SCRIPTURE: THE BASIS FOR THEOLOGY AND PRACTICE

SCRIPTURE: THE BASIS FOR THEOLOGY

“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.”

The Baptist Faith & Message 2000 is a document that Southern Baptists have collaborated on this project to provide a “statement of the historic Baptist conception of the nature and function of confessions of faith in our religious and denominational life...”

That is, we are a church within a convention, not a denomination. Baptist history is fascinating, and I would encourage you all to look into our baptist roots. In fact, you can look at one of books down in the library for a history of the church in general, including treatments of our baptist history. But our focus is not on baptist history, but on baptist theology. And what we hold in common with over 47,000 churches across the world, but particularly in the US.

Baptists are a biblical people, meaning they, like the Bereans, where Luke describes them in , “Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.” I think this describes baptists in general for our history, and I believe that it describes our convention of churches, and I especially believe that it is true of Warrior Creek. And while I am a pastor here, it will remain so.

And the Scriptures, rightly understood, are the very basis of our faith. It is from the Scriptures that we get our understanding of who He is, who we are, what Jesus did, what we are to believe, and how we are to live.

As we begin our study through the Baptist Faith & Message 2000, it will be evident that we stand in line with our Bible-loving brothers and sisters throughout history, that the Scriptures are key to our understanding of everything. What I would like to do, then, is to simply walk through the Faith & Message and show how the Scriptures help us. And this message, then, is a cornerstone for our understanding of the rest of the BF&M.

THE INSPIRATION, GOD-GIVEN WORTH, AND TRUSTWORTHINESS OF SCRIPTURE- and

The very foundation of our beliefs as a collective body of baptists is the inspired, God-given worth, and trustworthiness of Scripture. This statement, framed with several passages of Scripture, is absolutely vital for us to grasp. Like the statement, “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery” () is foundational for the Ten Commandments, this opening statement is foundational for the BF&M.

The inspiration of Scripture is clearly seen in and . Thus, they will serve as our main texts.

I. THE INSPIRATION OF SCRIPTURE: ;

The Holy Bible was written by men divinely inspired and is God’s revelation of Himself to man.

2 TIMOTHY 3:16-17

In this verse, Paul tells Timothy that all Scripture, which includes the OT and the NT, is inspired. The word for inspired means breathed out, and because it is combination of two words, it is breathed out by God. Now, without getting too nerdy, there are several different views that pastors and theologians have held over the centuries: natural inspiration or the institution theory, the dynamic or partial-inspiration theory, the theory that the thoughts, not the words, are inspired, the theory that the Bible contains the Word of God, and the diction theory. Henry Thiessen, a noted scholar and lover of God, defines the biblical view of inspiration as,

“The Holy Spirit so guided and superintended the writers of the sacred text, making use of their own unique personalities, that they wrote all that he wanted them to write, without excess or error.” —Henry Thiessen

[Henry Thiessen, Lectures In Systematic Theology, rev. ed., (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1979), 63-65.

So, all of Scripture, Old and New Testaments, were breathed out by God, the Holy Spirit making use of their own unique personalities and gifting, to record His instruction and will for humanity for time immemorial. It is the basis for our understanding of everything.

But another passage provides even further description of how this process of inspiration works.

2 PETER 1:19-21

The context of these verses is the transfiguration of Jesus, a powerful event of which only Peter, James, and John were privy to. Here Peter describes the Scriptures as more fully confirmed, that is sure, like a sturdy foundation. However, he goes on the describe the process of inspiration as “carried along by the Holy Spirit,” where some translations have borne along. Like the current carrying the ship through the waters, the Holy Spirit carries the authors of Scripture to what He wanted them to write within their own personalities and gifts. If you compared Peter’s letters with the two-volume work of Luke, you would see that Peter was a fisherman and Luke a doctor. This is a key concept to which we must adhere if we are to properly understand, interpret, and apply the Scriptures. The Scriptures are inspired. And, as our BF&M states, it is God’s revelation of Himself to man. That is, all that God wants us to know about Him, He has provided for through the Scripture.

II. THE GOD-GIVEN WORTH OF SCRIPTURE- ;

It is a perfect treasure of divine instruction.

God’s Word, the Scriptures, when rightly understood as the treasure they are, are intrinsically valuable. The Scriptures are a treasure of worth, or a perfect treasure of divine worth. Listen to David’s understanding of God’s Word in . and 72 also illustrate the treasure of God’s Word. It is God’s gift to us to know Him, to know His will, and to live righteously. It truly is a treasure. And we should never tire of enjoying it, of reading it, of studying it, of memorizing it, and of delighting in obeying it.

III. THE COMPOSITION OF SCRIPTURE- ; ;

It has God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth, without any mixture of error, for its matter.

We have already established the fact that the sacred Scriptures are given by inspiration of God. God breathed out His Word through the sacred writers in such a way as to utilize their gifts and personalities without compromising the message God desired to communicate. He bore them along, like a ship on the current of the sea, to the destination He wanted.

But by composition I am referring to the third statement on the Scriptures. God is the author, not men. Though men were the tools used by our Creator, God is the author. Furthermore, the Scriptures address man’s greatest need: salvation. The Bible is a missionary book because it provides the details of God’s plan of salvation and His execution of it.

Furthermore, just as God is true and cannot lie (), His Word cannot have any mixture of error. His Word is called truth (). In , , and 9 God’s Word is referred to as “perfect,” “pure,” and “true.” That is, it is without any mixture of error. Though scholars and scoffers attempt to disprove the Bible on the basis of errors, their arguments break like the waves crashing against the solid rocks.

IV. THE CONCLUSION OF SCRIPTURE

Therefore, all Scripture is totally true and trustworthy.

On the basis of everything we have just read and discussed, we conclude that Scripture is totally true and trustworthy. And this leads us to the practical applications of this part of the BF&M’s statement on Scripture.

Because Scripture is totally true and trustworthy, we can base our very lives on what the Bible teaches.

Because Scripture is totally true and trustworthy, we can rely on what it reveals about God, ourselves, sin, and other important topics we face today.

Because Scripture is totally true and trustworthy, we can rest in the promises of God as one rests in his mother’s arms.

Because Scripture is totally true and trustworthy, we can know God’s will for our lives.