Introduction:
One of the questions that I hear people ask a lot is, “How is the Church of Christ different from this group or that group? What makes you distinctive?” I won’t go into a full and complete answer of that question this morning, but one of the things that makes us who we are is our attitude toward the Word of God. The authority of the scriptures is one of our very foundations. It is our desire to understand the word of God more completely and to use it as a guide as we strive to apply it to our daily lives.
The Bible is a book that over the years has provoked a lot of different opinions. Mark Twain once said, "[The Bible] has noble poetry in it; and some clever fables; and some blood-drenched history; and some good morals; and a wealth of obscenity; and upwards of a thousand lies." On the other hand, Woodrow Wilson once said, "When you have read the Bible, you will know it is the Word of God."
The attitude of most folks in this country seems to lie somewhere in between those two extremes. One Christian writer, Thom Rainer, writes about this subject and he makes a reference to an episode from the long-running sitcom Cheers that seems to depict the strange relationship that many people have with the Bible in America. In this particular episode, the bartender Sam says that that he has undergone a moral awakening and transformation. He has made a new promise to God — to live a celibate life from that day forward. His commitment is strong — until an old girlfriend shows up with a proposition. Unfortunately, Sam is overcome and leaves the bar with her.
The scene the next day has Sam’s buddies at the bar asking about his fall from grace. To their amazement, he says that "nothing happened." And he begins to relate his "spiritual" experience at the motel they went to. He happened to open a drawer in the bedside table. And, to his amazement, there was a Bible in it!
To get away from it, he took his would-be lover to a second motel. Sure enough, there was a Bible there too! Five motels later, he finally gave up, told the woman he couldn’t go through with it, and went home. Norm, Frasier, and Cliff didn’t have the heart to tell him about Gideon Bibles. They let him think that God had miraculously held him to his vow with a series of supernaturally-placed Bibles. They’d been there all along. Sam had simply never paid attention to them.
Thom Rainer draws a parallel and he says, "Such is the plight of American Christianity in the past few decades. We have the Bibles, but we never see them. Almost every home in our nation has one or more Bibles, but our citizens are biblically illiterate."
That’s an accurate assessment. A lot of people in this country will affirm the Bible as God’s written word, but then seem to know or do little about it. In a recent Gallup Poll, 82% of Americans said they believed the Bible was in some sense the word of God -- I’m amazed at how high that number is -- yet half of them couldn’t name one of the four gospels.
A poll by the Associated Press found the same thing -- most people say they read the Bible regularly, but less than half of them could tell who preached the Sermon on the Mount. In yet another survey by the Barna Research Group, over 600 adults were asked some questions about the Bible. Among the “Christians” answering, only 61% knew the book of Jonah was in the Bible; 39% thought it wasn’t. Ten percent thought Joan of Arc was Noah’s wife, and 16% were sure the New Testament contained a book written by Thomas the apostle.
I share all that with you not to put anyone down, but to make the observation that it’s one thing to say, “I believe the Bible is the Word of God” and something else altogether to believe that truth such that it makes a difference in what we learn and how we live.
I don’t want to suggest that affirming that the Bible as God’s word means that we all must become Bible trivia experts. There are people who know the Bible well but seem to have no clue as to what it is about. Just as there are people who memorize tons of trivial statistics about football, but never play the game or even attend a game. I like football statistics, but it’s the game that counts, not just storing up information only to be used in trivial ways. In the same way, we should study the Bible for its information, but it’s knowing, serving, and loving God that truly counts. It’s the living of it that makes the difference.
But the Bible is the foundation for what we believe and how we act. We want to be known as a church that exalts Jesus Christ and establishes the direction of our lives from the teaching of the Bible, God’s word.
I want to share with you this morning five basic beliefs regarding the Word of God on which we take our stand as a church:
I. The Bible is Inspired
In the passage that was read for us at the beginning of our worship, the apostle Paul wrote, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
There are several different ideas about the inspiration of the Bible. There are some people who believe that certain men are inspired in the sense that they are exceptionally talented. In this sense, one might say that Shakespeare was inspired, Michaelangelo was inspired, Beethoven was inspired. These folks would say that the Bible is a beautiful book written by some very talented men. But that’s not at all what Paul meant when he said that "all scripture is given by inspiration of God".
The Greek word that he used here is especially important. Literally translated, it means, “God-breathed.” Scripture is God-breathed. What he’s saying here is that God breathed out Scripture. God spoke it. It is the very word of God.
Combine that with what Peter says in 2 Peter 1:20-21: “knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.”
Peter is talking specifically about the Old Testament prophets and he says that scripture doesn’t come from any human source. It isn’t a question of some men having intimacy with God and knowing God and watching God work and then writing down their best understandings of God. It’s not that. Scripture did not arise from a human source.
