This week, Pastor Mark took the sermon,"The Bible Is about Jesus," on a more analytical tone, looking at the relation between Scripture, in particular the Old Testament, and Jesus. For a deeper look at the topic of what is Scripture and what it means, here's a post from Pastor Justin Holcomb, who heads the Resurgence, on whose site this post originally appeared. Additionally, Pastor Justin also edited a comparative anthology of theology, which is excerpted below. The Bible is inspired by God, is without error, and does not misrepresent the facts. It is entirely trustworthy and is the final authority in everything it teaches. The Bible records the drama of redemption in both the history of Israel and the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. As Christians we acknowledge both Jesus (John 1:1-4) and Scripture (2 Timothy 3:16-17) as the "Word of God." Christians should not focus solely on Christ and treat Scripture just like any other "classic text." Nor should we focus so much on the Bible as God’s divine inerrant word and treat Jesus as simply a character in a small part of the texts.

Scripture reveals Jesus

Jesus is the message—God participating in human life, coming near to us, bringing his good news, expressing God’s love for us, dying as our substitute, rising as the victor over death, and building his church as a community of grace. Jesus is not just the main person in one of many events in the story of God’s people. Jesus is the final revelation of God’s drama of redemption. Humanity sees God in full light in Jesus. Jesus is God’s ultimate word about human life and the Bible is God’s word about God’s self-revelation through human life. This is what Christian theologians have been saying in various ways for 2,000 years. In answering the question—"What is Scripture?"—Augustine, Aquinas, Luther, Calvin, Spurgeon, and Edwards have given us categories to use, concepts to ponder, and doctrines of Scripture that we should continue. As we survey some of the major theologians in Christian history in the next series of posts, notice how much they refer to Jesus when explaining their theology of Scripture. Their doctrines of Scripture are surprisingly Christ-centered.

Christian Theologies of Scripture

In 2006, Pastor Justin edited the book Christian Theologies of Scripture: A Comparative Introduction, a book that traces what the theological giants in the Christian tradition have taught about Scripture from the early days until today. An excerpt:

The designation of Christianity as a "religion of the Book" is certainly congruent with the fact that Christians believe the Bible to be an indispensable, reliable, and authoritative means of knowing about Jesus and of interpreting God’s self-revelation in him. This should not guide us into thinking that Christianity is focused on the Bible, rather than the Incarnation, as the primary mode of revelation. From the Christian point of view, Jesus is the message—God participating in human life. Jesus is not just the main person in one of many events in the story of God’s people. For Christians, Jesus is the final revelation of the fact that God has a story, a drama of redemption. That is, in Jesus, humanity sees the God who has always been a part of the drama in the full light that reveals God’s role in it. According to the Christian tradition, Jesus is God’s ultimate word about human life and the Bible is God’s Word about God’s self-revelation through human life.

Download and read the introductory chapter here. More resources after the jump:

Other resources

For more study about Scripture—what is it and how we got it—check out these books:

• F. F. Bruce, The Canon of Scripture. This book explains how the books of the Bible came to be recognized as Scripture and what criteria influenced these decisions.
• Herman N. Ridderbos, Redemptive History and the New Testament Scriptures. This book investigates the authority of the New Testament Scriptures.
• D. H. Williams, Retrieving the Tradition: A Primer for Suspicious Evangelicals. Williams’ book is the best study on the Christian use of Scripture and the Church’s tradition.
• Neil R. Lightfoot, How We Got the Bible. Lightfoot answers important questions about the Bible: How old are the biblical manuscripts? Why are there so many different translations? How has the Bible been preserved and transmitted to us?
• Graeme Goldsworthy, According to Plan: The Unfolding Revelation of God in the Bible. This book discusses the central message and overall story of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation and explains how the Old Testament and New Testament fit together.

This post was the introduction to a series Pastor Justin did of the same name on the Resurgence. For more, read the rest of the series in which he gave overviews of what the landmark theologians Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, Martin Luther, John Calvin, Jonathan Edwards, and Charles Spurgeon all taught on the question. Justin Holcomb is a Mars Hill pastor and the director of the Resurgence. He and his wife, Lindsey, are the authors of Rid of My Disgrace: Hope and Healing for Victims of Sexual Assault, which was released this spring by Crossways Books.