INTRODUCTION:

Pastor Pen preached at the Ignition Conference on March 25th and 26th 2011.

The conference was focused on communicating the importance of the Scriptures. The theme for the conference was “Living, Active and Sharper” taken from Hebrews 4:12. In each session Pen expanded on each aspect of the theme looking through the Scriptures to communicate these important points.

This conference was put on by Faith Church in Kent, WA in partnership with Converge NW.

To listen to the breakout sessions taught by other Pastors, leaders and teachers visit this page.

RESOURCES:

The following is an excerpt from Paradox’s Covenant Membership Curriculum. It was handed out to the students to help supplement the sermons that were preached.

The Doctrine of Revelation simply states that God has chosen to reveal Himself to humans. Revelation is typically broken down into two separate categories which we explore in more detail in this lesson. One must always keep in mind when studying this doctrine that it is by God’s initiative that we have this revelation and it is His revelation to us using limited means (such as language) so we could understand what God has decided we would be able to know. The early church father Augustine (354-430 AD) rightly taught that every workman or artist leaves some evidence of themselves in their work and similarly God, as creator, has intentionally left evidence of Himself in His glorious creation. Augustine called this the vestigial of God.

In addition, the great Bible teacher John Calvin teaches in his book Institutes of the Christian Religion that there is something within us all that speaks of the creator God, “This conviction, namely, that there is some God, is naturally born in all and is deeply fixed within, as it were in the very marrow. From this, we conclude that it is not a doctrine that must be learned in school, but one of which each of us is master from his mother’s womb, and which nature itself permits no one to forget, although many strive with every nerve to this end.”

Moreover, God has, in His great providence and love, given us the Scriptures which His plan of redemption for His children through Jesus Christ. It is through the Scriptures that we are to learn about Jesus, be saved by Him and through the Holy Spirit, follow His commands as our highest authority so that we might live a life patterned after the life and work of our great Savior. Scripture must be the foundation upon which our families are built and churches are to be organized for mission.

How is God revealed to us?

There are two means by which God has revealed Himself to us: 1) Generally and 2) Specifically or Specially.

1)      General Revelation tells us that God has revealed Himself to us through creation, human beings and moral conscience. The Scriptures speak of this general revelation in many ways:

• The sky proclaims God’s handiwork (Psalm 19:1).
• The rivers clap their hands and the hills sing for joy (Psalm 98:8).
• The earth rejoices (Psalm 96:11).
• Jesus tells us that if He is silent the stones will cry out (Luke 19:40).
• Humans reflect the image of God (Genesis 1:27; Colossians 3:10)
• Human conscience bears witness of God’s existence (Romans 2:15)
• Those who have seen God’s general revelation are without any excuse for not worshiping God (Romans 1:20)

2)      Specific or Special Revelation tells us that God revealed Himself to us through His Scriptures. The Bible itself tells us this:

• The Scriptures are the very words of God (1^st Thessalonians 2:13)
• Divinely inspired (2^nd Timothy 3:16).

What does “without excuse” mean?

Romans 1:18-23 is clear that all mankind has had sufficient revelation of the existence of God that they are without excuse for not worshiping Him as God. This means there is no one on the planet who can truly say, “I had no idea that God was real, so therefore I should be forgiven of my sins”. It has been made clear to us through the things that have been made that God is alive and worthy of our worship and praise.

What are the Scriptures?

There has been much human speculation on who God is, what His plan for the world is and what the purpose of humanity is. Philosophers, professors, teachers, songwriters, artists and seemingly everyone has something to say on the topic; yet true revelation about who God is, His plan and His people are revealed through the Scriptures, not by human speculation. Human speculation is an attempt to understand God whereas the Scriptures are God’s communication to humans about who He is.

The following questions will help us build a position about Scripture which we will define specifically at the end of this lesson and succession of questions that we will address.

What do the Scriptures say about themselves?

