What We Believe About: The Bible

a webinar with Pastor Mike Henry

New Hope Open Bible

What Do We Know? The Bible is old

It was written over a 1,500 year period between 1,500 B.C. and A.D. 90

The Bible is not the work of one man It’s a collection of 66 smaller books

More than 40 authors

What Do We Know? Translations vary depending on

whether the translators want to show exact wording or general concepts Exact wording helps us know what

God really said Concepts help us grasp what God

meant

What Do We Know Exact wording can sometimes be

confusing because… Ancient figures of speech aren’t always

understood by today’s casual reader Paraphrases of the Bible can often

miss the richness of the original text because… Translators have to make a decision

about what they think God meant

How Do We Know Our Translation is Accurate? We need to understand what God means

to say We need to understand that God means

everything he says Every word, every phrase is rich in meaning If we try to condense the Bible down to one or

two single concepts, we miss the peripherals This is why we study the Bible and its

historical context After this, we study the Bible and apply it

to our own context

Who Wrote The Books? Many different authors Old Testament: Mostly Prophets and

Leaders Moses, David, Isaiah, Jeremiah, etc.

New Testament: Eyewitnesses of the lives of Jesus and the first Christians Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Paul, Peter

What Are the Books? Old Testament: 39 Books,

including: Genesis, Psalms, Proverbs, the

Prophets New Testament: 27 Books,

including: The Gospels, Acts, The Epistles,

Revelation

What Is the Meta-Narrative? What do the books of the Bible say

about themselves? Implied: Account of God’s intervention Implied: History of God’s chosen people

But it’s not just about the Jewish people Revelation of God’s heart Prayers, praises or worship Account of actual events Letters of instruction

How Do We Know It’s True? We need to be careful not to presume

ourselves as judges of ancient Hebrew mystical writings Our understanding is finite; it has its limitations We will fail if we think we can discount the

Bible based on our own prejudices Skeptics will find discrepancies even if

there aren’t any You can read anything into it, if you try

The Importance of the Bible It is the source of our foundations It is the resource that informs our

faith It is the most concrete medium

through which the Holy Spirit brings revelation to us individually

The Importance of the Bible“All scripture is God-breathed and is

profitable for teaching, correcting, rebuking, and training in righteousness so that the man or woman of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Tim 3:16-17)