Battle for the Bible SUNDAY SCHOOL

OUTLINE:

1. Why We Love the Bible

2. History of the Bible

3. Claims Against the Bible

4. How to Read the Bible

Session 1: WHY WE LOVE THE BIBLE

Welcome! — Go over what we will cover in the 4 classes

To kick this off I want to talk about the topic/idea of Truth and the framework that we have when we approach the Bible

Unfortunately we all have a lot of bias when we read Scripture.

No one reads the Bible honestly without a little bit of work. Why is this?

Our culture is so different from the culture of the original audience. We don’t see Truth the same or carry the same worldview.

We have heard sermons, ideas, stories told in a certain way that we have built assumptions that we READ INTO the text. (Phil. 4:13)

Philippians 4:13 ESV

13 I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

MISSING THE CONTEXT LOL

So let’s start with this question:

What is Truth?

Our culture will tell you that your truth is based on your experience. So because our experiences are unique, so are our truths.

James Lindsay says this of our post-modern worldview:

Morality is not found but made. That is, morality is not based on cultural or religious tradition, nor is it the mandate of Heaven, but is constructed by dialogue and choice. This is relativism, not in the sense of being nonjudgmental, but in the sense of believing that all forms of morality are socially constructed cultural worldviews

Your truth is exactly that. YOUR truth. And should be respected just as equally as anyone else’s truth.

This is how you can have a male compete in a female’s sport because he thinks he’s a she and WOMEN would even defend him.

This is how you can have someone one the Supreme Court that is unable to give a definition for what a woman is.

But let me take it closer to home… This is also how you can have clear teaching in Scripture for Tithing and yet over half the church think, “ehh, but that’s not for me.”

This is how you can have “pet readings” of Scripture that are more based on tradition than truth. Because “that’s how its always been done.”

Existentialism — individual above all other things.

The christian version of this puts a low ceiling on growth. Whether you like it or not - this idea is in our church. Because it is an idea of our day. This is something we all have to face in our world.

“What’s in it for me?”

It makes God hard to love and miserable to figure out

It exalts benefits to Lord status

Happiness is a great consequence but a terrible goal

Terms like “worship experience” —- it’s not a NOUN. It’s a VERB!

Your experience is limited example + 3 blind people touch an elephant

So we have Christians today that are more universalists than christians

The 60’s and the Sexual Revolution -- Pastor’s preached a very strict Gospel. Pentecostals, Puritans, etc. So today people have driven the car into the other ditch where we have people like Rob Bell (and many others) saying there is no hell and God is so loving He couldn’t let that happen.

60% of millennial Christians don’t believe Jesus is the only way to God. SO THEY’RE NOT CHRISTIANS.

Because if one “truth” isn’t greater than the other — then who am I, or what is Scripture to stand against “your truth”?

Of course then, all roads lead to Heaven because all beliefs are equal.

We have to understand what the essentials are

national/state borders

The error of kindness

Addison commenting to Scott and Paula

When there are no moral absolutes the only right action is to be kind and show empathy.

THERE’S NOTHING ELSE TO DO!

We will never be able to explain ourselves to people that are committed to misunderstand us

Jesus and parables. Left it confusing on purposes. God brings revelation. Not us.

The Bible is not unifying. Jehovah’s Witness, Mormons all use the Bible for their justification. So how do we know we’re right and they aren’t?

Why the creeds? THEY are unifying. How to fight against heresies! They save the church from error.

The Nicene Creed

We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen. We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, light from light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father; through him all things were made. For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven, he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary, and was made man. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered death and was buried. On the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures; he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end. We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father [and the Son], who with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified. He has spoken through the Prophets. We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church. We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.

Charismatic churches becoming like the wild west in their theology

So then, what is Truth?

Truth is what God has said to be True. He is the creator. He set this in motion. HE IS GOD. NOT YOU.

WE MUST RESHAPE our Epistemology

Your epistemology is how you define what is true or not

SO WHY AM I SPENDING SO MUCH TIME ON THIS?!

Because if you approach the Bible with the wrong epistemology, you will never allow God’s Word to do what it’s supposed to: DIRECT AND CHANGE YOUR LIFE

God uses logic. Logic is not anti-faith

Your mind is the part that’s renewed

Romans 12:2 ESV

2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Spirit and Truth -- We need doctrine

Paul applied to reason - we all need apologetics

Acts 17:2–3 ESV

2 And Paul went in, as was his custom, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, 3 explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ.”

So when your experience comes in conflict with God’s Word - you have to let God’s Word SHAPE your truth

John 8:31–32 ESV

31 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

To be a disciple of Jesus — You must ABIDE, CONTINUE, to stay in a given place — If you “stay” in my Word, you are My disciple.

It is so hard not to let our experiences define our boundaries.

And - that’s not all bad! Difference in being biblical and being a biblicist

The issue comes in when we elevate our EXPERIENCE over the WORD OF GOD.

Experience and emotions can be wonderful friends, but horrible masters.