• They are to be on our lips (Exodus 13:8)
• They are to be obeyed (Joshua 23:5; Luke 8:21; James 2:11)
• Perfect (Psalm 19:6-8)
• Pure (Psalm 119:140)
• Complete (Deuteronomy 4:2; Proverbs 30:6)
• True (Proverbs 30:5; John 17:7-8)
• They are to be stored in our hearts (Psalm 119:11)
• The very words of God (1^st Thessalonians 2:13)
• Inspired by God (2^nd Timothy 3:16; 2^nd Peter 1:19-21)
• For everyone (Romans 16:26-27)
• All we need to know God (Luke 16:29-31)
• Living and active (Hebrews 4:12)

What was Jesus’ view on the Scriptures?

Jesus routinely taught from and quoted passages from the Old Testament verifying the fact that Jesus believed and held to the truth and authority of the Scriptures. Furthermore, Jesus is the focal point of all of Scripture, the cornerstone of Christianity and widely understood as an authoritative spiritual teacher. Therefore, we will examine Jesus views and use of the Scriptures. The following are specific instances within the gospel of Matthew (with some cross references) where Jesus specifically cited verses and portions of Old Testament Scripture.

• Jesus quotes Deuteronomy 8:3 from memory to fight temptation (Matthew 4:4; John 4:34).
• Jesus quotes Deuteronomy 6:16 from memory to fight temptation (Matthew 4:7).
• Jesus quotes Deuteronomy 6:13 from memory to fight temptation (Matthew 4:10).
• Jesus teaches on lust citing Exodus 20:14 (Matthew 5:27).
• Jesus teaches on divorce citing Deuteronomy 24:1 (Matthew 5:31).
• Jesus teaches on retaliation citing Exodus 21:24, Leviticus 24:20 and Deuteronomy 19:21 (Matthew 5:38).
• Jesus teaches on loving enemies citing Leviticus 19:18 (Matthew 5:43).
• Jesus explains why he is on the earth citing Hosea 6:6 (Matthew 9:13).
• Teaching about why He came Jesus cites Micah 7:6 (Matthew 10:36).
• Jesus teaches people about John’s ministry and the prophecy concerning him citing from Malachi 3:1 (Matthew 11:10; Mark 1:2).
• As Jesus is teaching against unrepentant cities He cites Isaiah 14:13-15; 16:18 (Matthew 11:23).
• Teaching about the Sabbath Jesus cites Hosea 6:6 (Matthew 12:7).
• When asked to produce a miracle on demand Jesus teaches from the story of Jonah citing Jonah 1:2; 1:17; 3:5 (Matthew 12:38-41).
• Jesus teaches about traditions and commandments citing Exodus 20:12, 21:17 and Isaiah 29:13 (Matthew 15:3-9).
• Teaching about divorce Jesus cites Genesis 2:24 (Matthew 19:5).
• Jesus teaches a rich young man by citing Exodus 20:12-16, Deuteronomy 5:16-20 and Leviticus 19:18 (Matthew 19:16-19).
• When Jesus cleanses the Temple He cites Isaiah 56:7 and Jeremiah 7:11 for His reasoning for kicking everyone out (Matthew 21:13).
• Jesus teaches about heaven citing Exodus 3:6 (Matthew 22:32).
• Teaching about the greatest commandment Jesus cites Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18 (Matthew 22:37-39).
• As Jesus lament’s over Jerusalem He cites Psalm 118:26 (Matthew 23:39).
• Just before Jesus foretells Peter’s teaching the disciples Jesus cites Zechariah 13:7 (Matthew 26:31; John 16:32).
• When Jesus cries out to the Father during His crucifixion He cites Psalm 22:1 (Matthew 27:46).

Furthermore, Jesus taught the He was the fulfillment of all Scripture including the Law, Psalms and the Prophets (Matthew 5:17; 11:10; 13:14; 21:16; 21:42; 22:44; Luke 24:25-47; John 5:39). In addition, Jesus treated the Old Testament narratives were fact, such as Genesis 1 and 2, the world-wide flood, Abraham and more (Matthew 19:4-5; Mark 10:6-8; Luke 5:14; 11:51; 17:28-32; John 3:14; 8:56).

