Further Thought: In the chapter on Biblical Interpretation in the Handbook of Seventh-day Adventist Theology, read the sections on The Analogy of Scripture: “Scripture Is Its Own Interpreter”, The Consistency of Scripture, and The Clarity of Scripture, pages 64-66. Read chapter 20, “Bible Teaching and Study”, in the book Education, pages 185-192; “The Primacy of the Word” in Selected Messages, book … Continue reading –>
Study Bibles for the most part can be a huge blessing. However as a young Bible worker back in the 1990’s I found them to be very challenging. Numerous times I would begin Bible studies with someone who knew very little about the Bible. They would run out to a bookstore in the community and … Continue reading –>
Read Isaiah 8:20. Why is it always important to refer back to the biblical “law and testimony” as the norms for our teaching and doctrine? What does this mean for the ministry of prophets who have not become part of the biblical canon? When we talk about sola Scriptura (Scripture alone), Seventh-day Adventists are inevitably confronted with the … Continue reading –>
Only because there is an underlying unity of Scripture can the Bible function as its own interpreter. Without such unity, Scripture could not be the light that reveals its own meaning, where one portion of Scripture interprets other portions and thus becomes the key to understanding related passages. Read Luke 24:27, Luke 24:44-45. How does Jesus refer … Continue reading –>
Key Thought: Sola Scripture implies fundamental principles of Biblical interpretation for a proper understanding of God’s Word. As Protestants, we maintain the Bible as the ultimate doctrinal authority. May 2, 2020 1. Have a volunteer read Hebrews 4:8-12. Ask class members to share a thought on what the most important point in this text is. … Continue reading –>
Any appeal to Scripture alone makes little sense if the text of the Bible is unclear in its meaning. Read Matthew 21:42; Matthew 12:3, Matthew 12:5; Matthew 19:4; Matthew 22:31; Mark 12:10, Mark 12:26; Luke 6:3; Matthew 24:15; and Mark 13:14. What does Jesus’ repeated referral to Scripture imply regarding the clarity of its message? The biblical testimony is unambiguous: the Bible is sufficiently clear … Continue reading –>
The Bible and the Bible only. What do you think of the statement in this week’s lesson guide that as “Protestants, we must maintain the Bible as the ultimate doctrinal authority.” Of course this is a reassuring creed for our church to follow: The Bible and the Bible alone. Should we work to bring fellow … Continue reading –>
There are several hymns we could choose as a theme song for this quarter. Here are just two, the first being Hymn 272, Give Me the Bible, followed by Hymn 277, For Your Holy Book We Thank You. Thank you to the ladies who messaged in and suggested that we could also add the song … Continue reading –>
The South Pacific Division (SPD) has produced a series of videos about the lesson studies this quarter. The speaker is Dr Kayle de Waal, a theology lecturer at Avondale University College. Week 5_ Study this lesson for May 2 from SPD Discipleship on Vimeo. (5)
Continue reading -->The Bible itself claims that “all Scripture is God-breathed” (2 Tim. 3:16, NIV) and that “no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation”, and that men “spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” (2 Pet. 1:20-21, NIV). With God as the Bible’s ultimate author, we can assume a fundamental unity … Continue reading –>
From their beginning, Seventh-day Adventists have considered themselves to be people of the Book, that is, Bible-believing Christians. To affirm the scriptural principle of sola Scriptura (by Scripture alone), we acknowledge the unique authority of the Bible. Scripture alone is the ruling norm for our theology and the ultimate authority for life and doctrine. Other sources, such as religious … Continue reading –>
We publish the “Lesson Helps because teachers tend to use the Helps in teaching a class. For that purpose, we want to supply all the Bible texts with a bit of context, where helpful. Use your judgment regarding how much context, if any, is useful. The same is true for the Ellen White quotations: We provide context for the portion referenced in the lessons. The referenced part can be bolded. Again, … Continue reading –>
