The Bible is the Word of God in such a way that, when the Bible speaks, God speaks. --B.B. Warfield

MATTHEW

Jesus is the promised Jewish Messiah, King, Lion of Judah

MARK

Jesus, the Suffering Servant of Isaiah 53, Bearer of sin.

LUKE

Jesus, the Son of Man of Daniel 7, the Davidic King.

JOHN

Jesus, the Eternal Word, equal with Father and Spirit.

CONSTRUCTING AN OVERALL INTERPRETATION

of the entirety of Scripture [is] precisely what modern theological liberalism denies is truly possible. If you do not believe that Scripture is, in its basic essence, God speaking [2 Thess. 2:13; 2 Tim. 3:16 ESV] then you will not believe that you can transcend the level of the author and have any true harmony or consistency. ... This is why we begin with the truth of inerrancy ... [The] Bible isn't just another piece of literature: If it is indeed the very words of God, and if ... God has given it to the Church for a specific purpose, then it follows that we do, in fact, have a solid basis upon which to believe we can both handle the text aright--honoring the intentions of the original authors, recognizing their differences in language, background and even emphases--and believe that there is a divine consistency created by the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit, who carried men along as they spoke from God in the production of Scripture [2 Pet. 1:19, 20, 21], upon which the very foundations of the Christian Faith can be safely and immovably based. James White, Scripture Alone, 88-89.

39

OLD TESTAMENT BOOKS

27

NEW TESTAMENT BOOKS

66

CANONICAL BOOKS

VODDIE BAUCHAM


Now you might ask why I would begin by appealing to the Bible. To put it simply: there is no higher authority than the Bible. If I were to appeal to another authority, I would be conceding the fact that there's a higher, more reliable authority than God's Word. However, I'm making the argument that Scripture is the highest authority. Therefore, by definition, I cannot appeal to any other authority. ... But understand that my goal is not to prove the Bible: my goal is to answer the question of why I choose to believe it. ... I choose to believe the Bible because it's a reliable collection of historical documents written by eyewitnesses during the lifetime of other eyewitnesses. They report supernatural events that took place in fulfillment of specific prophecies and claimed that their writings are divine, rather than human, in origin. --V. Baucham, "Why You Can Believe the Bible," in One Foundation: Essays on the Sufficiency of Scripture, 22-23.

VODDIE BAUCHAM

The fulfillment of biblical prophecy on its own won't save--but each one points to the truth about the Savior.

VODDIE BAUCHAM

The Bible speaks with a prophetic specificity [Deut. 18:18, 20] that could only be divinely revealed [2 Tim. 3:14-17].

VODDIE BAUCHAM

There is no other explanation for such details centuries before they would come to pass [2 Pet. 1:16-21].

R.C. SPROUL

Biblical Christianity is not an esoteric religion. Its content is not concealed in vague symbols that require some sort of special "insight" to grasp. There is no special intellectual prowess or spiritual gift that is necessary to understand the basic message of Scripture. You may find that in Eastern religions where insight is limited to some guru who lives in a shanty high in the Himalayas. ... The Bible speaks of God in meaningful patterns of speech. Some of those patterns may be more difficult than others but they are not meant to be nonsense statements that only a guru can fathom. ... Countless times I have heard Christians say, "Why do I need to study doctrine and theology when all I need to know is Jesus?" My immediate reply is, "Who is Jesus?" As soon as we begin to answer this question, we are involved in doctrine and theology. No Christian can avoid theology. Every Christian is a theologian. --Knowing Scripture, 19, 25.

HOW COULD A LOVING GOD . . .

HOW COULD A LOVING GOD . . .

Have you ever heard someone say, "Well, the God I worship" and then they fill in the rest of that statement with some cardinal belief that, if you disagree, demonstrates that you both do not worship the same God. "Well, the God I worship loves all people, and He would not send anyone to Hell for loving who they want to love--or for living in this life how they desire within …

THERE MUST BE DIVISIONS

THERE MUST BE DIVISIONS

While some professing believers are clamoring for unity, we tend to forget that division is also inevitable, for "what partnership is there between righteousness and lawlessness? Or what fellowship does light have with darkness? What agreement does Christ have with Belial [("transliterated from the OT ..., 'worthless, vile, wickedness')--an appellation [title] of Satan wh…

YOU CANNOT MAKE JESUS LORD

YOU CANNOT MAKE JESUS LORD

The old adage of the Lordship Salvation controversy maintained that "if Jesus is not Lord of all your life then He is not Lord at all in your life." This all-or-nothing, black-and-white mentality caused quite the stir among evangelicals of all persuasions, even to this very day. I was raised in this environment. When I heard pastors and preachers and Bible teachers tell me that, i…

WHAT WILL HE SAY ABOUT ME?

WHAT WILL HE SAY ABOUT ME?

This is not an exhaustive but a brief post about standing before a just God and being judged. So much more can be written. There are days, even brief seasons, when I am not on a "spiritual high," but drained, perhaps physically, mentally, and spiritually. Some days, some brief seasons in my life I am quiet, I don't want to hear music or preaching or people talking or the…

'HOMOSEXUALITY IS AN ABOMINATION' IS NOT THE GOSPEL

'HOMOSEXUALITY IS AN ABOMINATION' IS NOT THE GOSPEL

Before you read one word on this topic of Homosexuality and the Gospel you need to know that this hot-button issue is quite personal for me because I am also a same-sex attracted male, albeit single and celibate, and I was born again in May of 1995. I have studied and considered the issue of Homosexuality biblically, historically, and socially--not extensively, not in the best libraries the…

THE ANTINOMIAN FEAR

THE ANTINOMIAN FEAR

Those who fear that "too much preaching on grace" will result in Antinomianism--the view that "Christians are released by grace from the obligation of observing the moral law" (Oxford Languages)--is an unwarranted fear (and this should be inherently true for any individual regenerated by the grace of God and indwelt by the Holy Spirit), for, as Paul himself confesses, &q…

KEITH A. MATHISON

Of significant importance to the doctrine of sola scriptura is the insistence that Scripture is the one final and authoritative norm of doctrine and practice. It is important to notice that sola scriptura, properly understood, is not a claim that Scripture is the only authority altogether [as is claimed by some overly-zealous non-creedal evangelicals]. ... There are other real authorities which are subordinate and derivative in nature. Scripture, however, is the only inspired and inherently infallible norm and, therefore, Scripture is the only final authoritative norm. ...

Scripture occupies an absolutely unique place and role. It alone is verbally and completely inspired by God [John 10:35; 17:17; 2 Tim. 3:16 ESV] from its first word to its last [in the Protestant Canon consisting of 39 Books of the Old Testament, 27 Books of the New Testament, these 66 Books and only these]. It alone is always and everywhere the very Word of the living God. Scripture alone, therefore, can function as the "canon," the rule [for faith and practice], the final authoritative standard of truth against which all else is measured. Yes, it is the Church which does the measuring, and yes the rule of faith provides basic parameters of measurement, but it is Scripture and Scripture alone that is that standard norm. --The Shape of Sola Scriptura, 260, 262.





GOD THE FATHER

GOD THE FATHER

sends His Son to be the Savior of sinners
GOD THE SON

GOD THE SON

provides Himself as atonement for sinners
GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT

GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT

applies that atonement to sinners