THE ACCURACY OF TRUTH: SCRIPTURE

The following is an excerpt from my book, The World Before A Watching Church (2011). It is the portion which addresses "Inspiration" from chapter 4, The Accuracy of Truth: Scripture.

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The Biblical directives as outlined in the previous chapter, underscore the importance of a consistent walk of faith by all individual believers. The prevailing notion that only the pastor, the elders, the deacons and a select few are expected to demonstrate a lifestyle consistent with Biblical teaching has been a detriment to the witness of Christ before the world. The equally baseless opinion by church leaders that the man in the pew is merely a layman and is unable to discern ‘deep’ Biblical truth has led to a generation of Christians that are unable to fully understand Bible doctrine and to fully exploit its empowering resources for their lives. 

For the Church of Jesus Christ to become a unified witness for Christ it is essential that all believers adhere to the same foundational principles of the faith. This indicates that primarily all believers need to regard God’s written Word as wholly accurate and authoritative for their lives and the practice of their faith. The bond that should hold all believers together ought to be that of a cohesive understanding of the revelation that God has given to us concerning Himself and His creation. From His Word we have been supplied with all that He desires for us to know concerning His holy character and His righteous demands. However, His revelation was not meant to be treated in a relativistic manner. For this approach has already led to instability and confusion within the Church, local and universal. And since God is not a God of confusion,[1] we must strive to become unified in our understanding and application of His revelation.

This chapter pertaining to the Scriptures includes the study of (1) Inspiration, (2) Infallibility, (3) Inerrancy, (4) Interpretation and (5) Methodology of Teaching God’s Word.

Inspiration 

To begin with, there is the question of the authorship of the Bible. Exactly who wrote the Bible? Some might answer that the human authors wrote freely of their own accord or on an impulse. And yet this is not what Scripture suggests as Dr. Bromiley writes:

Primary here is the divine authorship of Scripture. This is a doctrine plainly taught by Scripture, and neither arbitrarily imported into it nor fancifully extracted from it. Scripture understands itself, not as an essay in human religion but as divine self-revelation.[2]

Scripture clearly establishes its Divine authorship – the Holy Spirit using men to pen the books of the Bible, providing a revelation of God to mankind.  

A good place to start is to refer to the definition of inspiration as given by Dr. Chafer:

The theological use of the term inspiration is a reference to that controlling influence which God exerted over the human authors by whom the Old and New Testaments were written. It has to do with the reception of the divine message and the accuracy with which it is transcribed [emphasis his].[3]

The involvement of God in conveying His Word, as described in this definition, is evidence of His desire to provide men with a revelation of Himself that would be a reliable and coherent foundation for our faith. Therefore, the study of the inspiration of Scripture has as its objective to discern exactly how God communicated His Word to the writers of the Bible.

If God’s revelation is to be a unifying dynamic for all believers,[4] than there must be certainty that the Bible is an accurate communication from God. The Scripture claims to be inspired by God, and that it contains intrinsic power for the believer: 

All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16-17)

The question then is: How did God accomplish this awesome task of communicating His thoughts and ideas to the writers of the books of the Bible? The Greek word translated inspired [θεόπνευστος/theopneustos] literally means “God-breathed.” God spoke in and through these men. However, there is no Scriptural evidence to indicate that He dictated to them as if they were His secretaries. He conveyed his thoughts to these men by the Holy Spirit, using their intellect, their vocabulary and their personalities to write down His revelation to mankind. As Peter states:

For no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God. (2 Peter 1:21)

David likewise stated that his writings originated by the Holy Spirit:

Now these are the last words of David.

David the son of Jesse declares,

The man who was raised on high declares,

The anointed of the God of Jacob,

And the sweet psalmist of Israel, 

The Spirit of the Lord spoke by me,

And His word was on my tongue. (2 Samuel 23:1-2)

These men wrote only what the divine author intended to reveal to mankind. This means that since we may not have an exhaustive revelation of God, we do have sufficient revelation for our understanding of His authority over all His creation. And we may conclude from 2 Timothy 3:16-17, we also have an adequate basis for teaching and training in righteousness.  

The fundamental teaching of inspiration, found in most systematic theology textbooks, characterizes it as verbal, plenary inspiration. By verbal inspiration it is meant that the Spirit guided the human authors in the choice of their words. The Spirit allowed the writer to use his own vocabulary to express divine truth. This enables us to obtain an insight into their personality and well as the extent of their knowledge.

