Читать книгу Dividing the Word of Truth - Ralph V. Reynolds - Страница 2
ОглавлениеUNIT ONE
SCRIPTURES
DOCTRINE
A. MEANING OF DOCTRINE: The word “doctrine” means “teaching” or “truth.” It is impossible to teach the bible without teaching doctrine. Doctrine is the form, and beauty to the message we proclaim.
B. IMPORTANCE OF DOCTRINE: The importance of Bible Doctrine may be seen in the following Scriptures:
Acts 2:42 - Continued in Apostles’ doctrine.
I Timothy 4:13 - Attendance to reading, to doctrine.
I Timothy 4:16 - To thy doctrine.
I Timothy 5:17 - Labour in the word and doctrine.
II Timothy 3:16 - Profitable for doctrine.
II Timothy 4:2 - Longsuffering and doctrine.
II John 9 - Abideth not in the doctrine of Christ.
C. PRINCIPLES TO BE REMEMBERED IN UNDERSTANDING DOCTRINE:
1. Truth cometh by Divine Revelation. There is no better teacher of Divine Truth than the Holy Spirit, the author of the Bible. Many truths are mysteries, which are hidden from the unregenerate mind and can only be understood as the Spirit makes them clear.
“When he, the Spirit of truth is come, he will guide you into all truth.” (John 16:13).
“The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them because they are spiritually discerned.” (I Corinthians 2:14).
2. Next to the Holy Spirit, Scripture is the best interpreter of the Bible.
3. Truth is an agreement with the whole tenor of Scripture. Doctrine should never be established on one isolated passage of Scripture unless that doctrine is at the same time in harmony with the entire Bible.
4. Truth is always well balanced and sound. Extreme viewpoints are more likely to be in error than the middle of the road belief.
5. Truth always exalts Christ. Any teaching that degrades Jesus is erroneous.
6. Truth always has a sanctifying effect in the life of the believer. A man’s daily walk will tell whether or not he is a believer of true doctrine.
D. IMMUTABILITY OF DOCTRINE: The Word of God does not change and is absolutely eternal and unchangeable in its nature.
“The truth of the Lord endureth for ever.” (Psalm 117:2).
This means that there is no true doctrine apart from that taught by the apostles and there is the great necessity of continuing steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine. Acts 2:42.
E. THE PROPER ATTITUDE TOWARDS DOCTRINE: The proper approach to the study of God’s Word is to have a healthy hunger to know TRUTH for the sake of TRUTH alone. There are many motives for the study of the Bible but above all others this should be the most important.
THE BIBLE
A. NAMES AND TITLES OF THE BIBLE:
1. THE BIBLE: “Bible” is derived from the Greek “biblia” and means “the books.” Ancient books were written upon the biblus or papyrus reed and from this custom came the Greek word, which finally came to be applied to the sacred books.
It is not merely a book - it is the book, which stands as high above all other books as the heaven is high above the earth.
References: Mark 12:26; Luke 3:4; Luke 20:42; Acts 1:20; Acts 7:42; Psalm 7:42; and Hebrews 10:7.
2. SCRIPTURES: This word is derived from Latin and means “the writings.”
References: Matthew 22:29; Luke 24:27; John 5:39; Acts 17:11; Romans 1:2; II Timothy 3:15; and II Peter 3:16.
3. WORD OF GOD: This term is most significant and complete. It expresses the thought that the Bible is God speaking to man. References: Mark 7:13; Romans 10:17; and Hebrews 4:12.
Both “Word of God” and “Scriptures” were favorite titles with our Lord.
4. OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS: “Testament” means “Covenant” and is the term by which God was pleased to designate the relation that existed between Himself and His people. Old Testament: Calling and history of the Jewish nation. New Testament: History and application of the redemption wrought by the Lord Jesus Christ.
References: Luke 22:20; II Corinthians 3:6; Hebrews 9:15; and Hebrews 12:24.