John 14:6 ESV

6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Jesus is not being cruel in saying “No one comes to the Father except through me.” - “Wow Jesus how narrow minded of you“

It’s not Him flashing His VIP card saying how cool He is — It is Him throwing out a Lifesaver because He knows you will drown without it!

Being a slave of righteousness is the only place that has FREEDOM! It’s a paradox

The new you is the true you.

God’s Word is what sets the limits to my life. It is the rulebook, the standard, the measurement by which my life is judged.

My Truth is Temporal, God’s Truth is Eternal

We only see in part. Our perspective is limited. Your truth — may be TRUE FOR YOU IN A MOMENT — but it is often limited.

When we have God’s Word as the boundary — my truth lives inside the limit of God Word

National Borders and State Borders: tongues, gifts of the Spirit, God’s sovereignty, women allowed to preach or not, etc… But at the end of the day, we’re both Bible believing Christians

Augustine quote: In the essentials UNITY, in the non-essentials LIBERTY, in all things CHARITY

But when we go OUTSIDE of God’s Word, when we elevate our experience, our truth, over God’s Word

This is why we have Christians that believe Jesus is Savior, but don’t live like He’s Lord.

Because we live in a culture that says — “Find your truth inside of yourself and be ABIDE IN THAT.” Instead of ABIDING in God’s Word.

Let me be clear with what boundaries are = what is true. A boundary is what we believe to be truth.

Epistemological crisis. We don’t have a process to know what is true. People today are being discipled by tik tok videos and youtube

The self has become the locus of authority and truth

We, as Christians, have a lot of cultural hurdles to get over to be able to have Jesus as LORD over our lives and to DECENTER OURSELVES as the authority of Truth.

Story of Daniel chapter 1 — Distinctions between Babylon culture and Jewish culture

They were IN Babylon but not OF Babylon

Daniel 1:8 (ESV)

8 But Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the king’s food, or with the wine that he drank.

Culture today says whatever you feel, whatever you’ve experienced, IS YOUR TRUTH

We don’t take shelter in CULTURE — We Abide in God’s Word!

My truth is temporal, God’s truth is eternal.

If you abide in God’s word, you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free

Your experience is limited

Which is why …

The Bible is Our Boundary

Culture today, progressive Christians today, try to downplay the Word of God. Because if the Bible is nothing more than a good suggestion, then I’m free to live by my truth.

But if the Bible is authoritative, which we’ll talk more on this in the classes to come — Then it must be my boundary.

We have to bind ourselves to a higher truth.

A truth that is above our perception and our truth.

So, when you disagree with the Bible, you are saying “God I know better than you.” To say you couldn’t serve a God that would allow people to go to hell, is saying you understand Grace and Justice better than God does

The Bible will never work for an unrepentant, prideful, not humble heart.

John 8:31–32 ESV

31 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

THIS IS WHY WE LOVE THE BIBLE! We love the Bible because it is God’s self-revelation to us.

THIS IS WHY THE BIBLE IS IMPORTANT!

A completely unknowable God has made Himself known through this Book. It’s insane. He didn’t leave us to figure out life on our own but gave us His strategy and plan for us.

I can’t get into the practicals of reading and studying the Bible until we understand how to approach the Bible.

A child getting disciplined. Still knows they are loved.

Paradoxes of faith

For every mile of road there’s 2 miles of ditch. We want to FIGHT to stay in the middle ground.

All truth lives in tension. Not conflict — but centered between 2 seemingly opposite truths

For example:

God’s love and His holiness

Faith and works

God’s sovereignty and man’s free will

Legalism and abuse of false license

Abuse of authority and the sin of independence

In all of these — It is not one or the other. It’s both/and.

Tent illustration. We can’t be afraid of the tensions (not conflict).

You don’t need protection from your Bible. We need to accept and recognize what the Word of God is for our lives

How heresy happens … “part truth”

The Bible out if context is not the Word the God. Phil. 4:13 “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”

The Bible is not God but reveals God.

Q+A

Session 2: THE HISTORY OF THE BIBLE

VERY quick recap: we must recognize the glasses we where when we approach the Bible. The biases and worldview we bring to the Bible.

We don’t change the Bible; the Bible changes us. The Bible is our boundary. My truth is temporal, God’s truth is eternal.

This is a GOD book, not a MAN book. Yet God -like everything on the earth- used men to put pen to paper for HIS BOOK.

It didn’t just fall out of the sky. God is not bypass the author’s intent or will when they wrote the Bible. God didn’t take Paul and put him to sleep and then had him start writing LOL

He used them like He uses you and I. They were inspired by God to write what they wrote. So what Paul mean’t in Phil 4:13 and in his letters is what the Holy Spirit mean’t. What they mean’t to write, God mean’t to write.

This is confessional.

The Canonization of the Bible

So how did we get these 66 books?

The canon (from the Greek kanon, meaning rule or standard) refers to the collection of the 27 books of the New Testament, as well as the 39 books of the Old Testament, universally recognized by Christians as authoritative and inspired Scripture. But where did the canon come from? In other words, who determined which books were in and which were out?

