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9 INTERACTIVE BIBLE STUDIES FOR

SMALL GROUPS AND INDIVIDUALS

THEBLUEPRINT

INTERACTIVE BIBLE STUDIES

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THE BLUEPRINT

When an ageing Paul wrote to his young friendTimothy, he urged him to hold fast to the patternof sound teaching, to guard the good deposit and to preach the Wordfaithfully.

The Blueprint is all about this pattern of sound teaching that we are tobelieve, preserve, build our lives on and pass on to others. In this set ofstudies, we look at the interlocking biblical themes that are at the heartof Christian doctrine—concerning God, mankind, Jesus, the Holy Spirit,salvation, resurrection and the life to come.

Briefer and more accessible than a textbook on doctrine, The Blueprintinvites you to interact with these great truths by researching key Biblepassages and answering important questions on each topic. The studiesare ideal for group or individual use.

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doctrineDOCTRINE

PHILLIP D. JENSEN AND TONY PAYNE

THEBLUEPRINT

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The BlueprintSecond edition© Matthias Media 2009

First published in 1988 as The Leadership Papers.Published as The Blueprint in 1995.

Matthias Media(St Matthias Press Ltd ACN 067 558 365)PO Box 225Kingsford NSW 2032Australia Telephone: (02) 9663 1478; international: +61-2-9663-1478Facsimile: (02) 9663 3265; international: +61-2-9663-3265Email: [email protected]: www.matthiasmedia.com.au

Matthias Media (USA)Telephone: 724 964 8152; international: +1-724-964-8152Facsimile: 724 964 8166; international: +1-724-964-8166Email: [email protected]: www.matthiasmedia.com

Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission.All rights reserved.

ISBN 978 1 921441 39 4

All rights reserved. Except as may be permitted by the Copyright Act, no part of thispublication may be reproduced in any form or by any means without prior permission fromthe publisher.

Cover design and typesetting by Lankshear Design Pty Ltd.

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»CONTENTS

How to make the most of these studies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9

STUDY 1: Circles and tangents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13

STUDY 2: What makes Christians different? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25

STUDY 3: Visions on the road . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33

STUDY 4: An unnecessary truth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41

STUDY 5: The importance of being obstreperous . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .49

STUDY 6: Pitiful Christians . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .59

STUDY 7: Bridging the chasm of history . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .69

STUDY 8: What—no controversy? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .77

STUDY 9: Godly heresies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .87

CONCLUSION: Who wants to be an ‘ism’? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .95

APPENDIX 1: Who is in control? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .99

APPENDIX 2: Tips for group leaders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .109

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doctrine

1. What is a Topical Bible Study?Topical Bible Studies are a bit like a guided tour of afamous city. They take you on a tour through the Bible,looking at material related to the topic (in this case,Christian doctrine), helping you to know where to start,pointing out things along the way, suggesting avenues forfurther exploration, and making sure that you know howto get home. Like any good tour, the real purpose is toallow you to go exploring for yourself—to dive in, have agood look around, and discover for yourself the richesthat God’s word has in store.

In other words, these studies aim to provide stimula-tion and input and point you in the right direction, whileleaving you to do plenty of the exploration and discoveryyourself.

These studies are like a tour of a famous city inanother sense—they don’t hope to look at everything;just the important things. We can’t cover in detail every-thing the Bible says on a given topic, but we do aim tofinish our tour without having missed any significantlandmarks.

»HOW TO MAKE THE MOSTOF THESE STUDIES

HOW TO MAKE THE MOST OF THESE STUDIES » 5

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We hope that these studies will stimulate lots of inter-action—interaction with the Bible, with the things we’vewritten, with your own current thoughts and attitudes,with other people as you discuss them, and with God asyou talk to him about it all.

2. The formatEach study contains five main components:• sections of text that introduce, inform, summarize

and challenge• a set of numbered study questions that help you

examine the Bible and think through its meaning• sidebars that provide extra bits of background or

optional extra study ideas, especially regarding otherrelevant parts of the Bible

• an ‘Implications’ section that helps you think aboutwhat this passage means for you and your life today

• suggestions for thanksgiving and prayer as you close.

