in terms of being able to read and write. And to the availability we have in regard to Bibles and good teaching. So, this must be such a priority for us, we must be studiers. And I am not going to spend too much time here, but I do wish to motivate you to read your Bibles. And not just something that is light and shallow, but that each of us would have a deeper understanding of God and His Word. That when others know us, they would see that we know God well, that we know His Word well. Jesus said, “And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God.” So, we have addressed defending the Bible, declaring the Bible, and knowing the Bible. And I wish this morning to conclude with the motivation to do this, as it will only come as we are convinced that the Bible is the Word of God.
- Therefore, every Christian must be convinced of the truth of the Bible.
The bottom line for you and me in our ability to be challenged ourselves and the ability that we might defend and declare the Bible to others is really, how convinced am I of the Bible’s truth? In other words, how can a book that was written over two thousand years ago and older—to a completely different culture—be relevant for us today and how can we be certain that it is the Word of God? John MacArthur said this:
“The Bible is not a collection of the wisdom and insights of men, even of godly men. It is God’s truth, His own Word in His own words. The psalmist declared, ‘Forever, O Lord, Thy word is settled in heaven.’ God’s Word is divinely revealed to men on earth and divinely authenticated in heaven.”
John MacArthur, 2 Timothy Commentary, 143
We do not need to look for perfection in human writers—for there are none. God’s Word is perfect not because it came from perfect writers, but God’s Word is perfect because it came from a perfect God who breathed into men what to write. So, let’s look at the need to be convinced of this from the words in our statement.
We believe the Bible to be the inspired Word of God, inerrant in its original documents, and is the final authority in all matters of faith and practice and without error in all that it affirms.
- The Bible is Inspired
Paul said that the Bible is “God-breathed,” or as men were moved by the Holy Spirit. Rick Baker reminds us that it was not like men such as Peter and Paul and John sat down one day and thought, we need to write some Scripture to help guide the churches. No, the Holy Spirit moved in the hearts of certain men to write. Now the Holy Spirit did not dictate word-for-word what to write, for each of these writers wrote in their own styles and education level, some greater than others. Yet God through the moving of the Holy Spirit came upon certain men and breathed into them what to write. And they wrote using their own personality, and their own intellect, as they wrote exactly what God wanted them to write. And because the Word of God is inspired by the Holy Spirit, inspired by God Himself, then we know that:
- The Bible is Inerrant
The simplest definition of inerrancy is that the Bible is without error. That we have in our hands this morning, if you have your Bible with you, a book without any errors. P. D. Feinberg states inerrancy this way:
“Inerrancy is the view that when all the facts become known, they will demonstrate that the Bible in its original autographs and correctly interpreted is entirely true and never false in all it affirms, whether that relates to doctrine or ethics or to the social, physical, or life sciences.”
- D. Feinberg, Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, 156
And you will notice in our statement that it says, “inerrant in its original documents.” It is true, we do not have any original manuscripts of any books of the Bible. We do not have an original manuscript written by Moses or by Paul. What we have today are copies of those originals. So, two reasonable questions to ask, is one: How do we know that the copies of the originals are accurate? And two, what about the differences in these copies? Well part of the evidence of the accuracy of the copies is in the number of manuscripts which we possess. Did you know there are over 1300 Hebrew manuscripts of the Old Testament, that is incredible! Plus, there are many more ancient versions translated from the Hebrew, ancient versions of the Hebrew translated into other languages. This is where you have heard the term “the Septuagint.” It is a version of the Hebrew Bible, translated into Greek. Men like Paul quoted from it. This in itself is a great treasure. And the Dead Sea Scrolls discovered in 1947, did not cause confusion, but only confirmed the copies which we already had. These Dead Sea Scrolls copies are believed to have been written in the First Century and contain parts of the Old Testament.
And then the New Testament, did you know there are over 5,300 Greek manuscripts of the New Testament. And for anyone questioning in today’s times regarding the validity of these manuscripts, if the secular world was honest, questioning them would be complete nonsense. For this number of copied manuscripts of the Old Testament and New Testament are unsurpassed by any other ancient manuscripts that are fully accepted today by historians. And this is not by mistake, as this is very much part of God’s design, for the Jewish people were a nation that was known to be meticulous in recording word-for-word their documents. I have mentioned to you before that there was a method of making sure that a copy of the Bible was accurate. After copying a book like Genesis, the scholar would then have to count how many letters in the book and therefore determine the middle, not word, but the middle letter. We are not talking about finding the middle word in each book but finding the middle letter and Hebrew scholars have always cited a Hebrew letter in Psalm 50:12 as the middle letter in the entire Old Testament. Folks, we know that the copies of the originals are accurate.
The second question would be: What about the differences in these manuscripts? This is the reason that you might read at the bottom of your Bible when a word is present or absent. It might say that this word is not present in the oldest manuscripts. Well, the differences in the Old Testament manuscripts are so few and far between, there is very little difficulty in determining the actual words which were written. This is so outstanding, considering the age of these writings. The New Testament, however, does have more word differences to deal with. Yet when all the manuscripts are brought together, scholars state that the NT Scriptures which we hold today are 98.3% pure. And when considering the age of these manuscripts; when comparing them with any other ancient documents, their accuracy is unheard of, as these differences are so minuscule, and do not change the message. Because the Bible is “God-breathed” and has a divine origin, given to us through the various authors by the LORD Himself. And the LORD has preserved His word for us.
