Have you been following the news out of North Korea? That country is threatening to attack South Korea and its allies because it feels their recent war games are a warm-up for an invasion. Or didn’t you catch those reports and the real prospect of nuclear war because you were paying closer attention to the Jarome Iginla trade or following the latest Justin Bieber meltdown? I understand. There’s so much news available to us in this digital age that it’s hard to know what to focus on. We can’t even keep up with the Facebook posts and emails we receive every day from family and friends.
Our sermon text today is going to help us cut through the information overload so that we are directing our attention to the one news source that is eternally vital: the Bible. The Apostle Peter urges us to pay attention to the Bible because it was placed in this dark world by God himself, and because it alone leads us back to God in heaven.
Pay attention to the Bible? Wouldn’t that be like reading yesterday’s newspaper over and over again for the next two thousand years? It’s easy to think this way if you suppose that the Bible is a history book – and an inaccurate history book at that! After all who can really believe those stories about the miracles Jesus supposedly did? But listen again to what Peter claimed: “We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. 17 For he received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” 18 We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain. 19 And we have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts… For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:16-19, 21).
The Bible can be trusted because it’s filled with eyewitness accounts of Jesus’ life, not fairy-tales. Peter used Jesus’ transfiguration as an example. On a mountain north of Galilee six months before Jesus’ crucifixion, Peter saw with his own eyes Jesus’ appearance change so that he was shining as brightly as the sun. Peter wasn’t the only one to see this. James and John saw it too. And lest we think their eyes were playing tricks on them, Peter goes on to tell us that they heard the Father’s voice boom from heaven proclaiming that Jesus was in fact his Son.
But how can we be certain that Peter is really telling the truth? After all, couldn’t he and the other disciples have made up all these stories about Jesus? That’s certainly what Thomas thought in our Gospel lesson today (John 20). When the other disciples reported that they had seen the resurrected Jesus, Thomas defiantly refused to believe it unless he could touch the living Jesus. And of course that’s what Thomas got to do the following week when Jesus appeared to him.
But couldn’t that story have been made up? If it was, why were the disciples willing to die gruesome deaths for the lie? Some were crucified. Others stoned to death. You would think that at least one of them would have cracked and confessed that all those stories about Jesus were false or at least embellished. On the contrary, Peter tells us that not only the events in the New Testament which he witnessed are accurate, so is everything else we read in the Bible because, as Peter adamantly said, “…no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation. 21 For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:20b, 21).
It’s no wonder Peter urges his listeners to pay attention to the Bible. It was placed in this dark world by God himself. Think of the excitement there is in the scholastic community when long-lost letters written by someone famous are discovered. Those letters often shed new insights on that person’s character. Or think how exciting it would be to find a long-lost letter addressed to you by a now-deceased grandparent. Wouldn’t you cherish that letter and read it several times? Well you have something better in the Bible. Your living Creator and Savior has written to you! And for what purpose? To you lead you back to him so that you may spend eternity in the glorious and joyous place called heaven. Isn’t that what you’re after - a life free from pain, worry, loneliness, boredom, endless winter, and bad drivers? If so, then pay attention to the Bible.
Without the Bible we would remain spiritually lost and therefore end up eternally lost to God’s love. Without the Bible we wouldn’t know that even babies are born with sin and need the cleansing water of baptism. Without the Bible we wouldn’t know that the sin of overdrinking is as offensive to God as is the refusal to forgive those who have hurt us by their drinking. Without the Bible we wouldn’t know that there isn’t anything we can do to make God love us. I’m mean really, is there anything a mosquito can do to endear itself to us? No. By nature it’s a bloodsucking parasite that we want to swat every time we see one. We’re like mosquitos because we too are keen on using others. Even the good things we do, the presents that we give, the smiles that we flash are calculated kindnesses so that we can get something from others – even if it’s just a hug.
But thankfully the Bible also reveals how God took care of this self-centered problem of ours: through Jesus. That’s the whole point of our text. Peter wanted his listeners to know that the Bible is all about Jesus, the Son of God, who willingly endured the swat of God’s justice so that we could escape. We can’t do anything to make God love us but he loves us nonetheless. If you’re unsure of that truth it’s because you’re not paying attention to the Bible. In it you’ll find beautiful assurances like these: “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword...37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:35, 37-39).
Today’s text is especially important for you to take to heart, Dave and Amanda. Like many Canadians you have a lot going on: careers, an upcoming move, a baby to look after. And now you got this pastor-guy who comes over every week to study the Bible with you AND who keeps encouraging you to spend your Sunday mornings at church. Perhaps he’s a bit out of touch because, well, he gets paid to show up on Sunday morning and he only has to walk here. It takes you (and everyone else) a bit more effort than that. Do you have time for it?
Make time for it. That’s what the Apostle Peter is telling you today. He’s reminding you and the rest of us that there is only one thing that we really need to pay attention to in life and that’s the Bible. Focus on it the way a skipper of a floundering boat will focus on the beacon coming from a lighthouse. He’ll make every effort to bring the boat to that light – even dumping overboard his big screen TV in the galley to lighten the boat and free it from the sandbar on which it’s stuck. Likewise the Bible is God’s beacon of hope and sure salvation in this dark world. It contains all the crucial information that you need and that you’ll want Megan to learn as she grows and matures. But the Bible isn’t just information; it’s the channel through which the Holy Spirit gives us power and energy to endure life in this sin-filled world. Just as you need to keep filling your car with fuel so that it continues to run, you’ll need to keep fueling yourself and Megan with God’s Word so that you don’t stall out on your way to heaven. You’ve made a great start, Dave and Amanda. By God’s grace keep it going.
North Korea continues to threaten war against its neighbors. Many say it’s just talk. But wouldn’t it be foolish of South Korea and its allies not to ready their troops just in case? The Bible says that Jesus will return to judge the world. That’s not just talk. It will happen. Are you ready? There’s only one way to ensure that you are: pay attention to the Bible. Take to heart what it has to say about your sins and about your Savior, Jesus. Keep focusing on this beacon of light for only then will you safely arrive at your heavenly destination. Amen.
Sermon Notes
Some say that the Bible is not accurate, and therefore it can’t be trusted. How did Peter counter those points in our text?
Think of how excited you would be to discover a long-lost letter written by a grandparent to you. God’s Word is like that. It’s God’s letter to you. What is the basic two-fold message of the Bible?
In what sense are we like mosquitos, bloodsucking parasites? Why does our fate not have to be the same as a mosquito’s?
“Make time to focus on God’s Word.” That’s really what the Apostle Peter is encouraging us today. We want to do that because God’s Word is a beacon in this dark world that alone can guide us home to heaven. What are some habits you can start THIS week to make more time for God’s Word?
