SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY
Essential Doctrines of Christianity
Essential Doctrines of Christianity
The Bible God Works of God Angels Humans Sin Salvation Christ Holy Spirit Church End Times Afterlife
THE BIBLE:
GENERAL REVELATION
GENERAL REVELATION – Truth that God shares through nature.
- God shows that he exists and is powerful through his creation (Ps 19:1-6; Rom 1:19-20), and that he is good and a provider through the way his creation meets our needs (Acts 14:15-17; Matt 5:45).
- General revelation shows man’s need for God, leaving him without excuse before God (Rom 1:18 – 3:20). It should cause man to search for more knowledge of God (Acts 17:22-29), which is a search that God promises to reward (1 Chron 28:9; Jer 29:13; Matt 7:7-8).
- God shows that he exists and is powerful through his creation (Ps 19:1-6; Rom 1:19-20), and that he is good and a provider through the way his creation meets our needs (Acts 14:15-17; Matt 5:45).
- General revelation shows man’s need for God, leaving him without excuse before God (Rom 1:18 – 3:20). It should cause man to search for more knowledge of God (Acts 17:22-29), which is a search that God promises to reward (1 Chron 28:9; Jer 29:13; Matt 7:7-8).
SPECIAL REVELATION
SPECIAL REVELATION – Truth that God shares through his Word.
- God gave us his Word, the Bible (2 Tim 3:16). God communicated with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden (Gen 2:15-17; 3:8-9). After the fall, God continued to communicate with people including Abraham, Moses, and the other prophets (Gen 12:1; Ex 3:1-6; Jer 1:2; Jonah 1:1; Mal 1:1 et. al.). There are times that God spoke directly (Num 12:8; 1 Sam 3:1-21), through dreams (Num 12:6), through visions (Num 12:6; Is 1:1), and through his Holy Spirit (1 Peter 1:10-11). He also spoke through his Son, the Word of God (Heb 1:2; John 1:1).
- God’s Word makes clear what general revelation suggests (Acts 17:23). It makes explicitly clear that man is sinful (Rom 3:23), and what is necessary for salvation (Acts 16:30-31). And it makes wise and shows how to live (2 Tim 3:15-17; 2 Pet 1:3-4; Ps 19:7-9).
- God gave us his Word, the Bible (2 Tim 3:16). God communicated with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden (Gen 2:15-17; 3:8-9). After the fall, God continued to communicate with people including Abraham, Moses, and the other prophets (Gen 12:1; Ex 3:1-6; Jer 1:2; Jonah 1:1; Mal 1:1 et. al.). There are times that God spoke directly (Num 12:8; 1 Sam 3:1-21), through dreams (Num 12:6), through visions (Num 12:6; Is 1:1), and through his Holy Spirit (1 Peter 1:10-11). He also spoke through his Son, the Word of God (Heb 1:2; John 1:1).
- God’s Word makes clear what general revelation suggests (Acts 17:23). It makes explicitly clear that man is sinful (Rom 3:23), and what is necessary for salvation (Acts 16:30-31). And it makes wise and shows how to live (2 Tim 3:15-17; 2 Pet 1:3-4; Ps 19:7-9).
INSPIRATION
INSPIRATION – God breathed Scripture (2 Tim 3:16; Acts 4:24-25), guiding the writing (2 Peter 1:21 cf. John 14:26) so that the final result was exactly as he intended, including the tense (Matt 22:31-32) and number (Gal 3:16 cf. Gen 22:18) of every word (Matt 5:18).
- The Holy Spirit worked through the biblical authors, using the unique experiences, knowledge, personality, and literary style of each writer.
- Every part of Scripture is equally inspired. Certain parts may be thought of as more beautiful, poetic, or important for particular doctrines, but all parts of Scripture are inspired and are equally the Word of God (2 Tim 3:16).
- The Holy Spirit worked through the biblical authors, using the unique experiences, knowledge, personality, and literary style of each writer.
- Every part of Scripture is equally inspired. Certain parts may be thought of as more beautiful, poetic, or important for particular doctrines, but all parts of Scripture are inspired and are equally the Word of God (2 Tim 3:16).
