Theology: The necessity of scripture Flashcards
The necessity of scripture
The Bible is necessary for knowing the gospel, for maintaining spiritual life, and
for knowing God’s will, but is not necessary for knowing that God exists or for
knowing something about God’s character and moral laws.
Why is scripture or special revelation necessary to maintain our spiritual life?
MEANING and PURPOSE
Jesus says in Matthew 4:4 (quoting Deut. 8:3), “Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God” (NASB). Here Jesus indicates that our spiritual life is maintained by daily nourishment with the Word of God, just as our physical lives are maintained by daily nourishment with physical food.
To neglect regular reading of God’s Word is as detrimental to the health of our souls as the neglect of physical food is detrimental to the health of our bodies.
TO PROSPER
Similarly, Moses tells the people of Israel of the importance of God’s words for their lives: “For it is no trifle for you, but it is your life, and thereby you shall live long in the land which you are going over the Jordan to possess” (Deut. 32:47).
TO GROW
And Peter encourages the Christians to whom he writes, “Like newborn babes, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up to salvation” (1 Peter 2:2). The “pure spiritual milk” in this context must refer to the Word of God about which Peter has been speaking
(see 1 Peter 1:23–25). The Bible, then, is necessary for maintaining spiritual life and for growth in the Christian life.
Why is scripture or special revelation necessary to be certain about God’s will
It will be argued below that all people ever born have some knowledge of God’s will through their consciences. But this knowledge is often indistinct and cannot give certainty. In fact, if there were no written Word of God, we could not gain certainty about God’s will through other means such as conscience, advice from others, an internal witness of the Holy Spirit, changed circumstances, and the use of sanctified reasoning and common sense.
These all might give an approximation of God’s will in
more or less reliable ways, but from these means alone no certainty about God’s will
could ever be attained, at least in a fallen world where sin distorts our perception of
right and wrong, brings faulty reasoning into our thinking processes, and causes us to
suppress from time to time the testimony of our consciences (cf. Jer. 17:9; Rom. 2:14–
15; 1 Cor. 8:10; Heb. 5:14; 10:22; also 1 Tim. 4:2; Titus 1:15).
Why is scripture or special revelation necessary to be certain about God’s will
It will be argued below that all people ever born have some knowledge of God’s will through their consciences. But this knowledge is often indistinct and cannot give certainty. In fact, if there were no written Word of God, we could not gain certainty about God’s will through other means such as conscience, advice from others, an internal witness of the Holy Spirit, changed circumstances, and the use of sanctified reasoning and common sense.
These all might give an approximation of God’s will in
more or less reliable ways, but from these means alone no certainty about God’s will
could ever be attained, at least in a fallen world where sin distorts our perception of
right and wrong, brings faulty reasoning into our thinking processes, and causes us to
suppress from time to time the testimony of our consciences (cf. Jer. 17:9; Rom. 2:14–
15; 1 Cor. 8:10; Heb. 5:14; 10:22; also 1 Tim. 4:2; Titus 1:15).
In the Bible, however, we have clear and definite statements about God’s will. God has not revealed all things to us, but he has revealed enough for us to know his will: “The secret things belong to the LORD our God; but the things that are revealed belong to us
and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law” (Deut. 29:29).
As Christians, can we disregard the bible?
To be “blameless” in God’s sight is to “walk in the law of the LORD” (Ps. 119:1). The “blessed” man is one who does not follow the will of wicked people (Ps. 1:1), but delights “in the law of the LORD,” and meditates on God’s law “day and night” (Ps. 1:2). To love God (and thereby to act in a way that is pleasing to him) is to “keep his commandments” (1 John 5:3). If we are to have a certain knowledge of God’s will, then, we must attain it through the study of
Scripture.
What is the solution to the philosopher’s problem of certainty?
Ultimately, there are only two possible solutions to this problem: (1) We must learn all the facts of the universe in order to be sure that no subsequently discovered fact will prove our present ideas to be false; or (2) someone who does know all the facts in the universe, and who never lies, could tell us some true facts that we can then be sure will never be contradicted.
Is it possible for people to obtain any knowledge of God, without reading the Bible?
Yes, we can obtain knowledge of God’s existence and some of his attributes simply by observation of ourselves and the world around them.
