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What’s so different about this book on Scripture? (Matthew Barrett)

A month ago I announced the forthcoming release of my new book, God’s Word Alone: The Authority of Scripture, which is the third book to release in the 5 Solas Series. With the book just about to release to the public (September 20), I thought I would follow up with a few blog posts describing some of the intricacies of the book to give readers a preview.

Many books have been published on the doctrine of Scripture in the past. So what’s so different about this one? Glad you asked! Here are three characteristics that set the book apart:

9780310515722_30_image (1)First, this book travels back in time to demonstrate that a shift in authority has taken place since the Reformation, one that has massive implications for today.

Part 1 begins with the Reformation and its heroic adherence to sola Scriptura in the face of insurmountable opposition from Rome. I also examine the massive crisis in authority that erupted shortly after the Reformers passed from the scene, beginning with the Enlightenment, progressing through theological Liberalism, and climaxing today with postmodernism. As you shall see, a seismic, earth-quaking shift in biblical authority has occurred, reorienting our ecclesiastical landscape.

While I seek to fairly and accurately represent the diverse voices of the past, I also provide critiques along the way. My aim is to show that abandonment of biblical authority has been under way since the Enlightenment, and the church is worse off because of it. What is the solution? We must retrieve and apply sola Scriptura to our contemporary challenges.

You will want to pay special attention to the section entitled “How Shall We Then Proceed?” at the end of chapter 3. There I explain how we can approach Scripture in contrast to many of the modern and postmodern approaches represented. I argue that we must begin by listening to what Scripture has to say about itself, rather than imposing a modern or postmodern agenda on the text. We must have an open ear to the biblical categories that Scripture itself provides as the Holy Spirit guides us in its interpretation. We must allow Scripture’s own voice to affirm and correct our pre-understanding of what Scripture is and how it should be read. Such an approach pays heed to the self-authenticating nature of Scripture, the internal testimony of the Holy Spirit, as well as the humility fostered by faith seeking understanding, a motto the Reformers retrieved from the church fathers.

Second, we will incorporate a biblical theology of God’s Word, and in doing so trace the redemptive-historical context for the doctrine of Scripture to show that the triune God has made himself known covenantally and his covenantal word always proves true.

By understanding the nature of God’s oral and written Word in the story line of redemptive history, we are better equipped to see to how Scripture describes itself and to grasp the inherent attributes of Scripture. In this, I make two assumptions:

First, that God’s Word is inherently and invariably Trinitarian in nature. Throughout redemptive history, each person of the Trinity participates in the delivery of divine revelation (see chapter 4), yet it is the Holy Spirit in particular who takes on a central role, carrying along the biblical authors so that they speak from God (2 Pet 1:21).

In addition, I assume that God’s Word, though communicated in a variety of ways, is undeniably covenantal in character. Not only does God communicate who he is and what he will do within the context of divinely initiated covenants, but Scripture itself is a covenantal document. As you will learn in chapters 4 and 5, Scripture is the constitution of the covenant between God and his people. Therefore, to reject God’s Word is to reject his covenant as well. Redemptive history demonstrates that the covenantal Word of the triune God proves true. His covenantal promises, both spoken and written, will not fail, and nowhere is this more evident than in the incarnation of Christ, the Word made flesh.

Third, rather than limiting ourselves to the attribute of sufficiency (as treatments of sola Scriptura sometimes do), I systematically explore the range of scriptural attributes in order to defend biblical authority against the many challenges it faces today.

Once we see that Scripture is God-breathed, we will look to inspiration’s natural corollary, the inerrancy of Scripture. As with inspiration, we will discover that the Bible affirms its own truthfulness and trustworthiness. Furthermore, as we address both inspiration and inerrancy, we will give special focus to Jesus, demonstrating that our Lord himself believed Scripture to be both God-breathed and without error. Our discussion will take us back to the doctrine of God, and we will learn that Scripture is fundamentally truthful because its divine author is a God of truth.

Last, I turn to the attributes of clarity and sufficiency. In the wake of Rome’s muddy Tiber and postmodernism’s murky waters, few doctrines have been so quickly dismantled as the clarity of Scripture. Nevertheless, we will argue that when God speaks, he intends to be heard and understood. Not only is our God not silent (as Francis Schaeffer so famously put it) but the silence is broken by his clear and effective speech. Lack of clarity is not a quality to be attached to the work of the divine architect of language.

Finally, sufficiency will close our study. Few attributes have such warm and practical implications for life, putting real flesh on the skeleton of sola Scriptura. Having established Scripture’s own testimony to its sufficiency, I will answer contemporary challenges to sufficiency from traditionalism (with a particular focus on Rome and her view of the canon) to science and reason, and finally experience and culture.

I leave you, then, with the book’s Table of Contents:

Contents

Introduction: Sola Scriptura

Part 1: God’s Word under Fire, Yesterday and Today

  1. The Road to Reformation: Biblical Authority in the Sixteenth Century
  2. The Modern Shift in Authority: The Enlightenment, Liberalism, and Liberalism’s Nemeses
  3. Today’s Crisis over Biblical Authority: Evangelicalism’s Apologetic and the Postmodern Turn

Part 2: God’s Word in Redemptive History

  1. God’s Word in the Economy of the Gospel: Covenant, Trinity, and the Necessity of a Saving Word
  2. God Speaks Covenantal Words: Creation, Fall, and the Longing for a Better Word
  3. God’s Covenantal Word Proves True: Christ, the Word Made Flesh

Part 3: The Character of God’s Word and Contemporary Challenges

  1. God Speaks with Authority: The Inspiration of Scripture
  2. God Speaks Truthfully: The Inerrancy of Scripture
  3. God Speaks to Be Heard: The Clarity of Scripture
  4. God’s Speech Is Enough: The Sufficiency of Scripture

Conclusion: Always Reforming according to the Word of God

Matthew Barrett is Tutor of Systematic Theology and Church History at Oak Hill Theological College in London, as well as the founder and executive editor of Credo Magazine. He is the author of several books, including Salvation by GraceOwen on the Christian LifeGod’s Word Alone: The Authority of Scripture,  and Reformation TheologyCurrently he is the series editor of The 5 Solas Series with Zondervan. You can read more about Barrett at matthewmbarrett.com.

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