Genesis 1; Psalm 19; Matthew 2, 22; Mark 1; Luke 24; John 10, 14, 15, 16; Romans 1,3; 1 Corinthians 14; 1 Thessalonians 2; 2 Timothy 3; 1 Peter 1; 2 Peter 3; Revelation 1

Introduction

Imagine there was a group of hikers, way out in the back woods on a hiking trail outside of Sedona when all of a sudden, up in the distance coming their way is a man, dressed in full SCUBA gear.  He’s got flippers on his feet and an oxygen tank on his back.  He wearing a black wetsuit and a diving mask.  He is miles from any body of water and hiking down the trail in their direction.

The hikers see the odd spectacle coming the other way and naturally ask each other a few questions…

• “Where do you suppose that guys has come from?”
• “Why is he wearing a SCUBA suit when there is not a lake around here for miles?”
• “Do you suppose he’s lost?”
• “Do you think he might be crazy?”
• “Maybe it’s a new kind of hiking trend…”

They continue making their speculations until the oddly dressed man approaches the group of hikers and tries to begin a conversation.  But…they ignore the man, hurry past him and shrug it off.  “I guess we’ll never know.” And off they go, leaving the man to walk in his flippered feet, dragging his oxygen tanks for miles down the trail.

Would it seem odd to you to make speculations about this unusually equipped man without asking the man what he is doing?  If he’s really crazy, that would become clear as soon as he opens his mouth.  On the other hand, he might have a totally reasonable explanation for his outfit.  Either way, if he’s standing there on the trail, right in front of the group of hikers, trying to get their attention, ready to speak, wouldn’t it be rude (and possibly even foolish) to ignore what he has to say?

He might know something that you don’t know and ignoring him could put you in danger.  Or when you talk to him, he might be certifiably nuts or he could be hopelessly lost and by talking to him you could easily find out if he is a danger to himself.

The strangely dressed man is the best witness on the scene to testify about the condition he’s currently in.  When somebody testifies about themselves, they will often give reliable, factual information.  (People are capable of telling the truth sometimes.)  Not only can people provide reliable and factual information about themselves, but a self-testimony helps us to know something about that person that we may not have otherwise known.  Self testimony is very revealing.

The Bible Speaks

In that same spirit, we must begin any discussion about the accuracy of scripture with what the scripture says about itself.  Before we begin guessing and making speculations, it is very helpful to go to the scriptures and ask this simple question: “What do the scriptures claim to be?”

• If the Bible does not claim some level of authority in our lives, then we can all go home and simply shrug off what it has to say.
• On the other hand, if the Bible claims to have authority over our lives, then we are faced with an incredible challenge.  You and I will need to decide for ourselves if its claim are real.  Acceptance or rejection of that claim will influence absolutely every other aspect for your life and mine.

The most important question you and I can ask then, is whether or not the Bible claims to have authority over us and if so, whether or not that claim is real. Let’s begin by looking at what the Old Testament has to say about itself.

If you open your Bible to right to the middle, you should find yourself in a book called Psalms.  Find chapter 19.  Psalms is a collection of ancient songs from the Hebrew culture that claim to be inspired by God Himself.  Psalm 19 describes two ways that God speaks to us:  First of all, God’s creation speaks powerfully about Him

God’s creation speaks powerfully about Him – Psalm 19:1-6, Romans 1:19-20

Let’s start at verse 1

The heavens declare the glory of God,
    and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
² Day to day pours out speech,
    and night to night reveals knowledge.
³ There is no speech, nor are there words,
    whose voice is not heard.
^4a Their voice goes out through all the earth,
    and their words to the end of the world.

The writer of this psalm is telling us that God “speaks” through the beautiful things he created.  The heavens declare His glory.  The sky has a way of drawing our gaze upward to see worlds and stars and heavenly bodies far greater than ourselves.  Without saying a word, creation itself communicates volumes about its Creator.  By the very fact of their existence, the objects in our night sky are constantly crying out:

• There is a Maker!
• He is powerful and beautiful and good just like what you see in the night sky is powerful and beautiful and good
• There is order in the universe.  There is a mastermind behind it.  That same creative genius must have created you and me just like He created the heavens.

