Persuasion of the Authority of Scripture

And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read. And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him. And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears. (Luke 4.16-21)

Esteem for the Scripture - Evidences of the Authority of Scripture - Effectual Application of the Scripture to the Heart

For over one hundred years liberal scholars have been attacking the inspiration, authority and reliability of the Bible. New discoveries were supposed to have proved it to be in error at so many points. However, continued research has shown that many of the criticisms were themselves erroneous. The Patriarchs, for example, were regarded as mere legendary figures and the accounts concerning them were regarded as late inventions but archaeology has shown exact correspondences between details in the accounts and modern discoveries about the way of life in their times. But much confidence has been done to people's confidence in the Bible. We should note carefully what has been damaged; it is the subjective inward confidence not the outward objective written word. Thus as one exclaimed: "Defend the Bible! I would rather defend a lion." The problem is not with what the Bible is but with what people think it is. This is why the Apostle Paul was so thankful to see a faithful acceptance of God's Word. " For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe. (1 Thessalonians 2.13) In thinking about being persuaded of the authority of the scripture in the light of Luke 14.16-30 we will consider (1) Esteem for scripture, (2) Evidences of its authority, and (3) The effectual application of it to the heart.

Esteem for Scripture

The Westminster Confession of Faith speaks of our esteem of the scripture as follows: "We may be moved and induced by the testimony of the Church to a high and reverent esteem of the Holy Scripture." (Chapter 1 Section 5) In the worship of God's house in a Presbyterian Reformed Church you find only two volumes in use. In fact you soon learn that there is only one volume in use for the Psalter is but a metrical version of the nineteenth book of our English Bible. The Psalter contains Chapters 479 to 628 inclusive of the one book known as the Bible. We have no other books but this one. It was the same in this Jewish synagogue of our Lord's day. There was one collection of books, thirty-nine in all, which we know as the Old Testament. These were what was used in the synagogue: "And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read. And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias." (Luke 4.16-17a) The Jews could not hand a book containing the entire Old Testament because they had to keep the individual books on different scrolls. But, as we can see, the Church of that day handed to Jesus part of the word that they commended, those books that they recognised as the Word of God. What would Jesus have thought if they had handed to him Plato's Republic or poetry of Homer? We can see what his answer would have been from John 2.16-17: He "said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father's house an house of merchandise. And his disciples remembered that it was written, The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up. (John 2.16-17) Jesus would not have used other books as Holy Books but he was ready to use the prophecy of Isaiah. Christ esteemed the scripture and he would have us to esteem scripture. "Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken: Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory? And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself." (Luke 24.25-27) The Church must have no other testimony. We have one answer to the question: How can I be wise unto salvation? See what Paul writes to Timothy: "But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works. (2 Timothy 3.14-17)

Evidences of Scripture Authority

The Westminster Confession draws attention to the qualities of the Scripture that reveal its nature. "The heavenliness of the matter, the efficacy of the doctrine, the majesty of the style, the consent of all the parts, the scope of the whole (which is, to give all glory to God), the full discovery it makes of the only way of man's salvation, the many other incomparable excellencies, and the entire perfection thereof, are arguments whereby it doth abundantly evidence itself to be the Word of God:" (Chapter 1 Section 5) It is remarkable that all these are seen in this single extract from Isaiah! "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. (Luke 4.18-19) Consider: (1) The heavenliness of the matter. The extract begins with the triune God of Heaven: the Spirit, the Lord and the God-man Messiah. (2) The efficacy of the doctrine. What power is in this message. If you are saved, you know the effect of God's Word. "Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." (John 8.31-32) The pragmatist says: it works, so I will believe in it. He must see it work before he believes. But Christ says: first believe, then you will know it works. (3) The majesty of the style. How often we feel that in Isaiah! Compare the following as but one further example. "Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the Lord's hand double for all her sins…. Behold, the Lord God will come with strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him: behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him. He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young. Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance? Who hath directed the Spirit of the Lord, or being his counsellor hath taught him? With whom took he counsel, and who instructed him, and taught him in the path of judgment, and taught him knowledge, and shewed to him the way of understanding? Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance: behold, he taketh up the isles as a very little thing. (Isaiah 40.1-2, 10-15) (4) The consent of all the parts. The reading was from the prophecy of Isaiah but Luke writes of Christ: "And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears. (Luke 4.21) There is total agreement between the Old Testament and the New Testament. (5) The scope of the whole. Scripture is like a spider's web. There are so many strands, each so intricate. But when you stand back you see that all makes up a single whole, one thing of beauty and utility, suitable for the purpose for which it was designed. (6) The full discovery it makes of the only way of man's salvation. Is this not a man's greatest delight in the scripture? It is the only way of salvation. It alone has the answer. As can be seen from this extract from Isaiah it reveals Christ as the anointed Messiah, the prophet to preach the truth, the healer, the deliverer, the enlightener and the one who sets us free. When his atonement for sin is rested upon it leads to life eternal. (7) The entire perfection thereof. Who could put the word of man into the hand of Christ? How unfitting it would be to give the imperfect to the wholly perfect. But Jesus is given the Word of God, a perfect word suited to a perfect Saviour.

The Effectual Application of the Word to the Heart

These Jews had the Word of God written: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. (Luke 4.18-19) They had the word of Christ spoken: "And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him. And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears. (Luke 4.20-21) They had the testimony of their own consciences: "And all bare him witness, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth. And they said, Is not this Joseph's son? (Luke 4.22) But they did not believe: " He said unto them, Ye will surely say unto me this proverb, Physician, heal thyself: whatsoever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in thy country. And he said, Verily I say unto you, No prophet is accepted in his own country. (Luke 4.23-24) How desperately wicked is the human heart when in the light of so much evidence it opposes the Word of God! Nothing will suffice for saving faith than the application of God's Word to our hearts by His Spirit. The anointing of the Messiah is in order to sinners becoming the Lord's workmanship. In the original passage in Isaiah 61, the Messiah goes on to describe his mission as being: "To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified. (Isaiah 61:3 AV) Weeds plant themselves but the husbandman prepares the soil for the good seed. Concerning the scripture: "our full persuasion and assurance of the infallible truth and divine authority thereof, is from the inward work of the Holy Spirit bearing witness by and with the Word in our hearts." (Westminster Confession, Chapter 1, Section 5)

The Bible has been given for an assured faith. "Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a declaration of those things which are most surely believed among us … That thou mightest know the certainty of those things, wherein thou hast been instructed. (Luke 1.1,4) Those are blessed who experience it.