This year, we celebrate the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther’s nailing the 95 Theses to the Wittenburg Door. On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther nailed a protest against the Wittenburg Church door against the church’s selling of indulgences. This was a catalyst to make real and lasting changes in the church for all these 500 years. This was the “starting gun,” if you will, where a monk and a mallet make real and lasting changes to our entire world. But at the heart of this 500th anniversary is a rediscovery of the gospel. Like barnacles on a ship, traditions had gathered around the gospel so that the gospel was no longer clearly visible. We are journeying through the book of Acts together and because this is the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, we are telling the story of Martin Luther. The Reformation is bigger than this one man, but for the sake of clarity, we are focusing on him. Now Luther is so significant that Martin Luther King, Jr.’s father, renamed himself and his son after visiting Germany in the 1930s.1
For a long time, the legacy Reformation has been defined by the Five Solas.
FIVE SOLAS
Christ Alone – Acts 4 (last week)
Scripture Alone - Authority
Faith Alone
Grace Alone
God’s Glory Alone
Today, I want to speak to you on the importance of the Bible. We need the Bible because you cannot know God unless you believe and obey the Word of God. I read a most fascinating story about Charles Haddon Spurgeon recently. They had just finished building the great Metropolitan Tabernacle in London, which at that time was the largest auditorium in the world, seating thousands of people. Spurgeon had gone down to the church and was standing in the pulpit just to test the acoustics. And unknown to him there was a janitor back in the back sweeping, Spurgeon went to the pulpit and simple said these words, “Behold the lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the world.” That Sunday morning this janitor walked down the aisle to give his heart to Jesus. When Spurgeon asked him how he was saved he said “Pastor, you did not know that I was in the auditorium this past week when you were here testing the acoustics.” He said, “When you cried out, ‘Behold the lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the world,’ my heart was immediately pricked. I knew I was a sinner.” And he said, “Then and there I knelt there in the very back and gave my heart to the Lord.”2
If you have your Bible, find Acts 17 with me. In the first half of Acts 17, we see the story of three men who traveled around 150 miles in ancient Europe to share the message of the gospel. We see a band of three (Paul, Silas, and Timothy) bring the gospel first to Thessalonica (Acts 17:1-9) and then to Berea (Acts 17:10-15).
“Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. And Paul went in, as was his custom, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ.” And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a great many of the devout Greeks and not a few of the leading women. But the Jews were jealous, and taking some wicked men of the rabble, they formed a mob, set the city in an uproar, and attacked the house of Jason, seeking to bring them out to the crowd. And when they could not find them, they dragged Jason and some of the brothers before the city authorities, shouting, “These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also and Jason has received them, and they are all acting against the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus.”And the people and the city authorities were disturbed when they heard these things.And when they had taken money as security from Jason and the rest, they let them go. The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived they went into the Jewish synagogue. Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so. Many of them therefore, believed, with not a few Greek women of high standing as well as men. But when the Jews from Thessalonica learned that the word of God was proclaimed by Paul at Berea also, they came there too, agitating and stirring up the crowds. Then the brothers immediately sent Paul off on his way to the sea, but Silas and Timothy remained there. Those who conducted Paul brought him as far as Athens, and after receiving a command for Silas and Timothy to come to him as soon as possible, they departed” (Acts 17:1–15).
We are reading what is known as Paul’s second missionary journey. Again, these three men were sent to share the good news of Jesus Christ. And I love the fact that they cared so much about people they had never met to spend months and years of their lives sharing the good news of Christ. They knew the Holy Spirit pushed them, compelled them to share the gospel far and wide.
I heard about a woman who took a course in first aid, and later on, when the class met again, they were having testimonials, and she said, “You know, I’m so glad that I took this course in first aid.” She said, “Out in front of my house there was a horrible automobile accident. An old man driving a car evidently lost consciousness, hit a huge oak tree, caved in the front of that car, and demolished that car. The man was thrown out on the street; his bones were fractured; he was in a state of shock; and his eyes were rolling around. He was pumping his life’s blood out onto the sidewalk.” She said, “It was horrible—the most gruesome thing that I’ve ever seen.” “But,” she said, “I was the first one on the scene,” and she said, “I remembered my first aid.” She said, “I remembered that if I would put my head between my knees, then I wouldn’t faint.”
