At Desert Springs Church we will be walking through the bible together in 90 days. This is a great program and the very program that sparked my interest in studying the bible many moons ago when I worked at Hosanna. Here is the schedule for this month!

You can get Hosanna’s NT Mp3 collection for free HERE, or if you have an iOS device get their free app HERE.

• June 1 Matthew 1-4
• June 2 Matthew 5-6
• June 3 Matthew 7-9
• June 4 Matthew 10-11
• June 5 Matthew 12-13
• June 6 Matthew 14-16
• June 7 Matthew 17-19
• June 8 Matthew 20-21
• June 9 Matthew 22-23
• June 10 Matthew 24-25
• June 11 Matthew 26
• June 12 Matthew 27-28
• June 13 Mark 1-3
• June 14 Mark 4-5
• June 15 Mark 6-7
• June 16 Mark 8-9
• June 17 Mark 10-11
• June 18 Mark 12-13
• June 19 Mark 14
• June 20 Mark 15-16
• June 21 Luke 1-2
• June 22 Luke 3-4
• June 23 Luke 5-6
• June 24 Luke 7-8
• June 25 Luke 9-10
• June 26 Luke 11-12
• June 27 Luke 13-15
• June 28 Luke 16-18
• June 29 Luke 19-20
• June 30 Luke 21-22

SESSION FOUR: THE AUTHORITY OF THE BIBLE: THE SELF-AUTHORIZING SCRIPTURE

I.                    The Concept of Authority

a.       Definition

i.      “Authority itself means that right or power to command action or compliance, or to determine belief or custom, expecting obedience from those under authority, and in turn giving responsible account for the claim to right or power.”[1]

                    ii.      If something is properly authoritative, it is sufficient in its ability within its proper realm to:

1.      Give truths

a.      For example, in the human realm an authority on Shakespeare presenting a seminar on Shakespeare

2.      Demand Compliance

a.      For instance, a Court decision on the defendant

3.      Capacity to enforce rules

b.      Everyone believes in some kind of ultimate authority or another

i.      Everyone have a standard of authority as the basis of why they believe something, or the basis in which they rule something as false, dictate how they ought to live, etc.

1.      Examples of statement that reveals what authority is accepted in one’s belief

a.       “I don’t believe it because it’s against what my priest believes.”

i.      In this case, the priest is the authority

b.      “That’s unconstitutional!”

i.      In this case, the Constitution is the authority

c.       “The evolutionary biologist says it is true.”

i.      In this case, the evolutionary biologist is the authority

2.      The issue is not whether one has an ultimate authority, but WHAT is their ultimate authority.

a.       Feelings? Popular opinion? For the Christian, the Bible ought to be one’s Ultimate Authority.

ii.      Objection: “I don’t have any ultimate authority.  I do whatever I want.”

1.      Then the authority in this objector’s life is his autonomous self.

a.       If man is the measuring stick of truth, values and ethics, this leads us to the problem of subjectivisim.[2]

II.                 If the Bible is the Ultimate Authority, then it must be Self-Authorizing

a.       An Ultimate Authority is the final authority

i.      Everything else is judge by this ultimate standard

1.      If everything is govern by this authoritative standard, all things must cohere with this standard including the standard itself

a.       If the ultimate authority does not cohere with the ultimate authority itself, then it is irrational since it is internally incoherent

b.      Objection: “You can’t prove the Bible as the Ultimate Authority from the Bible itself because it is circular!”

i.      But if one proves that the Bible is the Ultimate Authority by appealing to another source of authority, then the Bible ceases to be the ultimate authority since the thing that is appealed to is now the final authority

1.      The problem with this objection applies to any ultimate authority besides the Bible because the criteria in the objection is a self-defeating one and is therefore irrational.

ii.      Ultimate Authority is circular by nature

1.       In order to avoid the self-refuting dilemma mentioned above, Ultimate Authority must be in some sense circular[3]

2.      Coherence is a hallmark of rationality; yet coherence in some sense means ‘circularity’

a.      “‘Circularity’ in one’s philosophical sysem is just another name for ‘consistency’ in outlook throughout one’s system.  That is, one’s starting point and final conclusion cohere with each other.”[4]

