Accuracy, Authenticity, and Authority of the Bible and the Words of Jesus
We must be convinced in our mind before we can believe in our heart, that the words spoken by Jesus as written in the Bible are accurate, authentic, and authoritative **.
The proponents of ‘higher, historical criticism’ dispute the accuracy, authenticity, and authority of the Bible, and especially of the words of Jesus. Therefore, it needs to be stated that this website takes the position that God has watched over His word, the Bible, and therefore it is accurate, authentic, and authoritative. (Jeremiah 1:12, Isaiah 55:11)
Jesus promised in John 14:26, “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.”
The critics do not take into account the ability of the Holy Spirit to inspire and guide the writers of the Bible. In particular, and most importantly, they do not take into account the ability of the Holy Spirit to bring to the remembrance of the Apostles “all things that I said to you”.
The Bible is God’s word to all humankind and it is all true. It is not all the truth that there is (John 21:25), but it is all the truth we will ever need. The Bible, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, helps us to know God personally, and to know what He has done for us in the past, what He has given to us in the present, and what we need to know about the future.
Here are what may be the last public words of Jesus spoken a day or two prior to the Last Supper. It seems that following these words He spoke privately to His disciples until His trial.
John 12:44-50, And Jesus cried out and said, “He who believes in Me, does not believe in Me but in Him who sent Me. He who sees Me sees the One who sent Me. I have come as Light into the world, so that everyone who believes in Me will not remain in darkness. If anyone hears My sayings and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. He who rejects Me and does not receive My sayings, has one who judges him; the word I spoke is what will judge him at the last day. For I did not speak on My own initiative, but the Father Himself who sent Me has given Me a commandment as to what to say and what to speak. I know that His commandment is eternal life; therefore the things I speak, I speak just as the Father has told Me.”
A day or two later at the Last Supper, Jesus said in John 15:22, “If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin.”
And with the Great Commission, just prior to His ascension, Jesus said in Matthew 28:18, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.”
Therefore, no one will be able to stand before God and excuse himself because the Bible and the words of Jesus are not accurate, authentic, and authoritative.
See: His Words About His Words
As Fairbairn wrote, “Now here we have the point of view from which we must try to interpret His teaching as a transcript or explication of His own consciousness. His speech is the incarnation of His spirit, the mirror of His thought. His person is reflected in His words; the worth of the one explains the worth of the other.” ***
** Accurate, Authentic, and Authoritative
Accuracy refers to the truthfulness of the Bible and to the words of Jesus.
Authentic refers to the trustworthiness of the Bible and the words of Jesus. That is, the Bible and the words of Jesus can be trusted to mean what they appear to mean.
Authoritative refers to the Bible and the words of Jesus being divinely inspired.
