Scripture and the Church

The Church Must Bow to the True Nature of Scripture

By Dr. Paul M. Elliott
How you view 2 Peter 1:20-21 determines what kind of religion you believe in, because it determines what kind of Bible you believe in.

From the TeachingtheWord Bible Knowledgebase

Part three of a series. Read part two.

How you view 2 Peter 1:20-21 determines what kind of religion you believe in, because it determines what kind of Bible you believe in.

In our last article we noted that the fad theologies of the 20th and 21st centuries, including neo-evangelicalism, postmodern Biblical theology, the Federal Vision, the New Perspective on Paul, the Moral Majority movement, the Purpose-Driven church movement, the Emergent Church movement, the social justice movement, and New Calvinism, all have their roots in a naturalistic view of the Bible. The average post-evangelical preacher views the Bible as primarily a human book from the mind of fallen man, rather than revelation from the mind of God.

The natural result is that men will enter seminary classrooms and church pulpits proclaiming not "thus says the Lord" but agendas of their own invention. Charles Spurgeon rightly observed that the only thing new in theology is heresy - and even many heresies are not new, but versions of old falsehoods in present-day garb. In that respect, fads such as neo-evangelicalism, the New Perspective on Paul, and New Calvinism are not "new" despite their names, but merely the latest makeovers of ancient departures from the truth of God.

The Bible - A Natural Book or Supernatural?

Holy Scripture unequivocally condemns theological fads because it repeatedly asserts its own supernatural character. 2 Peter 1:20-21 declares this as the first principle in understanding the true nature - and the true power - of Scripture:

knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.

How any individual, church, school, or church leader looks at those two verses determines what kind of religion you are going to have - God-centered, and therefore true, or man-centered, and therefore false. Throughout church history, these two verses are at the center of every division between the orthodox and the heretic. The great division between Protestantism and Roman Catholicism hinges on these verses. The great division between authentic Biblical Christianity and every other kind of religion in the world, every false religion, hinges on these verses. These are key verses in the Word of God.

Many churches, and many cults, lift verse 20 out of context. Rome, for example, asserts that verse 20 means that it is wrong for anyone to interpret the Bible for himself. Only the church can interpret the Scriptures. "No prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation." Period. Authentic Biblical Christianity, on the other hand, claims the universal priesthood of all believers, not just a certain class of men who are called priests.

Rome declares that it is dangerous for church members to try to understand the Bible for themselves. Therefore the only one safe thing to do is to go to the church, go to the priest. Ironically, when men go to seminary to become priests, the book they study the least is the Bible itself. Instead, they spend years studying man's teachings under the heading of "church tradition".

And just as ironically, the same is true in many post-evangelical colleges and seminaries - the difference being that the human teachings that have supplanted the Word of God are not centuries-old traditions, but the latest theological and church-growth fads.

The Test of True Christianity and the True Church

It all comes down to this: Do you believe that the church has to interpret the Bible according to its traditions, the latest philosophy, or some other variable standard, or do you believe that the Bible itself - and the Bible alone - is the authority? Do you believe that the church, rather than standing in judgment over the Word of God, must be judged by the Word of God?

Many post-evangelical preachers and teachers simply do not believe this, even if they may say the words. Do not merely listen to what they may say at certain points to give false comfort to those who doubt their sincerity - watch what they do. You will find that very often they fail the test.

And what is the test? Second Peter chapter one tells us, but we must be careful to read and understand it properly.

The words "No prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation" do not form the complete thought in this passage. Verses 20 and 21 form a single thought; verse 20 is not complete without verse 21. The word "for" at the beginning of verse 21 links the two verses together. "Knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit." Verse 21 explains verse 20.

It is also vital to understand more precisely some of the words that are used in this passage in English Bibles. In some cases, it is difficult for translators to find a concise way of saying in English all that is said in the original Greek. This is one of those places.

The Authorized and New King James versions both use the word "is" in verse 20. "No prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation." Some other versions render it "comes" or "came about." Those words are closer to the original, but still do not convey the full sense. In the original language, the word actually speaks of how Scripture "originated", or "came into existence".

Another word we need to understand more carefully in verse 20 is the word "interpretation". This is the only place in the entire Bible where this particular Greek word is used. The word in the original language has to do with "determination" - the way in which something is determined to be true or not true. So the idea of verse 20 is this: "Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the Scripture originated as the result of any private determination of what is true or not true."

So here is the fuller, more precise sense of the text: "Knowing this first, no prophecy of Scripture originated in the human writer's own personal determination of what is true or not true." Why? Because the Scriptures "never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved [more precisely, were driven] by the Holy Spirit."

No human being - certainly no pastor, certainly no Christian - has the right to place anything in authority over the Word of God, or to establish any naturalistic lens through which they require Scripture to be viewed.

The Essential Truth Most Churches Have Set Aside

Why is the Bible the only supernatural Book? How do we know without doubt that it is the Word of God? Why is empirical "proof" of Bible doctrines emanating from the sinful heart of fallen man an utter waste of time? Why must every Christian, and every church, continually ask the question, "Is it Biblical?" about absolutely everything?

The answer is that Scripture is not a mere collection of the words and ideas of men. It did not originate in man's understanding of things. The Bible is not the record of man's views, perspectives, or interpretation of events. Man did not decide what is true and what is not true. "Prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit."

Today's self-described evangelical churches, with few and precious exceptions, have largely abandoned this essential truth. That is why the post-evangelical church is the church unplugged. That is why it does not operate as though the Word of God is the only word that matters. That is why its "evangelism" is man-centered and not God-centered and therefore largely fruitless in terms of eternal results. That is why its worship is often a shambles, catering to sinful man's tastes and whims rather than bowing in reverent fear before the holy God. That is why churches insist they must invent a variety of man-centered programs that divide the family at the church door on a Sunday, never to come back together until it is time to go home.

Today's self-described evangelical churches are, again with few and very precious exceptions, centers of what may be best described as a cultural pseudo-Christianity rather than authentic, spiritual Christianity. As the Holy Spirit declares in 2 Timothy 3:5 they have "a form of godliness [an outward semblance of reverence and respect toward God] but denying [in the sense of rejecting] its power."

What does that mean, and what is the cure? We must look always and alone to the Word of God for the answers. We shall do so as we continue.

 

Next: Today's Church - "Having A Form of Godliness But Denying Its Power"

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