fixed truth:
The Holy Scripture
* Basic Intermediate * In Depth

1. Authority of Scripture: Revelation, Inspiration, Illumination

Defined:

–What is Revelation?Answer
–What is Inspiration?Answer
–What is Illumination?Answer

Articles: Revelation, Inspiration, and Illumination

* The Doctrine of Scriptureby Dr John MacArthur

"Now let me give you a basic definition of the doctrine of biblical authority or inspiration. Just listen to it and then if you want to jot it down I'll repeat it again. Here is how we can sum up the basic doctrine. God superintending human authors so that using their own individual personalities, experiences, thought processes and vocabulary they composed and recorded without error His revelation in the original copies of Scripture. Now I'm going to say that again cause I didn't think you got it all. Okay? Now think it through. God superintending human authors so that using their own individual personalities, experiences, thought processes and vocabulary they composed and recorded without error His revelation in the original copies of Scripture."Read Article

* Inspirationsermon on 2 Timothy 3:16 by JC Ryle

Excerpt:

"I trust that all who read this paper will take up the subject in a serious and reverent spirit. This question of inspiration is no light one. It involves tremendously grave consequences. If the Bible is not the Word of God and inspired, the whole of Christendom for 1800 years has been under an immense delusion; half the human race has been cheated and deceived, and churches are monuments of folly. If the Bible is the Word of God and inspired, all who refuse to believe it are in fearful danger; they are living on the brink of eternal misery. No man, in his sober senses, can fail to see that the whole subject demands most serious attention."Read Article

** Prove All Things Sermon on 1 Thessalonians 5:21 by JC Ryle

Excerpt:

"There were 3 great doctrines or principles which won the battle of the Protestant Reformation. First, the sufficiency and supremacy of Holy Scripture. Secondly, the right, duty, and necessity of private judgment. And, thirdly, justification by faith only, without the deeds of the law. Let's quickly look at the 2nd doctrine. When I say the right of private judgment, I mean that every individual Christian has a right to judge for himself by the Word of God, whether that which is put before him as religious truth, is God's truth, or is not. When I say the duty of private judgment, I mean that God requires every Christian man to use the right of which I have just spoken: to compare man's words and man's writings with God's revelation, and to make sure that he is not deluded and taken in by false teaching. And when I say the necessity of private judgment, I mean that it is absolutely needful for every Christian who loves his soul and would not be deceived, to exercise that right, and discharge that duty to which I have referred; seeing that experience shows that the neglect of private judgment has always been the cause of immense evils in the Church of Christ."Read Article

** 2 Timothy 3:13-17 Commentaryby John Calvin

Excerpt:

"Although wickedness prevail, and push its way forward, he (Paul) advises Timothy nevertheless to stand firm. And undoubtedly this is the actual trial of faith, when we offer unwearied resistance to all the contrivances of Satan, and do not alter our course for every wind that blows, but remain steadfast on the truth of God, as on a sure anchor."Read Article

2. Nature of Scripture: Infallibility, Inerrancy, Reliability

Defined:

–What is Infallability?Answer
–What is Inerrancy?Answer
–What is Reliability?Answer

Articles: Infallability, Inerrancy, and Reliability

** The Necessary Consonance of the Doctrine of Scripture: Inspiration, Inerrancy, and AuthorityBy Steve Curtis

Excerpt:

"Our Lord's disciples, taking their cue no doubt from Him, clearly everywhere assume and teach their own apostolic authority (Acts 4:29; 5:29-32; Gal. 1:11-12), and they accept without question the authority and full truthfulness of inspired Scripture (Acts 26:19-23; Rom. 1:1-5)."Read Article

** The Truthfulness of Scripture: Inerrancy By Michael S Horton

Excerpt:

"Even if we do not have direct access to these original autographs, we do have criteria widely employed in all fields of textual criticism that give us a good idea of what was originally written."Read Article

*** The Witness of the Bible to Its Own InerrancyBy Gleason L Archer

Excerpt:

"We are faced with a basic choice in the matter of biblical authority. Either we receive the Scripture as completely reliable and trustworthy in every matter it records, affirms, or teaches, or else it comes to us as a collection of religious writings containing both truth & error"..."God is present in Scripture as the omnipotent Lord of history, and as such he could not have allowed his redemptive plan to be thwarted by a seriously defective transmission."Read Article

3. Jesus and the Scriptures: The Incarnate Fulfills & Confirms the Written

Defined:

–Did Jesus' life and teaching reflect the Authority of Scripture? Answer
–Did Jesus believe O.T. prophecies of the Messiah would be fulfilled in Him? Answer
–Did Jesus ever distinguish between God's Word of Command & the traditions of men?Answer
–Did Jesus believe that only part of the Scripture was true and to be fulfilled or the whole?Answer
–If the Incarnate Word took the Old Testament Written Word as true and completely authoritative to the point where He knew He would teach, submit to and fulfill that Word - Should we not think our love for Him should exhibit the same attitude and submissiveness? Jesus Himself seems to think so...Answer

Articles: The Incarnate Fulfills & Confirms the Written

* Our Lord's Prayer for His People's Sanctification(Excerpt on John 17:17) by Charles Spurgeon

Excerpt:

"But what is the truth? There is the point. Is the truth that which I imagine to be revealed to me by some private communication? Am I to fancy that I enjoy some special revelation, and am I to order my life by voices, dreams, and impressions? Brethren, fall not into this common delusion. God's word to us is in Holy Scripture. All the truth that sanctifies men is in God's Word. If your imaginary revelation is not according to this Word, it has no weight with us; and if it is according to this Word, it is no new thing."Read Article

** Jesus Christ on the Infallibility of Scriptureby Dr David Livingstone

Excerpt:

"He Himself is the Word of God. All the words from His lips were the Word of God. (John 3:34). If He had desired, He could have written a new set of rules and they would have been the Word of God. But, He did not. He followed without question the Bible already penned by men. This is the sensible thing for every believer to do. May all who read this adopt Jesus' attitude and become subject both to Him as Living Word (living Torah) and to the Bible as the infallible, written Word of God."Read Article

4. Sola Scriptura: The Reformation & the Authority of Scripture Alone

Defined:

–What does the Latin phrase "Sola Scriptura" mean? Answer
–What was the Reformation? Answer
–Why is Sola Scriptura called the "formal" principle of the Reformation? Answer

Articles: Sola Scriptura

* Deliverance: From Sin to Righteousness, Part 2Excerpt by Dr John MacArthur regarding Luther

Excerpt:

And Luther called it "the external Word," I like that. It's outside of us. And Luther said, "The saving sanctifying illuminating Word is the external Word." What did he mean by that? He meant that it's outside of us, like God is outside of us. You can't invent God and you can't invent truth. God isn't the product of your imagination. God isn't the product of your fantasy. God isn't the product of your experience. God isn't the product of your intuition. God isn't the product of your charismatic emotion. God is not the product of your existentialism. God is God and He's outside of you, not subject to your tampering. God is not a clay toy you can shape any way you like....And so, the Bible is outside of you. It is external....It is a Book, it is a fixed book with fixed letters and fixed words and fixed sentences.Read Article

*** The Authority of ScriptureBy Richard L. Mayhue

Excerpt:

"The outworking of God's authority in Scripture can be summarized in a series of negative (what it is not) and positive (what it is) statements.
1. It is not a derived authority bestowed by humans; rather it is the original authority of God.
2. It does not change with the times, the culture, the nation, or the ethnic background; rather it is the unalterable authority of God.
3. It is not one authority among many possible spiritual authorities; rather it is the exclusive spiritual authority of God.
4. It is not an authority that can be successfully challenged or rightfully overthrown; rather, it is the permanent authority of God.
5. It is not a relativistic or subordinate authority; rather it is the ultimate authority of God.
6. It is not merely a suggestive authority; rather it is the obligatory authority of God.
7. It is not a benign authority in its outcomes; rather it is the consequential authority of God."
Read Article

5. Historic Confessions Regarding the Scripture

–Throughout the history of the church, certain men have made profound statements regarding the authority of Scripture. These are found in what we call creeds or confessions. Below are four examples.

