Bibliology - Lesson 11 by O. B. (Oscar Brian) Mink

Assignment:
Study Chapter Ten (10) of the Book entitled, The Bible and Spiritual Criticism by A. T. Pierson.
Questions on this lesson will be based on the following comments.

Scripture:
   Proverbs 3:13, "Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding."
   Psalms 19:7, "The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul.: the Testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple,"
   I Corinthians 1:30, "But of Him are ye in Christ Jesus, Who of God is made unto us wisdom and righteousness, and sanctification and redemption,"

The Bible: The Most Loved And Most Hated Book In The World

    God has graciously given us the perfect Book; the Bible. He did not give us the Bible merely to prove He could write a perfect Book. It was given to "make wise the simple." But the world, with no fear of God before their eyes, has concluded that the Bible is a book of myths, that it is ludicrous, and only the idiotic could believe it to be infallible. This is a bold allegation and is without basis in fact. On the contrary, the greatest men who have ever lived have been lovers of the Bible and have believed the Bible to be the inerrant Word of God. A distinguished and voluminous list of names could be provided which have loved, and bowed to the authority of God's Word. The Christ of the Scriptures, and His cause, has more martyrs than all other causes combined. We, today, have the Bible in English because many men were willing to give their lives to make it possible. Men such as William Tyndale (1523) who overheard this statement of a deluded Romanist, "We had better be without God's laws than the pope's." Tyndale answered, "I defy the pope and all his laws and if God spares me, I will one day make the boy that drives the plough in England to know more of Scripture than the pope does." This holy ambition of Tyndale was realized, but not before his enemies burned him at the stake.
    Psalms 119:30, "The entrance of Thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple."
    I Corinthians 3:19, "For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God ..." The Bible has never been popular with the world and the world has never been popular with lovers of the Bible.

Proof Plenitude

    John 20:31, "But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through His name."
    "These are written," These words refer to the many wonderful and miraculous things which Jesus did in attesting to and manifesting His Messiahship. John wrote and recorded many of the supernatural works of Jesus. And he says, "These are written that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ." The sum of what John recorded is by no means the grand total of all the great works Jesus performed in the presence of His disciples.
    John 20:30, "And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this Book." The Divine criteria for ascertaining truth is; "In the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established," (Matthew 18:16). The New Testament was not physically written by Christ, but He, through the Holy Spirit, selected eight (8) different men, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, James, Peter, Paul and Jude to record His Word. So it is, we have four times as many witnesses as is necessary for verification of testimony. Of all the miracles which Jesus did, His resurrection from the grave is the crowning miracle because without His bodily resurrection all His other works would have been in vain. But in light of His resurrection all His other works are put beyond successful dispute. The Sacred record bears testimony to the fact of Jesus' resurrection by citing at least eleven (11) post resurrection and pre-ascension appearances of Christ. Stating in one instance He was seen of "above five hundred brethren at once," (I Corinthians. 15:6). Then too, when the effects of the adamant faith of the first generation Christians is taken into consideration, a dialectical approach to the doctrine of the resurrection is unwarranted because their actions establishes the fact of the resurrection. While you may meet an argument with another argument, you cannot meet a fact with an argument. And the fact is; Christ took a lowly and disheartened band of disciples, appeared unto them in resurrection glory and caused them to go forth with joy and to evangelize the Mediterranean world within a single generation. This is a fact that cannot be discounted by the most aggressive atheist. A lesser revelation than the physical appearance of Christ would not have inspired so great a faith and the world would have gone wanting for the second Testament.
    God did not owe man the least favor, and certainly not a library of infallible testimony. God gave man the Scriptures so as man may profit therefrom. God will never be more or less than He has eternally been and therefore needs not the first thing. The child of God should appropriate as much of the Scripture as he possibly can to be all the richer in the eyes of God. The way to become spiritually rich is revealed many times and in many places in the Scriptures, but all can be summed up in Paul's words, "Study to show thyself approved unto God," (II Timothy 2:15).

