I'm moving things around ....

I found a service I liked a lot better for this web site. So I'm making the switch. You can see my work in progress here: http://fellowshipclass.wordpress.com/. Of particular interest will likely be the Bible Doctrines Series Page: http://fellowshipclass.wordpress.com/about/. More to come ...

Special Prayer Request

I've been asked to pray for the Lebanon Baptist Church in Beirut, Lebanon. A few months ago, I was "virtually introduced" (that would be via e-mail) to the pastor of the church, Brother Edgar Traboulsi, by my dad. Since then, he's been on the distribution list for class blog updates. He has specifically asked for our prayers -- both for the situation in Lebanon and the church's ministry. Not only is this fundamental, gospel preaching church in a currently war-torn area of the world, it also has an active ministry to aid those people who have been displaced by the fighting in southern Lebanon. I have personally promised to bring them before the Lord in prayer. I ask that as many of you that can, pray as well. mt

The Doctrine of the Bible: Interpretation and Application

Brian discusses some practical points about how to interpret Scripture and make application of it to our lives. Download/listen to the recording here: http://www.archive.org/download/1BasicDoctrine/BasicDoctrine7.WMA

The Doctrine of the Bible: Divisions and Themes

Brian discusses the various divisions of the Bible and the pre-eminent and ultimate theme of Scripture, Jesus Christ. Download/listen to the recording here: http://www.archive.org/download/1BasicDoctrine/BasicDoctrines4.WMA

Please Pray for the Taylor Bottoms Family

Just to give you all an update on Eddie's dad. This morning (Saturday) about 3:00 Eddie received a phone call from Hospice stating that his dad was having seizures and they were not able to control them. Eddie went to Hospice and they gave his dad a medication for seizures and told Eddie and family that he may not wake up. This afternoon he had woken up but was not alert. Tonight they called the family in and said he was now having a form of apnea where he stops breathing for a while. They have told the family that he is on the downhill and this could last a few days or he could not make it through the night. Please remember, Eddie, Pam, Tracie and family during this time. They are ready but it still will not be easy. (From Martha)

Is the Bible Really God's Word?

Evangelist Randy Wall (www.randywall.org) spoke to us this past Sunday. He covered the next topic in the doctrine of the Bible: is the Bible really God's Word? Ultimately, this being a question of faith -- there are just some people who will never believe that the Bible is God's Word regardless of the proof -- Brother Wall primarly focused on the Bible's own proofs and claims to answer it. You can download a recording of the lesson here: http://www.archive.org/download/BasicDoctrines3/BasicDoctrines3.WMA.

The Doctrine of the Bible: Its Source and History

This is the first of the lessons on the doctrine of the Bible. A recording of this lesson is available for download. The following blog entries are summaries of the various parts of this lesson as presented by Brian Johnson.

The Bible as Final Authority

The Bible is to be the final authority in all that we say and do. When you think about it, that is a very deep statement. It means that what the Bible says supercedes everything else we may read, hear, think or be taught. Our homes are to be governed by what the Bible teaches; our schools are to be governed by what the Bible teaches; our finances are to be governed by what the Bible teaches, etc. Further, it means that science, history, archaeology and like subjects must line up with the Bible, not the other way around. I say that to remind you that whatever we learn (even concerning the history of the Bible) must line up with what is declared in the Bible itself. If the two are not in agreement, we must side with Scripture first and foremost.

Why is it important for God to preserve His Word?

First of all, allow me to admit that I am no historian (Biblical or Secular). Since this is true, most of the historical information in this study is compiled from the labor of others. None of the information is new (Ecclesiastes 1:9); it is readily available for all those who would take the time to research the subject. Having said that, let's take a few simple things into consideration as we look at this particular subject. First, we must come to the understanding that God has promised to preserve His Word.

• Psalm 12:6-7: “The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation forever.”
• 1 Peter 1:23-25: “Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever. For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: But the word of the Lord endureth forever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.”

Obviously, there are multitudes of additional verses that would reiterate this point, but those will be left for you to uncover in your private study. The fact that God has gone to such lengths to preserve His Holy Word begs the question, "Why?" Why is it important for God to preserve His Word? At least part of the answer can be seen in the aforementioned verses in 1 Peter; man needs salvation. It is through the infallible Word that man learns of his sin as well as God's remedy for sin. The Bible declares that 'faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.' Simply put, without God's preserved Word, man would be doomed. Beyond salvation, man needs to know what God expects of those who are truly born again, or how we should live in this world.