B. SYMBOLS OF THE BIBLE:
1. A critic or discerner - Hebrews 4:12. Who would dare to be a critic of the Bible when it is our critic.
2. A lamp or light - Psalm 119:105 & 130; Proverbs 6:23. Like the star in the East it will lead any honest seeker to Jesus. Like the seven-branched candlestick in the tabernacle it shines with a perfect light upon divine things. Like the fiery pillar it lights up the whole pathway of the child of God throughout his wilderness journey. II Peter 1:19 - shineth in a dark place.
3. A mirror - II Corinthians 3:18; James 1:25.
4. A laver - Ephesians 5:26.
5. Food - Job 23:12; Matthew 4:4.
(a) Milk for babes - I Corinthians 3:2.
(b) Bread for the hungry - Deuteronomy 8:3; Isaiah 55:1-2.
(c) Strong meat for men - I Corinthians 3:2; Hebrews 5:12-14.
(d) Honey - Psalm 19:10; Psalm 119:103.
6. Gold - Psalm 19:10.
7. Fire - Jeremiah 20:9 & 23:29.
8. Hammer - Jeremiah 23:29. Some men’s hearts are as hard as rock and it takes the steady beating of the Word to break them.
9. Sword - Ephesians 6:17.
10. Seed - Luke 8:11; Isaiah 5:10; and I Peter 1:23.
(a) We should sow in all places. Isaiah 32:20.
(b) We should sow at all times. Ecclesiastes 11:6.
(c) Soil should be prepared by love and compassion. Psalm 126:6.
11. Rain and snow - Isaiah 55:10-11.
HOW THE BIBLE WAS WRITTEN
A. THREE TIMES GOD WROTE: We have a record of Deity writing only three times.
1. Ten Commandments - on tables of stone - Exodus 31:18.
2. On Belshazzar’s wall - Daniel.
3. On the floor of the Temple of our Lord - John 8:6.
First was with the giving of the law - broken by man. Last a special act of grace - trampled under foot by man.
B. HOW WAS THE BIBLE WRITTEN? “All scripture is given by inspiration of God” (II Timothy 3:16). “Given by inspiration of God” comes from one Greek word meaning “God-breathed.” “But above all, remember that no prophecy in Scripture will be found to have come from the prophet’s own prompting; for never did prophecy come by human will, but men sent by God spoke as they were impelled by the Holy Spirit. (II Peter 1:20, 21; Weymouth).
C. DEFINITION OF INSPIRATION: “Inspired” means literally “God-breathed.” It comes from the Greek word “theopneustos” or God breathed out. It is the strong, conscious inbreathing of God into men, qualifying them to give utterance to truth. It is God speaking through men, and the Bible is therefore just as much the Word of God as though God spoke every single word of it with His own lips.
The Scriptures are the result of divine inbreathing just as human speech is uttered by the breathing through a man’s mouth. “Holy men of God, qualified by the infusion of the breath of God, wrote in obedience to the divine command, and were kept from all error, whether they revealed truths previously unknown or recorded truths already familiar. (Evans).
D. DEFINITION OF REVELATION: “Revelation” is that act of God by which He directly communicates truth not known before to the human mind. Revelation discovers new truth while inspiration superintends the communicating of that truth. All in the Bible has not been “revealed” but all “inspired.”
E. DEFINITION OF ILLUMINATION: “Illumination” is the influence of the Spirit upon the minds of men that they might understand spiritual things. References: I Corinthians 2:14; Matthew 16:17.
Revelation - A divine revealing of the mind of God. Illumination - A divine action on the mind of men.
F. WHY WE BELIEVE IN THE FULL INSPIRATION OF THE BIBLE:
1. Jesus gave the Old Testament His full sanction (Matthew 5:18).
2. It is the product of one Master Mind. Although it contains 66 books, written by 40 writers over 1600 years, it has ONE AUTHOR.
