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Doctrine: What Christians Should Believe (2010) [Chapter 2 – Part 3]

[Articles in the Summed Up series are intended to be summaries of chapters of selected theological books. The author(s) will be quoted verbatim for the purposes of ensuring accurate representation]

Revelation: God Speaks 

(Part 3: pp.58-68)

A) About the author(s):

Mark Driscoll has a Master of Arts degree in exegetical theology from Western Seminary. He was the founding and preaching pastor of Mars Hill Church, and former president of the Acts 29 Church Planting Network

Gerry Breshears is a Professor of Theology at Western Seminary and earned his PhD in Systematic Theology from Fuller Theological Seminary.

B) Chapter Summary:

vii) Does the Scriptures contain errors and/or contradictions?

“… we believe that all that the Bible teaches is truth from God, whether statements of fact about earth, heaven, humans, or God, or moral commands, or divine promises.”[1]

“The affirmation of the truthfulness of the Bible is inextricably tied to the character of God himself. God is a truthful God who does not lie. Therefore, because God is ultimately the author of Scripture, it is perfect, unlike every other uninspired writing and utterance. Taken altogether, inerrancy is the shorthand way of summarizing all that the Scriptures say about Scripture. Inerrant means that the Scriptures are perfect, without any error. The doctrine of inerrancy posits that because God does not lie or speak falsely in any way, and because the Scriptures are God’s Word, they are perfect. As a result, the entire Bible is without any error.”[2]

See Num. 23:19; Pss. 12:6; 119:89; Prov. 30:5–6

See also as 2 Samuel 7:28, Psalm 19:7–10, Psalm 119:42–43, 142, 151, 160, 163; and John 17:17

“A telling example of the Bible’s accuracy is in the transliteration of the names of foreign kings in the Old Testament as compared to contemporary extra-biblical records, such as monuments and tablets. The Bible is accurate in every detail in the thirty-six instances of comparison, a total of 183 syllables.

To see how amazing this is, Manetho’s ancient work on the dynasties of the Egyptian kings can be compared to extra-biblical records in 140 instances. He is right forty-nine times, only partially right twenty-eight times, and in the other sixty-three cases not a single syllable is correct! The Bible’s accuracy is shown not only in the original work but in its copies as well.

Luke correctly identifies by name, title, job, and time such historical individuals as Annas, Ananias, Herod Agrippa I, Herod Agrippa II, Sergius Paulus, the Egyptian prophet, Felix, and Festus. Political titles were very diverse and difficult to keep straight since every province had its own terms and, worse yet, the terms constantly changed. Yet Luke gets them right: a proconsul in Cypress and Achaia, the undeserved title Praetor in Philippi, the otherwise unknown title of Politarchs in Thessalonica, Asiarchs in Ephesus, and “the chief man” in Malta.”[3]

“Because Scripture is God speaking to us because he wants us to understand, we also believe Scripture usually speaks accurately in ordinary language. Typically the writers use popular language rather than technical terminology … There are also summaries, such as the Sermon on the Mount and Peter’s sermon at Pentecost, which we do not have full transcriptions of but rather only a portion of what was preached. Sometimes, the Bible also gives us rounded numbers rather than exact head counts of …”[4]

Popular language – Gen. 19:23; Mark 16:2; Isa. 11:12; Rev. 7:1; 20:8; Isa. 55:12.

Summaries – Mark 6:44; Acts 4:4.

Rounded numbers – Judg. 20:44–47.

[1] p.58

[2] Ibid.

[3] pp.59-60

[4] pp.62-63

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Doctrine: What Christians Should Believe (2010) [Chapter 2 – Part 2]

[Articles in the Summed Up series are intended to be summaries of chapters of selected theological books. The author(s) will be quoted verbatim for the purposes of ensuring accurate representation]

Revelation: God Speaks

(Part 2: pp.47-64)

A) About the author(s):

Mark Driscoll has a Master of Arts degree in exegetical theology from Western Seminary. He was the founding and preaching pastor of Mars Hill Church, and former president of the Acts 29 Church Planting Network

Gerry Breshears is a Professor of Theology at Western Seminary and earned his PhD in Systematic Theology from Fuller Theological Seminary.

B) Chapter Summary:

iv) Who wrote the Bible?

“The human authors of the Bible include kings, peasants, philosophers, fishermen, poets, statesmen, a doctor, and scholars. The books of the Bible cover history, sermons, letters, songs, and love letters. There are geographical surveys, architectural specifications, travel diaries, population statistics, family trees, inventories, and numerous legal documents.”[1]

“People who were providentially prepared by God, and motivated and superintended by the Holy Spirit, spoke and wrote according to their own personalities and circumstances in such a way that their words are the very Word of God. God’s supernatural guidance of the writers and their situations enabled them to receive and communicate all God would have us know for his glory and our salvation.

We call this divine inspiration. Putting it a bit more technically, the writings themselves have the quality of being God-breathed. It is not the authors or the process that is inspired, but the writings.”[2]

“The belief that God wrote Scripture in concert with human authors whom he inspired to perfectly record his words is called verbal (the very words of the Bible) plenary (every part of the Bible) inspiration (are God-breathed revelation). Very simply, this means that God the Holy Spirit inspired not just the thoughts of Scripture but also the very details and exact words that were perfectly recorded for us as Scripture. When we say verbal, we believe that the very words are inspired and important, chosen by God, so every word does matter … When we say plenary, we mean there are no parts of the Bible we don’t believe, don’t like, or won’t teach or preach or obey.”[3]

See 2 Tim. 3:16–17; 2 Pet. 1:19–21.

“The biblical authors knew they were writing Holy Scripture.”[4]

See 1 Cor. 14:37; 1 Tim. 5:18; 2 Pet. 3:15–16.

