Mark Dever- The Authority of Scripture
I found this message particularly encouraging in regards to bolstering my faith in the authenticity of the Bible I read today. To understand the depths God has taken to ensure the security of His Word is just astonishing. I hope you will be as encouraged as I was by this message and that it will instill a new confidence in the authority of scripture in your mind.
Just like last time, here are my notes. I apologize for the fragmented nature of them, but it is better than nothing. Enjoy...
New Attitude- Session 2
Mark Dever
"The Authority of Scripture"
-this rising generation struggles with replacing the things of God with the passing things of this world
-The question before us today is
What do we believe and how will we answer questions about belief?
How can we have confidence in the authority of scripture?
Bibliography
-F.F. Bruce- The NT Documents: Are they reliable?
-J.I. Packer- Fundamentalism and the Word of God
-John Wynam- Christ and the Bible
I. The Reliability of the Bible (Apologetic Question)
-focus on the gospels- if we agree that the gospels are historically accurate, then we can move from that to understanding the reliability of the rest of the bible.
A. Is the Bible reliable in reference to all the translations (ESV, NKJV, NASB, etc.)
-all the translations don't negate that the Bible is translatable
-they all say the same thing at the root and basic point
B. Is this really what was written down all those years ago?
-Yes, there are texts old enough to prove that they are still accurate
-The NT is only 50 years removed from the original manuscripts
-The Bible is unprecedented in terms of ancient documents that we still have (22,000 ancient manuscripts)
C. Was what was written down by the original authors accurate and not just propaganda?
-things passed down orally from memory can be and usually are accurate for ancient cultures
-We need to ask why we doubt the reliability and then address those individual issue
-The Bible is historically accurate and is backed up by archeology. The authors take great care to be historically accurate (Luke 1:1-4)
-1 Cor. 7:10 - I, not the Lord, means Paul is adding to what Christ(Lord) said.
-There are a lot of details in the NT that wouldn't be smart in starting a new religion, but are recorded anyway because that is what happened.
-The gospels show the flaws of their own authors
D. Is it true?
-That is the real question to spend our time on, as well as the implications of what it means if it is true.
II. The Authority of the Bible (Question to the Believer)
-Just because I don't know everything doesn't mean I don't know anything.
-We are made to know God... and the fact that we don't know everything doesn't imply that we can't know anything for certain. That is a lie from Satan implanted in the world
OT Verses Exodus 24:4 , Ezekiel 34, Deuteronomy 4:1-2 , Deuteronomy 17:18 , Psalm 19:7-10 , Psalm 119:11, 89, 105, 140,
NT Verses: Acts 1:16, 17:11, Romans 15:4, James 2:8, Acts 4:25, Galatians 3:8, 2 Tim. 3:16, Hebrews 4:12, 2 Peter 1:20-21, 3:15-16
Jesus' verses: Matt. 4:4, Luke 21:33, Mt. 19:5, John 5:46-47, 10:35,
-If I am to be a disciple of Christ, I must see the scriptures as Jesus saw them.
-We should be regularly fed by faithful exposition of God's Word
Ephesians 5:10 - we are to find what is pleasing to God through scripture
-You cannot read too much in scripture. What you read you cannot read too carefully... -Luther quote
-We fall into the trap of thinking collecting the words and knowledge of Christ without putting them into practice
-God's means of transforming us is by His Word (Romans 12:2)
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