The Holy Spirit is not given for your enjoyment, but for your employment.
Luke shows us a remarkable contrast in this story. In the same place, we see how the Bible is rejected by some and received by others. Sitting right next to one another, people of the same race and living in the same place … some heard the Bible’s message and received while others rejected it.
1. You Can Resist the Word
1,700 years ago, the Roman emperor, Diocletian, wanted to destroy Christianity. His advisors said Christianity is a religion of the Bible. If you will destroy the Bible, you will destroy Christianity. He began the most massive search in history. He burned every Bible he could find throughout the known world. And over the charred remains of the last Bible, he wrote: “The name Christian is now extinct.”3 Many people resist the Word of God.
And Paul went in, as was his custom, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ.” (Acts 17:2-3)
1.1 The Method
Few items are more divisive than telling people of one religion they need to convert to Jesus Christ. Paul would enter into a new town and go directly to the synagogue to explain Jesus from the Hebrew Scriptures, the Old Testament. This was the pattern all throughout the book of Acts. Now, the Bible uses three terms to describe what happened when they entered the cities of modern day Greece: “he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ” (Acts 17:2b-3). So here are three terms to describe how Paul approached Bible study with the people in the synagogue of his day. The words “explaining and proving” meant Paul had a dialogue, a time of discussion. But he also argued (proved and reasoned) and lastly “proclaimed.” So there was some question and answer time as well as persuasion where Paul pushed the people to make a decision.
1.2 The Message
“explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ” (Acts 17:3). They would have spent time discussing Isaiah 53 and Psalm 2. We will focus on this more in the moments to come but note the...
1.3 The Reaction
“But the Jews were jealous, and taking some wicked men of the rabble, they formed a mob, set the city in an uproar, and attacked the house of Jason, seeking to bring them out to the crowd” (Acts 17:5). “But when the Jews from Thessalonica learned that the word of God was proclaimed by Paul at Berea also, they came there too, agitating and stirring up the crowds” (Acts 17:13).
The people who rejected the gospel in Thessalonica hated it so much they even showed up in Berea to oppose it – a nearly two days journey. Many have rejected and resisted the Bible in our day. In a recent survey, nearly 20% of people are either skeptical or hostile to the Bible. If you dig a little more, the average age of someone who is hostile to the Bible is forty-one years of age, and he is likely to be an unmarried man. 80% of those who label themselves hostile to the teachings of the Bible believe “the Bible was written to manipulate or control other people.”4
1.4 What’s Your Functional Authority?
Allow me to show you something about you. A lot of people believe the Bible is like any other book, there are good things in here & there are bad things. When you say, “Well, the Bible is an authority, but it’s only one authority.” When you do this, here’s what you’re saying in effect “I’m the authority, and I scan through the Word of God. I decide, on the basis of my own judgment and my own wisdom which things look like they’re great and which things look like they’re a little weird, and I don’t know whether I can buy that.”
When you do this – the Bible isn’t your foundation. Instead, look what your foundation is: it’s your own wisdom. A foundation cannot have some good stones and others not. You can’t build a house if you have 10 foundation stones, and you say, “Well eight of them will hold the house up. That’s good enough.” Every part of the foundation has to be solid and changeless. You’ve actually shifted to a whole new foundation, because now the foundation is your own judgment. Don’t you remember what you were like ten years ago? Do you remember the stupid mistakes you made ten years ago? Do you remember how naïve you were in this matter and that matter?
