Benjamin Keach's Catechism, Q5: Is the Bible God's Word? Part 2

Q. 5. How do we know that the Bible is the Word of God?

A. The Bible evidences itself to be God's Word by the heavenliness of its doctrine, the unity of its parts, its power to convert sinners and to edify saints; but the Spirit of God only, bearing witness by and with the Scriptures in our hearts, is able fully to persuade us that the Bible is the Word of God. (1 Cor. 2:6,7,13; Ps. 119:18, 129; Acts 10:43, 26:22; Acts 18:28; Heb 4:12; Ps. 19:7-9; Rom. 15:4; John 16:13,14; 1 John 2:20-27; 2 Cor. 3:14-17)

Scripture Proofs

Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away. But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory . . . . And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual. (1 Cor. 2:6, 7, 13)

Open my eyes, that I may behold
     wondrous things out of your law. (Ps. 119:18)

Your testimonies are wonderful;
     therefore my soul keeps them. (Ps. 119:129)

To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name. (Acts 10:43)

To this day I have had the help that comes from God, and so I stand here testifying both to small and great, saying nothing but what the prophets and Moses said would come to pass. (Acts 26:22)

For he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, showing by the Scriptures that the Christ was Jesus. (Acts 18:28)

For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. (Heb 4:12)

The law of the LORD is perfect,
     reviving the soul;
the testimony of the Lord is sure,
     making wise the simple;
the precepts of the Lord are right,
     rejoicing the heart;
the commandment of the Lord is pure,
     enlightening the eyes;
the fear of the Lord is clean,
     enduring forever;
the rules of the Lord are true,
     and righteous altogether. (Ps. 19:7-9)

For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. (Rom. 15:4)

When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. (John 16:13, 14)

But you have been anointed by the Holy One, and you all have knowledge. I write to you, not because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and because no lie is of the truth. Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son. No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also. Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you too will abide in the Son and in the Father. And this is the promise that he made to us—eternal life.

I write these things to you about those who are trying to deceive you. But the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie—just as it has taught you, abide in him. (1 John 2:20-27)

But their minds were hardened. For to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away. Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts. But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. (2 Cor. 3:14-17)

In the last post we covered the first part of this answer. Now, we come to the second part: "The Spirit of God only, bearing witness by and with the Scriptures in our hearts, is able fully to persuade us that the Bible is the Word of God." This is the reason why, despite the evidences given in the first part, people still disbelieve: because only God's Spirit can break through our inherent depravity and tendency to "suppress the truth in unrighteousness" (Rom. 1:18 NASB).

Again, the Bible itself testifies to the fact that God teaches people through it. Paul talks about how God's Word is "not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit" who "interpret[s] spiritual truths to those who are spiritual" (1 Cor. 2:13). God's Word cannot be fully and truly understood by flesh, but it requires the Spirit who came to "guide [us] into all the truth" and to "take what is [Christ's] and declare it to [us]" (John 16:13, 14). Not only that, but the Spirit only "interpret[s]" spiritual truths to those who are spiritual." Elsewhere Paul states that believers "are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you." Thus, those in whom the Holy Spirit dwells are those who are spiritual, and are those for whom the Holy Spirit interprets spiritual truths. Flesh - that is, those who don't have the Holy Spirit - read the Bible and see only intellectual truths. They are not persuaded of its truth and will not be unless the Spirit, through the Word, teaches them.

To expand on this a little bit, the apostle John even goes so far as to say in 1 John 2, "the anointing that you received from him [the Holy One, v. 20] abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you" (v. 27). We have no need that anyone should teach us. This doesn't mean we should never listen to pastors and theologians who have been studying for decades, or that we should ignore the great titans of church history. It only means that the Holy Spirit teaches us, so that we have no need to be taught by others. I think we should learn from others because they often have great insight. But we don't need to.

The Psalmist petitions to God: "Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law" (Ps. 119:18). He wants to behold those wondrous things, so he comes to God, knowing that he is the only one who can show him. Paul expands on this when he speaks of the Israelites, "To this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts. But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed" (2 Cor. 3:15-16). Not only does the Lord remove the veil, but Paul is very clear that "only through Christ is it taken away" (v. 14, emphasis added). God is the only one who can reveal the true meaning of Scripture.

However, he often chooses to do this through human teachers. These teachers, like all believers, ultimately learn from the Spirit. Paul said, "To this day I have had the help that comes from God, and so I stand here testifying both to small and great, saying nothing but what the prophets and Moses said would come to pass" (Acts 26:22). Paul preached from God's Word, and he had God's help. Had not God used Paul, all of Paul's preaching would have resulted in nothing. Instead, however, God worked with his Word through him to reach many and change the face of the world.

