WHY SHOULD I CARE ABOUT THE BIBLE? 2 Peter 1:16-21
We live in amazing times, don’t we? Because of technology, we are able to see things that, in the past, we never would have been able to see. Because of satellites and wires and electricity, you can turn on your TV, and there in front of you is someone in Afghanistan, live, talking to you. You don’t have to use your imagination – you can see Afghanistan, thousands of miles away, right in your own living room. What a wonderful invention – the TV is a window through which you can see the world.
Maybe you don’t have time to go to the Olympics. Maybe you don’t have the money. That’s OK. Because you can turn on the TV, and there is the Olympics. You can watch the opening ceremonies, you can hear everything, as though you are right there. The TV is a window through which you can see the world.
The internet is the same way. I know longer have to wonder, “Where is Bonneville, Indiana?”. I can look it up on the internet. What’s a good recipe for chili? I’ll just look it up. What’s the weather like in Jerusalem? What’s it like to go white water rafting in Australia? I don’t have to wonder- I can just look it up, and all the information I want pops up on a screen. The internet is also a window through which you can see the world.
God has blessed us with an amazing amount of technology – TV’s and computers – windows through which we can see amazing things. Doesn’t all that technology make the Bible seem insignificant? Which one to spend time with - an old book that sometimes is hard to understand – or, a TV, a computer, through which I can see the world. Why should I care about the Bible? I already have everything I need at the press of a button. Why should I want an old book to be a part of my life?
The Bible is also a window through which you can see some amazing things. And when you open it up, you are able to see things that you can’t see anywhere else. The Apostle Peter describes to us what he say - something more impressive than the opening ceremonies at the Olympics, something more impressive than the Superbowl halftime show. Here in the Bible, through he Apostle Peter, we get a glimpse of the glory of God. In verse 16, Peter says, “We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.” What you see when you look into the Bible aren’t just stories someone made up – they are eyewitness accounts. With their own eyes, Peter and the other disciples saw Jesus Christ – they listened to him teach. He was a man, just like them. And yet, he did things that revealed that he was more than just a man. He performed miracles.
One day, Jesus took them up on a mountain, and revealed his glory. He transfigured – in other words, he changed appearances from one to another. Our Gospel lesson describes how Jesus face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. Moses and Elijah – two of the most important prophets in the Old Testament – appeared and talked with Jesus. Peter and the others, with their own eyes, were witnessing the glory of God - something more spectacular than anything you could ever see on TV. Peter says, “For he received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.’ We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain.” Peter and the others heard the voice of God the Father, telling them that this Jesus was the Son of God, who pleased the Father with everything he was doing.
For a moment in time, Jesus reveals his glory. God the Father speaks from heaven. Here’s why the Bible is so important, so special. Through these eye witness accounts, we are given a window. And through this window, we can see Jesus Christ. We can see his glory. We can hear what God the Father says. There is nowhere else in the world where you can turn, and see the glory of Jesus Christ.
In the next verse, Peter tells us to pay attention to God’s Word. But that really is our problem, isn’t it? We don’t pay attention. God gives us this amazing gift, the Bible, and we really don’t care. “Ahh,” we say, “it’s just a bunch of made-up stories. There’s nothing in there that can really help me. There are things on TV that are more helpful to me. I’d rather look for stuff on the internet. The Bible is not really that helpful to me.” And so we push God’s Word away. We make excuses – lack of time, lack of energy – we don’t pay attention to this treasure that God has given to us, and we defend our sin with all kinds of excuses.
And as a result, we miss things like what Peter talks about this morning. We miss seeing Jesus transfigure before his disciples. We miss seeing all the things that Jesus has done for us. Eventually, Jesus becomes a distant stranger, someone we really don’t know, because we have shut the window, we have pushed away the Bible..
My friends, there are some terrible consequences for ignoring the Bible. When we ignore God’s Word, we lose sight of who Jesus is. And when that happens, we lose our salvation. We die without knowing who God really is, how he has saved us, and our souls descend into hell. We are guilty of the sin of pushing God’s Word away, and we need to repent.
