my own theology - those Biblical principles that
have guided my preaching, pastoring and thinking
- those things that inform my practice of ministry
over the years.
Where does one start? Early on in my ministry I
came to a conclusion. I have absolutely nothing
to say. But God has much to say, and the Bible
is his word to us. For that reason, any
examination of ones theology must begin with
ones view of the Bible. When we say the Bible is
the Word of God, that it is inspired of the Holy
Spirit who moved on Divinely chosen men to write
as they did, what are we in fact saying.
There is so much to say about what is meant
when one says that the Bible is the Word of God.
But for my purposes, and because of the crises
on this matter that consumes so much of the
evangelical world, I wish to emphasize 4 essential
things when it comes to the Doctrine of the Bible.
1. The innerrancy of Scripture. The term
"inerrancy" has become an alienating word in
evangelical circles. The Mennonite Brethren
Denomination resolutely refuses to use the word.
Some suggest that the word is simply
"unbiblical", that it is not found in the Bible. To
that I would respond that the words, "Bible",
"Trinity", "Theology" and many more words we use
are not found in the Bible. Others suggest that
the term "innerrancy" is unclear, that it is often
misunderstood. To that I would respond as
follows: In 1978, because of the crisis in which
many in the evangelical world had charged the
Scripture with error, a group of over 200 solid
Bible scholars met in Chicago Illinois. The result
of their meeting produced a document on biblical
innerancy, entitled the "Chicago Declaration of
Biblical Inerrancy". Anyone can google this
document. It is clear and concise.
The belief in Biblical Inerrancy is the belief that all
that the Bible affirms can be trusted as true,
because it has originated from the mouth of God.
That includes its declaration of a literal Adam to
its declaration of the 2nd coming of Christ.
Whether we talk about its statements about
history, geography or in its numbering of people -
whatever the Bible affirms can be trusted.
2. The sufficiency of Scripture. Here we affirm
that even while the Bible doesn't teach us
everything we might want to know about
everything (you won't get teaching about how to fix
your car from the Bible), yet the Bible contains
everything we need regarding salvation, trusting
and knowing God, obeying God, and all we need
to for the life of the church. In other words, we
have no need to add to these words in order to
help God's people. Hence, I have been an
expositor.
3. The unity of the Bible. Here we affirm that the
Bible forms a unity, and not a diversity of opinion.
From Genesis to Revelation, the Bible tells one
story. I do not believe the New Testament
suddenly changes the message from God, as if
the Old Testament contains a record of how God's
people got saved in the Old Covenant - a situation
which has now been changed in the New
Covenant. I believe the New Testament - when
rightly understood perfectly explains and exegetes
the Old Testament in the light of Christ.
4. The necessity of Scripture & the clarity of
Scripture. The final affirmation is a two-fold
affirmation. It is not possible to be saved without
hearing the word of God. That word is clear -
meaning it is not frought with ambiguity. In our
day, so many want to paint the Bible as a book
so hopelessly unclear - so hopelessly complex -
that disagreement about the Bible's teaching is a
natural consequence. Even while we may see
minor matters differently - our fundemental
problem with the Bible's teaching is a hard heart,
hatred of God, and love of self.
Next week - a 2nd theological principle governing
my ministry - the meticulous sovereignty of God.
Posted 24th October 2014 by Pastor John Neufeld
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