3.      Since no other authority could authorize the Ultimate Authority, only the Ultimate Authority can authorize itself

a.       Thus, the Bible as the Ultimate Authority must be self-authorizing

III.               The Self-attestation of the authority of the Bible

a.       Since the Bible[5] is the ultimate authority, the Bible reveals its authority when[6]:

i.      It declares that His Word is eternal

1.       “Your word, O LORD, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens.” (Psalm 119:89)

a.       The ramification of the Eternal Bible means that is not only authoritative in a certain time and culture, but eternally

ii.      It declares that all His words are true

1.      “All your words are true; all your righteous laws are eternal” (Psalm 119:160)

iii.      It declares that it has the rights to demands eternal compliance to its laws

1.      “All your words are true; all your righteous laws are eternal” (Psalm 119:160)

iv.      It declares that what is written within it must be believed

1.      “Abraham repolied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them’ (Luke 16:29)

a.       From the context of the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, this verse gives us the insight that one ought to listen to the content of Scriptural truths to save one from Hell

v.      It declares that the Scripture is more authoritative and powerful than any authority of man’s supernatural experiences

1.      “He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’” (Luke 16:31)

Notice that Scripture ought to and does has the power more convincing than someone rising from the dead.

Some great wisdom from John Piper, (I need to remember this… often).

Are apps a threat to God-focus? Yes. But it works both ways. Fight fire with fire.

If you are reading your Bible on your computer or your smartphone or your iPad, the presence of the email app and the news apps and the Facebook app threaten every moment to drag your attention away from the word of God.

True. Fight that. If your finger offends you, cut it off. Or use any other virtuous violence (Matthew 11:12) that sets you free to rivet your soul on God.

But don’t take mainly a defensive posture. Fight fire with fire.

Why should we think of the Facebook app threatening the Bible app? Why not the Bible app threatening the Facebook app, and the email app, and the RSS feeder, and the news?

Resolve that today you will press the Bible app three times during the day. No five times. Ten times! Maybe you will lose control and become addicted to Bible! Again and again get a two-minute dose of life-giving Food. Man shall not live by Facebook alone.

I’m serious. Never has the God’s voice been so easily accessible. The ESV app is free. The OliveTree BibleReader app is free. And so are lots of others. Let the Bible threaten your focus. Or better: Let the Bible bring you back to reality over and over during the day.

My former employer, Hosanna Ministries, has an app that you will love, especially if you find yourself saying I wish I had more time to read the bible. You can listen to the entire bible, read the bible, set up a pre-packaged listening / reading schedule, and the best part is that it’s free. (click here)

Enjoy.

See the resurgence list here. Of course this make’s me happy because there is a Bahnsen appearance.

Why We Believe the Bible:
Part 1 MP3 | Part 2 MP3 | Part 3 MP3 | Part 4 MP3 | Part 5 MP3

Tyndale (1494-1536) was a linguistic genius whose expertise in seven languages dazzled the scholarly world of this day. Educated at Oxford University and eventually ordained as a priest, he rather quickly came to see translating the Bible into English as his vocation in life.

Because the vernacular Bible was condemned by the Roman Catholic Church, Tyndale did his work of translation while living on the Continent. He finished his translation of the New Testament in 1525, and copies reached England the following year, smuggled in bales of cloth and sacks of flour. Catholic bishops conducted public burnings of the books. Tyndale began work on the Old Testament but was lured out of hiding by a Catholic sympathizer. He was declared a heretic and met his end near Brussels by strangling and burning at the stake in 1535.

For people who have multiple English Bibles on their shelves, it is important to be reminded that the vernacular of the Bible was begotten in blood. What we take for granted originally seemed impossible.

- Leland Ryken, Understanding English Bible Translation, pp. 37-38

HT: My daily dose of Vitamin Z

For the entire month of October, enjoy browsing the entire book of Genesis for FREE on Scribd.

Genesis – Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary

I browsed this a bit and it looks great! A great free resource for a short period of time!!

HT: Koinonia

This is a very special day for Zondervan. We announced earlier today that Zondervan is partnering with Biblica and the Committee on Bible Translation (CBT) to bring you an updated NIV in 2010. I am excited about launching this updated translation and wanted to share this news with everyone as soon as possible.

Since the NIV was first published in 1978, more than 300 million copies have sold worldwide – making it one of the most popular English books ever sold. However, the current NIV has not been updated since 1984, and it’s time to refresh the text by going back to the original Greek, Aramaic, and Hebrew and translate God’s unchanging word using today’s most contemporary English.

The CBT is already working on the revisions and the process should be complete by late next year. The updated NIV will be available in 2011.

I hope this announcement is the first step toward an NIV that’s even easier to read and understand, and that it will continue to find its way into the hands and hearts of millions. For more information please visit www.NIVBible2011.com.

—Moe Girkins, Zondervan President and CEO