WHAT ARE REASONS TO BELIEVE THE BIBLE WAS INSPIRED BY GOD?
- An important reason to believe in inspiration is that the Bible contains prophecy that correctly predicted events hundreds of years before they came to pass. One of the clearest examples of this is the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ, described in Isaiah 53, Psalm 22, and Daniel 9:20-27. The Daniel passage also includes the timing of when it would happen. Only writings guided by God could correctly make predictions hundreds of years in advance.
- The Bible is made up of 66 books written by about 40 different writers over the course of over a thousand years, and yet individually and together the NT and OT create a cohesive whole.
- The Bible is made up of 66 books written by about 40 different writers over the course of over a thousand years, and yet individually and together the NT and OT create a cohesive whole.
inerrancy
INERRANCY – The Bible is completely true and without error in the original manuscripts.
.- The Bible is without error in what it says about geography, history, and science, just as it is in what it says about spiritual things (Psalm 12:6; Prov 30:5-6; 2 Tim 3:16).
.- The Bible is without error in what it says about geography, history, and science, just as it is in what it says about spiritual things (Psalm 12:6; Prov 30:5-6; 2 Tim 3:16).
WHAT ARE REASONS TO BELIEVE THE BIBLE IS WITHOUT ERROR?
- If the Bible is truly God-breathed (2 Tim 3:16; see above) then it makes sense that it would be without error, since God does not make mistakes nor does he lie (Num 23:19; Tit 1:2). There are reasons to believe that the biblical writers did not make mistakes nor did they make things up.
WHAT ARE REASONS TO BELIEVE THE BIBLICAL WRITERS DID NOT MAKE MISTAKES?
- The NT writers had the ability to be accurate because they were eyewitnesses to the events or used firsthand testimony (Luke 1:1-3; John 19:35; Acts 2:22; 26:24-26; 2 Pet 1:16; 1 John 1:3). Matthew, John, and Peter spent at least three years with Jesus. Mark and Luke were in close contact with Apostles and had access to written accounts of Jesus and his ministry. Even though the writers of Scripture were humans who make mistakes like the rest of us, it does not mean that they made any errors in the Scripture they wrote. For example, a human can score 100% on a math, geography, or science test in school. In the case of Scripture, the biblical writers not only wrote what was 100% accurate, but exactly what God wanted them to communicate.
- The accuracy of the biblical writers, such as Luke, has been backed up by archeology and by other historians. The OT has been a reliable guide to Middle Eastern archeology. There have been several times where the OT has conflicted with the current archeological data/thought, and later discoveries revealed that the OT was correct. One of the most important cases of this was that of King Belshazzar, who was named as the king of Babylon in Daniel chapter five. For over a hundred years it was a ‘fact’ that all of the kings of Babylon were known, that Belshazzar was not among them, and that Nabonidus was the last one. It was ‘known’ that Daniel either had his history wrong or he made the whole story up. Therefore, to still hold to the inerrancy of Daniel was considered absurd. But late in the nineteenth century, an inscribed cylinder was discovered showing that Belshazzar was Nabonidus' son who served as coregent. He ruled in Babylon because his father went hundreds of miles away to the sanctuary of the moon god Sin in Harran. The discovery also helped to explain why Belshazzar offered to make Daniel the third highest ruler in the kingdom for interpreting the handwriting on the wall (Dan 5:16). Belshazzar was the second ruler and so the highest available position he had to offer was number three.
- No book has been put under the scrutiny and attack as the Bible and yet it has held firm and stood the test of time. Apparent difficulties have consistently been dealt with and reconciled. An example of a Bible difficulty is “the field of blood.” Was it called the field of blood because Judas sold out Jesus to be killed, as Matthew 27:6-8 implies, or because Judas’ blood was spilled there, as Acts 1:18-19 suggests? This can be answered by a comparison with a modern day example. Why is Chicago, Illinois called The Windy City? The answer is that it was originally called The Windy City because of the ‘long-winded’ politicians who talked up the city to get the world’s fair of 1893. But if you’ve been there in winter you will know that it is still called The Windy City today because the wind can be so strong that it seems to blow all four directions at once.