1.5 Martin Luther at the Diet of Worms
On April 16, 1521, just a few years after nailing his 95 Theses to the castle door in Wittenberg, Martin Luther was called to assemble before the Diet of Worms in the city of Worms, Germany. Luther arrived in a covered wagon, and the city was pulsating with intensity over the controversy. Some 2,000 people were crowding the streets trying to get a glimpse of the Augustinian monk. The following day, Luther was led to the place where he would stand trial before the leaders of his German government and the church. The crowds were so large that he was led through a back alley to the bishop’s palace. As Martin Luther stood before the royal leaders of the Church and political rulers of Europe, he was dressed in a humble monk’s attire. The emperor’s spokesman pointed to a collection of Luther’s books and asked if would he be willing to recant of everything. Luther spoke up with a soft voice and asked for additional time to consider his answer. He was given until the following day to provide his decision publicly. On the following day, when he was once again led to the bishop’s palace and asked to recant of everything he had written, Luther spoke up and said the following:
“Unless I am convicted by Scripture and plain reason — I do not accept the authority of popes and councils, for they have contradicted each other — my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and I will not recant anything, for to go against conscience is neither right nor safe. Here I stand, I cannot do otherwise. God help me. Amen.”5
1. You Can Resist the Word
2. You Can Receive the Word
“And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a great many of the devout Greeks and not a few of the leading women.” (Acts 17:4)
“Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so. Many of them therefore believed, with not a few Greek women of high standing as well as men.” (Acts 17:11-12)
No matter what we face in life, we know that all we need is to listen carefully and obey God’s Word. Our church completely affirms that God’s Word is sufficient to meet every need any of us have (Psalm 19:7-14). In the chaotic days, we need to go back time and time again and ask, “What does the Bible say?” Here are five descriptions we need to embrace for the Word of God to our foundation. The Scripture is Sufficient – it contains everything we need for our spiritual lives. No matter how long time goes, there will never be more needed information on God’s will for our spiritual lives that what we already possess in the Scriptures. The Scripture is Accurate – we trust God’s word more than our own experiences to guide us into God’s presence. The Scripture is Perfect – it is free from any flaws and it lasts forever. The Scripture is True – it provides us divine principles to guide for godly character throughout all of our lives. The Scripture is Cherished – it meets every need in our lives and it is more valuable than anything the world has to offer!6 We do not need more than the Scriptures.
“Has God spoken?” is the crucial question for everyone of us. Every year the American Bible Society has put together an annual State of the Bible report. Here’s what was found: 94% of American homes own a Bible. No other book comes even close to that number. Nearly 50% of American homes have three Bibles. 2013 statistics tell us that the Bible is the most highlighted book on Kindle. Plus, different versions of the Bible the fourth, sixth, eleventh, sixteenth, and eighteenth most highlighted books on Kindle.7 When people who attended church were asked about their habit of reading the Bible, here’s how they responded.8
Do you remember one commercial all the way back in Super Bowl 37, the FedEx Commercial? During Superbowl 37, FedEx ran a commercial that spoofed the movie Castaway, where Tom Hanks played a FedEx worker whose company plane went down, stranding him on a desert island for years. Looking like the ragged Hanks in the movie, the FedEx employee in the commercial goes up to the door of a suburban home, with package in hand. When the lady comes to the door, he explains that he survived five years on a deserted island, and during that whole time he kept this package in order to deliver it to her. She gives a simple, “Thank you.” But he is curious about what is in the package that he has been protecting for years. He says, “If I may ask, what was in that package after all?” She opens it and shows him the contents, saying, “Oh, nothing really. Just a satellite telephone, a global positioning device, a compass, a water purifier, and some seeds.”9 Like the contents in this package, the resources for growth and strength are available for every Christian who will take advantage of them.
How long could your Bible sit in the church’s “lost and found” and you not miss it? If you are not reading the Bible day by day, if the Bible is not speaking to your heart and you have no desire for it, then there is only one thing wrong with you. Not two, not three not four – just one. And that one thing wrong is sin. S-I-N.
Two things God has joined
And no man can part
Dust on the Bible
Dirt in the heart
Far too many people, including Christians, have the Bible in their homes, but not in their hearts. I love the fact that the people in Berea not only received the Word of God, but they examined it daily. It reminds me of a Sunday School teacher who was talking to a class of young boys. She said, “Who went into the lion’s den and came out unhurt?” One little boy blurted out, “Tarzan!” How long could your Bible sit in the church’s “lost and found” and you not miss it? Americans treat reading the Bible a little bit like exercise: they know it’s important and helpful but they don’t do it. The Bible was not written just for information; it was written for our transformation. Here’s how that happens: When the child of God reads the word of God, and sees the Son of God, he is transformed by the Spirit of God into the image of God, for the glory of God.
