It's Biblical: Theology of the Bible

It's Biblical class • Sermon • Submitted 5 years ago

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What is our theology of the Bible? This lecture looks at reasons why we should study it and trust the inspiration and authority of scripture.

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Introduction

Devotional:

Think about starting with “Entering into the life of God” at beginning of Watson’s book.

What does it mean to enter into the life of God?

How do we do this?

Remember:

Weekly schedule:

1. Lecture on topic

2. Teaching on Matthew

3. Q&A - Bring your questions for sure!

Review of last time:

David Watson:

In this book, I want to argue a singular point: the Bible is a form of divine communication meant to lead us more fully into the life of God. Put in theological terms, we might say that through the Bible we receive divine revelation, the purpose of which is soteriological. In other words, the purpose of God’s Word is salvation for the world. John Wesley believed that Scripture shows us “the way to heaven—how to land safe on that happy shore. . . . Here then I am, far from the busy ways of men. I sit down alone: only God is here. In his presence I open, I read his Book; for this end, to find the way to heaven.” 9 Or to put it in yet another way, God speaks to us through the Bible and leads us into salvation. God loves us and wishes us to return that love. When we do, we enter more fully into the divine life. The Bible is a “book of meeting.” 10 It draws us ever more deeply into a relationship with the God who came to us in Jesus Christ. In light of this, our first posture toward the Bible should be one of gratitude, not criticism.

We will keep this definition going with us for a while....

The Canon: Means, “Rule” or “measuring rod” and determined to be authoritative texts that bring us to this definition of scriptures that speak to the narrative of Jesus in His redemptive history.

The Bible: The Protestant Bible as we have it: 66 books; 39 in the OT, 27 in the NT.

Heresies and councils: that brought leaders together to determine orthodox faith....to determine the rule or the measuring rod. If you missed last time we were just trying to establish this. for example, Marcion

Make it official! in the 4th and into the 5th century this canon begins to become official.

Why is it important to have the whole canon and study the whole text?

The Bible came to us through people, but it came to us from God. As the theologian Kevin Vanhoozer wrote, to think about the canon of Scripture as a unified work is to suggest a divine intention behind its unity. We will miss the completeness of the Bible unless we understand that its completeness is the result of the work of God. 5 In other words, the reason we read the different parts of the Bible in light of one another is that God intends for us to do so. It is not simply the church that has given us the Bible; it is God. The Bible, then, is not just a collection of works ; it is a work . 6 The writings of the Bible function collectively to teach us about the faith and lead us into the life of God.

David F. Watson. Scripture and the Life of God (Kindle Locations 1491-1496).

The Bible: Inspired and Authoritative

Inspiration

Can I just claim to have authority in anything? I might claim to be an authority with the Bible. What would make that true, hypothetically?

What do you think of when I ask you about inspiration? What does it mean to say the Bible is inspired?

credibility?

time invested?

knowledge?

Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible Bible, Inspiration of The

Bible, Inspiration of the. Theological term for the influence God exerted on the writers of Scripture, enabling them to transmit his revelation of himself in writing.

given authority? (think ordination or KUMC)

If we believe that Scripture is a gift from God to lead us into salvation, it only makes sense to say that God has guided the writings of Scripture in order to provide us with the teaching we need. Christians, therefore, affirm that the Bible is divinely inspired.

David F. Watson. Scripture and the Life of God (Kindle Locations 341-342).

There are many theories of inspiration. How did the Holy Spirit inspire and work through these authors. The early church used certain “rulers” to determine inspiration.

Me: I do not believe God guided their hand and wrote the words. I do not believe that God handed over manuscripts to these prophets. I believe in something, I think much more beautiful. God used historical context, God used generations of culture and beliefs and idiosyncrasies and human brokenness and all of who the Israelites to work, reveal and inspire these writings. When and if Moses is writing the first books of the Bible he is telling the redemptive story of God working with all the bad.

The Bible is less concerned with theories of inspiration and more concerned with telling us the purpose of its inspiration......