- Other difficulties can be explained by the fact that the writers of Scripture used common literary tools of the time including hyperbole, metaphors, round numbers, and idioms like ‘sunrise.’ (We still use this term even though we know the earth spins and the sun doesn’t actually rise.) There was also more leeway in quoting someone at the time, especially when the quote was spoken in a language (e.g., Aramaic) that was different than the language it was quoted in (e.g., Greek). It is also important to note that proverbial statements can be pieces of wisdom and not ironclad guarantees. Progressive revelation leads to the understanding that, for instance, Jesus’ sacrifice supersedes/fulfills the OT sacrificial system. It is also important to look at the context of each passage in order to deal with apparent contradictions or difficulties.
- The accuracy of the biblical writers, such as Luke, has been backed up by archeology and by other historians. The OT has been a reliable guide to Middle Eastern archeology. There have been several times where the OT has conflicted with the current archeological data/thought, and later discoveries revealed that the OT was correct. One of the most important cases of this was that of King Belshazzar, who was named as the king of Babylon in Daniel chapter five. For over a hundred years it was a ‘fact’ that all of the kings of Babylon were known, that Belshazzar was not among them, and that Nabonidus was the last one. It was ‘known’ that Daniel either had his history wrong or he made the whole story up. Therefore, to still hold to the inerrancy of Daniel was considered absurd. But late in the nineteenth century, an inscribed cylinder was discovered showing that Belshazzar was Nabonidus' son who served as coregent. He ruled in Babylon because his father went hundreds of miles away to the sanctuary of the moon god Sin in Harran. The discovery also helped to explain why Belshazzar offered to make Daniel the third highest ruler in the kingdom for interpreting the handwriting on the wall (Dan 5:16). Belshazzar was the second ruler and so the highest available position he had to offer was number three.
- No book has been put under the scrutiny and attack as the Bible and yet it has held firm and stood the test of time. Apparent difficulties have consistently been dealt with and reconciled. An example of a Bible difficulty is “the field of blood.” Was it called the field of blood because Judas sold out Jesus to be killed, as Matthew 27:6-8 implies, or because Judas’ blood was spilled there, as Acts 1:18-19 suggests? This can be answered by a comparison with a modern day example. Why is Chicago, Illinois called The Windy City? The answer is that it was originally called The Windy City because of the ‘long-winded’ politicians who talked up the city to get the world’s fair of 1893. But if you’ve been there in winter you will know that it is still called The Windy City today because the wind can be so strong that it seems to blow all four directions at once.
- Other difficulties can be explained by the fact that the writers of Scripture used common literary tools of the time including hyperbole, metaphors, round numbers, and idioms like ‘sunrise.’ (We still use this term even though we know the earth spins and the sun doesn’t actually rise.) There was also more leeway in quoting someone at the time, especially when the quote was spoken in a language (e.g., Aramaic) that was different than the language it was quoted in (e.g., Greek). It is also important to note that proverbial statements can be pieces of wisdom and not ironclad guarantees. Progressive revelation leads to the understanding that, for instance, Jesus’ sacrifice supersedes/fulfills the OT sacrificial system. It is also important to look at the context of each passage in order to deal with apparent contradictions or difficulties.
WHAT ARE REASONS TO BELIEVE THE BIBLICAL WRITERS DID NOT MAKE THINGS UP?
- The Bible contains stories and details that would not be expected in a made-up story. Among other things, those who controlled the story would not make themselves look bad if they were making up a story. In the NT, the disciples were scared and scattered (Mark 14:27); Peter denied Jesus three times (Matt 26:69-75), and Thomas doubted in a mocking fashion (John 20:24-25). As the disciples were scattered, it was women who found the empty tomb, including Mary Magdalene who had a bad reputation (Matt 28:1-9). At the time, women could not testify in court as witnesses as their word was seen as suspect. For this reason, when Paul lists those who saw the risen Christ, he does not even mention the women (1 Cor 15:3-8). There would be no reason to invent a story of women finding the empty tomb and seeing the resurrected Christ as the Gospels record. The only reason to tell that story is because that is actually what happened. The OT similarly records the sins of those who recorded the events. There are the sins of David (2 Samuel 11), and of Moses {The presumed writer of the first five books of the Bible, which included the details of him killing an Egyptian (Ex 2:12), failing at speaking (Ex 4:10-15), and striking a rock that caused him to be kept out of the promised land (Num 20:6-12: Deut 32:48-52)}. There were also all of the sins of the evil kings of Judah and Israel (2 Chron 21:6 et. al.).