But there is some great news. You see, the Bible not only reveals things like Christ’s transfiguration. It also reveals why God forgives you. On a different mountain, shortly after Jesus was transfigured, he was crucified. Shortly after being glorified, he was humiliated. Shortly after having God the Father speak well of him, God the Father turned his back on him. The crucifixion of Jesus Christ is the opposite what happened on the Mount of Transfiguration. There Jesus dies and takes away the sins of the world.
This is why God forgives you. This is why God lets you into heaven. This is why God loves you and takes care of you. Why? Because Jesus Christ, 2000 years ago, took your place and my place and allowed God the Father to punish him for the sins of the world. God forgives us for brushing off the Bible. God forgives us for not paying attention to him, for ignoring him, for thinking that you are too busy to spend time with him in his Word. God forgives us, because Jesus paid for our sins on the cross.
This is why we love the Bible. It may not be as flashy as HDTV, and it may not be as technological as the internet, but it shows you something that you can’t learn anywhere else. It shows you Jesus Christ, your God and Savior, who takes away your sin, who brings you God’s forgiveness.
But can you trust the Bible? Lots of people say yes. Lots of people say no. In our world today, it’s hard to trust anything. You can’t really trust the media. In Canada, on the front page of a bunch of their newspapers, there was the story of a little boy whose dog was strangled by a bunch of thugs. The poor little boy!. As a result of this article, money from all over the world was pouring in to help the poor little boy buy a new dog. But the article was wrong! What actually happened, was that the boy accidentally strangled his dog while playing with it, and made up the story. The article was wrong! You can’t trust everything you read.
What about the Bible? Can you trust it? Or are parts of it wrong? Is it 100% secure, 100% free from false doctrine?
There’s been a lot of things on the news about security in our country. The Olympics now, the Superbowl last week – lots of security. All that security is nice, but can you completely trust it? On ESPN radio
this past week, a sports writer, Rick Reilly, was telling Dan Patrick, the host, how he hooked up with a 72 year old man who has been sneaking into the superbowl for 32 straight years. He’s made it onto the field a number of times. He’s even stood on the Superbowl winner’s platform with Vince Lombardi and Pete Rozelle, even though he didn’t belong there. Anyway, Rick Reilly watched him this year. If there was ever a year he wouldn’t be able to sneak in, it would be this year, with all the extra security. Did he make it in? Yes, in under six minutes. 33 years in a row now. You can’t completely trust security, no matter how good it is. A 72 year old man can overcome the FBI, the Secret Service, the National Guard, the US Marshalls.
How about the Bible? Can you completely trust it? Isn’t it possible that some false ideas have snuck in there, even just one or two? The world says that there are mistakes in here, that it’s not 100% accurate. Lots of churches say that there are mistakes in the Bible. But what does God say?
God says, “Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation.” This isn’t something man-made. “For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man.” This is not something human, God tells us. Sure, God used human beings to write down what he wanted them to say. But what they wrote down was not human, not from the will of man. “But men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit."” What you have here is from God the Holy Spirit.
Sometimes in a movie, people will find a strange piece of metal, and they take that metal to the lab, and they study that strange piece of metal. And the scientist looks at everyone with wide eyes and says, “I have never seen something like this before. This is not from this earth!” And then, during the movie, it turns out to be something from outer space.
You have something that is not from this earth. It’s called the Bible. God the Holy Spirit used human beings to write these words down, but these words are from God. And if these are God’s words, you can trust them. When God says to you, “Here is how you get to heaven” – you can trust him. When God says to you, “Jesus has taken all your sins away, and I forgive you,” you can trust him. Whatever God says here, whatever promise he makes to you, you can trust.
This is why we care about the Bible. It reveals the most amazing things in the world. And it’s the one thing in the world you can trust, more than anything else. Amen.
