REFORMATION DAY - Danny K. Rajee Introduction: The Protestant Reformation was shaped by many people over many years, but came into focus when a monk named Martin Luther nailed his famous 95 theses to the door of the Wittenberg church on 31 Oct. 1517. Luther was a Catholic priest who was upset at the widespread corruption he observed within the ecclesiarchy, most notably the sale of “indulgences” that promised postmortem forgiveness of sins for deceased loved ones. Outside Luther’s Germany, similar “protest” movements were helmed by people like John Calvin, Zwingli, and John Knox. Beyond protesting corruption in the church, the emerging “protestant” movement challenged many of the theological teachings of the Roman Catholic church. The reformers believed that Scripture alone—not human traditions or the rulings of a church—held complete authority for Christians (see “sola scriptura”), and that salvation was a free gift of God that could not be earned by good deeds. The widespread publication and distribution of Bibles—indeed, the fact that all of us can afford and freely read the Bible ourselves—is one of the most enduring legacies of the Reformation. Nearly 150 years after John Wycliffe produced the first complete English translation of the Bible, William Tyndale followed in his ground breaking footsteps. Yet, some Bible historians refer to William Tyndale as the true father of the English Bible. Tyndale had two advantages. While Wycliffes earlier manuscripts were handwritten, painstakingly produced before the invention of the printing press in the mid-1400s, Tyndales Bible—the first printed English New Testament—was copied by the thousands. And while Wycliffes translation was based on the Latin Bible, Tyndales chief ambition in life was to give common English speakers a translation based on the original Greek and Hebrew languages of Scripture. On October 6, 1536, after nearly 17 months in prison, he was strangled and then burned at the stake. As he died, Tyndale prayed, Lord, open the king of Englands eyes. Three years later, Tyndales prayer was answered when King Henry VIII sanctioned the printing of an authorized version of an English Bible, the Great Bible. Let’s not forget William Carey the missionary and translator and let’s not forget Krishna Chandra Pal who came to the Khasi hills and the transformation that the Bible brought to this State. 2 Tim. 3:16-17 16 All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; 17 that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work. This passage gives you three truths that must make you to be committed to the Authority and Sufficiency of Scripture I. God gave His Word v.16a Some scholars suggest that All Scripture is inspired should be translated, All Scripture inspired by God is..., which would leave open the possibility that some Scripture is not inspired by Him. But that rendering would make the Bible worthless as a reliable guide to divine truth, because we would then have no way to determine which part of it is inspired by God and which is not. it is important to note that similar Greek constructions in other parts of the New Testament (see, e.g., Rom. 7:12; 2 Cor. 10:10, Heb. 4:17) argue strongly from a grammatical perspective that all Scripture is inspired is a good translation. Scripture is the revelation conveyed, inspiration is the means of that conveyance. In the words originally revealed and recorded, all Scripture is Gods inerrant Word. “all Scripture”=refers to the entire O.T. as well as the N.T. that was in existence at the time The first predicate adjective that describes Scripture, namely, its being inspired by God, focuses on the authority of His written Word. Theopneustos (inspired by God) literally means, breathed out by God, or simply, God-breathed. God sometimes breathed His words into the human writers to be recorded much as dictation. He said to Jeremiah: Behold, I have put My words in your mouth (Jer. 1:9). But, as clearly seen in Scripture itself, Gods divine truth more often flowed through the minds, souls, hearts, and emotions of His chosen human instruments. Yet, by whatever means, God divinely superintended the accurate recording of His divinely breathed truth by His divinely chosen men. In a supernatural way, He has provided His divine Word in human words that any person, even a child, can be led by His Holy Spirit to understand sufficiently to be saved. It is of utmost importance to understand that it is Scripture that is inspired by God, not the men divinely chosen to record it. When speaking or writing apart from Gods revelation, their thoughts, wisdom, and understanding were human and fallible. They were not inspired in the sense that we commonly use that term of people with extraordinary artistic, literary, or musical genius. Nor were they inspired in the sense of being personal repositories of divine truth which they could dispense at will. Many human authors of Scripture penned other documents, but none of those writings exist today, and, even if discovered, they would not carry the weight of Scripture. We know, for instance, that Paul wrote at least two other letters to the church at Corinth (1 Cor. 5:9; 2 Cor. 2:4), but no copies of those letters have ever been found. The letters doubtless were godly, spiritually insightful, and blessed of the Lord, but they were not Scripture. -John Macarthur Scripture first of all and above all is from God and about God, His self-revelation to fallen mankind. (2 Peter 1:20-21). In this verse the Greek noun is a genitive of source, indicating origin. In other words, no message of Scripture was originated and sent forth by mens own wisdom and will. Rather, the godly men through whom Scripture was revealed and recorded were divinely instructed and carried along by the Holy Spirit. So when we go to the Bible we go to the Holy Spirit! Bible speaks Holy Spirit speaks! Holy Spirit is a person and He is God! BIBLE SPEAKS GOD SPEAKS AND GOD SPEAKS HOLY SPIRIT SPEAKS! Within the Bible itself, God and Scripture are sometimes used almost interchangeably. Referring to words spoken directly by God to Abraham (Gen. 12:3), Paul wrote that the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, All the nations shall be blessed in you (Gal. 3:8). Later in that same chapter the apostle again personifies Scripture as God, declaring that Scripture has shut up all men