Why Is the Bible So Important?
Texts: 2 Tim. 3:16-17; Heb. 4:12-13; Rom. 15:4
Introduction
1. I believe that the two biggest problems with the Church in America today are: 1) We don’t pray enough, and 2) We don’t read the Bible enough.
2. Illustration: Here are some things that have been said about the Bible over the years:
a. Someone once said: A Bible in the hand is worth two in the bookcase. - And someone else said: A Bible stored in the mind is worth a dozen stored in the bottom of one’s trunk. -
b. Here’s a pop quiz: Which of the following aren’t in the Bible? -Cleanliness is next to godliness - God helps those who help themselves - Confession is good for the soul - We are as prone to sin as sparks fly upward - Money is the root of all evil - Honesty is the best policy. Though these are all true, or partially true, none of them is in the Bible. We have learned to treat man’s opinions with as much respect as the Bible. -
c. DL Moody said: “The scriptures were not given for our information but our transformation.” -
d. Mark Twain, not exactly a die-hard Christian, wrote these words: “Most people are bothered by those passages of Scripture they do not understand, but the passages that bother me most are those I do understand.” -
e. No matter how many times you have been through it, let it go through you. - God’s word is like salt in the back of your car in the winter. It’s a lot more useful when you take it out and apply it. -
f. We get more out of the Bible when we let it get into us.
3. In America we have more versions, study bibles and resources available to us then anywhere in the world, and yet statistics show that we read less than many other countries.
4. The Bible is important because it:
a. Equips Us
b. Exposes Us
c. Encourages Us
5. Read 2 Tim. 3:16-17
Proposition: Spending time reading and studying the Word of God transforms us into followers of Jesus
Transition: First of all...
I. The Bible Equips Us (2 Tim. 3:16-17).
A. God Uses It to Prepare and Equip
1. The first thing that Paul tells us about the Bible is that "All Scripture is inspired by God..."
a. By all Scripture Paul was definitely talking about the Old Testament, since both he and his audience would have understood his statement that way.
b. However, he also would have considered some of his writings as well as the writings of the other Apostles as Scripture too.
c. 2 Peter 3:16 (NLT)
speaking of these things in all of his letters. Some of his comments are hard to understand, and those who are ignorant and unstable have twisted his letters to mean something quite different, just as they do with other parts of Scripture. And this will result in their destruction.
d. So when we talk about reading the Bible we must realize that we cannot leave out any part of it because all of it is the Word of God from Genesis to Revelation.
2. But what does Paul mean when he says that it is inspired?
a. He means that "All Scripture is God-breathed."
b. That is exactly what the Greek says. The adjective (only here in the NT) is compounded of theos, "God," and the verb pneo, "breathe."
c. This is one of the greatest texts in the NT on the inspiration of the Bible (Earl, Expositor’s Bible Commentary, The, Pradis CD-ROM:2 Timothy).
d. This is a statement of its origin (Towner, IVPNT Commentary: 2 Timothy, 200).
e. The fact that Scripture is inspired by God (literally God-breathed, breathed out by God’s own speech) does not negate the active involvement of the human authors.
f. But it does affirm that God is fully responsible for his word. Scripture is true, reliable, authoritative, permanent, and powerful because it comes from God himself (NLT Study Bible).
g. The reason that the Bible is important more than any other reason is because it is God’s Word to us.
h. I think that John Calvin put it well when he said, "This is a principle which distinguishes our religion from all others, that we know that God has spoken to us, and are fully convinced that the prophets did not speak at their own suggestion, but that, being organs of the Holy Spirit, they only uttered what they had been commissioned from heaven to declare (Calvin’s Commentaries Online, http://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom43.iv.iv.iii.html).
3. Paul continues by saying, "All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives."
a. By useful, Paul is referring to "a benefit to be derived from some object, event, or state" (Louw and Nidda, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Symantic Domains).
b. Paul is saying that when we put forth the effort to read the Bible we get something good out of it. It is beneficial to us, and therefore, worth our time.
c. One of the benefits that Paul talks about is the Bible teaches us.
d. Teaching includes instruction in doctrine and Christian behavior, and here Paul is emphasizing the edification of the church (Towner, 201).
4. Paul continues the benefits of reading the Bible by saying, "It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right."
a. It teaches us what we should be doing. The Bible is not just a book of "don’ts" as some assume, but it is also a book of "do’s."
b. You just can’t focus on the don’ts; you have to do some of the do’s!
c. However, one of the major benefits of reading the Bible is that it does tell us what we are doing wrong.
d. How many times have you said, "I sure wish that someone would show me how to get this right!" Well the Bible does that and more.
e. The Bible deals with everything from dealing with children to skin disease (and if you don’t believe me see the book of Leviticus).