The ESV Study Bible is a great tool. You need to identify a reading plan where most days (if not every day) you’re actively reading God’s word. And while nearly 90% of people still prefer the printed Bible, many are learning to read their Bible on their phones. I love the Bible app because it makes finding a reading plan so easy, and there are so many choices.
Tom Clayton tells me a story that takes place down in Merritt Island, Florida. He was going to Columbia, South Carolina, by train. As he got on the train he was praying for somebody to witness to. And, he said, “A woman came and sat down beside me. Now, I have nothing against makeup, but this woman had overdone it. It looked like she’d put it on with a trowel, and she was heavily made up and kind of a hard — you know the type — kind of a hard-looking woman.” And, he began to share the gospel of Christ, and she was very resilient hardened against the gospel. Yet, after a while, that shell began to listen. But, she didn’t want to admit her interest, and so she tried to get out of the situation. She said, “Well, I’m going to the diner to get something to eat.” He said, “I’ll go with you.” And, so they got up, and he went with her to the diner, sat down, and continued, with an open Bible, to tell her about Jesus. After a while, the Spirit of God broke through that façade, and she began to weep, wanting to know Jesus. The mascara started to flow, and he said, “Would you like to be saved?” She said, “Yes, I would.” So, he said, “Are you willing to pray to receive Jesus Christ here and now?” She said, “Yes, I am,” and they prayed right then and there. As Tom shared a nearby man was listening along with two women— they were Jewish. That Jewish man got very interested. Now, Tom said, “Listen, sir, this woman has just received Christ into her heart as her Lord and Messiah. The Messiah has already come. Would you like to receive Him as your Lord and Messiah?” He said, “Yes, I would.” The two women who were with him said, “And, we would too.” He said, “All right.” He said, “If you’re willing to pray and ask Christ to come into your heart, as this woman did, and to ask Christ to be your Lord and Messiah, then I want you to bow your head and begin to pray this prayer after me.” At about that time, a man sitting at another table was eavesdropping. He said, “Wait a minute; hold it.” He said, “I’ve never prayed that prayer. Neither has my daughter. Would it be all right if my daughter and I also prayed and asked Christ into our hearts?” Now, listen—listen: Who would’ve known that those people had a hunger to know Jesus?
A year after the famous showdown at Worms, Luther preached a sermon where he said this: “Take myself as an example. I opposed indulgences and all the papists, but never with force. I simply taught, preached, and wrote God’s Word; otherwise I did nothing. And while I slept [cf. Mark 4:26–29], or drank Wittenberg beer with my friends Philips and Amsdorf, the Word so greatly weakened the papacy that no prince or emperor ever inflicted such losses upon it. I did nothing; the Word did everything. Had I wanted to start trouble.... I could have started such a little game at Worms that even the emperor wouldn't have been safe. But what would it have been? Mere fool’s play. I did nothing; I let the Word do its work.”10
EndNotes
1 Martin Luther King, Jr., The Papers of Martin Luther King, Jr.: Volume 1: Called to Serve January 1929-June 1951, ed. Calybrone Carson (Berkley: University of California Press, 1992), 30.
2 W. Y. Fullerton, Thomas Spurgeon: A Biography (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1919), 33.
3 S. L. Greenslade, ed., The Cambridge History of the Bible: Volume 3: The West from the Reformation to the Present Day (Cambridge: University Press, 1963), 476.
4 https://1s712.americanbible.org/cdn-www-ws03/uploads/content/State_of_the_Bible_2017_report_032317.pdf; accessed October 19, 2017.
5 Roland Bainton, Kindle Locations 2510-2513
6 As I composed these five statements, I was helped by John McArthur’s statements found here: http://www.tms.edu/m/tmsj15g.pdf; accessed June 30, 2015.
7 https://www.vox.com/2014/6/8/5786196/7-things-the-most-highlighted-kindle-passages-tell-us-about-american; accessed October 19, 2017.
8 http://www.lifeway.com/Article/research-survey-bible-engagement-churchgoers; accessed October 19, 2017.
9 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=alSQpinagp0; accessed October 19, 2017.
10 Martin Luther, Luther’s Works, Vol. 51: Sermons I, ed. Jaroslav Jan Pelikan, Hilton C. Oswald, and Helmut T. Lehmann, vol. 51 (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1999), 77.