under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe (v. 22). In his letter to the church at Rome, Paul wrote, For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, For this very purpose I raised you up, to demonstrate My power in you, and that My name might be proclaimed throughout the whole earth (Rom. 9:17). DOCTRINE OF INSPIRATION: The supernatural process whereby the Holy Spirit superintended human authors, using their individual personalities, backgrounds, and writing styles to compose and record His Word without error in the original manuscripts (i.e. dual authorship). *The writers of Scripture wrote down word for word exactly what God wanted them to write. It is the very words of God. QUOTE: B. B. Warfield, The Inspiration and Authority of the Bible “When the Bible speaks, God speaks!” NOTE: Verbal, Plenary Inspiration of Scripture • Verbal=every word (i.e. didn’t just give men the general ideas or basic thoughts and left the exact wording to men; express these thoughts in their own words). • Plenary=every part (i.e. not just the truths about spiritual things; also the scientific and historical information is accurate and reliable) Q.How do we know it is accurate? God wrote it. Q.How do we know God wrote it? He said He wrote it. Q.What about those who argue Bible was written by men? Smart men wouldn’t write a book that damned them eternally to a place like hell. Smart men wouldn’t write a book that made salvation beyond their ability to achieve. Smart men wouldn’t call themselves desperately wicked worms who are by nature objects of God’s wrath. Smart men don’t make up a religion that requires them to hate father and mother, take up their cross, and be willing to die. Besides, how else do you explain how approximately 40 men from different backgrounds, vocations, continents, languages, and centuries over the course of 1500 years wrote 66 separate books and there is not one contradiction and there is a common theme that ties them all together. That would be impossible unless one person controlled the entire process. The accuracy and harmony of the Bible demand that it was inspired by God. - Ken Fuller II. God’s Word is profitable v.16b The second predicate adjective Paul uses to describe Scripture is profitable, which focuses on the sufficiency of Gods written Word. Profitable translates ōphelimos, which includes the ideas of beneficial, productive, and sufficient. Four areas: A.“teaching”=teaches us everything we need to know about the doctrine of God, Jesus, Holy Spirit, Angels, Man, Sin, Salvation, Sanctification, the Church, and the End Times. In this context, as in most others in the New Testament, didaskalia refers specifically and exclusively to divine instruction, or doctrine, given to believers through Gods Word, which included not only the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament) and the teaching of Jesus during His incarnation but also the inspired teaching of the apostles and New Testament authors. (1 Cor. 2:14-16). B.“reproof”= A second work of the Word in the life of believers is that of reproof. Elegmos (reproof) carries the idea of rebuking in order to convict of misbehavior or false doctrine. Convicts us of the areas in our lives that are not pleasing to the Lord, exposes our sin, refutes Satan’s lies and temptations, rebukes other’s sin . Regular and careful study of Scripture builds a foundation of truth that, among other things, exposes sin in a believers life with the purpose of bringing correction, confession, renunciation, and obedience. (Heb. 4:12-13). C.“correction”= Epanorthōsis (correction) is used only here in the New Testament and refers to the restoration of something to its original and proper condition. Sets us straight when we get out of line; helps us get back on our feet when we stumble and fall; it gets us back on the right path when we stray away from God. (1 Peter 2:1-2)/ 1 Jn.1:9 D.“training in righteousness”= Training translates paideia, which had the original meaning of bringing up and training a child (paidion), but it came to be used of any sort of training. It also is rendered correcting (2 Tim. 2:25) and discipline (Eph. 6:4; Heb. 12:5, 7, 11). In the context of verses 16-17, it clearly refers to training in the broader and probably more positive sense, since the negatives are covered by reproof. It is directed at the ideas of instruction and building up. The idea of “ Rigteousness” is acceptable to God. Idea is “Instructs us and disciplines like a child as we grow up to maturity in Christ; shows us how to live a godly life that is pleasing to the Lord” III. God’s Word is capable v.17 The apostle is addressing the man of God, a technical phrase used only of Timothy in the New Testament. In the Old Testament it is frequently used as a title for one who proclaimed the Word of God. In this context, man of God refers most directly to Timothy and, by extension, to all preachers and Christians! Because preachers are not Professionals! “may be adequate”=complete, capable, sufficient, able to meet all the demands placed on him, able to deal with every situation he is faced with “equipped”=completely outfitted, fully furnished, fully equipped or supplied “for every good work”=Timothy had a lot of work to do in the church; Paul reminded him that God’s Word supplied him with everything he needed for his task (cf. Eph. 2:10). We need not look anywhere else beyond the inexhaustible resource of the Bible to help us accomplish these works. “Since then your imperial majesty and your lordships demand a simple answer, I will give you one without teeth and without horns. Unless I am convicted of error by the testimony of Scripture or by manifest evidence...I cannot and will not retract, for we must never act contrary to our conscience....Here I stand. God help me! Amen! -Martin Luther Let’s be committed to the Authority and Sufficiency of Scripture! Scripture speaks in Present tense. Let’s not create another Bible of our imagination but let’s depend on the only Bible that is God given and sufficient! - Danny K. Rajee, (Teaching Pastor, Shillong Grace Church), Copyrights reserved, 2013. Video is also available on youtube. Shillong Grace Church: Expository Preaching: 2 Timothy 3:16 - 17 (Reform...: youtu.be/EbRVA79CS9Q via @youtube
Posted on: Fri, 29 Nov 2013 09:56:43 +0000
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