3. The types, symbols, and ceremonies reveal it as divine. e.g. Christ in the tabernacle.
4. Bible Prophecies stamp it as divine. (I Peter 1:10-11).
5. Moral standards of the Bible prove it to be divine. (I Peter 1:16).
6. Creator of man is the Author of the Bible - reveals man to himself.
7. It reveals the only way of Salvation - so plain but yet deep.
8. By its fruits we know the Book is divine (Romans 11:33). It always brings good.
9. Bible will outlast the universe (Psalm 119:89; Matthew 5:18).
10. The world recognizes it as divine. It is “THE BOOK.” It has been translated into more languages than any other book. Whole libraries have been written to interpret it and before it sages bow.
VERBAL INSPIRATION
A. DEFINITION OF VERBAL INSPIRATION: Verbal Inspiration means that each word was inspired in the original writings. Mistakes could have been made by the translators but impossible in the original. If the Bible is verbally inspired, there should be - there can be - no errors in it; God could not make a mistake. If on the other hand it is not fully and verbally inspired, then the assumption is that some parts are from God, while other parts are purely human; in these latter parts we should naturally expect to find errors. If the thoughts only are inspired, then the Bible contains the Word of God but is not such in its essence. This, of course, is error. We believe absolutely in Verbal Inspiration.
B. REASONS FOR VERBAL INSPIRATION:
1. The writers themselves say so.
(a) Moses
(i) Exodus 20:1 - God spoke these words.
(ii) Exodus 24:4 - Moses wrote all the words of the Lord.
(iii) Exodus 35:1 - These are the words that the Lord commanded.
(b) David - II Samuel 23:2 - His Word was in my tongue.
(c) Isaiah - Isaiah 1:2 - The Lord has spoken.
(d) Jeremiah
(i) Jeremiah 1:4 - The Word of the Lord came unto me.
(ii) Jeremiah 1:9 - I have put my words in thy mouth.
(e) Ezekiel - Ezekiel 1:3 - The Word of the Lord came expressly to Ezekiel.
(f) Amos - Amos 1:1 - The words that he saw concerning Israel.
(g) John - Revelation 1:1 - The Revelation of Jesus Christ which God gave me.
2. The writers often did not understand what they wrote. God gave the words but not necessarily the thoughts. “The prophets have enquired . . . They were not ministering unto themselves but unto us” (I Peter 1:10-12). “Daniel did not understand all he wrote” (Daniel 12:8-9). “Did David understand about the parting of the garments and the piercing of the hands and feet?” (Psalms 22:18 and 22:16).
3. The Bible would be incorrect if it were not verbally inspired.
(a) Importance is placed upon simple words. e.g. Hebrews 12:27 quoting from Haggai 2:6: “Yet once more.”
(b) Importance is placed upon the tense of a verb. e.g. Luke 20:37: “I am.”
(c) Importance is placed upon a mere letter. e.g. Galatians 3:16 - “S” – seed not seeds.
4. Science of the Bible is absolutely correct although many of the popular ideas of that day were incorrect. e.g. Earth flat, etc.
5. The testimony of Christ proves that the bible was verbally inspired. Matthew 5:18 - “jot or tittle” - crossing of a “t” or dotting of an “i.” Luke 24:44 - All things must be fulfilled which were written.
6. If part of the Bible is divine and part human, who can tell which is which?
HOW WE GOT OUR BIBLE
A. MANUSCRIPTS: The Bible was originally written on long sheets of parchment and then rolled on wooden rollers. These were called manuscripts, meaning “written by the hand.” The men who copied the Word of God on these manuscripts were called scribes. These manuscripts were very expensive and had to be read to the congregation. The Old Testament was written in Hebrew and the New Testament was written in Greek.
B. SEPTUAGINT: About 227 B.C. a Greek translation of the Old Testament was made by seventy scholars at Alexandria. This translation was widely circulated and was used in following translations.
