THE SCRIPTURES - I

WBS.012

FUNDAMENTALS OF DISCIPLESHIP

THE SCRIPTURES - I

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

It is necessary, before becoming too involved in our study, to deal with the perceptions that exist regarding the Scriptures; and to establish the working concept upon which this study will be based.  There are many opinions regarding the nature of Scripture as to its inspiration, its integrity, its purpose, and the legitimacy of the translations that exist.

It is safe to say there are two primary camps regarding the Scripture.  One denies any special value of the Scriptures over any other literary work, though possibly acquiescing to the notion that it contains some wise sayings.  The other camp ascribes to it a divine origin and the basis of the authority to their faith in Elohim. 

Though it is obvious I am not of the first camp, I do subscribe to the idea that every individual disciple should determine for themselves that the Scriptures are of divine origin and what that means to them.  This is something that generally never happens.  Of the millions of professing believers in the world, today, I doubt a significant number have grappled with the issue of the divine inspiration of the Scriptures.  For centuries, we have grown up in cultures that have passed down from generation to generation the belief that the Scriptures are divinely inspired and serve as the irrefutable foundation for all spiritual truth, today. 

The “Bible” serves as this anchor for all Christian and Catholic churches throughout the world; so the religious masses for centuries have provided the consensus opinion that forms the basis of each contemporary believer’s perception of the Scriptures.  The problem with this is that faith cannot be based upon what someone else believes.  The #1 reason why so many believers yield their trust in certain “promises” of the Scriptures to take up worldly solutions can be attributed to the fact that they have never established the authenticity of the Scriptures for themselves.

Acts 19:13  Then certain of the vagabond Jews, exorcists, took upon them to call over them which had evil spirits the name of the Master Yahushua, saying, We adjure you by Yahushua whom Paul preacheth.
14  And there were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew, and chief of the priests, which did so.
15  And the evil spirit answered and said, Yahushua I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye?
16  And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and overcame them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.

Here we see seven brothers recognizing the efficiency by which the apostle Paul cast demons out of the afflicted, and correctly ascertained that it was Paul’s faith in the name of Yahushua that was connected to his results.  These brothers had no relationship with Yahushua. They were not disciples.  They did not have the faith in the name of Yahushua that comes from personal experience.  You see, in this passage, the results of what I call “second generation faith.”  This incident demonstrates the point I am making.  One really cannot have unyielding faith in the words of Scripture without personally validating its authority, without personal experience that provides the conviction that the Scriptures are divinely inspired. That does not come from believing what others believe about the Scriptures.

This personal validation of the Scriptures can come through many different means.  It does not necessitate extensive academic research on the historical path of the original writings to their current form in your native language; though it can be through this path.  Ultimately, it is going to be through the means the Holy Spirit will choose to bring this conviction to your heart.  It is important to recognize there are 39 separate books of the Old Testament and 27 books of the New Testament.  There are even more books in today’s Catholic version of the Bible, as it includes an additional 15 books in the Old Testament referred to as the Apocrypha.  (These books were contained in the original publication of the 1611 King James Version, and remained there for 274 years before being removed.) There have been centuries of controversy over the inclusion of the book of James in the New Testament, and even dispute over the inclusion of the last half of the 16^th chapter of the Gospel of Mark. There has been controversy over the inclusion of 2 Peter, 2 John, 3 John, Jude and the book of Revelation.  There is disagreement over whether the New Testament books were written in Greek or Hebrew; but we have no Hebrew manuscripts to support an original autograph. Many believers have never heard of the Peshitta, an Aramaic version of the New Testament, which purports to be based on manuscripts more ancient than the Greek manuscripts which serve as the foundation for virtually all current translations of the New Testament.  Also, If you should find that the Torah (Pentateuch: Gen, Ex, Lev, Num, Deut) is inspired of Elohim, that still leaves 61 other books.  The Scriptures we have today, a compilation of 66 books, were written over a period of 2,000 years.  These 66 writings are not a single book; however; if we believe they are divinely inspired, we believe they all have the same author.

One could say, “Well, just look at the opening verse used in this post.  It SAYS that ‘all Scripture is given by inspiration of Elohim.’”  The apostle Paul said that; and to what writings was he referring, and what authority does he have to identify those writings as Scripture?  You could reply, “In 2 Peter 3:16, the Apostle Peter refers to the writings of Paul as Scripture, therefore Paul was speaking under the inspiration of Elohim;” but then, by what authority does Peter have to declare this for us, knowing that even the inspiration of the book of 2 Peter has been a subject of challenge?

There are also several writings referred to within the accepted Scriptures that we do not have included in our “bibles,” today.  Should we believe we are missing some of the revelation intended for us, today; or should we believe that if those books were to be included that the Holy Spirit would have intervened in the affairs of man to insure they were available for inclusion? 

Considering these facts, you can now better understand why I insist that every believer must establish for himself/herself the authenticity and reliability of the Scriptures, if they are going to form the basis for their faith.  Now, I can well imagine this idea would cause considerable unrest in some who read this posting.  This “homework assignment” I am giving you challenges the very foundation of your faith; but let me assure you, until you pursue this question you can have no real confidence in the Scriptures to provide you with the unchallengeable authority you say it already has in your life.  You must have some evidence that personally convinces you that the Holy Spirit can speak to you through the Scriptures because they are authored by Him.  If you do not have that, your trust in the Scriptures is based on something that cannot support your faith.

The first century disciples did not have the New Testament.  They are the ones who wrote the New Testament books.  When the early church referred to the Scriptures, they were referring to what we call the Old Testament.  The Jews referred to it both then and now as the Tanakh.  Interestingly, it was their final authority for all things spiritual…all things pertaining to Elohim, even to confirm the veracity of the gospel message itself.

Acts 17:10  And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews.
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.

We must have a personal reason to trust the Scriptures, today.  It cannot be our father’s faith, or our church’s doctrine.  I encourage you to pray and to seek this confirmation for yourself.