[1] pp.47-48

[2] p.48

[3] pp.48-49

[4] p.50

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Doctrine: What Christians Should Believe (2010) [Chapter 2 – Part 1]

[Articles in the Summed Up series are intended to be summaries of chapters of selected theological books. The author(s) will be quoted verbatim for the purposes of ensuring accurate representation]

Revelation: God Speaks

(Part 1: pp.36-47)

A) About the author(s):

Mark Driscoll has a Master of Arts degree in exegetical theology from Western Seminary. He was the founding and preaching pastor of Mars Hill Church, and former president of the Acts 29 Church Planting Network

Gerry Breshears is a Professor of Theology at Western Seminary and earned his PhD in Systematic Theology from Fuller Theological Seminary.

B) Chapter Summary:

i) How does God reveal Himself?

“God reveals himself to everyone everywhere through general revelation. General revelation includes creation, common grace, and conscience”[1]

see Romans 1:19–20; Ps. 8:3–4; Ps. 19:1, 4; Isa. 6:3.

“God’s general revelation also includes common grace. Augustine (AD 354–430) used the term common grace because it is for everyone and therefore common to all human beings.”[2]

“God’s common grace includes the water we drink, food we eat, sun we enjoy, and rain we need, as God is good to the sinner and saint alike.”[3]

see Ps. 65:9; 104:14; Matt. 5:45; Acts 14:17

“Internally, God also reveals himself generally through the conscience he gave us as his image bearers.”[4]

see Rom. 2:14–15; John 16:8–11

“For anyone to have a saving knowledge of God requires that, in addition to general revelation, they also must receive and believe special revelation.”[5]

“He revealed himself supremely through the incarnation, where the second person of the Trinity humbly entered into human history as the God-man Jesus Christ. During his earthly ministry, Jesus was led and empowered by the third member of the Trinity, God the Holy Spirit. That same Holy Spirit also inspired the writing of the Holy Bible.

God continues to reveal himself today, and the primary way he reveals himself is through the divinely inspired, inerrant, and authoritative Bible. The Bible is uniquely and solely God’s completely trustworthy revelation to us today. Scripture is the court of highest authority for Christians and their leaders, by which any alleged revelation from God is to be tested.”[6]

[1] p.38

[2] p.39

[3] Ibid.

[4] p.40

[5] p.41

[6] Ibid.

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Doctrine: What Christians Should Believe (2010) [Chapter 1]

[Articles in the Summed Up series are intended to be summaries of chapters of selected theological books. The author(s) will be quoted verbatim for the purposes of ensuring accurate representation]

Trinity: God Is

(pp. 11-35)

A) About the author(s):

Mark Driscoll has a Master of Arts degree in exegetical theology from Western Seminary. He was the founding and preaching pastor of Mars Hill Church, and former president of the Acts 29 Church Planting Network

Gerry Breshears is a Professor of Theology at Western Seminary and earned his PhD in Systematic Theology from Fuller Theological Seminary.

B) Chapter Summary:

i) What is the Trinity?

“God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. One God. Three persons. While the word Trinity does not appear in Scripture, this One-who-is-Three concept clearly does.”[1]

“… to say that each member of the Trinity is a “person” does not mean that God the Father or God the Spirit became human beings. Rather, it means that each member of the Trinity thinks, acts, feels, speaks, and relates because they are persons and not impersonal forces.”[2]

“The doctrine of the Trinity brings together three equally essential biblical truths without denying or diminishing any. First, there is only one true God. The Old Testament contains a number of clear statements that there is only one God. Likewise, the New Testament clearly states that there is only one God.”[3]

For OT, see Gen. 1:1; Deut. 4:35, 39; 6:4-5; 32:39; 1 Sam. 2:2; 2 Sam. 7:22; 22:32; 1 Kings 8:59-60; 2 Chron. 15:3; Ps. 86:8-10; Isa. 37:20; 43:10; 44:6-8; 45:5, 14, 21-22; 46:9; Jer. 10:10

For NT, see John 5:44; 17:3; Rom. 3:30; 16:27; 1 Cor. 8:4-6; Gal. 3:20; Eph. 4:6; 1 Tim. 1:17; 2:5; 1 Thes. 1:9; James 2:19; Jude 25; 1 John 5:20-21

“Second, the Father, Son, and Spirit are equally declared throughout Scripture to be God.”[4]

Father as God – see John 6:27; 17:3; 1 Cor. 8:6; 2 Cor. 1:3; Eph. 1:3; 1 Peter 1:3

Jesus as God – see Matt. 28:9; John 1:1-4, 14; 5:17-18; 8:58; 10:30-38 … Matt. 26:63-65; John 5:17-23; 8:58-59; 10:30-39; 19:7.

Holy Spirit as God – see Gen. 1:2; Ps. 104:30; Heb. 9:14; Mic. 3:8; Isa. 40:13-14; Ps. 139:7; Acts 5:3-4

“Third, though one God, the Father, Son and, Spirit are distinct persons, The Father and Son are two persons in frequent salutations of letters in the New Testament, as well as in other Scriptures. Scripture is also clear that Jesus and the Holy Spirit are not the same person. Likewise, the Father is not the Holy Spirit.”[5]

Father – Son: Rom. 1:17; 1 Cor. 1:3; 2 Cor. 1:2; Gal. 1:3 … John 3:17; 5:31-32; 8:16-18 …

Jesus – Holy Spirit: Luke 3:22; John 14:16; 15:26; 16:7; 1 John 2:1

Father – Holy Spirit: John 14:15; 15:26; Rom. 8:11, 26-27; 2 Cor. 1:3-4; Gal. 1:1

Continue reading “Doctrine: What Christians Should Believe (2010) [Chapter 1]”