Why the Bible?
II Timothy 3:14-17
Several prominent literary figures were invited to an open forum where they were interviewed. One question that came up was: “If you were stranded on a desert isle, and you could only have one book, which book would you bring with you?” The first person said without hesitating, “The complete works of William Shakespeare” The next said, “I would bring the Bible with me” They turned to the last writer and said, “How about you? What book would you bring with you to a desert isle?” He responded, “Thomas’ Guide to Practical Ship Building.”
So why the Bible? This is God’s gift to us. We have a God who is intimately involved in and concerned about our life success. Because of his love for us, He wants the best for us and has provided a life map for us which is His Holy Word. Everything you need to honor God and please him is found in this Bible. If we follow his life map, we can experience God’s provision, we can experience God’s power, we can experience God’s protection and we can experience God’s plan and purpose for our lives. Everything we need in life is found in this life map. Today we’re going to discuss the importance and power of the Bible, three things the Bible offers us.
Slide: The Bible is our main source for life information and wisdom. The Bible has often been described as ’Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth’ (B.I.B.L.E.) Verse 14. “But as for you, continue with what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those who you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.” Life is a series of developmental stages. In fact, Erik Ericcson’s work has identified several stages in human development. The first is the infant stage. It is in this stage where we hear our parent’s words which help us develop and become mature. God realizes when we are infants that we need life information so God produced this life map which would help us hear the word of God and follow his instructions on how to live. This word is more than words written by humans but it is wisdom which comes from the very heart of God. “Tune your ears to wisdom and concentrate on understanding. Cry out for insight and understanding….gain knowledge of the Lord. For the Lord grants wisdom! From his mouth comes knowledge and understanding.” Proverbs 2:2-3, 5b-6 This is not just a great historical book but it is a message of guidance from God to you. Paul told Timothy the Bible is not just for education but for your spiritual growth and ultimately your salvation.
Before an infant can ever grow and mature, it is critical that the parent offer wisdom and guidance which provides a framework of rules by which to live. In this Bible are boundaries by which we are to live. Image of parent talking to toddler Early on as we raised our children, we found ourselves correcting our children, telling them, “Don’t do this!” and “Don’t’ do that.” “Don’t touch the stove, don’t run into the street, don’t run with scissors in your hand, don’t go to sleep with chewing gum in your mouth.” It was always don’t, don’t, don’t. We gave them rules to live by to keep them on life’s path for their ultimate success in life. And they would think how mean we were. We’re weren’t mean but we did all that because we love them so much that we were concerned more about their future well-being than we were with their present happiness.
The problem is that many of us are still stuck in the infant stage. We hear and may even know the word but we fail to follow through with the instructions and guidance from the Word. In his book, “Think Like Jesus”, George Barna tells the story of taking his two daughters to church on Wednesday nights where they met great Christian kids, learned wonderful faith principles and lessons and were nurtured in the faith. His oldest daughter recently won an award in her age group for Scriptural memorization and received a plaque as well as the accolade of her peers and their parents at an awards ceremony. Yet within an hour of returning home, she was fighting with her sister over something insignificant. This just didn’t match with what she had been awarded for earlier in the evening. So George sat her down and asked her to recite Luke 10:27 “’Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ’Love your neighbor as yourself..’” Good. A few weeks ago you memorized Matthew 7:12. What was that? Like a bullet it shot out of her mouth, “Do for others what you would have them do for you.” What about Matthew 5:44-45? But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.” George just stared at her in a long pause and asked, Well, what does that mean? And she just stared back blankly. Then he said, Honey you just proved to the world that you know alot about what God taught in the Bible. The Bible is God’s lessons for us on how to live a life the right way, in a way that please you and is best for you….think about those verses you just told me. What do they have to do with how you treat your sister?” Her eyes narrowed a bit as she wondered if this was a trick question. She just sat there awaiting the next scripture quiz question. And then he writes, She was a champion at recalling passages of Scripture but she had no clue how those verses related to her behavior….Most adults I meet at church have been attending for many years….Although they are decades older and have had much more experience than my daughter, they are no more spiritually mature.”
God has told us over and over, “Don’t do this and don’t do that. Don’t lie, don’t worship anything else but me in your life, don’t commit adultery, don’t hate people who hate or hurt you, don’t do anything else on the Sabbath but rest and worship me.” We know what to do but we still don’t do it. So often we hear the word from God and take it under advisement but when it comes to acting we fail to follow the instructions. Some of us are right there stuck in the infant stage. We find ourselves sinking in our careers, falling behind in our finances and stumbling in our relationships because we do not have the spiritual maturity to follow God’s wisdom for our lives.