Articles:

The Belgic Confession - 1561 Read Article
London Baptist Confession - 1677/1689 Read Article
Westminster Confession - 1646 Read Article
Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy - 1978 Read Article

6. The Relation of the Spirit of God to the Scripture

The Protestant Confessions of faith reflect their thoughts concerning the relation of the Spirit to the Word he breathed out. Here is one example:
Westminster Confession of 1647 - Chapter 1 - Of the Holy Scripture
VI.

The whole counsel of God, concerning all things necessary for his own glory, man's salvation, faith, and life, is either expressly set down in Scripture, or by good and necessary consequence may be deduced from Scripture: unto which nothing at any time is to be added, whether by new revelations of the Spirit, or traditions of men.¹ Nevertheless we acknowledge the inward illumination of the Spirit of God to be necessary for the saving understanding of such things as are revealed in the Word;² and that there are some circumstances concerning the worship of God, and government of the Church, common to human actions and societies, which are to be ordered by the light of nature and Christian prudence, according to the general rules of the Word, which are always to be observed.³

  1. 2 Tim. iii. 15–17; Gal. i. 8, 9; 2 Thess. ii. 2.
  2. John vi. 45; 1 Cor. ii. 9, 10, 12.
  3. 1 Cor. xi. 13, 14; xiv. 26, 40.

Please note in Chapter 1, Point VI, of the Westminster Confession the following:
  1. The whole counsel of God (all truth from God for His glory & for believers) is expressly stated in Scripture or deduced from such.
  2. Nothing is to be added to Scripture as if it is from the Spirit - whether through revelation or tradition.
  3. The Spirit who breathed out that Word also illumines that Word inwardly.
  4. There are secondary and common matters associated with the corporate affairs of Christians in various cultures. These would include things like certain aspects of church governance and worship. These are to be guided by corporate reason/conscience with a continual look to the obedience of Scripture for any foundational truth related to such subjects.
  Addendum: The London-Baptist Confession is virtually identical to this Westminster Confession at this point.

Articles: The Relation of the Spirit of God to the Scripture

* By His Word and Spirit: How Christ Exercises His Saving Rule by Henry Krabbendam

Excerpt:

"God the Father is the author of salvation. He elects his people and in the new covenant promises a new heart (regeneration), a new record (justification), and a new life (sanctification). God the Son is the procurer of salvation. As the new covenant "personified," he provides the new heart, the new record, and the new life.
Correspondingly, God the Spirit is the applier of salvation. He personalizes the new covenant as the "agent" in regeneration, the "seal" of justification, and the "agent" in sanctification. Without the Holy Spirit, the way to God remains a "highway in the sky" with no entrance ramps. He proceeds from both the Father and the Son to apply the salvation that the Father has promised and the Son has acquired."Read Article

* The Word and the Spiritby Ray C Stedman

Excerpt:

"But on the other hand the Spirit is identified by the Word. There are many spirits abroad today, many voices talking to us, many sources from which we are getting information and ideas and attitudes thrown at us and approaches to the solution of problems proposed. How do you know which is right? How do you know that it is not the voice of the enemy cleverly concealed, seeming as if it is the voice of God, sounding as if it is going to offer you blessing? How can you tell? Only by the Word. It is the Word that identifies the Holy Spirit. And all false spirits are detected by this Word. So we must have together the Word and the Spirit for balance and sanity in our Christian lives."Read Article

7. General Revelation versus Special Revelation

Defined:

–What is General (Natural) Revelation?Answer
–What is Special Revelation?Answer

Articles: General Revelation vs Special Revelation

* General vs. Special RevelationBy Israel Wayne

Excerpt:

"All truth comes ultimately from God. Not merely spiritual or moral truth...ALL Truth. There are really only two ways of knowing the Truth: General and Special Revelation." Read Article

8. Personal Quotes about the Scripture

Compilation of QuotesBy Luther, Gurnall, Watson, Edwards, Spurgeon, & MoodyRead Quotes

Underminings of the Fixed Nature of Holy Scripture

– How is the Sole Authority of Scripture undermined?

