You know the story - way back in the days of Adam and Eve, Satan slithered up to Eve and he asked a very simple question: “DID GOD REALLY SAY?” The question seemed innocent enough - BUT it was intended to plant a doubt in Eve’s mind. “DID GOD REALLY SAY?”, Satan said … and it worked. If Satan could get her to DOUBT God’s faithfulness and truthfulness, then he could get her to ignore God because obviously she couldn’t trust God but she COULD trust Satan.
ILLUS: It’s a trick as old as history. For example, if an advertiser (who you don’t know) can get you NOT to TRUST someone you might ordinarily trust (like doctors, or scientists, or certain large companies); and if they can get you to doubt those groups, then there’s a chance that they can get you to buy THEIR product or service - because you can trust them! And how do you know you can trust them? Because they told you so. And why CAN’T you trust the people they’ve warned you about - because THEY told you that you couldn’t trust them.
I’ve seen various advertisements that start out by saying something like: “Here are secrets that pose risks to doctors’ careers … stick around for these top ten secrets doctors don't want you to know!” Another YouTube video advertised: “In this video, we’re going to take a look at 10 mysterious discoveries that scientists don’t want you to know about.”
The idea is to get you to DOUBT somebody you might have trusted so that the advertisers can get you to buy a product… a product you’ve never heard of, from a company… you’ve never heard of either.
That’s what Satan did. He got Eve to DOUBT God, so that she would TRUST him (Satan).
ILLUS: I saw a video on the internet I’ll play for you later - that I’m going to tell you about now. There’s this professor fielding questions from his audience, and one of the questioners says this: “Why would you choose to worship a creator God who forbade men to actually eat from the tree of knowledge, that you have obviously eaten from because you are a rather knowledgeable man. Why would you choose to worship this sort of deity who would have kept you down?” And the professor smiled and replied: “That’s a very good question. And I will tell you why it’s a good question: I notice it was originally asked… by a snake. … The issue (in that story) was whether we (as human beings) can TRUST GOD.”
And that’s what our passage this morning is all about: You Can Trust God and you can trust HIS WORD. “All Scripture is breathed out by God (it’s HIS Word) and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” II Timothy 3:16-17
IT’S GOD’S WORD… YOU CAN TRUST IT!!!!
God’s Word is profitable for us because it can change how we think and make better people, and better servants of God! Hebrews 4:12 says “The word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”
THE BIBLE CAN CHANGE YOU!!!
ILLUS: There was an interesting court case in the state of Kentucky a few years back. It regarded a law that had required that every classroom in the state had to post the 10 Commandments. The Supreme Court ruled against the state of Kentucky and ordered it to take down all copies of the Ten Commandments saying: “Having the commandments on the wall may induce a student to read, meditate upon, and actually obey what is therein written.”
Well… yeah! That’s the purpose of God’s Word. It’s there for us to read to meditate upon and actually obey what is written. And that’s because the Bible has the ability to effect how we think and live.
ILLUS: Even pagans understand this… and they’re not comfortable about it. When I was a lot younger, I went to a secular college and took classes in Psychology, Sociology, and Philosophy. And I noticed that in several classes - the professors would spend part of the class attacking the Bible. Why would they do that? Because many of the students had been brought up in church… and Scripture had shaped how they thought about the world. And the professors hated that, because the Bible was a threat to what they wanted to teach. As long as the students clung to Scripture they might not accept what the professor taught. So the teachers’ goal was to MAKE THE STUDENTS DOUBT, and thus to destroy whatever faith that these students had in God’s Word.
Essentially, those professors asked their students “Did God really say?” Then they’d proceed to accuse the bible of lying. That’s the same technique Satan used on Eve in the garden.
But now, there’s a legitimate question to be asked: How do I know I can trust the Bible? I mean, just because the Bible says I can trust it… doesn’t make it so. I’ve got several 1000 illustrations in my files and many of them explain why the Bible is trustworthy.
For example, The Smithsonian Institution’s Department of Anthropology has an official statement on “THE BIBLE AS HISTORY.” In it they say: “... much of the Bible, in particular the historical books of the old testament, are as accurate historical documents as any that we have from antiquity and are in fact more accurate than many of the Egyptian, Mesopotamian, or Greek histories. These Biblical records can be and are used as are other ancient documents in archeological work. For the most part, historical events described took place and the peoples cited really existed.” (The Smithsonian Institution’s Department of Anthropology)
That’s history (PAUSE)
ILLUS: But the Bible is also trustworthy because it has changed the lives of people and it’s changed the direction of entire cultures. About 12 years ago I listened to a representative for a missionary team called “Ambassadors for Christ to the Philippines.” He told of a missionary who had such a passion for the Philippines and went down to the Philippines on a shoestring budget, but he had such a powerful witness that today – 37 years later - there are nearly 40,000 Christians in 700 Church of Christ congregations there. But not only was that mission helping to convert people to Christ, but the teachings of the Bible made a powerful impact on the culture there.
The speaker told of having visited the Philippines back in the 70’s and being overwhelmed by the stench of sewage and garbage as he got off the plane. Many of the people there lived in terrible unsanitary conditions. But as the Philippines became influenced by the teachings of Scripture, things began to change. The government began establishing modern drainage systems and trash control. And the leaders of that city were so impressed by the powerful effect that the Bible had had on their entire culture, - they asked for the churches to teach Bible in their schools.
The point is this: when the Bible is taken seriously nations change, cultures change, and people change.
How can it do ALL that? It can do ALL that because “All Scripture is breathed out by God (it’s HIS Word) and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work” II Timothy 3:16-17
THE BIBLE HAS THE POWER TO TRANSFORM US.
