"And God Said": The Authority of the Bible

Genesis 1:1-3 “And God Said” The Authority of the Bible Introduction: In Our studies in Genesis we have established who God is and his credibility in what He says and does. Now we want to look at the fact that God has spoken. This is the great claim of the Bible; That God is there and He is not silent. No less than ten times, Genesis chapter one says, “God said”. “Despite sin, God still initiates relationship by making himself known, which is what theologians mean by the doctrine of revelation. The opposite of revelation is speculation, whereby religions, spiritualities and philosophies seek to discover who God is apart from God’s self revelation.” Doctrine By Breshears and Driscoll God has spoken or revealed himself in two ways: natural revelation (Psalm 19 “The heavens declare the glory of God”) and special revelation (Holy scripture). Hebrews 1:1-2 “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son” There are only two views on Origins: creation and evolution. One is based on revelation (the word of God) and one is based on speculation (so-called science) Before we go into the teaching of the Bible on Origins it’s important that we establish the reliability and authority of this revelation. As I was studying Genesis chapter one this week and looking at all the arguments for Creation vs Evolution; I kept thinking that all arguments will come back this: “The Bible says....” and the response will be: “Everyone knows that the Bible has been disproved hundreds of years ago.” or “Everyone knows that the Bible is full of errors” or “Well the Bible is unscientific”. What is our response to these sort of attacks on the authority and reliability of the Bible? This morning I would like to give you some very profound answers to these skeptical objections. 1. Who wrote the Bible? God or man? a. Inspiration - The word literally means God-breathed. i. Theories of Inspiration 1. Natural inspiration – There is no supernatural element. The Bible was written by great men, who often erred. 2. Partial inspiration – The Bible contains God’s words but must be sorted out to find them. Other parts are purely human and may be in error. 3. Conceptual inspiration – The thoughts of scripture are inspired but the actual words used are not. There is factual and scientific error. 4. Dictation theory of inspiration – The writers passively recorded God’s words without any participation of their own styles or personalities. 5. Verbal, plenary inspiration – All of the actual words of the Bible are inspired and without error. This fits the Bible’s description. a. 2 Timothy 3:16 “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness” i. Inspiration is the supernatural operation of the Holy Spirit who, through the different personalities and literary styles of the chosen human writers, invested the very words of the original 66 books of the Holy scripture, alone and in their entirety, as the very Word of God without error in all that they teach, affirm, imply, or entail (including matters of history and science). ii. Examples: 1. John 14:26 “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.” 2. John 16:13 “However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.” 3. 2 Peter 1:20-21 “knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. b. Inerrancy i. Inerrancy means wholly true and without error. 1. Inerrancy applies to matters of science, history, math, etc. “If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?” -John 3:12 2. If the Bible cannot tell us accurately about science, history, and archeology, etc. Why should we trust it for the deeper issues of life? Like: where did I come from? Why am I here? Where is this all going? Is there a God? Is there life after death? Etc. a. The importance of inerrancy. i. Inerrancy is directly connected to God’s nature. 1. God cannot err. a. Hebrews 6:18 “it is impossible for God to lie” b. Titus 1:2 “in hope of eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began” 2. The Bible is the word of God. a. 2 timothy 3:16 “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness b. Romans 9:6 also refers to the scriptures as “the word of God” 3. Therefore, the Bible cannot err. a. John 10:35 “the Scripture cannot be broken” 4. When inerrancy is not held, one by one certain Biblical doctrines (deity of Christ, etc.), historical facts (such as the literal creation), and other biblical views (on issues such as homosexuality, marriage and the role of men and women) are denied. 5. The parts of the Old Testament that are most commonly rejected as error are also the sections of scripture that Jesus clearly taught. This includes Creation; the literalness of Genesis 1-2, Noah and the flood, Sodom and Gomorrah. c. Authority. i. The scriptures are authoritative, which means that the Bible is the final word for faith and practice among individual christians and for the church collectively. But, the Bible’s authority is under attack even by Christians. Some people say that the Bible is old-fashioned, outdated and irrelevant for today. ii. Jesus Christ didn’t see it that way. He said, “ For assuredly I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or tittle will by no means pass from the law” Matthew 5:18 1. There are many books today that claim to be the Word of God. The Koran, the Islam holy book, claims to be the Word of God. The Book of Mormon claims to be the Word of God. The Hindus believe the Bhagavad Vita is the source of eternal truth. Karl Marx, claimed his Communist Manifesto, was the ultimate truth. 