5. However, one of the major benefits of reading the Bible is "God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work."
a. The application of Scripture to our lives makes it possible to make progress in living a life that is pleasing to God (Towner, 201).
b. Paul began his teaching on Scripture with its origin "God-Breathed," and ends with its purpose "God uses it to prepare and equip us."
c. You cannot say that God has not prepared you for life and ministry when you haven’t read His instruction manual.
B. Learning To Be Like Jesus
1. Illustration: "Each of us may be sure that, if God sends us over rocky paths, He will provide us with sturdy shoes. He will never send us on any journey without equipping us well."
2. The Bible equips us to live holy lives.
a. Psalms 119:11 (NLT)
I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.
b. Reading the Bible helps us to know what is right and what God requires of us.
c. Reading the Bible teaches what is wrong and what God expects us to avoid.
d. It doesn’t matter what the latest public opinion is.
e. It doesn’t matter what Oprah thinks.
f. What matters is what does God have to say to us!
3. The Bible equips us to know which path to take in life.
a. Psalms 119:105 (NLT)
Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path.
b. When you don’t know which way to go, the Bible will tell you.
c. When you don’t know what to do, the Bible will tell you.
d. When you don’t know what to say, the Bible will tell you.
e. When you don’t know how to react, the Bible will tell you.
4. The Bible equips us for ministry.
a. Psalms 119:97-100 (NLT)
97 Oh, how I love your instructions! I think about them all day long.
98 Your commands make me wiser than my enemies, for they are my constant guide.
99 Yes, I have more insight than my teachers, for I am always thinking of your laws.
100 I am even wiser than my elders, for I have kept your commandments.
b. When we don’t know what to do, the Bible will tell us.
c. When we don’t know how, the Bible will tell us.
d. When we don’t know when, the Bible will tell us.
Transition: Another thing that the Bible does is...
II. The Bible Exposes Us (Heb. 4:12-13).
A. Exposes Us For Who We Really Are
1. Another reason that the Bible is so important is its tremendous power.
2. The writer of Hebrews tells us the reason why it is so powerful. He says, "For the word of God is alive and powerful."
a. The author describes God’s word first of all as "alive and powerful."
b. The adjective "alive" stands at the head of the verse, perhaps for emphasis, and asserts that that word, rather than being outdated, a "dead" speech-act of a bygone era, still exists as a dynamic force with which one must reckon.
c. "Powerful" proclaims the word as effective in carrying out God’s intentions.
d. The same word that at creation set the elements of the cosmos to their appointed tasks and still governs the universe toward God’s desired intentions, has the ability to effect change in people.
e. It is not static and passive but dynamic, interactive, and transforming as it interfaces with the people of God (Guthrie, NIV Application Commentary, New Testament: Hebrews, 156).
3. He goes on to say, "It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow."
a. "Alive and powerful" shows that there is a dynamic quality about God’s revelation.
b. It does things. Specifically it penetrates and, in this capacity, is likened to a "double-edged sword" (Morris, Expositor’s Bible Commentary, The Pradis CD-ROM:Hebrews).
c. The sword imagery emphasizes that while God’s word is a word of promise, it is also a discerning word of judgment.
d. Verse 12 asserts that like a sword that cuts and thrusts, the word penetrates and divides, being able to reach into the depths of a person’s inner life.
e. In listing the parts of a person on which the word acts — "soul and spirit, joints and marrow" — the preacher simply proclaims the word’s ability to break past a surface religion to an inner, spiritual reality.
f. Rather than dealing with externals such as religious observance, the penetrating word "judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart" (Guthrie, 156).
4. This verse concludes with, "It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires."
a. Now the NLT that I use, and that those of you who are also using, is the NLT Second Edition.
b. However, on occasion I like the way that the NLT First Edition phrases things.
c. In the First Ed. it says, "It exposes us for what we really are."
d. I like that because I think it truly gets to the heart of what the writer was trying to say.
e. Like a sharp sword which can lay open the human body with one slashing blow, so the sword of Scripture can open our inner life and expose it to ourselves and others (Stedman, IVPNT Commentary: Hebrews, 60).
f. What the author is saying is that God’s Word can reach to the innermost recesses of our being.
g. We cannot bluff our way out of anything, for there are no secrets hidden from God. We cannot keep our thoughts to ourselves.
h. Nothing evades the scope of this Word. What man holds as most secret he finds subject to its scrutiny and judgment (Morris, Expositor’s Bible Commentary, The, Pradis CD-ROM:Hebrews).