But there’s one more thing to think about here. Many Christians believe in Scripture simply because they believe in Jesus. Sing this song with me:
“Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so; Little ones to Him belong – they are weak, but He is strong.
Yes, Jesus loves, me. Yes, Jesus loves me. Yes, Jesus loves me… THE BIBLE TELLS ME SO.”
Why do they believe that Jesus loves them? Because the Bible tells them so. The Bible tells them that they were created in God’s image; and that God cares for them; and that – no matter how bad they’ve messed things up Jesus fix what they’ve broken in their lives.
In fact, everything we know about Jesus is right here in this book. Every word Jesus spoke (that we know about) is written there. Every miracle Jesus performed (that we know about) is written there. Every truth that He taught us is written here. You don’t know anything about Jesus that’s NOT written in the Bible. And, as a result - if you don’t trust the Bible, you’re not really going to trust Jesus. Without faith in the Bible your faith in Jesus is always going to be lopsided.
ILLUS: Years ago, a very faithful member of a church I served who began to talk about “errors” he was convinced were in the Bible. I tried to talk to him about it and tried explaining why the errors he thought he saw there were NOT errors at all. But he was insistent. And eventually he left the church, his faith… and his wife. I figured out later that he’d been unfaithful to his wife long before he began to look for any “errors in Scripture”. WHY? Because he was sinning against his wife and against God by committing adultery.
The Bible declared that this man was in Sin. But he didn’t LIKE the message … so he shot the messenger. He accepted a lie from Satan so he could live like he wanted to live. He embraced Satan who whispered to him… “DID GOD REALLY SAY?”
Someone once said: “Men do not reject the Bible because it contradicts itself, but because it contradicts them.”
(PAUSE) The point is this: The Bible is GOD’S WORD, given to us so that we’d have a foundation for our lives and for our faith that would make. That’s why our brotherhood has a motto they cling to: “Where the Bible speaks we speak. Where the Bible is silent we’re silent.” Because - if we don’t cling to the Bible as primary source of authority, Satan will slither up to us and ask “DID GOD REALLY SAY?” And we may end up being confused and intimidated.
ILLUS: Now at the beginning of the message, I mentioned a professor who fielded a question from a member of the audience. And I almost decided NOT to show to show you the video because I didn’t like what I’m going to show you now. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0x9MPdhXtY --- timestamp 0:00 thru 2:37)
Did you catch what the man did? He lied! He said the Bible never actually called the tree that Adam and Eve ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. He said “Good and Evil” were NOT in the text. HE LIED! Now, how do I know he lied… I looked it up. Genesis 2:17 says “But of the tree of the knowledge of good (the Hebrews word ??? towb) and evil (the Hebrew word ?? ra‘ rah), you shall not eat: for in the day that you eat of it you shalt surely die.”
The words were right there in the text big as day! But I didn’t even have to look up the HEBREW in the verse to know he lied. Every reliable translation calls the tree “the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” This is what translators (who know the language) say was the name of that tree.
Well, maybe he made a mistake! No, he didn’t make a mistake (PAUSE) he lied. He knew the Hebrew word for “knowledge” - he just conveniently left out the part about good and evil (which is in the text) because it didn’t fit his theology.
And notice the result: notice that the professor said “I stand corrected…” The man’s lie confused the faith even of a professor, and intimidated a man who had dedicated himself to the study of God’s Word. Now, that’s what Satan does: he lies because that’s his native language. Jesus said: “The devil… was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When (Satan) lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” John 8:44
SATAN LIES, and so do a lot of people who don’t agree with the Bible. It doesn’t matter if it’s an atheist, or a member of a cult, or “a politician.” There are people out there who will twist scripture because they don’t like what the Bible says.
SATAN LIES - but it’s interesting how Jesus dealt with Satan when Satan tried to deceive Him. Jesus had been out in the desert fasting and praying for 40 days. And then… Satan came along and offered Him false promises. Three times Satan tempted Jesus, and three times Jesus turned Satan down. And each of those 3 times, Jesus replied saying these “three words”: “IT IS WRITTEN.”
It’s written? Where is it written? In the Bible.
Now Jesus could have said “Truly, truly I SAY unto you…” because He did say that many times in His ministry. But I think Jesus faced Satan saying “It is written” because that’s what we have to do. When facing temptation, or fear, or doubt… we need to say: IT IS WRITTEN because - if we know the Bible - it can give us the authority we need to deal with Satan.
CLOSE: One last thought - Jesus believed in the authority of Scripture. That’s why he told Satan “IT IS WRITTEN.” He was declaring that it is the authority we should cling to.
He affirmed that the Bible was indestructible. Matthew 5:17,18
He affirmed it was historically accurate. Matthew 12:40-42
He rebuked those who put traditions of men above God’s Word. Matthew 15:3-9
He believed the word was inerrant even in the tense of a verb used. Matthew 22:32 ("I am" - not I was - "the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob were inspired by the Holy Spirit")
He believed in the inspiration of the writers of the Old Testament. Mt. 22:43; 24:15
He taught that the law, the prophets, and the psalms spoke of Him and His resurrection. Luke 24:44-47
And He believed in Adam and Eve, Abel, Noah, Lot, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Daniel, Elijah, Naaman, Isaiah, Lot’s wife, the flood, Sodom and Gomorrah, etc.
JESUS BELIEVED IN THE BIBLE - and that’s why Paul wrote that we should believe that “All Scripture is breathed out by God (it’s HIS Word) and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” II Timothy 3:16-17
It is God's Word ... and you can trust it!
