All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work.
2 Timothy 3:16 - 17 (NRSVA)
The Bible has been called "The Divine Library". I’m told that the Vatican in Rome has a complete Bible that measures two feet thick. And they have a complete one that is only an inch square. Guides there tell tourists that the big one contains everything Eve said to Adam; the small one has everything Adam said.
More than 500 years ago Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press. The very first book in history to roll off the press was the Bible. The Bible has been the world’s best seller ever since. In October 1987 a Gutenberg original was purchased for over five million dollars. It was the largest price ever paid for a printed book.
Dan Brown, author of “The DaVinci Code” says we can’t trust it! Bernard Ramm, a Bible scholar says, A thousand times over, the death knell of the Bible has been sounded, the funeral procession formed, the inscription cut on the tombstone, and the committal read. But somehow the corpse never stays put. (1)
The Bible doesn’t go out of style; that doesn’t mean people put it to good use. U.S. News and World Report cited a survey that wanted to know what people believed about the Bible. Among the results:
a. 80% of Americans believe the Bible is the inspired Word of God.
b. 48% believe there is no one set of values that is right: 48%! (2)
Ladies and gentlemen, if the Bible is God’s Word, it is the only set of values that can possibly be right. He is God! Billy Graham was quoted as once saying, If the Bible is right nothing else matters; if it is wrong nothing matters.
If the Bible is indeed God’s final authority for all the decisions in church life, family life, interpersonal relationships, and business, then being a Bible-believing person, presupposes the fact that you are a Bible-behaving person!
How does that work? (Glad you asked). A Wycliffe missionary in a remote village of Papua New Guinea was translating the Bible into the native language for folks who had only recently begun hearing the Gospel. When the first chapters of Genesis were completed the attitude toward women changed dramatically, and overnight.
Previously women were treated as possessions. They had not realized that the woman had been specially formed out of the side of the man. When the Gospel confronted previously wrong thinking, these people immediately grasped the ideas of equality between the sexes, and began adjusting their behavior. The people heard, believed and obeyed. They changed; just like that! (3)
And that is what the Bible does best – confrontation and change. It confronts our silly human notions, and we change. We either conform to God’s Word, or we harden our hearts…but you cannot remain neutral about Holy Scripture.
Our text says that all scripture is “inspired”. The word “inspired” means God-breathed. Bishop Warren A. Candler was preaching to a large church group using as his text the story of Ananias and Sapphira, who lied to God and were struck dead. The old bishop roared: “God doesn’t strike people dead for lying like he used to. If he did, where would I be?” This got a laugh from his audience; then he added, “I tell you where I would be. I would be right here, preaching to an empty house.” (4)
There is a sense in which the house has been emptied. The DaVinci Code has raised the question-mark over the Holy Book. In short the hypothesis is that the ancient church tried to hide the truth by cutting stuff out of the Bible if it didn’t line-up with its teaching. (Now…there’s a novel idea…put heresy out of the Bible!)
In fact, many people are buying the theory Brown is presenting, which is that the Gospel accounts of the life, ministry, death and resurrection of Jesus is an unreliable account.
I want to give you an extended quote from Lee Strobel’s book, of an interview he conducted with Dr. Scot McKnight of Biola University, an expert in history and Scripture:
• Strobel: You’re claiming that Matthew, Mark, Luke and John are essentially reliable, but Dan Brown makes the claim that there were a lot more gospels than those four. In fact, he says there were over eighty gospels, and that Constantine got rid of the ones that said Jesus was just a mortal human being and only kept the ones that suited his agenda. That left Matthew, Mark, Luke and John – the ones that emphasize Jesus’ supernatural side and claim he’s the Son of God. What about that? If we have a skewed deck from which to retrace history, then we can’t really trust it, can we?
