Fundamentalism Being Redefined?

I recently received a letter from my Bible College Chancellor that was sent to all the graduates of Golden State Baptist College and in the letter, concern was expressed about the redefinition of fundamentalism. The part of the letter that really got my attention was:

“Before our very eyes, fundamentalism is being redefined; and so many are buying into it hook, line and sinker. It shocks and horrifies me. So much of what we see in the name of fundamentalism and old-time religion today would have been fought by Lester Roloff, John Rice, Jack Hyles, Oliver B Greene, Harold Sightler, Lee Roberson, Tom Malone, Curtis Hudson and others like them. I am alarmed at the rapid decline of our churches and at the acceptance of the modern, user-friendly approach (which by the way, is bringing in the crowds, but will never preserve a nation).”

Several questions come to mind when I read this letter.
First – What does he mean by fundamentalism being redefined? If it’s what folks like us are trying to do on this blog, then I rejoice that an impact on those in hysteric fundamentalism is being made that causes them fear. But we don’t have big churches and Bible colleges, so I kinda doubt it. He mentioned the “user-friendly” church; is that what Fundamentalism is being redefined into? Can anyone point to where that is happening? Where is Rick Warrenism redefining fundamentalism? I guess you could look at TTU and Highland Park Baptist Church, but it’s already pretty obvious that they have totally defected from Fundamentalism.

Second – Is he making reference to the “young fundamentalist” movement that is emerging mostly among those who are in the GARBC, FBFI, BJU Maranatha and Northland circles? They are in such a minority in comparison to them and they are almost completely ignored.

Third – What does he mean by rapid decline of our churches? According to Paul Chappell’s latest book ‘Church Still Works’, Independent Baptist Churches are growing. Perhaps he’s referring to the West Coast Baptist College style of fundamentalism? They’re a little more tech savvy and a little less extreme than the “Hyles” stream which could very well constitute as being “user friendly”, especially when you use screens to project the lyrics of your hymns. *gasp*

What do you think this concern is really about?

How The Doctrines of Grace Will Change Your Life

Romans 8:28-31
Introduction: This doctrine is one that is usually ignored by many preachers because of the objections that it raises in our carnal minds against the sovereignty of God in everything. However, when you submit your mind to scripture and let this truth sink deep into your being, you will find that there is a whole level of gratefulness, security, and wonder in salvation that you never knew before.

1. The Promise of His Purpose
And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

A. Optimism in All Things
This text begins with confidence and ends with it – we know! This is certainty about God’s sovereignty over all things work together for the good. God seems to allow a lot of bad things happen that seem to have no purpose or no good outcome as a result. It could lead to despair and worry if you did not have the hope that you were in God’s loving gracious favor. Even if you believe you have been given grace to be saved, you still may doubt that all the things that happen in your life are for a good purpose. However, Paul tells us we can know for sure that all things, not most, some or a few things, but all of them work together for good.

B. The Objects of Goodness
This promise of all things working out for good is not for everyone. It is specifically made to one group of people: those who love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. The two descriptions are not two types of people; this was two ways of describing the same people. Those who love God are those who are “the called” according to His purpose.

I want you to see those two words “the called” and mark them in your Bible. There is a special kind of calling that happens to those who are believers. When you trusted Christ, you were called, beckoned, summoned by God to come to Him and you believed and came.

1 Peter 5:10 But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus,
Jude 1:1 Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, and called:
1 Thessalonians 2:12 That ye would walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto his kingdom and glory.
1 Corinthians 1:9 God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.
Romans 1:7 To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Revelation 17:14 These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.

Now, you might be thinking: “isn’t every one called to salvation? Doesn’t God call out to whosoever? Yes, he does and this is what is known as the general call. It is spoken of by Christ in Matthew 22:14 For many are called, but few are chosen.

The general call is necessary so that the chosen will respond to that call through what is known as “effectual calling”. This is the kind of calling being spoken of in these passages mentioned. It is the kind of sovereign calling of God that summons us out of darkness into light. When you believed, it was because you were being called to Christ and He made you willing to repent and come to Him.
It is no wonder that those who are ‘the called’ are those who love God! 1 John 4:19 We love him, because he first loved us.
This calling us unto salvation is according to His own purpose. The ultimate purpose of God is His own glory. We who are saved, were called to salvation with that purpose in mind.

2. The Predestination of His Purpose
29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. 30 Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.

How did this calling take place? Why did God choose to call me and not someone else? On what basis did God make his choice to call us? The next two verses spell that out for us clearly. Paul begins at the very first step which takes you all the way back into eternity. Verse 29 tells us that they whom He called were those whom he did predestinate. Their calling was predestined. What is predestination? We will explore all of these terms. Keep going back down the chain and you will see that predestination was determined on the basis of foreknowledge. That is where it all began and it is where we will begin.

A. Foreknowledge – pro-gnosko: Pro is the antecedent that means ‘before’ in order and time. Gnosko is the Greek word for knowledge. God’s knowledge of those whom he would predestinate was knowledge beforehand. This is the most critical point to understand because there are two schools of thought on what “to foreknow” actually means.
a. The Arminian View – to know one’s decision to believe before hand and upon that basis, predestine to call and save that person. This is informational knowledge.
b. The Calvinist View – to know the person beforehand and upon that basis, predestinate, call and save that person. This is relational knowledge.

So which one is it? Why does it matter? It matters a great deal because it will affect the way you view everything! Let’s look at the implications of the first:

The Arminian View: If God foreknows your decision then His choosing of you is dependent upon you ultimately. This also compromises God’s independence and makes him dependent upon you for His choosing and not ultimately according to His purposes. This view also compromises God’s power since events in the future are foreseen independently from God’s decrees and it makes God have to construct His will around the events that He sees coming.
The other implication of this view is that it goes against what the Bible clearly teaches about man’s nature – dead, hostile, enmity, corrupt – because it keeps man’s will totally neutral and unaffected from original sin. It gives man’s free will liberty and power to choose against his own nature which the Bible clearly says he cannot. Because of this view of free-will; then evangelism tends to become a quest to manipulate men’s wills to simply make a decision instead of seeking for his regeneration. This view sees his decision as the precondition for regeneration.

The Calvinist View: Foreknowledge according to the Calvinist view is not knowledge of information, but knowledge of relationship and knowledge of predetermination. This idea of foreknowledge fits the biblical use of the word in the few passages where the word is used:

Acts 2:23 Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain:
This verse teaches that God predetermined Jesus’ death on the cross, He didn’t foresee it.

Romans 11:2 God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew.
In speaking of the Jewish people, God has known His people beforehand, this is a knowledge of relationship that was predetermined in the eternal counsels of God.

1 Peter 1:2 Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.
So, those who are elect or chosen are chosen on the basis of God’s foreknowledge: predetermined relationship that He had with them before they were even created.

For further information on this idea, study the use of the word “ginosko” in the New Testament and you will see that it is almost always used in an intimate knowledge of someone. Matthew 1:25 And (Joseph) knew her (Mary) not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS.
This doesn’t mean that Joseph didn’t know who Mary was; it means that they didn’t come together intimately as husband and wife.
We see this used in knowing and not knowing in: Galatians 4:8-9 Howbeit then, when ye knew not God, ye did service unto them which by nature are no gods. 9 But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage?

To summarize this then, foreknowledge is God’s predetermined intimate knowledge and relationship with His people before He ever created them. In God’s mind and heart, there have always been a people of God whom He has loved, and He has known them from eternity past. It is on this basis that they are chosen ‘elect’ and predestined to be conformed into the image of Christ and so on.
This view keeps God’s independence uncompromised – he chooses according to His own good will and pleasure and is bound to nobody’s decision but His own.
This view keeps God’s sovereignty uncompromised – he does not have to accommodate His will to the wills of His creatures who make decisions independently of His ultimate control.
This view makes salvation a truly free gift of grace since there was no preconditions to whom God would give it. This makes man completely and utterly dependent upon God for every aspect of His salvation, even his faith to accept God’s gift. This view does not compromise man’s free will either as some would contend because man is not forced to believe against his desires, God changes his desires so that man then freely chooses. (And God has the right and the ability to change those desires without man’s permission – if He needed permission, man’s opposite desire would always say no.)

