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Over the past decade, I’ve spent considerable time studying the Bible in both an academic and personal setting. During this time, I not only learned a great deal about the Bible, but also about how the Bible is under attack through a multifaceted method from the scientific communities, theological liberalism, and secularism. Many people come to the Bible to merely investigate what it teaches, rather than to humbly submit to what it teaches. As I continued to study secular history and church history, I quickly realized that these attacks are not new, but rather a common reoccurrence throughout time—albeit with a new spin and a fresh face attached to them.
When I progressed past the scrawny middle-schooler stage, I became very interested in studying doctrine and theology. As I continued to study the Bible into adulthood, I came to the conclusion that when a person views the Bible in the wrong light it affects the conclusions that he or she comes to regarding the person and work of Jesus Christ.
During the Protestant Reformation, the Reformers returned to the Scriptures. Theologians call this return Sola Scriptura which means “Scripture Alone”. By their understanding of Sola Scriptura, the Reformers believed the Bible was inspired, inerrant, authoritative, and sufficient for training and equipping in the Word of God as Christians practicing their faith.
In this issue of Theology for Life on the Bible, you’ll learn from me and our other contributors about the doctrine of Scripture—precisely how the Bible is the inspired, inerrant, sufficient and authorative Word of God. Not only this, but you’ll also read reviews of current books on Scripture and an interview from Dr. Chatraw, co-author with Drs. Bock and Kostenberger of Truth Matters and Truth in a Culture of Doubt. As you read this Issue, our prayer is that the Lord would help you to grow in knowledge of handling His Word and applying it so that you won’t be merely a hearer of the Word, but a doer of His Word by His grace. My hope is that the Bible would become more precious to you, so much so that you would delight to digest the Word of the Lord, in the Bible. This is our prayer for you:
“Oh, that you and I might get into the very heart of the Word of God, and get that Word into ourselves! As I have seen the silkworm eat into the leaf, and consume it, so ought we to do with the Word of the Lord—not crawl over its surface, but eat right into it till we have taken it into our inmost parts. It is idle merely to let the eye glance over the words, or to recollect the poetical expressions, or the historic facts; but it is blessed to eat into the very soul of the Bible until, at last, you come to talk in Scriptural language, and your very style is fashioned upon Scripture models, and, what is better still, your spirit is flavored with the words of the Lord. I would quote John Bunyan as an instance of what I mean. Read anything of his, and you will see that it is almost like the reading the Bible itself. He had read it till his very soul was saturated with Scripture; and, though his writings are charmingly full of poetry, yet he cannot give us his Pilgrim’s Progress—that sweetest of all prose poems — without continually making us feel and say, “Why, this man is a living Bible!” Prick him anywhere—his blood is Bibline, the very essence of the Bible flows from him. He cannot speak without quoting a text, for his very soul is full of the Word of God. I commend his example to you, beloved.”
In Christ Alone,
Dave Jenkins
Executive Editor of Theology for Life Magazine
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Dave Jenkins is happily married to his wife, Sarah. He is a writer, editor, and speaker living in beautiful Southern Oregon. Dave is a lover of Christ, His people, the Church, and sound theology. He serves as the Executive Director of Servants of Grace Ministries, the Executive Editor of Theology for Life Magazine, the Host and Producer of Equipping You in Grace Podcast, and is a contributor to and producer of Contending for the Word. He is the author of The Word Explored: The Problem of Biblical Illiteracy and What To Do About It (House to House, 2021), The Word Matters: Defending Biblical Authority Against the Spirit of the Age (G3 Press, 2022), and Contentment: The Journey of a Lifetime (Theology for Life, 2024). You can find him on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube, or read his newsletter. Dave loves to spend time with his wife, going to movies, eating at a nice restaurant, or going out for a round of golf with a good friend. He is also a voracious reader, in particular of Reformed theology, and the Puritans. You will often find him when he’s not busy with ministry reading a pile of the latest books from a wide variety of Christian publishers. Dave received his M.A.R. and M.Div through Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary.