• McKnight: One of the alarming parts of Dan Brown’s so-called historical treatment of the rise of the Bible and the Gospels is that he claims that there were eighty gospels, from which people voted on which ones were most reliable. No one knows where he came up with eighty, because there aren’t that many. But what is most alarming is that the gospels that were not included in the New Testament are, in fact, much more supernatural. They present Jesus as much more magical than anything close to what we find in the New Testament.
So, in reality, his point is completely off base, because there is no evidence to support the idea that the gospels that were thrown away talk more about Jesus as a human being and the Gospels that we have talk more about Jesus as divine. It’s quite the opposite, as a matter of fact. (5)
Now, there is just so much information on this whole subject that we could spend many hours just on this issue alone, showing where Dan Brown is in error. We only have a short time frame for this teaching, so I must be careful with the time. I would rather spend the time in the Word of God, and let it speak for itself.
One of Wesley’s principles for understanding God was the authority of Scripture (this was his highest principle); but experience also was held high in determining his faith. The idea is, if you jump into Scripture, it will speak for itself, and it will do all the convincing you need.
One of the things of which I’m convinced, is that the Bible is right; you just have to look around. Recall our theme for the series:
I want to add two more texts to our thinking. Jesus has always been imitated by imposters and rejected by humanity. Isaiah spoke God’s prediction of that fact hundreds of years before Jesus was born:
He was despised and rejected by others; a man of suffering and acquainted with infirmity; and as one from whom others hide their faces he was despised, and we held him of no account. Isaiah 53:3 (NRSVA)
Jesus saw it firsthand. As he approached his final hour He wept for his people:
“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! Matthew 23:37 (NRSVA)
Our generation may be skeptical. But so were earlier generations. I can think of four very brilliant minds that were skeptics and started off to study the Scriptures and history with the express purpose of disproving the Gospels and the Bible – of putting this whole religion and God-thing to rest once-for-all. Each of them wound-up becoming believers, and eventually leaders in Christian thinking:
• Lee Strobel was a Yale law school graduate and an award-winning editor of the Chicago Tribune. He was an atheist and a God-hater. He set out to prove the Bible wrong. He now hosts “Faith Under Fire” – a TV program to show people how the Bible can be trusted.
• C.S. Lewis was a humanist…disillusioned by the death of his mother and the cold-heartedness of his father, as well as the horrors of the First World War. He became a college professor and attempted to disprove the existence of God. He became the 20th century’s leading defender of the faith.
• St. Augustine was the original prodigal son, breaking his Christian mother’s heart. He didn’t know his Mom was still praying for him. He set out to waste his life on partying. While thumbing his nose at God, the truth showed up, and it set him free.
• And who could leave off this list the Pharisee, Saul? Religious and wrong; Saul set out to not only disprove Christianity – he had designs on destroying anyone who got in the way. On his way to kill Christians at Damascus, Saul saw Jesus…then he went blind. Then God gave him a new name, and Paul wrote half of the New Testament for the love of Christ.
This morning I do not want to spend all our time shooting holes in Dan Brown’s fiction work he calls fact. Rather I would like to share with you seven reasons why I believe the Bible and study the Word of God. They are reasons that correspond to the needs I have for living life in a difficult world...
#1. I need truth
Romans 3:4 (NRSVA)
By no means! Although everyone is a liar, let God be proved true…
The ground often shakes in California. Big buildings, huge bridges and mountains are tossed around like Lincoln logs. But the truth never changes. The truth never becomes a lie. The truth is sturdy and will never let you down.
You may have heard about the butcher who was about to close-up for the day. Mrs. Brown, one of his picky customers came through the door, and asked for a chicken. The butcher laid the very last chicken he had in the store on the counter and said, Two pounds, three ounces; two dollars and six cents, please. Said Mrs. Brown, Not big enough. So the butcher took the small chicken with him to the back room, changed the wrapper, and brought the same bird out, and said, Two pounds, seven and-a-half ounces, two eighty-seven, as he started to wrap it up. Still too small, said Mrs. Brown, I’ll take them both.