3. How to use these studies on your own• Before you begin, pray that God would open your eyes

to what he is saying in the Bible, and give you thespiritual strength to do something about it.

• Work through the study, reading the text, answeringthe questions about the Bible passage, and exploringthe sidebars as you have time.

• Resist the temptation to skip over the ‘Implications’and ‘Give thanks and pray’ sections at the end. It isimportant that we not only hear and understandGod’s word, but respond to it. These closing sectionshelp us do that.

• Take what opportunities you can to talk to othersabout what you’ve learnt.

6 » THE BLUEPRINT DOCTRINE

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4. How to use these studies in a smallgroup• Much of the above applies to group study as well. The

studies are suitable for structured Bible study or cellgroups, as well as for more informal pairs and triplets.Get together with a friend or friends and work throughthem at your own pace; use them as the basis for regularBible study with your spouse. You don’t need the formalstructure of a ‘group’ to gain maximum benefit.

• For small groups, it is very useful if group memberscan work through the study themselves before the groupmeets. The group discussion can take place comfortablyin an hour (depending on how sidetracked you get!)if all the members have done some work in advance.

• The role of the group leader is to direct the course ofthe discussion and to try to draw the threads togetherat the end. If you are a group leader, the material inthe appendix ‘Tips for group leaders’ (at the back ofthis book) is designed to help you think through howto use these studies in a group setting.

• We haven’t included an ‘answer guide’ to the questionsin the studies. This is a deliberate move. We want togive you a guided tour of the Bible, not a lecture. Thereis more than enough in the text we have written andthe questions we have asked to point you in what wethink is the right direction. The rest is up to you.

5. Bible translationPrevious studies in our Interactive Bible Study serieshave assumed that most readers would be using the NewInternational Version of the Bible. However, since therelease of the English Standard Version in 2001, manyhave switched to the ESV for study purposes. For thisreason, we have decided to quote from and refer to theESV text, which we recommend.

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INTRODUCTION » 9

doctrine

The Apostle Paul was nearing the end of histurbulent life, a life poured out in serving the Christ

he had met on the Damascus Road. As he wrote to hisyoung friend and co-worker Timothy, he urged him tocontinue the work that Christ had called them to, thework of teaching and preserving and modelling thegospel. They are moving words:

Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony aboutour Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share insuffering for the gospel by the power of God, whosaved us and called us to a holy calling, not because ofour works but because of his own purpose and grace,which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the agesbegan, and which now has been manifested throughthe appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abol-ished death and brought life and immortality to lightthrough the gospel, for which I was appointed apreacher and apostle and teacher, which is why Isuffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know whomI have believed, and I am convinced that he is able toguard until that Day what has been entrusted to me.Follow the pattern of the sound words that you have

» INTRODUCTION

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* By ‘evangelicalism’ we mean plain biblical Christianity built aroundthe gospel. We’ll refer to evangelicalism at different times in thesestudies, and return to it in more detail in our conclusion.


heard from me, in the faith and love that are in ChristJesus. By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guardthe good deposit entrusted to you.1

The pattern of sound words. The good deposit. This is theWord that Timothy was to preach, in season and out ofseason, in the face of those who would not put up withsound doctrine.2

It is this same gospel that Timothy was to entrust toother reliable people, who in turn would be able to teachothers.3

The Blueprint is all about this ‘pattern of sound words’that we are to believe, preserve, build our lives on andpass on to others. In the studies that follow, we will looktogether at the great themes and truths which God revealsin the Scriptures—concerning God, mankind, Jesus, theHoly Spirit, salvation, resurrection and the life to come.