“Prophecy never came by the will of man.” Nobody ever said -- no matter how noble they might have been, or how godly they might have been -- "I think I’ll write some Scripture this evening." No one has ever said that and done that. Some may have said it but they didn’t do it. No prophecy was ever made by an act of the human will. Rather, men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.
And although the Bible was written by men, they were not its ultimate author. Scripture is truly and actually God’s word. Although written in human vocabulary and at times and under circumstances we study as normal human history, it was the activity of the Holy Spirit in those prophets that determined the outcome of their speaking and writing. Someone has described it like sunshine passing through a stained-glass window -- it took on the "coloring" of a given author’s personality, yet provided light and warmth only because it was coming from the God who is light. They spoke from God, writing exactly what God wanted said. That’s what inspiration is.
David wrote, "The Spirit of the Lord spoke by me, and his word was on my tongue." (II Samuel 23:2). Jeremiah said, "Then the Lord put forth his hand and touched my mouth, and the Lord said to me: ’Behold, I have put words in your mouth.’" (Jeremiah 1:9).
One Bible researcher counted more than 3,800 times when the writers of scripture used some variant of the formula, "The Word of the Lord came to me, saying...."
In I Thessalonians 2:13, Paul said, “For this reason we also thank God without ceasing, because when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe.”
Do you see why it’s so significant that we be certain about this? If this is not the Word of God, if this book was written by mere humans, writing down their own ideas and making empty claims about someone they call Jehovah or Jesus, then I have no responsibility at all to read it or follow it. It might make for interesting reading. It might even offer some good moral principles, but they would still be of no greater importance than those offered by Mohammed or Buddha, Confucius or Plato.
But if, on the other hand, this really is God’s Word, the very thoughts of the Creator of this universe, then we have a responsibility, an obligation, to sit up and listen to what he has to say. And, beyond that, a responsibility to alter our thinking, to change our lives. This book becomes the absolute truth and the final authority for everything we do or say. The Bible is inspired.
II. The Bible is Infallible
That is to say that everything that it affirms is absolutely true. If it says something about capital punishment, and it does, then what it says is true. If it says something about homosexuality, what is says is absolutely true. If it says something about marriage and divorce, what it says is true. If it says something about worship, what it says is absolutely true. If it says something about Jesus Christ, what it says is true. If it says something about the nature of man, what it says is absolutely true. Because it is inspired, because it is the Word of God, it is infallible.
Everything it says historically is true. Everything it says prophetically is true. Everything it says spiritually is true. Everything it gives us in terms of direction in life is absolutely true. It is infallible. That’s why it’s our standard for what we believe and practice.
III. The Bible is Sufficient
Paul said to the young man Timothy, “But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.” (2 Timothy 3:14-15)
Paul says, “The scriptures are sufficient to teach you what you need to do to find salvation.”
Furthermore, he said, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
The scriptures not only contain what we need to find salvation; they contain what we need to be made complete or mature. Other books help us to understand this book, but all spiritual truth necessary for life and godliness is found in this book. We don’t need this book plus this or that collection of church doctrines. We don’t need the Bible plus the writings of this person or that person. We don’t need the Bible plus this or that philosophy. The word of God is sufficient.
There’s an interesting situation described by Jesus in Luke 16 where Jesus tells about Lazarus, the beggar, full of sores and the rich man. You remember Lazarus died and went to Abraham’s bosom, the place of blessing. The rich man died and went to Hades where he was tormented. And the rich man said, "I have five brothers, and I don’t want them to come here.” He said, “Please send Lazarus back from the dead to tell them, so that they don’t end up in this place of torment.” In verse 29, “Abraham said to him, ‘They have Moses and the prophets, let them hear them.’" That’s the Word of God. He says, “Let them read the Word of God!”
The rich man says, “No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.” (Luke 16:30). Tell me that wouldn’t be some powerful incentive to live right -- to have someone come back from the dead and tell you for certain what’s waiting on the other side.
But in verse 31, Jesus shares with us these words of Abraham: “If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.” Why? Because the Word of God is powerful enough. The Word of God is sufficient. It’s all we need to show us how we ought to live.
The Bible is sufficient to make us wise unto salvation. It is sufficient to give us the doctrine, the reproof, the correction, and the instruction needed for righteousness. It is sufficient to make a man of God perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works, lacking nothing. The Word of God is absolutely sufficient.
IV. The Bible is Authoritative
That is to say that when it speaks you better listen. It’s not a book of suggestions. It is not a book to be put alongside other books. It is not a book on an equal level with the writings of Confucius or Buddha or Muhammad. It is not a book on a par with the writings of other ethicists through the years. It is not a book to be compared with other religious musings and writings or put beside Aristotle and Plato, or the writings of some other philosopher. It alone is authoritative.
Isaiah 1:2 says, "Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth, for the Lord hath spoken." This is an authoritative book. Right and wrong is not determined by a popularity contest, and it’s not determined by a poll, it’s determined by what God has said.