2 Timothy 3:14–17 NIV

But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 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.

2 Timothy 3:

We learn about salvation and redemption and ourselves or the brokenness of our own hearts. It is not just trying to convince you that you are broken, but it is coming to the knowingly broken person, as Paul puts it....ugh why do I do what I do not want to do and cant do what I know I should do?!?! Well scripture walks through that.

Ok let me say a quick word about unique inspiration.....

Unique Inspiration:

Occasionally one comes across notions of inspiration that diminish Scripture’s role as a standard for sound teaching. For example, Adam Hamilton, in his book Making Sense of the Bible , argued,

[T]he Bible’s authors were inspired by the Spirit in the same way and to the same degree as many contemporary preachers and prophets and even ordinary Christians have been inspired by the Spirit in every age. You’ve likely felt moved by the Spirit, and you’ve likely heard God speak to you as you listened to a sermon or a song, or read an inspirational book. I believe the inspiration experienced by the biblical authors was not different from our own experience of inspiration. 11

Why do you think this statement is problematic?

Taking this approach, there is no theological reason that the witness of Scripture should carry more weight than experiences of the Spirit that you or I might have. In other words, from this perspective, the Bible is inspired, but not uniquely inspired. Hamilton’s notion of inspiration represents quite a departure from some of the important claims that Christians have made about Scripture through the centuries. Throughout almost every branch of Christianity one finds the belief that, in our Scriptures, we have a unique self-revelation from God. It was given to guide first Israel and then the church in the ways of truth and righteousness. From the early centuries of our faith, Christians have held that the Bible serves as a standard—a measuring rod, or canon—against which we can assess what is taught in the church, as well as individual thoughts, words, and deeds. We have held that the Bible has unique authority because God has given it to us in order to function in this way. If the inspiration of Scripture is no different from the way in which you or I might be inspired today, it is difficult to see why we should consider Scripture to be a standard at all. In chapter 5 we will look at the concept of Scripture as canon in more detail.

David F. Watson. Scripture and the Life of God (Kindle Locations 394-398).

Authority:

Ok what comes to mind when you think of authority?

Can I just claim to have authority in anything? I might claim to be an authority with the Bible. What would make that true, hypothetically?

credibility?

time invested?

knowledge?

given authority? (think ordination or KUMC)

Authority is important and it is one that we have to discuss. Many across the denominational spectrum and many in our church are lost on authority or they are not sure what they think about authority. We live in a time that is highly individualistic and anti-authoritarian really.

Two meanings of authority:

Invested authority

Earned Authority

Invested authority first: If someone has authority it has been invested to them. So think about me as a pastor. When I was hired as your pastor and when I was ordained then I passed through certain filters and the institution invested authority in me. A church gives me authority just by naming me pastor.

A teacher, has authority to give assignments and tests and set a syllabus for credit for students because of the institution behind the teacher.

Earned authority: Authority also comes from competency. For me, it is long deep study of scripture. it is hopefully a life lived out in the way that I am supposed to aim and leading you.

For the teacher, it is because they spent 10+ years studying that one thing. They have researched and written about the topic. They have a knowledge that makes them credible.

Authority of scripture: The institution backing the Bible is God. The power of God, the authority of God, the trustworthiness of God, the inspiration as we have already talked about.

And

God is a credible source. The Bible is a valid source of teaching about God, human beings, and the world in which we live. It can teach us about life because it is from the source of life.

These two aspects of authority are important because....

The Bible has authority and speaks with authority....it has binding claims on our life.

Inerrancy:

Without error

The basic tenet of the dogma of Biblical Inerrancy is that Biblical documents:

in its original manuscripts, is accurate and totally free from error of any kind. --Wikipedia

This means that if there are any errors in the Bible you hold in your hand, it must have been come by way of translation or typographical error since the inspiration of the Holy Spirit never makes a mistake about anything.