And from these early manuscripts we have been given translations, as the whole Bible is believed to be translated into at least 756 languages. The New Testament has been translated into an additional 1,726 languages, and smaller portions of the Bible into 1,274 languages, making for a total of at least 3,756 different languages which have all or parts of the Bible. And we need to understand that these are translations of copies. Not inerrant, but carefully translated from ancient copies, so that we can be confident of the Word of God that we have. And I would encourage you to get a good translation of the Bible to study. I preach out of the Legacy Standard Bible. But certainly, great translations such as the ESV and NASB, particularly the 1995 and 1971 editions. The Bible is inspired by God, the Bible is inerrant, and therefore:
- The Bible is Authoritative
Our statement says that the Bible is the final authority in all matters of faith and practice and without error in all that it affirms. The Word of God gives to us truth and wisdom about history, culture, life, and eternity. Think of the opening chapters of Genesis alone, what we learn about creation, life, death, sin, marriage, and Satan. If I was asked who coined the phrase “the survival of the fittest,” my response would have been Charles Darwin. But it was actually by a gentleman by the name of Herbert Spencer (1820-1903), who was a brilliant scientist. Darwin had called his scientific discoveries “natural selection.” And when Spencer read his book, he suggested the name be “the survival of the fittest,” to which Darwin adopted this phrase for the rest of his writing. Spencer outlined this: Time, Force, Action, Space, and Matter as the five “ultimate scientific ideas” that comprise everything in relation to science. These concepts were foundational to his philosophical works. And Spencer was applauded for this lifetime-achievement in writing about time, force, action, space, and matter. Obviously, he accomplished a lot during his summer. The Masters Seminary wrote in an article about this pointing to Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning (time) God (force) created (action) the heavens (space) and the earth (matter).” God wrote this long before Herbert Spencer did his work.
“Lift up your eyes on high
And see who has created these stars,
The One who leads forth their host by number,
He calls them all by name;
Because of the greatness of His vigor and the strength of His power,
Not one of them is missing.”
Isaiah 40:26 (LSB)
You know at one time people believed that there was approximately one thousand stars, because that is all you can see with the naked eye, until they travelled down to the southern hemisphere and saw stars that you can never see up here. When I was in Florida once, the North Star is very close to the horizon and if you go further south, you will never see it. But before any of this was discovered and before telescopes, the Bible taught that the stars were like the grains of sand for they could not be counted. And the Bible knew that anything in the world can never really be destroyed, as matter simply goes from one form to another as Solomon wrote:
“All the rivers go into the sea,
Yet the sea is not full.
To the place where the rivers go,
There they continually go.
Is there anything of which one might say,
‘See this, it is new?’”
Ecclesiastes 1:7, 10a (LSB)
In Job 26:7, Job tells us that the earth hangs on nothing. And complex Old Testament prophecies have come to pass, and the Bible gives us principles for good marriages, proper relationships, church guidance. And to say it is authoritative is almost an understatement, as the Bible is complete truth in all matters of life. It reveals to us our present standing before God. But also reveals to you how you can find forgiveness and righteousness through Jesus Christ. It reveals how to become complete and equipped for anything that will be faced in life. If someone ever said to you that the Word of God is outdated, that it has no bearing today. Could we not respond, “Are you crazy? Do you not realize that it answers the deepest questions of your life?” That by living its principles and experiencing the salvation it offers, its transformational. It’s active and alive!
- The Bible is Literal
On our statement on the Bible, we have added a footnote which refers to the literal meaning of the Bible. It states, “We teach a literal interpretation that focuses on the ‘plain meaning’ of the text.” This does two things. One, it means that we need to read the Bible in a literal way. In other words, what it says is what it means. This is why we hold to a literal Adam and Eve, that Satan came as a serpent, that there was a literal worldwide flood, that men lived long years before the flood (Methusaleh – 969 years), that Jonah was swallowed by a fish, that there will be a literal 1,000-year reign of Christ on earth. And the second thing that it does is that a literal meaning should warn us about spiritualizing the Bible. In other words, that certain things in God’s Word mean something else when the Bible does not teach this. Therefore, we speculate on things that are not clear in the Bible. My sister Lynne, who knows how adamant I am about not being mystical about biblical truth, sent me a note. She said, did you know that “verily, verily” is used twenty-five times in the Gospel of John. Twenty-five. Two plus five equals seven, the perfect number. She does not believe that, but she just wants my blood pressure to go up!
“I am the Vine” is symbolic, that is common sense when we read. But 6-day creation, Methuselah 969 years, 1,000-year MK, 153 fish are literal. Paul said, “For I am not ashamed of truth of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.” He also said that “faith comes from hearing” the Word of God. The Apostle Peter wrote that “you have been born again not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, that is, through the living and enduring word of God. For, ‘All flesh is like grass, And all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, And the flower falls off, But the word of the Lord endures forever.’” John MacArthur said that there are many books that can change your thinking but there is only one book that can change your eternal destiny. Psalm 12:6-7, “The words of Yahweh are pure words; As silver tried in a furnace on the ground, refined seven times. You, O Yahweh, will keep them.” Proverbs 30:5, “Every word of God proves true.”
This is our book and therefore as His children to us it is precious, and if anyone ever tries to question God’s Word, we know that “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the Word of God stands forever.” We believe the Bible to be the inspired Word of God, inerrant in its original documents, and is the final authority in all matters of faith and practice and without error in all that it affirms, amen? Let’s pray. Father, we praise You this morning for Your Word. May it become our guidebook in life, precious to us, that You would humble us beneath its truth. So, might we be faithful men and faithful women. That when people walk into this church or when we intersect with people in the world, might our joy for Your Word flow from us through our actions and through our lips. And all God’s people said, amen.