The four characteristics of scripture, or it's Necessity.
Why is the Bible necessary, what can people know about God without the Bible?
Wayne Grudem asks some really vital questions here in this chapter: Do we need the Bible to konw that God exists, we are sinners, how we can be saved, or God's will for our lives??
This brings up all those scenarios...what about the guy in the jungle who never got to hear about God or get a Bible?
Romans 10:13-17 says "how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard?" and also "faith comes from what is heard."
Grudem summarized this text with a very sober reminder; without hearing the preaching of the gospel of Christ, no one can be saved.
John 3:18, "He who believes in him is not condemned; he who does NOT believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God." wow.
The Bible claims an exclusivity of salvation through Christ (John 14:6, Acts 4:12, 1 Tim 2:5-6).
If people can only be saved by trusting in the gospel of Christ, what about people from the old Testament? They could stand on a forward looking faith in the promise of the Messiah.
From the time of Adam and Eve onwards, people were given knowledge and guidance through words which became more and more specific regarding the question of who God is and how to follow him.
Matthew 4:4, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God."
If God's word did not exist, we could not with certainty know God's will reliably, in a "fallen world where sin distorts our perception of right and wrong, brings faulty reasoning into our thinking process, and causes us to suppress from time to time the testimony of our consciences."
God, who knows all the facts of the universe, and never lies, has given us an anchor in this life with the facts and words that he has put in the Bible.
People who have never read or gotten a Bible can know about God's existence. Psalm 19:1, The heavens are telling the glory of God."
Even the wicked, according to Romans 1:19-20, have plainly and clearly percieved the things that God has made, yet they choose to ignore and suppress that knowledge.
Grudem goes on that the conscience of unbelieves bears witness to God's moral standards in a "general revelation." This is in contrast with "special revelation," or Gods specific words through personal address to individuals in the Bible.
Unbelievers know that God exists and that they have broken his standards, so the news that Christ died to pay for their sins should truly come as Good News for them.
Even if a person goes on to speculate that God somehow must have paid the penalty for their sins, this is not grounds for saving faith without the confirmation of God through his revelationm, i.e. the word of God.
Do you know of anyone who has become a Christian without reading the Bible or knowing what the Bible said?
What is the primary task of an evangelistic missionary?
Why is the Bible necessary, what can people know about God without the Bible?
Wayne Grudem asks some really vital questions here in this chapter: Do we need the Bible to konw that God exists, we are sinners, how we can be saved, or God's will for our lives??
This brings up all those scenarios...what about the guy in the jungle who never got to hear about God or get a Bible?
Romans 10:13-17 says "how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard?" and also "faith comes from what is heard."
Grudem summarized this text with a very sober reminder; without hearing the preaching of the gospel of Christ, no one can be saved.
John 3:18, "He who believes in him is not condemned; he who does NOT believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God." wow.
The Bible claims an exclusivity of salvation through Christ (John 14:6, Acts 4:12, 1 Tim 2:5-6).
If people can only be saved by trusting in the gospel of Christ, what about people from the old Testament? They could stand on a forward looking faith in the promise of the Messiah.
From the time of Adam and Eve onwards, people were given knowledge and guidance through words which became more and more specific regarding the question of who God is and how to follow him.
Matthew 4:4, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God."
If God's word did not exist, we could not with certainty know God's will reliably, in a "fallen world where sin distorts our perception of right and wrong, brings faulty reasoning into our thinking process, and causes us to suppress from time to time the testimony of our consciences."
God, who knows all the facts of the universe, and never lies, has given us an anchor in this life with the facts and words that he has put in the Bible.
People who have never read or gotten a Bible can know about God's existence. Psalm 19:1, The heavens are telling the glory of God."
Even the wicked, according to Romans 1:19-20, have plainly and clearly percieved the things that God has made, yet they choose to ignore and suppress that knowledge.
Grudem goes on that the conscience of unbelieves bears witness to God's moral standards in a "general revelation." This is in contrast with "special revelation," or Gods specific words through personal address to individuals in the Bible.
Unbelievers know that God exists and that they have broken his standards, so the news that Christ died to pay for their sins should truly come as Good News for them.
Even if a person goes on to speculate that God somehow must have paid the penalty for their sins, this is not grounds for saving faith without the confirmation of God through his revelationm, i.e. the word of God.
Do you know of anyone who has become a Christian without reading the Bible or knowing what the Bible said?
What is the primary task of an evangelistic missionary?
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