Look at the next two-and-a-half  verses.  Notice that the sun is continually testifying about glory of God

^4b In them he has set a tent for the sun,
⁵     which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber,
    and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy.
⁶ Its rising is from the end of the heavens,
    and its circuit to the end of them,
    and there is nothing hidden from its heat.

The sun that comes out every day like a “bridegroom leaving his chamber.”  This is quite an illustration!  In other words, every day the sun is beaming like the face of a man who just married the love of his life and who is having trouble suppressing the enormous joy he has over the gift of waking up next to a beautiful bride.  The Sun is beaming with joy and warmth!

Or consider the next description… Every time the sun make another lap across the sky, its like an Olympic athlete who just won the gold for his country and is running a lap of honor in front of stands filled with the cheers of a crowd who are sharing together in the athlete’s victory.  Verse 5 says it is “like a strong man, runs its course with joy.” The sun is warm and life giving and victorious every day because it’s creator is warm and life-giving and victorious.

Romans 1:19-20 says, “¹⁹ For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. ²⁰ For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.”

If I look at a painting, the picture reveals some qualities about the painter.  In the same way, when we look at God’s world, it speaks powerfully about Him.  If we were to burn all the Bibles and silence all the preachers. The rocks would cry out about his creative glory.  Especially the rocks around here!

• The psalmist said in Psalm 19 that God would make His beauty known through the skies and the stars and the sun.
• Paul says in Romans that God’s attributes had been clearly perceived in the things He made.

The Bible does not try to prove the existence of a Creator.  It assumes that a creation doesn’t exist without a Creator.  It simply points out who the Creator is.  When we have an immense burning globe hanging over our heads, giving us life and warmth and that nuclear fueled fireball is seemingly making victory laps around the Earth every day, the Bible just assumes that the existence of a Creator will be hard to miss.

At the same time, creation itself is not enough.

• There is only so much the Sun can say about who God is.
• The stars only reflect part of His infinite worth.
• The rocks may cry out, but they are not using words.
• What creation tells us about God is wonderful, but it’s limited.  In order to know God, we need some more details.

The Bible offers us details about God that we might not pick up from His creation.  It is complex and intricate and deep.  BUT… at its most basic level, it simply claims to be God’s autobiography.  It is the way we get to know Him, personally.  The world is not enough.  We need God’s Word.

The Bible claims to speak accurately about God – 2 Timothy 3:16

That is not to say that the Bible contains everything there is to know about God.  How could we ever say everything about a God who is infinite?!  What the Bible claims is that everything that you and I need to know about God is contained within its pages.

Better yet, within the pages of this book, it claims to have everything we need to know so that we can live lives the He rewards for eternity.  Theologians call this concept the “sufficiency of scripture” and it is best expressed by our current text, 2 Timothy 3:16.  Paul puts it this way:

¹⁶ All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness

The pursuit of God leads to the highest and deepest and widest and most satisfying joy there is to find.  The Bible claims to have the clear pathway to find joy in Him.  Turn back to Psalm 19 again and look how it changes its focus in verse 7.  It began with the beauty of the creator in the world and now it moves on to the value of the creator’s written Word.

⁷ The law of the Lord is perfect,
    reviving the soul;
the testimony of the Lord is sure,
    making wise the simple;
⁸ the precepts of the Lord are right,
    rejoicing the heart;
the commandment of the Lord is pure,
    enlightening the eyes;
⁹ the fear of the Lord is clean,
    enduring forever;
the rules of the Lord are true,
    and righteous altogether.
¹⁰ More to be desired are they than gold,
    even much fine gold;
sweeter also than honey
    and drippings of the honeycomb.

Over and over and over again, the writer of this passage draws our attention to the FACT that the scriptures are written BY GOD.  They are not just a thing that men made up.  They are God’s laws and God’s commandments and God’s precepts and God’s testimonies.

