If your life is not in jeopardy for what you
believe, you’re probably on the wrong side!
“Indeed, all who want
to live a godly life united with the Messiah Yeshua will be persecuted.” (2Tim 3:12)
It is what you actually believe that determines how you walk out your faith,
“but avoid stupid controversies, genealogies,
quarrels and fights about the Torah; because they are worthless and
futile.” (Titus 3:9)
Like this page? Share it.
Others:
Please Note: Nothing on this website should be taken as anti-Church. I am not anti-anything or anyone. I am only pro-Torah, pro-Truth, and pro-Grace. Sometimes the Truth upsets our long-held beliefs. Why isn’t my theology consistent throughout this website?
[Explanations of rabbinic citations are HERE]
Developing a
Systematic Messianic Theology
“The purpose of careful theological formulations is not to put barriers in the way of people who are seeking salvation, but to define clearly the truths upon which genuine [Biblical] faith rests, so that people will not be misled by false doctrines.” [Bowman]
What the Torah Says About
The Inspiration and
Authority of Scripture
|
In this article: |
Inspiration
I believe that the original autographs — those originally hand-written by the ShliachimApostles and Nevi’imProphets — are the literal written Word of HaShem, absolutely inerrant and infallible in relation to any subject with which they deal, and the Bible as defined herein is the only infallible and authoritative word of HaShem.
I believe in the verbal (all the words of the Bible) and plenary (all the parts of the Bible) inspiration, dual authorship (Ruach HaKodeshthe Holy Spirit directing the writing of His human instrument down to the smallest stroke of the smallest letter), and protected transmission of all Scripture, so that in the Bible is to be found the full and sufficient source of all divine revelation. Therefore, no other writings, “prophecies,” or other supposed revelations, whether written or verbal and regardless of their source, are to be accepted as divinely inspired or authoritative. All teachings and all knowledge, whatever the source (including “science”), are to be understood and interpreted in the light of the sacred Scriptures in their original language.
“Verbal inspiration” means that the process of inspiration [i.e., God “breathing” — through the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit or Holy Breath) — into the writer the exact words and phrases that He intended them to use, 2Tim 3:16-17] applies to the very words used in the biblical books. It does not mean that God mechanically dictated the words of the Bible, but that those words express the thoughts that God intended, and, being correctly interpreted, are free from errors of fact, doctrine, or judgment. The particular words do not need to be the best words to express the thought, but they must be adequate words to express the thought. This subject is discussed HERE.
“Plenary” means that “all parts” of the Bible are divinely authoritative. This includes even such things as the genealogies of the Tanakh. All parts of the Bible are of divine origin. This subject is discussed HERE.
Inerrancy
I believe that the original autographs — those originally hand-written by the ShliachimApostles and Nevi’imProphets — are the literal written Word of HaShem, absolutely inerrant and infallible in relation to any subject with which they deal,[1] and the Bible as defined herein is the only infallible and authoritative word of God.
I believe in the verbal (all the words of the Bible) and plenary (all the parts of the Bible) inspiration, dual authorship[2] (Ruach HaKodeshthe Holy Spirit directing the writing of His human instrument down to the smallest stroke of the smallest letter), and protected transmission of all Scripture, so that in the Bible is to be found the full and sufficient source of all divine revelation. Therefore, no other writings, “prophecies,” or other supposed revelations, whether written or verbal and regardless of their source, are to be accepted as divinely inspired or authoritative. All teachings and all knowledge, whatever the source (including “science”), are to be understood and interpreted in the light of the sacred Scriptures in their original language.[3]
Progressive Revelation
Progressive revelation is the concept that the sections of the Scriptures that were written later contain a fuller revelation of God compared to the earlier sections. For instance, the theologian Charles Hodge wrote,
“The progressive character of divine revelation is recognized in relation to all the great doctrines of the Bible. … What at first is only obscurely intimated is gradually unfolded in subsequent parts of the sacred volume, until the truth is revealed in its fulness.” [Hodge, Charles. Systematic Theology. Vol. 1, pg. 446.]
For example, when a child begins to eat, it first suckles at its mother’s breast then graduates to a bottle, then to baby food and perhaps a “sippy cup.” After that it learns to feed itself with a spoon, then with a fork, and finally graduates to knife and fork. Each step in this progressive learning expands upon what was previously known, but in no way renders the previous knowledge invalid. So it is with God’s progressive revelation:
“Can no one be taught anything? Can no one understand the message? Must one teach barely weaned toddlers, babies just taken from the breast, so that [one has to use nursery rhymes]? Tzav la-tzav, tzav la-tzav, kav la-kav, kav la-kav z'eir sham, z'eir sham [Precept by precept, precept by precept, line by line, line by line, a little here, a little there]. … So now the word of ADONAI for them comes ‘precept by precept, precept by precept, line by line, line by line, a little here, a little there,’…” (Isaiah 28:9-13)
Authority
We believe that the original autographs — those originally hand-written by the Shliachim [Apostles] and Nevi’im [Prophets] — are the literal written Word of God, absolutely inerrant and infallible in relation to any subject with which they deal, and the Bible as defined herein is the only infallible and authoritative word of God.
1. It should be noted that the Bible does not claim to be a science textbook. I do, however, believe that the discrepancies we note between the Bible and “science” are errors in the human interpretation of one or both, and will be resolved when Yeshua reigns from Jerusalem in the Kingdom Age. [BACK]
2. Dual authorship, when used in reference to the Bible, simply means that God used men to write the Scriptures exactly as He wanted them written, without eliminating their wills and personalities from the writing process. [BACK]
3. Since there exists no direct word-for-word equivalence between the Hebrew, Greek, and English languages, translators are forced to use words they believe to be the best understanding of the words, phrases, and idioms they are translating. Therefore even the very best translations of necessity include the interpretation of the translator, which may or may not be what God originally intended. [BACK]
|
ANXIOUSLY WATCHING FOR MASHIACH’S RETURN,
SPEEDILY AND IN OUR DAY. MARANA, TA!