A firm grasp of this ‘sound doctrine’ is the basis ofChristian growth and maturity, and one of the essentialcharacteristics of the Christian leader. As Paul says toanother of his co-workers, Titus: “He [the elder] musthold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that hemay be able to give instruction in sound doctrine andalso to rebuke those who contradict it.”4

But whether you are in leadership or not, we trustthat studying the Scriptures will increase your spiritualknowledge and understanding of God, and that knowinghim better, you will please him more in every way.

The formatAs a simple means of opening up these foundationalbiblical ideas, we have chosen a fairly standard doctrinalstatement to use as a framework—the doctrinal basis ofthe Australian Fellowship of Evangelical Students (AFES).This statement is used throughout Australia as thedoctrinal standard of evangelical* student groups and,

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INTRODUCTION » 11

with minor variations, is also used by numerous otherChristian organizations as a statement of their basicbeliefs. Taken together, the nine sentences in the doctrinalstatement form a clear and very helpful summary of whatbiblical Christianity believes. It reads:

The AFES upholds the fundamental truths of theChristian faith, including:

1 The divine inspiration and infallibility of HolyScripture, as originally given, and its supremeauthority in all matters of faith and conduct.

2 The unity of the Father, the Son and the HolySpirit in the Godhead.

3 The universal sinfulness and guilt of humanitysince the fall, rendering men and women subjectto God’s wrath and condemnation.

4 The conception of Jesus Christ by the Holy Spiritand his birth by the Virgin Mary.

5 Redemption from the guilt, penalty and powerof sin only through the sacrificial death, as ourrepresentative and substitute, of Jesus Christ, theincarnate Son of God.

6 The bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ from thedead.

7 The necessity of the work of the Holy Spirit tomake the death of Christ effective in the individualsinner, granting him or her repentance towardsGod and faith in Jesus Christ.

8 The indwelling and work of the Holy Spirit in thebeliever.

9 The expectation of the personal return of the LordJesus Christ.

There is one study for each of the nine statements as wellas a conclusion and an appendix. The conclusion explainswhat it means to be an ‘evangelical’, and appendix 1

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(‘Who is in control?’) is an additional, optional study onthe sovereignty of God—an idea that permeates the otherstudies but isn’t explicitly mentioned in the AFESdoctrinal basis. We strongly encourage you to do thisoptional study, as it examines a key biblical truth about thenature of God. All of the studies are best read with an openBible close at hand, both to look up the footnotes and toanswer the questions that are interspersed throughout.The ‘Implications’ questions that follow each paper aredesigned for personal reflection and then discussion. Ifyou are not doing the studies in a group, make sure youdiscuss your thoughts with someone before proceeding tothe next one—whether a friend, your minister or yourBible study leader.

Further readingThere are a number of helpful books worth consulting inyour study of the basic doctrines of Christianity. The bestof them are:

TC Hammond, In Understanding Be Men, IVP, 1999.

Bruce Milne, Know the Truth, IVP, 1998.

JI Packer, God’s Words, Baker, 1998.

The New Bible Dictionary, IVP, 2007.

Millard Erickson, Christian Theology, 2nd edn, Baker,1998.

Consult the tables of contents and indexes in these booksto find articles, Scripture references and detailed bibli-ographies on the subjects discussed in these studies.

For further information on using these studies in asmall group, see ‘Tips for group leaders’ at the end of thebook.

Endnotes1. 2 Tim 1:8-142. 2 Tim 4:1-53. 2 Tim 2:2; cf. Titus 1:94. Titus 1:9

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STUDY 1 CIRCLES AND TANGENTS » 13

»STUDY 1

Circles andtangents

The Bible has always been abattleground for Christians, both

from without and within. Those whoreject Christianity rightly see the Bibleas their point of attack. Amongst thosewho profess to be Christians (but arenot) we also find sustained attacks uponthe Scriptures. The traditional divisionsbetween the denominations are oftendivisions of attitudes towards the Bible.