A. Through false teachings regarding "The Spirit" and/or "His gifts"

* The Lord Told Me - I Think!By Gary Gilley

Excerpt:

"Yet, this type of Divine encounter is considered insipid by many believers today. Many insist if God desires to relate to us in deep, personal, intimate ways, surely He must speak to us directly, individually, apart from Scripture. If we do not have such experiences, then we are nothing more than "practical deists." What has led to this mindset that teaches the Scriptures are inadequate for our lives – that some additional revelation is needed? Let me list three competitors now challenging the Scriptures as final authority in our lives."Read Article

* Misreading GodBy Dan Phillips

Excerpt:

"Is this how a Christian should respond to life's miseries or successes? Should he try to read them as encrypted messages from God, trying to discern His heart and directions from them?" Read Article

* Medieval MistakesBy Sinclair Ferguson

Excerpt:

"The canon for Christian living has increasingly been sought in a 'Spirit-inspired' living voice within the church rather than in the Spirit's voice heard in Scripture. What was once little more than a mystical tendency has become a flood. But what has this to do with the medieval church? Just this. the entire medieval church operated on the same principle, even if they expressed it in a different form: the Spirit speaks outside of Scripture; the believer cannot know the detailed guidance of God if he tries to depend on his or her Bible alone. Not only so, but once the 'living voice' of the Spirit has been introduced it follows by a kind of psychological inevitability that it is this living voice which becomes the canon for Christian living. This view--inscripturated Word plus living voice equals divine revelation--lay at the heart of the medieval church's groping in the dark for the power of the gospel. Now, at the end of the second millennium we are on the verge--and perhaps more than the verge of being overwhelmed by a parallel phenomenon. The result then was a famine of hearing and understanding the Word of God, all under the guise of what the Spirit was still saying to the church. What of today?"Read Article

* Prophecy Shall Cease: Jonathan Edwards on the Cessation of the Gifts of Prophecy Banner of Truth

Excerpt:

"Despite a renewal of interest in his theology; Edwards's view of cessationism has been much neglected by evangelicals today. Edwards merits nary a mention, for example, in Wayne Grudem's recently edited Are Miraculous Gifts For Today?: Four Views (Zondervan). This neglect may have come about because Edwards bases his case for cessationism far more on his understanding of redemptive history and canon than on his exegesis of disputed Scripture passages. I hope to demonstrate that Edwards's position, a more full-orbed understanding of cessationism than has been suspected, has unfortunately been neglected, much to the endangerment of the contemporary evangelical church."Read Article

Love More Excellent Than Extraordinary Gifts of the Spirit
Ethical Writings, Sermon 2, Love More Excellent than the Extraordinary Gifts of the Spirit by Jonathan Edwards

Excerpt:

(With Permission of the Jonathan Edwards Center at Yale University) "The extraordinary gifts of the Spirit, such as the gift of tongues, of miracles, of prophecy, etc., are called extraordinary, because they are such as are not given in the ordinary course of God's providence. They are not bestowed in the way of God's ordinary providential dealing with his children, but only on extraordinary occasions, as they were bestowed on the prophets and apostles to enable them to reveal the mind and will of God before the canon of Scripture was complete, and so on the primitive Church, in order to the founding and establishing of it in the world. But since the canon of the Scripture has been completed, and the Christian Church fully founded and established, these extraordinary gifts have ceased. But the ordinary gifts of the Spirit are such as are continued to the Church of God throughout all ages; such gifts as are granted in conviction and conversion, and such as appertain to the building up of the saints in holiness and comfort."Read Full Sermon