Dr. Chafer defines plenary inspiration:

By plenary inspiration is meant that the accuracy which verbal inspiration secures is extended to every portion of the Bible so that it is in all its parts both infallible as to truth and final as to divine authority [emphasis his].[5]

We are therefore assured of an accurate transmission of the thoughts and ideas which God chose to reveal to man concerning His character and that which pertains to the relationship which He intended with His creatures.

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[1] “For God is not a God of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints” (1 Corinthians 14:33).

[2] Bromiley, Geoffrey W., “The Interpretation of the Bible,” The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1979), 1.77

[3] Chafer, L.S., Systematic Theology, (Dallas, TX: Dallas Seminary Press, 1976), 1.61

[4] Ephesians 4:5 - “faith” (πίστις) has a lexical definition of: “That which is believed, body of faith or belief, doctrine.” Cf. Arndt, W.F., Gingrich, F.W., A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, (Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 1957), p. 669 §3.

[5] Ibid, Chafer, Systematic Theology, 1.71

 

A JUSTIFIED FAITH: JAMES 2:21-23

Verses 21-23:Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar? You see that faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was perfected. And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness,” and he was called the friend of God.

James now uses the examples of the faith of Abraham and Rahab (v.25) to validate his argument. We should be reminded that his audience is made up specifically of Jewish believers who had been dispersed (1:1), and so he appeals to their knowledge of their Jewish history of which they would have been well acquainted.

This question in the original Greek which James asks anticipates a yes response1—yes, Abraham was justified by works. But this must be interpreted considering who James is speaking to and within the framework of Old Testament teachings. For there is a distinct difference between what James and Paul mean by justified.

What Paul states in Romans 5:1, “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ”, has all the appearance of being contradictory to James’ statement in this passage. However this seeming contradiction is explained and dispelled by Dr. L.S. Chafer:

The entire context, James 2:14-26, will be recognized as the central passage bearing on the general Biblical contention that a true regeneration is demonstrated by its fruits. The Apostle Paul discloses the truth in Romans 5:1 that the requirement on the human side for justification before God is faith; but the Apostle James declares that the requirement on the human side for justification before men is good works [emphasis added].2

Paul’s teaching of being justified refers to God’s declaration that the sinner is now in a righteous standing before Him, not because of any work the sinner can do to attain this standing—it was all accomplished by Christ on the cross. This declaration of justification is God’s response to the sinner believing in Jesus Christ for salvation (Acts 16:31).

But concerning James’ statement of Abraham being justified by works, Dr. Charles C. Ryrie states that “here in James it [justified] means ‘to vindicate’ or ‘show to be righteous’ before God and men.” 3 He goes on to state that,

Abraham's justification in Paul's sense is recorded in Genesis 15:6; Abraham's justification in James's sense took place 30 or more years later in the patriarch's crowning act of obedience in offering Isaac (Genesis 22). By this act he proved the reality of his Genesis 15 faith.4

What Ryrie mentions is the essential key to understanding the apparent contradiction between James and Paul: obedience. James is accentuating the distinguishing element of salvation—a moment-by-moment active relationship with our Lord that is evidenced by others. Abraham maintained an active one-on-one relationship with the Lord after his initial expression of faith as Scripture illustrates (Genesis 15-25). He further validated his saving faith by his obedience on two occasions. James mentions the offering of Isaac (Genesis 22), but there was another instance prior to this as recorded in Genesis 17:23-24 where Abraham obeyed God and had himself and all his male servants circumcised in order to establish the sign of the covenant relationship with the Lord and all of Abraham’s descendants.  

Faith Was Working

You see is a declarative statement which could be translated notice.5 In this instance James is asking that the reader to take note of this particular principle. The Greek verb to see [βλέπω] is used here as a technical term to perceive in one’s mind and does not always mean to see with one’s eyes.

So here, James is summarizing his conjecture that Abraham’s faith (his belief in God as an active, vibrant salvation) was working together with his works (his obedience in following the directive of the Lord). Lenski explains what James wants us to comprehend, that

 [I]t is faith through which the works have value in that they attest the genuineness and the living quality of the faith; faith proves itself in our life by the fact that it acts.6

It is as if James is asking us to “see that faith really works as it did in the case of Abraham, the father of faith.”7 And once we fully understanding and emulate Abraham’s example, our faith will also be perfected.