Because the Scriptures are thesupreme authority in all matters of faithand conduct, disagreements at thispoint lead to much wider disputes on awhole range of subjects. Those whotake the Bible as the authoritative normof life will obviously have differentviews from those who take other books,prophets or experiences as their stand -ard. And there can be little hope ofreconciliation when people disagree

upon the basic supreme authority.Most groups use the Bible. But using

the Bible is not the same as believingthe Bible. The Mormons frequentlyquote the Bible on our doorsteps yetbelieve that the Bible is full of errors.Roman Catholicism reads parts of theBible in the Mass, yet sees the authorityfor faith and life as found in the tradi-tions of Christ, only part of which is theBible. Many Liberal Protestant preacherswill refer to the Bible, and when theBible agrees with them will quote it withauthority, but in fact they sit in judge-ment over the Bible, thinking their ownwisdom wiser than the wisdom of God.To trust in the Bible as the supremeauthority in all matters of faith andconduct, requires one neither to addnor subtract from it. Using the Bible isvery different from believing the Bible.

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The evangelical position on ScriptureThe first statement of the AFES doctrinal basis is:

The divine inspiration and infallibility of HolyScripture, as originally given, and its supremeauthority in all matters of faith and conduct.

This is frequently seen as the distinctive of evangelicalbelief. It certainly does mark evangelicals out from thecrowd. However, it is only part of the matrix of truthsfound in the doctrinal basis of evangelicalism. Without abelief in the personal, sovereign God, the doctrine ofScripture would not stand. Similarly, without the doctrineof Scripture we would not come to know the personal,sovereign God.

Clarifying termsThe statement uses clearly recognizable doctrinal jargonto express its position carefully and accurately. It isimportant that we master this jargon in order to avoidmisunderstandings.

1. The divine inspirationThis refers to the inspiration of the Scriptures by God.The use of the word ‘inspiration’ comes from 2 Timothy3:16 and refers to God ‘breathing out’ the Scriptures. Itmeans more than the Scriptures are ‘inspired’, or thatthey ‘inspire’ us. Shakespeare, Mozart and Rembrandtcould all be described as ‘inspired’, by which we mean‘way above average’. They may also have an ‘inspiring’effect upon us, by which we mean ‘they lift us out of ournormal, mundane lives’. However, theologically and bibli-cally, the idea of inspiration is that the words are breathedout by God—the words of Scripture are God’s words.

This in no way implies the method by which Godinspires. It does not commit us to any idea of mechanicaldictation or automatic writing. The inspiration did notremove the personality or style of the human author. TheScriptures are treated as if there is a dual authorship:


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God and man, with the primary author being God. Psalm110:1 is said to have been written by David1 and by God2

and by David speaking by the Spirit.3 This dual author-ship can be seen throughout the Scriptures.4

2. InfallibilityThe Scriptures can be relied upon completely—they willnever fail us. This is what is meant by the traditionalterm ‘infallible’. The Bible is completely trustworthybecause its author has made sure that it is without error.

At this point some evangelical Christians havediffered with others by trying to claim too much for theinfallibility of Scripture. The Bible is unique and can onlybe described, never defined. To say that it is infallible isa description of its character, not a definition by whichwe can determine the ways in which God has spoken.Thus some parts of the Bible (the parables, for example)may be fiction and yet still be described as infallible.Other parts of the Scriptures may involve poetic licenceand exaggeration, without losing their veracity.5 Whileon one hand we must be wary of doubting the absolutetrustworthiness and truthfulness of the Scriptures, onthe other hand we must not claim too much for theScriptures, thus squeezing them into an unbiblical strait-jacket. Infallible history, like all history, may involveincidental variations in the reporting of events. Suchminor variations do not affect the Scripture’s infallibility.

3. Holy Scripture, as originally given‘Holy Scripture’ refers to the whole Bible comprising theold and new covenants. These 66 books are the writtenwords of God. However, the version that has beeninspired and is entirely trustworthy is the originalversion. Not every copy or translation of the Bible is thedivine, inspired, infallible word of God. God gave hisrevelation to mankind through his authors. On differentoccasions, mankind in its neglect and sinfulness hastampered with and varied what was originally given.