One thing we must understand: a covenant requires a written document. That document is the legal record of the covenant and cannot be altered in any way.

The Bible is God’s legal record of His covenant - His promise - to us. God will never contradict the Bible because God is true to His Word. He will never lie.

Without the Bible we ate left to make God in our own imagination. We are only left with idolatry.

The Old Testament

So the first 5 books of the Bible - the Torah, the Pentateuch - were written by Moses after the Children of Israel were freed from Egypt

They had lived in a pagan culture for 400 years and had forgotten the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The God of their fathers: Yahweh.

The covenant, the law, the 10 commandments that God made for Israel is the foundation for the rest of the Bible.

The Torah (first 5 books) was considered to have divine authority the moment they were given to Moses.

With the Torah as the backbone of Jewish life other books were accepted as related to and confirming the original covenant (the Torah). The rest of the Old Testament was divided into two parts, the Prophets and the Writings.

Around 300 BC, the OT was translated into Greek called the Septuagint. It is often referred to as LXX, the roman numerals for 70 -- because there were apparently 70 Jewish scholars who did the translation.

By the time of Jesus, the Old Testament canon as we know it was essentially in place and universally recognized by the Jewish community. Jesus himself made constant appeal to the Old Testament as both divinely-authoritative and as testifying to his coming

Matthew 5:17 ESV

17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.

John 5:39 ESV

39 You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me,

Even Paul wrote:

Romans 3:31 ESV

31 Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law.

The Old Testament is important! It is not “less-than” the NT.

The New Testament

Obviously, one of the biggest reasons we got the NT was to record the teachings of Jesus. And so we have the 4 Gospels.

The books of Acts was written by Luke, who also wrote a Gospel, and was meant to be read in tandem with his Gospel.

The rest of the New Testament are letters to church and individuals — probably all of which were written as a reaction or response to something — John talking about Gnosticism in 1 John, Paul addressing pastoral issues, etc.

Even though Paul may not have known that any or all of his writings would eventually constitute Scripture (although I think he did to some degree), nonetheless they carry a clear divine authority.

His teaching is presented as a revelation from God; those who reject it will lose their salvation (Gal.1:1-12).

His letter to the Thessalonians was to be read to everyone - 1 Thess. 5:27

1 Thessalonians 5:27 ESV

27 I put you under oath before the Lord to have this letter read to all the brothers.

His letter to the Colossians was to be circulated beyond that church - Col. 4:16

Colossians 4:16 ESV

16 And when this letter has been read among you, have it also read in the church of the Laodiceans; and see that you also read the letter from Laodicea.

Paul’s command is secondary to the word of the Lord, yet can be somehow set alongside that word.

The book of Revelation, written by the Apostle John, was the last book to be written. Probably around 96 AD.

And the books that were chosen had to be authored by the Disciples or Friends of the Disciples (Paul, Luke, Mark).

The Apocrypha — Largely agreed they shouldn’t be a part of the canon OR came so late they were like having someone write a JFK biography 100’s of years later

Irenaeus, who was an early church father, (ca. 180) listed all the books of our New Testament as canonical, excluding only James, 2 Peter, 3 John, Jude and Hebrews.

The first writer to discuss the canon extensively was Origen (185-255). He notes that 21 are accepted by the church as fully canonical, while 6 are accepted but with some reservation (2 Peter, 2 and 3 John, Hebrews, James and Jude).

The first official declaration of our present canon, which has survived, comes to us from the Easter letter of the famous African theologian Athanasius (367).

When Jerome translated the Bible into Latin shortly after, he used the same list, and thus both eastern and western branches of the European church would have stood in unity on this issue.

And bam! We have our Bible!

From the outset (so far as is known to us from the earliest church history), there was remarkable agreement on the bulk of what came to constitute the New Testament. Five or six books were in some dispute, and these books were eventually recognized as canonical.

Ultimately, it becomes a matter of faith to acknowledge that through the course of time God superintended this process.

It is astonishing that within several decades of the writing of the last book of our New Testament the vast majority of its books were universally accepted, and the rest were accepted with qualification.

It’s amazing that in spite of heresies and dark periods in which the Bible was suppressed too numerous to mention. There is no doubt we can count on the fact that the Bible as we have it is indeed the true Word of God.

The Trustworthiness of the Bible

Sometimes people will say - “well the Bible is old, so it can’t be trusted.”

CS Lewis would call that “chronological snobbery”

So if it was written 5 minutes ago you’re good? 5 weeks? 5 years? 50 years?

What is so amazing is how archaeology confirms the Bible’s historical accuracy

John describes the “Pool of Bethesda” with 5 walkways leading to the pool. Scholars didn’t think the pool existed, until archaeologists found it 40 feet below ground, complete with the 5 porticoes.

Renown Jewish archaeologist Nelson Glueck: “It may be stated categorically that no archaeological discovery has ever controverted a Biblical reference.”

