What We Believe As Baptist

Week #1 What We Believe About The Scriptures

Power Point

 

Article One: The Scriptures

Article 1 of the Baptist Faith and Message: The Holy Bible was written by men divinely inspired and is God’s revelation of Himself to man. It is a perfect treasure of divine instruction. It has God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth, without any mixture of error, for its matter. Therefore, all Scripture is totally true and trustworthy. It reveals the principles by which God judges us, and therefore is, and will remain to the end of the world, the true center of Christian union, and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and religious opinions should be tried. All Scripture is a testimony to Christ, who is Himself the focus of divine revelation.

Exodus 24:4; Deuteronomy 4:1-2; 17:19; Joshua 8:34; Psalms 19:7-10; 119:11,89,105,140; Isaiah 34:16; 40:8; Jeremiah 15:16; 36:1-32; Matthew 5:17-18; 22:29; Luke 21:33; 24:44-46; John 5:39; 16:13-15; 17:17; Acts 2:16ff.; 17:11; Romans 15:4; 16:25-26; 2 Timothy 3:15-17; Hebrews 1:1-2; 4:12; 1 Peter 1:25; 2 Peter 1:19-21.

 

Key verses: Psalm 19:7-10,  Matt 5:17-18,  John 17:17, 2 Timothy 3:15-17, 2 Peter 1:19-21

 

Major Theological Observation: The Baptist Faith and Message highlights the source, nature, purpose, and sufficiency of Scripture.

 

  1. The Bible is a divine–human book.

 

  1. The Bible is Inspired. 2 Timothy 3:16, 2 Peter 1:19-21

 

  1. The Bible is a Completed Canon.

 

  1. The Bible is Instructive. 2 Timothy 3:16, Matthew 7:28

 

  1. The Bible is for Reproof. 2 Timothy 3:16

 

  1. The Bible is for Correction.

 

  1. The Bible is Instrumental.

2 Timothy 3:15

  1. The Scriptures are instrumental in sanctification.

2 Timothy 3:17

 

  1. The Scriptures are instrumental in service to the Lord. 2 Timothy 3:17

 

  1. The Bible is Sufficient.

 

  1. The Bible is Eternal.

 

  1. The Bible is a purposeful book.

 

III. The Bible is a truthful book.

  1. Truthful because of the Author – God.

 

  1. Inerrancy.

 

  1. Infallible.

 

  1. Evidence. (see handout notes for evidences)

 

  1. Writer evidence.

 

  1. Manuscript evidence.

 

  1. Historical evidence.

 

  1. The physical evidence that the Bible is the Word of God.

 

  1. Scriptural evidence.

 

  1. Prophetical Evidence.

 

  1. Human experience evidence.

 

  1. The Bible is an authoritative book.

 

Information on Evidence:

III. Point D. Evidence.

 

  1. Writer evidence.

Consider the fact that the Bible is comprised of 66 Books written over a period of about 1,500 years by 40 different writers who were directed by God to write what God wanted to say to us.

These writers were people from every type of background, from all walks of life, with different kinds of personalities, and in all sorts of situations. They ranged from shepherds to kings, priests to soldiers to fishermen. They lived on 3 separate continents (Asia, Africa, and Europe), spoke in 3 different languages (Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic), They wrote in different styles of writing; ranging from poetry to historical, to prophetic, to parables, to personal letters and it covers hundreds of controversial subjects. Yet, it fits together into one cohesive story with an appropriate beginning, a logical ending, a central character, and a consistent theme throughout the entire Bible. This is amazing. If you have ever served on a committee you understand how hard it is to get 3 people to agree on something. But the Bible written over 1500 years by 40 writers and it agrees completely in every area. It could only be explained by the fact of God being the supreme author of the Bible. The writers are evidence of the fact of the truth of the Bible.

2. Manuscript evidence.

Let’s look at the Bible’s survival compared with other ancient writings. The Bible has more manuscript evidence than any 10 pieces of classical (literature) evidence combined.

Did you know there is more historical evidence for Jesus than there is for Julius Caesar or Alexander the Great, yet no one ever questions that they existed, or that they were real people.

Think about this for a minute: The Iliad was written by Homer around 900 B.C., the earliest copy that we know of was written about 400 B.C. (nearly 500 years after the original was written), and we have 643 copies from antiquity of that work. The New Testament was written approximately between 40 A.D. and 100 A.D. The earliest known copy of that work was written in 125 A.D. (just 25 years later), and we have some 20,000 copies from antiquity of the New Testament. What that means is that we know our modern copies when written in the original languages are as close to the original as we could possibly get.

 

  1. Historical evidence.

History itself has proven that God’s word is true and can be trusted.

Archaeological investigations have been used to refute radical skepticism concerning the historical accuracy of the Bible.

