Thursday, January 10, 2013

God's Word (Bible) -forever December 2, 2012


Read Isaiah 40:6-8/I Peter 1:24-25
If there was one area in Christianity that was and is under attack the most, it would be this book –the Bible.  People have ripped it apart, sought to destroy it, silence it, change it and ignore it for centuries.  Even today we see people within what we would call the Christian community, who are seeking to cut and paste the Bible –taking out verses, sections, even whole chapters that they feel are not true or do not belong.  Most of the time it starts with something like –I don’t believe that…

I don’t believe that a god of love would send people to hell, so I will take out all sections about hell and judgment.
I don’t believe that Jesus is the only way so I will take out or ignore all the verses that speak to his exclusivity. 
I don’t believe that miracles really happen so I take out all of those type of things.
I don’t believe that someone could come back from the dead so I will reject the resurrection accounts.
I don’t believe that creation was a literal 6 days so I will change or ignore anything that refers to that.

And on it goes.  And folks, this is not just from those outside the church –this is from people inside the church!   And I ask why?  The bottom line for me is, people seek to change, ignore or defame the Bible because it holds us accountable. 

The scriptures hold us accountable to an eternal God, sovereign, who says, my ways are not your ways, my thoughts are not your thoughts.  It holds us accountable to the eternal Son of God who said, I am the way the truth and the life and no one comes to the Father but by me.  It holds us accountable to the directives we regarding how we are to live –to the glory of the Father through the Son and by His Spirit. 

And so, if this is not the word of God, eternal and forever, as Isaiah and Peter write, then I am not accountable to it any more than I am accountable to the writings of Shakespeare, or Buddha or Dr. Phil  -it is just literature and thoughts I can quote from and apply as wanted or reject as I wish.

We could spend hours, days, weeks, discussing the perspicacity (clearness), the preservation, the inspiration, the internal AND external evidence of the validity of scripture, but this morning to focus on one aspect –the foreverness of scripture.

As read, both the old and New testament state that the word of the Lord is forever.  Jesus himself stated that his words will never pass away (Matt:24:35) and that not one jot or tittle, not one iota of will disappear even if heaven and earth pass away, until it is fulfilled.  (Matthew 5:17-20)  note here also the accountability factor.

The word of God is the voice of God (Thus say the Lord appears over 3800 times), lived out by the Son of God (John 1:14) and inspired and preserved by the Spirit of God (II Timothy 3:16-17 –note the “god breathed” aspect).    It is interesting that right after this passage, Paul goes on to write about the rejection of scripture (read 4:1-4) 

The forever God gives us his forever word which reveals to us the truth of who he is, the wonder of what he does, the love of which he has, the grace of which he pours, the flesh of which he became, the death of which he died, the truth of which we are, the sin of which we have, the judgment which we will face, the resurrection which gives us hope, the Spirit who draws us near, the faith in which we grow the rock on which we stand.  All scripture is God breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.

The word of God stands forever because it is the word of God Who stands forever.  It is the sword of truth (Ephesians 6) which cuts to the very core of our being (Hebrews 4:12-13)  and here again, the accountability factor.  Note here the eternalness of God and nothing being hidden from him.  

Because the word of God is forever, we are held accountable.  It will not pass away, no expiration date, no time limit.  It is not a law to be changed by the vote of parliament, the shifting of cultural or political expedience, it is not something that changes with societal preference –it is the forever established word of God. 

But this same book, this same word of God that should hold us in great fear and reverence because we are held accountable, also offers us great comfort.  Because the word of God it forever we can trust that he will hold to what he says –judgment or grace, bane or blessing. 

We can trust the scriptures to edify and teach us in what honors and pleases the Father (John 17:17) as the Spirit teaches us.  We can trust these words for comfort, strength, encouragement, teaching, blessing.  These words give hope, assurance, and guidance. Revival for the soul, illumination of the mind and joy to the heart (Read Psalm 19:7-10)

Because the word is forever it can be trusted in all it says.  God has inspired and preserved his word so that we can know the truth of God concerning Himself and ourselves.  We can trust the truth of scripture regarding creation, prophecy, instruction judgment, eternity and all it says about how we are to live.  I challenge and encourage you to read Psalm 19 and 119 as they speak of the words of God to be listened to and obeyed (eg. 119:145-9) . 

Because the word of God is eternal we can delight in them, treasure them, rejoice in them, meditate on them, study them, share them, obey them, and give thanks for them.  They are firmly established and forever right (Psalm 119:144) 

We can trust that the scriptures reveal Jesus as our Messiah and Savior.  From the prophecies which God gave through the Old Testament, to the revelation of the life of Jesus, to the death and resurrection witnessed by many and the promised return, we can have absolute Confidence in the words of Scripture to see and know Jesus. (Romans 1:2-4)   
Friends, the words of the Bible are not the words of men to be taken lightly, to be passed off easily and to ignore so perilously.  These are the very words of life and hope, revealing to us the heart of God.  Let us read them, study them and obey them, for they are God’s words to us.

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