"Have you not read?"

Have You Not Read?”

Why we believe in the Inspiration of Scripture

(Pastor Terry Reese, Valley GBC. Armagh, PA; May 17, AD 2020)

TEXT: Matthew 22:23-33.

The title of our message is based upon Matt. 22:31 (“Have ye not read…?”), which was a comment directed by our Lord unto the Sadducees, a philosophy-tainted elitist group of religious professionals whose empty ceremony-based religion couldn’t bring itself to ideologically embrace the Biblical idea of the Resurrection. Jesus told the following:

²⁹"You are mistaken, not understanding the Scriptures nor the power of God. ³⁰For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. ³¹But regarding the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God: ³²'I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'? He is not the God of the dead but of the living."

NOTE something: if they had but KNOWN and EMBRACED the teaching of Scripture with all of their hearts, they wouldn’t have erred! They wouldn’t have been mistaken!

Intro: A catholic essential—the Authority, Inerrancy, & Inspiration of Scripture.

A central affirmation of the universal (“catholic”) church; one of the irreducables of the faith (i.e., that which cannot be broken down, and you still have an orthodox, viable Christianity).

2 Tim. 3:16-17 ESV: ¹⁶All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, ¹⁷that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

This passage tells us 1) where the Scriptures come from, and 2) what their function is; what they can do for you…

Note the testimony and affirmations of the various Historic GBC affirmations of faith for the past 100 years, standing in agreement with the above passage. The united testimony is clear: Grace Brethren people historically affirm the inspiration and inerrancy of Scripture!

The Message of the Brethren Ministry (1921):

1. Our motto: The Bible, the whole Bible and nothing but the Bible.

2. The authority and integrity of the Holy Scriptures. The ministry of The Brethren Church desires to bear testimony… to the belief that the Holy Scripture of the Old and New Testaments, as originally given, are the infallible record of the perfect, final and authoritative revelation of God’s will, altogether sufficient in themselves as a rule of faith and practice.

Likewise, the revised and expanded 1969 FGBC Statement of Faith:

1. The Bible:  the Word of God, the sixty-six Books of the Old and New Testaments, verbally inspired in all parts and wholly without error as originally given of God (2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:21).

The CGBCI (Conservative Grace Brethren Churches, Inter.) Statement of Faith:

1.THE BIBLE: We believe the Word of God, the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments, to be verbally inspired in all parts, and therefore wholly without error as originally given of God (2 Tim. 3:16; 2 Peter 1 :21). This record is final, authoritative, and unchanging! We believe the Bible to be the all-sufficient rule for faith and conduct (apart from integration with any other discipline) through the power of the Holy Spirit to regenerate, sanctify, and equip the believer for life and service (Jn. 17:17; Heb. 4:12; James 1:18-27).

Likewise, the recent “Charis Commitment to Common Identity” statement:

4. The Bible - The sixty-six books, and only these, known as the Old and New Testaments, are the written Word of God. God’s inspiration and superintendence of the writing of every word of the Bible guarantees that what was written is His Word and therefore authoritative, true, and without error in the original manuscripts. God preserves His Word, which is powerful and effective to accomplish His purpose of salvation among all nations.

Here is a good, simple, textbook definition of inspiration that I found which seems to essentially hit upon the central basics:

“God superintended the human authors of Scripture so that they composed and recorded without error His message to mankind in the words of their original writings.”—Charles Ryrie, Basic Theology

I. But WHY do affirm these things?

This week, we address the basic reason of why we believe these things. We are dealing with the following questions:

“How do we know that these things are so?” “What is the PROOF of inspiration?” “Why do we believe in this inerrancy, in light of today’s truth-claims and sciences?”

Let us first observe that an answer is required of us:

I Pet. 3:15: But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear… [“Answer:” apologia, reasoned defense]

II. Many apologists today promote the so-called inductive approach as best.

Inerrancy, they think, rests upon a three-legged support (like a three-legged stool):

1. Scientific, archeological, and historical investigation;

2. Logic & reason; and

3. The Authoritative Testimony of Christ.

III. There are some problems with certain elements of this approach, however.

How many of us, for example, have the infinite intellectual ability and omniscience to prove, through science, logic, historical research, and archeology, that every single verse in the Bible is true? Answer: No one! Even if such a person existed, how long would it take to prove to someone else? Absurdity.