authority
AUTHORITY – The Bible is the final word above all other traditions and writings, and is to guide our beliefs and actions (Matt 7:24-29; 2 Tim 3:14-17).
- The authority of Scripture comes from the authority of God who breathed it (Matt 7:24-29; 2 Tim 3:14-17).
- The authority of Scripture comes from the authority of God who breathed it (Matt 7:24-29; 2 Tim 3:14-17).
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO BELIEVE IN THE AUTHORITY OF THE BIBLE?
- Will I change the Bible or will the Bible change me? This is the important question. If the Bible is only a good book and not our absolute authority, then we can decide what to keep and what to disregard. If we ignore what we don’t like and only listen to what we already agree with, then the Bible does us no good. We must approach the Bible with an understanding of its authority and allow it to convict and change us. We need to ask a fundamental question. Am I in control or is God? If the Bible is not authoritative then what is? Should our hearts be our authority? The heart of fallen man is deceitful, often selfish, and has led many people astray (Jer 17:9). The Bible is a guide far better than the fallen human heart.
Illumination
ILLUMINATION - The Holy Spirit enables the Christian’s mind to understand and apply the spiritual truths of the Word of God (1 Cor 2:9-3:4; John 16:12-15; 1 John 2:20, 27).
WHY DO WE NEED A GOOD INTELLECTUAL APPROACH TO STUDYING THE BIBLE AS WELL AS TO HAVE THE HOLY SPIRIT LEAD AND TEACH?
- We are supposed to study the Scriptures diligently (Acts 17:11), and love God with the minds that he has given us (Matt 22:37). At the same time we are called to rely on the Holy Spirit in order to understand the wisdom of God, which would be hard to grasp with human wisdom alone (1 Cor 1:18-31; 3:16-21).
- Note that it is wise to avoid making statements like, “The Spirit showed me this interpretation of this passage.” While the Spirit may have illuminated the passage for you, we should always be humble enough to allow for our own mistakes and misunderstandings, especially if a fellow Christian has a different view of the same passage.
- Note that it is wise to avoid making statements like, “The Spirit showed me this interpretation of this passage.” While the Spirit may have illuminated the passage for you, we should always be humble enough to allow for our own mistakes and misunderstandings, especially if a fellow Christian has a different view of the same passage.
Clarity
CLARITY - Scripture can be readily understood by a layperson (Psalm 119:130) especially in the most important areas relating to salvation (2 Tim 3:15), and is a clear guide of how the Christian should live (2 Tim 3:16-17).
- While Scripture is understandable, it is not always easy to understand (2 Peter 3:15-16).
- While Scripture is understandable, it is not always easy to understand (2 Peter 3:15-16).
IF ILLUMINATION AND CLARITY ARE TRUE, THEN WHY ARE THERE DIFFERENT INTERPRETATIONS OF CERTAIN PASSAGES EVEN AMONG MATURE CHRISTIANS?
- It is possible for even mature Christians to make mistakes. We don’t have perfect Bible study methods and we are not perfectly led by the Spirit. Just as we continue to sin even after we have the Spirit to help guide our walk with God, so too do we fall short of perfect understanding even after we have the Spirit to illuminate the Scriptures.
WHY DO CHRISTIANS HOLD DIFFERENT POSITIONS ON CERTAIN DOCTRINES?
- Scripture stresses some doctrines more than others. For instance, Scripture stresses and teaches clearly that God is sovereign and that man must repent and be saved by grace through faith in Jesus. It may not teach as clearly how God’s sovereignty interacts with human’s free will, and so there are questions as to how people are led to salvation and there are debates about Calvinism.