2. We Christians believe the Bible to be the Word of God and the eternal source of truth we live by. a. How do we know the Bible is the Word of God? Can we actually prove that the Bible is truly the Word of God? The answer is yes. d. Evidence of Inspiration and Authority i. Indestructibility. 1. There are few books that remain in circulation after one hundred years. The number of books that survive one thousand years is minute. 2. The Bible, is over two thousand years old, and is the number one best seller. This is amazing when you think about the many attempts in history to destroy the bible. a. Roman emperor Diocletian, sought to wipe any trace of Christianity from the face of the earth, churches were burned , christians were executed, and the scriptures confiscated and destroyed. But Diocletian died, and Christianity kept expanding. Diocletian’s successor, Constantine, ordered fifty copies of the scriptures to be printed at Roman governments expense. This kind of thing has happened over and over with the bible. ii. Historical Accuracy. 1. Although many have accused the Bible to be full of historical inaccuracies, there has never been one proven case. 2. Critics and skeptics used to think that archaeological discoveries would disprove the Bible, the exact opposite has happened. Archaeology has only served to affirm it’s accuracy. a. In 1974, Time magazine published an article, which stated, “ After more than two centuries of facing the heaviest scientific guns that could be brought to bear, the Bible has survived, and is perhaps better for the siege. Even on the critic’s own terms, historical fact, the scriptures seem more acceptable now than when the rationalists began the attack” b. After two hundred years of attacks, critics, have failed to disprove the Bible. i. A few examples. ii. Many historians claimed that Moses could not have written the first five books of the Bible because there was no written language at that time. But archaeologist discovered later that not only was there written language during the time of moses , they found extensive libraries dating back before the time of Abraham, who lived 400 years before Moses. iii. Because there was no record of the hittite empire apart from the Bible, critics argued for years that biblical references to these people were mythological. Again, archaeologists discovered that the Hittites existed, and that they had possessed a vast empire covering the region now known as Turkey. Once again proving the bible to be absolutely accurate. iv. Last one, Critics claimed that Pontius Pilate never existed because the only record was found in the New testament. Well..... Archaeologist digging in the region of Caesarea on the coast of Israel, discovered a stone engraved with the name of Pontius Pilate. It stated that He was the governor of Judea at the exact period of time the New testament claimed. 1. From the mid 1700s to this day, archaeology has systematically disproved everything the critics have ever brought forth as an argument against the historical accuracy of the scriptures. You can trust the historical accuracy of the Bible. iii. Scientific accuracy. 1. How many times have you heard it said, “The Bible is full of scientific errors”? Or “The Bible and science contradict one another”? This is an absolute Lie!!!! 2. The Bible is not a book of science, yet no observation made in scripture contradicts known scientific evidence. 3. Moses said, “The life of the flesh is in the blood” (Leviticus17:11) His declaration was confirmed by scientist in the seventeenth century. 4. Three thousand years ago, David said, “The sun is moving in a circuit through the heavens” - Psalm 19. People used to say that the Bible was wrong because the sun doesn’t move. Now we know, that the Sun does move. 5. Paul in Romans 8:21-22 speaks about creation being in the bondage of decay. In 1850 we discovered the second law of thermodynamics, that all things are in a state of decay. iv. Harmony of the scriptures. 