Fortunately, none of the original copies have been


Infallible andinerrantThere has been asignificant debateamongst many who callthemselves ‘evangelical’since the mid 1970s overthe exact nature ofbiblical infallibility. Thedebate has been aboutwhether the Bible can beauthoritative at the sametime as containing errorsof fact (for example minorhistorical errors or errorsin scientific fact). In thecourse of that debate, theterm ‘inerrant’ has beenapplied to the Bible bythose who want to makea strong claim about thenature of the truthpresented in the Bible. Theuse of the word ‘infallible’in the AFES statementdoes not reflect a particularposition on this issue, as itwas first produced beforethe term ‘inerrantist’ wasa part of the debate.In these notes, infallibleshould be understood asit is defined here and notas an anti-inerrantistposition. A clear andhelpful statement of theinerrantist position canbe found in The ChicagoStatement on BiblicalInerrancy(http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Chicago_Statement_on_Biblical_Inerrancy).

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kept, otherwise we would be tempted to venerate andworship them. However, it is important for us to studythe available manuscripts carefully to ascertain the orig-inal message of God. In God’s great kindness, manythousands of copies of the Scriptures have beenpreserved, along with considerable knowledge of themeans by which they have been transmitted to us. Thuswe can be assured that what we have today is substan-tially what was originally given. The variations betweenmanuscripts are so small that no doctrine can be said tohang on them.

4. Supreme authorityThe phrase ‘supreme authority’ indicates that thedoctrinal basis acknowledges the existence of other author-ities. This is because the Scriptures themselves recognizeother authorities.6 Governments are put in authority overpeople just as fathers are put in authority over children.However, the supreme authority, the authority over allother authorities, is said to be Scripture. There is noauthority equal to, or over, the Scriptures.

5. Faith and conductNotice too that the authority of Scripture is limited tomatters of faith and conduct. The Scriptures do not claimto be an authority in calculus, nuclear physics, poetry orchess. There may be some aspects of these disciplineswhere the Scriptures have some relevance, but by andlarge, these topics are not addressed, and there is noclaim to supreme authority here.

Rather, the Scriptures are God-breathed and useful“for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for trainingin righteousness, that the man of God may be competent,equipped for every good work.”7 It is in the area of faithand conduct that the Scriptures are speaking. ‘Faith’ refersto more than our trust in God; it includes the idea of thefaith that was delivered once and for all to the saints.8


AuthorityOne of the key issues inthe Reformation was thequestion of authority.It was through readingthe Bible that men suchas Martin Luther andJohn Calvin came toquestion the authorityof the established churchof their day. Their chiefpoint of contention wasthat the Roman Catholicchurch had establisheditself as the authority forinterpreting the Bible.They rightly saw thatsome of the RomanCatholic teaching directlycontradicted what Godhad said in his word. Thequestion clearly became:which authority will youfollow? The Reformerswere adamant that theBible created the Churchand not the other wayaround. Thus the churchwas to live in obedienceto the word.

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Why does the Bible haveauthority?God is personal and revelatory. Hereveals himself to be living and speakingand truthful. He is the sovereign Lordof the universe who rules the world byhis word and reveals himself in hisspeech. What does this have to do withthe Bible’s authority?

1. God’s characterThe Thessalonians turned from idols toserve “the living and true God”.9 This ischaracteristic of the description of Godin the Scriptures. Psalm 115 points toGod as being radically different fromthe idols who “have mouths, but do notspeak”. Jeremiah scorns the following ofsuch idols; he says, “Their idols are likescarecrows in a cucumber field, and theycannot speak; they have to be carried, forthey cannot walk”.10 The God of Israel,on the other hand, speaks: “By the wordof the Lord the heavens were made, andby the breath of his mouth all their host… For he spoke, and it came to be; hecommanded, and it stood firm”.11

However, God not only speaks; hespeaks the truth. The “living and trueGod” is not only true in that he reallyexists, but is also true in his characterand nature. Two of the things that aresaid to be impossible for God are tellinglies12 and disowning himself.13 God isfaithful to his word and, consequently,God’s word is right and true.14 It is onthis basis that we affirm that the HolyScriptures are infallible.