So, despite all the evidence that the Bible is God's Word, we will never believe this unless God himself reveals it to us. God alone, through his Word, is able to work his mighty works. If that is true, we need to be in the Bible daily, earnestly desiring to know his will.

To read the full catechism, click here.

Benjamin Keach's Catechism, Q5: Is the Bible God's Word? Part 1

Q. 5. How do we know that the Bible is the Word of God?

A. The Bible evidences itself to be God's Word by the heavenliness of its doctrine, the unity of its parts, its power to convert sinners and to edify saints; but the Spirit of God only, bearing witness by and with the Scriptures in our hearts, is able fully to persuade us that the Bible is the Word of God. (1 Cor. 2:6,7,13; Ps. 119:18, 129; Acts 10:43, 26:22; Acts 18:28; Heb 4:12; Ps. 19:7-9; Rom. 15:4; John 16:13,14; 1 John 2:20-27; 2 Cor. 3:14-17)

Scripture Proofs

Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away. But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory . . . . And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual. (1 Cor. 2:6, 7, 13)

Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law. (Ps. 119:18)

Your testimonies are wonderful; therefore my soul keeps them. (Ps. 119:129)

To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name. (Acts 10:43)

To this day I have had the help that comes from God, and so I stand here testifying both to small and great, saying nothing but what the prophets and Moses said would come to pass. (Acts 26:22)

For he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, showing by the Scriptures that the Christ was Jesus. (Acts 18:28)

For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. (Heb 4:12)

The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul;the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple;the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart;the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes;the fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever;the rules of the Lord are true, and righteous altogether. (Ps. 19:7-9)

For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. (Rom. 15:4)

When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. (John 16:13, 14)

But you have been anointed by the Holy One, and you all have knowledge. I write to you, not because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and because no lie is of the truth. Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son. No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also. Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you too will abide in the Son and in the Father. And this is the promise that he made to us—eternal life.

I write these things to you about those who are trying to deceive you. But the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie—just as it has taught you, abide in him. (1 John 2:20-27)

But their minds were hardened. For to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away. Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts. But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. (2 Cor. 3:14-17)

There are a whole lot of Scripture proofs for this question! I generally try to touch on all of the proofs at least somewhat for each question, so I've decided to cover this question in two posts. Otherwise, the one post would be ridiculously long.

So, in the last post, we went through the question "What is the Word of God?" The answer given was "the Bible." The answer gave no reason why we should see that the Bible is God's Word, and we didn't try to find a reason; we simply established what we should expect from the Bible if it really is God's Word. Now we come to the evidence. Like I've previously stated, I'm not looking to make an apologetic case for the Bible. I'm just studying the catechism and learning from it.

Like the third answer, this answer comes in two parts: the evidence we all see and the work of the Holy Spirit in convincing us of the truth. We'll cover the first part today, which says, "The Bible evidences itself to be God's Word by the heavenliness of its doctrine, the unity of its parts, its power to convert sinners and to edify saints."

If we examine the Bible, we find that it itself testifies to all these evidences. The first one, the "heavenliness of its doctrine," is easily seen in the Psalms. The Psalmist calls God's Word "wonderful" (Ps 119:129) and says it is full of "wondrous things" (Ps 119:18)¹. In addition, another Psalm calls it "pefect," "sure," "right," "pure," "clean," "true," and "righteous altogether" (Ps. 19:7-9). That same Psalm refers to the fact that it is "enduring forever" (v. 9). Paul also compares the wisdom of God with the wisdom of Man; he has a low view of the "wisdom ... of the rulers of this age" because they "are doomed to pass away" (2 Cor. 2:6). They are temporal. In contrast, he testifies to "a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory" (v. 7). God's wisdom has existed since before time. God's wisdom is found in his words. Thus, the Bible has a very high opinion - indeed a "heavenly" opinion - of God's Word.

The next evidence, "the unity of its parts," is one that is often disputed. People claim that the Bible is full of contradictions. But if it really is God's Word, then it can't be; otherwise, God would be a liar who talks out of both sides of his mouth, and would not be worthy of our worship.

Peter said of Jesus that "all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name" (Acts 10:43). The keyword for our purpose at the moment is "all." Does Peter really mean that each and every one of the prophets testifies to Jesus? I think he does, but even if he didn't, "the prophets" was a term meant to be understood as referring to the Old Testament. He's claiming that they all agree that Jesus is the Messiah. Apollos proved this when "he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, showing by the Scriptures that the Christ was Jesus" (Acts 18:28). Take note that all the New Testament church had as Scripture was the Old Testament.