B. Election
In our text, the word election is not stated. He goes from foreknowledge to predestination without mentioning election. It would be like mentioning a baseball player running from first base to home plate without mentioning second or third base since it’s already common knowledge that you’d have to pass those bases in order to get to home base. But we can fill in the blank by using 1 Peter 1:2 Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father.
People are chosen by God for salvation on the sole basis of God’s pre-knowledge of them. There is no other reason given. This is why it is called “unconditional election” because the only condition for our election is God’s free will and gracious mysterious sovereign purposes that are past finding out.

This is seen clearly in the following text:
Ephesians 1:3-6 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: 4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: 5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, 6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.

Predestination is based on election which is based on foreknowledge. We have been chosen for predestination and predestination is God’s plan for the individual which includes justification, sanctification and glorification.

Ephesians 1:9-12 Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself: 10 That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him: 11 ¶ In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will: 12 That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.

When you start asking yourself: “why me? Why not him/her?” the only answer you can have biblically is that it was according to His good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself who works all things after the counsel of his own will. It is not for you to know, it is for you to accept and bow down in humble gratefulness that God loved you in this special “redeeming love” before the foundation of the world.
Some try to say that election isn’t being chosen for salvation, but for “blessings”. That is half true, because the “blessings” that are being spoken of include salvation! This text could not make it more clear:

2 Thessalonians 2:13-14 But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth: 14 Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Perhaps you’re thinking to yourself – “this isn’t fair! Everyone should have the right to choose for himself first! It’s not fair that God makes that decision first. Doesn’t that make my decision to trust Christ not a decision at all?” When your corrupt, autonomous, independent sinful mind starts to think these thoughts which will naturally happen to all of us, God has an answer to your objections:

Romans 9:9-15 For this is the word of promise, At this time will I come, and Sara shall have a son. 10 And not only this; but when Rebecca also had conceived by one, even by our father Isaac; 11 (For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;) 12 It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger. 13 As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated. 14 What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid. 15 For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.
The charge of God being unfair is like the pot calling the tea kettle black. All human beings deserve nothing but hell! That would be fair. So, who are you to questions God’s mercy if He chooses to show it to only a few to whom He has decided to show it? That’s the point of this passage. God has the freedom and right to show compassion on whomsoever He chooses and is not under obligation to show it to anyone else.

Romans 9:19-23 Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will? 20 Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? 21 Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?
So the next objection was anticipated: then if God has already chosen, doesn’t that make my choice null and void? How could my choice really be mine? And if God has chosen not to save others, then how can He find fault in their unbelief since it was predetermined?
To this question the Apostle Paul gives a reply which is even more offensive and inflaming! Essentially his answer to the question is not to explain it so it will be reasonable to you; his answer is “Shut your mouth! Who do you think you are to question God’s purposes?”

Then in verse 22 he gives a hypothetical situation and asks “what would you think of God if this were the case?”: 22 What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction: 23 And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory, Even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?

Would this be unfair, unjust and cruel if God had predetermined to make his glory known by showing grace to those whom he has before prepared for glory by contrasting his grace against the backdrop of His wrath against those whose rebellion he has put up with for the sole purpose of making his power known in their destruction? Does God reserve the right to do this for His own purposes? The rhetorical answer to this question is “of course, now shut up and bow down to His sovereign majesty!”

C. Predestination
So, now that we’ve dealt with foreknowledge and election, what were we elected for? We were elected for predestination: Ephesians 1:5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will.
Ephesians 1:11-14 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will: 12 That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. 13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, 14 Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.

Predestination is the word in Greek – pro (before) orizo (horizon, boundary). These are the horizons or boundaries that God has set in place beforehand for certain individuals whom He has chosen according to His foreknowledge of them. What are the boundaries that are set for us? To be adopted as children by Jesus Christ; to obtain an inheritance; to be a praise of His glory; to trust in Christ; to be sealed with the Holy Spirit and finally in our text – to be conformed to the image of His Son so that Christ can be first in rank among many brethren!

D. Effectual Calling
Let’s go back to our text in Romans. What is the next step in God’s grace?

30 Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called:
Remember we began with this idea of calling. This is a special, individual call that beckons or summons someone to faith. This is called effectual calling, because this call doesn’t fail to bring a person to faith in Christ. This is the calling that raises the spiritually dead to spiritual life. This is regeneration – being born again! John 1:12-13 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: 13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

Those who receive Christ and believe on His name are children of God and they are those whom have been born of God, not of their own will or their own pedigree. God supernaturally gives birth to them.

E. Justification
and whom he called, them he also justified:.
When a person has been called to faith in Christ, the righteousness of Christ is imputed to them as their own righteousness and in God’s justice, He can justify them and declare them as righteous as if they had never sinned. This is called forensic justification – the legal declaration of one’s righteousness based on the merits of another – the perfect substitute, Jesus Christ. This is the link in the chain where most of us start in our understanding. We were saved at this point, but had no idea of all that God did to make it happen for us from the foundation of the world.

F. Glorification
and whom he justified, them he also glorified
This is an amazing phrase! Those whom he justified (aorist active indicative) he also glorified (aorist active indicative). Glorification isn’t something that happens until we get to heaven and shed this mortality. However, in God’s economy it is a work that has already begun and is finished from His view. If you’re justified you are already glorified in God’s eyes. You’re just as saved as if you were already in heaven. This is how Paul could say: Ephesians 2:6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.
Your glorification has already occurred in God’s perception of reality!

3. The Confidence of His Purpose
31 What shall we then say to these things?
So, what should our response be to these things? That’s not fair? How dishonoring to God such a response is when God’s people fail to understand and appreciate their election. Rather your correct response to this doctrine should be and must be this: If God be for us, who can be against us?

Confidence in God! This doctrine should cause you to trust Him more and make you bolder than ever in your Christian walk. This doctrine should bring you to your knees in humble gratitude for your election. It should also cause you to bless the Lord in a new freshness of worship that you were never able to give to Him before.

This doctrine will change the way you look at everything. You will see everything from a Theo-centric point of view if you really get it. God becomes the blazing center of everything. You will be able to sing with the angels “Holy Holy Holy, Lord God Almighty, the whole earth is full of His Glory!” because you will see that this is the greatest good and chief end of all creation – to give God glory in one way or another as He has predetermined it should. You will no longer see yourself as the chief object of salvation. Instead, you will see yourself as a means to a greater end – the exaltation of Jesus Christ by your participation in a greater plan than you ever imagined you were a part of. You will no longer see the purpose of the world as God trying to fix the mess that Adam made, but God pursing His own glorification by use of everything including evil.

This doctrine will change the way you look at your sanctification – you will no longer be striving to appease God or earn His good favor by your obedience and compliance with His Word. Instead, you will see sanctification as a pursuit to know and enjoy God as you have been known and loved all along.

This doctrine will change the way you look at your mission of evangelism – you will no longer be trying to rescue people from hell by doing anything that will cause their will to concede to the gospel message. You will be seeking for men’s new birth by means of the gospel so men can know and enjoy God in this life and the next, as they have always been known and loved by God as His elect. Being rescued from hell is just an added benefit. The real benefit is that they will come to know God!

Thank God for the recovery of this doctrine by the reformers. I hope that men will have the guts to stand up and proclaim these truths this Reformation Day!

I am glad to announce an exciting event that will take place next year at Mission Peak Baptist Church. We will be hosting 2010 Expositors Conference called “Preaching for a Change” because we believe that expository preaching of the Scripture is the best way to faithfully preach the Word. The opening up and exposing God’s Word to people is the best way to help them change into the image of Christ. Preaching in America today is at an all time low, and it’s my desire to do something about it! I want to encourage other preachers to hear a well laid out case for expository preaching by a man who is one of the finest expositors in America – Dr. Steve Lawson. He will be our keynote speaker with five sessions that will help equip pastors and teachers to effectively and faithfully declare God’s Word.