B. The Real You
1. Illustration: There is an old saying among musicians that says, "Tape doesn’t lie!" So it is with God’s Word. It will tell you who you really are.
2. Acts 2:37-38 (NLT)
37 Peter’s words pierced their hearts, and they said to him and to the other apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?”
38 Peter replied, “Each of you must repent of your sins, turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ to show that you have received forgiveness for your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
3. The Bible will expose your sin.
a. Numbers 32:23 (NLT)
But if you fail to keep your word, then you will have sinned against the Lord, and you may be sure that your sin will find you out.
b. It will expose your selfishness.
c. It will expose your weaknesses.
d. It will expose mistakes.
4. The Bible will expose your words.
a. Matthew 12:36-37 (NLT)
36 And I tell you this, you must give an account on judgment day for every idle word you speak.
37 The words you say will either acquit you or condemn you.”
b. The Word will judge what we say.
c. The Word will make us aware of what we say.
d. The Word will make us watch what we say.
5. The Bible will expose your thoughts.
a. Mark 7:21-22 (NLT)
21 For from within, out of a person’s heart, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder,
22 adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, lustful desires, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness.
b. The Word will cause you to evaluate what you think.
c. The Word will evaluate your attitudes.
d. The Word will correct un-Christ like thinking.
Transition: Another thing the Bible does is...
III. The Bible Encourages Us (Rom. 15:4).
A. Scriptures Give Us Hope And Encouragement
1. Before we get the idea that all the Bible does is point the finger at us and tell us what we are doing wrong, Paul indicates that the purpose of Scripture is to give us hope and encouragement.
2. He says, "Such things were written in the Scriptures long ago to teach us."
a. What Paul stresses here is that we learn important lessons from the stories we learn in the Bible.
b. The thing that we need to see here is that the Bible is a book of purpose, and that there is a unity of thought through out all of its pages.
c. Especially the stories of the people of faith in the OT teach us a great deal.
d. We are mistaken if we think that the only portions of Scripture that teach are the Letters of the NT.
3. From the OT narratives we learn things like:
a. The faith of Abraham.
b. The endurance of Jacob.
c. From Joseph we learn that good things can happen from bad circumstances.
d. From the stories of Moses and the Exodus we learn the faithfulness of God.
e. From Samuel we learn to listen for the voice of God.
f. And the list goes on and on.
4. However, what Paul stresses here is the reason God gave the Bible to us was, "the Scriptures give us hope and encouragement as we wait patiently for God’s promises to be fulfilled."
a. Lit. "so that we might have hope through the patience and encouragement of the Scriptures."
b. In other words, through the patient endurance that the Scriptures give us.
c. The OT lessons of endurance encourage us to remain faithful (Mohrland, Cornerstone Biblical Commentary: Romans, 218).
d. The ultimate goal of this instruction is "hope" (Moo, NIV Application Commentary, New Testament: Romans, 471).
e. Again, John Calvin has some great insight when he said, "by the reading of the Scripture that we make progress in piety and holiness of life. Whatever then is delivered in Scripture we ought to strive to learn (Calvin’s Commentaries Online, http://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom38.xix.ii.html).
B. Encouragement and Hope
1. Illustration: A mother watched her son begin to drain of energy as the week went on. By the end of the week he’d lost his desire to get out of bed. She heard the alarm go off through his bedroom door. Apparently he just kept punching the little snooze button on the top. Finally, after 3 or 4 extra rings she walked in and said, ’Son, it’s time to get up.’ He peeked out from under the covers, ’Can you give me a good reason to get up?’ She said, ’Yes. First, it’s Sunday - time for church. Second, you’re 43 years old and you know better. Third, you’re the pastor and they expect you to be there.’ WE ALL NEED ENCOURAGEMENT – EVEN PASTORS & LEADERS HAVE TIMES OF ‘BURN OUT’
2. Jeremiah 29:11 (NLT)
For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.
3. The Bible gives us encouragement.
a. It lifts us up when we are down.
b. It gives us strength when we are weak.
c. It helps us to keep going when we want to quit.
4. The Bible gives us hope.
a. 1 Thessalonians 4:18 (NLT)
So encourage each other with these words.
b. It gives us the hope of eternal life.
c. It gives us hope for the present.
d. It gives us hope for the future.
e. It gives us the hope to carry on.
Conclusion
1. There are many reasons to read the Bible on a daily basis.
a. It equips us
b. It exposes us
c. It encourages us
2. Will you commit to read the Bible more in 2010?
3. Let’s make 2010 the year of the Bible!