In the book of Acts, Luke names 32 countries, 54 cities and 9 islands without an error, which have all been identified through archaeology.

That’s INSANE!

Okay cool, so the Bible isn’t lying about geography — but how do we know what we have today is the EXACT same as what was originally written?

The Dead Sea Scrolls (found in 1947) contained Old Testament manuscripts dating 1,000 years older than any manuscripts we had. When compared with the ones we did have, we found 99.5% agreement. The .5% differences were minor spelling variances and sentence structure that didn’t change the meaning of the sentence.

Like “Happy Birthday, bro!” / “Bro, Happy Birthday!” — Same message!

Meaning — what we’ve had in our Bibles is accurate. The Dead Sea Scrolls proved it.

The copyists strained meticulously over their work - “every jot and tittle.” They were so serious about about copying the Scriptures accurately. They knew this was why they went into captivity (Exile) they didn’t keep the Scriptures.

Papyrus didn’t have a long shelf life so things had to be copied. Like couple hundreds years or so. Didn’t have the printing press back then

The New Testament is the world’s most reliable ancient document

“Compared to what?”

Few people doubt Plato’s writing of “The Republic.” It’s written around 380 B.C. The earliest copies we have of it are dated 900 A.D., which is a 1,300 year time lag from when he wrote. There are only 7 copies of “The Republic” in existence.

Caesar’s “Gallic Wars” were written around 100-44 B.C. The copies were have today are dated 1,000 years after he wrote it. We have 10 copies.

The New Testament was written between 50-100 A.D., and there are more than 5,000 copies. All are within 50-225 years of their original writing. They are better preserved in terms of variances and errors of sight than any other ancient manuscripts.

5,366 copies of NT …

No one doubts Plato! Yet the NT completely blows it out of the water in terms of reliability

Extra Biblical Historians Confirm What The Bible Says About Jesus

Josephus (AD 38-100): “We learn that Jesus was a wise man who did surprising feats, taught many, won over many followers from among Jews and Greeks, was believed to be the Messiah, was accused by the Jewish leaders, was condemned to be crucified by Pilate, and was considered to be resurrected.”

The Different Genres in the Bible

Okay, now I want to briefly touch on this and we’ll be done -

Not all the books in our Bible were written the same way. There are different genres inside of our Bible

Show them their bookmark and walk through each one

Alright — This is how we got our Bible, we know that it is trustworthy (Especially compared to ANY OTHER ancient document - blows them out of the water!), and this is the layout of our Bible.

The Bible came from God, through man and the canonization of our Bible came from God, through man.

If God can use people to put pen to parchment, then he can use people to canonize those writings.

Q+A

Session 3: CLAIMS AGAINST THE BIBLE

Course outline - NEXT WEEK!! Videos and everything // give out bookmark to whoever didn’t get one last week

WRITE QUESTIONS DOWN AND ASK AT END OF CLASS

Buy theosu.ca and just do David Campbell’s BftB course. It’s amazing. How to Read the Bible for All its Worth.

When Truth is on trial, what do we have to be afraid of?

We can get caught up in not knowing how to answer the worlds questions and criticisms that we avoid it all together.

But the only reason to be afraid of a trial is if there’s something to hide — WE HAVE NOTHING TO HIDE! Let the Truth speak for itself! If the Bible was a lie it would be the greatest coverup of all time.

We don’t have to be nervous when the Truth is on trial.

Let’s be equipped with the Truth so we can know how to answer these important questions. Because they are -NOW MORE THAN EVER- important.

The heart behind this class is really the “Battle for Truth”

It all boils down to an authority issue

Claims the Bible Makes About Itself

Are we trying to make the Bible into something that it isn’t claiming to be?

Are we trying to force the Bible to be something that it is not?

Is the Bible meant to be seen as a good moral compass or guide — or is it literally authoritative to my life?

There are COUNTLESS verses we could turn to - but here are a few:

2 Timothy 3:16 ESV

16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,

2 Peter 1:20–21 ESV

20 knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. 21 For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

1 Thessalonians 2:13 ESV

13 And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers.

If the Bible is my center for Truth — Then I have to believe its claims!

If I want to follow God — then I have to follow God’s teachings.

A lot of people love Jesus — they just hate what He said. But you cant divorce Jesus from His teachings. What kind of relationship is that?

So, firstly — We know that we are not putting an expectation on the Bible that it doesn’t have on itself already.

Claims Against the Bible

The Rise of Liberal Theology

Liberal theology teaches that the Bible, while good moral teaching, is not the Word of God. It can point to God, but it is not the actual Word of God. The Word of God can only be discovered through personal relationship and personal interpretation.

Progressive theology then takes the authorial intent away and replaces it with personal interpretation.

So the goal isn’t “what does the author mean here to the original audience?” But rather “what does this mean to me and how does this apply to my situation?”

With this thought process - the Bible has become nothing more than a suggested path instead of a command. We’re free to follow our hearts and find an interpretation that best suits us.