Compiling the Canon

Compiling the Canon
Canon – Rule or Standard

The 66 Books of Bible are the canon. Who decided that? Men or the Holy Spirit? Many say that the choice was made by the church. The church counsels created the Bible. The Roman Catholics believe that the church gave birth to Scripture and therefore, they have authority over it.
The truth is, canonicity was discovered by God’s people, not created by them. If God inspired Scripture, then He determined which books were Scripture. To give you a little bit of historical background, the early church had the different books of the NT circulating all over the Roman Empire, but very few people had one volume with all the books contained. In the second century, a heretic who believed in two gods (Jehovah, the God of the OT and Jesus the God of the NT) compiled a list of books that he felt were canonical, but left out dozens of true books of Scripture. He was excommunicated and the early church father’s such as Polycarp and Tertullian condemned his Gnostic teachings. Many circumstances brought the church to the point of agreeing upon a list of scriptures that we now call the Bible. Constantine wanted to unify the church and the Empire, the churches wanted a standard Bible for liturgy and the churches wanted to close the issue so no more heretics could introduce new scriptures that were not authentic. However, although these issues contributed to the official canonicity of Scripture, they were not the main reason for it. God had chosen these books because He wrote them and God’s people, led by the Spirit discovered them. Later in the fourth century, a series of official synods and counsels were called to finally determine the canon. The African Synod of Hippo, in 393, approved the New Testament, as it stands today, together with the Septuagint books, a decision that was repeated by Councils of Carthage in 397 and 419. However, even at this time, the early Roman Catholic Church tradition was beginning to form and to distort Christianity. Other Apocryphal books were recognized in these councils and would not be challenged until later during the Reformation until we now have the 66 books of the OT and NT. This is why the Apocrypha was included in the first edition of the KJV 1611.

A. The Old Testament
There were other ancient writings that did not survive. Some of the same Biblical authors who wrote Scripture, wrote other books that were not considered inspired.

Numbers 21:14 Wherefore it is said in the book of the wars of the LORD, What he did in the Red sea, and in the brooks of Arnon,
Joshua 10:13 And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies. Is not this written in the book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a whole day.
2 Samuel 1:18  (Also he bade them teach the children of Judah the use of the bow: behold, it is written in the book of Jasher.)
1 Samuel 10:24-25 And Samuel said to all the people, See ye him whom the LORD hath chosen, that there is none like him among all the people? And all the people shouted, and said, God save the king. 25 Then Samuel told the people the manner of the kingdom, and wrote it in a book, and laid it up before the LORD. And Samuel sent all the people away, every man to his house.
1 Chronicles 29:29 Now the acts of David the king, first and last, behold, they are written in the book of Samuel the seer, and in the book of Nathan the prophet, and in the book of Gad the seer,
2 Chronicles 12:15 Now the acts of Rehoboam, first and last, are they not written in the book of Shemaiah the prophet, and of Iddo the seer concerning genealogies? And there were wars between Rehoboam and Jeroboam continually.
2 Chronicles 13:22 And the rest of the acts of Abijah, and his ways, and his sayings, are written in the story (midrash – commentary) of the prophet Iddo.

The author is not the only criteria that made the writings sacred and inspired. There were books written by those who were prophets, but not all their writings were not inspired.
There were other ancient books preserved that were not considered sacred scripture by the Old Testament saints, but they have survived until this day. One volume is called the Apographa. Written 200BC – 100AD. Some are historical: First Ezras, First Maccabees. Some are prophetic – 2nd Ezras.
Second group was called the pseudopitrapha: 18 books, legends. Jude 9 quotes a book called the assumption of Moses. Book of Enoch quoted in Jude 14. Some are poetry or history.

Why are the apocrapha and the pseudopigrapha not in the Bible?

1. Sanhedrin met together after the conquering of the Romans in 90AD talked about the books that were of God and should be preserved. The Pseudopigrapha was banned and some books were considered heretical.
2. Not one of the apocryphal books is written in the Hebrew language, which was alone used by the inspired historians and poets of the Old Testament. All Apocryphal books are in Greek, except one which is extant only in Latin.
3. None of the apocryphal writers laid claim to inspiration.
4. The apocryphal books were never acknowledged as sacred scriptures by the Jews, custodians of the Hebrew scriptures (the apocrypha was written prior to the New Testament). In fact, the Jewish people rejected and destroyed the apocrypha after the overthow of Jerusalem in 70 A.D.
5. The apocryphal books were not permitted among the sacred books during the first four centuries of the real Christian church (I’m certainly not talking about the Catholic religion which is not Christian).
6. The Apocrypha contains fabulous statements which not only contradict the “canonical” scriptures but themselves. For example, in the two Books of Maccabees, Antiochus Epiphanes is made to die three different deaths in three different places.
7. It teaches immoral practices, such as lying, suicide, assasination and magical incantation.
8. No apocryphal book is referred to in the New Testament whereas the Old Testament is referred to hundreds of times.
9. Because of these and other reasons, the apocryphal books are only valuable as ancient documents illustrative of the manners, language, opinions and history of the East.
10. The Apocrypha includes doctrines in variance with the Bible, such as prayers for the dead and sinless perfection.
Ecclesiasticus 3:30, Water will quench a flaming fire, and alms maketh atonement for sin.
Tobit 12:8-9, 17, It is better to give alms than to lay up gold; for alms doth deliver from death, and shall purge away all sin.

The Witness of the Old Testament:
The writers of the Old Testament books that we have in our Bibles, did not believe that they were writing their own impressions or opinions, but that they were in fact writing or speaking the very words of God. They took this responsibility with great fear and trembling: Habakkuk 3:16a When I heard, my belly trembled; my lips quivered at the voice: rottenness entered into my bones, and I trembled in myself…

In fact, if anyone was to speak on their own in the name of the Lord, there was a curse put upon them. Such was the case in Jeremiah 29:23 Because they have committed villany in Israel, and have committed adultery with their neighbours’ wives, and have spoken lying words in my name, which I have not commanded them.

The most self evident claim of the Old Testament’s self attestation is the phrase: “Thus saith the Lord”. Out of 20 Old Testament books there are 413 of these phrases. The fact that they are there demand that we acknowledge what the Lord has spoken unless in fact, the Lord has not spoken and in those cases, the Lord tells us what the false prophets have said: Ezekiel 22:28 And her prophets have daubed them with untempered morter, seeing vanity, and divining lies unto them, saying, Thus saith the Lord GOD, when the LORD hath not spoken. The Bible even faithfully records false statements by unbelievers and devils as actual statements although they are false.

The historical books are not merely secular history, but vitally important as the Word of God. 2 Kings 9:36 Wherefore they came again, and told him. And he said, This is the word of the LORD, which he spake by his servant Elijah the Tishbite, saying, In the portion of Jezreel shall dogs eat the flesh of Jezebel.

The authors of scripture believed that what they were writing were the actual words of God and the people they were writing to, believed they were the words of God as well: Exodus 24:3 And Moses came and told the people all the words of the LORD, and all the judgments: and all the people answered with one voice, and said, All the words which the LORD hath said will we do.

Previous Old Testament books are quoted by future prophets in the Old Testament as authoritative and binding. During the Babylonian captivity, Daniel recognized that the people had sinned by not obeying the Torah: Daniel 9:11 Yea, all Israel have transgressed thy law, even by departing, that they might not obey thy voice; therefore the curse is poured upon us, and the oath that is written in the law of Moses the servant of God, because we have sinned against him.

After the captivity, Nehemiah records how they found the Torah in the rubble and when they learned that they were supposed to keep the feasts, they immediately acted upon it as the authoritative Word of God: Nehemiah 8:18 Also day by day, from the first day unto the last day, he read in the book of the law of God. And they kept the feast seven days; and on the eighth day was a solemn assembly, according unto the manner.

In the historical Chronicles there are references to other prophets namely in 2 Chronicles 36:21 To fulfil the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed her sabbaths: for as long as she lay desolate she kept sabbath, to fulfil threescore and ten years.

