The Holy Bible - Independence Baptist Church

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WE BELIEVE THAT THE HOLY BIBLE WAS WRITTEN BY MEN DIVINELY INSPIRED AND IT IS A PERFECT TREASURE OF HEAVENLY INSTRUCTION; THAT IT HAS GOD FOR ITS AUTHOR, SALVATION FOR ITS END, AND TRUTH WITHOUT ANY MIXTURE OF ERROR FOR ITS MATTER; THAT IT REVEALS THE PRINCIPLES BY WHICH GOD WILL JUDGE US; AND THEREFORE IS, AND SHALL REMAIN TO THE END OF THE WORLD, THE TRUE CENTER OF CHRISTIAN UNION, AND THE SUPREME STANDARD BY WHICH ALL HUMAN CONDUCT, CREEDS, AND OPINIONS SHOULD BE TRIED.

I must at the very beginning of this study that the King James Bible is the only Bible that is used by Independence Baptist Church. We believe every other version of the Bible has the wrong foundation, a foundation created by man to fulfill the desires of man.

I. “We Believe That The Holy Bible Was Written By Men Divinely Inspired And It Is A Perfect Treasure Of Heavenly Instruction

A. II Timothy 3:16-17 – “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.”

1. VERSE 16a–Paul tells Timothy that it was through the learning of the scriptures as a child he was brought to saving knowledge through faith in Jesus Christ. The Old Testament scriptures are meant in this verse. The New Testament was being written at this time.

2. VERSE 16b–The Old and New Testaments are given by God and are profitable for:

a. Doctrine…The Word “doctrine” means, “teaching”.

b. Reproof…”conviction”, the Word of God rebukes with such effectual power that it is able to bring conviction of sin.

c. Correction…”setting right” “improvement”

d. Instruction…”Discipline” “chastisement”, it is used in the N. T. especially of God’s chastisement by means of sorrow and evil.

3. VERSE 17–Two things are pointed out concerning what the Bible will do for those who study it. It will make them:

a. “Perfect”…This word means “complete or fitted”, for special uses.

b. Thoroughly furnished…”To complete or finish”, the one who studies the Word will be fitted out. Fitted out for “all good works”.

B. Other scriptures that teach this to be true are:

1. II Peter 1:21 – “For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.”

2. II Samuel 23:2 – “The Spirit of the LORD spake by me, and his word was in my tongue.”

II. “That It Has God For Its Author, Salvation For Its End

A. John 5:39-40 – “Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me. 40 And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life. Jesus said to “Search the scriptures”, all of them!

1. They reveal eternal life.

2. Jesus said that the Old Testament scriptures told of him.

3. People were saved in the O. T. just like in the N. T. by faith in Jesus

B. Other scriptures that teach this to be true are:

1. I Peter 1:10-12 – “Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you: 11 Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow. 12 Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into.”

2. Acts 11:14 – “Who shall tell thee words, whereby thou and all thy house shall be saved.”

3. Romans 1:16 – “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.”

4. Mark 16:16 – “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.”

III. “And Truth Without Any Mixture Of Error For Its Matter”

A. Proverbs 30:5-6 – “Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him. 6 Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.”

1. Verse 5–The Word of God is not like the word of man. It is pure and can be trusted.

2. Verse 6–To try and add to God’s pure Word is foolish and will always make the one who does it a liar.

3. Other scriptures that teach this to be true are:

a. John 17:17 – “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.”

b. Rev. 22:18-19 – “For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: 19 And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.”

c. Romans 3:4 – “God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged.”

IV. “That It Reveals The Principles By Which God Will Judge Us”

A. John 12:48 – “He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.”

1. The very same Lord that men reject and refuse to receive will judge them in the end.

2. Every person will be judged according to God’s Holy bible!

B. Other scriptures that teach this to be true are:

1. Romans 2:12 – “For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law: and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law;”

2. I Corinthians 4:3-4 – “But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged of you, or of man’s judgment: yea, I judge not mine own self. 4 For I know nothing by myself; yet am I not hereby justified: but he that judgeth me is the Lord.”

3. Luke 10:10-16 – “But into whatsoever city ye enter, and they receive you not, go your ways out into the streets of the same, and say, 11 Even the very dust of your city, which cleaveth on us, we do wipe off against you: notwithstanding be ye sure of this, that the kingdom of God is come nigh unto you. 12 But I say unto you, that it shall be more tolerable in that day for Sodom, than for that city. 13 Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works had been done in Tyre and Sidon, which have been done in you, they had a great while ago repented, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. 14 But it shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment, than for you. 15 And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted to heaven, shalt be thrust down to hell. 16 He that heareth you heareth me; and he that despiseth you despiseth me; and he that despiseth me despiseth him that sent me.”