I wish that Keach had included this next verse in his proofs, but I think it's another great testimony to the Bible's claim to unity: "And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, [Jesus] interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself" (Luke 24:27). Jesus went all the way back to Moss, which basically means "the first books of the Bible." The Bible agrees with itself about its teaching on Jesus. It also has unity in many other aspects of theology and doctrine, but I think the teaching on Jesus is the most important thing, don't you?

The last of the evidences (which is really in two parts, but I think they go hand-in-hand) is Scripture's "power to convert sinners and to edify saints." Even someone with very little knowledge of what the Bible says will know that it says this. The Bible "reviv[es] the soul," "mak[es] wise the simple," "rejoic[es] the heart," and "enlighten[s] the eyes" (Ps. 19:7-8). In other words, it is meant to transform our hearts, souls, minds, and even our bodies. Supporting that is Hebrews 4:12, which says, "The word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart" (Heb 4:12). Paul also says that "whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope" (Rom. 15:4). It is encouraging and meant to give us hope for salvation and glorification. And if we go back to Acts 10:43, it says that "all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name." The Scriptures testify to salvation! They are meant to save people!

All of these things are true of the Bible. You will find no true Christian who argues against what the Bible says; they may disagree on how to interpret it, but the Bible is the source of Christian doctrine. It is unified despite having been written over a period of about 1,600 years by multiple men in different cultures and with different backgrounds. And it is powerful to convert sinners and edify the saints. Thus, we cam be confident that the Bible itself is the Word of God it refers to. Now, if all of this is true, why don't people believe it? We'll cover that in the next post.

To read the full catechism, click here.

Footnotes

¹ Psalm 119 is full of praises for God's Word, and is the ideal chapter to read for anyone wondering what we should think of the Bible.

We Also Need Someone to Snap Us Out of Our Illusion of Independence

Have you ever stopped to think about how very dependent we are? We here in America view independence very highly. But even those who we hold up as our greatest examples of independence still fall vastly short of true independence.

Think about our bodies for a minute. Every few hours or so, we need to eat food and drink water in order to keep our strength up. Not only that, but every few seconds, we need to breath in oxygen which our bloodstreams carry to our muscles to keep them functioning properly, and to keep us conscious in the first place. These three things - food, water, and oxygen - are things that exist apart from our bodies.

I'm not saying we aren't self-sustaining in a sense. We grow and manufacture the food we eat. We purify the water we drink. We plant plants which expel oxygen so we can breath. We can create systems to sustain ourselves, but the fact remains that we still need these external objects in order to keep going. We even make multi-vitamins with our essential daily vitamins and minerals because of that fact. Our bodies do not recreate them. Our bodies cannot sustain themselves.

In contrast, a car - which is a man-made machine - only needs to refuel about once a week or so, possibly less depending on things like the model of the car and how often one drives it. Our man-made machines can outlast us. They still need maintenance and refueling, but not nearly as often as we do. Not only that, but we build cars and then become dependent on them for our lives: we need them to get to work, to go grocery shopping, and so forth. We also become dependent on other man-made things: we rely on HVAC systems and clothing to keep us warm in winter and cool in summer. We rely on houses to shelter us from the elements.

I'm not even talking about other needs here. I haven't touched on our emotional or our spiritual needs. What about our need for companionship? Humans are not meant to live apart from other humans.

It seems to me that we are simply hard-wired to be dependent on something, like we weren't meant to be fully independent, like we weren't meant to think we can do anything and everything on our own.

Benjamin Keach's Catechism, Q4: The Word of God

Q. 4. What is the Word of God?

A. The Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, being given by divine inspiration, are the Word of God, the only infallible rule of faith and practice. (2 Peter 1:21; 2 Timothy 3:16,17; Isaiah 8:20)

Scripture Proofs

For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. (2 Pet. 1:21)

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. (2 Tim. 3:16, 17)

To the teaching and to the testimony! If they will not speak according to this word, it is because they have no dawn. (Isa. 8:20)

If you know anything about me, you know I looked forward to the questions about the Bible. This answer is the kind of thing I want my children to grow up learning: "The Word of God [is] the only infallible rule of faith and practice." I think that is one of the most important truths one can know and live by.

This question does not give the reasons we can know the Bible is God's Word; that's the next question. Rather, this question and the Scripture proofs given establish what we can expect from God's Word.

First, God's Word is not man-made. Yes, God used men to write the Bible, and yes, the men's individual personalities do come through in the text. But the Bible is ultimately authored by God. "For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit" (2 Pet. 1:21). God willed the writing of the Bible. In addition, "All Scripture is breathed out by God" (2 Tim. 3:16). God breathed out the very words of Scripture. Again, this doesn't contradict the fact that men wrote it with their own individual styles; rather, God ordained the very words they would write, and they wrote them. At least that's how I understand it.