C. VULGATE: This was a Latin translation of the Septuagint version of the Old Testament and the original Greek of the New Testament. It means, “to make common or public” (vulgar). It was made in North Africa and was revised in the fourth century by Jerome. For a thousand years this was the standard Bible in the Catholic church. The common people could not read Latin. The leader read to the people. During the dark ages God’s Word was locked up in the Latin language.
D. FIRST ANGLO-SAXON TRANSLATIONS: Venerable Bede translated the Psalms and Gospels into Anglo-Saxon. Alfred the Great ordered the whole Bible trans- lated but did not live to see it done.
E. CHAPTERS: In 1250 Cardinal Hugo divided the Bible into chapters for the pur- poses of a Latin concordance. Some divisions are unfortunate but this has been retained in all following translations.
F. FIRST ENGLISH TRANSLATION: John Wycliffe was the first to translate the Bible into English from the Latin Vulgate. It took him 22 years. One copy cost forty pounds and took ten months to write. He was opposed by Roman Catholics. In 1384 he died of paralysis. Forty years later Roman Catholics dug up his bones and burned them, scattering the ashes on River Swift.
G. INVENTION OF PRINTING: Printing was invented in Europe by Gutenburg around the year 1450. It was introduced into England by Caxton in 1476.
H. WILLIAM TYNDALE: In 1525 Tyndale, one of the Protestant reformers, made another English translation and was the first to publish an English New Testament in print. He had to do this partly at Cologne and partly at Worms. The Testaments were smuggled into England in bales of cotton, sacks of flour, etc. Catholics made every effort to prevent it and burned thousands of copies. He translated from Greek and his translation was accurate. He also translated the Pentateuch and Jonah into English. In 1535 he issued a revised version of the New Testament from original Greek. In 1536 Tyndale was strangled and burnt at the stake.
I. ENGLISH BIBLE IN PRINT: The whole Bible was first printed in English in 1535 by Miles Coverdale.
J. FIRST AUTHORIZED VERSION OF THE BIBLE: Thomas Cromwell induced Henry VIII to grant a license for the issue of the Bible in English. This was done by John Rogers and was known as “Matthew’s Bible.” It was unpopular be- cause of comments in the margin against the Roman Catholic Church. In 1539 Coverdale and others brought out a reprint without marginal comments. The King gave his approval and this became the first Authorized Version. This was known as the Great Bible because of its size. It was ordered to be in every parish church and chained to the pulpit where the people flocked to hear the Word of God read.
K. GENEVA BIBLE: In 1560 the Geneva Bible appeared prepared by reformers at Geneva. It was translated from original Greek and Hebrew. It was smaller in size and became popular. It was the Bible used by Shakespeare, Cromwell, and John Bunyan and was brought to America by the Pilgrims. It was important for the following reasons:
1. It divided the text into verses.
2. It used the more easily read Roman type.
3. It was the first to use italics for those words the translators added for the sake of English idiom.
L. DOUAY BIBLE: In 1582 Roman Catholics translated the New Testament at Rheims.
In 1610 they translated the Old Testament at Douay. It includes the Apocrypha. It was translated from the Latin Vulgate and contains gross errors. What is the Apocrypha? It is fourteen books included in the Roman Catholic Bible and are not in the Protestant Bible because:
1. Scriptures are self-contained and absolutely complete with nothing lacking.
2. There is no reference to the Apocrypha in the New Testament.
3. There are three solemn warnings against adding to the Bible:
(a) Moses - Deuteronomy 4:2.
(b) Solomon - Proverbs 30:6.
(c) John - Revelation 22:18-19.
4. The Apocrypha is not acknowledged by orthodox Jews or the Christian Church as being inspired.
5. The Apocrypha contains a great deal of legendary nonsense and some gross historical errors.
M. KING JAMES VERSION: In 1611 appeared the King James Version. This is the translation now used by most English speaking people. Forty-seven scholars, authorized by King James made an exhaustive study of earlier versions. Ancient Hebrew and Greek texts were studied in order to obtain the best results. It has held first place for three hundred and seventy five years.