In the ministry of Jeremiah, one of the unhappiest assignments that he had as a prophet was to speak against the leaders of his nation who had misled the people. The prophets had failed, the priests had failed, the scribes had failed. The wise men of the nation had failed in leading them to the truth of God and to righteousness. And in Jeremiah 8:9 there’s a summary of the tragedy of that inept leadership.
Verse 9 says, “The wise men are ashamed, They are dismayed and taken. Behold, they have rejected the word of the LORD; So what wisdom do they have?” What Jeremiah is saying here is you can take all of your leaders, all of the educators, all of the experts on law and ethics and morality, and combine them all, it won’t help you a bit, because if you reject the word of the Lord, what kind of wisdom do you have? The implication is you don’t have any. Wisdom comes from God and it comes through His Word. And apart from His Word there is no real spiritual wisdom. This book is authoritative.
V. The Bible is Effective
In other words, it’s powerful. It changes lives. In Hebrews 4:12, "For the Word of God is living and effective, or active, and sharper than any two-edged sword." You talk about a weapon, I’ll tell you, the greatest weapon there is is the Word of God. It’s sharper than any other weapon. That’s what the writer is saying. It pierces as far as the dividing of soul and spirit. In other words, it gets way down into the heart and soul and nature of a person. It cuts deep. It penetrates the heart.
Reading the word of God is not the safest activity in which we can engage. This word jabs at us and cuts us. The first five books of the Bible are sometimes called The Torah, the root meaning of which is to throw something sharp, like a javelin, which hits the mark. I think the point is (if you’ll excuse the pun) is we are not to read just for information, but for transformation. This is a book that will change our lives if we allow it to.
I want to go back to a passage I read earlier from I Thessalonians 2:13, “For this reason we also thank God without ceasing, because when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe.”
Paul says, “We wanted you to grow and mature and change and develop, and that’s why we were so thrilled that you accepted what we had to say as the Word of God, because God’s word has the power to effectively work in you who believe. It will change your life. It will make you a better person. It’s a powerful book.”
I read about a converted African cannibal who sat reading his Bible. A European trader passed by and asked him what he was doing. When he said, "Reading the Bible”, the European said, "That book is out of date in my country.” The African said, "If it had been out of date here, you would have been eaten long ago." The Bible truly has the power to change people.
Conclusion:
Given that the Bible is inspired, infallible, sufficient, authoritative and effective, it makes sense that it demands a response from us. In John 8:47, Jesus said, "He that is of God hears God’s words. You therefore hear them not because you are not of God." Indifference to the Bible is a dead giveaway that one does not belong to God because if you belong to God, you’re going to hear God’s Word.
I’d like for every Christian to be a genuine biblical scholar, but I know that is both impractical and impossible. It is not unreasonable, however, to expect that every Christian should be a regular reader and prayerful student of Scripture. From the youngest member of this church to the oldest, our goal is to create an attitude toward the Word of God that will carry outside the walls of our classrooms and beyond the experience of a given worship assembly. We want people to revere Scripture as we understand the importance of Bible study.
In Acts 17:11, Luke said the Christians in Berea were regarded as more noble than those in Thessalonica because “they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily…” What a great statement. Spiritual nobility belongs to those who receive the Word of God with readiness of mind . What does that mean? With acceptance, with faith, with eagerness. They received the Word of God and they searched the scriptures every day. The key to adequate living is not the Bible plus a lot of stuff, it is the Word of God pursued with readiness and eagerness and searched out every day of one’s life.
The diligence with which you approach the study of Scripture which is so critical to the blessing of your life, so critical to your joy, so critical to your usefulness, so critical to the glory of God, the diligence with which you approach the study of Scripture is directly related to your view of Scripture...directly related. If you have a weak view of Scripture, I promise you that you will have a weak interest in it. It is the seriousness with which you hold this document that will compel you to be motivated to read it and to study it.
There’s a story that I’ve used before about a woman who went to a pet store the day after she had purchased a parrot. She said, "You told me the parrot would talk. It hasn’t said a word.” The store owner said, "Does it have a mirror? Parrots like to look at themselves in a mirror," said the salesperson. She bought a mirror. The next day she returned, announcing that the bird still wasn’t talking. "What about a ladder? Parrots enjoy walking up and down ladders." She bought a ladder and took it home. Sure enough the next day she was back, reporting no progress. "Does your cage have a swing? Parrots love to swing." She bought a swing and went home. The next day she returned sadly to announce that her parrot had died. "I’m terribly sorry to hear that," said the storekeeper. "Did the bird say anything before he died?" "Yes. It said, ’Don’t they sell any food at that store?’"
May our emphasis never be the mirror, or the ladder, or the swing. May it be the food, the nourishment that comes from a regular diet of God’s Word -- the inspired, infallible, sufficient, authoritative, effective Word of God.
