WHY would you study the HOLY BIBLE?
For inerrant truth!
Do we believe by faith? YES, but not a fantastical faith or unrealistic religious calling to that which cannot be known.
In most circumstances and communications, truth matters to me and also to you. Certainly God speaks only truth and the Bible is where ‘it is written’ by God, through men and confirmed by the Holy Spirit of God.
Truth matters to God as it ought to mankind of His creation.
A Perfect Lord God does not make mistakes, nor does He lie to a man (as men frequently deceive one another).
In review:
- GOD IS HOLY and
- THE BIBLE IS HOLY
- ONLY Scripture has God’s authority of Truth.
We have just studied several of His doctrines as students seeking knowlege and truth.
[Oops! I frequently make an error in knowledge. Did YOU catch it?]
Do we also make errors in TRUTH?
THE HOLY BIBLE SPEAKS
Why would you study the BIBLE?
GOD speaks to man through the HOLY Spirit in what is written in Holy Scripture. Since man now seeks knowledge of good and evil, our first question of reasoned faith becomes where to look. Our logical pursuit of good also leads man to weigh God-given and God-evident truth.
Besides our own observations of evidence and fact, where will one learn truth without error?
Where do we find this unshakable faith in what GOD has said?
In the Holy Bible, which contains Inerrant truth of what God has said.
Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.
John 17:17 KJV – prayer of Christ Jesus
The Highest Authority of the Lord God will confirm unequivocal inerrant truth ONLY in the HOLY BIBLE, if we will READ and Study the very Word of God.
KNOWING GOD
In his book, ‘Knowing God,’ J.I. Packer, after beginning, “..the Bible is his word,” in five theological points writes”
Godliness means responding to God’s revelation in trust and obedience, faith and worship, prayer and praise, submission and service. Life must be seen and lived in the light of God’s word. This, and nothing else, is true religion.
Knowing God p.20 – five basic truths #5
What is truth?
Most Christians will recognize the question of Pontius Pilate to Christ Jesus to which the Prefect of Judea from Rome expected no answer.
Like Pilate, we sometimes ask about truth rhetorically, expecting no answer or having no measure of relative truth.
Where can we find reliable Truth (with a capital ‘T’)?
The BIBLE is your source.
And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us; and we saw His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Gospel of John 1:14 NASB20 – Do you seek the Truth in the flesh?
Objective, Subjective & relative truth
Packer makes the important point that God’s truth does not change. [p.78]
Again, quoting Packer in KNOWING GOD:
Truth in the Bible is a quality of persons primarily, of propositions only secondarily. It means stability, reliability, firmness, trustworthiness, the quality of a person who is entirely self-consistent, sincere, realistic, undeceived.
KNOWING GOD, p.113
I like this definition of Truth. Don’t you?
Look back that this list of qualities of such a person. Then note what Packer says next:
God is such a person: truth, in this sense, is his nature, and he has not got it in him to be anything else.
J. I. Packer
To fully understand objective Truth (with a capital ‘T’) you must meet the Person of a personal God.
When God tells Moses to tell the people his Name, “I AM that I AM,” the LORD states objective truth.
Subjective truth on the other hand depends on the separate minds of mankind.
Therefore philosophers (theists and atheists alike) refer to subjective truth as the nature of a thing, essential attributes that which makes it what it is, or its inherent essential qualities.
All that to say, I think, therefore I am this or I am that. And that makes me what I am.
Perhaps God is required (the conclusion of theists) or perhaps not (even definitely not, say the atheists who deny the evidence, lack faith and cannot prove either theory).
In any case, the case of philosophers is subjective truth, conjecture, as it were.
Theories of Relativity
But it gets worse. From the varying opinions of men and acceptance of all possibilities (whether possible or not, whether true or not), we get:
Relative truth (Capital ‘R’ + very small ‘t’).
a parable of the madman who is searching for God
— Of course you think ‘God is dead,’ because you buried your BIBLE.
- The theory.. truth.. morality, have no universal validity – source
- philosophical doctrine (teaching) of the relativity of knowledge
- theory, especially in ethics.. conceptions of truth and moral values are not absolute..
