The Holy Bible / Scripture / God’s Word
A. Jesus gives authority to the Old Testament as God’s Word to Man ( Luke 24: 44 )
39 books ( from Able to Zechariah ) - Luke 11: 51; Matthew 23: 35
Jesus quotes only from these books - All four Gospels
Jesus said that the Old Testament speaks of Him - John 5: 39
B. Jesus chose the Apostles before there was any Church. They gave us the New Testament ( Matthew 4: 18-22 )
Jesus taught them for three and one half years - Matthew 28: 18-20
The letters of Paul were equated with God’s Word in the Old Testament by Peter - 2 Peter 3: 15-16
C. The Apostles gave us 27 New Testament books ( 2 Timothy 3: 16-17; Hebrews 1: 1-2 )
20 letters were written by the Apostles: James, Paul, Peter and John
The Gospel of John and the book of Revelation was written by the Apostle John
John was with Jesus from the beginning - Mark 1: 16-20
John gives testimony to this in his books
The Gospel of Matthew was written in Aramaic by the Apostle Matthew
The Gospels of Mark and Luke were written in Greek by the disciples of Peter and Paul
Mark traveled with Peter and Paul - Acts 13: 5, 13
Mark wrote his Gospel when Peter was still alive ( Papias and Ireneusz )
The Acts of the Apostles were written by Luke
Luke was a disciple of Paul - Colossians 4: 14; Philemon 24
Luke was not a Jew and wrote in Greek
Luke mentions that he was with Paul in four places in Acts - Acts 16: 10-17, 20: 5-21, 21: 18-27, 28: 16
Luke mentioned many countries, cities and prominent leaders at the time of his writing, which tell us that this book was written before 70 A.D.
The letter of Jude was written by the half brother of the Apostle James and Jesus - Matthew 13: 55
D. The New Testament is the only place where we can find the words of Jesus and the teaching of the Apostles ( 1 John 1: 1-3 )
The entire New Testament was written and used in the first century
We have more that 24,000 manuscripts of the New Testament from the second to the fifteenth century
The books of other religions ( Mormon, Veda, Koran, Upanishads, etc. ) have no prophecy
E. Principles in studying and Using the Bible ( Matthew 4: 3-11 )
Ask God for wisdom - The Holy Spirit helps us and teaches us - James 1: 5; John 14: 26
All teachings must be taken in context of the whole Bible - 2 Timothy 2: 15; Acts 17: 11
We must be doers of the Word and not just hearers - James 1: 22; 1 Peter 2: 2
We must test every teaching prayerfully - 1 Thessalonians 5: 21
We should memorize Scripture - Psalms 119: 9,11
We should meditate on God’s Word all day - Psalm 1
How else should we use God’s Word? - 1 Peter 3: 15-16; Heb. 4: 12; Eph. 6: 17; Acts 18: 28; 2 Tim. 2: 24-26
“ You are my refuge and my shield; Your Word is my only source of hope. ”
Psalm 119: 114
Sound Teaching Principles
1. That which is explicitly taught in Scripture and is essential ( Diety of Christ, Resurrection, Salvation by Grace thru faith, etc. )
2. That which is implied where interpretation may differ ( like fine points on gifts )
3. That which is surmised which we should never mix with the first two. Theories which we can personally & loosely have on the side which do not contradict our faith, but should never be treated as sound doctrine.