Because the Bible is not the Word of God but rather the witness to the Word of God.

This progressive/woke/liberal theology stands in direct contradiction to what the Bible claims about itself.

2 Peter 1:20 ESV

20 knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation.

But again — why would they care what they Bible has to say about it because it doesn’t have to be followed anyways.

Genesis 3:1–6 (ESV)

1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made.

He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” 2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, 3 but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’ ” 4 But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.

From the start of time the devil has tried to get us to reject, doubt, and replace the Word of God.

There are NO new arguments against the Bible. The church has already faced this and overcome this. Its time to do it again.

There is no doubt you’ve had - no question you’ve had about the Bible that someone hasn’t already thought deeply about. Don’t be afraid of doubts — Just go to the right places for answers.

Liberal or progressive or woke theology - guys like Rob Bell, Bart Ehrman, Brian McLaren - might have recently repackaged it as a new thought - or as an improvement to the modern church, but the reality is its an old heresy that has just been recycled.

So where did liberal theology comes from?? (liberal is not being used as a political term btw. This is the actual name of this theology)

It didn’t come from the place you might think — With the advancement of modern science the thought might be that it came from science, or a new discovery about history or archeology. But no.

History, archeology and science have actually done nothing but fortify the Bible’s claims about itself.

Andrew Parker, leading British scientist and evolutionary biologist, director of the famous Natural History Museum in London, home of the world’s largest collection of fossils, who is, himself, not a Believer, but upon engaging in research on the subject, found a whole series of parallels between the creation account and the modern scientific account of the history of life.

Parker writes: “Here then is the Genesis Enigma: “The opening page of Genesis is scientifically accurate but was written long before the science was known. How did the writer of this page come to write this creation account?… I must admit, rather nervously, as a scientist averse to entertaining such an idea, that the evidence that the writer of the opening page of the Bible was divinely inspired is strong. I have never before encountered such powerful impartial evidence that the Bible is the product of divine inspiration”

W.F. Albright, a big figure in the development of modern archaeology and originally a Biblical skeptic, came to the conclusion after decades of study that not a single archaeological discovery had been made that contradicted or undermined the Biblical account.

Historians and Biblical scholars such as N.T. Wright, Richard Bauckham, I.H. Marshall and others have written massive documented studies verifying the historical accuracy of the New Testament.

SO - THEN WHY DOES LIBERAL THEOLOGY DOUBT THE BIBLE??

The attack on the Bible has come from the world of philosophy.

It’s not based on science or history — which is what they’d like you to think because it gives their view an appearance of objectivity.

But the reality is it comes from a presupposed philosophical worldview that excludes the Bible without ANY rational grounds. Liberal theology is nothing more than an unsubstantiated opinion.

Let’s go to the beginning: Starting in the 16th century, 2 things happened: The Reformation and the Enlightenment.

The Reformation, with Luther - and even Calvin afterwards - set to restore the church to the doctrinal foundations laid by the NT and the early church fathers. The Reformation was, overall, a GREAT thing!

The Enlightenment, generally considered to have begun in the first century after the Reformation, and while having some great things come from it, IT DENIED CHURCH TRADITION AND THE AUTHORITY OF SCRIPTURE.

Authority did not come from God - but rather from self and from fact. If it couldn’t be proven in a lab, it couldn’t be true.

Rene Descartes (1596-1650) was perhaps the first great figure of the Enlightenment. His thinking led him to the conclusion that he doubted everything, except the fact he doubted.

But the fact that he doubted proved that he was thinking, and the fact he was thinking proved that he existed — hence his famous phrase: “I think, therefore I am.”

They believed that all knowledge of reality begins in our own minds, and we work outward from there to discover the nature of God, humanity, and the world.

100 years later came along Friedrich Schleiermacher (1768-1834). He was the rebellious son of a Reformed pastor. Schleiermacher is often considered the father of liberal theology, because he took the presuppositions of liberal philosophy and applied them systematically to the realm of theology.

As a theologian, Schleiermacher felt that religion is unique, and he found its uniqueness in the sense of feeling or dependence on something beyond us.

All religions accomplish this, but Christianity does it best because of its sense of dependence on Jesus.

He believed that Scripture is not a record of inspired truth, but an account of the religious feelings people had about Jesus. Christ is not a moral example, he is an example of a man who experienced dependence on God in an unprecedented way and thus shows the way ahead for us to live in the same feeling of dependence.

Schleiermacher was one of the first to set forth the idea that revelation does not consist in doctrines or propositions. Doctrines are manufactured by people as they reflect on their religious feelings.

For the Bible to contain doctrinal or propositional truth would violate the liberal principle of the autonomy and superiority of human reason. With Schleiermacher, religion becomes a matter of inward and subjective human illumination as opposed to objective divinely-revealed truth.

Existentialism, moral relativism, applied post-modernism, LIBERAL THEOLOGY, all the things we talked about our first class — this was their birth place. Their place of origin.

Doubt in the Bible is based on the unproven philosophical presupposition that reality consists of nothing more than what our senses can measure.

