I. TWO-EDGED MEANS IT HAS NO BLUNT SIDES – No Dull Edges!
A. No Part Of It Is “Dull” - No Part Of The Bible Is Useless To The Believer Today
1. The New Testament and Old Testament together contain…
a. 3,586,483 letters
b. 773,693 words
c. 31,373 verses
d. 1,179 chapters
e. and 66 books
2. No part – I repeat – No part is useless to the Believer today
a. Matt 5:17-19 "Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. 18 For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.”
b. Rev 22:18-19 “For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; 19 and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.”
3. Find something of life-application value in every single chapter of Bible
B. Quick Examples Of Obscure “Useless” Verses That Take On Whole New Significance
1. Gen 6:4 “There were giants on the earth in those days . . . when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men and they bore children to them.”
a. sons of God = godly / daughters of men = ungodly
b. intermarriage – product of which were these giants
c. speaks to unequal yoke – product of which is giant of problem
2. Lev 4:1-4 Now the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, "Speak to the children of Israel, saying: ‘If a person sins unintentionally against any of the commandments of the LORD in anything which ought not to be done, and does any of them . . . then let him offer to the LORD for his sin which he has sinned a young bull without blemish as a sin offering.”
a. sinning through ignorance, lack of consideration, carelessness
b. doesn’t represent our true heart, motives, or interests
c. “I didn’t mean to” isn’t enough to get you off the hook
d. take responsibility, accept the consequences, pay the price
3. Numbers 34 – Boundaries of Canaan – a real snoozer until we realize…
a. in life, God has set boundaries for us
b. boundaries help us know our limits of power, control, authority
c. find contentment within those boundaries, not busting them
4. Song 3:1-4 “By night on my bed I sought the one I love; I sought him, but I did not find him. "I will rise now," I said, "And go about the city; in the streets and in the squares I will seek the one I love." I sought him, but I did not find him. The watchmen who go about the city found me; I said, "Have you seen the one I love?" Scarcely had I passed by them, when I found the one I love. I held him and would not let him go, until I had brought him to the house of my mother, and into the chamber of her who conceived me.”
a. isolation in marriage – drifting from intimacy – old problem
b. three steps on how to recover that feeling of “nearness”
step 1 = don’t procrastinate – step out to make the 1st move
step 2 = humble yourself & enlist help – counseling, resources
step 3 = once you find it, don’t ever get sloppy again
II. TWO-EDGED SWORD MEANS IT CUTS EVERY DIRECTION
A. It Cuts To The Left as well as The Right
1. Matt 16:6 Then Jesus said to them, "Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees ."
a. Pharisees were the spiritual/political right
b. Sadducees were the spiritual/political left
c. Word of God cut both directions without fear or favor
2. In the political and social and all other arenas – the Word of God still cuts with out fear or favor - it cuts the left and it cuts to the right
B. It Cuts Up as well as Down
1. Without fear or favor to social class (Gal 3:28-29 “There is neither Jew nor Greek , there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”)
2. without fear or favor to gender
3. without fear or favor to economic status
4. without fear or favor to educational accomplishment
C. It Cuts In as well as Out
1. In Romans, the Bible cuts inwardly
a. Rom 3:28 “Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law.”
b. Matt 23:25-26 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also.”
2. In James, the Bible cuts outwardly
a. James 2:17 “Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.”
b. I still believe in the 10 commandments (read Exodus 20:2-17)
c. I also believe in the Fruit of the Spirit (read Galatians 5:22-26)
III. TWO-EDGED SWORD MEANS IT CUTS WHATEVER COMES NEAR IT
1. During 1800’s in the days John Wesley, there was another great preacher – Whitfield
2. Preaching gospel wasn’t always popular or accepted – often opposed
3. Thorpe = one of Whitfield’s most violent opponents
a. was a member of the “Hell-Fire” club
b. maybe like “Hell’s Angels” of today
3. One evening, Thorpe, and three others, laid a wager who could best imitate and ridicule Whitfield’s preaching.
a. each was to open the Bible at random
b. preach extemporaneously from first verse that presented itself
c. Thorpe’s three competitors each went through the game with impious buffoonery
4. Stepping upon the table, Thorpe exclaimed, "I shall beat you all."
a. they gave him the Bible
b. his eye fell first upon this verse, "Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish."
c. He read the words and began to the preaching & mocking
d. imitated Evangelist George Whitfield with remarkable accuracy
e. even his very tone and manner
5. But as he did, the sword of the Spirit went through Thorp’s soul
a. in the middle of the mocking, got convicted by his own words
b. ended up converting himself
c. intending to mock, he could only fear and tremble
d. stepped down from the table, withdrew from the room
e. eventually the “Hell-Fire” club folded
f. Whitfield would later become a great evangelist of Grace
B. God Would Rather You
1. If you must ridicule the Bible, ridicule it
a. if you must challenge it, challenge it
b. if you must doubt it, then doubt it
2. You see, God would rather you Ridicule the Bible, rather than reject it
a. challenge it rather than chuck it
b. doubt it rather than dismiss it
3. Because by maintaining some level of contact near that 2-edged sword, you’re likely to feel it’s sharp edge – pierced to soul
IV. WHAT EDGE OF GOD’S WORD CUT’S NEAREST TO YOU TODAY?
A. Let It Come Near
B. Let It
1. Cut through your clutter and confusion
2. Pierce & penetrate through to the source of your pain
3. Shave the surface or slice to the depths of the soul
V. INVITATION –
Isaiah 55:11 "So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it."