- The most important “tier 1” doctrines and much of the “tier 2” doctrines actually have found massive acceptance among Christians throughout the centuries and throughout many countries and cultures. This speaks to the clarity of the Bible on the most important issues as well as to the illuminating work of the Holy Spirit.
- The most important “tier 1” doctrines and much of the “tier 2” doctrines actually have found massive acceptance among Christians throughout the centuries and throughout many countries and cultures. This speaks to the clarity of the Bible on the most important issues as well as to the illuminating work of the Holy Spirit.
sufficiency
SUFFICIENCY – The Bible contains all the information that is necessary for salvation (2 Tim 3:15; 1 Peter 1:23), and for doing what is right (2 Tim 3:16-17; Ps. 119:1).
- This does not mean that the Bible addresses every subject, since some are not relevant to salvation or walking with God (e.g. service order, music style, calculus). There are other subjects that Sripture may not directly address, but where it speaks to the root of the issue.
- This does not mean that the Bible addresses every subject, since some are not relevant to salvation or walking with God (e.g. service order, music style, calculus). There are other subjects that Sripture may not directly address, but where it speaks to the root of the issue.
Animation
ANIMATION – The Word of God brings life, and is active in changing lives and accomplishing God’s will (Heb 4:12; John 6:63; 1 Pet 1:23; Isa 55:11; Eph 6:17).
WHAT DOES IT MEAN THAT THE BIBLE IS LIVING AND ACTIVE (HEB 4:12)?
- This verse does not mean that the meaning of biblical passages can change. The context of Hebrews 4:12 is about the Bible being able to judge the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. It does not speak about the Bible changing its meaning. For instance, John 3:16 means the same thing today that it meant when John wrote it through the influence of the Holy Spirit nearly 2,000 years ago. If the meaning can change, then we could not trust it as a source of information for how to be saved. It is true that sometimes we discover meaning in a passage that we did not see before, but the meaning was always there. It was fixed when it was written. The ‘life’ in the Scriptures is not its ability to change its meaning, but its ability to change lives with its unchanging truth. The essence of ‘life’ is not change. God himself is Life and the giver of life, yet he is the ‘I Am’, the Unchanging One, the same yesterday today and forever. It is the unchanging and imperishable truths that the Spirit helps us to understand and apply, that allow us to live dynamic lives.
the canon
THE CANON - The collection of books that have been deemed to be Holy Scripture.
- The word “canon” means measuring rod, rule, or standard. Scripture is the perfect standard that everything else is to be measured against.
- The Protestant Canon consists of 66 books, 39 OT books and 27 NT books.
- The job of God’s people was not to determine the Canon, nor give authority to certain books in order to create the Canon, but rather it was merely to recognize the Canon.
- The word “canon” means measuring rod, rule, or standard. Scripture is the perfect standard that everything else is to be measured against.
- The Protestant Canon consists of 66 books, 39 OT books and 27 NT books.
- The job of God’s people was not to determine the Canon, nor give authority to certain books in order to create the Canon, but rather it was merely to recognize the Canon.
WHY DOES THE CATHOLIC CANON INCLUDE MORE BOOKS THAN THE PROTESTANT CANON?
- These books that are not in the protestant canon are referred to as the Apocrypha and were written after Malachi, the last book of the protestant OT canon. After Malachi was written, it was commonly accepted that there were no prophets and no additions to God’s word for several centuries. Josephus stated, “From Artaxerxes to our own times a complete history has been written, but has not been deemed worthy of equal credit with the earlier records, because of the failure of the exact succession of the prophets” (Against Apion 1.41). “After the later prophets Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi had died, the Holy Spirit departed from Israel” (Babylonian Talmud, Yomah 9b). One of the books of the Apocrypha itself states, “prophets ceased to appear among them” (1 Macc 9:27).
- Jesus and the NT authors often quote the OT as authoritative, but never quote the Apocrypha.
- None of the Apocrypha claims divine authorship.
