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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