* The Holy Spirit not the Bible DodgeBy Dan Phillips (Next #14)Read Blog
* One of These Things is not Like the OthersBy Dan PhillipsRead Blog
* The River of Seducing Spirits by David Sheldon

Excerpt:

"Participants within many modern day church settings and religious events are invited, whether explicitly stated or not, to jump into the "river of God" through song or visual stimuli. This often occurs when worship leaders say "open up your hearts" or "open yourself up." Are we being asked to do something, to jump into something, which is not Scripturally required of us?"Read Article

Excerpt:

"Simply put, the big deal is whether or not it is actually true that God speaks to His people apart from the Bible. Is this new affirmation itself a contradiction of the Scriptures? Has God, in fact, told His people in the Bible that they should hear His voice in both spoken and written words? Does not this new view threaten to set aside the historic doctrine of the sufficiency and finality of Scripture?"Read Article

** Apostles and Prophets and the Foundation of the Churchby Bob DeWaay

Excerpt:

"One of the key ideas of the latter day apostles movement is that the church must be fully perfected on earth before Christ can return. Just how this perfection is defined is somewhat unclear. Some have even taught that the church will attain immortality this side of the resurrection. The heretical "Manifested Sons of God" doctrine claims that these passages shall be literally fulfilled before the return of Christ by an end times church with restored apostles and prophets: "For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. . . That the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God" (Romans 8:19,21). Of course, the key agents of the transformation of the earth, the nations, and the church supposedly will be these new super-apostles whose greatness shall make all previous church history look like a grand failure."Read Article

*** Fallible N.T. Prophecy/Prophets? Critique: Wayne Grudem's HypothesisBy F David FarnellRead Article

B. By individual/personal deception as an example

There are many people whom have chosen, whether consciously or subconsciously, to teach on listening for God's voice or hearing God's voice apart from Scripture. For instance, authors Wayne Grudem in "The Gift of Prophecy" and Henry Blackaby in "Hearing God's Voice," tell us to "open ourselves up" to "hear" God's "voice" through means other than Scripture. Others have taken their teaching and implemented it to the extent that their listeners receive what is being taught as if it is new revelation. This is a very dangerous trend. It can be seducing because there are truths from Scripture intermingled with false concepts. This is very deceitful. God speaks clearly in His Word. That is it! It alone is special revelation - His Words to us. Why do we step onto the mystical/emotional merry-go-round of listening for God's voice apart from God's means? We may waste a lot of God-ordained time and energy going in circles instead of hearing and obeying God's revealed Word, the Holy Scripture.

*Believing Beth About Believing GodBy M Kurt Goedelman & Glenn E Chatfield
Read Excerpt (To Order Full Article: pfo.org)

C. By a denomination or movement

* Why Evangelicals are Returning to Romeby Bob DeWaay

Excerpt:

"Apparently, contemporary evangelicals have forgotten that sola scriptura (scripture alone) was the formal principle of the Reformation. Teachings and practices that could not be justified from Scripture were rejected on that principle. To endorse a trip back to these practices of ancient Roman Catholicism is to reject the principle of sola scriptura being the normative authority for the beliefs and practices of the church. In this article I will explore how modern evangelicalism has compromised the principle of sola scriptura and thus paved smoothly the road back to Rome."Read Article

*** Alarmed By the Voice of Jack DeereBy Richard Mayhue

Excerpt:

(A critique of "Surprised by the Voice of God" By Dr Jack Deere - Influential in the Signs & Wonders Movement, Vineyard)
"Fourth, every generation has its claimants to hearing God speak, to receiving divine dreams, and to being able to tell the future. Since abundant biblical admonitions call believers to examine these kinds of assertions in light of Scripture, this review is in order." Read Article

