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Introduction

1. We’ve completed the basic study of “How we got our Bible.” We’ve gone from God’s inspired revelation to the actual Bible translations we read. The following study is a very simplified summary of how the Christian can use the Scripture so that it affects his/her life.

2. Definitions:

a. Interpretation – The process of a reader seeking to understand the meaning of a scripture passage.

b.

Introduction

1. Some people have the mistaken notion that the Bibles we have today are unreliable because of constant retranslation. But the translations we have today are not the end of a long chain of translation. They are translated directly from Hebrew (O.T.) and Greek (N.T.) manuscripts.

2.

Abstract

I. Introduction

How do we know that the 66 books in our Bible are the only inspired books? Who decided which books were truly inspired by God? The Roman Catholic Bible includes books that are not found in other Bibles (called the Apocrypha). How do we know that we as Protestants have the right books? These questions are addressed by a study of canonicity.

“Canon” is a word that comes from Greek and Hebrew words that literally means a measuring rod.

Introduction

The term “transmission” describes the ancient process of copying Hebrew and Greek manuscripts to preserve them for future generation and to distribute them for greater use. Since there were no copy machines, the texts had to be copies by hand. In this way they were “transmitted.”

I. Writing Materials

A.

Introduction

1. “Inerrancy” is a term used to explain that the Bible is completely true and contains no errors in the original autographs. The reason inerrancy is an issue is because some religious “scholars” believe that the scripture contains errors, yet they continue to claim to believe in “inspiration.” Actually, they’re trying to redefine “inspiration” to include possible errors. Therefore, it is necessary to discuss “inerrancy” because it assures that we understand inspiration to mean “without error.”

I. Definition: God’s superintending of human authors so that, using their own individual personalities, they composed and recorded without error in the words of the original autographs His revelation to man (from Dr. Charles Ryrie).

Theories of Inspiration

A. Natural inspiration – There is no supernatural element. The Bible was written by great men, who often erred.

Revelation Defined: God communicating to man what he would otherwise not know (Hebrews 1:1 – God is the Source of all Revelation)

Two Kinds of Divine Revelation

I. General Revelation – God communicating to man His existence and His character through nature and reasoning, apart from any words or language.

Introduction

“How The Bible Came From God To Us”