The overarching claim of Psalm 19 is that God created the law and the Old Testament just as certainly as He created the world itself.  If we dig just a little deeper, we’ll find that the life-giving power of God’s spoken Word is completely intermingled with the life-giving power of His written Word.

You probably know the account of the creation in Genesis.  In Genesis chapter one claims that every single atom and molecule in the universe was originated, ordered and put together with laser-like precision by the power of God’s literal, spoken word.  Each new act of creation listed in Genesis begin with these three powerful little words: “And God said…”  The creation account in Genesis makes it very clear that it is God’s words that bring everything into being.  God’s words are a powerful, life-giving force like no other.

In Genesis 1:3, it says, “And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.”  Just like God’s spoken word brought light into existence, Psalm 19:8 says, “the commandment of the Lord is pure,
enlightening (bringing light to) the eyes.”  This Psalm is implying that the written word of God is no less powerful of a life giving (and light creating) force than the spoken words of God that created the light to begin with.

I heard preacher say, “when we are handling God’s Word, we are playing with fire.”  The fierce power that summoned the universe and that sustains all of creation is unleashed again when we encounter the words of God in His written Word, the Bible.

In just the first five books of the Old Testament alone, there are over 700 phrases like “God Said.”  There are nearly 4,000 claims of divine authorship throughout the whole of the Old Testament.  Men may have written down the scriptures, but they didn’t come up with it.  The Bible claims to be “breathed out by God” Himself.  The Hebrew people were confident that the scriptures were accurate, inerrant and authoritative, and Jesus saw it that way too.

God’s Son authenticates the Old Testament as God’s Word – John 10:30; Mark 1:22; Luke 24:44; Matt. 5:17-18, 22:29

Consider this typical scenario:  Jennifer is a young working professional.  She graduated from a top rated university and has been highly trained in all the latest tools and techniques for her trade.  She doesn’t read her Bible very much because she is “really busy” trying to juggle her home and professional life.  She claims to be a follower of Jesus, but, to her, the Bible seems outdated and old-fashioned.  She likes the idea of Jesus but she can’t imagine what a book that is 2,000 years old and written in a completely different culture, more than 7,000 miles away, has to do with what is happening in the office today.

People like Jennifer are common in the church today.  Does the Bible really claim to still be relevant?  The Bible claims that the way we get to know God is by reading what it has to say about God.  If anyone could have known God without looking at the scriptures, it would have been Jesus.  BUT… when Jesus was here on earth, did He take a light view of the scriptures?  Let’s compare Jesus’ life with Jennifer’s for a minute…

When Jesus was in his 30’s, he was not a white collar professional, but trained in His trade.  He was the son of a carpenter, born in a small working-man’s town in Palestine.  He claimed to be the Son of God and the second member of the Trinity.  In John 10:30, Jesus boldly claims about Himself that “I and the Father are one.”  Later, he claims to be the Messiah that had been promised in the Old Testament scripture.  He claims that He alone had come from God to rescue His people from their slavery to sin and from their bondage to Satan and from their sentence of eternal, spiritual death.

Everywhere he goes, He is inundated by the crowds who hang on his every words and who cry out to be healed by His supernatural power.  Mark 1:22 says that the crowds were “…astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one who had authority, and not as the scribes.”  Jesus was also a very busy man.  He was way busier than Jennifer but did his busyness keep him away from the scriptures?  No way!  Unlike many people who claim to be His followers, Jesus was absolutely, completely captivated by the written Word of God.

The scriptures absolutely fill his teaching.  Over and over and over again throughout the gospels, Jesus refers to the divine authorship and the absolute authority of the Old Testament scriptures.  Jesus trusts the scripture completely.  In Jesus’ mind, there is no higher authority that He could appeal to than the written Word of His Father.

The Old Testament was a pretty old book in Jesus’ day.  It is really remarkable that a person who possessed such immense, supernatural, spiritual power in Himself relied so heavily on an ancient book.  Listen to how Jesus talks about the Old Testament in Luke 24:44:

“44 Then he said to them, ‘These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.’”