How were the books of the Bible chosen?

The Canon of Scripture

The word canon means “measuring rod”. The canon is the standard by which all books of the Bible are measured and required to meet for their inclusion in the Bible. The following criteria was used to determine each book’s canonicity:

1. It must have been written by a prophet or apostle of God (Deuteronomy 18:18-22; 1^st Peter 1:20-21).
2. The prophet or apostle must have been confirmed by an act of God (Hebrews 2:3-4).
3. It must tell the truth about God (Deuteronomy 13:1-5; Galatians 1:8).
4. It must be accepted by the people of God (Deuteronomy 31:24-26; 1^st Samuel 10:25; 1^st Timothy 5:18; 2^nd Peter 3:16).

There has been little dispute over the Old Testament books due to the fact that they were so quickly accepted as the inspired word of God. Throughout the Old Testament there are numerous declarations that the writers were speaking on behalf of God (for example, “thus says the Lord” is repeated hundreds of times). Furthermore, the Old Testament books refer to each other as Scripture exemplified by quoting each other as Scripture (Joshua 1:8; Daniel 9:2; Ezekiel 14:14).

The Apocrypha

The Old Testament books (the Hebrew Scriptures) were accepted and the OT canon was closed upon the conclusion of the final book, Malachi at about 400 BC. During the time between the finishing of the book of Malachi and the coming of Jesus (often called the 400 Years of Silence) there were many apocryphal (meaning “secret or hidden”) books were written. These books contained, history, fiction, and more, however they were never considered to be Christian authoritative Scripture (until the Catholic Council of Trent in 1546 during which the Catholic did to find some way to justify incorrect doctrines such as purgatory). Furthermore, while the New Testament quotes the Old Testament roughly 300 times there are no such quotes in any of the apocryphal writings. The contents of the apocrypha are as follows:

• First Esdras (Greek for “Ezra) and Second Esdras
• Tobit
• Judith
• The Additions to Esther
• Wisdom
• Sirach also called Ecclesiasticus
• Baruch
• The Epistle of Jeremiah
• The Additions to Daniel
• Susanna
• Bel and the Dragon
• The Song of Three Young Men
• The Prayer of Manasseh
• First and Second Maccabees

Each of these books contains many contradictions, inaccuracies and mistakes. Furthermore, they have clear doctrinal errors and problems which oppose Scripture and the true teachings of the God of the Bible.  Therefore, we (Paradox Bible Church in agreement with the majority of Protestant Christianity) reject the apocryphal writings as authoritative, inspired Scripture.

How did we get our Bible today?

The process by which we have our Bible today is amazingly miraculous and very interesting. Here we will summarize this process by explaining a five-step sequence which has taken place for you to have and read your Bible.

1. Revelation or Inspiration

• This is the event when God revealed His truth to a person and inspired them to write the truth down perfectly. The inspiration happens through the Holy Spirit and the writing happens through man, yet God’s truth is perfectly preserved in the writing. In addition, those who wrote the Scriptures were not inspired by way of diction, but wrote within their own historical context using human language to communicate the truth of God. The original copy of the writing of Scripture is called the autographa.

1. Transmission

• This happened when trained scribes copied the autographa so that others could read the words of God. These copies of the autographa did contain the occasional minor error such as spelling or punctuation. However, this does not degrade the authority of the Scriptures. This is exemplified by the fact that the apostles and even Jesus taught from these copies (Acts 17:2; 17:11; 18:8; Matthew 12:3-5; 21:16; Luke 4:16-21). If Jesus could trust these copies as the authoritative words of God, we should follow in His perfect, Godly example.