- The earliest list of OT books (Melito, AD 170) does not contain the Apocrypha (or Esther).
- The Apocrypha was not accepted into the Roman Catholic Canon until the Council of Trent in 1546. The Council was a response to Luther and the Reformation. The Apocrypha contains support for prayers for the dead (2 Macc 12:43-45), and salvation by faith plus works (Tobit 12:9). Both of these were practices of the Roman Catholic Church of the time and were being called into question by the reformers since they conflicted with other parts of Scripture. Even still, it passed with a narrow margin (24 yea, 15 nay, 16 abstain).
- The Apocrypha are not in the Hebrew Masoretic text.
- Jesus and the NT authors often quote the OT as authoritative, but never quote the Apocrypha.
- None of the Apocrypha claims divine authorship.
- The earliest list of OT books (Melito, AD 170) does not contain the Apocrypha (or Esther).
- The Apocrypha was not accepted into the Roman Catholic Canon until the Council of Trent in 1546. The Council was a response to Luther and the Reformation. The Apocrypha contains support for prayers for the dead (2 Macc 12:43-45), and salvation by faith plus works (Tobit 12:9). Both of these were practices of the Roman Catholic Church of the time and were being called into question by the reformers since they conflicted with other parts of Scripture. Even still, it passed with a narrow margin (24 yea, 15 nay, 16 abstain).
- The Apocrypha are not in the Hebrew Masoretic text.
WHY WERE CERTAIN BOOKS EXCLUDED FROM THE NEW TESTAMENT CANON?
- It is generally considered that the books that should be included in the NT canon are those that were written or authorized by an Apostle, and recognized by the people of God as having divine content (2 Peter 3:2). The only books in the NT canon not written by apostles are Mark, Luke-Acts, Jude, and possibly Hebrews. Mark was an associate of Peter. Luke was an associate of Paul. Jude was a brother of James. Hebrews gained early and wide acceptance; Some think it was written by Paul, but ultimately the author is unknown. Writings of Paul were recognized as Scripture by Peter (2 Peter 3:15-16). The Gospel of Luke was recognized as Scripture by Paul (1 Tim 5:17-18 cf. Deut 25:4; Luke 10:7).
- Books that were rejected from the canon were those that were not written or authorized by Apostles, and were not universally recognized by the people of the early church. Some of these books, known as pseudepigrapha, are writings that bear the name of a well-known person of the faith, yet were written by someone else, and often much later that the original person lived. There is a perception of some that there were dozens of equally viable books that were eliminated from contention and only a small portion were chosen by a church council, and that the process of choosing these books occurred in secrecy, and that the books that ‘lost out’ were destroyed or hidden. The reality is that various church councils merely stated publicly the books that had been widely accepted by the church for quite some time. The Canon was mostly recognized by AD 180. In 367 Athanasius made a list of 27 NT books we use today. In 397 the Council of Carthage agreed on the same list. Representatives from all over the Christian world were at the councils. Interestingly there is actually a conspicuous lack of credible ‘contenders’ for the Canon. Pseudepigrapha rejected from the Canon were not destroyed. Many works survived and can be read today, and the reader can see why they weren’t included. For instance the Gospel of Thomas states, “’Let Mary go away from us, for women are not worthy of life.’ Jesus said: ‘Lo, I shall lead her, so that I may make her a male, that she too may become a living spirit, resembling you males. For every woman who makes herself a male will enter the kingdom of heaven’” (Par 114). This was clearly not written by Thomas, the disciple of Jesus. It was likely written by a second century Gnostic.
- There were only a few controversial additions to the Canon, such as 2 Peter; 2, 3 John; James (Not really until Luther did James become an issue.); and for some Hebrews, because the author was unknown.
- The Canon is closed. Revelation is a perfect conclusion to the Canon (Rev 22:18-19).
