THE BOOK THAT TELL US ABOUT JESUS
(Sermon 1 from “The Life of Jesus – Part 1)
“In the beginning was the Word and the Word was God / and the Word became flesh and lived with us for awhile.” (John 1:1:1)
“In the past, God spoke to our ancestors many times and in many ways / but in these last days He has spoken to us through His Son / He reflects the brightness of God’s glory and is the exact likeness of God’s own being. - Hebrews 1:1-3 (TEV).
A. THE HISTORY BEHIND THE BIBLE
The story of Jesus is found in a Book we call the Bible. Strictly speaking, it is not a book. It is a library of books written over a period of 1500 years, from Abraham to the close of the New Testament. And it was written by men from every walk and station of life – statesmen like Moses to Fig Farmers like Amos. Malachi’s introduction to his book defines it best – “The word of the Lord to Israel through Malachi”. (Malachi 1:1)
Five terms show us the process. There is REVELATION. From Adam to Abraham (2000 BC) God revealed Himself through creation, conscience, and personal contacts with men like Enoch and Noah (Genesis 1-11).
In Genesis 12 God formed from Abraham, a nation (the Jews) with whom He would personally interact for the next sixteen hundred years (Malachi was written around 400BC). He revealed Himself to them in mighty things like parting the Red Sea (Exodus 12-15) and small things like giving David the lyrics to a song (Psalm 23).
INSPIRATION Paul said “All Scripture is inspired (breathed out) by God.” (2 Timothy 3:15). God led men to write down an accurate RECORD and INTERPRETATION of His revelations. This produced the Old Testament Bible and later the New Testament Bible.
RECOGNITION God led the Hebrews to recognize which of their many writings were inspired, and should be included in the canon (“rule or standard”). The 39 Books in our Old Testament had been accepted as authoritative by the time of Jesus and Jewish leaders made it official in 90 AD.
God led the follower of Jesus to do the same with the many books and letters (Luke 1:1-4). Before the NT closed Peter already recognized some of Paul’s writings as being on the same level as OT Scripture (2 Peter 3:16). Our 27 Books were listed together for the first time in 367 AD.
PRESERVATION Through the centuries, God preserved His writings physically from destruction by time and tyrants, and textually from serious errors by those who copied and re-copied the manuscripts. Not one of the thousands of differences found in old manuscript copies that are the basis of our translations alters the meaning of one major Bible teaching.
ILLUMINATION First Corinthians 2:14 says, “The natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, because they are foolishness to him and he cannot understand them.” All of us “hear” the gospel before we really “hear’ it. Spurgeon says an unsaved person can no more understand the gospel than a horse can understand astronomy.
Jesus says, “No one can come to me unless my Father draws him.” (John 6:44).God’s Spirit shows us our need of salvation and we start listening. Then He slowly brings us through the conversion process. If you are interested in this message and in the life of Jesus it is because God has drawn you to this point.
B. THE AUTHORITY (Romans 1:17)
When it comes to God, a Person we do not see or hear, our relationship with Him is a matter of faith. And there are only four places we can base our faith on – what we believe or “feel” personally what others say; what our church teaches and what the Bible teaches.
Protestant authority is Biblical. We do use reason. We do listen to our inner voice. We do take into account what great and good men in church history have said. But in the end, our authority is the Bible and we are responsible to read it for ourselves and practice it for ourselves. We do this for three basic reasons:
1. The Bible Claims It is God’s Word
Second Timothy 3:16 says, “All Scripture is inspired (God breathed) by God.” Old Testament terms like, “God said ...The word of the Lord came ... Thus says the Lord.” etc. occur over 3,000 times. The choice is obvious; we must accept it as God’s word or discard it as the worthless work of dishonest or deluded men.
2. Jesus Believed It Was God's Word
Jesus, who claimed to be God (John 14) and proved it by rising from the dead (Romans 1:1-3), is our authority on all matters; and He called His Old Testament Bible the “Word of God” and said it was “spoken by God” (John 10:35-36). One of every ten things He said were quotes or allusions to His Bible. He used it to fight temptation (Matthew 4:1-11); and to find God’s will for His life (John 5:39). Dying on the cross, five of His seven last sayings were based on His Bible. He lived by the Bible and died by it.
3. It Speaks to Us Personally
Billy Graham said, “I do not so much read the Bible, as the Bible reads me.” In the ninth grade my world caved in. My mother had an emotional breakdown; we had to move in with an uncle who did not want us there and I had to leave my school and all my friends behind, in another state.
At the lowest point in my life I saw a big “Family Bible” on the coffee table and opened it up. On the page before me was the last paragraph of Psalm 119. I read it, thinking it my say something to me. It did. It seemed to know what was going on in my broken heart and spirit. For a moment it frightened me. I felt that God was in the room. For the first time in my life I had made contact with God which was the first step towards my conversion nine years later.
It has been put this say, “I believe the Bible is inspired because it inspires me.” The final test is always the taste test. In the Bible you can find pardon at the cross, power in the Holy Spirit and the providential workings of God in your life. It fulfills its promises to you. It speaks to your deepest needs and hurts.
I don’t know how the words of men
The words of God can be
I only know this unique Book
Brought God’s words to me
