THE SCRIPTURES
"As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God." (Psalm 42:1)
____________________________________________
THE COMPLETED REVELATION OF GOD
Herman Bavinck
From the Dutch Magnalia Dei
The whole revelation of the Old Testament converges upon Christ, not upon a new law, or doctrine, or institution, but upon the person of Christ. A person is the completed revelation of God; the Son of Man is the own and only-begotten Son of God.
____________________________________________
THE PRIMACY OF GOD'S WORD
It is important as the close of the present age draws ever nearer, as the storm clouds gather, as wicked men set themselves with ever more vigour and intensity against Christ Jesus and those who follow Him, that we strive constantly to have a better understanding of Scripture. Especially, when so many who once walked with us have sought to downgrade the position of the precious Word of God. It is only by accepting, believing, and acting upon the clear words of God’s special revelation in the Bible that we can hope to gain an insight into what is going on around us and how to respond. Only here do we find a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our pathway (Psalm 112:105). Only God’s Word reveals to us the direction in which we are heading. The Bible is authoritative on everything of which it speaks and its speaks of everything directly or indirectly. It tells is first of all about Christ and His work, but also of God, who He is and the world He created; of things past, of things present, of things yet to come.
First of all, the Bible is an unchanging, objective Word. Whatever day of the week it is, however we may feel, whether joyful or sad, this Word is always the same and we can depend upon it. Like the Lord who gave it, His Word is the same yesterday, today and forever. It does not say one thing on one day then lead us in a different direction the next. “For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven” (Psalm 119:89). The Bible is not God’s Word only when it speaks to us.
Second, it becomes ours, it becomes subjective, by the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit and as this Word enters our hearts and directs our thoughts. It is from within our hearts that all the issues of life arise and it is here that God’s Word does its work. “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life” (Proverbs 4:23). The heart is the root of our existence from whence arise all our thoughts and feelings that prompt our words and our deeds. As a man “thinketh in his heart, so is he” (Proverbs 23:7), be it good or evil. “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh” (Luke 6:45).
The heart is never neutral. We will either love God in our heart or hate Him. There is no position in between. Our stance towards God will determine how we respond to Scripture and to everything else in life. The heart that rejects God will also reject all that He says. The heart has either been transformed or it will remain apostate. The heart must first be changed in order to receive the truth revealed in Scripture. Otherwise, clever arguments, reasoned pleas will all be of no avail.
Third, the Bible is also clear in its meaning; it is not obscure or hidden. It should be taken as it stands. If there is allegory, this will be obvious; if there are other figures of speech, they will also be plain. We need no obscure hermeneutic, no strange methodology to unlock its meaning.
_____________________________________________
AUTHORIZED OR MODERN BIBLE?
The 1611 Bible was never the 'modern version' of its day. The Authorized Version possesses its own unique English. ...
______________________________________________
THE AUTHORITY OF THE SCRIPTURES
Even as the sovereignty of God encompasses the whole of reality and cannot be limited to those things deemed ‘spiritual’, so the authority of the Word of God extends to all things.
______________________________________________
"The unity, harmony, consistency and organic self-interpretation of the Scriptures are the evidence of their infallibility and a bulwark of defence confronting every human theory. The “sure word of prophecy” is not darkness, but a “light shining in a dark place, unto which we do well to take heed.” And the certitude we seek is assured by the fact that “no prophecy is of any private interpretation (of what God’s mind is), nor came in old time by the will of man, but men spake from God, being borne along by the Holy Ghost."
in Daniel's Great Prophecy, Nathaniel West
______________________
"What God says is true, what man says may be true and the truthfulness of the latter can be ascertained, its certainty demonstrated, by comparing it with that which God has said."
George N. Peters, The Theocratic Kingdom
________________________
"If true religion is to beam upon us, our principle must be, that it is necessary to begin with heavenly teaching, and that it is impossible for any man to obtain even the minutest portion of right and sound doctrine without being a disciple of Scripture."
John Calvin