Nelson Glueck, a world famous archaeologist said, “No archaeological discovery has ever controverted a Biblical reference.” (Glueck, Nelson. Rivers in the Desert: History of Negev. Jewish Publication Society of America, Philadelphia, 1969, p. 176.)

 

  1. In Job 26:10,Isaiah 40:21-22 and Proverbs 8:27 the Bible makes statements about the universe and even the world being round in a time when secular archaeologists and anthropologists stated that mankind was only found in parts of Africa and the Middle East and that the Earth was flat.
  2. It used to be alleged that the Hittites, mentioned over fifty times in the Old Testament, were an invention of biblical editors during a supposed lengthy evolution of various books of the Old Testament. Excavations of several Hittite cities and recovery of many of their written records demolished every one of the critic’s arguments.

 

  1. It used to be assumed that Sodom and Gomorrah were inventions of the biblical writers. But then archaeologists found the ruins of the ancient cities southeast of the Dead Sea in modern day Jordon. We haven’t time to list all the discoveries but they are numerous and all of them speak to the accuracy and veracity of scripture.

 

It is also worth mentioning that no archaeological discovery which was properly understood has ever refuted the words of Scripture but has only served to support scriptural claims. History speaks loudly to the trustworthy nature of Scripture.

 

  1. The physical evidence that the Bible is the Word of God.

The Bible is a history book. It tells historical stories. Now, are these stories true or are they not true? Did the things recorded in the Bible literally happen or did they not happen? Is this actual history or is this the figment of someone’s imagination? The Bible is so historically accurate. That’s one of the great evidences of its inspiration.

 

  1. The Book of Daniel

Many historians love to study secular history and then ridicule the Word of God. That used to be done with the book of Daniel because of the supposed errors in the book of Daniel. The book of Daniel tells of the Babylonian empire and it tells that the last king in Babylon was a king

named Belshazzar. Belshazzar was the one who saw the handwriting on the wall. So the historians said, “Well, that’s obviously a fabrication. Obviously this is not real history because we have the records of the ancient Babylonians and we know that the last king of Babylon was not a man named Belshazzar at all, it was a man named Nabanitus. We have the archives, we have the records and we have all of the artifacts. Belshazzar was no king, there was no king named Belshazzar. Obviously the Bible is a fake, obviously a fraud, the book of Daniel is in error.” But the spade of the archeologists continued to do its work and one day they turned up a clay tablet, a cylinder, and guess whose name was on it? Give you three guesses, first two don’t count. Belshazzar. And you know what it said? They found out that Belshazzar was indeed the last king of Babylon, but so was Nabinitus. The truth of the matter is they were co-regents. There were two kings at the same time. Nabinitus was the father, Belshazzar was the son, but Nabinitus didn’t stay home. He loved to travel and he was a big game hunter and was often gone and so the kingdom was in the charge of Belshazzar. In fact, in the fifth chapter of the book of Daniel, we can now understand a passage that we might not have understood before that because Belshazzar said to Daniel, “If you can read the handwriting on the wall,” I’ll make you what? “The third ruler in the kingdom.” Why did he say third ruler? Because there were already two, Belshazzar and Nabinitus. Now, suppose we’d not found that clay cylinder with Belshazzar’s name on it. Would that have meant the Bible was wrong? No, it would have just meant we didn’t have enough evidence, isn’t that right? Be careful before you let some historian or someone tell you that the history of the Bible is not correct.

 

  1. Scriptural evidence.

Scripture clearly claims to be the timeless word of God and to be true without any mixture of fault or error.

 

  1. In the Old Testament

Psalm 19:7-9 says, “The instruction of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the Lord is trustworthy, making the inexperienced wise. The precepts of the Lord are right, making the heart glad; the commandment of the Lord is radiant, making the eyes light up. The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever. The ordinances of the Lord are reliable and altogether righteous…”

Psalm 119:89 says, “Lord, Your word is forever; it is firmly fixed in heaven.”

Psalm 119:160, “The entirety of Your word is truth, and all Your righteous judgments endure forever.”

And the prophet Isaiah says in Isaiah 40:8, “The grass withers; the flower fades, but the word of our God remains forever.”

 

  1. The New Testament

2 Timothy 2:16, “All scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correction, for training in righteousness;”

2 Peter 1:21 says, “Because no prophecy ever came by the will of man, instead, moved by the Holy Spirit, men spoke from God.”

And Jesus Himself said in Matthew 24:35, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away.”

Friends, the Bible is not ambiguous, it does not leave us wondering about what it claims to be. It clearly claims to be God’s inerrant and infallible word. It clearly claims to have God as its Author.

 

  1. Prophetical Evidence.
  2. If we were to start today and talk about fulfilled prophesy, just the prophesy of the nations, what is happening in the nations of this world, what is happening on the world map, the last days, what we call the signs of the times, why, we could take a Bible conference for several months and just talk on that one thing.