That is to say, the theory of relativism, by accepting ALL truths (small ‘t’), teaches a philosophy of tolerance, void of moral values and insistent that only their truth is absolute.
All gods and all religions are valid except any which proclaim absolute Truth {capital ‘T’) and One God with true authority of man. Relativists, as universalists, do NOT believe in the One True God of the Bible. In practice, though some may claim ‘god,’ their worship (if any) is idolatry. These false philosophers and teachers are, in fact, atheists.
God is NOT dead; only Truth, murdered by atheists.
Truth (capital ‘T’) may not exist
(they claim).
- Refuting the absolute Truth of God denies facts in evidence.
- Truth (capital ‘T’ absolute truth) is unprovable in the separate and sinfully separated minds of mankind.
- (although relativists deny sin, morality & truth –
- {see their denial by definition above})
- (although relativists deny sin, morality & truth –
What do you believe about Biblical Truth?
God has looked down from heaven upon the sons of mankind
To see if there is anyone who understands,
Who seeks after God.
Psalm 53:2 [Foolishness and Wickedness of People.
(also Psalm 14:1–7 )] {v.1 is about the fool}
A man (or woman) can understand truth.
And we can understand [שָׂכַל] [to be prudent, be circumspect or wisely understand, prosper] in truth by seeking the Lord God by faith in Holy Scripture.
Once again, Packer, in KNOWING GOD, states:
True Christians are those who acknowledge and live under the word of God.
J.I. Packer in Knowing God, p116
Quoting Daniel, Packer adds: They submit without reserve to the word of God written in “the Book of Truth”..
“However, I will tell you what is recorded in the writing of truth.
Daniel 10:21a NASB20 [additional translations]
IF you seek truth in the Bible, you would do well to seek after God in the Scriptures included in this verse.
- In the Scripture כְּתָב from כָּתַב
- of truth אֱמֶת [firmness, faithfulness, truth] Contracted from אָמַן (H539)
But IF you do NOT seek Biblical Truth or the TRUTH written by God in Scripture, you will need to note the enemy of Truth mentioned in the second part of Daniel’s writing in 10:21b (also linked above).
Christians do believe proven facts; however science frequently claims THEORY as FACT.
Science is NOT the highest authority of Truth. God IS.
Roger@talkofJESUS.com
Therefore we do NOT believe certain THEORIES of scientists and philosophers which claim TRUTH, but are NOT FACT. These include:
First – false ‘facts’ we do NOT believe
- Evolution is theory built on the premise and philosophy that the created is god.
- The Bible refers to such beliefs as idolatry, of which the most prevalent in man is idolatry of self.
- Naturalism is theory, not scientific fact.
- Carbon dating conjectures calendars with complex limited variables, but beta testing of the late 20th century and calibration curves for calendar examples fail to prove origin of most things (let alone the world).
- Environmentalism is a movement and ideology..
- which includes speculative theories of climate change.
- Physical cosmology, by definition is dependent on ‘the scientific theory‘
- (without reference to what happened BEFORE the big bang!
- or reasoning: Who (or what) caused it?)
- This list of FALSE so called ‘facts’ is NOT exhaustive.
Truth is illusive in the unproven theories of science which man mirrors as “fact.”
Roger@talkofJESUS.com
“Woe to him who strives with his Maker! .. Shall the clay say to him who forms it, ‘What are you making?’
Isaiah 45:9a,c NKJV
Seek TRUTH in Scripture
- Start with Scripture studied and taught with precision and clarity
- AND grow in your faith by its inerrant TRUTH.
“If you continue in My word, then you are truly My disciples; and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
Gospel of John 8:31b-32 NASB20 – The words of Jesus to those Jews [who knew scripture well &] who had believed Him
If you continue..
I have shared opposing views of inherent truth today. In fact, IF I have not provoked some reasoned thought about the Truth of the Bible I have missed the mark.
- Do YOU really believe THAT about the Bible?
- Does Scripture convey inerrant truth?
Please COMMENT & SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS.
NEXT: We will ask you some pointed doctrinal questions about the inerrancy of Scripture from a panel of distinguished theologians of the late 20th century. Until then, may the Lord bring the clarity of reasoned faith to your heart as you respond to this Saturday Doctrinal Post on talkofJESUS.COM
To be continued...
