The Bible: Seven Things It Can Do For You

KNOWLEDGE OF SIN

BUT EVIL MEN AND SEDUCERS SHALL WAX WORSE AND WORSE...BUT CONTINUE THOU IN THE THINGS WHICH THOU HAST LEARNED… VV13, 14

For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Romans 3:23

It is by the Word of God that we KNOW that we are sinners.

It is also by the Holy Bible that we know what sin is…

Sin is transgression of the law… 1 John 3:4

Sin is basically falling far short of the standard that God has set.

That standard is in the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20).

Sin is missing the mark.

ILL IN SERMON CENTRAL BANK: STORY OF MISSING THE MARK AT CAMDEN PARK

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Romans 6:23

WISDOM OF SALVATION

AND THAT FROM A CHILD THOU HAS KNOWN THE HOLY SCRIPTURES, WHICH ARE ABLE TO MAKE THEE WISE UNTO SALVATION V15

Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. John 5:24

The scriptures have told us about our problem of sin.

The scriptures have told us the penalty for our sin.

Now the scriptures tell us the solution for the problem.

The scriptures tell us that God has already proved His love to us…

But God commendeth (proved) His love for us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8

The scriptures further tell us what to do…

That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. Romans 10:9-11

IMPORTANCE OF FAITH

FAITH WHICH IS IN CHRIST JESUS V.15

So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Romans 10:17

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1

Put in plain, everyday language this says, Faith is the confident assurance that something we want is going to happen. It is the certainty that what we hope for is waiting for us, even though we cannot see it up ahead.

ILL 1: FAITH IN THE LIGHT SWITCH

PROFITABLE FOR DOCTRINE V.16

Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts. 10 For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little Isaiah 28:9-10

Precept means “a rule of moral conduct.”

In order for us to know how to live, we must submit ourselves to precepts and doctrines one at a time, starting with the basics, then moving on to the more complex.

Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine.

1 Timothy 4:13

Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. 10 If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house… 2 John 1:9-10

In order for us to know Godly doctrine from false doctrine, we must get to know the genuine Word of God.

ILL 2: THE STORY OF THE GOOD PIZZA

Perhaps Abraham Lincoln said it best, “I believe in the supremacy of the human conscience, and that men are responsible beings; that God has a right to hold them, and will hold them, to a strict personal account for the deeds done in the body.”

VALUE OF CONVICTION

PROFITABLE FOR...REPROOF V.16

Reproof here means “a proof, that by which a thing is proved or tested,” or “conviction.”

The choice before us is plain: Christ or chaos, conviction or compromise, discipline or disintegration. I am rather tired of hearing about our rights and privileges as American citizens. The time is come—it is now—when we ought to hear about the duties and responsibilities of our citizenship.—US Senate Chaplain Peter Marshall

Poverty and shame shall be to him that refuseth instruction: but he that regardeth reproof shall be honoured. Proverbs 13:18

BLESSING OF RECONSTUCTION

PROFITABLE FOR...CORRECTION V.16

Profitable here is referring to setting things right. It is a restoration to an upright state and an improvement of life.

EX: RECONSTRUCTION From 1865 through the late 1870’s, our country went through a time that may have been as difficult as the Civil War that spawned it: the Reconstruction Era. The suppression of Confederate Nationalism was achieved through forced martial law. The invasion of Freedmen, Scalawags and Carpetbaggers inspired such radical groups as the Redeemers and the Ku Klux Klan. But through it all, the nation was trying to set things right, attempting to improve the life of its citizens, and become an upright nation once again. Isn’t it great to know God’s reconstruction plan is much better and easier?