Scripture: The Very Word of God, Part 1

This series of posts was originally developed as a Sunday School lesson that I taught on August 28, 2011.

Introduction:
A Gallup poll published in July 2011 recently asked just over 1000 people from all over the United States what they thought about the Bible. Three in ten responded that they believed the Bible to be the actual word of God. Forty-nine percent believed that the Bible is inspired by God but not all of it should be taken literally. Seventeen percent believed that the Bible is just a collection of stories and legends.[1]

Now there are some questions that we have to consider. And the answers to these questions should define what we believe about the Bible. The questions are these:

     1)      What do we believe as Southern Baptists?
     2)      What is the nature of the Bible?
     3)      What does the Bible have to say about itself?

Scripture: A Southern Baptist Perspective:
The Southern Baptist Convention has since 1925 has adopted as a statement of faith, a collection of beliefs and doctrines that define and lay out what we believe. The Baptist Faith and Message was updated in 1963, 1998, and 2000 in order to tackle new challenges to the faith based upon what the Bible has to say. As such, it appropriately sets forth a belief as to what Scripture is:

The Holy Bible was written by men divinely inspired and is God's revelation of Himself to man. It is a perfect treasure of divine instruction. It has God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth, without any mixture of error, for its matter. Therefore, all Scripture is totally true and trustworthy. It reveals the principles by which God judges us, and therefore is, and will remain to the end of the world, the true center of Christian union, and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and religious opinions should be tried. All Scripture is a testimony to Christ, who is Himself the focus of divine revelation.[2]

 
This view was developed based upon many different passages found throughout the Bible, each pointing to this end.

NOTES:
[1] http://www.gallup.com/poll/148427/Say-Bible-Literally.aspx

[2] http://www.sbc.net/bfm/bfm2000.asp