This is a clear reference to Jeremiah’s words being God’s words by another Old Testament writer. Also, the Chronicles are self attesting because of their prophetic nature. This reference speaks of the Babylonian captivity for 70 years which could ultimately come to fruition. Jeremiah 15:4 And I will cause them to be removed into all kingdoms of the earth, because of Manasseh the son of Hezekiah king of Judah, for that which he did in Jerusalem. This is another prophetic announcement that came true in another historical book recording the incident: 2 Kings 25:3,7 And on the ninth day of the fourth month the famine prevailed in the city, and there was no bread for the people of the land… 7 And they slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and put out the eyes of Zedekiah, and bound him with fetters of brass, and carried him to Babylon.

The account of the siege of Jerusalem by King Nebuchadnezzar was spelled out in much detail centuries earlier in Deuteronomy chapter 28. This also attests to the Old Testament being the Word of God because of its accuracy in prophecy within its own dispensation.

Why do we have the 39 books of the OT in our Bible?
1. Because they claim to be God’s Words. 3000 statements that say “Word of the Lord”.
2. They are the books that the Jews considered divinely inspired , even though the books actually condemn them and their unbelief.
3. The prophecies that were fulfilled.
4. The Lord and the Apostles accepted these books.
There are almost 350 OT references in the NT from the OT
The apocrapha is not mentioned one time. The only books not mentioned are Song of Solomon, Ezra, Ruth, Ecclesiastes

B. The New Testament
Luke 1:1-2 Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a declaration of those things which are most surely believed among us, 2 Even as they delivered them unto us, which from the beginning were eyewitnesses, and ministers of the word;
John 21:25 And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen.

Which books were supposed to belong in the New Testament? One man named Marcion thought he would make that decision himself. Marcion was the son of a church leader. He was a ship builder who became wealthy; he went to Rome and gave a great sum of money to the church of Rome. He was found as a heretic because he rejected the OT. The church gave him his money back and he started his own church and comprised a canon that omitted many books including the gospels, and several epistles.

Destroyed Books – Diocletian the Emperor issued edict that every Christian must either sacrifice to the gods or it was death. They had to burn the books and the early church had to consider which books were really inspired because they would die for them.

Disputed Books – 21 were of no dispute, but seven were spoken against: Hebrews, James, 2 Peter (style is different from 1 Peter), 2-3 John because author calls himself “the Elder”, Jude (quotes from psudopygrapha), Revelation (1000 year millennium teaching). Everyone of those books was sited by early Christian writers were referred to as Scripture. They were accepted on these bases:
Apostolic Writers
Universality of Acceptance by the Church
Spirituality of Contents (2Tim 3:16)
Inspiration – John 7:17. Christian people who were known as Godly Christians were saying that these books were self authenticating.

These bases are not really why we accept the New Testament. Start with the dating of the books – It can be demonstrated that every one of those books was authored within the lifetime of most of the apostles. 20 of those books were authored within 25 year period. Earliest book is James – 40’s AD. Book of Hebrews AD 70. The most important thing is the role of the Apostles. The keys were entrusted to Peter, so their roles were what made their writings decisively Scriptural:

John 14:26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
John 16:13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.
John wrote these things 60+ years later. The Holy Spirit gave him rememberance.

The Holy Spirit had a role in their lives that was unique to them. They laid the foundation of the church and learned things to come as prophets.
Ephesians 2:20 And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;

Acts 2:42 And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.
Hebrews 2:3-4 How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him; 4 God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will?
God witnessed to their authenticity by giving them signs of apostles.
Galatians 1:1-2 Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead;) 2 And all the brethren which are with me, unto the churches of Galatia:
They wanted their writings dispersed widely to the other churches.
He threatened with damnation any different teaching than his: Galatians 1:8 But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.
Colossians 4:16 And when this epistle is read among you, cause that it be read also in the church of the Laodiceans; and that ye likewise read the epistle from Laodicea.

He wanted this taught in other churches also.
2 Peter 1:15-16 Moreover I will endeavour that ye may be able after my decease to have these things always in remembrance. 16 For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty.
Peter wanted these things in their memory after his death by the written record.

They corrected false reports:
John 21:23 Then went this saying abroad among the brethren, that that disciple should not die: yet Jesus said not unto him, He shall not die; but, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee?
2 Thessalonians 2:2-3 That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. 3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;

Peter refers to Paul’s writings:
2 Peter 3:15-16 And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you; 16 As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.

Jude Refers to the Apostle’s writings
Jude 1:17 But, beloved, remember ye the words which were spoken before of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ;

The Holy Spirit gave the Scripture of New Testament and it was not decided by the 4th century church counsel. It was finally at the counsel of Carthage where Augustine was present, that the church formally recognized these books as the official canon. They only affirmed what all the other churches already believed to be true.

The writers saw themselves as authors of inspired Scripture and that their writings were just as inspired and authoritative as the Old Testament Scriptures:

Peter who affirmed the veracity of the Old Testament gives the writings of the Apostle Paul the same testimony and confirmation: 2 Peter 3:15-16 And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you; 16 As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.

Some people, such as the rebellious believers in the church of Corinth tried to wiggle out from underneath the authority of the Apostle Paul because he was not one of the original twelve (1 Corinthians 9:1-17). However, Peter being the chief of the twelve, recognizes the Apostleship of Paul and therefore, all his writings are authoritative as Scripture.

Paul thanked the Thessalonian Christians for not receiving his words as merely men’s words but as the Word of God: 1 Thessalonians 2:13 For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.

The proof that his words were the Word of God was in that they effectually worked in the believers as words that are living, active and powerful (Heb. 4:12).
The New Testament writers are so sure about their writings being authoritative as God’s Word that there are curses promised for those who would tamper with their teachings by adding or subtracting from them: Revelation 22:18 For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:

John was the writer of Revelation and he also attests to his gospel as nothing less than the truth: John 19:35 And he that saw it bare record, and his record is true: and he knoweth that he saith true, that ye might believe. And John 21:24 This is the disciple which testifieth of these things, and wrote these things: and we know that his testimony is true.
These disciples were eyewitnesses of Christ’s ministry and their writings would naturally be authoritative even without the inspiration of the Holy Spirit: 1 John 1:1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life;

The reason that John could be so dogmatic about the truth of his writings is because Jesus assured the eleven that they would be reminded by the Holy Spirit on what they should write when He would come to them: John 14:26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

Luke 1:2 Even as they delivered them unto us, which from the beginning were eyewitnesses, and ministers of the word.

 Since the Holy Spirit would remind them of the things they saw and heard first hand, this makes their testimony all the more authoritative. The Apostles were chosen by and disciple by Christ. They were instructed to bear witness of what they had seen and heard as Peter said in Acts 4:20 For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard. We can expect therefore, that they would continue the work of Scripture from the Old Testament with the help of the Holy Spirit who would guide them into all truth.
Paul also wrote and repeated the curse of damnation upon anyone who would preach a message contrary to the one that the Apostles had preached to the Galatians and by extension, the whole church: Galatians 1:8 But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed!

Conclusion: Since the times of the early church through the reformation until today, the canon has been considered closed. There have been some who are trying to revive a neo-gnosticism and are challenging the previous decisions of excluding Gnostic gospels. But John made it pretty clear at the end of Revelation, that there was nothing to be added to Scripture. Revelation was the last book and it marked the end of God’s revealing His Word until the end of the age.

