Revelation and Interpretation

Christians believe the Bible is direct revelation from God. It is the basis for all our beliefs about Christ and his gospel message! Here are some materials to help you understand the important beliefs about the Bible itself, along with some discussion of issues in interpretation.

Revelation Foundations of Faith [9 pages]
A one page summary of what every Christian should believe about God's revelation in the Bible, followed by eight pages of elaboration and biblical support which every teacher and leader in the church should understand and believe

Inspiration Sermon [8 pages]
What we believe about God's inspiration of the Bible, why we believe it, how it worked, and what it means for us

Inerrancy Sermon [8 pages]
What we believe about the historical accuracy of the Bible, why we believe it, and what it means for us

Authority and Sufficiency [3 pages]
A large group teaching about the authority and sufficiency of the Bible.

Canonicity [4 pages]
A large group teaching about whether the Bible contains all the right material and only the right material

Critique of the Jesus Seminar [2 pages]
A brief critique of the Jesus Seminar, who cast doubt on Scripture so they can promote their own unbiblical concept of Jesus and are highly influential with the "historical Jesus" media

Archaeological Evidence for Old Testament History [3 pages]
A list of archaeological finds that support Old Testament historical teachings

Principles for Interpretation and Teaching [1 page]
A summary of concepts for accurate representation of the biblical text

Law for Believers [2 pages]
A quick take on how the believer today should consider the Mosaic Law

Covenants and Dispensations [2 pages]
A short summary of the biblical covenants and dispensations, with a little explanation

Issues in Dispensational Hermeneutics [2 pages]
A summary of the arguments of Bock and Johnson about dispensational hermeneutics in Bateman's Three Central Issues in Contemporary Dispensationalism

Review of Goldsworthy [7 pages]
Looking at his Gospel and Kingdom, I find fault in his interpretation, his use of redemption as an interpretive lens for Scripture, and his errant views on biblical covenants

This is the first century Colosseum in Rome. Paul wrote one epistle to the Romans and later wrote several epistles to others while imprisoned in Rome. This photo is from the collection "Pictorial Library of Bible Lands, volumes 1-10," © 2006 by Todd Bolen, BiblePlaces.com

2 Timothy 3.16-17 NET: Every scripture is inspired by God and useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the person dedicated to God may be capable and equipped for every good work.


Wallace-Ehrman Debate on Textual Accuracy [2 pages]
A two page summary of the debate between Daniel Wallace and Bart Ehrman about whether the New Testament text we have today is an accurate representation of the original. You can get a DVD of the debate at www.csntm.org

Wallace on Textual Accuracy [1 page]
A summary of Daniel Wallace's comments on the accuracy of the New Testament text we have today

English Translations of the Bible [2 pages]
A brief discussion about the differences in English translations.

Differences between English Translations [11 pages]
A longer discussion about the differences in English translations, including manuscript basis, readability, translation approach, gender inclusiveness, and more.

The Historical Present [17 pages]
This is a technical/academic analysis of how we should translate the Greek historical present into English.

Greek Connectives [18 pages]
This is a technical/academic analysis of what discourse analysis reveals about the meaning of Greek connectives.