Core Values -- Sound Doctrine Series

Core Values – Sound Doctrine

Jude 3 "I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt I had to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints."

2 Timothy 3:16-17 "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work."

In Washington D.C. there is a building called the "National Institute of Standards & Technology." This facility is responsible for storing perfect samples of weights and measurements. They have what are called “prototypes” of pound weights and kilograms. Measuring rods for feet, yards & metric measurements like meters. For example, they have a “Meter Standard” a reinforced bar of platinum alloyed with exactly 10% iridium. When they want to know the exact measurement of a “meter” they cool this bar down to 0 degrees Celsius at a sea level of 45 degrees latitude then they know they will have the exact tip to tip measurement of a meter. That bar is known as “prototype #27, because the original is kept in a suburb of Paris at the International Bureau of Weights & Measures.

Years ago, the State of Kentucky had a law that every classroom in its in public schools had to post the 10 Commandments. The Supreme Court ruled against the state of Kentucky ordering it to take down all copies of the Ten Commandments from the walls of its schools saying: "Having the commandments on the wall may induce a student to read, meditate upon, and actually obey what is therein written."IN OTHER WORDS, the Supreme Court of the United States of America recognized that the Word of God had the ability to transform the character of people who read it.

Hebrews 4:12 "For the word of God [is] quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and [is] a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." Commenting on this passage, one scholar observed that the student doesn’t so much study the Bible, as the Bible itself studies him or her. That is, the bible is living thing, serving as a tool for the Holy Spirit.

When we examined George Barna’s report on what American churches believe last week, we saw the following percentages when Christian denominations were polled on whether they agreed with the following statement, “The Bible is totally accurate.”

· All Adults 41% * Adventists 64%

· Assemblies of God 77% * Baptists (any type) 66%

· Catholics 26% * Church of Christ 57%

· Episcopal 22% * Lutheran (any type) 34%

· Methodist (any type) 38% * Mormons 29%

· Non-denominational Christian 70% * Pentecostal/Foursquare 81%

· Presbyterian (any type) 40%

List to what great men in the past have said about the Bible.

· Abraham Lincoln: "I believe the Bible is the best gift God has ever given to man. All the good from the Savior of the world is communicated to us through this book."

· W. E. Gladstone: "I have known ninety-five of the world’s great men in my time, and of these eighty-seven were followers of the Bible.”

· George Washington: "It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and the Bible."

· Napoleon: "The Bible is no mere book, but a Living Creature, with a power that conquers all that oppose it."

· Daniel Webster: "If there is anything in my thoughts or style to commend, the credit is due to my parents for instilling in me an early love of the Scriptures. If we abide by the principles taught in the Bible, our country will go on prospering and to prosper; but if we and our posterity neglect its instructions and authority, no man can tell how sudden a catastrophe may overwhelm us and bury all our glory in profound obscurity."

· Horace Greeley: "It is impossible to enslave mentally or socially a Bible-reading people. The principles of the Bible are the groundwork of human freedom."

“Antique Roadshow”. Have you seen this PBS hit, which features everyday people who ask experts to determine the value of their family heirlooms? “This bowl has been in my family for generations. My grandmother brought it with her when she immigrated from Europe.” The expert examines the glazing, the shape, the markings on the bottom and then pronounces its value. “This is no ordinary bowl. It’s worth one thousand dollars!” Makes you want to dig through your kitchen cabinets and find out if you have any ancient treasures hiding there. Let me give you some advice. If your bowls say “Rubbermaid” on the bottom, they are not ancient treasures.