1. Translation

• Translation occurs when people who wish for others to read the Bible in their own language as opposed to the original languages (Aramaic, Greek or Hebrew).  The process of translation takes teams of Scholars and is painstakingly slow taking great care to translate the Bible from its original language to other languages. It is helpful to note that virtually the entire canon of Western literature has also been translated.

1. Interpretation

• Also called hermeneutics, this is the process by which someone reads a text from the Bible in their language and interprets its meaning with help from God the Holy Spirit. There one true interpretation for each text, therefore we must carefully examine the text in order to understand the truth out of the text (exegesis) rather than read our desires and thoughts into the text (eisegesis). In addition, the Bible is to be interpreted literally. There are two kinds of Biblical hermeneutics involved when interpreting a text 1) plain-literal and 2) figurative-literal. When reading a text it is best to assume the plain-literal meaning of the text unless that seems utterly absurd. From here we would move onto a figurative-literal interpretation of the text. When Scripture uses figurative-literal language it does so to teach truth in a poetic artistic way. Figurative-literal texts can sometimes be identified by noting the text using the words “as” or “like”. Lastly, it must be understood that all Scripture is about Jesus and understanding this truth is inextricably connected to correct Biblical interpretation.

1. Application

• This is the step where we take what we’ve learned from Scripture and apply it to our life with the help of God the Holy Spirit. Application involves our lives changing, through the sanctification (continual process of changing as a Christian) of our thoughts, words and deeds. Application is subjective to the person who has read and interpreted any given text making the possibilities of application seemingly endless.

It is through this process that we get our Bible today. Granted, the only step that is guaranteed to be perfect is the inspiration of the autographa, yet the others are very accurate. We must always be exceedingly careful as we move through the steps so as to keep the true meaning of the text intact.

Is the Bible accurate?

We’ve just covered why the Bible is trustworthy and now we will deal with its accuracy. In many ways these two subjects are interconnected and inextricably related. There are three basic arguments used to support the historicity of any ancient text and they are: 1) the bibliographical argument, 2) the internal argument and the 3) historical argument.

1)      The bibliographical argument seeks to reveal the number and quality of manuscripts we currently have of a given text. In Ken Boa’s book I’m Glad You Asked he uses this argument to support the accuracy of the Bible in a very clear and helpful manner using the following table:

*taken directly from Ken Boa’s book I’m Glad You Asked page 78

To attack the accuracy of the Bible would be to attack the accuracy of the entire western canon. If you throw out the New Testament manuscripts then you would have to throw out Homer, Plato and Aristotle. The sheer quantity of New Testament manuscripts is significantly higher than any other ancient manuscript. Furthermore, the proximity of the transmitted copies we posses to their original are unparalleled in the entire western canon of literature. There is no ancient piece of literature we have today that can compare to the accuracy of the Biblical texts and manuscripts.

2)      The internal argument seeks to determine the accuracy of an ancient manuscript by looking at the consistency of the text to or not to contradict itself. Basically, the question is: “what does the Bible say about itself?” Due to the fact that the Bible is not one book, but a compilation of many books, this argument is extremely significant. If the Biblical texts stay consistent over the many years and authors this is an exceedingly important piece of the argument for the accuracy of the Bible.

Much of the Bible is prophetic in nature (about one quarter), in particular the Old Testament writings. So for the sake of brevity we will look at this argument by taking prophecies made about Jesus in the OT and see how they were fulfilled in Christ.