So what does James mean by perfected? How can genuine faith be perfected? Again, the term faith here refers to “that which is believed,”8 specifically, a belief system that maintains that the Christian faith is one in which outward manifestations are necessary. The Greek word9 for perfected has the meaning of “to complete, make perfect by reaching the intended goal.”10 A faith that is complete and reaches its intended goal is one which demonstrates the fruit of salvation.

Scripture Fulfilled

As James continues, he states that Scripture was fulfilled, that is, the Scripture concerning Abraham’s obedient faith had reached its intended goal: righteousness before God and justification before others who observe the evidence of his faith. For he states concisely that Abraham believed God—not believed in God, for he had already believed in God when He called him out of Ur (Genesis 12:1-3; Acts 7:2-3).

In order to clarify further, when Abraham first believed God, he believed the unseen God, the Creator, Who controls the universe. God had promised him that his descendants would be “innumerable as the sand which is by the seashore” (Hebrews 11:12). Abraham was not asked to do something or to perform a system of rituals in order to gain a righteous standing before God. He simply believed God just as the writer of Hebrews delineated:

“And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.” (Hebrews 11:6)

This verse tells us that it is impossible to please God, that is, to obtain His righteous standing by doing some ritual. It must be by faith—a faith that simply says “Yes, I believe that you exist and that you desire an eternal relationship with me, your creature.” This faith would include the full understand that:

“He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit.” (Titus 3:5)

And as James points out, this faith which Abraham possessed was more than an affirmation to God, with the expectation of merely securing eternal salvation in the afterlife. Abraham understood that this faith was to be an active relationship with his Creator—that he would need to respond in obedience to God’s directives.

So here in this verse, James states that Abraham believed what God had told him, how he would be the father of immeasurable descendants (Genesis 22:17; 26:4), and that even if he obeyed and the sacrifice of Isaac had been completed, he knew that God would still provide an offspring to fulfill His promise.

In so doing, Abraham was called the friend of God. However, he earned this title not during his lifetime but from those who wrote about him as the prime example of genuine faith (2 Chronicles 20:7; Isaiah 41:8). Note how Our Lord declared the same of those who believe in Him:

“You are My friends if you do what I command you.” (John 15:14)

In this verse, James is illustrating Abraham’s faith which exemplifies the totality of genuine Biblical faith—that body of doctrine which is believed for salvation. It encompasses the initial belief that maintains that Christ accomplished the work necessary to satisfy the righteous demands of God for the forgiveness of sins, in order that the sinner may be forever justified before God (Romans 5:1) and that which maintains that the believer’s life is to be characterized by works of obedience to his Lord in order to prove (i.e. to justify) the reality of his saving faith before others.

 

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[1] There are two negative particles in the Greek: oὐ and μή; James employs oὐ in this verse. “Oὐ expects the answer ‘yes’ (cf. Mt.7:22) and μή the answer ‘no’ (cf. John 7:31).” Robertson, A.T. (1934). A Grammar of the Greek New Testament in the Light of Historical Research, Nashville, TN: Broadman Press, p.1175; Dana, H.E. and Mantey, Julius (1957). A Manual Grammar of the Greek New Testament, Toronto, Ontario: The Macmillian Co., p.265.

[2] Chafer, L.S. (1976), Systematic Theology, Dallas, TX: Dallas Seminary Press, 3.297-298.

[3] Ryrie, Charles C. (1995). Ryrie Study Bible, Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, p. 1971, note 2:21.

[4] Ibid, Ryrie.

[5] Michaelis, W. (1964–). βλέπω → G. Kittel, G. W. Bromiley, & G. Friedrich (Eds.), Theological Dictionary of the New Testament (electronic ed.). Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 5.317, 344.

[6] Lenski, R.C.H. (2001). Commentary on the New Testament. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 10.591.

[7] Zodhiates, S. (1999). Faith, Love, & Hope: An Exposition of the Epistle of James (electronic ed., Jas 2:22). Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers.

[8] Arndt, W., Gingrich, F. W., & Bauer, W. (1957). A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and other Early Christian Literature. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, p. 669.

[9] τελειόω [teleióō]

[10] Zodhiates, G5048.