IV. To be sure, sound evidences commending the Christian Faith are available…

And to be sure, God, if He so pleases, can employ various evidences to attract the attention of an unbeliever. Many evidences, and many convincing proofs, both internal and external to the Scriptures, do exist… but for the skeptic, the lost, the unregenerate, often no amount of proof is either sufficient or convincing.

Fortunately, God has a more direct route to the unbeliever’s heart and mind, via the power of the Holy Spirit…

V. What should our foundation be? Why should I believe in this Bible?

Answer: The testimony of Jesus Christ our Lord. This is the stable foundation—the single great pillar—upon which our case ultimately rests.

Our great claim, or thesis, this morning:

“Our Lord Jesus Christ affirmed and taught the verbal, plenary inspiration of Scripture, and its infallibility and unlimited inerrancy.

It used to be sufficient to simply say “Jesus affirmed the inspiration of Scripture.” But in recent years, terms such as inspiration—and even inerrancy—have been weakened and redefined, so it has been necessary to become more expansive in our statements.

Various false theories of inspiration:

·         natural inspiration (the Biblical writers were “inspired” geniuses—like Beethoven or Shakespeare),

·         partial inspiration (only part of the Bible is inspired),

·         degree inspiration (some parts or more inspired than others),

·         concept inspiration (the concepts, not the words, are inspired),

·         moral inspiration (the Bible speaks truly only on matters of faith and morals),

·         Barthian inspiration (the Bible is not objectively the Word of God, but it becomes the Word of God when the human heart subjectively embraces its spiritual truths).

Thus, today, we must say something like the following in order to affirm the Biblical and historically orthodox view of inspiration with clarity:

“I believe in the Verbal, Plenary Inspiration and in the Infallibility and Unlimited Inerrancy of Scripture.”

Let’s break our extended definition down…

1.    Inspiration: the Scriptures are “GOD-BREATHED;” they came out from the very Being of the God of Truth (2 Tim. 3:16).

2.    Vebal: the Bible’s inspiration extends to its very WORDS.

3.    Plenary: ALL of the Scripture—every part of it—is Inspired.

4.    Infallible & Inerrant: the Bible contains no ERROR, and is completely ACCURATE and TRUTHFUL.

5.    Unlimited inerrancy: The Bible is truthful & accurate in EVERYTHING it discusses and records—not simply in matters of “faith” (e.g., doctrine, and morals). This applies even when it communicates historical facts and those matters that have bearing upon the natural sciences.

B. Jesus’ affirmation of the inspiration and inerrancy of Scripture is the CENTRAL REASON we affirm the truth of this doctrine!

“In determining the nature of biblical inspiration, nothing could be more significant than determining the view Christ held regarding the Scriptures. Certainly no one ought to hold a lower view of Scripture than He held; His view of the Scriptures ought to be the determinant and the norm for other persons’ views.”—Paul Enns, Moody Handbook of Theology

VI. A wealth of evidence at our disposal…

When it comes to this issue, with regard to our Lord’s attitude towards the inspiration & inerrancy of the Bible, there is in fact a wealth of material that demands our careful attention… In fact, our Lord has much to say upon the subject… This vast wealth of information, sadly, has been neglected by much of modern scholarship… and that will be the subject of our studies next week!

VII. A final note: Jesus’ handling of the Scriptures.

In the three Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke), Jesus either quotes from or alludes to the OT more than 150 times—in-and-of itself a grand testimony unto His love and reverence for Holy Scriptures! 

Weekly Challenge:

·         If Jesus valued the Scriptures so highly, what place do they find in our lives?

·         Do we need the nourishment of Scripture less than HE did, in the days of His humility?

·         Are they our bread and daily sustenance?  

·         Might some of our present and personal difficulties be rooted in our inability to know, understand, internalize, and yield unto the demands of Scripture? As with the Sadducees of old, might our Lord say unto us: “HAVE YE NOT READ?”