The Bible’s Testimony of Its Own Preservation

Introduction: In my last post, we looked at what the Bible had to say about itself about its own inspiration. So by way of review, it’s vital that we start with the right foundation of doctrine on this point, because it will make a world of difference upon the next point that I will speak about tonight. We saw first that God gave His Word to men by breathing it out through the original writers as the Holy Ghost carried them along so that what came out on paper, was perfect inerrant autographs. (2 Pet. 1:21; 2 Timothy 3:16) We saw that there were two senses in which the Scriptures were and are inspired – in the original sense, there was a supernatural leading of the Spirit in the word choices and in the thoughts of the writers so that what they spoke and wrote were exactly the very words of God. This sense of inspiration, we saw is restricted strictly to the original autographs because Scripture itself testifies to this in 2 Peter 1:21. This moving of the Holy Spirit is not mentioned to occur or to ever occur again in the copies and translations. So, the work of translation and copying is  not supernatural. However, what we will see in this post, is that copying and translating will be overseen by God’s providence, not inspiration or supernatural guidance. The second sense in which the scriptures are inspired refer not only to the originals, but all the “graphe” or extant writings of scripture which Paul, Peter, Jesus, Timothy and everyone else in the New Testament would have been using. The sense in which these are inspired is that they have their original source in the mind of God and not of man and that they contain power (dunimus) to make you wise to salvation (2 Tim. 3:15) and that they are profitable for reproof, correction and instruction in righteousness. The copies and translations that the “graphe” would have been referring to in verse 15 would have been specifically referring to the LXX which Timothy would have grown up reading. So, even in the imperfect copies and translations of scripture over the years that would have been passed down, the words on those scriptures still communicated the truths that were powerful and profitable. Inspiration automatically assumes preservation. Why would God inspire scripture and then leave it to be destroyed so that it can’t help bring people to salvation and profit them for reproof, correction and instruction? It is obvious enough that God intends for these Scriptures to have this effect for all people, not just those who received the originals. So, let’s move on and look at what the Bible says about it’s own preservation and after affirming what it does say, let’s be careful to understand what it doesn’t say.

God’s Promises of Preservation:

A. The Old Testament: Isaiah 40:7-8 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of the LORD bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass. 8 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.

It is always vital that we understand the surrounding context before we ever use a verse as a prooftext for anything. This chapter is a famous Messianic prophecy that promises the coming of Christ and His forerunner in the beginning of the chapter. These verses we have read are part of what was instructed for the forerunner (John the Baptist) to say. He is to declare the brevity of human life and it’s soon impending death, but then to compare it to the Word of the Lord which stands forever. The primary meaning of this passage is to say that God’s decrees, His promises, his declarations will stand forever and will not be subverted by anyone. Men are like grass, they could do nothing against the Word of the Lord. So, the primary interpretation is not talking about manuscripts, it’s talking about God’s decrees. Those decrees are in the mind of God. Now, where are God’s decrees, promises, and declarations contained for us to see them and know them? Scripture. So, this verse can be applied to written scripture, even though it primarily is speaking about the decrees of God. Even if all the copies of scripture could theoretically be burned up and disappear, the decrees of God would still stand and be accomplished.

Isaiah 30:7-9 For the Egyptians shall help in vain, and to no purpose: therefore have I cried concerning this, Their strength is to sit still. 8 Now go, write it before them in a table, and note it in a book, that it may be for the time to come for ever and ever: 9 That this is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of the LORD.

Again, this is another writing that primarily is talking about what God is going to say to the people of Israel for having trusted in the Egyptians for protection. What God is telling Isaiah to write in a book is a testimony against Israel that will witness against them forever. This verse is not primarily dealing with the subject of Bible preservation, but it is most certainly guaranteeing us that what is about to be written will not only be for the time of the writing, but forever. The perpetuity of the written Word is assumed as certain.

Psalm 119:111 Thy testimonies have I taken as an heritage for ever: for they are the rejoicing of my heart. The entire chapter 119 speaks about the Word of God in so many aspects. This verse clearly teaches us that the testimonies of the Lord are a passed down possession or an heirloom for God’s people forever!

Psalm 119:160 Thy word is true from the beginning: and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth for ever.

Here we have inspiration and preservation together in one verse. From the beginning the Word of God is true and that word will endure forever.

This is one of the clearest and most simply stated promises about God’s divine protection of His Word.

B. The New Testament: 1 Peter 1:23-25 Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever. 24 For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: 25 But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.

This passage is a direct quote from Isaiah 40. Peter tells us that we are born again by incorruptible seed. Let’s stop right there for a second. Some in recent years have said that the incorruptible seed that is being spoken of here is the Bible and it is the Bible that causes our regeneration. Some have said even further that because they believe that the KJV is the only incorruptible Bible, if you were led to Christ with another version of the Bible, you are not really saved. This is heresy because it perverts the gospel of Christ. The incorruptible seed is Christ. John 1 says that we are not born of corruptible things such as the will of man or the will of the flesh, but that we are born of God. Paul makes it clear for us who the seed is in: Galatians 3:16 NKJV 16 Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, “And to seeds,” as of many, but as of one, “And to your Seed,” who is Christ.

Now, the Word of God has a function in our new birth, but it is not the seed. The seed is implanted and gives us life by the Word of God. This is accounted for in Romans 10:17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Then in verse 25, Peter continues to quote Isaiah 40 and applies this verse to them by saying that it is through this same Word of God is what is used to preach the gospel to them. It endured from Isaiah’s time to Peter’s time and was still profitable and powerful to bring people to the knowledge of salvation just like 2 Timothy 3:15 said!

Matthew 5:17-18 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. 18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.

This is one of my favorite verses that promises God’s preservation not only on the whole Bible or it’s thoughts and doctrines, but on its very words and pen strokes. In this passage, Jesus is preaching the Sermon on the Mount, and after giving the Beatitudes; He knew that He was leaving the impression on people that He was doing away with the strictness of the law, so He clarifies to them that He is not replacing the law with new teaching, but rather He had come to fulfill it and the primary interpretation of this passage is to promise that every pen stroke of the law down to the jots and tittles would be fulfilled before heaven and earth pass away. Every prophecy and promise would be fulfilled because God is faithful. What the passage is not saying in its primary interpretation is that God will preserve a perfect line of manuscript copies or preserve all His words perfectly in any particular translation. One of the problems with the KJVO advocates when they approach these scriptures is to make giant logical leaps to conclusions that the text is in no way implying or teaching. In the case of this verse, I personally believe that every jot and tittle is preserved and will not be lost to history or time. How would we know when those jots and tittles are fulfilled if we can’t read them when they are fulfilled? Heaven and earth cannot pass away until God has consummated His eternal plans that He has prophesied through the Word of God. So, by application, not primary interpretation, I believe this verse can be used to teach the preservation of every one of God’s Words.

Verses used out of context for preservation

Now at the same time that we have plenty of promises that affirm God’s preservation, some folks overstate their case by misinterpreting other scriptures in order to make their case stronger. In doing this, they actually weaken their own credibility. We must be faithful to what the Words says, where it says it accurately.

Here is one: Psalm 105:8-10 He hath remembered his covenant for ever, the word which he commanded to a thousand generations. 9 Which covenant he made with Abraham, and his oath unto Isaac; 10 And confirmed the same unto Jacob for a law, and to Israel for an everlasting covenant:

This verse is not speaking about the written Word of God at all. It is speaking about the covenant that was made with Abraham. That covenant was made long before it was ever recorded in Scripture. Before scripture existed, the covenant was made. Remember, Moses wrote the Genesis account of the Abrahamic covenant 500+ years after God had spoken it.

Then probably the most grossly misinterpreted passage that is usually the first runner up for proving the preservation of Scripture is Psalm 12:6-7. Some really nasty things are said about other translations that translate verse 7 differently than the KJV, even though the meaning is exactly the same. The problem isn’t the translation, it’s the interpretation that accuses the translation of being in error or perversion.

Let’s look at a couple of translations: Psalm 12:6-7 KJV The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. 7 Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever.

NIV And the words of the LORD are flawless, like silver refined in a furnace of clay, purified seven times. 7 O LORD, you will keep us safe and protect us from such people forever.

ASV Jehovah will preserve him, and keep him alive, And he shall be blessed upon the earth; And deliver not thou him unto the will of his enemies.

NJB 6 Yahweh’s promises are promises unalloyed, natural silver which comes from the earth seven times refined. 7 You, Yahweh, will watch over them, you will protect them from that brood for ever.

ESV You, O LORD, will keep them; you will guard us from this generation forever.

Some of these versions say that God’s protection is over “us” or “him” or “them” As you can see, some of these versions say that God will keep “them, him or us”. In either case, it doesn’t matter which pronoun is used, the meaning is not changed. In the manuscripts, there is a textual variant where the manuscripts disagree with the pronoun, but in either case, the meaning is not lost when interpreted correctly. “Them” is not referring to the Words of God in this verse when the entire context is taken into account. The Hebrew Chiasmic structure of the chapter will make this clear.