And so by definition neither God, the supernatural, or miracles can exist.

If one starts with the presupposition that God does exist and has revealed himself in his Word, then miracles become not only possible but certain, for the incarnation (Jesus) is the greatest miracle of all time.

As a Christian living in 2022, with post-modernism everywhere and the self being the locus for truth and authority — We must learn to decenter ourselves and recognize what the Bible is to us: The Word of God.

The Bible is not just a mere witness to God that I get to define — No, I don’t get to define anything. I get to follow the Words and teachings of God - Found in the Bible.

I believe people are deconstructing and liberal theology is on the rise because we’ve asked them “What does this mean to you?” in our Bible studies for so long.

We’ve preached messages that have catered to comfort, instead of letting the Bible speak for itself.

We’ve attempted to make church as comfortable to the unbeliever as possible that we’ve ignored the Word of God.

And so, the liberal cause has been taken up increasingly by those who once professed an evangelical faith, but who have moved away from their faith without really having anywhere to go.

Throughout history, it never begins its own movements, but is always feeding off existing movements originally rooted in Biblical truth.

No liberal theologian I am aware of ever started a denomination or movement. Liberal theologians have corrupted movements begun but heroes of the faith like Luther, Calvin and Wesley, but they have never originated anything themselves.

Theirs is a movement of death, not life.

Every major denomination which has walked away from the Gospel is in terminal decline. Not one is even holding their ground, let alone growing. Why should we think that present-day progressive preachers are going to lead us in any other direction than the death their predecessors have led us into? They have used a foundation that others have built as a platform even while progressively destroying it. No major denomination or movement has birthed in progressive theology, but many have been destroyed.

Modern liberal theology is a product of modern liberal philosophy.

Liberal theology is built on a worldview that automatically excludes the miraculous. So of course the Bible cannot be the ACTUAL Word of God. It can only be something that leads me to find the “word of god” inside of myself.

And as David Campbell has said:

“They have placed all their eggs in the broken basket of higher criticism.”

Remember: It’s an issue of authority. Who are you and what is Scripture to impose on “my truth?”

If this is your presumption then the Bible must be full of errors, cannot be fully trusted, and, in no way, should be seen as authoritative.

Is the Bible Authoritative?

Reminder — All of this comes down to an Authority issue. Is it SELF or is it God through His Word?

This is confessional. Do we accept the Bible’s claims about itself or not?

Yes. The Bible is authoritative because the Bible is God’s Word (not just a mere witness to it) and God’s Word is the boundary to what is Truth in our lives.

Refer to class 1

Is the Bible Infallible and Inerrant?

What do these words mean? Well, unfortunately you ask around you’ll get a bunch of different answers. It kinda comes down to what ax you’re trying to grind.

Typically infallible means trustworthiness OR A BETTER WAY TO SAY IT: it is unable to deceive.

Everything that the Bible teaches can be trusted. There are no parts that you have to “eat the meat and spit out the bones.”

It can all be trusted and applied to your life. When you live by the Words of the Bible you will live God’s way - the right way - the way you were designed to live.

Yes. We believe the Bible is infallible. You should live by the teachings of the Bible. The Bible should be your boundary. It’s trustworthy and you are better off to obey the Bible because it came from your Creator.

Again, this is confessional.

Refer to classes 1, 2

Inerrant means that it contains no errors. The Bible makes no false claims. All of its truth propositions hold water. It’s reliable (that’s the word I like to use)

This one gets tricky only because people often ask the Bible of things it has no interest in answering.

For example: Gen 3 — There’s a talking snake. That is scientifically not possible. How do we deal with this Narnia creature in our Bible? So people would look at that and say, “see? The Bible isn’t reliable. Narnia isn’t real.”

What is Gen 3 about? It’s the fall of man. Is the Bible commenting on zoology? Is it making claims about snake anatomy? LOL NO. That has nothing to do with the Truth Proposition that it’s making about the fall of man.

Also, snakes to the ancient reader were common depictions for an evil spiritual presence. It probably wasn’t a literal snake but is a literary device to prove a point.

Another example: what about numbers? Is the Bible allowed to make approximations?

I’ve heard people say that the Bible is NOT inerrant because one account give one number of people in a battle and another account gives another number.

So is the Bible allowed to use round numbers? Is that deceptive?

Paul and the 3rd heaven. Paul talks about going to the 3rd Heaven. Is that literal? Is he in some elevator and goes to the 3rd floor? Or is that a metaphor?

Can it use expressive language? “The sun rose” — You know literally that isn’t true? Is the Bible being deceptive in that then?

So is the Bible allowed to make an proximation? Idioms? Can it use literary devices?

It is nonsensical to impose a 21st century, modern science mindset onto an ancient writer.

Remember: God did not supersede the will of man in writing His book. He used people just like He uses us today. He did not turn their brains off and have them write like someone in 2022 would. They wrote the way and with the language and genre of the time.