2. Ruling, revealing, relatingGod rules his universe by his word. Byhis powerful word he created theworld15 and by the same word he willdestroy it.16

God’s word always achieves hispurpose17—it is living and active, pen -etrating and judging.18 So much is theword of God an expression of Godhimself and of his powerful rule in thisworld, that the word of God can be usedto explain the incarnation.19

However, the word of God not onlyrules the world, but also reveals God tothe world. In the past God spokethrough the prophets, but in these lastdays he has spoken to us by his Son.20

The word of truth, the gospel of salva-tion, has been spoken to us to reveal thegreat plan of God in redemption.21 Evento the Gentiles the unsearchable richesof Christ have been made plain.22

God relates to us through this revela-tion. He makes himself known by it,and through it he regenerates us. Thepreaching of Jesus Christ as Lord is usedby God to give us the knowledge of theglory of God in the face of Christ.23 Thegospel is the power of God for salvationfor everyone who believes.24 By themessage of the cross we come to knowthe power of God and the wisdom ofGod and God himself.25

Thus, the reason that the Bible hasauthority is because of its author—God.The sovereign Lord of heaven and earthhas spoken through the prophets and inhis Son. To reject the word of God is toreject God himself.

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Look up the following verses and see what they reveal about the place of God’sword in the Christian life.

• Acts 20:32

What authority does theBible have?The Scripture has authority over allmatters on which it speaks. It is notexhaustive—it does not cover allmatters—but, because of its authorship,its authority extends over everything itcovers.

1. ContemporaryThe Bible is not imprisoned in a part -icu lar historical context. It was deliveredat a point, or more accurately a phase,of history and to understand it correctlywe need to read it in its original context.However, the Bible is a contemporaryword that does not need to be ‘maderelevant’. It is permanently relevantbecause God is speaking his word to us.

Jesus attacked the Sadducees forignorance of the Scriptures saying,“… have you not read what was said toyou by God?”26 A similar argument isused in Hebrews 3 and 4, where God’swords to Israel about the temptation inthe wilderness also speak a word of Godto us today. In fact, referring to the

exodus, Paul goes so far as to say that“these things happened to them as anexample, but they were written downfor our instruction, on whom the end ofthe ages has come”.27

2. SufficientIt is important to understand that theScriptures are sufficient for Christianliving. God’s revelation of himself is notpartial, but final. In the past it was apartial revelation, when “at many timesand in many ways, God spoke to ourfathers by the prophets”.28 In the past,angels as well as prophets wonderedwhat they were speaking about whenthey spoke of the salvation that was tocome and predicted the sufferings ofthe Christ. In the gospel these thingshave now been completely revealed.29

Christ opened the minds of his dis ciples to understand that he had cometo fulfil the Scriptures by his sufferingand resurrection.30 He brings theScriptures to their close. All the prophetsfind their “yes” and “amen” in him.31

Now the spirit of prophecy is the testi-mony of Jesus.32


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• Romans 15:4

• 1 Corinthians 2:9-16 (cf. 1 John 2:27)

• 2 Timothy 3:16-17

• Jude 3 (cf. 2 Tim 1:13-14, 2:2)


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How do we know?The arguments so far seem to becircular. The Bible claims that the Bibleis authoritative. If you believe the Bible,you will believe that it is authoritative.

What happens if you don’t believethe Bible? How can you ever get ontothe circle? What happens if you believethe Book of Mormon, or the Koran?These books also claim to be the author-itative word of God. Their authorityseems every bit as circular as the Bible’s.