A Brief History of the Canon of Scripture

The Jews were very careful in transcribing the books of the Old Testament. The Talmud describes in detail what practices were to be carried out as the books were copied. Some of these requirements included:

• The pages had to be lined and spaced so that there were a certain number of columns. Not so much as a letter could be written from memory. The scribe had to look at each word before writing
• If at any point during copying a mistake was made, the page had to be thrown away and a new copy made.
• There had to be a certain amount of space between letters (about a hair's breadth).
• Every letter was counted.

There were countless other rules and restrictions that had to be followed (do some research on the subject, it's quite interesting), but these few that I have listed should give you enough insight to see that the Jews were extremely careful in their transcription; there was no room for error.

Somewhere around A.D. 70 or A.D. 90 (it depends on whom you read after) the Sanhedrin received permission from the Roman government to reconvene for the purpose of reaffirming that these 39 books were in fact inspired and to be included in the canon. More importantly, the Bible itself gives evidence that these 39 books are inspired of God and to be included in Scripture.

In John 5:39 Jesus told the unbelieving Jews that they were to 'search the Scriptures', because they [the Scriptures] testified of Him. Luke 24 is another example of the Biblical evidence.

Luke 24:44-45: "And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me. Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the Scriptures."

Historically, the New Testament is another story. There apparently was never a time when an official council of any kind met to determine which books should be included in the canon.

How then was it determined?

• Apostolic authority. The work had to be either written or backed by an Apostle.
• Inspiration of the content. There had to be internal evidence that a book was inspired of God.
• General acceptance. The work had to be accepted by the church as being inspired.

David Cloud in his book, “Give Attendance to Doctrine” stated that around A.D. 208, Tertullian, in his "Prescription Against Heretics", urged heretics to 'run' to the apostolic churches because the 'authentic writings' were still being read in these churches. Specifically mentioned were Corinth, Philippi, Rome, Thessalonica, and Ephesus. Most agree that the 27 books of the NT canon existed in the Greek language as early as the middle of the second century.Once again, study of the Bible itself gives us the best evidence. For example, you can see 2 Peter 3: 15-17 where Paul's writings are included as Scripture. Please be reminded that there are other texts you can and should study on your own (these lessons are simply meant to be somewhat of an 'overview' of basic doctrine).

How then did we get our English Bible?

The first English Bible was translated by John Wycliffe in 1380. It was an English translation of the Latin Vulgate. Apparently he didn't know Hebrew or Greek, so this Bible was essentially a translation of a translation.In 1514, Erasmus published his Greek text based on between 5-8 manuscripts (it depends on who you read after). This text is commonly known as the Textus Receptus (TR). In 1611, the KJV was translated from this text. Modern critics enjoy pointing out that the manuscripts used in the TR were not the oldest. Most of the more popular modern translations embraced by these critics apparently come from the Westcott-Hort Greek text. Proponents of the KJV (more educated than myself) point out what these critics fail to: that the Westcott-Hort text was primarily based on just two manuscripts, the Sinaitic and Vatican. The Sinai manuscript was actually found in a trash receptacle in a monastery. The other was supposedly in remarkably good condition compared to manuscripts of equal or similar age. If this is true, it would seem that it apparently wasn't deemed good enough to be used with any regularity. It is a fact that good books are used, and books that are used will become worn with age. Putting that aside, we should once again appeal to Scripture. Should any Bible-believing Christian accept any version of the Bible that would undermine the fundamental doctrines of the Christian faith? Frequently these modern versions do. How many times should one allow the name of Christ to be left out of a text before it is deemed unacceptable? How can you stand against the heretical writings of the cults when you cannot embrace the inspired Word of God? On a more personal note, I will ask you to do this one thing as you study. No matter whom you read after when studying a particular doctrine, make it a point to read as much as you can about that individual. I have never found an individual who is anti-KJV who is not either a liberal when it comes to doctrine or when it comes to separation. Be careful.

Another perspective on the importance of doctrine

I just read a great blog post at the "pyromaniacs" site that articulates the importance of doctrine. I hope you'll jump over a read it because it's a great compliment to what I've been saying in the lessons so far and these summaries. In essence, we cannot rely on intuition, rationality or even simply "what we've been taught" as a basis for our faith. God thought enough to impart His Word to us ... it is our job to read it, understand it and practice it. Only from that kind of true and proper doctrine (TRUTH) can we ever begin to understand and honestly love and worship God (SPRIRIT).