Psalm 12:1-8

a. Opening lament Help, LORD; for the godly man ceaseth; for the faithful fail from among the children of men. 2 They speak vanity every one with his neighbour: with flattering lips and with a double heart do they speak.

b. God’s Promise Against the Evil 3 The LORD shall cut off all flattering lips, and the tongue that speaketh proud things:

c. The Words of the Wicked 4 Who have said, With our tongue will we prevail; our lips are our own: who is lord over us?

d. God Speaks of Salvation (Climax) 5 For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, now will I arise, saith the LORD; I will set him in safety from him that puffeth at him.

c’. The Words of God 6 The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.

b’. God’s Promise for the Good People Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever.

a’. Final Lament 8 The wicked walk on every side, when the vilest men are exalted.

If you’re not convinced, then let me give you the witness of interpretation by better scholars than all of us who all historically interpreted “them” to be the people of God. By the way, these people believed this before there was a KJV in Calvin’s case, and before there was a KJVO controversy in the case of Spurgeon, Gill and Henry:

“David, deploring the wretched and forlorn condition of his people, and the utter overthrow of good order, beseeches God to afford them speedy relief. Then, in order to comfort both himself and all the godly, after having mentioned God’s promise of assisting his people, he magnifies his faithfulness and constancy in performing his promises. From this he concludes, that at length God will deliver the godly, even when the world may be in a state of the greatest corruption.” – John Calvin “

“In life many a saint has lived a hundred years before his age, as though he had darted his soul into the brighter future, and escaped the mists of the beclouded present: he has gone to his grave unreverenced and misunderstood, and lo! as generations come and go, upon a sudden the hero is unearthed, and lives in the admiration and love of the excellent of the earth; preserved for ever from the generation which stigmatised him as a sower of sedition, or burned him as a heretic. It should be our daily prayer that we may rise above our age as the mountain tops above the clouds, and may stand out as heaven pointing pinnacle high above the mists of ignorance and sin which roll around us. O Eternal Spirit, fulfil in us the faithful saying of this verse! Our faith believes those two assuring words, and cries, Thou shalt, thou shalt.” – Charles Spurgeon

“That God will secure his chosen remnant to himself, how bad soever the times are (v. 7): Thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever. This intimates that, as long as the world stands, there will be a generation of proud and wicked men in it, more or less, who will threaten by their wretched arts to ruin religion, by wearing out the saints of the Most High, Dan. 7:25. But let God alone to maintain his own interest and to preserve his own people. He will keep them from this generation, (1.) From being debauched by them and drawn away from God, from mingling with them and learning their works. In times of general apostasy the Lord knows those that are his, and they shall be enabled to keep their integrity. (2.) From being destroyed and rooted out by them.” – Matthew Henry

“Not the words before mentioned, as Aben Ezra explains it, for the affix is masculine and not feminine; not but God has wonderfully kept and preserved the sacred writings; and he keeps every word of promise which he has made; and the doctrines of the Gospel will always continue from one generation to another; but the sense is, that God will keep the poor and needy, and such as he sets in safety, as Kimchi rightly observes: they are not their own keepers, but God is the keeper of them.” -John Gill

New ‘Mis’ interpretation: “The word ‘them’ in verse 7 refers back to ‘the words of the Lord’. That is a Bible promise of Bible preservation. This promise extends from this generation for ever.” – D. A. Waite

This interpretation by DA Waite and other zealous KJVO advocates is a new interpretation that is wrong. People like him and Kent Brandenburg who also wrote a book with the title “Thou Shalt Keep Them” use this verse as a proof text to back up their theory of an inerrant stream of manuscripts that were handed down from the originals all the way to the KJV translators desks in 1611.

(disclaimer: I have not yet read Brandenburg’s book, so I can’t comment on what he’s trying to teach in that book. I’m sure he’s going to read this and  be all too ready to defend himself. I use his book title as an example of this understanding of Psalm 12 and nothing more)

Psalm 119:89 For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven. This verse is usually used as a proof text for perfect preservation, but it’s easy to see where the Word of God is settled – heaven. Why? That’s God’s throne. Now, the doctrine of preservation is the real battleground when it comes to the King James Only Controversy. This is where we need to pay attention to scripture and be careful that we’re only saying what Scripture says.

So far, let’s review what the Bible has explicitly said about preservation:

A. The word of our God shall stand for ever.

B. That it may be for the time to come for ever and ever.

C. Every one of thy righteous judgments endureth for ever.

D. My words shall not pass away

E. One jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.

Basically, it’s saying the same thing over and over. The Word in general will stand forever all the way down to the individual words and down to the jots and tittles of the letters will not pass away. We are being taught that every one of God’s words will endure forever and that’s all it says. It says nothing about how God will do this. It says nothing about where God will do this. It says nothing about whom God will use to do this. It says nothing about what kind of manuscripts he will use to do this. It says nothing about what manuscript family he will use to do this. It says nothing about which translation will do this. It doesn’t even say if all of the words will be perfectly preserved nice and neatly in one perfect manuscript or one translation in any given language! However, there is a whole movement today that claims that God preserved His Word in a way that God did not tell us he would do it. Let me give you some examples: In the newest book on this subject called “A More Sure Word”, Dr. R.B. Ouellette says:

“ Some would view the translation process as purely an act of man. In some cases this is true. But if you believe God preserves His Word, then you cannot separate Him completely from the rendering of His Word into other languages around the world. The promise of preservation requires that God use man to render accurate translations in other languages. This is often a strong dividing line among those with differing positions on this issue – did God preserve only the original languages and then leave His Word in the hands of men to render into languages, or has His supernatural hand been involved in the preservation work throughout the translation process? ” – RB Ouellette

He is suggesting the 2 Peter 1:21-22 “moving of the Holy Spirit” in the translation process in regards to the KJV. He is actually subtlely suggesting double inspiration by raising that question without answering it in the negative.

“What is corrupting the Word of God? Adding to and taking away from God’s Words! As we begin comparing verses from the different versions remember this: there are no errors in the 1611 Authorized King James Version. It is God’s perfectly preserved words and you can trust it completely. ” – Gary Miller

After having given almost the exact same promises of preservation in his booklet, Gary Miller makes a quantum leap of logic with this phrase. This is a totally unfounded assertion, it is an unproven premise that makes the KJV the standard without any evidence.

“I believe that God has carried forward Bible preservation in our English language through our King James Bible. This is not to refer Bible preservation to the English translation in the absolute sense, but only in the sense that our KJB accurately preserves the proper Hebrew and Greek Words in the English language and accurately translates those divinely preserved Words….There are four reasons I believe this: A. Superiority of the Original Language Texts B. Superiority of the Translators of the KJV C. Superiority of the Technique of translating the KJV D. Superiority of the Theology of the KJV.” – D. A. Waite

I would agree that the KJV accurately translates God’s Words although I don’t know what he means by “divinely preserved”. I would say “providentially preserved” since we have no Biblical evidence of the supernatural occurring in the process. The first statement is his opinion and is another unfounded assertion. God did not tell us that he would preserve His word in one exclusive English translation, no matter how good it may be.

“We believe the Bible to be the revealed Word of God, fully and verbally inspired of God. We believe the Scriptures to be the inerrant, infallible Word of God, as found within the 66 books from Genesis to Revelation. We believe God not only inspired every word, but has preserved them through the ages. We believe the King James Version is the preserved Word of God for the English-speaking people” – Lancaster Baptist Church Doctrinal Statement

I agree with everything this says until you get to the last sentence. That cannot be substantiated with Scripture. Where does the Bible say that only one translation is allowed per language? Who makes that choice? How are we supposed to know that choice is God’s choice? Why must there be a totally inerrant and perfect manuscript of the whole scriptures intact in one volume? Has anyone in antiquity ever had that? They all had copies with variations of word differences, but who can say through history that they have had one pure stream (in the technical sense) of completely perfect, inerrant copies from one generation to another? Did God say he would deliver his Words through preservation in that manner? No He didn’t, so why is this being asserted and people’s consciences being forced to accept this? This kind of language in doctrinal statements or in books is a clear indication of the underlying false premise: the written Word has to be “intact” (entire, exact) in order to be God’s Word. Anything that amounts to anything less than a 100% equivalent of the elusive original is considered counterfeit.

