Today we start a new series on foundations and there is nothing more foundational for believing in Christ than the understanding of the scriptures.
WE BELIEVE the Bible is the verbally inspired and only infallible (incapable of being wrong) and authoritative (having authority over beliefs and conduct) written Word of God (2 Timothy 3:15–17; 2 Peter 1:21).
One of the most important questions is: how can I know which religion is the true religion?
After all this is the one question that affects our eternal life. The bottom line, the real question comes down to a matter of authority.
When Speaking of authority there are three basic kinds of religious authority:
1. human reason
2. the church
3. God's word
Human Reason
Most common today we see in our culture is human reasoning. People will spend thousands of dollars to get a degree to say that they have the best type of human reasoning. There are classes on logic and logical fallacies. There are classes on how to argue and how to convince other people of different things. This is all human reasoning. We have taken and filled multiple buildings full of books to contain what we believe is human reasoning and we go back in time and research and study the ancient authors to better understand the roots of our human reasoning.
By itself there is nothing wrong with rationalization and logic the basics of human reasoning. These are things that are great to understand and be able to articulate and talk about but due to the nature of who we are when human authority becomes the ultimate authority we tend to take the place of God and try to be the authors of our own destiny and inevitably this ends in destruction and chaos. If you want proof just look at the world around us when people try to live out by their own means.
Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes 1:9: History merely repeats itself. It has all been done before. Nothing under the sun is truly new.
This is true regardless of what is going on. Societies driven by humanistic values and culture have been around since the very beginning. It was at the tower of Babel they said “Come, let’s build a great city for ourselves with a tower that reaches into the sky. This will make us famous and keep us from being scattered all over the world.” Genesis 11:4
They wanted to show how great they were and had already forgotten about God, who in chapter 6 had just rescued Noah and his sons from a flood and had to start over. They forgot God’s plan and tried to live by by their own logic and so rationalization always ends with man putting themselves higher than everything else and ultimately destroying themselves.
Church Authority
There are certain denominations that believe in quote Apostolic success of authority in which they start with Peter as the original Bishop of the church that was ordained by Jesus and then they try to follow through the authority throughout the ages from Peter to justify the leader of this church. Most notably would be the Catholic Church who just elected their first American Pope and whom they claim has the ultimate authority on earth. The obvious problem with this however is that man again is flawed and there has been throughout history where the Pope was wrong in his judgment and when people tried to stand up and point out his issues they faced harsh punishments.
Many people today have told me that they have read scripture they like Jesus but they do not see Jesus represented in the church today and Christianity by itself is flawed. And I agree there is plenty of faults with Christianity as a whole and that's why it's important to find a Bible believing church which brings us to the final authority
The Authority of Scripture
This means to trust implicitly on the authority the word of God.
The authoritative rule states quote the scriptures, both old and New Testament, are verbally inspired of God and are the revelation of God to man, the infallible, authoritative rule of faith and conduct.
When I talk about the authority of scripture, what I mean is this:
• Can we really trust the bible?
• How do we know that it is really God’s word?
• What benefit does it have to us?
You see, for something or someone to have authority there must be significant evidence that directs us to that conclusion. And what we find is that the Holy Scriptures prove themselves. They testify of themselves that they are God’s word, but the real proof comes in the evidence.
There are hundreds of prophecies in the bible and hundreds of them have already been fulfilled. And the amazing part is that they are fulfilled with acute accuracy. Where the Messiah would be born… where he would live… the type of man he would be… how he would die… that he would rise from the dead… that He is coming back… still waiting for that!
If that’s not enough how about Jeremiah accurately predicting how long the nation would be in Babylonian captivity? How about 150 years before Judah was released from captivity Isaiah named the name of the king who would release them, namely Cyrus!
There are no other “Holy” writings from any other religion that can claim the predictive accuracy that the bible has and that can only be attributed to the fact that these words were given to the prophets through the Holy Spirit.