As Paul said to the Roman church, judgment is a reality, and truth – the truth of God – will overcome. I study the Word of God because it is truth, and truth overcomes the natural and spiritual judgments I face as a sinful human being. The truth of Jesus sets me free from condemnation.
#2. I need strong faith
So faith comes from what is heard,
and what is heard comes through the word of Christ.
Romans 10:17 (NRSVA)
Notice the promise and the precept. Faith is available for the trials of life..."faith comes"; that is the promise. The precept is the fact that faith comes ON GOD’S TERMS.
If you desire to have faith to overcome the trials of life, it comes via the reading, understanding and practice of, God’s Word. Dr. Billy Graham once said that the faith and works concept of "hearing and doing" work like breathing. Faith is taking in the gospel; Works is taking the gospel out to the world. The Bible provides me the breath of new life, and I carry that into the world.
If you wish to have a strong faith you must feed it on the Word of God. It is like finding two stray dogs. Suppose those dogs you find have no use for each other, and fight all the time? If you feed and care for the one, while starving the other; soon you will have one of those strays healthy and strong, while the other keeps getting weaker. What will happen when they fight?
In the same way, if you feed your spirit on God’s Word, and starve the selfish nature, you will be stronger when the tests and storms of life start to rage.
#3. I need wisdom
If any of you is lacking in wisdom, ask God,
who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly, and it will be given you. James 1:5 (NRSVA)
To go along with faith is a need for wisdom to apply the strength. We live in a fallen world. Survival is tricky without help. A pilot contacted the tower and asked for help. He said I’m 300 miles from the runway, out of fuel, and only 200 feet off the ground. What do I do? Said the tower control voice, Repeat after me, Our Father, which art in heaven... It takes a lot of wisdom to live a godly life in a godless society. It is available for those who ask.
A sign was noticed in a school principal’s office that said,
IN CASE OF NUCLEAR WAR, FIRE,
OR EARTHQUAKE, THE BAN ON PRAYER
WILL BE TEMPORARILLY LIFTED."
Real wisdom is that which teaches us to depend on God. Danny Simpson took an old "hand-me-down" Cold .45, and robbed a bank in Ontario, Canada. He got $6,000. When the Mounties caught-up with Danny they confiscated the gun. When the lab technician processed the weapon for fingerprints, he recognized it as a valuable collector’s item. Danny had owned a gun worth $100,000. He simply never imagined; much the same as believers who have a priceless availability of God’s wisdom. We simply must ask!
#4. I need to see beauty
to provide for those who mourn in Zion—
to give them a garland instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
the mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
the planting of the LORD, to display his glory.
Isaiah 61:3 (NRSVA)
The human mind understands most concepts as pictures.
• Isaiah saw the Lord Jesus as receiving the ashes of our lives, and returning the beauty of new life...
• He would take our mourning and lavishly anoint us with the oil of gladness...
• the resurrected Lord takes the heaviness of sorrow and turns it into praise we wear like an elegant gown of triumph.
Every time I have ever gone to God’s Word with a need I have always found that He had already anticipated and provided better than I could ever ask. Beauty is not in the eye of the beholder, it is in the living Word of God.
#5. I need encouragement
David was in great danger; for the people spoke of stoning him, because all the people were bitter in spirit for their sons and daughters. But David strengthened himself in the LORD his God.
1 Samuel 30:6 (NRSVA)
During the war with Israel’s enemies, the Amalekites, David suffered a humiliating defeat. One of his cities was looted, burned, and the inhabitants (including two of David’s wives) were taken captive. David’s leadership was in question. The people he led talked of stoning the king.
And it is recorded that ...David encouraged himself in the Lord his God. I have been at the low place. I have been so discouraged I wanted to quit, just give up. When I turn to God’s Word I find encouragement. God hasn’t forgotten my address.