“One may speculate about how the Biblical text could or should have been preserved, but a better approach is to examine what has actually been preserved—the surviving Bibles of antiquity. Unless one favors selective providence, every ancient Hebrew Old Testament and Greek New Testament that has survived has done so because of providence. Every ancient Bible was the property of some church or private individual. Each Bible was regarded as the divinely inspired word of God by its owner and was used as authority for doctrine and practice.  Apart from a few scholars in antiquity, owners of those ancient Bibles were unaware of the minor variations between their Bible and that of others; just as most modern owners of King James Bibles are unaware of the hundreds of textual differences between the various editions of the KJV. This manner of preservation was true everywhere throughout history. Otherwise one must embrace selective, special providence in order to justify a theory of preservation that says only certain ancient Bibles enjoyed special providential preservation and the others survived under subversive influence outside the purview of providence. But where in God’s universe is providence not operative?” – Dr. James Price

Conclusion: The fact is, we don’t have any other promises from God as to how the Bible will be preserved, we just have the promises that it will be! That should be good enough for all of us and we should not demand that God preserve His word in a way that satisfies our prejudices and biases. Next time, we’ll look at the process of canonization. How do we know that the books that we have are the right books and that other books that were left out were not ones that should have been included? This is an extremely important point about preservation that we need to talk about before we move on to the manuscript evidence that we have to base our modern Bible’s upon.

Understanding Biblical Inspiration

Introduction:  Before really diving into the subject of the Bible’s preservation, we need to do some preliminary study on important Biblical doctrines concerning the Bible itself. The battles raging between the King James Only advocates and those in favor of multiple version and everyone in between would be settled if there were a right understanding of the doctrine of inspiration and preservation. We as Bible believers already affirm that the Bible is the Word of God and that it is inerrant, sufficient, and authoritative for all matters of life and doctrine. I don’t need to go into detail with you about those presuppositions that we already hold to. The disagreements among conservative Christians about Bible translations and how God preserved the Scriptures has caused unnecessary divisions, broken friendships, split churches and slanders against one another. This kind of strife is not the fruit of the Spirit and is not of God when it is occurring between God’s people who all believe the gospel, the Bible and the doctrines of the Bible. For the most part, those on the KJVO side have stirred up no small dissention among the people of God by claiming that every one else’s English Bible translations are corrupt and Satanic. Consequent reactions from those who disagree have not always been helpful when as a response, they claim that the only inspired Bible is the original autographs that the Biblical writers originally wrote and are now lost. A lot of ink has been spilled on this subject and most of it has been reactionary in nature. My goal in teaching this series is not to wave a banner for one side or another, but to establish a Biblical view of inspiration, preservation, and establish a right philosophy of translations. So, here is how we are going to proceed: We will begin with the Bible and understand what it says about itself. We as Bible believers, must get all our doctrine from Scripture itself – even our doctrine of Scripture. The Bible is self-authenticating. It makes claims about itself that it can substantiate on its own merits. We know that the Bible is true because it is true to life experience, it is true to historical record, it is true in its’ prophecies and fulfillments of them. Most of all it’s true because it’s authority is grounded in the nature of God Himself. We all believe this and since we believe it, then we will start with what the Bible says about itself as our foundation.

1. The Method of Inspiration

2 Peter 1:19-21 We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: 20 Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. 21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.

A. The Assurance of Truthfulness

The first question we need to answer, is how did God give us His Word in the very beginning? What method did He use? In this passage, Peter tells us exactly how God transferred His Word to His people. Peter tells us in verse 19 that we have a more sure word of prophecy than the experience that He had on the Mount when Jesus was transfigured before him and heard the voice of God from heaven. First of all, understand that his experience was incredible and if you heard God speak audibly to you and you saw Jesus in unveiled glory; you would be very sure about what you saw and heard! So, what else could possibly be more convincing of what God had said than that? Peter says that the Scriptures are a more sure Word of prophecy. God’s written Word is even more trustworthy than a personal experience of any kind no matter how realistic it would seem. When we experience something, we can interpret it wrong, but when God wrote scripture, His words are not subject to error. We can interpret them wrong also, but the Word of God has its own means of interpretation in itself, and it is totally possible for a believer to understand it and interpret it correctly, thereby understanding the mind of God. On top of that, the Word of God can be copied, distributed and passed down to everybody, but an ecstatic experience cannot be. So, since the Word of God is so reliable, you would do well to obey it, it will shine into your heart so that Christ is formed in you and He, the Daystar will arise in your heart. This is also the power of the Word of God.

B. The Denial of Human Authorship

Verse 21 asserts that the Word of God did not have its origins in man. These are God’s thoughts, not men’s thoughts, exclusively. Let me address the idea of mechanical dictation: Some believe, especially among fundamentalists, that God dictated and man wrote in a mechanical fashion. Or, God like a writer, used a pen (the human author) and wrote His Word. This isn’t exactly the way we should look at it. A pen has no consciousness that it is being used to write something. When God’s men wrote scriptures, they were conscious of what they were doing and the thoughts that they put on paper were their own thoughts. However, the difference between the Apostle Paul’s writings and Confucius’ writings was that Paul’s thoughts were exactly God’s thoughts when he wrote them down. Paul sometimes even wrote this knowing that what he was writing was directly from the Lord: 1 Corinthians 7:10 And unto the married I command, yet not I, but the Lord, Let not the wife depart from her husband: We also see that God spoke through the prophets in: Hebrews 1:1-2 God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, 2 Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, Regardless of the mystery surrounding how God was able to make His wod certain without destroying the freedom and personality of the authors, several things are clear. The human authors of Scripture were not secretaries taking dictation. Their freedom was not suspended or negated, and they were not acting as robots. What they wrote is what they desired to write in the style that they were accustomed to using. God in his providence engaged in a divine concurrence between their words and His so that what they said, He said. Therefore, all of the scripture has its origins in the person and nature of God, therefore we can rightly conclude that they are inerrant, infallible, pure and incorruptible. EG: Numbers 22:35-38 – Numbers 23:3-12

C. The Transmission of the Originals

Finally, we see how God chose to give His words to men. He used holy men of God to speak, and when they were speaking (or writing) they were being moved by the Holy Ghost. In some mysterious way, God the Holy Spirit, was superintending what they were doing perfectly so that what came out of their mouths or on paper was the perfect Words of God. The word “moved” in Greek is “pheromenoi” and it literally means to be carried along like a person on a ship. A person can move around freely on a ship, but whatever he does, he will arrive where the ship takes him. This is how we can understand the inspiration of the original manuscripts written by the men God chose to bear His message. In all of the Bible; this is the only place where we are told about this method of God transferring His words to the writings and words of men. This kind of “carrying along” or being “moved” by the Holy Spirit happened this way with the original manuscripts only. This is the pheromenoi sense of inspiration that we must limit to the original manuscripts alone since this is the only place that the Bible accounts for this moving of God. The original manuscripts are often called the autographa or the original autographs.

2. The Nature of Inspiration

 2 Timothy 3:15-17 And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. 16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.

This verse is usually the one that most people will turn to when the topic of inspiration is brought up. I delayed to bring this verse in to the discussion on purpose until now. This verse does not say anything about the method of inspiration as 2 Peter 1 does, this verse tells us about the nature of inspiration. It’s important that we do not confuse the two, because if we do, we will logically deduce from inspiration what we believe about the doctrine of preservation in error. I will demonstrate two of those errors later. For now, let’s just look at what these verses actually are saying and teaching. Paul is telling Timothy that since he was a child he has known the holy Scriptures. What do you suppose Timothy was reading since he was a child? Acts 16:3 Him would Paul have to go forth with him; and took and circumcised him because of the Jews which were in those quarters: for they knew all that his father was a Greek. Timothy’s mother was a Jewess, but His father was Greek. He probably grew up reading the Greek Septuagint which was a Greek translation of the Old Testament translated in stages between the first and third centuries BC. Could it be that Paul is telling Timothy that he was familiar with the original manuscripts? Of course not, those had been long lost, but over the years, the Jews made copies of the originals, and eventually when Greek became the most common language, they translated it so it could be read in public worship.