4. Luke 12:47-48 – “And that servant, which knew his lord’s will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. 48 But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.’”

V. “And Therefore Is, And Shall Remain To The End Of The World, The True Center Of Christian Union

A. Philippians 3:16 – “Nevertheless, whereto we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us mind the same thing.”

1. Paul tells this local church at Philippi that if we are to have fellowship and cooperate together we must all walk the same way and by the same rules, we must mind the same things.

2. This is why Baptists cannot unionize or join meetings with others.

3. If we are willing to “walk by the same rule and mind the same things” we can fellowship with them.

4. We must agree upon what the Word of God teaches in order to have Christian union.

VI. “And The Supreme Standard By Which All Human Conduct, Creeds, And Opinions Should Be Tried.

A. I John 4:1 – “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.”

1. The Bible teaches God’s people to try or test the spirits to see if they are of God or not.

2. There are many false prophets who claim God sent them.

3. How are they to be tested? By the Word of God. Isaiah 8:20 says, “To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this Word, it is because there is no light in them.”

B. Other scriptures that teach this to be true.

1. I Thess. 5:21 – “Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.”

2. I Corinthians 13:5 – “Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;”

3. Acts 17:11 – “These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.”

4. I John 4:6 – “We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.”

5. Jude 3-5 – “Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. 4 For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ. 5 I will therefore put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this, how that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not.”

6. Eph. 6:17 – “And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:”

7. Psalms 119:59 – “I thought on my ways, and turned my feet unto thy testimonies.”

8. Phil. 1:9-11 – “And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment; 10 That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ; 11 Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.”

The Inspiration of the Scriptures

II Timothy 3:16,17 – All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.

I. Is the Bible trustworthy as a record of historical facts?

A. About a century ago critics held the Bible to be untrustworthy as history. (Other things were also happening about 100 years ago – Darwin and his Origin of Species was popular, and new beginnings of psychology were beginning – to mention a few)

1. They said the four kings mentioned in Gen. 14:1 never existed, and that the victory of the kings of the West over the kings of the East, as described in this chapter, never occurred.

2. They denied that such a people as the Hittites ever lived.

3. Sargon, mentioned in Isaiah 20:1 as king of Assyria, was considered a mythical character.

4. Moreover Daniel was supposed to be in error in mentioning Belshazzar as a Babylonian king. Dan. 5:1.

5. Typical New Testament examples of supposed historical errors:

a. Acts 13:7 – Luke’s representation of the island of Cyprus as being ruled by a “proconsul” is false.

b. Luke 3:1 – Lysanias as being tetrarch of Abilene while Herod was tetrarch of Galilee has been proved true.

6. Many today deny the Genesis account of creation, which thing will never be proven by facts.

a. It is by faith we understand the worlds were framed by the word of God – Hebrews 11:3.

b. II Peter 3:1-7.

1) Because men have rejected the historical accuracy of the Word of God, they have also rejected the accuracy of the word now, and they also reject the accuracy of prophecy.

2) Because men have rejected that God has created the worlds, they also reject the destruction of the world with water, and do reject that this present world will be destroyed by fire.

3) Because men have rejected God as creator and Adam as bring sin into the world, they also reject their need of a Saviour and of Jesus who came to save.

7. Many also reject the fact of sin that has caused death.

a. Therefore they reject the need of a Saviour.

b. They will spend their lives futilely searching for the truth of why we are on this earth and will spend their eternity in a burning fiery Lake of Fire.

B. But how is it now?

1. We can say today, after far-reaching investigations concerning ancient nations have been made, that not a single statement in the Bible stands refuted.

2. The confident denials of early critics have been proved to be the assumptions of ignorance.

3. Prof. A. H. Sayce, one of the most eminent of archeologists, says “Since the discovery of the Tel el-Amarna tablets until now great things have been brought out by archeology, and every one of them has been in harmony with the Bible, while nearly every one of them has been dead against the assertions of the destructive critics.”

4. Some years ago the United Press broadcasted the testimony of A. S. Yahuda, formerly Professor of Biblical History at the University of Berlin and later of Semitic Languages at the University of Madrid, to the effect that “every archeological discovery of Palestine and Mesopotamia of the Bible period bears out the historical accuracy of the Bible.”

II. Inspiration is concerning only the original.

A. The original is what God inspired.

1. God has the original Bible in heaven just like the original tabernacle is in heaven.

2. Moses made the tabernacle after the pattern in heaven.

3. One of these days God will compare all these Bibles with the one he has in heaven.

4. All that are wrong will be thrown out, and those people that have added to or taken away from his word will be justly punished.

