Scripture Alone Is What Governs Us Series

SELF-GOVERNMENT LIFE TRUTH # 1 – SCRIPTURE ALONE IS WHAT GOVERNS US

IMPORTANCE OF THE TRUTH

Sola scriptura was the cry of the Protestant Reformation. Sola scriptura means that Scripture alone is authoritative for the faith and practice of the Christian life. The Bible is complete, authoritative, and true. It is ALL we need to understand God’s purpose for our lives and how we are to govern ourselves.

2 Timothy 3:16 (NIV) 16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,

There are many lies in our generation that seek to discredit the Bible. Here are a few: The Bible was written by man; there are errors in the Bible; it is just another history book.

Here is what the Bible declares. Psalm 18:30-31 (NIV) 30 As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the LORD is flawless. He is a shield for all who take refuge in him. 31 For who is God besides the LORD? And who is the Rock except our God?

We must choose to have faith in God’s Word as the ONLY authority that will govern us.

One of the biggest lies in the last few generations is evolution. Evolution is a lie that seeks to discredit the Scriptures. It states that man came to be from nothing and then evolved into the beings that we are today. Genesis Chapter 1 through Chapter 11 is as true as John 3:16. If the beginning of the Bible is untrue then couldn’t it be said that other parts of the Bible are untrue?

How did Jesus address the book of Genesis? Jesus talked about Adam and Eve as real people. Matthew 19:4 (NIV) 4 "Haven't you read," he replied, "that at the beginning the Creator 'made them male and female,'

Jesus also talked about the flood as a real event. Luke 17:26-27 (NIV) 26 "Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man. 27 People were eating, drinking, marrying and being given in marriage up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all.

The genealogy of Luke declares Adam to be a real person. Luke 3:38 (NIV) 38 the son of Enosh, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.

If evolution is true then the Bible is false because it states that in the beginning the Creator made man. Luke, then, reminds us that the man’s name is Adam and traces the genealogy of Jesus to him. If Adam is not real, then perhaps Jesus is not real.

As Christians, it is foundational for us to believe what it says in Hebrews 11:3 (NIV) 3 By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.

Here are a few other beliefs that try to discredit the Bible.

RELATIVISM is the position that all points of view are as valid as any other point of view, and that the individual can decide what is right for himself. Morality could also be dependent upon situations.

If all truth is relative, then the statement "All truth is relative" would be an absolute truth. If it is an absolute truth, then not all things are relative and the statement that "All truth is relative" is false.

If there is no authority or absolute truth, then where can we turn to for TRUTH? What would society look like if every one of us had a different opinion? How could we decide who or what is right? Currently, our society is leaning towards all truth is relative and the Bible is no longer the rock on which our republic resides. This is destroying the God-intended unity that He desires for us to have. We must turn back to the Bible as our standard. Scripture alone is what should govern us.

TOLERANCE – “One of the biggest battles we face concerns the way we use words. One of the most glaring examples is the word ‘tolerance’. Not long ago, this meant ‘bearing or putting up with someone or something not especially liked’. However, now the word has been redefined to ‘all values, all beliefs, all lifestyles, all truth claims are equal’.1 Denying this makes a person ‘intolerant’, and thus worthy of contempt.” - Jonathan Sarfati

Jesus is forgiving, loving, kind, merciful, and exclusive; but, he would be called intolerant in this generation.

John 14:6 (NIV) 6 Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Jesus denies any other way to heaven. He claims to be the only way to heaven and the only truth. His teachings are exclusive. Tolerance, as defined in this generation, is false according to the Scriptures.