THE WORD OF GOD IS NOT BOUND
2 Tim. 2:1-5, 8-9
INTRODUCTION
A. HUMOR
1. It was the 9th of July and the judge, a veteran, was in a good mood as he asked the prisoner, “What are you charged with?”
2. The defendant replied, “Your Honor, I was simply doing my 4th of July shopping early.” “That’s no offense,” said the judge. “How early were you doing this shopping?”
3. The defendant ducked his head a little and said, “Before the store opened.”
B. TEXT
“You, therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. 2 And what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, commit to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. 3 Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. 4 No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in the concerns of civilian life; he seeks to please the recruiter. 5 Also, if anyone competes as an athlete, he is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. 8 Keep your attention on Jesus Christ as risen from the dead and descended from David...according to my gospel. 9 I suffer for it to the point of being bound like a criminal, but God’s Word is not bound.” 2 Tim. 2:1-5, 8-9, HCSB.
C. THESIS
1. Under the Church of Santa Maria via Lata, on the Corse, in Rome, is an ancient house which is said to have been St. Paul's "hired house," where he dwelt during the two years of his abode in the Imperial City; and where, as tradition says, he converted his keeper, a soldier named Marcellus. In this house is to be seen an antique marble pillar and a rusty chain, hundreds of years old, riveted into it, bearing the Latin inscription: "Sed verbum Dei non est alligatum" — "The Word of God is not bound." [J. N. Norton]
2. We’re going to look at how the Word can’t be bound by Govts or religions, nor can our unworthiness hinder it, nor can it be stopped by any earthly power. The title of this message is, “The Word of God Is Not Bound.”
I. NOT BOUND BY FOREIGN RELIGIONS OR GOVTS
A. BIBLE ILLEGAL IN 52 COUNTRIES
1. The Voice of the Martyrs says that there are 52 countries where the Bible is banned, is illegal, or is severely restricted: Afghanistan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Maldives, Mauritania, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Yemen, Algeria, Bhutan, Brunei, China, Cuba, Djibouti, Eritrea, Kuwait, Laos, Libya, Malaysia, Morocco, Oman, Sudan, Tunisia, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Central African Republic, Colombia, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Iraq, Jordan, Kenya, Lebanon, Mali, Myanmar (Burma), Nepal, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Syria, Tanzania, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Vietnam.
2. If you are caught with a Bible in North Korea, not only will you face imprisonment, torture and even death – but also up to three generations of your family will!
3. Many ministries smuggle or carry God’s Word into banned countries. Radio and television stations beam programming from open nations into those countries who ban the Bible.
4. During the Cold War, Brother Andrew (van der Bijl), born in the Netherlands in 1928, operated like a Christian international spy, smuggling Bibles and Christian literature into communist Eastern Europe in the 1960s, and coordinating the delivery of a million Bibles into China via a tugboat manned by 20 missionaries in the 1980s.
5. No matter how hard they try to restrict it, THE WORD OF GOD CANNOT BE BOUND!
B. ILLUS.: CUSTOMS OFFICERS DON’T SEE IT
1. One time Brother Andrew approached the Communist Romanian border with his Volkswagen Beetle, which was packed with Bibles in secret compartments. He said, “I was told that the border guards would NOT pay me much attention and that I could cross the border unnoticed. However, the guards inspected all the cars ahead of me thoroughly and unpacked them. Even the engines of some vehicles were taken apart and the seats were removed!”
2. Praying, he realized that no wisdom of his could conceal his Bibles. God inspired him to pile the Bibles on the seat next to him, right in plain sight.
3. When he tried to present his documents, the customs-agent scanned his passport, glanced in his car and waved him through. He passed through the checkpoint within 30 seconds, and no one even saw the Bibles beside him!
C. PROPAGANDA CAN’T STOP IT
1. Governments and religions can’t LIMIT HOW GOD’S WORD PENETRATES THE HUMAN HEART. God has ways of reaching the hardest hearts and melting them.
2. A Brazilian man bought a New Testament and took it home intending to burn it. He lit the fire and tried to burn it, but it wouldn't burn.
3. As he spread out the pages so that it would burn more easily, his eye caught a phrase of the Sermon on the Mount, and he hurriedly flung it back into the fire.
4. But then his curiosity overcame his hatred, so he pulled it back out of the fire, and read it all through the night. By the time the sun rose, he was a believer!
II. NOT BOUND BY OUR UNWORTHINESS
A. NO ONE IS RIGHTEOUS
1. God has never based answering His promises by whether we are worthy or not. Many times, God has helped people who were supremely UNWORTHY! Examples? Jacob the deceiver; Moses the Murderer; Rahab the prostitute; Naaman the enemy general who was a leper; Manasseh the worst king of Judah; Saul of Tarsus the persecutor of the early church; the woman who was caught in adultery, etc.
2. The very worst humans found the Word of God just as accessible as those who were obedient. Why? Because God’s promises aren’t limited to our personal goodness, but only limited by unbelief. Jesus said, “If you can believe, all things are possible to the one who believes.”
3. Further, the Bible tells us, that compared to God’s perfect holiness – there are “NONE RIGHTEOUS, NO NOT ONE!” The universal condition of sin means that WE’RE ALL UNWORTHY, yet God has mercy on us all.
B. NOT HINDERED BY THE BLACKEST SIN
1. There’s no sin that can’t be forgiven. Terrorists, mass-murderers, robbers, and the most evil of sinners – ALL can be forgiven. How? Because the Blood of Jesus is so powerful that it atoned for every sin – past, present, and future.
