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NASB | 2 Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | 2 Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is God-breathed [given by divine inspiration] and is profitable for instruction, for conviction [of sin], for correction [of error and restoration to obedience], for training in righteousness [learning to live in conformity to God's will, both publicly and privately--behaving honorably with personal integrity and moral courage]; |
Bible Question:
"Do we have a flawed New Testament?" .............. Hank's question is a good one because it is a question lost souls are looking for an answer for. Even new believers are asked this question or have asked it themselves. How can we equip these new believers to answer this question? How can we equip them to explain that the Word is infallible AND that 1 John 1:8 applied to the Apostles? What from the Word will equip (2 Tim 3:17) them with an answer? What from the Word will equip them with an answer for the hope that is in them? (1 Pet 3:15) |
Bible Answer: Lionstrong, thanks for your comments on my question. Your question is multi-faceted and I will attempt to address but two segments of it.....First, regarding 1 John 1:8 as it may be applied to the context of the item now under review, i.e. Do we have a flawed New Testament? and a corollary question, Are the Apostles' teachings inerrant? The passage in 1 John 1:8 says, "If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us." You ask how can we equip new believers to explain that this verse applies to the Apostles? The Apostle Paul leads the way to understanding that the Apostles were by no means men without sin. He says to Timothy in 1 Tim. 1:15, "It is a trustworthy statement deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all." But the question, Lionstrong, has nothing whatever to do with apostolic sin or sinlessness. The question has to do with apostolic teaching. Was it infallible and inerrant? If whether a biblical writer's inerrancy is pivotal upon his sinlessness, if a writer had to remain sinless in order for his words to be fully trustworthy, then no biblical writer, from Genesis to Revelation, meets the criterion. Then where are we? We are then plunged into the ignominious position of having to say that the sacred writings all are flawed and untrustworthy because they were written by flawed and untrustworthly, yes sinful, men. It is not our logic, or lack of it, that is flawed? .......A second segment of your question I'd like to address is, What from the Word will equip (2 Tim.3:17) them with an answer? This verse says, "so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work." The answer lies, at least in part, in the preceding verse, in the words "All Scripture is inspired by God." The obvious answer then is, everything from the Word of God equips the believer to be able to give and answer for the hope that is in them (1 Pet.3:15). "For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirt, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart." (Heb. 4:12) The Word and the Spirit are fully capable of convicting the sinner and leading him into paths of righteousness. I cite the experiences of three men, all of them dedicated skeptics at a time in their lives, who became staunch defenders of the faith. They are Frank Harber, an evangelist; Josh McDowell, a writer and lecturer; and C. S. Lewis, one of the foremost apologists for the faith in modern times. Each of these men set out with the aim to prove the Bible was more or less a fairy tale and ended up a powerful witness to its eternal truth. How did this happen? They read, studied, pondered on the Bible. With two of these men, Harber and McDowell, I am personally acquainted and have heard from their very lips their testimony. It is the testimony of men such as these that provides a most powerful and convincing attestation to the power of the Word of God......Thank you, Lionstrong, for posing the questions, which bear every earmark that they have the motive of searching for truth. I only hope that, in some measure, these remarks of mine have lent something toward that end. --Hank |