• The Son of God (Psalm 2:7 cf. Luke 1:32,35)
• Born of a woman (Genesis 3:15 cf. Matthew 1:20; Galatians 4:4)
• A descendent of Abraham, Isaac and David (Genesis 17:7 21:12; Psalm 132:11 cf. Galatians 3:16; Hebrews 11:17-19; Acts 12:23)
• Born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14 cf. Matthew 1:22-23, Luke 2:7)
• Born in Bethlehem (Isaiah 7:14 cf. Matthew 1:22-23)
• Would precede John the Baptizer (Isaiah 40:3; Malachi 3:1 cf. Matthew 3:1; Luke 1:17)
• His ministry beginning in Galilee (Isaiah 9:1-2 cf. Matthew 4:12-16)
• Jesus was poor (Isaiah 53:2 cf. Mark 6:3; Luke 9:58)
• He would work through miracles (Isaiah 35:5-6 cf. Matthew 11:4-6)
• He would be rejected by His people (Psalm 69:8; Isaiah 63:3 cf. John 1:11, 7:3)
• He would be betrayed by a friend (Psalm 41:9, 55:12-14 cf. John 13:18,21)
• Sold out for 30 pieces of silver (Zechariah 11:12 cf. Matthew 26:15)
• That Jesus would be crucified (Psalm 22:16 cf. John 19:18; 20:25). Note: the form of execution that is described in the Psalms was not invented until hundreds of years after the writing of the Psalms.
• Not a bone of His would be broken (Exodus 12:46; Psalm 34:20 cf. John 19:33, 36)
• That Jesus would be crucified with criminals (Isaiah 53:12 cf. Mark 15:28)
• That Jesus would die (Isaiah 53:12 cf. Matthew 27:50)
• That Jesus would rise again (Psalm 16:10; Isaiah 26:19 cf. Luke 24:6-34)
• Jesus would ascend and sit at the right hand of the Father (Psalm 68:18; Psalm 110:1 cf. Luke 24:51; Acts 1:9; Hebrews 1:3)

All of these prophecies were made hundreds of years, sometimes thousands, prior to their historical happenings. No other religion or cult can produce specific prophecies regarding the coming of their prophets.

In addition to the prophecies made about Christ there are many authors of the Bible who were eyewitnesses of the events they wrote about (John 19:35; 21:24; Acts 2:22; 1^st Peter 5:1; 2^nd Peter 1:16; 1^st John 1:1-3). Lastly, there are upwards of 400 quotes and major allusions in the New Testament Scriptures from the Old Testament. The Bible stands alone in its accuracy through the internal argument.

The external argument seeks to understand the accuracy of a given text in relation to other historical texts from the same period.

3)      The external argument seeks to verify the accuracy of a given ancient text by turning to external sources written during the same period. The historicity of Jesus is well documented by early Roman, Greek and Jewish sources. Furthermore, these extra biblical sources confirm many of the New Testament happenings recorded in the Bible. Many authors from Flavius Josephus, the Jewish historian, Cornelius Tacitus, Suetonius to the Roman governor Pliny the Younger confirm the historicity of Jesus and many of the events recorded in the New Testament.

Julius Africanus, who was in charge of building the Roman Emperor’s Library, wrote a five volume book called the History of the World. In the third book of this compilation Africanus confirms the earthquake and darkness that followed Jesus’ death by quoting historians and people who were alive and present during this historical event:

“On the whole world there pressed a most fearful darkness; and the rocks were rent by an earthquake, and many places in Judea and other districts were thrown down. This darkness Thallus[1], in the third book of his History, calls, as appears to me without reason, an eclipse of the sun. For the Hebrews celebrate the Passover on the 14^th day according to the moon, and the passion of our Savior falls on the day before the Passover; but an eclipse of the sun takes place only when the moon comes under the sun. And it cannot happen at any other time but in the interval between the first day of the new moon and the last of the old, that is, at their junction: how then should an eclipse be supposed to happen when the moon is almost diametrically opposite to the sun? Let opinion pass however; let it carry the majority with it; and let this portent of the world be deemed an eclipse of the sun, like others a portent only to the eye.  Phlegon[2] records that, in the time of Tiberius Caesar, at full moon, there was a full eclipse of the sun from the sixth hour to the ninth—manifestly that one of which we speak.  But what has an eclipse in common with an earthquake, the rending rock, and the resurrection of the dead, and so great a perturbation throughout the universe? Surely no such event as this recorded for a long period” (XVIII.1).