And let’s be honest — Is an approximation what’s throwing you off? Really? You think some Israelite miscounted an army and that’s what unravels the Bible for you?

All of this - comes down to the philosophical presumption that is brought to the Bible.

“It cannot be true so therefore it must contain errors.”

The bottom line: If Jesus is right about being God then he’s right about everything else.

The task before us today is twofold:

First, to study God’s word, to teach and preach it regardless if it is popular with the culture we live in.

Second, to study the culture we live in, to become aware of the areas in which its values oppose those of God’s word, and to make sure none of them enter our lives or the church.

Q+A

Session 4: HOW TO READ THE BIBLE

Thank you for coming to this course! Giveaways at the end.

Raffle ready. TV setup for slides/videos

Please check out theosu.ca, David Campbell, How to Read the Bible for All its Worth, and Austin Molt especially for tonights class.

Here’s a Gordon Fee quote:

The aim of good interpretation is not uniqueness; one is not trying to discover what no one else has ever seen before.

When we read the Bible, we are NOT trying to discover some new secret or new truth. Rather an old one. There are no new doctrines.

We charismatics really struggle with “chronological snobbery.” There is a prevailing thought in our culture that newer is always better. And since we have this technology we are automatically smarter. That just isn’t true.

Our goal is to read the Bible HONESTLY. To let it speak as plainly as possible. To let it say what it always has meant to say.

But here’s the honest, hard truth — There is no such thing as a plain reading of the Bible. We all carry something with us when we approach the Bible. I’ve already touched on this on previous classes.

So it takes some work to get past ourselves and let the Bible say what its always tried to say - without my biases getting in the way

Because every reader is an interpreter. And so we have to be aware of our biases and our blindspots.

Translations

Every english translation of the Bible is a paraphrase and an interpretation. Has to be.

Example: Paul uses the greek word “sarx,” which literally means your body, the skin of an animal, your flesh. But he used it to describe our sinful nature.

So Bible translators are in a pickle. Do they translate “sarx” as flesh, which is what the word means — or “sinful nature,” which is what Paul meant?

English equivalent or theological equivalent

Think of the phrase “cat’s got your tongue.” How should that be translated? Do you do it literally, which would make no sense in another language that didn’t know the saying, or do you try to explain the saying and make it as closely equivalent as possible?

NKJV — ESV use the english equivalent

NIV — NLT use the theological equivalent

The Message is more like a commentary — Not a good translation. Shouldn’t be your #1

My suggestion is to have an english equivalent be your first read. That should be your daily driver. Because you should do the heavy lifting of unpacking the theological meaning yourself.

Then have a theological equivalent be your #2 — and a paraphrase like the Message, be your #3.

I do ESV - NIV - MSG

These are usually called Word for Word (ESV), Thought for Thought (NIV), and Paraphrase (MSG)

Understanding Paradox

How do we know JW or Mormons are wrong and we’re right?

All heresies come from an overemphasized truth. A truth not held in the right tension.

It’s a paradox. All truths are held in tension.

Is God sovereign? Does man have free will? Paradox. Tension.

Cessationism believes that the verse 1 Cor 13:10

1 Corinthians 13:10 ESV

10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away.

means that the Bible is the thing that’s perfect so the gifts of the spirit don’t happen any more.

Yes - the Bible is authoritative, inerrant, and infallible — But it’s not God AND there are MANY Scriptures that command us to walk in the Gifts of the Spirit.

This is an overemphasized truth.

The task of interpreting involves us at two levels:

First, one has to hear the word they (the original audience of the Bible) heard; we must try to understand what was said to them back then and there (exegesis).

Second, we must learn to hear that same word in the here and now (hermeneutics).

Exegesis is how I discover what was actually said, hermeneutics is how I apply it to my life.

Exegesis - What it Meant to Them

Never ask someone — “What does this mean to you?” --- TERRIBLE!

What did it mean to THEM? — That is the important question.

The Bible was written FOR YOU — not TO YOU.

The way to do good exegesis is to learn to read carefully.

So exegesis comes down to 2 parts: Context and Content

Context

The historical background.

What was going on at the time this book/letter was written?

Like have you ever heard a preacher say something like “Back then they used to ...” or “what Jesus meant when he said that was...”?

Those are exegetical expressions.

The biggest hiccup with exegesis is it usually ONLY APPLIED when there’s an obvious problem with the text and modern culture. But the reality is we should be using good exegesis with EVERY TEXT. Not just the ones we don’t get.

Why? Because that’s how you end up with Phil. 4:13 on the side of a gym. If you had taken a second and looked at the context, you would’ve known better.

And more times than not - the context can be found in the book itself.

1 Corinthians is very clearly written to address the problems they had in that church.

Romans was clearly written because gentiles and jews weren’t eating together.

The other piece to remember when talking about context is not just historical - but also literary.

What does this word mean in this sentence?

Think about this sentence: “I love the spring.”

What am I talking about? Metal coil, the season, a small body of water? It could be any of them!!

A word only has meaning in a sentence - a sentence in a paragraph - and a paragraph in a book.

