Scripture

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. [Baptist Faith & Message 2000]

Revelation …………. Hermeneutics …………. Theology

Revelation - is what God says or reveals about Himself

Theology - is what man says about what God says

Theo = God | Logy = Talk/Word

Hermeneutics - is the study or art of interpreting the Scripture.

Scripture [God’s Revelation]

Sufficient - the Bible contains all the inspired, inerrant, and authoritative words of God necessary for salvation, faith, and godly living

2 Timothy 3:14–15 “But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.”

Inerrant - without error

Psalm 19:7 “The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple;”

Infallible - absolutely trustworthy | Incapable of failing

KEY TEXT:

2 Timothy 3:16–17 “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”

What did Paul mean by “All Scripture?”

Luke 24:44 “Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.””

Torah - The Law [lit. Instruction]

Nebi’im - The Prophets

Ketuvim - The Writings [Psalms - first, largest & representative]

***Your Old Testament is the same as the Hebrew/Jewish OT that Jesus himself affirmed in Luke 24:44, just in a different order and some different headings, but same content.***

Remember the New Testament is literally being penned at this time. However, even though the NT [as a completed work] wasn’t necessarily in view during Paul’s day, we can be confident that New Testament bears the same divine authorship and authority as that of the Old Testament.

Peter says of the writings of Paul:

2 Peter 3:15–16 “And count the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters. There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures.”

Paul considers Deuteronomy and Luke as Scripture:

1 Timothy 5:18 “For the Scripture says, “You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain,” {Deut. 25:4] and, “The laborer deserves his wages.”” [Lk.10:7]

Paul affirms Peter has been entrusted with the same gospel as Him:

Galatians 2:7–9 “On the contrary, when they saw that I had been entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been entrusted with the gospel to the circumcised (for he who worked through Peter for his apostolic ministry to the circumcised worked also through me for mine to the Gentiles), and when James and Cephas and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given to me, they gave the right hand of fellowship to Barnabas and me, that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised.”

2 Timothy 3:16–17 “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”

Theopnuestos – inspired [God-breathed]

o Theo – God

o Pnuestos – breathed