New Apostolic Reformation

Explanation: If an organization existed which influenced great control over local churches without the members of those churches understanding that control: this is probably the group. Part of the reason that this happens is because it is an over-arching influence of churches that have networked together from various denominations. This networking often simply takes place through the leaders of the church more than the actual members of the church. The "authority" by definition is in the persons of the leaders and leadership and not so much in any "denominational" written ties. i.e. authority in people rather than on paper. And these churches have a common thread: they are usually quite charismatic in nature. The roots of this movement can be seen in its' founder, C. Peter Wagner. He was critically influential with John Wimber in the signs & wonders movement of the 1980's out of which grew the Vineyard Churches. The crux of the undermining of the sole authority of Scripture in this organization is the re-establishing of "anointed" apostles and prophets over the visible church.

* The Jesus of the "Signs"Read ArticleBy David Sheldon

Here is more information on the New Apostolic ReformationLinks Page

– These underminings are incorporated through Mysticism

Defined

–What is the essential characteristic of Mysticism?Answer
–What is Christian Mysticism?Answer
–What are the results of buying into Mysticism?Answer

Articles: Mysticism

* Mysticism (Part 1): A Way of the Past, The Wave of the Futureby Gary Gilley

Excerpt:

"The first obstacle encountered when discussing mysticism is trying to define it. When I once declared in print that Henry Blackaby is a Christian mystic, a young man wrote his master's thesis challenging my claim and proving that Blackaby was more in line with Pietism than classical mysticism. His point was well taken when using, as he was, a formal definition of a mystic. I was using the term more loosely as represented by this quote from John MacArthur, "The mystic disdains rational understanding and seeks truth instead through the feelings, the imagination, personal visions, inner voices, private illumination, or other purely subjective means."[1] By this rather loose definition Blackaby is indeed a mystic. This type of mysticism, which I believe to be a functional denial of sola scriptura, is running rampant throughout the Christian community with devastating consequences."Read Article

* Kindling Your Own FireRead ArticleBy Craig Redmond

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Go to: Underminings

fixed truth:
The Holy Scripture
* Basic Intermediate * In Depth

Defined:

Articles: Revelation, Inspiration, and Illumination

Defined:

Articles: Infallability, Inerrancy, and Reliability

Defined:

Articles: The Incarnate Fulfills & Confirms the Written

Defined:

Articles: Sola Scriptura

Articles:

Articles: The Relation of the Spirit of God to the Scripture

Defined:

Articles: General Revelation vs Special Revelation

Underminings of the Fixed Nature of Holy Scripture

A. Through false teachings regarding "The Spirit" and/or "His gifts"

B. By individual/personal deception as an example

C. By a denomination or movement

Here is more information on the New Apostolic ReformationLinks Page

Defined

Articles: Mysticism

Here is a page of links to some articles that might help you understand this system of thoughtLinks Page

Recommended Reading

–The Word of God Has Been Delivered

–The Word of God is Objective

–The Word of God is Unchanging & Eternal

Content on this page requires a newer version of Adobe Flash Player.

Go to: Underminings

fixed truth: The Holy Scripture * Basic ** Intermediate *** In Depth

Defined:

Articles: Revelation, Inspiration, and Illumination

Defined:

Articles: Infallability, Inerrancy, and Reliability

Defined:

Articles: The Incarnate Fulfills & Confirms the Written

Defined:

Articles: Sola Scriptura

Articles:

Articles: The Relation of the Spirit of God to the Scripture

Defined:

Articles: General Revelation vs Special Revelation

Underminings of the Fixed Nature of Holy Scripture

A. Through false teachings regarding "The Spirit" and/or "His gifts"

B. By individual/personal deception as an example

C. By a denomination or movement

Here is more information on the New Apostolic ReformationLinks Page

Defined

Articles: Mysticism

Here is a page of links to some articles that might help you understand this system of thoughtLinks Page

Recommended Reading

–The Word of God Has Been Delivered

–The Word of God is Objective

–The Word of God is Unchanging & Eternal

fixed truth:
The Holy Scripture
* Basic Intermediate * In Depth