Following God’s word for our lives is truly a matter of life and death. When we hear God’s word and seek to apply it to our lives in what we do and what we say, it truly brings about salvation through faith in Christ. All throughout the Bible are strict rules by which God helps us to walk in His footsteps and honor Him. All this is so we could experience the best of what God promised and has to offer. God gives us strict regulations not because God is mean but because God is concerned about our well-being. God wants us to have the best He has to offer. You see God has already been to where we want to go. He is the Alpha and the Omega. God knows what we need but he also gives us the information and wisdom to get there. God gives us his word because it is a matter of life and death.
Why the Bible? Not only is it filled with wisdom in how to live this life but Slide second, God authored this Bible for life inspiration. Vs 16 In this stage, we go from just hearing the written word to being able to experience the word for ourselves. Once you move out of the infant stage, you move into the adolescent stage. Not only do you just hear the word and follow it out of obligation but now you are inspired as you hear the word for yourselves. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, you go beyond just hearing the words but now you are able to experience the power of the living word for you. It’s no longer just information on a page but now inspiration allows us to experience God’s word for ourselves. Now it becomes a personal word from God for our lives. It’s no longer just somebody telling us what to do and not to do but now through the God breathed, Holy Spirit inspired Word of God we are have the freedom to make decisions dependent on the power of God and we begin to choose to do them ourselves.
Slide: Here’s the difference between the infant and adolescent: you-re inspired to do on your own. “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.” James 1:22 At this stage you are no longer told what to do but because we have proven ourselves willing to hear and follow, God has given us the freedom to make decisions on our own. Image Didn’t you hate asking questions about why you had to do something and your parents responded, Because I said so! I hated that! Mom, can I go to that party? Mom, can I go to that concert? Mom, can I get that? She would always say, ‘No!’ and out of my mouth would come, ‘Why?’ ‘Because I said so.’ Why did she say that? It was her kind way of saying you are not mature enough yet. She knew I didn’t have the intellectual capacity to fully comprehend all of the dangers and possible negative outcomes of life which could overwhelm me, possibly hurt me and negatively impact God’s future for me. She knew I wasn’t ready for all of the things life throws at you. There’s some things that God knows we’re not mature enough to handle. But once you move beyond the infant stage, the word of God begins to live in you. It inspires you beyond rules and regulations because now we have a maturing relationship with God.
Slide: Second, you are inspired to read the Word. How many of you have read the Bible and fallen asleep while you’re reading it? Be honest. In that stage, you’re reading the word for information. But when it becomes the living word for you, there’s a relationship with Jesus and now the Scriptures become personal. Suddenly, the Bible comes alive. It’s no longer considered to be rules and regulations but now is rooted in love and driven by faith. It’s no longer do this and do that but instead are personal words of encouragement grounded in love and concern for your well-being. You are inspired to grow deeper in your relationship to God and you have a growing voracious appetite for all God has to say to you. Jesus said, “The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life.” John 6:33 It goes beyond just hearing the word. Now we have the power to live as God wants through the Living Word.
What is the Living Word? Now that we have a personal relationship with Jesus, He speaks to us personally through His word. It’s not just words on a page but now they are filled with meaning and power. We no longer have to drag ourselves to read the Word but now we are excited about what God might say next to us. Hebrews 4:12 “For the word of God is alive and is active.” The words on the page become a word from God and through this living word you can clearly hear Jesus speaking personally to you. It is now that you begin to know God for yourself.
When I went to college, one of the foundational principles of faith I brought with me was that God not only created us but he gifted each person for a calling or purpose in life. As the decision neared to declaring a major, I knew the classes I enjoyed: history and psychology. I thought I was going to study to become a counselor or get a business degree. But I felt that God had to have a say in what I did with my life and so every night, I would finish my studies and begin reading the Scriptures. I started with the Gospel of Matthew and read verse by verse and chapter by chapter, reflecting, underlining and meditating on it. Then on a Tuesday night of the third week, I was reading and suddenly knew, an impression came over my heart and my mind that God wanted me to become a minister. From that point on, I geared my studies to best prepare me for seminary. And as they say, the rest is history.
When you have a relationship with God and the word becomes living, then you can begin to hear God’s voice for your life: answers to questions, solutions to problems, insights into issues, calls to correction, paths to take. Let me ask you a question: When was the last time the living word spoke to you? The more you have a relationship with Jesus and discipline in the reading and reflecting on the Scriptures, the more you can keenly discern the voice of God be inspired to live for Him and Him alone.
