Extra-biblical practices

Jesus also did many other things. If they were all written down, I suppose the whole world could not contain the books that would be written.

John 21.25 NLT

John states that Jesus did so many things that if all of them were recorded there would not be enough books in the world to contain them. If there was so much more to be recorded but only a tiny fraction of it was recorded for our benefit, then it stands to reason that the disciples of Jesus who saw those other things he did that were not recorded may have practiced them. There would be no fear that they were practicing in error because they saw the master do them.

It is probable that the early church, which consisted of many disciples who followed Jesus abounded with these extra-biblical practices with the justification that they saw the master do it. It is this line of reasoning that the Roman Catholic church uses to justify its fixation on certain practices, claiming a heritage of practices, handed down from the early disciples via an unbroken chain of transmission.

The danger with this line of reasoning is that there is no stable or consistent means of checking error that may creep into the execution of these practices, permitting the undesirable and fatal deviation from the right course. It is undoubtedly the case that the majority and essence of the core teaching and practice of Jesus were recorded for our benefit without much left which cannot be derived form the bulk that has already been presented.

The concept of types

An unknown poet has characterised the relationship between the Old and New Testaments as follows.

The New is in the Old concealed; the Old is in the New revealed.
The New is in the Old contained; the Old is in the New explained.
The New is in the Old enfolded; the Old is in the New unfolded.
The New is in the Old latent; the Old is in the New patent.

Anonymous¹

This characterisation serves as a natural lead into the discussion on how the Old Testament prefigures and anticipates the New and how the New Testament clarifies, fulfills and amplifies the Old. Type is from the Greek word tupon, which means a stamp or an imprint. By this understanding, it is easy to understand what an antitype is: it is the corresponding shape that fits the imprint or mould created by the stamp—the type. Typology, the study and application of types, begun was used by Jesus and the New Testament authors who sought to explain current and future events by likening them to events in the Old Testament. The following examples illustrate the concept better.

The days of Noah and the coming of the son of man

As Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the son of man be lifted up

Melchizedek made unto us like the son of man

We have an antitype of baptism

The Bible is awash with typology, with it being the main framework for understanding the New Testament and reconciling it with the Old Testament.

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1 W. Graham Scroggie (The unfolding drama of redemption, page 75, 1994 Kregel Publications, Grand Rapids, MI, USA)^↩

The Bible is all-sufficient in its provision and comprehensive in its sufficiency

To say the Bible is all sufficient in its provision and comprehensive in its sufficiency is to say that it does not need to be supplemented by any other material in its application. The Bible gives us the basis to tackle every issue in life. It is, without doubt, replete with many stories and much commentary on different aspects of life. However, it is not just a wide-ranging perspective on a multiplicity of issues: it is also enough as the only and final resource to be consulted on all matters of life and faith.

The Bible is the infallible word of God

Because the Bible was inspired by the Holy Spirit who is God, there are no mistakes in it. Also, there cannot be any mistakes in it. That is why Jesus said the Scriptures cannot be changed.

And you know that the Scriptures cannot be altered. 

John 10:35

God has bound himself--His name and His reputation--to the accomplishment of his word. Thus, the word of God carries the nature of God. God is eternal; so is His word. God does not change; neither does his word. He ensures that everything written in it comes to pass.

... for your promises are backed by all the honor of your name.

Psalm 138:2

For ever, O Lord, thy word is settled in heaven.

Psalm 119:89 (KJV)

What shows that the Bible is inspired? (Proofs of biblical inspiration)

How can we know that the Bible was not just made up and that it was inspired by God? We shall discuss this topic under four headings:
1. internal consistency
2. fulfilled prophecy
3. archaeological evidence
4. historical accuracy and corroboration

Internal consistency (unity and continuity)

The Bible contains sixty-six (66) books written by about forty (40) different authors. In spite of this fact, it maintains an internal consistency that is remarkable for such a voluminous body of work.

The authors were from from wildly different backgrounds and they wrote under different circumstances in different cultures and eras:
1. Moses was a prince who became a shepherd and then a prophet;
2. David was a shepherd who became a warrior and then a king;
3. Matthew was a tax collector who became a disciple;
4. Luke was a doctor and a historian;
5. Paul and James were lawyers and Paul was a Pharisee as well;
6. Peter and John were fishermen who became disciples.

Further, the length of time between the writing of the first book and the last book is more than a thousand years. Hence, supposing the authors were just making things up, it would be virtually impossible to co-ordinate their writings into a consistent whole, devoid of contradictions.

Fulfilled prophecy

The Bible abounds with predictions, some of which have already been fulfilled, others of which are yet to be fulfilled. The distance between the predictions that were made and their fulfillment precludes the influence of the predictors in influencing the fulfillment of their predictions. We will look at three examples of such remarkable fulfillment of prophecy:

1. Prophecies concerning the Messiah (Psalm 22, etc)
2. Daniel's prophecy
3.

Archaeological evidence

Archaeologists who have studied the geographical locations in which the Bible accounts were recorded have verified the recorded accounts on many fronts. One such archaeologist concluded that...

Historical accuracy and corroboration

The Bible's corroboration of historical events also speaks to its authenticity. There are many peoples in the books of the Bible whose history, recorded by secular historians, aligns with the accounts given in the Bible. For example, the history of the Israelites from the time of Moses, through the period of the judges and the prophets, coincides with the historical account implied by the Bible. The geographical locations mention and the relationships between them in terms of time and distance also corresponds with the actual locations as they were defined then.

The Bible is inspired by God

When we say the Bible is inspired by God, we mean that it comes from God and He decided what should be in it. Even though human beings did the actual writing, God led them to write what He wanted separate from their own understanding and initiative (2 Peter 2:20--21).

In Jeremiah, we hear God telling the author to write down the prophecies He had given him so that readers may repent upon reading it.

During the fourth year that Jehoiakim son of Josiah was king in Judah, the Lord gave this message to Jeremiah: "Get a scroll, and write down all my messages against Israel. Judah, and the other nations. Begin with the first message back in the days of Josiah, and write down every message, right up to the present time. Perhaps the people of Judah will repent when they hear again all the terrible things I have planned for them. Then I will be able to forgive their sins and wrongdoings."

Jeremiah 36:1--3

God also told John the apostle many times in the book of Revelation to write down the things he was seeing and hearing. (Revelation 1:11, 1:19, 2:1, 2:8, 2:12, 2:18, etc.)

Because the Bible contains exactly what God wants it to contain, it has the last word in all matters of life and faith. Further, it is sufficient as the only resource to be used in such matters: "God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work." (2 Timothy 3:17)

The Bible

Affirmation:
We believe in the divine inspiration and authority of the Holy Scriptures. That the Bible is infallible in its declaration, final in its authority, all-sufficient in its provisions and comprehensive in its sufficiency. (2 Timothy 3.16, 2 Peter 1.21)

All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.

2 Timothy 3:16--17 NLT

Above all, you must realize that no prophecy in Scripture ever came from the prophet's own understanding, or from human initiative. No, those prophets were moved by the Holy Spirit, and they spoke from God.

2 Peter 1:20--21 NLT

The major issues for discussion under this heading are
1. the divine inspiration of the Scriptures
2. the authority of the Scriptures and
3. the sufficiency of the Scriptures.