2: Inspiration

Opening

I was super grateful to start sharing with you all last week in a study I simply call “Sola Scriptura”. You might have felt like you were drinking from a fire hydrant. I have included the student notes for last week to the Bishops and you are welcome to them!

Sola Scriptura is a Latin phrase meaning Scripture Alone. The Scriptures are the ancient collection of OT & NT writings - a LIBRARY of multiple writings from 40 different authors spanning close to 1500 years from Genesis to Revelation.

Definition of Sola Scriptura

Sola Scriptura: God’s Scriptures are the supreme authority over what Christians believe and how Christians behave.

Sola Scriptura means we trust the Scripture ABOVE our emotions, ABOVE our church traditions, ABOVE our family traditions, ABOVE our cultural practices, & ABOVE all other authorities. So what do you do when your emotions, traditions, practices, or authorities clash with the Scriptures? It’s not the first time that question has been asked & answered.

We opened the Scriptures to Genesis 3 and saw how Satan tempted Adam and Eve to dismiss or dilute what God had said, as if God’s commands were intended to harm them.

Sadly, many claiming to follow Jesus have done the same thing - dismissing or diluting the authority of what God has commanded in the Scriptures.

This is what Martin Luther confronted as the tradition of the Roman Catholic Church had become more important that the TRUTH of the Scriptures. So, when asked whether he would recant his writings or face excommunication, this Roman Catholic priest said these powerful words that brought him severe persecution:

Unless I am convinced by the testimony of the Scriptures or by clear reason (for I do not trust either in the pope or in councils alone, since it is well known that they have often erred and contradicted themselves), I am bound by the Scriptures I have quoted and my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and will not recant anything, since it is neither safe nor right to go against conscience. May God help me. Amen.

Martin Luther was calling people back to...

SOLA SCRIPTURA: God’s Scriptures are the supreme authority over what Christians believe and how Christians behave.

We concluded by asking: “Will we, like Luther and those who followed his lead, stand for Sola Scriptura, even when it could and WILL cost us?”

And then I gave you some homework, to read 1 John (5 chapters long). If you didn’t, then you can double up on your reading this week!

Let’s get started with today’s topic:

Inspiration: Has God Spoken?

Today our task is to consider how Jesus His followers viewed the Scriptures.

Jesus had been tempted throughout the 40 days in the wilderness without any food. Then…

Matthew 4:3–4 (NET) The tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become bread.” But he answered, “It is written, ‘Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ” [* see Deut. 8:3]

But Jesus isn’t the only one who can quote Scripture; the Devil does the same thing (Ps. 91:12).

Matthew 4:5–7 (NET) Then the devil took him to the holy city, had him stand on the highest point of the temple, and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down. For it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you’ and ‘with their hands they will lift you up, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’ ” Jesus said to him, “Once again it is written: ‘You are not to put the Lord your God to the test.’ ” [* see Deut. 6:16]

Finally the devil offers Jesus a crown instead of the cross - King without being the Lamb

Matthew 4:8–10 (NET) Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their grandeur. And he said to him, “I will give you all these things if you throw yourself to the ground and worship me.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go away, Satan! For it is written: ‘You are to worship the Lord your God and serve only him.’ ” [* see Deut. 6:13]

You see, if what is written can be trusted, thenJesus believed that…

Mark 12:36 (NET) David himself, by the Holy Spirit, said, ‘The Lord said to my lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet.” ’ * see Psalm 110:1

You see, Jesus believed that...

BIG TRUTH: God gave the Scriptures to people through people.

There are many examples of this - his another one.

John 5:45–47 (NET) “Do not suppose that I will accuse you before the Father. The one who accuses you is Moses, in whom you have placed your hope. If you believed Moses, you would believe me, because he wrote about me. But if you do not believe what Moses wrote, how will you believe my words?”

Jesus most often quoted the Scriptures to:

show His death was foretold (Matt. 26:24, 31, 54-56; Mk. 14:21, 27; 14:49; Luke 24:27,32,44-47; Jn. 13:18-19; 15:25)

confront false teaching & practice (Matt. 12:3-8; 19:4-6; 21:13; 22:29-32; Mk. 7:6-8; 9:11-13; 11:17; 12:24-27; Luke 6:3-5; 19:46; Jn. 5:39-40, 46-47)

Jesus quotes almost every OT writing as authoritative writings given by God to people.

Kevin DeYoung, in his outstanding book, Taking God at His Word, writes:

In the Gospels we see Jesus reference Abel, Noah, Abraham, Sodom and Gomorrah, Isaac and Jacob, manna in the wilderness, the serpent in the wilderness, Moses as the lawgiver, David and Solomon, the Queen of Sheba, Elijah and Elisha, the widow of Zarephath, Naaman, Zechariah, and even Jonah, never questioning a single event, a single miracle, or a single historical claim. Jesus clearly believed in the historicity of biblical history.

So too, both Peter & Paul (Acts spotlights these as 2 of the primary Christian leaders in early Christianity) believed and taught that… God gave the Scriptures to people through people

2 Peter 1:20–21 (NET) …No prophecy of scripture ever comes about by the prophet’s own imagination,21 for no prophecy was ever borne of human impulse; rather, men carried along by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.

The Greek word for carried along is pharoe, from which we get our word ferry.

God carried along different authors using writing different genres to the same destination; multiple penmen, but One Author behind it all - men carried along by the Holy Spirit.

BIG TRUTH: God gave the Scriptures to people through people.

The apostle Paul writes these words:

2 Timothy 3:16–17 (NIV) All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Paul quotes from Old & New Testament writings as Scripture (graphe) when he quotes from the Old & New Testament writings (1 Tim. 5:18 = Deut. 25:4 & Luke 10:7). Peter implies that Paul’s writings are Scripture as well (2 Peter 3:16).

God-breathed is the Greek theopneustos (Theo = “God” & pneustos = “breath”).

These God-breathed writings (Gr. graphe) are to be used for:

Teaching: WHO God is & WHAT God expects.

Rebuking: Confront sinful behavior & refute false beliefs.

Correcting: This Greek word (epanorthōsis) is used only here in the NT. It refers to the restoration of something to its original and proper condition. John MacArthur notes this word was used in secular Greek literature for picking up a fallen object and returning it to where it was before & of helping a person back on his feet after stumbling.

Training in righteousness: The Scriptures are the primary training textbook to help us know WHO God is and WHAT God expects. Those who know & obey the Scriptures will be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Be prepared for some push-back from those who disagree, even others who claim Christ.

The Saduccees believed some of the Scriptures, but dismissed much of it.

Mark 12:24–27 (NET) Jesus said to them, “Aren’t you deceived for this reason, because you don’t know the scriptures or the power of God? For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. Now as for the dead being raised, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the bush, how God said to him, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not the God of the dead but of the living. You are badly mistaken!”

The finely preserved Old & New Testament writings both demonstrate that…

BIG TRUTH: God gave the Scriptures to people through people.

Here’s your homework for this week.

Read the Scriptures: 1&2 Timothy & 1&2 Peter (18 chapters). Pay attention to their focus on Scriptural teaching & warning of false teaching.

Share the Scriptures. Talk with another person about what you are learning or discuss questions you have. Ask some Godly Christians who honor God’s Scriptures to hear what you are learning and questions you have! (I have included some discussion questions in the PDF I will be sending to the Bishops)

Questions or Comments - Contact me! My number is 850-673-1582

Next Week - Transmission - Is what we have now, what they had then?