- Books that were rejected from the canon were those that were not written or authorized by Apostles, and were not universally recognized by the people of the early church. Some of these books, known as pseudepigrapha, are writings that bear the name of a well-known person of the faith, yet were written by someone else, and often much later that the original person lived. There is a perception of some that there were dozens of equally viable books that were eliminated from contention and only a small portion were chosen by a church council, and that the process of choosing these books occurred in secrecy, and that the books that ‘lost out’ were destroyed or hidden. The reality is that various church councils merely stated publicly the books that had been widely accepted by the church for quite some time. The Canon was mostly recognized by AD 180. In 367 Athanasius made a list of 27 NT books we use today. In 397 the Council of Carthage agreed on the same list. Representatives from all over the Christian world were at the councils. Interestingly there is actually a conspicuous lack of credible ‘contenders’ for the Canon. Pseudepigrapha rejected from the Canon were not destroyed. Many works survived and can be read today, and the reader can see why they weren’t included. For instance the Gospel of Thomas states, “’Let Mary go away from us, for women are not worthy of life.’ Jesus said: ‘Lo, I shall lead her, so that I may make her a male, that she too may become a living spirit, resembling you males. For every woman who makes herself a male will enter the kingdom of heaven’” (Par 114). This was clearly not written by Thomas, the disciple of Jesus. It was likely written by a second century Gnostic.
- There were only a few controversial additions to the Canon, such as 2 Peter; 2, 3 John; James (Not really until Luther did James become an issue.); and for some Hebrews, because the author was unknown.
- The Canon is closed. Revelation is a perfect conclusion to the Canon (Rev 22:18-19).
transmission
TRANSMISSION – The copying of the original manuscripts of Scripture (cf. Joel 1:3).
DID THE BIBLE CHANGE OVER TIME AS COPIES OF COPIES WERE MADE?
- Regarding the Old Testament, the Jewish Masoretes (copyists) did a meticulous job of transmitting the OT text, using many failsafe methods to ensure accuracy. The Dead Sea Scrolls, which are recently discovered portions of Scripture from the first and second centuries B.C., were found to match up very closely with texts from eleven hundred years later. All of the copying between those thousand plus years did not change the text in any meaningful way.
- Regarding the New Testament, there are a tremendous number of Greek NT’s or partial NT’s that are dated to very close to the time the originals were written. These manuscripts were found all throughout the Mediterranean world. The number and quality of the manuscripts are far greater for the NT that any other book of antiquity. Over 5,000 Greek manuscripts of all or portions of the NT have survived and been found. There are variants (discrepancies between two manuscripts) within the copies of the NT, but the tremendous number of copies allows scholars to figure out with a fairly high degree of confidence what the original manuscripts likely said. None of the variant readings affect doctrines. Variants include spelling errors, which clearly have no effect on meaning. Some people list a very high number of total variants, but this is just a product of the large number of manuscripts. If there is a mistaken word that gets repeated a hundred times in the same family of manuscripts, then that will get listed as a hundred variants even though it is really one small error.
- Regarding the New Testament, there are a tremendous number of Greek NT’s or partial NT’s that are dated to very close to the time the originals were written. These manuscripts were found all throughout the Mediterranean world. The number and quality of the manuscripts are far greater for the NT that any other book of antiquity. Over 5,000 Greek manuscripts of all or portions of the NT have survived and been found. There are variants (discrepancies between two manuscripts) within the copies of the NT, but the tremendous number of copies allows scholars to figure out with a fairly high degree of confidence what the original manuscripts likely said. None of the variant readings affect doctrines. Variants include spelling errors, which clearly have no effect on meaning. Some people list a very high number of total variants, but this is just a product of the large number of manuscripts. If there is a mistaken word that gets repeated a hundred times in the same family of manuscripts, then that will get listed as a hundred variants even though it is really one small error.
Translation
TRANSLATION - The original manuscripts of Scripture were written mostly in Hebrew (OT) and Greek (NT), and have been translated so that people can read the Word of God in their own language.
IS IT NECESSARY TO KNOW GREEK AND HEBREW TO UNDERSTAND SCRIPTURE?
- No, while knowing Hebrew and Greek and reading the Bible in the original languages can help gain a deeper understanding of the Bible, the translators generally do a very good job of expressing the meaning found in the original languages.
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