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The Authority of Holy Scripture

Discussing the authority of Holy Scripture in the modern world, Berkouwer writes, “The confession of the authority of the Word of God can never be isolated from the saving content of the Word of God” (Modern Uncertainty and Christian Faith, p. 14, emphasis mine).
In confessing that the Bible is the Word of God, the believer confesses that God is speaking to him through the Bible concerning salvation.
 The rejection of the formal conception of Christianity as a book-religion is intended to emphasize the present activity of the Spirit in pointing men to Christ through the words of the Bible.
Berkouwer emphasizes that “Scripture is the Word of God because the Holy Spirit witnesses in it of Christ” (Holy Scripture, p. 162, emphasis mine).
He insists that this understanding of the relation between the Spirit and “Scripture opens up a perspective that is not locked in the past” (Holy Scripture, p. 344).
Berkouwer insists that the authority of Scripture is never established “by means of a rationalistic apologetic” (Modern Uncertainty and Christian Faith, p. 14 ). It is established through “the testimony of the Holy Spirit” (p. 14).
Thus, he presents the doctrine of Biblical authority as “not a conservative testimony in fear of facts, but … a conviction of faith” (p. 14).
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