The external evidence in support of the historicity of the Biblical events it is hard to deny its accuracy based on these arguments. While the external evidence in support of the New Testament is abundant, there are numerous archeological finds and historical records that support the accuracy of the Old Testament texts as well.

Why are there different translations?

When translating the English Bible into a style of language we can understand and easily read there have been three formulas used to accomplish this difficult task, word for word (also known as literal), thought for thought and paraphrase.

Paradox Bible Church uses the ESV translation of the Bible. The reason for this is we prefer to use a word-for-word translation for our primary study and the ESV is the most up to date and easiest to read of the word-for-word translations we have today.

Word-for-Word

Word-for-word translations tend to be the most accurate Bible translations in regard to the original language used when compared to other translations. This fact makes them (we feel) the best Bible translation for primary study.  These translations pay special attention to the literal translation from the original texts. While this is often extremely helpful for study, it often comes at the cost of losing some of the poetic nuances that often occur in the Bible; however the ESV does a great job retaining these beautiful poetic nuances. Current word-for-word translations are as follows:

• English Standard Version (ESV)
• New American Standard Bible (NASB)
• King James Version (KJV)
• New King James Version (NKJV)
• Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
• New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
• Revised Standard Version (RSV)

Thought-for-Thought

Thought-for thought translations are also known as dynamic equivalence or functional equivalence. These translations seek to retain the full nuance of the Scripture by interpreting the entire meaning of a given passage, not just the individual words like a word-for-word translation. In many cases thought-for-thought translations add words into the text that were not in the original to help give the same meaning to us as it would have meant in the original languages. These translations tend to be the easiest to read, the most popular thought-for-thought translation is the NIV. Current thought-for-thought translations include:

• New International Version (NIV)
• New Century Version (NCV)
• New Living Translation (NLT)
• Contemporary English Version (CEV)
• Good News Bible (GNB)
• Revised English Bible (REB)

Paraphrase

Paraphrase translations pay the least amount of attention to specific translations of different words than thought-for-through translations. These translations seek to highlight the narrative or poetic essences of the text by paraphrasing the basic meaning of a given text. Paraphrase translations are extremely easy to read and are often devoid of verse divisions. Due to their lack of attention to the original words used we believe these translations are best used to highlight or gain a different perspective on a given passage, but are not to be used as a primary study translation for the majority of Biblical study. Currently, the most popular paraphrase translation is The Message. Current paraphrase translations are as follows:

• The Message (TM)
• New Testament in Modern English (NTME)
• The Amplified Bible (TAB)
• The Living Bible (TLB)
• The Street Bible (TSB)

Other Translations

The NET Bible (so named because it is designed to be used primarily on the internet) is a mix between a word-for-word translation and though-for-thought translation of the Bible. The idea behind developing this translation is to allow an open copy write of the Bible and to allow many scholars speak into the translation process. In addition, general users can look at the translation notes for the development of this Bible.

The TNIV (Today’s New International Version) was a Bible that was a recent translation developed to update the language of the NIV translation and sought to pay close attention to gender neutrality within passages. While this was not an aberrant or corrupt translation, the TNIV is no longer being printed and will instead be replaced by a different translation in the coming future.

Corruptions are not really translations at all; they are false scriptures that seek to undermine the teaching and authority of the true Scriptures. These translations are extremely poor, lack credibility and should not be used for any kind of study. These “translations” include extra Biblical writings supplied and written by cults such as Mormon Writings (The Book of Mormon) and others. Therefore, Paradox Bible Church rejects the use of any corruption of Scripture. Corruptions include:

• The New World Translation (NWT). This translation is written by the Jehovah’s Witnesses
• The Book of Mormon. This translation is written by the LDS “church”.
• Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures. Released by the Christian Science Church.
• Many more…

SERMON AUDIO:

Session 1: The Word of God is Living

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Session 2: The Word of God is Active

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Session 3: The Word of God is Sharper

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