Furthermore, we have to ask ourselves, if they did “make up” these stories, why would they do it? There are three reasons people lie and those reasons tend to be 1) money, 2) sex, and 3) power. And if you look at specifically the 12 disciples they did not gain any of these three things in fact, all except for John died a martyr's death and would not recant what they had talked about Jesus. They were eyewitnesses so listen to what Peter writes in his letter to the church:
2 Peter 1:12-21
There are some very important things I want to bring out to you. First of all Peter is saying that they didn't make these things up but they were telling of the things that they saw with their own eyes. Historians will agree that there was a man named Jesus they can't deny that this man existed and that he died on the cross. The historical evidence is too great for them to deny this fact.
Philosophers and religious leaders from around the world in various religions all agree that Jesus was a good moral teacher. CS Lewis puts it this way in his book Mere Christianity:
“I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.”
So if we are to accept that Jesus was a man who lived and was a good teacher we therefore must accept that he is the son of God and if that is to be true then we should also accept that what the Bible says about him is true because these are the man that had the eyewitness testimony of what they saw and what they said about the word of God. And so looking back at second Peter it says that this was not something done by mere human initiative but the people that wrote down the words did so by the Holy Spirit and they spoke from God as a special revelation from him.
Amos 3:7 Indeed, the Sovereign LORD never does anything until he reveals his plans to his servants the prophets.
The Holy Spirit prompts the thoughts of the writers. He guides their choices of words and expressions and thoughts.
Exodus 4:12, 15
12 Now go! I will be with you as you speak, and I will instruct you in what to say.”
15 Talk to him, and put the words in his mouth. I will be with both of you as you speak, and I will instruct you both in what to do.
He illuminates the minds of the readers of such words that the reader potentially may comprehend the same truth that was originally in the mind of the writer.
Ephesians 1:16-23
I think by this point we can clearly agree that the scriptures are inspired by God. And it is through God that we can understand these scriptures.But now the question is what do we do with them I mean the scriptures?
2 Timothy 3:16-17
16 All Scripture is inspired by God (the NIV puts it God Breathed)… The Greek word here is: (remember the words are just as important because God chose them for a reason) ?e?p?e?st?? which means literally God breathed. By his divine breath and power the Holy Spirit moved the human authors of the Bible with such precision that the product accurately reflects the intention of God himself it is a marked special revelation of divine inspiration.
We have established that truth already have we not? If it isn’t then this book is just another storybook. But if we truly believe that the Spirit of the Living God spoke words into the hearts of men to write all 66 books there must be a purpose for it. And in the rest of these verses we see exactly what the purpose is.
1. is useful; to teach us what is True…the KJV says “doctrine”. Is doctrine important? Whether you read the NLT “teach us what is true” or KJV “doctrine” you have to understand that what you believe is of utmost importance.
doc·trine
1. A principle or body of principles presented for acceptance or belief, as by a religious, political, scientific, or philosophic group; dogma.
2. A rule or principle of law, especially when established by precedent.
Now this is notable. For instance, if we are talking about the doctrine of divine healing is there any value in it if it is just a rule that we adopted and believe? NO! That rule is established by a precedent. 16 All Scripture is God-breathed … Amen? And this God breathed book tells us that by His stripes we are healed. But we do not set our doctrine on this verse alone. The New Testament is full of actual events where people were healed, or saved, or baptized in the Holy Spirit… Do you see what I’m talking about? So doctrine is established on the Word of God and actual events that back it up. Look at how the Holy Spirit is involved in teaching as well.
1 John 2:27
But you have received the Holy Spirit, and he lives within you, so you don’t need anyone to teach you what is true. For the Spirit teaches you everything you need to know, and what he teaches is true—it is not a lie. So just as he has taught you, remain in fellowship with Christ.
2) To make us realize what is Wrong in our lives
This is conviction: it comes from the Holy Spirit and He convicts us to align with the word of God.
We know that one of the things that Jesus said the Holy Spirit would do would be to convict the world of sin… And He also does that same work in believers. The Spirit uses the scripture to show us where we have fallen short that we might repent and turn back to the Lord.
Proverbs 1:23 (NLT)
23 Come and listen to my counsel. I’ll share my heart with you and make you wise.
(NKJV)
Turn at my rebuke; Surely I will pour out my spirit on you; I will make my words known to you.