On one level, we should expect thatthe authority of the Bible will be foundwithin the Bible itself. If it were foundelsewhere, then there would be a rivalclaim to authority in matters of faithand conduct. If, for example, it was byreason that we concluded that theScriptures were authoritative, thenreason would become the supremeauthority. The question remains: Howcan we ever get onto the circle?

1. The work of the SpiritWhy do we believe in Scripture? Becauseof God’s Spirit at work in us. It is Godwho opens our eyes to see the glory ofGod in the face of Christ.33 Paul thankedGod that the Thessalonians received theword of Paul not as the word of man, butas the word of God.34 It is because we arehis sheep that we know the voice ofJesus.35 In other words, the Scripturesare Spirit-authenticated.

The converse is also true. Those whoreject the authority of the Bible usuallywish to do so on ‘rational’ grounds.Their intellect cannot stomach whatthey read (to mix metaphors). We need

to remember, however, that the decisionto reject God is fundamentally spiritual,not rational. The man who says in hisheart “There is no God” is a fool, not amember of the intelligentsia.36

2. The example of ChristIf we are to be followers of Christ, thenwe should imitate Christ’s attitude tothe Scriptures. Jesus consistently quotedand referred to the Scriptures as havingauthority. He considered the OldTestament as a ‘court of final appeal’ inmatters of controversy.37 He insisted thatprophecy would find its fulfilment inhis actions.38 He attacked the Sadduceesfor their failure to know the Scriptures.39

As if this wasn’t enough, the restof the New Testament demonstrates thesame acceptance of the authorityof Scripture.40 The New Testament evenquotes itself as having such authority.41

3. The reasonableness of beliefIf we are Christians, and have the HolySpirit within us and are seeking tofollow the example of Christ and hisapostles, it can be seen that acceptingthe authority of the Scriptures is thor-oughly reasonable. In fact, denial of theScriptures is a genuine symptom ofunbelief. But what of those outside ofChrist? Can this reasonableness ever bedemonstrated to them?

The reasonableness of belief cancertainly be demonstrated, if not proven.If the Scriptures are true, they must beconsistent with what we know of theworld. If there was a major inconsis-


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tency between our knowledge of theworld and our knowledge in Scripture,then it would be hard for people ever toclimb onto the circle of belief. Anotherway of saying this is that the circle ofbelief touches on the world that weknow. These points of contact are liketangents onto the circle. One chiefpoint of contact is history.

We cannot prove the truth of thegospel through history. However, historycan help us onto the circle. From a purelyhistorical standpoint, we can learn some-thing of the person of Jesus: who heclaimed to be and whether those claimsmeasure up to the facts as we have them.This knowledge may lead us to think seri-ously about his claims over our lives andthe meaning he gives to our existence.Such an approach can lead us to acceptthat belief in Jesus is quite ‘reasonable’.

The same point can be made neg -atively. The Bible speaks about the natureof the world and humanity. Its percep-tion of man as being universally sinfulis a reasonable assessment of the stateof the world. If it was unreasonable itwould be hard to commend to outsiders.

It is at this point that the controversybetween science and revelation begins.Is the Bible’s view of the world ‘unrea-sonable’ in the light of our empiricalknowledge? It would be hard to maintainbelief in the Scriptures if they taughtauthoritatively that the world was flat orthat the moon was a crescent. However,the description of man and the world inthe Scriptures is sufficiently consistentwith our empirical knowledge of theworld for there to be no real conflict.

These tangents onto the circle of

faith have limited apologetic and evan-gelistic usefulness. They must not begiven authority over the Scriptures. Normust they be seen as an alternative tohearing the Scriptures read and taught,for faith comes from hearing the wordof God.42 It is the gospel word that isthe power of God for salvation.43 It isthe miracle of God’s Spirit regeneratingus through his word that enables peopleto come to faith in the gospel.

The correct response toScriptureWhen the people of God gatheredaround Mt Sinai, they heard the voice ofGod and they trembled.44 In the pres-ence of God man is afraid, and this fearis the beginning of wisdom.45 The appro-priate response to the word of God is thesame as our response to God himself.

