Basic HTML Version
or fall together. Christ often referred to His
fulfillment of the Old TestamentScriptures (Luke
22:37, John 7:42; 17:12; 19:24, 36, 37). They
al/
had to be fulfilled because they were all infallible
and without errors.
After His resurrection, He admonished the
disciples for being slow to believe all that the
prophets had spoken about Himself. "And begin–
ning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded
to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning
Himself. Then He opened their understanding,
that they might
understand
the Scriptures" (Luke
24:27, 45, NKJB).
Christ once rebuked the Sadducees by saying,
"You do err
not
knowing the Scriptures" (Mat–
thew 22:29). Jesus knew the Old Testament Scrip–
tures. He believed them to be the truth. He used
them as His source of authority.
When Christ had His confrontation with Satan, He
defended Himself by quoting from the Old Testa–
ment three times (Matthew 4:4, 7, 10). When Satan
tempted Christ by saying, "IfYou are theSon ofGod,
command that these stones become bread," Christ
answered, " It is written [Deuteronomy 8:3], 'Man
shall not live by bread alone, but by
every word
that
proceeds outofthe mouth ofGod' (Matthew 4:3 , 4) ."
Christ said that man is to Jive by every word of God,
and He meant what is recorded in the Old Testament.
How many Christians-liberals or evangelicals–
today really believe that?
The apost le Paul also supported the Old Testa–
ment as being a guide· to our way of life. He was
talking about the Old Testament when He said,
"For whatever things were written befare were
written for our Jearning, that we through patience
and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope"
(Romans 15:4, NKJB). He further admonished
that the examples recorded in the Old Testament
"were written for our admonition"
(1
Corinthians
10:1 1) . According to both Jesus and Paul it is not
enough to know that the Bible is infallible, you
have to believe and do what it says.
All Scripture ls lnspired?
Paul emphatically claimed that
ALL
of the Old
Testament is inspired of God when he wrote to
Timothy, "AII Scripture is given by inspiration of
God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for
correction, for instruction in righteousness"
(11
Timothy 3:16). The only Holy Scriptures which
Timothy cou1d have known from childhood (verse
15) were those found in the Old Testament.
But what about the New Testament? Can one
know that all of it is inspired of God? When Paul
said "all Scr ipture" he meant by inference the Old
Testament Scriptures that had a1ready been writ–
ten and the New Testament Scriptures that had
been written thus far- and the others yet to be
written in the future.
Paul believed the Gospel accounts were inspired
September 1980
Scripture. He wrote to Timothy earlier and said,
"For the Scripture says, 'You shall not muzzle an
ox while it treads out the grain,' and, 'The laborer
is worthy of his wages'"
(1
Timothy 5: 18). The
first part is from Deuteronomy 25:4. The second
quotation gives the words of Christ found in Luke
10:7. Paul classified both as being "Scripture."
The letters of Paul are considered to be a man's
opinions by sorne today, but not by . the apostle
Peter. He said Paul's epistles contained "sorne
things hard to understand, which those who are
untaught and unstable twist to their own destruc–
tion, as they do also
the rest of the Scriptures"
(JI
Peter 3: 16). Peter placed Paul's epistles in the
same category as "the rest of the Scriptures. "
The book of Revelation was íhe last book of the
NewTestament to be written. The importanceofthe
book is made clear by the apostle John's warning
near the end, "For
1
testify toeveryone who hears the
words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to
these things, God will add to him the plagues that are
written in this book. And if anyone takes away from
the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take
away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy
city, and from the things which are written in this
book" (Revelation 22:18, 19) .
Every Scripture in both the Old and New
Testaments has stamped in it the inspiration of
God. The Bible is "God-breathed."
It
is that which
comes out of God's mouth and therefore is His
Word- a product of His creative power working
through human instruments. God conveyed to the
Bible writers exactly what He wanted us to know.
The prophecy of Scripture, for example, did not
come about through a man's own thinking and
effort, "but holy men of God spoke as tbey were
moved by the Holy Spirit"
(II
Peter 1:21).
Holy Spirit Guided Bible Writer.s
The writers of the Bible were motivated by the
Holy Spirit. Tpey were guided and carried along
by God's Spirit just like a sai ling ship is moved by
the wind. God directed and influenced the writers
to write down the words He wanted recorded.
David described bow God inspired him by
saying, "The spi rit of the Lord spoke by me and
His Word was in my tongue" (11 Samuel 23:2) .
Many times God told the Old Testament writers,
especially the prophets, exactly what words to say
or write. God often spoke to them and said, "Tell
the people, 'Thus saith the Lord... .' " At other
times it is evident that the writers had freedom to
use tbeir own style and personality to write under
the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
Each book of the Bible is different. Each
reflects the style, experiences and personality of
the writer. But the Holy Spirit still guided the
writer in doing his research, in the arrangement of
his ideas and even in the choice of words. More
was involved than just
(Continued on page 45)
19