A. Verbal and Plenary Inspiration

So, now Paul is going to say something about those scriptures that Timothy grew up reading and learning: All scripture (the totality of the writings) are “given by inspiration of God”. The first thing we need to understand is the “plenary” inspiration of scripture. This means that all of the “gramma” letters of documents of scripture are inspired. There are not parts of it that are men’s opinions and parts that are God’s authority. All of it is God’s authoritative Word because He is the ultimate source of it. Everything that it says about science, history, geography is infallible and inerrant because it is inspired of God down to the very words – and Jesus said even the jots and tittles. This is called verbal inspiration. Then Paul tells Timothy what these scriptures are useful for: which are able to make thee wise unto salvation. The word “able” is dunamena which is a strong action word for power. They have the power to make you wise to salvation. This is the power of God contained in these writings. This reminds us of another passage that affirms this power: Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. The “gramma” that Timothy grew up reading had this powerful effect. Then he changes the word for scripture and uses the word “graphe” in verse 16. This could refer to the whole of the Bible or to the contents that are contained. The five words written in English: “given by inspiration of God” is one Greek word: theopneustos which literally means “God-breathed.Theos is God and the part of the word for breathe comes from the word pneuma which means wind, breath or spirit. The way God carried along the writers was by breathing His Words from Him into the writers, so that what they wrote was exactly, the perfect word of God.

EG: Acts 1:16 Men and brethren, this scripture must needs have been fulfilled, which the Holy Ghost by the mouth of David spake before concerning Judas, which was guide to them that took Jesus.

So when we are talking about the original manuscripts we conclude that they were brought into existence through the instrument of the writer and what they wrote was the very Word of God.

B. Two Senses of Inspiration

“The next question I want to raise is this: can the scriptures that were God-breathed “theopneustos” extend beyond the original autographs and encompass the copies, and translations?

“What then is meant by “graphe”? A survey of Biblical usage will confirm that when it is used in the New Testament, graphe exclusively means “Scripture,” and usually, if not always, it refers to a text that is extant. Furthermore, in this passage, there is nothing lexically or contextually that would lead to the conclusion that Paul used the word to refer to anything other than extant and accessible copies and possibly even translations. Of course this would also demand that graphe is also inclusive of the autographa as well.” – Tom Pryde

I believe so, because the word for scriptures “graphe” is used in other parts of the New Testament to speak of the available scriptures that the Pharisees had, the synagogues used and the ones the early churches had. Consider these verses: John 5:39 Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me. Acts 17:2 And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures, Acts 17:11 These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so. These people didn’t have the original autographs, they had the extant copies and translations of it. What’s also interesting is to note that the verse doesn’t say that all Scripture was God-breathed; it says that it is God breathed in the present tense. In fact, the original language doesn’t have a verb at all. Well, in the present tense at that time and in the present tense today, neither of us had the original autographs of scripture (except for Timothy receiving that letter from Paul). So, it must be referring to all copies and translations also. So, the “graphe” which is considered “God-breathed / theopneustos” refers to more than the originals. The question is why would these copies be considered as inspired as the originals which the prophets and apostles wrote? The “graphe” is modified by the following words in verse 16-17… and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works. These scriptures are profitable for a particular use: reproof – exposing error; correction – teaching what’s right to correct error; and instruction in righteousness – teaching how to do what is right by God. The result will be a man of God who is perfectly mature to do good works for which God had foreordained that he should walk in them. Can these extant copies and translations be considered inspired? Yes, they are God breathed, their origin is in God Himself. Can the copyists and translators be considered “pheromenoi” moved by the Holy Spirit? No, the Bible only refers to the originals being created in this way.

3. Errors Concerning Inspiration

A. Originals Only – Here is an example of a typical evangelical statement on Scripture:

 Inspiration is the work of the Holy Spirit by which, through the instrumentality of the whole personality and literary talents of its human authors, He constitutes the words of the Bible in its entirety as His written word to men, and therefore of divine authority and without error in the original manuscripts.

I would agree with these statement as long as it is not limiting inspiration to the originals only. I Tim 3:16 doesn’t limit inspiration (speaking of God as the source) to only the originals, but 2Peter 1 limits the transmission from the mind of God to the mind of man to the Originals alone.

B. KJV is only inspired – The other error is the idea that only the KJV is inspired. Some like Peter Ruckman, Al Lacy, Bill Grady, Gail Riplinger and others have tried to say that when the King James Translators actually wrote down the text in English, God moved upon them the same way He did the originals so that God has inspired the KJV as more authoritative than the Greek, Hebrew and Aramaic manuscripts. They say you can correct the Greek text with the English. The other idea is that all other versions and manuscripts that do not underline the KVJ are not inspired and are of demonic origin. Before we get into this argument, we’ll have to take a closer look at what the Bible has to say about its own preservation in the next post.

Conclusion: I want you to have confidence that you have the Word of God in your hands and that you only believe what the Bible actually says about itself and not what others say you should believe. What we understand from these passages are as follows:

a. They originated from God

b. Inspiration was verbal – words were inspired, not the writers

c. Inspiration was plenary – all that they say are rooted and grounded in God

d. Inspiration is purposeful – scripture is for the profit of the believer

e. Inspiration extends to the copies and translations insofar as they match the originals.

Most of that won’t be a problem for KJVO advocates until you get to the last phrase of letter “e.” The common question is asked of them:  “If we don’t have the originals, then how are we supposed to know that the copies and translations accurately represent what the originals say?”

 That is a good question and it will be answered as we continue to look at what the Bible says about it’s own preservation and then we’ll look at the manuscript evidence along side what the Bible actually says about preservation. I believe we can know what the originals said based on the extent of the great numbers of manuscripts that are carefully compared with each other so that we find that all of God’s words are there and not one has been lost.

Will’s Story

I’m excited about blogging with Jason about Fundamentalism and hopefully the power of sound words will be able to make a difference. My personal story is a story of God’s grace. I was born and raised at North Valley Baptist Church in Santa Clara, CA and was saved at the age of four after a Wednesday evening service where my long-time pastor, Dr. Jack Trieber preached. I attended Christian school my whole life and as a sophomore in high school, surrendered to preach. After high school, I attended Hyles Anderson College for one year and then finished up at the newly opened Golden State Baptist College.  It was during my college years where I really struggled with my own personal identity, my calling and my sinful heart. Although I finished college, I didn’t do it without having been defeated time and time again by sin.  I couldn’t figure out how to overcome it and so after graduation, I quit any aspirations to go into the ministry.

For several years, I abandoned my calling to preach and pursued money. During that time, God used several different people to expose me to God’s grace and power over sin.  Such people who personally invested in me were Evangelist Dan Garlick, Pastor Rodrigo Guzman, Pastor Luis Montano and  Pastor Tom Pryde. God also greatly used my wife whom I was dating during this time to show me the heart of God.

During that time, I became exposed to expository preaching, the doctrines of Grace (not advocated by most of those men) and my hunger for God’s Word grew again. I ended up forsaking my selfish ambitions and gave what was left of my life to God to use in full time preaching ministry.

For the past two years, I have been pastoring Mission Peak Baptist Church in Fremont, CA.  I still consider myself a fundamentalist, because I believe in fighting for the fundamental doctrines of the faith and believe that true holiness can only come from a renewed vision of God.  So, as a result, it has been my desire to help people who call themselves fundamentalists to think biblically and fearlessly stand up for what’s right and what God says is truly important. Discovering the sovereignty of God and the Lordship of Christ gave me a greater view of God and His glory has changed me and continues to do so.  To God be the Glory, great things He has done!