MELVIN NEWLAND, MINISTER RIDGE CHAPEL, KANSAS, OK
DID GOD REALLY SAY…?
TEXT: 2 Timothy 3:16-17; Hebrews 4:12; John 8:44
You know the story - way back in the days of Adam & Eve, Satan slithered up to Eve & asked a very simple question: “DID GOD REALLY SAY…?” The question seemed innocent enough - BUT it was intended to plant doubt in Eve’s mind.
I. THE BIBLE IS GOD’S WORD - WE CAN TRUST IT!
“DID GOD REALLY SAY…?” Satan asked Eve - & it worked! If Satan could get her to DOUBT God’s truthfulness, then he could get her to ignore God because obviously she didn’t trust God, but she decided she WOULD trust Satan.
It’s a trick as old as history. For example, if an advertiser (whom you don’t know) can get you NOT to TRUST someone you might ordinarily trust (like doctors, or scientists, or certain large companies); & if they can get you to doubt those groups, then there’s a chance that they can get you to buy THEIR product - because you are persuaded that 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 have created doubt about them in your mind.
I’ve seen advertisements start out by saying something like: “This is a secret that doctors don't want you to know!” Or this announcement: “Big Pharma might force us to quit making this offer to you at any time!”
The idea is to get you to DOUBT someone you have trusted so that this new advertiser can get you to buy a product you’ve never heard of, from someone you’ve never heard of either.
That’s what Satan did. Satan got Eve to DOUBT God, & TRUST him (Satan) instead.
That’s what our message this morning is all about: You Can Trust God & we can trust HIS WORD.
“All Scripture is breathed out by God (it’s HIS Word) & profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, & for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17
So the first thing we need to realize is that the Bible is God’s Word & we can trust it! And God’s Word is valuable to us because it can change how we think & make us better people!
Have you ever heard someone say, “Now let’s get down to the nitty gritty”? That’s what the Bible does!
Hebrews 4:12 says “The word of God is living & active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul & of spirit, of joints & of marrow, & discerning the thoughts & intentions of the heart.” That’s what the Bible does!
ILL. There was a trial in KY a few years ago against the practice of displaying copies of the 10 Commandments in public school classrooms.
One judge who ruled against the practice wrote:. “Having the 10 Commandments on the wall may induce a student to read, meditate upon, and actually obey what is therein written.” (Source – Jeff Strite in Sermon Central)
Well, yeah! That’s the purpose of God’s Word. It’s there for us to read, to meditate upon & actually obey what is written. You see, the Bible does have the ability to affect how we think & live. Even pagans understand this, & they’re not at ease about it.
ILL. Jeff Strite, a preacher in IN wrote: “When I was younger, I went to a secular college & took classes in Psychology, Sociology, & Philosophy. I noticed that in several classes the professors would spend part of the class time attacking the Bible. Why would they do that?
“It was because many of the students had been brought up in church, & Scripture had shaped how they thought about the world. Some 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, & thus to destroy whatever faith that these students had in God’s Word.
Basically, those professors asked their students “Did God really say?” Then they’d accuse the Bible of being wrong. 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, does it?
ILL. Well, listen to this, The Smithsonian Institution’s Dep’t 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, & are in fact more accurate than many of the Egyptian, Mesopotamian, or Greek histories.
“These Biblical records can be & are used as are other ancient documents in archeological work. For the most part, historical events described (in the Bible) took place & the peoples cited really existed.”
II THE BIBLE HAS LED MANY TO BELIEVE IN JESUS!
But there’s more to think about. Many Christians believe in Jesus because of what the Bible says about Him!
ILL. Two Sundays ago we sang this song together.
“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; & that God cares for them; & that – no matter how badly we’ve messed things up - Jesus can fix what is broken in our lives.
(Pick up my Bible & show it to the congregation.)
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 Jesus taught us is written there.
We 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.
ILL. Jeff Strite wrote, “Years ago, a member of a church I served began to talk about “errors in the Bible”. I tried to talk to him about it & explain why the errors he thought he saw were NOT errors at all. But he was insistent.
“Eventually he left the church, his faith, & his wife. I figured out later that he’d been unfaithful to his wife long before he began to look for any “errors in the Bible”.
