“The first link in the chain of revelation ‘From God to Us’ is inspiration, which concerns what God did, namely, that He breathed out (spirated) the scriptures.”[1] Norman Geisler and William Nix were very clear in emphasizing the importance of the inspiration of scriptures. It is through inspiration that the Bible receives its authority.…
Even in the midst of persecution, the early church grew mightily. The Gospel has now spread throughout the region and even to the Samaritans. In the account of the Ethiopian, we find what could be the first Gentile to accept Christ as Savior. Ethiopia was considered by the Romans and the Greeks as the…
The Lord has taught me a great deal over the many years that I have been involved in local church ministry. One of those things is the fact that there is always opposition. Sometimes that opposition will come from those from outside the church. People who are oppose the Gospel that come against the…
Pages 253-297 of the Canon of Scriptures by F.F. Bruce, begins the fourth and final section of the book. This final section is a basic conclusion of the material covered throughout the book. It begins with a chapter on the criteria of canonicity. The author covers such criteria such as: the tests in the…
The author of the Canon of Scriptures, F.F. Bruce, continues to lay out a rather exhaustive history of the development of the canon of scriptures that we have today. Moving on in time, we come to the studies of Athanasius. As bishop of Alexandria, Athanasius devoted most of his thirty-ninth festal letter to a…
In these pages of The Canon of Scriptures F.F. Bruce continues a thorough history of the development of the New Testament canon. He writes about the life and scholarly efforts of men such as Irenaues, Hippolytus, and Novatian. Irenaues was one who was able to distinguish the writings of truth from that of apocryphal…
Acts chapter two records the coming of the Holy Spirit and the birth of the church. This constitutes the beginning of a new dispensation, the dispensation of grace. The study of this great chapter in scripture is very important for us as believers today, because we too are living in the dispensation of grace.…
The book of Acts is a remarkable book of the Bible. It is considered a transitional book, leaving one dispensation and moving into a new dispensation of time. The book of Acts is written by Luke and is a continuation of the Gospel of Luke. It tells of the great men and women who…
F.F. Bruce writes in the third part of his book, The Canon of Scripture, on the subject of the New Testament canon. It has already been established that what we have today is a closed canon. In other words, there are no new books of the Bible to be written or discovered. We have…
I personally and deeply love times of celebration. I enjoy special days that we set aside to rejoice. Easter is one of those special occasions. Sometimes I am asked questions such as: Is it okay to have an Easter egg hunt or to give gifts and have an Easter bunny at Easter? My response to…
Pastor Chris Noland 