2. Because of this, the Promises of God (God’s Word) are not rendered powerless by sin. There’s room at the Cross for You! “The blood of Jesus, His Son, cleanses us from ALL sin” 1 John 1:7.
C. THE KING’S PARDON
1. A man was once being tried for a crime, the punishment of which was death. The witnesses came in one by one and testified to his guilt; but there he stood, quite calm and unmoved. The judge and the jury were surprised at his indifference; they couldn’t understand how he could be so calm.
2. After consideration, the jury found him "Guilty." The Judge had him stand & delivered the verdict. When the judge had finished, the man put his hand in his jacket, pulled out a document, and walked to the Judge’s Bench.
3. He presented a PARDON FROM THE KING! No wonder he could be so calm. Now that is just what will make us calm on the great day of judgment: we have a pardon from the King of Kings, which He sealed with His own blood! [Moody's Anecdotes and Illustrations]
III. THE WORD OF GOD IS UNSTOPPABLE
A. YOU CAN’T BIND THE WORD OF GOD!
1. JUST LIKE -- You can’t stop the wind from blowing, or stop the lightning from striking, or stop the earth from spinning -- So it is with God’s Word. All the forces of heaven and earth can’t stop it from coming to pass!
2. God’s Word knows no boundaries; It has no walls; It has no ‘off-limits’ sign. THE GOSPEL IS THE MOST POWERFUL FORCE ON EARTH! Emperors can’t stop it. Chains can’t bind it. Captives are constantly loosed by it. Nero couldn’t stamp it out. Castro couldn’t crush it. Mohammed, Mao, Stalin–all have failed. Persecution, martyrdom, the blood-red sword -- are unable to stop the advance of the gospel. Modern science has not silenced it. Jesus himself told us, “I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”
3. Friends -- Education may INFORM us, Sin will DEFORM us; Prisons try to REFORM US; but ONLY THE WORDS OF JESUS CAN TRANSFORM US!
4. YOU MAY FEEL LIKE: “I’m home with kids...I have no opportunity” or “My job limits my witness” or “My culture limits my witness.” REMEMBER: No Word you say will return void. Your smallest word can have eternal consequences. (A scrap of a few verses of scripture, in India, saved 22 villages; Daily Bread, Feb. 23, 2000)
5. NO ONE CAN LIMIT HOW GOD’S WORD SPREADS. Like tiny seeds blown by the wind that travel 1,000s of miles, or viruses which can’t be detected but are transmitted despite all efforts to stop them – so the Word travels the world in unseen ways, penetrating to the limits of creation.
B. THE BIBLE HAS THE POWER OF MAKING THINGS HAPPEN!
1. The Bible said, “Water will flow in this desert” (2 Kgs. 3:17). People said, “It can’t happen!” but it did!
2. The prophet said, “Though it’s a famine, flour will sell cheaply in this city tomorrow” (2 Kgs. 7:1-2). Doubters said, “That’s impossible!” but it happened!
3. God said, “This sterile old woman (75 years old) shall bear a son next year” (Gen.18:10; Lk. 1:13). People laughed at the absurdity, but it happened just as God said.
4. God said a little army of 300 men would defeat an army of 135,000 men (450 to 1)! Crazy? But it happened!
5. The prophet said, “Israel, though defeated, and scattered among the nations, will be gathered and become a nation again and rebuild their Temple in Jerusalem” (Deut. 29; Isa. 11:11-13; Jer. 25:11; Hos. 3:4-5 and Lk. 21:23-24). People doubted it. But 2,000 years later it came true!
C. WHY YOU CAN’T BIND GOD’S WORD
1. Men & angels have thought they could MAKE WAR against God. But can a person fight against God? Of course not! God’s words are as divine as He is. Just as it’s impossible to bind God, so it’s impossible to bind His Word. His words have latent power in them which only needs to be awakened, by faith; then the power is released.
2. People have been able to hinder God’s Word getting out, but as Paul said, “The Word of God is not bound.” Like the wind it can’t be stopped.
CONCLUSION
A. ILLUSTRATION: POWER OF THE BIBLE
1. Jonathan Goforth was preaching a series of meetings in the Chinese village of Woo-Ann. He gave the mayor of the village, a Mr. Yen, a Bible in Chinese. A few weeks later Mr. Yen returned to talk to Goforth.
2. He said, “Tell me, how does this Bible you gave me have so much power? Before you gave it to me, I often took money in exchange for rendering unjust decisions in court. But now it’s very different. After reading this book I find, if I make an unjust decision, I cannot sleep.”
3. Goforth told him of the power of Jesus Christ and of the Holy Spirit, that convicts us in our hearts. Thank God for His abiding presence! [Jonathan Goforth: An Open Door in China, Janet & Geoff Benge, chap. 11]
B. THE CALL
1. You can be in prison and be free, but there’s many “free people” – outside of prison – who are really bound.
2. The Govt may outlaw Christianity & padlock the church; they may pull us off FB & confiscate our musical instruments; they may arrest the Pastor & put him in chains; but they can never bind the Word of God!
3. It’s voice has gone out to all the world. There’s no place where its message is not heard. All efforts to silence it have failed; It is unstoppable & will accomplish what God sent it to do!
4. How many of you need a miracle in your life that’s promised in the Word of God? Let’s stand and claim it. If you have sin in your life, you need to repent of it. Let’s pray and ask God to move mightily in our behalf. PRAYER