Essential For Spiritual Energy

    Moses told Israel that God did all the great miracles in their sight that they might know, "Man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord doth man live," (Deuteronomy 8:3). NOTE: Moses says "Every word," every single word in Scripture is profitable to the wise. "Whoso keepeth the law is wise," (Proverbs 28:7). It was this same Scripture (Deuteronomy 8:3) Jesus used in rebuking the devil in the wilderness temptation. The devil sets before man bread or materialism as the exclusive source of life. But Christ said, not so. There is no life in the real sense apart from the Word of God. Jesus said, "I am the bread of life," (John 6:35). "The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life," (John 6:63).
    In giving us the Scriptures, God did not omit anything which would be necessary to the believer's well being. Neither did He include anything in the Scriptures which would not serve to render a profit for His people. Every word, every jot and tittle, no matter how insignificant it may seem to us, is nevertheless vitally important. Paul says the Biblical record of Israel's disobedience toward God and the subsequent rebuke which they providentially experienced was recorded that we may avoid their evil example and thereby stay the chastening hand of the Holy God. "Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the end of the world are come," (I Corinthians 10:11).
        God is gracious in leaving us the Jewish history upon the Sacred page. But this history is of no value to us if we do not study it. God favored Israel with many helps. He gave them the Moral law, the ceremonial law, the dietary law and He gave them the civil law. He gave them manna from Heaven, water from the rock, and He came to dwell in their midst as a pillar of fire by night and as cloud by day. He gave them judges, prophets and saintly kings to reign over them. Yet, they miserably failed. And Paul gives us the reason for their failure. "Well, because of unbelief they were broken off ..." (Romans 11:20). We need to be careful in pointing a critical finger at rebellious Israel or in thinking that we would have succeeded where Israel failed, for Paul, immediately follows the record of Israel's failures with the warning, "Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall," (I Corinthians 10:12). Be it understood, the contemporary Christian's responsibility is not less than the Israelite's was under the former dispensation. The commandment to the believer in this age is; "Whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by Him," (Colossians 3:17). And to help us in fulfilling this commandment God has mercifully given us the complete canon of Scripture. We have the Lamb of God, Israel only had the type. Israel was shut up to shadows. We have the plenary substance. Every believer in this age is indwelt by the Holy Spirit and has immediate access to the throne of mercy.
    This age has the true church in whom God institutionally dwells, and to whom He said, "Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the age," (Matthew 28:20) And to this church He gave apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers, (Ephesians. 4:11). He gave the church the ordinances of Baptism and the Lord's supper whereby they are constantly reminded of His work, will and Word. Now, God attaches infinite honor to His Word for He has magnified His Word above that of His own name Psalms 138:2, "I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name."
    When the Israelite showed disrespect for the Word of God he was sentenced to death and that without mercy, Hebrews 10:28, "He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses:" And we need to remember, they received the Word through a human mediator, the man Moses. But we have received the Word from God's own son, Hebrews 1:2, "Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;"
    And the Apostle Paul writing to the Lord' s church at Rome awakens their memory to the fact God is immutable, and will not allow His abundant and undeserved goodness bestowed on the church to be abused. Romans 11:22, "Behold therefore the goodness, if thou continue in His goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off." God's sword of chastisement is not asleep in its scabbard and fury comes up in His face when His Word is questioned. "He that believeth not shall be damned," (Mark 16:16)

Questions
Lesson - 11

2. Have there been men who loved the the Bible enough to give their lives for its preservation and perpetuation?

3. What reason did the Apostle John give for recording the miracles which Christ performed ?

5. What is the crowning miracle, which without Christ's other works would be vain?

6. What inspired the apostolic church to go forth, and evangelize the Mediterranean world in one generation?

9. Why were the rebellious actions of ancient Israel recorded in the Scriptures?

10. What is the commandment to the Christian of this age which clearly denotes his responsibility to God? (Quoted in this lesson).

11. List some of the helps God has given to His church to enable them in keeping this commandment?

12. What happened to the Israelite under the Mosiac Law when he showed disrespect for the Word of God?