Can you see what happens when you repent because of God’s word? He pours out His Spirit… the word translated pours literally is “to gush out”… You see the Lord doesn’t give in small portions.
James 1:5
If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.
So when you are brought under conviction by the word and you turn to the Lord in repentance can you see what the Spirit’s response is? His Spirit poured out on us, and we grow in wisdom, sharing the heart of God!
3) To CORRECT us when we are wrong
4) Train us in what is RIGHT
I put these two things together because they seem to go hand in hand. Let me ask a question… Have any of you ever made a mistake? Let’s go a step further… Has anyone ever made a life altering mistake – one that has literally changed your life and not for the better? Now here is the point of the question – Did you learn from your mistake? That’s the key. God’s word will correct you but if you are not willing to make it part of your spiritual training program and make the necessary corrections the word has no value for you.
Hebrews 12:11
No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it’s painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way.
John 15:3-11
You see one we're following what God has for us it's not just following rules but when we follow and love and remain in his love by following his commandments our joy overflows. Are you struggling with depression, & anxiety are you living in such a way that God's love overflows in your life because you're living in his love? and look at what this commandment is that he leaves us verse 12-14. His commandment is to love one another.
Following what he has for us leads us to the preordained prepared work that he has for us so that we can live as part of God's handiwork and that work is solely found in loving others.
5) Prepare and equip his people
Jesus said: Matthew 28:19
19 Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.20 Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Why is the Scriptures important, because without them, we cannot do what God has called us to do…Spread the word and follow him.
Has the Holy Spirit, through the Word of God, taught you to have faith for salvation, for healing, for power, for authority, for deliverance, for prosperity…?
Has the Spirit, through the word, brought to the place that you see your shortcomings and failures that you can repent and get back on track?
Does the Spirit correct and train you in the word… so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
Many people read the Bible as if it were fundamentally about us: our improvement, our life, our victory, our faith, our holiness, our godliness. We treat it like a disconnected series of timeless principles that will give us our best life now, if we simply apply them. We read it, in other words, as if it were a heaven-sent self-help manual, a divinely delivered to-do list. But by reading the Bible this way, we—like the two companions on the road to Emmaus—totally miss the point. As Luke 24 shows, it's possible to read the Bible, study the Bible—even memorize large portions of the Bible—and miss the main point of the Bible. In fact, unless we go to the Bible to see Jesus and his work for us, even devout Bible reading can become fuel for our own self-improvement plans, a source for the help we need to conquer today's challenges and take control of our lives.
From Christianity Today
All that we need to understand the power of the gospel.
Tullian Tchividjian/ August 29, 2013
The Word says you can be saved…
The word says you can be healed…
The word says you can have power and authority…
The word says you can be delivered, blessed, called to ministry, baptized in the Holy Spirit…
All Scripture is God-breathed…
You need to reading the Word, for it is God’s message to us.
Human authority leads to destruction it is people who demand that God leave them alone so they may go their own way and attempt to fulfill their own desires and their own desires lead them to a place without God we call that place hell. When God sadly reluctantly, leaves them to their own devices, perversions, destructions and how are their grim, inevitable prospects. Therefore natural revelation by itself is not adequate because it is also fallen.
But even the world really does know what is true. People try to say well that's your truth or that's your belief but when it comes down to it right and wrong is written on the human heart. Just go out and ask people what is actually moral and not moral what is right and what is wrong and they will have some pretty clear answers the Bible also says this
Romans 1:20-25; 2:12-16
So the special revelation is the message carried only in the Bible as the wonderful news that God has come down to the human situation he has acted to redeem us and offered a way to enter into his redemption.
When I said find a Bible believing church, find a church that preaches the Bible and uses the Bible as the ultimate authority nothing else and goes back to the Bible time and time again to not pull out just one scripture but to have a message that is foundational into what the Bible speaks about. And the story of the Bible is the redemptive nature of Jesus and God's desire to have a relationship with us.
Do you have the faith to receive God’s word into your life?
May the Lord bless you and keep you.
25 May the Lord smile on you and be gracious to you.
26 May the Lord show you his favor and give you his peace.’