“The Law of Moses and the Prophets” was a common way to refer to what we now call the “Old Testament.”  According to Jesus, these scripture were really important.  Everything written in these scriptures must happen.  Why must they happen?  According to Jesus, everything written in scripture comes from God the Father.  God the Father is never wrong and He never lies, so according to Him, the scriptures are completely trustworthy.

Jesus didn’t just talk about the authority of Scripture, He depended on it.  With His life, He gave us a perfect example of how to live under the authority of His Father’s Word.  Consider these examples:

• When Jesus was tempted in the wilderness, he quoted scripture.  Matthew records three temptations that Jesus faced.  Jesus’ response to each temptation was to say “It is written…” “It is written…” “It is written…” as He referred to the authority of the Old Testament.
• Jesus faced many religious opponents throughout his ministry.  When Jesus was confronted by these religious leaders, he rested on the scriptures.  At one point he said these shocking words to them, “You are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God.” (Matt 22:29)
• When Jesus spoke to the crowds,  He upheld the scriptures.  He spoke about how He was the fulfillment of what God has promised to His people.  Matt 5:17-18 says, “17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.”  The Old Testament was largely written in Hebrew.  The Hebrew language use a lot of dots in its punctuation.  According to Jesus, even the tiniest punctuation mark carries with it Divine authority.

Jesus made it clear that when scripture speaks, God speaks.  The scriptures, in their original forms, contain the very words of God and every one of those words is vital.  Jesus was confident that the scriptures he held in His hand were from God the Father and were without error and therefore were authoritative.  .  He would know because He is the Son of God

Scripture did not end with the gospels.  Before Jesus left the scene, he appointed a few men to record the rest of the scriptures.  Some were apostles and others were eyewitnesses and personal companions of His.

Jesus appointed and empowered men to write the New Testament – John 14-16

He makes a few remarkable promises about how the Holy Spirit will work through these men as they finish the scriptures.  If you want to follow along, turn in your Bible to John chapter 14:

First, Jesus promises the Holy Spirit would remind them of His words.  In John 14:26, Jesus said, “26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.”

Later in chapter 15, He repeats that promise again adding that the Holy Spirit will enable them to write truthfully about Him in John 15:26-27, “26 “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me. 27 And you also will bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning.”

Shortly after those remarks, Jesus adds in chapter 16 that not only will they be able to report about Jesus truthfully through the power of the Holy Spirit, but that He will guide them to the exact truth they need to recall.  Jesus says in John 16:13, “13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.”

Jesus promised the apostles that they would accurately preserve His word and His teaching for us in later generations.  He commanded them to write down His teaching and empowered them to complete the scriptures through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit.  Because of Jesus’ direct command to write these scripture and the authority he gave to do so, the New Testament claims the same authority, inerrancy and authenticity as the Old Testament scriptures.

The New Testament claims the same inspiration and authority as the Old Testament – 1 Cor 14:37, 1 Thess. 2:13, 2 Peter 3:15-16, 1 Peter 1:12, Rev. 1

The Apostle Paul wrote about half of the New Testament including the book we are studying right now (2 Timothy).  He said in 1 Corinthians 14:37, “³⁷ If anyone thinks that he is a prophet, or spiritual, he should acknowledge that the things I am writing to you are a command of the Lord.”  He commented that those who accept his message are not just taking one man’s opinion, but his words were given to him by God himself.  In 1 Thessalonians 2:13, Paul wrote, “13 And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers.”

The Apostle Peter wrote a couple of books in the New Testament and he was one of Jesus’ closest disciples.  Peter did not always see eye to eye with Paul.  In Galatians, it records a conflict between the two of them.  Nevertheless, Peter confirms that Paul is writing on God’s behalf.  2 Peter 3:15b-16 says, “…our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him ¹⁶ as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters. There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures.”