Infallibility:

The basic tenet of the dogma of Biblical Infallibility is that what Biblical documents:

say... regarding matters of faith and Christian practice is wholly useful and true. Wikipedia

This says that if there are any errors in your Bible, they are of no consequence to the ultimate message of the scriptures which is to serve as a guide to salvation and to a life of faith. All accounts are meant to promote this ultimate message and the scriptures will never fail to accomplish its purpose.

Source: http://www.wetalkofholythings.com/2013/03/inerrancy-vs-infallibility-theological.html

United Methodist Church:

United Methodists share with other Christians the conviction that Scripture is the primary source and criterion for Christian doctrine. Through Scripture the living Christ meets us in the experience of redeeming grace. We are convinced that Jesus Christ is the living Word of God in our midst whom we trust in life and death. The biblical authors, illumined by the Holy Spirit, bear witness that in Christ the world is reconciled to God. The Bible bears authentic testimony to God’s self-disclosure in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ as well as in God’s work of creation, in the pilgrimage of Israel, and in the Holy Spirit’s ongoing activity in human history.

As we open our minds and hearts to the Word of God through the words of human beings inspired by the Holy Spirit, faith is born and nourished, our understanding is deepened, and the possibilities for transforming the world become apparent to us.

The Bible is sacred canon for Christian people, formally acknowledged as such by historic ecumenical councils of the church. Our doctrinal standards identify as canonical thirty-nine books of the Old Testament and the twenty-seven books of the New Testament.

Our standards affirm the Bible as the source of all that is “necessary” and “sufficient” unto salvation (Articles of Religion) and “is to be received through the Holy Spirit as the true rule and guide for faith and practice” (Confession of Faith).

Source: http://www.umc.org/what-we-believe/theological-guidelines-scripture

Matthew Book Survey:

Matthew work:

How was it reading through the book? Was it stressful? If you had to come up with a structure for the book or a possible outline could you do it?

Anything interesting jump out to you that you did not see before?

1. General materials:

Biographical: (persons, Ruth)

Historical: (events, numbers, Acts)

geographical: (Places, Joshua, Acts)

ideological: (ideas Ecclesiastes; Job, epistles)

What is the general materials of Matthew?

It is important to think about it as biography. Later in the class we will talk about ancient biographies....knowing what youre reading helps you to anticipate and study. For example, a mystery.

2. Structure:

Major units and subunits. Starting with two levels. Most books as a general rule of thumb have three major units.

Draw sketch on the board....

Major units and subunits. Starting with two levels. Most books as a general rule of thumb have three major units.

3. Structural Relationships

The next step for the student of scripture is to determine structural relationship. Examples include:

Write these on the board.....

Climax: movement from lesser to greater (Mark, the messianic secret, never named until the centurion on the cross confesses)

Particularization: , and how things zoom in on the story.

Contrast: Ruth and Boaz…I think there is a subtle comparison/contrast of Boaz to God.... the redeemer.

Generalization: start particular and move to general Book of Joshua

Causation: The move from cause to effect (Jonah)

Substantiation: The move from effect to cause.

Romans 1:16–17 NIV

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”

Romans

Cruciality: pivot point in short. Think of David in 2 Samuel…successful kingdom in the first 10 chapters and then in 11-12 Bathsheba, then everything falls apart. Harder to find this one

Show my work with structural relationships:

Romans 1:16–17 NIV

I want to present some to you from the work I found. I will show you my first take at this as a young student and then where the work is now.....

Then show the slide from lecture

Other data to consider: (if you have time)

Comparison to Moses.

Jesus has to flee from Herod, he comes out of Egypt, he passes through the waters of baptism, he goes into the wilderness, then he goes onto a mountain and teaches on the law.

Moses and the Torah, Jesus and his 5 teachings here.

Then homework for next time!

Questions to consider:

Higher Critical Data

Who wrote it?

Who was the audience?

Why was it written?

When was it written?

Find the places in the text where the theme, “Who is this man?” repeats and write a short blurb of why the author might repeat this theme.

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