We must not merely be hearers ofthe word, but doers, humbly acceptingwhat God says and earnestly seeking byhis strength to put it into operation. Wemust be people who search out whatGod is saying.46 God calls upon us tohave his word on our hearts and in ourminds, as we get up in the morning andgo to bed at night, as we go in and out ofour house, and as we teach our chil-dren.47 We are to meditate (that is, tothink, not to ‘mystically meditate’) uponhis word day and night.48

If we have God’s word, then we havelife, for “Man shall not live by breadalone, but by every word that comesfrom the mouth of God”.49

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» Implications • Is the authority of Scripture being undermined in your own situation? Are

there ways in which it is being ‘used’ rather than ‘believed’? What might youdo about it?

• Does God still speak today? If so, how?

• How will the doctrine of Scripture affect the way in which we minister?

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» Give thanks and pray• Give thanks to God for the provision of the Bible so that we can hear him

speak to us.• Pray for yourself and your church that you would be people who ‘believe’ the

Bible rather than just ‘using’ it.• Pray for the work of God’s Holy Spirit in the lives of those close to you that don’t

know God. Pray that his word might challenge them and bring them to faith.


Endnotes1. Acts 2:34-352. Heb 1:133. Matt 22:43-444. cf. Acts 3:21-22, 4:25; Heb 4:3-85. Note, for example, Jesus’ striking

language in Luke 14:26.6. Rom 13:1; 1 Pet 2:137. 2 Tim 3:16-178. Jude 39. 1 Thess 1:910. Jer 10:511. Psalm 33:6, 9; also see Isaiah 44-45 for

the stark contrast between the dumbidols and the God who speaks.

12. Heb 6:1813. 2 Tim 2:1314. Heb 10:23; Pss 33:4; 119:142, 15115. Genesis 1; Ps 33:616. 2 Pet 3:717. Isa 55:1118. Heb 4:12-1319. John 1:1-1820. Heb 1:1-321. Eph 1:1322. Eph 3:1-1323. 2 Cor 4:5-624. Rom 1:16

25. 1 Cor 1:18-2:526. Matt 22:3127. 1 Cor 10:11; cf. Rom 15:428. Heb 1:129. 1 Pet 1:10-1230. Luke 24:27, 44-4731. 2 Cor 1:2032. Rev 1:2-3, 19:1033. 2 Cor 4:5-634. 1 Thess 2:1335. John 10:2736. Ps 14:1; cf. 1 Cor 2:1437. Matt 22:29-32; Mark 7:6-1338. Matt 26:52-5639. Mark 12:24-2740. 2 Tim 3:16; Heb 3-4; 2 Pet 1:21; 1 Cor

10:6-1141. 1 Tim 5:18; 2 Pet 3:15-17; 1 Cor 7:40,

14:36-3742. Rom 10:1743. Rom 1:1644. Exod 19:1645. Ps 111:10; cf. Prov 9:1046. Like the Bereans of Acts 17:10-11;

cf. James 1:21-22.47. Deut 6:4-848. Josh 1:849. Matt 4:4; Deut 8:3

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THEBLUEPRINT

INTERACTIVE BIBLE STUDIES

doctrine

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THE BLUEPRINT

When an ageing Paul wrote to his young friendTimothy, he urged him to hold fast to the patternof sound teaching, to guard the good deposit and to preach the Wordfaithfully.

The Blueprint is all about this pattern of sound teaching that we are tobelieve, preserve, build our lives on and pass on to others. In this set ofstudies, we look at the interlocking biblical themes that are at the heartof Christian doctrine—concerning God, mankind, Jesus, the Holy Spirit,salvation, resurrection and the life to come.

Briefer and more accessible than a textbook on doctrine, The Blueprintinvites you to interact with these great truths by researching key Biblepassages and answering important questions on each topic. The studiesare ideal for group or individual use.

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interactive bible studies - matthias media · 9 interactive bible studies for ... blueprint...

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