1. The Bible is made up of 66 books written over a span of 1,600 to 4,000 years, by 40 different authors, in three different languages, on three different continents ( Asia, Africa, and Europe) and they all are saying the same thing. The Bible is one book, it has one doctrinal system, one moral standard, and one plan of salvation. There is no other book like it. 2. The harmony of the scriptures is another support to the Bible’s claim to be of Divine origin. a. Now these four examples (indestructibility, historical accuracy, scientific accuracy and the harmony of the scriptures) are not proof, but support for the Bibles authoritative claim. e. Prophecy - is the built in proof of the Bible’s inspiration. i. Predictive prophecy is the built in proof that the Bible is the word of God. 1. Isaiah 46:9-10 “For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me, Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things that are not yet done.” a. Prophecy is not pronouncing vague, generalized predictions, but giving specific details of things before they happen. That is exactly what we find in the Bible. ii. Three examples: 1. Prophecy concerning the Jewish people. a. In AD 32, Jesus spoke of the future of jerusalem and the Jewish people. “But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near. Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those who are in the midst of her depart, and let not those who are in the country enter her. For these are the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! For there will be great distress in the land and wrath upon this people. And they will fall by the edge of the sword, and be led away captive into all nations. And Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. - Luke 21:20-24 In AD 70, the Roman general titus destroyed jerusalem, slaughtered a million jews, and led over one hundred thousand Jews away into captivity. For nearly two thousand years, the Jews were dispersed among the nations and Jerusalem was overrun by one foreign power after another. It wasn’t until 1948 that the Jews finally returned to their homeland. 2. Prophecies concerning the Messiah (Christ) a. Jesus fulfilled hundreds of Messianic prophecies. A few examples: Seven hundred years before the birth of Jesus, Micah, the prophet wrote, “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Though you are little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to Me the One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old, From everlasting.” b. Luke records the fulfillment: Luke 2:1-7 “And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This census first took place while Quirinius was governing Syria. So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city. Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child. So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger” c. One thousand years before the time of Christ and 600 years before the invention of crucifixion David wrote, “I am poured out like water, And all My bones are out of joint; My heart is like wax; It has melted within Me. My strength is dried up like a potsherd, And My tongue clings to My jaws; You have brought Me to the dust of death. For dogs have surrounded Me; The congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me. They pierced My hands and My feet I can count all My bones. They look and stare at Me. They divide My garments among them, And for My clothing they cast lots.” i. Mark records it’s fulfillment: “And they brought Him to the place Golgotha, which is translated, Place of a Skull. Then they gave Him wine mingled with myrrh to drink, but He did not take it. And when they crucified Him, they divided His garments, casting lots for them to determine what every man should take” ii. This is just a very small example of the prophecies fulfilled by Jesus Christ. It is a mathematical impossibility that Jesus of Nazareth could have fulfilled all the prophecies He did and not be the promised Messiah. 3. Prophecy concerning the last days. a. Not going into too much detail for the sake of time. These prophecies concern the restoration of the Jewish people to their homeland, Jerusalem as the center of world conflict, the resurrection of the roman empire, a one world economy, one world religion, and the rise of a world dictator. You simply have to read the news paper to see these being fulfilled. i. The Jews are back in the land of Israel. ii. Jerusalem has become a burden to the surrounding nations. iii. The European Union has united europe in a way that has not been since the Roman Empire. iv. Globalization is the goal of the world at this time, with one currency, one economy, and one religion. 1. All of these prophecies prove that the Bible is the work of someone outside space-time continuum, someone who sees the end from the beginning. This someone is God. i. Conclusion: The point of this study is to show you that you can trust the Bible for what it says about history, science, and geography. You can trust it for what it says about man, his origin (created by God) and his purpose (to glorify God and enjoy Him forever). You can trust the Bible for what it says about God, who He is, and what He’s done, and what He is going to do; You can trust it for what it says about the eternal destiny of those who believe in Christ and those who don’t. You can trust in from Genesis 1:1 to Revelation 22:21. It is more trust worthy than any earthly thing, whether religious book or system of thought. And it demands our full attention and full obedience. It is with this solid foundation that we now move into the Bible’s claim of Origins. ii.