Dakota Community Church
October 10, 2010
Jesus on Scripture - 1
I want you to think for a minute as we begin this morning about how you would react, what you would do, if U2 front man Bono were to come walking into the service just now.
Perhaps you are not a U2 fan so what if it were Clint Eastwood or Meryl Streep?
Maybe politics is more your thing so imagine Prime Minister Harper or President Obama just strolling into our service here this morning as I am about to preach. Would you want me to turn the floor over to our honored guest?
Maybe you would be more comfortable with a religious celebrity, say Rick Warren or Billy Graham; how would you behave?
What if it were possible that the Apostle Paul appeared miraculously back from the dead, would you have questions for him? Would you want to know exactly what he meant by some passage that has troubled you?
Now consider this:
Revelation 19:11-16
11I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and makes war. 12His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. 13He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. 14The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. 15Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. "He will rule them with an iron scepter." He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. 16On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written:
KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS
What if He came riding in, eyes blazing, blood dipped robe flowing; it’s not going to be the same reaction is it?
John 20:27-28
Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe."
28Thomas said to him, "My Lord and my God!"
The difference is worship and submission – Jesus is the only one we would give that to.
My topic for this Thanksgiving Sunday and the one that follows is the authority of Scripture.
We may have many teachers whom we respect and would love to meet and question – but we worship and submit to Jesus.
What is the major reason that Christians believe the Bible is the inspired word of God and fully authoritative over our lives?
It is not because we make a blind leap of faith
It is not because the Church has consistently taught this for the last 2000 years (It has)
It is not because of its unified message, majestic themes, or powerful influence
The overriding reason for accepting the divine inspiration and authority of Scripture is plain loyalty to Jesus
We believe in Jesus.
We believe He came from heaven and spoke from God.
We must worship and submit to Jesus on scripture!
What, then, did Jesus teach about the Bible?
Matthew 5:17-18
"Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.
Luke 16:17
It is easier for heaven and earth to disappear than for the least stroke of a pen to drop out of the Law.
John 10:34-36
34Jesus answered them, "Is it not written in your Law, 'I have said you are gods'? 35If he called them 'gods,' to whom the word of God came—and the Scripture cannot be broken— 36what about the one whom the Father set apart as his very own and sent into the world?
Mark 12:35-37
35While Jesus was teaching in the temple courts, he asked, "How is it that the teachers of the law say that the Christ is the son of David? 36David himself, speaking by the Holy Spirit, declared: "'The Lord said to my Lord: "Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet." ' 37David himself calls him 'Lord.' How then can he be his son?"
The large crowd listened to him with delight.
Matthew 19:4-6
4"Haven't you read," he replied, "that at the beginning the Creator 'made them male and female,' 5and said, 'For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh'? 6So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate."
More impressive than what Jesus said about Scripture is the way he personally used it.
His high view of Scripture as God's written Word is illustrated in the important place it occupied in his own life and ministry.
He did not just talk about Scripture; he believed it and acted upon it himself.
Next week we will cover Jesus’ use of scripture in these three areas:
1. Personal duty
2. Official ministry
3. Public controversy
This message partially based on a sermon by John Stott entitled "Jesus Christ and the Authority of the Word of God"
PowerPoint available (Free of charge) on request dcormie@mts.net