B. All the copies of the verbally inspired Word of God are the inspired Word of God.

1. It is not wrong to say that copies of the Bible are verbally inspired because they are the Word of God.

2. It is very technical, and somewhat silly, to make a difference between the “verbally” inspired original and the “verbally” inspired copies.

3. The copies of the Word of God are inspired because God preserves them.

III. How was the Bible inspired?

A. God revealed to men what to write.

1. I Chron. 28:11-13 – King Solomon understood the prophecies about the tabernacle by studying. “Then David gave to Solomon his son the pattern of the porch, and of the houses thereof, and of the treasuries thereof, and of the upper chambers thereof, and of the inner parlours thereof, and of the place of the mercy seat, 12 And the pattern of all that he had by the spirit, of the courts of the house of the LORD, and of all the chambers round about, of the treasuries of the house of God, and of the treasuries of the dedicated things: 13 Also for the courses of the priests and the Levites, and for all the work of the service of the house of the LORD, and for all the vessels of service in the house of the LORD.”

2. I Chron. 28:19 – God’s spirit allowed David to understand the pattern of the tabernacle. “All this, said David, the LORD made me understand in writing by his hand upon me, even all the works of this pattern.”

3. Rev. 1:11 – The voice of God told John to write the things unto the seven churches. “Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.”

4. Revelation 1:19 – John was told to write down the things (1) thou hast seen (2) the things which are, and (3) the things which shall be hereafter. (This is a vision of the Lord.)

5. Exodus 20:1 – “And God spake all these words, saying…” God gave the law to Moses, writing the Ten Commandments on tables of stone, and speaking the rest to Moses.

6. Daniel 9:20-23 – The angel Gabriel spoke to Daniel, giving him understanding about the vision he had seen, which thing Daniel wrote down for us.

B. “The divine origin and authority of the Word of God is not to be affirmed so as to exclude or impair the reality of the human authorship, and the peculiarities resulting there from. The Bible is God’s Word to man, throughout; yet at the same time it is really and thoroughly a man’s composition. No attempt should be made-and we shall certainly make none-to set aside or ignore the “human element” of the Scriptures, which is unmistakably apparent on their very face; no one should wish to so magnify the divine as to crowd this out, or almost out.”

1. “Sometimes, it may be frankly conceded, zeal for the divine authority and inerrancy of the Scriptures may have led to untenable theories and modes of expression, that have rather obscured the truth. To say, e. g., that the writers were mere passive instruments in the hand of the Spirit, or at best amanuenses writing to dictation – to adopt, in other words, the mechanical theory, is unwarranted and mischievous. It is no part of the doctrine, and has never been generally held”

2. Daniel 12:5-13 – Daniel did not understood what he had written. (See also Daniel 9:20-23 where the angel Gabriel explained to Daniel what he had seen.

a. Many authors of the Bible did understand what they had written, such as Paul, Peter, and John, so forth.

b. Some of the writers did not understand, such as Daniel, John the Revelator, so forth.

IV. Proofs of divine revelation.

A. Paul Affirmed that he used Words taught him by the Holy Spirit.

1. In 1 Cor. 2:13, in referring to the things he knew through the Holy Spirit, he said: “Which things we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Spirit teacheth.”

2. This is a positive affirmation on the part of Paul that he was not left to himself in the selection of words

B. Peter Affirmed the Verbal Inspiration of His Own and Other Apostle’s Writings.

1. II Pet. 3:1,2, Peter puts his own and other apostles writings on a level with the Old Testament Scriptures.

2. II Pet 1:15,16, Peter puts the writings of Paul and the other apostles on a level with the Old Testament Scriptures.

3. Acts 1:16, Since Peter believed the Old Testament Scriptures to be verbally inspired it follows, therefore, that he considered the writings of himself and those of other apostles as being verbally inspired.

C. Quotations in the New Testament from the Old Testament prove the Verbal Inspiration of New Testament Writers.

1. Luke 1:70 – Luke Affirmed that the Lord spake by the Mouth of the Holy Prophets.

2. Heb. 1:1 – The Writer to the Hebrews affirms the Same Thing.

3. Acts 1:16 – Peter Affirmed that the Holy Spirit spake by the Mouth of David.

4. Gal. 3:16 – Paul’s Argument implies Verbal Inspiration.

5. Fulfilled Prophecy is Proof of Verbal Inspiration. Passages in proof of this are too numerous to need mentioning.

6. Jesus Affirmed the Verbal Inspiration of the Scriptures. John 10:35 – Jesus said: “The Scripture cannot be broken”, by which he meant that its meaning cannot be loosed nor its truthfulness destroyed. Meaning and truth are dependent upon words for expression. Infallible meaning is impossible without infallible words.