Authority of the Bible: How do we know the Bible came from God?

Title: How do we know that the Bible came from God?

Text:

Series: Authority of the Bible

1000 Illustrations for Preaching & Teaching Luther’s

Luther’s

When Luther walked into the presence of Charles V and other powerful persons at the Diet of Worms, April 1521, to answer charges of heresy and to hear a possible death sentence, an old knight was heard to say: “Little monk, I like the step you take but neither I nor any of our battle comrades would take it.”

Consider that little Augustinian monk who shocked Christendom by his defiance of papal authority and who, at last, stood trial for his life. During a high moment in the trial, Martin Luther exclaimed:

I do not accept the authority of popes and councils, for they have contradicted each other—my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and I will not recant anything, for to go against conscience is neither right nor safe. God help me. Amen.

First lesson: “Is the Bible circular reasoning?”

Why does it matter that the Bible came from God?

Illustration:

Media tends to humanize God. In a famous scene from a battle between Loki (a mythical god), he is in battle with the Hulk. Loki exclaims, “Enough! You are all of you beneath me! I am a god you dull creature, and I shall not be bullied...” As Loki suffers defeat, he is humanized.

Our conception of God should not begin this way. God is the all-powerful Creator and He is quite distinct from his creation.

(1) God is Love -

The Bible presents God as love, in contrast to the nature of man. (noted in message on Sunday, January 19 PM) To say that God is love is to understand that God will and has sacrificed for what He absolutely knows to be the good of others.

(2) God is Truth -

The Bible presents Jesus as Truth. To say that God is truth is to understand God to be that which is real. Because of this, He is the measure for all things in an absolute way.

Summary: It matters that the Bible came from God because if the Source is Perfect, then we can be certain that the produce it perfect.

Question: How do we know that the Bible came from God?

Principle: We know that the Bible came from God because Jesus believed and said so.

(1) Jesus and the Old Testament Scriptures

Jesus spoke of the general divisions of the Old Testament -

Jesus spoke of particular books/human authors of the Old Testament -

Jesus spoke of the importance of the fulfillment (authority) of the law -

Jesus called the Old Testament the “word of God” -

Jesus said that David spoke by the Holy Ghost -

Jesus attributes the words of the Old Testament to God -

Relevance:

We then should consider the Old Testament to be of equal importance to us as the New Testament. Do not relegate your reading/study merely to the New Testament. For practical purposes, it may be easier to begin in the New Testament, but seek to know God through the Old Testament. (3-year reading schedule)

Illustration:

Sometimes you will eat at a nice restaurant where they will serve you a nice piece of chocolate cake. Drizzled on top of the cake will be some kind of raspberry or strawberry sauce. It would seem that those two don’t go together but when you bite down on the together, you immediately realize that the mixture is just great. So it is, as we study the OT, there is richness, but it is incomplete without the NT.

If you were to quantify what Jesus taught of the Old Testament, it would be:

When Skeptics Ask: A Handbook on Christian Evidences Jesus Confirmed The Authority Of The Old Testament

1. Authority—Matthew 22:43

2. Reliability—Matthew 26:54

3. Finality—Matthew 4:4, 7, 10

4. Sufficiency—Luke 16:31

5. Indestructibility—Matthew 5:17–18

6. Unity—Luke 24:27, 44

7. Clarity—Luke 24:27

8. Historicity—Matthew 12:40

9. Facticity (scientifically)—Matthew 19:2–5

10. Inerrancy—Matthew 22:29; John 3:12; 17:17

11. Infallibility—John 10:35

(2) Jesus and the promise of the New Testament Scriptures

Jesus gave some promises to his disciples regarding the Holy Spirit - ,

This Holy Spirit promise helps to connect the means of transmission to the Old Testament -

Examples of added revelation - Nothing was spoken by Jesus Christ while he was upon the earth about this particular scenario but what Paul was speaking was scripture -

The apostolic doctrine, preserved in the Bible, is equated to the authority of the Old Testament - ,

Relevance:

While the Holy Spirit does not give us any more of the scripture today, the Holy Spirit does continually speak THROUGH the word. The word of God is the foundation for faith and practice which means that we should take things we have grown up hearing and test them through a proper interpretation of the scripture.

If the Bible came from God, and we believe that it did because Jesus said so, what is that to me as a non-Christian/Christian?

(1) As a non-Christian, if the Bible did come from God, then you should give careful attention to what God has said about Himself and your relationship to Him.

(2) As a Christian, if the Bible came from God, then you have the most compelling reason to want to know Him more — He saved you.

(3) As a Christian, if the Bible came from God, then living according to the Bible means living according to God.

(a) A reality that is made possible through Jesus Christ.

(b) Conduct your life with a love for your brothers/sisters in Christ within the local body context.

(b) A reality that is not only for one part of your life but for all of your life.

(c) Conduct your life with a love-motivated, Christ-compelled pursuit of the lost.

Conclusion:

We know that the Bible came from God because Jesus Christ told us the Old Testament came from God and Jesus Christ told us the New Testament would also come from God.

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/stewart_don/faq/bible-authoritative-word/question17-jesus-view-of-the-old-testament.cfm

Don Stewart:

Jesus cited at least 12 OT books: Genesis, Exodus, Deuteronomy, I Samuel, I Kings, Psalms, Isaiah, Daniel, Hosea, Jonah, Zechariah, Malachi

Jesus believed the OT people actually existed: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David, Queen of Sheba, Elijah, Zechariah, Adam, Eve,

Jesus believed the OT stories were factual: manna provided, David writing of psalms, persecuted prophets, Lot’s wife story, destruction of Sodom & Gomorrah, Noah’s Day flood, Jonah and the whale,