WHY was he looking for errors? Because he was sinning against his wife & against God by committing adultery. And he knew the Bible condemned his sin!
But he didn’t LIKE the message. 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?”
ILL. Someone said: “Men do not reject the Bible because it contradicts itself, but because it contradicts them.”
SATAN LIES, & 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 who will twist scripture because they don’t like what the Bible says.
The point is this: The Bible is GOD’S WORD, given to us so that we’d have a foundation for our lives & for our faith. That’s why we have a motto we 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 the primary source of authority, Satan will slither up & ask “DID GOD REALLY SAY?” & we may end up being confused & intimidated.
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 & the father of lies.” John 8:44
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 & praying for 40 days. And then Satan came & offered Him false promises. Three times Satan tempted Jesus, & three times Jesus turned Satan down. And each of those 3 times, Jesus replied with 3 words: “IT IS WRITTEN.”
IT IS WRITTEN? Where is it written? In the Bible. 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 down Satan saying “It is written” because that’s what we have to do. When facing temptation, fear, or doubt - we need to say: “IT IS WRITTEN” because - if we know the Bible - it has the authority we need to deal with Satan.
III BELIEVING THE BIBLE HAS CHANGED LIVES!
ILL. About a dozen years ago a representative for a missionary team called “Ambassadors for Christ to the Philippines” told of a missionary who had such a passion for the Philippines that he went to the Philippines on a shoestring budget.
He had such a powerful witness that today – 37 years later - there are nearly 40,000 Christians in 700 congregations that he helped plant there. Not only was that mission helping to convert people to Christ, but the teachings of the Bible was making a powerful impact on their culture.
The speaker told of having visited the Philippines back in the 1970’s & being overwhelmed by the stench of sewage & garbage. Many people lived in terribly unsanitary conditions.
But as the Filipinos became influenced by the teachings of Scripture, things began to change. Leaders became more concerned about the needs of their people - establishing modern drainage systems & trash control.
And city leaders were so impressed by the effect that the Bible was having upon their population that they asked the churches to teach the Bible in their schools.
ILL. Here are 2 pictures from my childhood. The first one is of 2 Tibetan women on a holy pilgrimage. They believed that there are thousands of gods, & at least one of the gods has put a curse upon them. They don’t know which god, or why he’s cursed them.
So now they are on their way to a holy mountain. When reaching it they will get down on their hands & knees & repeating the prayer, “Om mani pad mi hum” over & over again while crawling the 11 miles around the base of the mountain. They believe that after doing that the curse will finally be lifted.
This picture is of 2 Tibetan women who are Christians. Of course you instantly see the difference.
They believe in a God who loves them, & who has sent His Son, Jesus, to bless them. Following His teachings has made all the difference in their lives.
The point is this: When the Bible is taken seriously people change, cultures change, & nations change.
The Bible is trustworthy because it has also changed the lives of people & the direction of cultures for the better.
IV JESUS TAUGHT THE AUTHORITY OF SCRIPTURE
One last thought - Jesus taught 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.
In Matt. 5:17-18 He said the Bible was indestructible. In Matt.12:40-42 He said it was historically accurate. He rebuked those who put traditions of men above God’s Word in Matthew 15:3-9. He believed in the inspiration of the writers of the Old Testament (Matt. 22:43; 24:15)
He taught that the law, the prophets, & the psalms spoke of Him & His resurrection (Luke 24:44-47) And He spoke of the existence of Adam & Eve, Abel, Noah, the flood, Abraham, Lot & Lot’s wife, Isaac, Jacob, Daniel, Elijah, Naaman, Isaiah, Sodom & Gomorrah, etc.
Now let’s review the 4 points of this message:
THE BIBLE IS GOD’S WORD & YOU CAN TRUST IT!
THE BIBLE HAS LED MANY TO BELIEVE IN JESUS!
BELIEVING THE BIBLE HAS CHANGED LIVES!
JESUS TAUGHT THE AUTHORITY OF THE SCRIPTURES
And that’s why Paul wrote that we should believe “All Scripture is breathed out by God & profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, & for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” 2 Tim. 3:16-17
(Note: Both the Title & the basic ideas of this message have been adapted from a sermon contributed by Jeff Strite of IN to Sermon Central.)
