Why Do We Study The Bible? Series

INTRODUCTION

• SLIDE #1

• 1. Where is the first tennis match mentioned in the Bible? When Joseph served in Pharaoh’s court.

• 2. Which Bible character had no parents? Joshua, son of Nun.

• 3. What kind of man was Boaz before he got married? Ruth-less

• 4. What is one of the first things that Adam and Eve did after getting kicked out of the Garden of Eden? They raised Cain.

• 5. What excuse did Adam give to his children as to why they no longer lived in Eden? Your mother ate us out of house and home. (Tim Rolen New Hope Community Church, Clovis, California)

• Did anyone get all 5 of these right? I didn’t think so.

• Ok, time to get serious.

• We are in the middle of out series, WHY DO WE DO THAT? In this series we are examining why as Christians, we do some of the things we do as well as why we do what we do in church.

• Our modern world is so full of entertainment opportunities to consume our time. WE have sporting events, shopping, computers, cell phones, exercise, outdoor activities. Pokémon Go.

• For those with Netflix, or Amazon Prime, you can binge watch your favorite programs for days at a time! We have tons of reading material at our disposal, yet, as Christians, why do we take the time to study the Bible.

• Why is it important for people, particularly Christians to take time out of our schedules to study the Bible?

• Why can’t we just study books about the Bible, why the Bible? Today I will offer three reasons one ought to invest time in reading and studying the Bible.

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• Let’s go to our passage this morning in Hebrews 4:12

• SLIDE #2

• Hebrews 4:12 (HCSB) For the word of God is living and effective and sharper than any double-edged sword, penetrating as far as the separation of soul and spirit, joints and marrow. It is able to judge the ideas and thoughts of the heart.

• SLIDE #3

SERMON

I. The Bible is alive and effective!

• The HCSB says in the beginning of verse 12, For the word of God is living and effective…

• One of the reasons to study the Bible is because it is both alive and effective, many versions use the word ACTIVE.

• I want to share the context of Hebrews 4. The reason for this is that verse 4 begins with the word FOR, which means this verse connects with the words previously written in Hebrews.

• The chapter speaks of entering into God’s rest, and we are taught the many did not enter into the Promised Land because of disobedience to God’s Word.

• The rest of the chapter lays out the case that the Christian has future rest instore for them that they do not want to miss because of disobedience to God’s Word.

• Since chapter 3 of Hebrews, the Hebrew writer has been alluding to Psalm 95:7-11, where the Psalmist speaks of God’s rest.

• The text of Psalm 95 is a valid today as the day it was written!

• Why do I study the Bible? I study the Bible to know God and His truth and to find direction from my daily life. I study the Bible for many of the same reasons I pray.

• In Hebrews 4, verse 12 gives a reason for being diligent so that no unbelief is allowed to take root in the heart.

• We can learn from the Bible what constituted obedience and disobedience, so that we do not fall short of God’s rest, eternal life that He wants us to have.

• The threats and promises one reads in the Bible still come true because the Bible is ALIVE AND EFFECTIVE! (Gareth L. Reese, Hebrews Commentary).

• The Bible not full of empty promises and empty threats as some would assume, it is ALIVE and EFFECTIVE!

• The Bible does not only speak of the past, it speaks also in the present and it will speak in the future also!

• In the original Greek, the participle living stands first in the sentence and therefore receives all the emphasis.

• This participle describes the first characteristic of God’s spoken and written Word: that Word is alive!

• For example, Stephen, reciting Israel’s history in the desert, says that Moses at Mount Sinai “received living words” (Acts 7:38), and Peter tells the recipients of his first epistle that they “have been born again … through the living and enduring word of God” (1 Peter 1:23).

• The Word of God is effective or active. That is, it is effective and powerful.

• The original Greek uses a word from which we have derived the term energy. God’s Word, then, is energizing in its effect.