Dr. Mark Bailey addresses BSF Opening sessions

Dr. Mark L. Bailey, Chancellor Dallas Theological Seminary and BSF Board Member

Greetings my brothers and sisters, in the matchless name of Jesus Christ. Vying for the influential supremacy in the shaping of our spiritual part of our lives are four competing authorities. For some it's our own intellect and rationality. If it does not make sense to our minds, we will not believe. For others, decisions are made on the basis of their emotions. How one feels direct their choices. If it feels good, they do it. For those raised in a religious setting it may even be the ecclesiastical tradition that controls behavior - one that may simply have been raised to believe and live in a certain way. The problem is that all three of these can be plagued by human error and bias, the mind, the heart or human tradition not led by the spirit of God or the Word of God are always prone to deceit and defection. 

One of the great themes brought forward by the Reformation is that of sola scriptura which means that the Bible and the Bible alone is our authority. The following statement is found on the BSF website introducing the doctrinal framework for Bible Study Fellowship, and I quote, “The leadership of Bible Study Fellowship, including the board of directors, is committed without reservation to this Statement of Faith.” In fact the very first article of that statement expresses our commitment to the authority of the Bible. The first article is “the Bible.” It states and I quote, “We believe that the 66 books of Holy Scripture as originally given are in their entirety the Word of God verbally inspired and wholly without error in all that they declare and, therefore, are the supreme and final authority of faith and life.” 

Psalm 119:160 reads, “all your words are true, all your righteous laws are eternal.” And Paul writing to the Thessalonians in 1st Thess 2:13 states, “And we also thank God continually because, when you receive the Word of God which you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word, but as it actually is, the Word of God, which indeed is at work in you who believe.”

As we begin this new year of study, in this new study of the People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided, I want to talk to you about two major themes. The authority of the Bible in general, and the relevancy of the Old Testament in particular. Since the Bible is the Word of God let me begin by making three statements. The authority of the Bible is rooted in the authorship of the Bible. The inerrancy of the Bible is rooted in the inspiration of the Bible. And the profitability of the Bible is rooted in the power of the Bible. There are three great passages in the Bible about the Bible that help us answer three questions as to why we see the Bible as our sole authority.

Statement 1 – How did we get our Bible? The origin of the Bible is described in 2 Peter 1:20-21 “Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation of things. For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”  

The Bible is not sourced in the intuition of human authors. The Bible is not sourced in the interpretation of human listeners. Peter tells us that the Bible is supernaturally sourced in the Holy Spirit and communicated through human authors, literally. In the Greek New Testament verse 21 reflects this emphatic truth by the very order of its words, if I could translate it, “by the Holy Spirit being moved or borne along spoke from God men.” This is the process of inspiration. God spoke by his Spirit through human authors and the result is the Word of God. 

Statement 2 – What is the nature of the Bible? The nature and purpose of the Bible are clearly seen in 2 Tim 3:15-17 where Paul reminded Timothy how “from infancy you have known the holy scriptures which were able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All scripture is God-breathed and useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

All scripture, “pase graphe” [Strong G1124] in Greek, every part or every passage of scripture “graphe” means “writing.” It's used 51 times in the Bible. Forty-nine times it refers to the Old Testament scriptures, and two times to New Testament scriptures. The phrase “God-breathed” or translated “inspired of God” is a translation of one unique Greek word - “theopneustos” [Strong 2315]. It's the only time it's found in all of the Scriptures. It comes from 3 words - “Theos” [Strong 2316] or God. “Pneuma” [Strong 4151] is a word for ‘breath’ or ‘spirit', here I think the Holy Spirit. And “tos” [Strong G5118] is a suffix meaning ‘the result of’. Hence, all scripture, every scripture is the result of the spirit of God. Which correlates perfectly to what we saw in 2 Peter 1:20-21. Listen again to what Paul said about these sacred writings: 

2 Tim 3:15-17 [NIV] and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Statement 3 – A third question critical for our purpose is: How can we know what God meant by what God said? The first key to understanding the scripture is found in 1st Corinthians 2:9-16. This passage connects the links of the communication chain: Revelation, inspiration and illumination; all three of which are necessary for a correct understanding in the application of the Bible. All three involve the role of the Spirit. Revelation is that process by which God made known to humanity that which otherwise could never be known. The passage begins:

1 Cor 2:9-16  However, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived” – the things God has prepared for those who love him – these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit. The spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who knows a person's thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 

Inspiration, that second link, is that process by which God so directed the human authors of scripture without destroying their individuality, their personal interests, or their literary style. His complete thought toward humanity was recorded without error in the words of the original manuscripts. What Paul is speaking to the Corinthians are the thoughts of God brought by the Spirit in the human language. Verse 13 states it this way: “This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words.”