This is my issue with the AMP. Semantic range. A word CANNOT mean all of those things in one place.

So you don’t have to be a historian or Bible scholar to do good exegesis. It just takes some careful reading and then keeping that context in the front of your mind. It’s just reading comprehension skills, which can be improved!

Content

This refers to what I was saying about the AMP.

Semantic range. It can only mean a certain amount of things.

This is where a good commentary does come in and can help. But you don’t have to have outside help to do good exegesis. All you need is a solid Bible translation and to read holistically and carefully. Like don’t just read a verse at a time.

Eisegesis

So what is the opposite of exegesis? Eisegesis

Exegesis draws OUT - Eisegesis puts IN

Easy to remember because Eisegesis — sounds like “I”

So think our Phil 4:13 joke — “STRENGTH”! The gym is imposing their personal take on the word and not looking at the context

David and Jonathan - 2 Sam 1:26

2 Samuel 1:26 ESV

26 I am distressed for you, my brother Jonathan; very pleasant have you been to me; your love to me was extraordinary, surpassing the love of women.

Uhhh.... that sounds GAY

How do we know how to interpret the text? You will get way off if you look at it through a 2022 lens. We have been so perverted by our current culture that if we’re not careful we will read INTO the text things that aren’t there.

We also have such a lost sense of covenant friendship that this level of friendship seems alien and therefore can’t be friendship but must be something more.

There are no words here that indicate anything sexual. Our 2022 lens read that INTO the text.

Hermeneutics - How it Applies to Us

Gordan Fee says:

The same Spirit who inspired the writing of the Bible can equally inspire one’s reading of it.

Devotional reading is not the only kind one should do. One must also read for learning and understanding. In short, you must also learn to study the Bible, which in turn must inform your devotional reading.

This is why you DON’T need to start with how it applies to YOU but how it applied to them — and then go from there.

Not everything in the Bible is prescriptive. Sometimes its just narrative and not doctrine.

Like polygamy is in the Bible — its telling the story of what happens - its not giving direction for us to be polygamists

Just be cause it contains it doesn’t mean it commands it.

Just because it describes it doesn’t mean it prescribes it.

Socialism in Acts 2

The Mormons’ baptizing for the dead on the basis of 1 Corinthians 15:29 or the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ rejection of the deity of Christ, or the snake handlers’ use of Mark 16:18, or the prosperity evangelists’ advocating of the American dream as a Christian right on the basis of 3 John 2 — or to argue, as one preacher is reported to have done, that women should never wear their hair up in a topknot (“bun”) because the Bible says “topknot go down” (“Let him that is on the housetop not go down” [Mark 13:15 KJV]) are all improper interpretations.

It’s bad hermeneutics.

In each case the error is in their hermeneutics, precisely because their hermeneutics is not controlled by good exegesis.

They don’t understand the context or content and have wrongly applied it.

They have started with the here and now and have read into the texts “meanings” that were not originally intended.

Issues with S.O.A.P. — Makes you read in an immediate fashion. Not EVERY VERSE can be applicable to you.

We must recognize our own biases, take care of the content, the context, and then do our best, TRUST THE HOLY SPIRIT, and apply the Word to our lives.

Let’s Practice!

Okay so let’s go through some more BAD examples of how to read the Bible ...

Videos and slides on TV

Show them the right way to do Phil. 4:13 with the ESV study Bible

A lot of what we talked about does feel like “inside baseball” - it can feel overwhelming. But it’s actually really simple.

Read the Bible like you would a NOVEL. Like you would fiction. Read the Bible like it was a novel. We aren’t readers; we are samplers. Don’t miss the BIG picture. Think Harry Potter or Hunger Games. There are motifs and themes throughout.

How I, personally, study the Bible. I take a MONTH and just read ONE BOOK.

Let me tell you the simplest way to study and read your Bible. 6 things:

Get a good translation

Understand your biases and the tensions of truth

Focus on the context and the content

Never read a Bible verse

Trust the Holy Spirit to speak to you

If needed, use a Bible dictionary and/or commentary

Be encouraged! You can know God’s Word. Be a student of the Bible! Read it. Study it.

Jesus is your reward! We love the Bible because it leads us to Jesus!

We study it because we want to know God better!

Find your own way that works for you and just DIVE IN!

Matthew 5:6 ESV

6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

God rewards those who seek Him.

The Bible is not an overnight study. It is a lifetime study. Little by little every day.

Time in God’s Word is never wasted time.

List of resources for them. Print off.

Chart of Bible Translations

How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth - Gordon Fee

How to Read the Bible Book by Book - Gordon Fee

ESV Study Bible

NIV Study Bible

Bible Dictionaries:

Baker’s Encyclopedia of the Bible - Walter A. Elwell

Halley’s Bible Handbook - Henry H. Halley

Commentaries:

The New Bible Commentary - D.A. Carson

Bible Background Commentary - Craig S. Keener

The Bible from 30,000 Feet - Skip Heitzig

Q+A