N. REVISED VERSION: In 1881, one hundred scholars from different denominations from England and America worked for over ten years. The King James Version was used with the most ancient copies of the Scripture.
O. AMERICAN STANDARD VERSION: 1905. This took fifteen years to do and it divided the Bible into paragraphs.
P. REVISED STANDARD VERSION: In 1929 the copyright of the American Standard Version was transferred to the International Council of Religious Education, a body related to 40 major Protestant denominations. This council appointed a commit- tee of scholars from twenty seminaries and universities to revise the Standard Version. The Revised Standard Version of the New Testament was published in 1946, and the complete Bible was issued in 1952. This version reflects a liberal Theology. We see this in the translation of the word “virgin,” etc.
There are other translations into modern English that one may use: Moffat, Weymouth, Amplified, etc. These help in the study of the Bible and may be used as a source of reference. However, it is wise to keep to the King James Version as the main text of the Word of God as this is the version that God has used above all others in the salvation of souls.
SUPPOSED CONTRADICTIONS
The Bible, if correctly interpreted, never contradicts itself. We are listing here a few of supposed contradictions with the proper explanations. This is another proof of the infallibility of the Bible.
A. GENEALOGIES OF OUR LORD:
1. Matthew 1 - This is traced back on Joseph’s side to Abraham to show Christ as the legal heir to the throne of Israel.
2. Luke 3 - This is traced back on Mary’s side to Adam emphasizing Christ’s true humanity and to show Him as the promised seed of the woman (Genesis 3:15).
B. TWO ACCOUNTS OF THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT:
“Jesus went up into the mountain” (Matthew 5:1).
“He came down with them” (Luke 6:17).
There were TWO sermons - one preached in the mountain - the other in the plain - one preached to the disciples - the other to the crowd. Matthew was not at the first sermon (Matthew 9:9). Matthew was at the second sermon (Luke 6:15).
C. INSCRIPTION ON THE CROSS:
1. Matthew: This is Jesus the King of the Jews.
2. Mark: the King of the Jews.
3. Luke: This is the King of the Jews.
4. John: Jesus of Nazareth the King of the Jews
RESULT: This is Jesus of Nazareth the King of the Jews.
Undoubtedly the total inscription was written and only part of it recorded in the various gospels.
D. PAUL’S SUPPOSED MISTAKE:
Numbers 25:9 - 24,000 died.
I Corinthians 10:8 - 23,000 died.
Paul writing under inspiration stated that 23,000 died in one day.
E. MATTHEW’S SUPPOSED MISTAKE: Matthew 27:9 - spoken by Jeremy the prophet saying…
Zechariah 11:12&13 - Matthew writing under inspiration wrote that Jeremiah spoke these words. Could not this be just as correct as Jude 14 regarding the prophecy of Enoch’s although a similar prophecy is in Zechariah 14:5. Jeremiah could have spoken it as well as Zechariah.
F. DAVID NUMBERING THE PEOPLE: II Samuel 24:9 and I Chronicles 21:5. Samuel tells us that the valiant men that drew the sword were 800,000 while Chronicles says that all Israel were 1,100,000.
G. MATTHEW 28:19 AND ACTS 2:38: This is no contradiction. Jesus did not tell
His disciples to baptize, using the words Father, Son and Holy Ghost. He told them to baptize in the NAME of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. The words Father, Son and Holy Ghost are not names but titles pointing to ONE PERSON who has ONE NAME. That name is JESUS.
There are other supposed contradictions and mistakes, but those given in this lesson are sufficient to prove that the Bible is absolutely accurate and infallible. How important that we study the Bible and understand the message it contains. We should never attempt to change in the slightest manner the Word of God. Three times are we solemnly warned against this:
Deuteronomy 4:2 - Ye shall not add unto the word…
Proverbs 30:6 - Add thou not unto his words…
Revelation 22:18-19 - If any man shall add…