Slide: Third is life transformation. Once you have this relationship it goes beyond life inspiration and leads to life transformation. DL Moody said: “The scriptures were not given for our information but our transformation.” It’s no longer about just being inspired but now the word literally changes your entire life. It changes who you are, how you live and your worldview. George Barna in his book, Think Like Jesus, writes about his findings that the majority of Christians today do not have a biblical world view, that is, thinking and doing like Jesus. Slide “A biblical world view is a means of experiencing interpreting and responding to….every idea, opportunity and experience based on….biblical principles so that every choice we make may be consistent with God’s principles and demands.” Pg 6 Slide He writes, “It seems that millions of people who accept Jesus as their Savior never really accept him as their Lord- that is they gladly accept His offer of eternal salvation and confess their sins and profess Him to be their Savior…but their spiritual development does not go much beyond the acceptance of the offer of salvation: They do not continually invest in life transformation to become a more viable reflection of who Jesus is as He lives in their heart and seeks to influence who they become and how they manifest their commitment to God”
In fact, Barna found that 3/4 of all Christians overlook the Bible as their main influence in their lives. What is? 60% follow a set of specific principles or standards they believe in. 20% do whatever feels right or comfortable. 10% do what will make the most people happy or create the least conflict with others. And another 10% do what will benefit them the most. He concludes that, “More Christians are affected by society than society is affected by Christians.” Pg 27 Yet the Scriptures say “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world but let God transform you by changing the way you think. Then you will know what God wants you to do and you will know how good and pleasing and perfect his will really is.” Romans 12:2 We are exhorted not just to learn the word of God or even do the word of God but to be transformed by the word of God. When we look at Jesus, he grounded his thoughts, actions and teaching in the Scriptures following biblical principles and focused on solely knowing and fulfilling the will of God.
Once you leave the adolescent stage, you move into the adult stage. God’s goal for us is that we would follow his map for our lives so that we would be thoroughly equipped and transformed not just for some occasion and work but for every good work and time. Suddenly, you live for Jesus in every moment, every decision, every spoken word and every action taken. It no longer becomes a conscious decision because his word is now in you, his desires are your desires and his principles and rules are yours. It’s like driving to church this morning. Your mind did not go through every single law, rule and guideline on how to operate your vehicle and drive on the roads. They are so much a part of you that you don’t even think about it any more. When you are rooted and connected to God’s word, it literally becomes a part of you. And the result is that God can use you to do something which you could not accomplish on your own. Your life has been literally transformed and changed for every good work that God sends your way.
When you have this type of relationship with God, you will be able to do all things through Christ who gives you strength. God wants to transform your life daily through the word, not just to try to gain more knowledge but to have a personal relationship and to speak personally to you to guide your life and transform it for a greater purpose. Then we like Paul can say, we have gained the mind of Christ. Slide “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live but Christ lives in me.” Galatians 2:20 Once you immerse yourself in God’s word, you are reminded that this life is not about you but it is about God and his son Jesus, who lives in you. It’s about you having the character and the mind of Christ so that God can do through you what you cannot do by yourself. When your mind is transformed by Christ, then your life shall honor God and it shall be a blessing to other people.
A transformed life not only gives you the mind of Christ but literally you become the Image hands and feet of Jesus here on earth. We truly become a living, breathing representation of Christ because Christ is living and breathing and moving in our lives. God transforms ordinary people to becomes the hands and feet of him here on earth. The disciples of old had the power and the will to surrender. They were willing to die to self and say not my will but thine be done. God wants to transform your life today. God wants you to become the representation of him here on earth when you say, It is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me.
The Bible gives you life information, it bring about life inspiration to experience the word personally but then it brings about life transformation that literally changes your entire life. God wants tyou to move from being just hearers of the word to doers of the word.
Image of writing on the walls of a church Bob Russell shared that several months before they moved into their new church building in 1998, their ministry staff met at the new site for a special staff meeting. Most of the building still wasn’t carpeted, and some of the rooms still had no drywall. They handed out hard hats, magic markers, and a few Bibles. They instructed the staff members to go to the classrooms and offices in the building where they would be working and write Scripture verses on the concrete floors. Bob told them, “Someday soon the Scriptures will be covered with carpet. But I hope you will always remember what you have written today.” He said the staff really got into it. Some of them used cans of spray paint so the words would show up better. It bothered him a little because some of them acted as if they had experience at doing that. He said those in the children’s ministry wrote things like, “Let the little children come to me…for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” In the education wing, the adult education ministers wrote things like, “Study to show yourself approved unto God,” and “Your Word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against you.” In the music practice rooms, the music ministers wrote, “Sing and make music unto the Lord,” and “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.” In the offices of the preaching team, they wrote, “Preach the Word in season and out of season,” and “Watch your life and doctrine closely…if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.”
The Scriptures on the floor idea caught on, and soon 100’s of church members followed suit. In a matter of weeks, there were Scriptures all over the concrete floors – down hallways, on stairways, on the steps leading up to the pulpit. He saw moms and dads bring their children to the building just to write their favorite Scriptures on the concrete floors. And the building became a dramatic reminder to all of them that the church has been called to stand upon the Word of God.
