“Blogging the Institutes” is my on-going attempt to paraphrase John Calvin’s work, the Institutes of the Christian Religion. You can find out more about the series in the Introduction. For all the posts in this series, check out the Master List.
The NT Confirms the Scriptures
The New Testament supports the reliability of the Scriptures. The Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke narrate the life of Jesus in a very plain and simple style. The proud often look at the Gospels with distain for this reason because they don’t see the great doctrines taught in the Gospels. On the other hand, if someone truly thought about these doctrines then they might believe that the authors of the Gospels were presenting truths far beyond human comprehension. The first chapter of Luke is an amazing piece of literature. If read carefully, it truly shows itself to be great writing. Furthermore, Jesus’ own teachings are simple, yet incredibly profound. John’s writings will shame those who fail to obey the gospel more than any rebuke. Let every person who doesn’t have reverence for the Scriptures come forward and actually read the Gospel of John. If they read John, they will find it in a thousand sentences which will wake them up from their spiritual slumber. It will burn its way into their soul and put an end to their scoffing and derision. The same thing can be said for Peter and Paul’s writings. Their writings exhibit a certain heavenly majesty which rivets the reader.
One piece of evidence should show the divine character of the New Testament. Look at Matthew’s life. He was a tax-collector. Look at Peter and John’s life: they were poor and illiterate fishermen. They were never educated in religious schools. Yet, look at the content of their writings. Who could have received it from but God Himself? Forever, Paul was a persecutor of the church who hounded Christians for their beliefs and threw them into jail. Yet, Paul’s life testifies to the fact that divine power compelled him to preach the message he once persecuted, because he was not looking to change his beliefs. Even if people deny that the Holy Spirit descended upon the apostles and even if people do not believe the historical records, the very circumstances of the early church proclaim that the Holy Spirit must have been the teacher of the apostle.