Peter talks about Paul’s letters as having the same authority and authenticity as the Old Testament scriptures.  Peter also claims that his own writing (1 and 2 Peter) is “by the Holy Spirit,” and “sent from heaven.” (1 Peter 1:12)

The Apostle John was probably Jesus’ best friend while he was here on earth.  He knew Jesus remarkably well.  His gospel reveals details about Jesus that we don’t see anywhere else in scripture.  Later in his life, God revealed the book of Revelation to John in a vision and he instructed John to “Write what you see in a book” (Rev 1:11).  John claimed that what he wrote is the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ, His Son (Rev 1:1).

Life Application: It all comes down to faith

In order to measure anything with precision, we need an accurate measuring rod to calibrate our instruments.  In more ancient times, men use to use body parts as measuring rods.  In the Bible, there is often mention of a cubit.  A cubit was the distance between a man’s elbow and his fingertip.

Later, it became commonplace to use a man’s foot as a measuring tool.  But the problem with both of these measuring devises, as you may have guessed, it that they are not very standard.  Until the 16^th century, there was not an exact standard for determining was a foot was.  A “foot” was determined by the size of the builders shoe.  According to Wikipedia, it became appearent that they needed a rod by which they could calibrate all other rulers and determine once and for all how long a foot was exactly – so a foot wasn’t being measured by a man but it was being measured by a calibrated rod.

The procedure for verification of the foot as described in the 16th century by Jacob Koebel in his book went like this:

Stand at the door of a church on a Sunday and bid sixteen men to stop, tall ones and small ones, as they happen to pass out when the service is finished; then make them put their left feet one behind the other, and the length thus obtained shall be a right and lawful rod to measure and survey the land with, and the 16th part of it shall be the right and lawful foot.

Just like we needed a standard to measure all so called “feet” by, we also need a standard of truth to measure all other “truths” by.  Man can’t be trusted to determine truth for himself.  All people need a calibrating rod to measure all other truth claims against.

The point of today’s message is to show that the Bible claims to be that measuring rod.  Our goal today was to see what the Bible has to say about itself.  The Bible can speak for itself and it can defend itself.  The Bible claims to be the standard by which all other truth is measured.  It claims to be the calibrating tool.

If I were to make the argument that the Bible is trustworthy because the Bible says that it is trustworthy, someone might claim that I’m making a circular argument.  But… that is the nature of determining what tool calibrates all other tools.  The most trustworthy tool or the most authoritative work has to stand on its own merit.  Does it work?

• So do the principles in the Bible do what they claim to do?
• Are people brought to new spiritual life through it’s teaching?
• Do people know God better because of what it says?

Those are excellent questions and points we will hit in the upcoming weeks.

Does the Bible stand on its own merit?  The Bible claims to be authoritative and that’s why we need to hear what the Bible has to say about itself.

Once we hear what the Bible has to say, then it ultimately comes down to faith.

• Are we going to put our faith and hope and trust in the scriptures?
• Or are we going to hang our eternity on some other standard or ideology?

As for me, I’ve chosen the calibrating tool and the source of authority that the Hebrew people, the Old Testament prophets as well as Peter, John, Paul and Jesus all said was totally trustworthy.  That tool is the Holy Bible.

Teaching Outline

Genesis 1; Psalm 19; Matthew 2, 22; Mark 1; Luke 24; John 10, 14, 15, 16; Romans 1,3; 1 Corinthians 14; 1 Thessalonians 2; 2 Timothy 3; 1 Peter 1; 2 Peter 3; Revelation 1

God’s creation speaks powerfully about Him – Psalm 19:1-6, Romans 1:19-20

The Bible claims to speak accurately about God – 2 Tim 3:16, Psalm 19:7-10, Genesis 1

God’s Son authenticates the Old Testament as God’s Word – John 10:30; Mark 1:22; Luke 24:44; Matt. 5:17-18, 22:29

Jesus appointed and empowered men to write the New Testament – John 14-16

The New Testament claims the same inspiration and authority as the Old Testament – 1 Cor 14:37, 1 Thess. 2:13, 2 Peter 3:15-16, 1 Peter 1:12, Rev. 1

Application: It all comes down to faith

The most trustworthy tool or the most authoritative work has to stand on its own merit. 

Once we hear what the Bible has to say, then it ultimately comes down to faith.