Our third link in our divine communication chain is illumination. Illumination is that process whereby the spirit makes possible for us to know, and willing to accept, the right understanding of the Word of God. This is described in verse 12 and in verses 14-16. Paul says, “What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. The person with the spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments for ‘Who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?’” Paul says, “but we have the mind of Christ.” The authority of the Bible is rooted in the authorship of the Bible. The inerrancy of the Bible is rooted in the inspiration of the Bible. And the profitability of the Bible is rooted in the prophetic nature of the Bible. 

In addition to the argument of the Bible itself for its own authority, for its divine origin all we need to do is read the New Testament to see how Jesus and the apostles endorsed the authority of those portions of the Bible available to them. Jesus cited 14 different books of the Old Testament during his ministry. He quoted scripture 3 times in resisting Satan's temptations. In Luke 24:44 he affirmed the authority of all three parts of the Hebrew Bible and all that they predicted about him would be fulfilled. He affirmed the abiding nature of scripture in Matthew 5: 17-18. And he even affirmed the historicity of such events as the creation, Adam and Eve, the flood, the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah and the miracle of Jonah. 

There are two sets of passages that showed how the New Testament writers viewed the authenticity and authority of the Old Testament. There are passages where the Old Testament records the Words of God and the New Testament affirmed that those things are sacred scripture. What God says, the Bible says. And there is another set of passages where what the Old Testament states, the New Testament writers attribute to the utterances of God. What the Bible says, God says.

As Benjamin B Warfield concludes, “The two sets of passages, together, thus show an absolute identification in the minds of these writers of Scripture with the speaking of God. Therefore the authority of both Testaments is mutually confirming.” What God Says, the Bible says; and what the Bible says is what God says. 

We're now ready to talk about the relevancy of this year's study in the Old Testament. The relevancy of the Hebrew scriptures in particular. It will come as no surprise that the Old Testament scriptures comprise 75% of our Bible. The Old Testament is foundational to the events and teachings of the New Testament in reality, one cannot absolutely understand the rich theology of the New Testament without the Jewish background of the Old Testament. I'd like to suggest 7 reasons why the Old Testament is absolutely relevant for all of us living on this side of the Cross. 

Reason number one – the Old Testament records God’s self-revelation of his unchanging character for which he is to be known, loved and obeyed. His power, his holiness, his unconditional love, and his unending faithfulness. God is both Creator and Covenant maker. Knowing what God is like enables us to better worship him for who he is and what he's done. Listen to God’s self-description to Moses from Exodus 34:5-6 “Then the Lord came down in a cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the Lord. And he passed in front of Moses proclaiming the Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to the thousands and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin.” That's our God and he does not change. Therefore, understanding God's character and his ways in the Old Testament teaches us what is also true about our Lord Jesus Christ as revealed in the New Testament.

Reason number two – The Old Testament introduces us to critical Bible doctrines which are the cornerstones of the Christian faith. The doctrines of creation, righteousness, sin, judgment, grace and salvation all find their foundation in the Old Testament. In the Hebrew scriptures we have extensive historical testimony to God's patience, his grace, and his mercy with his people, Israel. But we also see his standards of Holiness which demanded Israel’s discipline and ultimately led to their exile from the land.

Reason number three – Especially appropriate to the Old Testament and especially our study of the prophetical books are the alternating oracles of judgment and salvation. In the former, judgment is warranted for unbelief and disobedience. In the latter, the blessings of God are promised for faith and obedience. In 2 New Testament passages Paul brings this into view. In Romans 15:4 he writes, “for everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the scriptures, and the encouragement they provide, we might have hope.” In 1 Cor 10:11 he states, “these things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the culmination of the ages has come.” 