But let me just narrow the prophesies and let’s just talk about the prophesies concerning the Lord Jesus Christ. Did you know that there are more than three hundred (300) exact, minute prophesies concerning the life, death, burial, resurrection, ascension, enthronement and second coming of Jesus Christ in the Old Testament?

And I’m not talking about the New Testament. I’m talking about hard, fast, substantial, clear Old Testament prophesies concerning the Lord Jesus Christ. The chances of those prophesies being fulfilled by chance is astronomically impossible. Billions to one would be the chance that they would have been fulfilled by chance. Do you know what the enemies of the Lord Jesus say about this? Here’s the way

they answer that. They say, Well, he just arranged to have the prophesies fulfilled. He just rigged it so the prophesies would be fulfilled. Is that possible? Did He really just arrange for the prophesies to be fulfilled? Yes, I believe He did! In fact, that’s the only explanation. He arranged it all before it ever happened! In fact, He arranged it before he ever came to this earth. Jesus arranged His own birth. He said it would happen in Bethlehem.  He wrote it down hundreds of years before it happened in the book of Micah. He supernaturally arranged it.

 

  1. I’ll tell you something else, he arranged for Isaiah seven hundred years before he was born to give a biography of his life in Isaiah chapter 53. You go home and get that Old Testament chapter of the Bible and read Isaiah chapter 53. You’re going to find the amazing story, the entire biography of the Lord Jesus Christ before he was born, not after he was born, before he was born.

 

  1. Go home today and read the twenty-second Psalm, an amazing Psalm, the twenty second Psalm is a Messianic Psalm. It is written about the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ and the twenty-second Psalm is written as a graphic description of the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ. It was written centuries before Jesus was born.

 

  1. In Psalm 22 the words that Jesus would say from the cross are prophesied. The words that his enemies would say when they ridiculed him were prophesied. The very fact that they would gamble for his garments was prophesied. In Psalm 22 it says they “pierced my hands and my feet.” That’s what happens when you crucify; there are nails through your hands and nails that go through your feet. But this was written hundreds and hundreds of years before the Roman Empire.

Crucifixion was the Roman way of capital punishment. The Jews at that time knew nothing of death by crucifixion. Do you know how the Jews executed people? You should know if you’ve read your Bible. It was stoning. They stoned people to death. Crucifixion was a Roman form of execution and hundreds of years before the Roman Empire comes on the scene you read there in Psalm 22, “they pierced my hands and my feet.”

 

  1. In the book of Zechariah, Zechariah the prophet said that he would be sold for thirty pieces of silver.

 

  1. There are more than three hundred (300) exact, minute prophesies concerning the life, death, burial, resurrection, ascension, enthronement and second coming of Jesus Christ in the Old Testament. Over three hundred (300) exact, precise prophesies in the Old Testament are fulfilled in the New Testament.

Matthew 26:56, “But all this was done that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled.”

 

  1. Human experience evidence.

Human experience is one of the best evidences of the life changing power of the Bible. While all human experience must be measured by biblical truth, we have but to look behind us, around us and within us to see that God’s word is true and can be trusted.  What have some of the great men of our country said of the Bible?

 

  1. George Washington, the first president of the United States said, “It is impossible to govern the world without God and the Bible. Of all the dispositions and habits that lead to political prosperity, our religion and morality are indispensable supporters. Let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion. Reason and experience both forbid us to expect that our national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle.”

 

  1. John Quincy Adams, the sixth president of the United States said, “So great is my veneration of the Bible, that the earlier my children begin to read it the more confident will be my hope that they will prove useful citizens of their country and respectable members of society.”

 

  1. Abraham Lincoln the 16th President said of the Bible, “In regard to this great book, I have but to say, it is the best gift God has given to man. All the good Savior gave to the world was communicated through this book. But for it we could not know right from wrong. All things most desirable for man’s welfare, here and hereafter, are to be found portrayed in it.”

 

  1. Clearly, our great Republic was chartered and founded by men who understood the Bible to be the Word of God and to be true.
  2. But your own experience should tell you that the Scripture is trustworthy. It contains the mind of God, the state of man, the way of salvation, the doom of sinners, and the happiness of believers. Were it not for scripture you would not know of Jesus and if you did not know of Jesus you would be hopelessly lost in your sin. We should be able to stand and give witness to the scripture, to its fidelity, to its impact on your life and to the way God has used it to bring you to Himself and make you who you are. The change God’s Word has made in our life is the most powerful evidence we could ever share about the trustworthiness of the Bible.

 

  1. Our faith is rooted in real conclusive evidence. And that story can be repeated over and over and over again as man keeps trying to catch up with God. It’s repeated in the historical realm, the scientific realm, the medical realm, the archaeological realm and the spiritual realm. Everywhere you look, you will find physical evidence that the Bible is the Word of God. In fact, just the fact that it is still here is