But that's not all we can take away from the answer. God's Word is also "profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work" (2 Tim. 3:16, 17). I think the important word here, at least for our purposes, is "complete." God's Word gives us everything we need to be "equipped for every good work." We don't need other revelation from God to do his work. In fact, if we really want "a word from the Lord" (which is a common idea nowadays), we ought to go to our Bibles. The Bible is the word from the Lord.

We can also know it is all we need not only because it says so, but because it is from God. God implores us to go "to the teaching and the testimony" and that those who "will not speak according to this word [the Word of God] . . . will have no dawn" (Isa. 8:20). That is, they who deny God's Word will find only "distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish" and, ultimately, "they will be thrust into thick darkness" (Isa. 8:22). In contrast, in the words of the Psalmist to God, "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path" (Ps. 119:105).

This is what we can expect of the Word of God. If the Bible is the Word of God, then by implication we can expect these things of it. The next question will address how we can know the Bible is God's Word.

To read the full catechism, click here.

Benjamin Keach's Catechism, Q3: How Do We Know?

Q. 3. How do we know there is a God?

A. The light of nature in man, and the works of God, plainly declare that there is a God; but His Word and Spirit only, do effectually reveal Him unto us for our salvation. (Rom. 1:18-20; Psalm 19:1,2; 2 Tim. 3:15; 1 Cor. 1:21-24; 1 Cor. 2:9,10)

Scripture Proofs

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. (Rom. 1:18-20)

The heavens declare the glory of God,
     and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
Day to day pours out speech,
     and night to night reveals knowledge. (Ps. 19:1, 2)

...and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. (2 Tim. 3:15)

For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. (1 Cor. 1:21-24)

But, as it is written,

“What no eye has seen, nor ear heard,
      nor the heart of man imagined,
what God has prepared for those who love him”—

these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. (1 Cor. 2:9, 10)

I actually addressed this question not that long ago in a way. Granted, my argument was more philosophical than anything else, but it still was my attempt to give an answer to the question: How do we know there is a God? I think, since I already recently wrote about it, I'm not going to give the same argument a second time; if you're interested, go back and read the post I linked to. My purpose in this series isn't really to discuss purely philosophical ideas or arguments anyway, but rather to examine the questions of this catechism in light of the Scriptures and see how it stands up. This question, in my opinion, stands up just fine.

The first two verses address the first part of the answer: "The light of nature in man, and the works of God, plainly declare that there is a God." I think that addresses a few things: first off, as Keach himself gives Romans 1:18-20 as a proof of what he states, he clearly means that nature is proof of God's existence. And indeed, "the heavens declare the glory of God" (Ps. 19:1) and "his righteousness" (Ps 50:6). Not only that, but "day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge" (v. 2). The 1599 Geneva Bible gives this commentary on the second verse: "The continual success of the day and the night is sufficient to declare God’s power and goodness." Basically, that day and night come and go testify to God's goodness and power. We are surrounded by testimony of his existence all the time!

But the words "in man" remind me of another passage: "When Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them" (Rom. 2:14-15). God has literally written his law, the absolute standard of right and wrong, on the hearts of all people. When people declare that something is morally wrong, they are appealing to some standard of good and evil. That standard, and that we know that standard, is proof of God's existence. People skew and ignore that standard all the time, however; men "by their unrighteousness suppress the truth" (Rom. 1:18). Men suppress it. They still have it, but they pretend they don't. They also suppress the truth of God's existence proclaimed in nature; when they see it, even though it clearly testifies of him, they act as if it doesn't and even delude themselves into believing it doesn't.

So how can the truth penetrate the veil? Keach answers, "His Word and Spirit only, do effectually reveal Him unto us for our salvation." The key word here is "only;" God's Word and Spirit are the only things that reveal God in a saving way to people. Fallen human reason cannot get us to God by itself; our bias towards evil keeps us away from that. Also, the idea that our Savior is someone who was killed on a cross is "a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles" (1 Cor. 1:23). That's not to say reason has no place in discussing salvation, but rather that without God's Spirit moving, it won't save anyone. But salvation, which "no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him . . . God has revealed to us through the Spirit" (1 Cor 2:9, 10). And through the Spirit, we can understand "the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Jesus Christ" (2 Tim. 3:15).

Even though we are surrounded by evidence of God's existence day by day, we in our wickedness suppress the truth and pretend it does not exist. Only God, through the Holy Spirit and the Scriptures, can open our eyes and bring the truth to light.

To read the full catechism, click here.