In summary the prophetic message is: There is hope on the one hand, but warning on the other. In good times and bad, when the world finds itself in chaos, order and perspective are still possible. If we heed the lessons to be learned, if we endure under trial, encouragement and hope are still possible. Positive examples are lives we should emulate. Negative examples reveal the futility of living life apart from the guidance of God.

Reason number four – The Old Testament sets forth coveted ideals for human flourishing, love, obedience, righteousness and the ethical responsibilities of justice and mercy. Deuteronomy 6 and Leviticus 19 are the headwaters for the two great Commandments of loving God wholeheartedly and loving others sacrificially. And as Jesus taught, these two summarize the purpose and essence of the entire law and the prophets. The poetical books in the Old Testament are by their very nature virtually timeless. The Psalms provide the lyrics of lament and the hymnody of praise. The wisdom books contain biblical imperatives as well as human observations. Not only is God's truth right, his way is always best. Living according to God's wisdom on the horizontal plane should be the natural reflection of the worship one has for God on the vertical plane. And for the secret of living in community, Micah 6:8 reminds Israel, “He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” 

Reason number five – A fifth reason we should study the Old Testament is that it details the near and far purpose of God for Israel and the rest of the nations. The Bible shows Israel's place in the overall plan of God and in his unfolding plan of redemption for the human race. It records the nation's origin, their history, and their exile from the land, their return and the promises for their ultimate restoration. God chose to use Israel for three major reasons: they were to be a light for the Nations; a repository not a depository but a repository of the truth; and a channel of the Messiah. God’s elective choice of Israel was not for their own supremacy but for their representational ministry. 

They were chosen to be a kingdom of priests with the end goal of their intercession and proclamation to represent God to the rest of the world. That idealized goal as to why God chose Jacob and not Esau is found in Malachi chapter 1 especially verse 5 where he concludes, “Great is the Lord even beyond the borders of Israel.” Old Testament prophecies included both short-term and long-term predictions. Therefore, the undeniable fulfillment of the short-term predictions serve to assure that the long-term prophecies will be fulfilled just as faithfully. Without a doubt the major relevancy of the Old Testament is the prediction and preview it gives to the coming Messiah. 

Reason number six. The Old Testament promises in great detail the coming of the Messiah and his roles as both Sovereign and savior in the kingdom and redemptive purposes of God. Luke 24:44 records Jesus’ explanation to his disciples that all three sections of the Hebrew Bible, like we said earlier, contain prophecies that he would ultimately fulfill. He said and I quote, “This is what I told you while I was still with you. Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.” Without the Old Testament we would not even know that there would be a messiah nor why he needed to come into the world. And as my friend Ken Boa states, “When the messianic prophecies are combined, the prophetic doorway becomes so narrow that only one person can fit through it.” 

Starting in Genesis 3:15 scripture begins to talk about what Jesus will do both to reclaim a kingdom usurped by Satan and provide redemption for a fallen humanity. Without the Old Testament we would not properly understand the person and work of Christ. According to Hebrews, Jesus is not only our high priest but he himself is the very sacrifice that he as the great high priest he offered. He offered himself for us. 

Reason number 7 – to return to that great text of 2 Timothy 3:16-17, what Paul described as ‘all scripture’ was primarily a reference to the Old Testament. That was the Bible of his day. Because of its authorship, it is said to be profitable. That profitability is realized when we allow it to change our lives to conform us to Christ likeness, and to equip us for every good work of the ministry to which God calls us. 

In closing, I want to leave you with one of my favorite verses, if not my favorite: 2 Corinthians 3:18, “but we all with an unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord are being transformed into that same image from glory to glory just as from the Lord, the spirit.” Summarized in this one verse are the critical components for defining the dynamic and maturing Christian experience. It is God's transformation of the life of the believer into the glorious image of Christ through the word of God by the power of the spirit of God in fellowship with the people of God. This, my friend, is in reality what BSF is all about. May this year be the best year of our spiritual growth experience that we've ever had.

Transcribed by Kyra Sanders from BSF People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Introductory Lecture. Any errors are attributed to me.