The Believer’s Certainty of Scripture

In part one, “What is a Bible Worth?” Pastor Harding described a “Martyr’s Bible” and how it came to get that name. The history of Bible translation is soaked initially in martyr’s blood. The commitment of martyr’s unto death for the Word of God is testimony to the importance of the doctrine. In today’s brief article, Pastor Harding outlines the certainty believers have for all of Scripture.

The believer’s certainty regarding the truthfulness and authority of the Bible can only come by appealing to the self-authenticating nature of Scripture in conjunction with the internal witness of the Spirit. The Scriptures are self-authenticating in that they claim divine authority for themselves. Paul, for example, claimed that his words were taught by the Spirit (1 Cor 2:13). Scripture cannot appeal to some higher authority outside itself for authentication. God is the author of Scripture; no one can appeal to any greater authority. The Holy Spirit is not revealing anything to believers in this regard, only illuminating their minds to see the truth; God already gave revelation concerning its certainty and significance at the moment of inspiration. A systematic study of all sixty-six books of the Bible will lead genuine Christian believers to the conclusion that those books form an organic whole — the canon of Scripture.

The basic Christian presupposition is that the one living and true God self-attestingly revealed Himself in the sixty-six books of the Bible. Why is it necessary for a true Christian to hold this presupposition? Because all discussion and argumentation by necessity come down to a primitive starting point, a truth accepted as self-evident, an authority for which no greater evidence can be given. Consequently, all facts must be tested and interpreted in light of that authority ― the Bible.

Unregenerate man, on the other hand, assumes that his intellect is the final authority for truth. An unregenerate mind, however, cannot approach any subject neutrally. The Scriptures affirm that the “carnal mind is enmity (hostile) against God” (Rom. 8:7). Man in his fallen condition does not welcome the truth of God for the simple reason that the natural man does not possess the Spirit of God (1 Cor 2:14). Consequently, the unbeliever suppresses the certainty, importance, and personal implications of God’s truth upon his life by his unrighteousness in thought and deed (Rom 1:18). Unless the Holy Spirit illumines the mind of the individual he will never understand [or grasp] the true nature of the Word of God, which is self-evidencing, self-attesting, and self-authenticating. The true believer’s faith rests in the Spirit’s power to open his eyes, enlighten his mind, and convinces him of the Scriptures’ truthfulness and significance to his life (1 Cor 2:4–5; Eph 1:18; 1 John 2:20).

Mike Harding is the pastor of First Baptist Church of Troy, Troy, Michigan.

Part One: “What is a Bible Worth?”