Bible - Why Bother? #4 Series

So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him. 15 Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him. 16 He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction. 17 Therefore, dear friends, since you have been forewarned, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of the lawless and fall from your secure position.

? Introduction

I hope when you heard the text you found yourself agreeing with Peter when he said, sometimes the scriptures are hard to understand. A recent Barna Study entitled “the State of the Bible 2011” showed 45% of Americans say God speaks to them through their bible and 50% say the book is hard to understand. I know it’s the reason we have been trying to answer the question over the last three weeks, why bother with the Bible?

? It’s an interesting question and the answers can and should stimulate our thoughts about our primary way of coming to know God. Have you ever thought about the Bible: who determined which writings were to be included; how do we know it was translated correctly into English and finally, what does inspired word of God mean?

? Opening Bible Story about looking for a first bible or the uses of the bible around the house other than to read

? As I pondered those questions this week, I remembered a story from a pastor friend who said that one night he was asked to come over to a church member’s home for dinner. When he arrived the house looked beautiful, the dinner was on the table and the family was ready to eat. They sat down, had a wonderful meal and then just after the coffee was served and great dessert was placed on the table, the hostess asked if the preacher could read his favorite story from the scriptures for the family. He agreed. So the hostess said to her eldest daughter, “Honey, please go get the good book, the book we love, the one we read every day!” The girl went away for a few moments and came back with IKEA catalog. (ADAPTED from Tony Evan’s book of illustrations. P21. Neglect of the Bible)

? Transition: The real funny thing about that story is the credibility we give the Bible as our primary text as Christians and yet, most of us do not know the history of the Bible or even how it came into existence in the form we hold today. So let’s discuss how we, as Christians, come to hold a bible which is uniform in the books within it. The bible is really two collections of writings which were confirmed as the benchmark of the faith. The word most often used to describe this benchmark is “canon.”

? NEW SLIDE: History of the “Canon”- The rule – Bible: Jerry Sumney, Fortress Press

? The term canon designates a collection of writings that carries authority. The Greek word is “kanon” which means measuring stick. It is a measuring stick by which a community evaluates beliefs, practices and ethical behavior. A Canon is considered the standard of faith and practice as well as considered the “correct” collection and list of inspired writings. It wasn’t until the fourth century the writings both sections, the Old and New Testament writings, were confirmed.

? The first collection of writings is called the Old Testament. The process by which these 39 books become the agreed upon writing is well, complicated.

? The collection we have today was a loose group of writings and oral tradition which circulated among the tribes of Israel and Judah. It wasn’t until 585 BCE the process of gathering books written began. It was sparked in part by the fact that Judah was destroyed by the invading Babylonians that the process really moved forward. It took captivity, exile and the onslaught of a pagan culture to help establish what was really important. The early Jewish culture depended upon its culture but when the culture changed dramatically, they realized the need for an agreed upon and comprehensive “book.”

? The Hebrew bible is comprised of three major sections all of which were formed over a thousand years.

• The first section is called the Pentateuch or the Torah. It’s consists of the first five books of the Jewish Faith and carry great significance. They were originally handed down orally from generation to generation and eventually parts were recorded to preserve the faith. It is said in the earliest of times just after Moses; the word was to be read aloud every seven years to the people to ensure the Israelites would remember it. They were considered so important that the scrolls themselves we kept safely in the temple and handled by only the most elite of the Jewish culture.