OBSERVING THE WORLD
David
says, “The heavens are telling the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims his
handiwork” (Ps. 19:1). To look at the sky is to see evidence of the infinite power,
wisdom, and even beauty of God
Barnabas and Paul tell the Greek inhabitants of Lystra about the living God
who made the heavens and the earth: “In past generations he allowed all the nations to walk in their own ways; yet he did not leave himself without witness, for he did good
and gave you from heaven rains and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness” (Acts 14:16–17). Rains and fruitful seasons, food produced from the earth, and gladness in people’s hearts, all bear witness to the fact that their Creator is a God of mercy, of love, and even of joy
Even those who by their wickedness suppress the truth cannot avoid the evidences of God’s existence and nature in the created order:
“For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. Ever since the creation of the world his invisible nature, namely, his eternal power and deity, has been clearly perceived in the things that have been made. So they are without
excuse; for although they knew God they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking and their senseless minds were darkened. (Rom.
1:19–21)
OBSERVING OURSELVES:
“When Gentiles who have not the law do by nature what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that what the law requires is
written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness and their conflicting
thoughts accuse or perhaps excuse them. . . .” (Rom. 2:14–15)
The consciences of unbelievers bear witness to God’s moral standards, but at times this evidence of God’s law on the hearts of unbelievers is distorted or suppressed. 7 Sometimes their thoughts “accuse” them and sometimes their thoughts “excuse” them,
Paul says. The knowledge of God’s laws derived from such sources is never perfect, but it is enough to give an awareness of God’s moral demands to all mankind. (And it is on
this basis that Paul argues that all humanity is held guilty
How does general revelation and ‘common knowledge of right and wrong’ influence Christians relationship with non-Christians?
The fact that all people know something of God’s moral laws is a great blessing for society, for unless they did there would be no societal restraint on the evil that people would do and no restraint from their consciences.
Because there is some common knowledge of right and wrong, Christians can often find much consensus with non-Christians in matters of civil law, community standards, basic ethics for business and professional activity, and acceptable patterns of conduct in ordinary life.
Moreover, we can appeal to the sense of rightness within people’s hearts (Rom. 2:14) when attempting to enact better laws or overturn bad laws, or to right some other injustices in society around us. The knowledge of God’s existence and character also provides a basis of
information that enables the gospel to make sense to a non-Christian’s heart and mind: unbelievers know that God exists and that they have broken his standards, so the news that Christ died to pay for their sins should truly come as good news to them
If everyone has received knowledge of God through general revelation, the why do we need the bible?
However, it must be emphasized that Scripture nowhere indicates that people can know the gospel, or know the way of salvation, through such general revelation. They may know that God exists, that he is their Creator, that they owe him obedience, and that they have sinned against him. The existence of systems of sacrifice in primitive religions
throughout history attests to the fact that these things can be clearly known by people
apart from the Bible. The repeated occurrences of the “rain and fruitful seasons”
mentioned in Acts 14:17 may even lead some people to reason that God is not only holy and righteous but also loving and forgiving. But how the holiness and justice of God can ever be reconciled with his willingness to forgive sins is a mystery that has never been solved by any religion apart from the Bible. Nor does the Bible give us any hope that it
ever can be discovered apart from specific revelation from God. It is the great wonder of our redemption that God himself has provided the way of salvation by sending his
own Son, who is both God and man, to be our representative and bear the penalty for our sins, thus combining the justice and love of God in one infinitely wise and amazingly
gracious act. This fact, which seems commonplace to the Christian ear, should not lose
its wonder for us: it could never have been conceived by man alone apart from God’s special, verbal revelation
Furthermore, even if an adherent of a primitive religion could think that God somehow must have himself paid the penalty for our sins, such a thought would only be an extraordinary speculation. It could never be held with enough certainty to be the ground
on which to rest saving faith unless God himself confirmed such speculation with his own words, namely, the words of the gospel proclaiming either that this indeed was going to happen (if the revelation came in the time before Christ) or that it indeed has happened (if the revelation came in the time after Christ). The Bible never views human speculation apart from the Word of God as a sufficient basis on which to rest saving faith: such saving faith, according to Scripture, is always confidence or trust in God that rests on the truthfulness of God’s own word