We all need an encouraging word. In an early pastorate I had, as a gift from God, Missy Coleman. Missy was in her eighties then, and she always had an encouraging word! Once, after a lively (angry) business meeting I was so discouraged. Missy followed me into the breezeway between the sanctuary and education building. From behind she caught my arm. Turning me around, she said (in that South Georgia sweet drawl and mouthful of smile), Why preacher…..it’s a-goin’ ta be jus’ fine. Missy had no clue! She didn’t know what God was going to do…but she knew the God who would do something! And she knew how to encourage me with that knowing!
Now, that’s a far cry from the man who had a negative neighbor. Everything that was said in the neighbor’s presence brought some bummer of a remark. The man thought, I gotta put an end to this. One day he got his chance. A man who sold him a beautiful golden retriever. The dog could run so fast that when hunting he would appear to be skipping across the water to retrieve ducks that had been brought down. It was simply amazing to see the dog “walking on the water.”
The next week he invited his negative neighbor to go duck hunting. Showing off the new dog, the man remarked, isn’t he beautiful? The negative neighbor grunted, kinda puny for a retriever. He runs well, said the man. Negative Nick growled, not with them big feet. Suddenly there were ducks flying. Bang, bang…both men brought down several targets.
In a flash the retriever was skipping across the water…three trips, not a drop of water above his paws. Well, what’cha think about that, asked the man? Said the neighbor, Why, that mutt cain’t even swim, can he?
That is so different than Jesus. The Word of God tells me God is rooting for me. God thinks I’m special....special enough to have His only Son die for me. I am encouraged by God’s Word.
#6. I need peace
And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding,will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:7 (NRSVA)
If you listen to the humanists, and the new-agers, peace will be found in achieving status, cleaner air, protected species and better education. Now, I am interested in protecting our environment, and education, and preserving the earth God said to subdue. But, frankly I want no part of any kind of peace the world can offer.
Jesus said His peace was not like the world’s peace, fleeting and fading. Jesus’ peace is the everlasting kind that no circumstances can touch. It is the peace of God that passes all understanding. It is the peace of knowing Jesus lives inside!
Herbert Hoover was asked one time if all the criticism of his presidency didn’t at least irk him. Hoover’s answer was, Oh, no. I never am bothered by that. When I went into politics I knew what I should expect. So when it came I wasn’t upset. Besides, I have peace at the center, you know.
#7. I need to obey
Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved by him, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly explaining the word of truth.
2 Timothy 2:15 (NRSVA)
The Word of God is my truth, my faith, my wisdom, all beauty, my encouragement and peace. But above all, it is my guide for every choice I must make. I have discovered that obedience brings the laughter of the redeemed. No people laugh with more sincerity or reason than the people of God.
My friend was told some time ago that his heart didn’t work right. The tests showed the bottom half was on vacation. Emergency! Operate! Doctors! Scary words. My friend knew enough what God’s Word said - Call for the elders of the church....Pray! We did. And the doctors did some more tests.
One more coincidence - the doctor said, You must’ve mobilized the whole world to pray for you, son. There isn’t a thing wrong with your heart now! When my friend called me again to let me know, we laughed the laughter of the redeemed one more time! Obedience lets you do that!
A man once said, I cannot believe in this Jesus and all the church says about Him until I see Him. The response of a minister to him was, You’ll never see Him until you believe in Him.
Faith takes a leap. Feel like jumping?
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ENDNOTES
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1) Lee Strobel quoting Bernard Ramm in Exploring the DaVinci Code (Zondervan, 2006), p.50.
2) “To Verify”, U.S. News & World Report, 4/4/94
3) Steve Arterburn and Jack Felton, More Jesus, Less Religion, (Sisters, Oregon: Waterbrook Press, 2000), 116. (adapted)
4) John Gullick, What To Do With God’s Word, SermonCentral.com
5) Poole & Strobel, Exploring the DaVinci Code (Grand Rapids, Zondervan, 2006), p.38-39.
