The Word Of God Is Not Bound

THE WORD OF GOD IS NOT BOUND

2 Tim. 2:1-5, 8-9

INTRODUCTION

A. HUMOR

1. It was the 9th of July and the judge, a veteran, was in a good mood as he asked the prisoner, “What are you charged with?”

2. The defendant replied, “Your Honor, I was simply doing my 4th of July shopping early.” “That’s no offense,” said the judge. “How early were you doing this shopping?”

3. The defendant ducked his head a little and said, “Before the store opened.”

B. TEXT

“You, therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. 2 And what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, commit to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. 3 Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. 4 No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in the concerns of civilian life; he seeks to please the recruiter. 5 Also, if anyone competes as an athlete, he is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. 8 Keep your attention on Jesus Christ as risen from the dead and descended from David...according to my gospel. 9 I suffer for it to the point of being bound like a criminal, but God’s Word is not bound.” 2 Tim. 2:1-5, 8-9, HCSB.

C. THESIS

1. Under the Church of Santa Maria via Lata, on the Corse, in Rome, is an ancient house which is said to have been St. Paul's "hired house," where he dwelt during the two years of his abode in the Imperial City; and where, as tradition says, he converted his keeper, a soldier named Marcellus. In this house is to be seen an antique marble pillar and a rusty chain, hundreds of years old, riveted into it, bearing the Latin inscription: "Sed verbum Dei non est alligatum" — "The Word of God is not bound." [J. N. Norton]

2. We’re going to look at how the Word can’t be bound by Govts or religions, nor can our unworthiness hinder it, nor can it be stopped by any earthly power. The title of this message is, “The Word of God Is Not Bound.”

I. NOT BOUND BY FOREIGN RELIGIONS OR GOVTS

A. BIBLE ILLEGAL IN 52 COUNTRIES

1. The Voice of the Martyrs says that there are 52 countries where the Bible is banned, is illegal, or is severely restricted: Afghanistan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Maldives, Mauritania, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Yemen, Algeria, Bhutan, Brunei, China, Cuba, Djibouti, Eritrea, Kuwait, Laos, Libya, Malaysia, Morocco, Oman, Sudan, Tunisia, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Central African Republic, Colombia, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Iraq, Jordan, Kenya, Lebanon, Mali, Myanmar (Burma), Nepal, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Syria, Tanzania, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Vietnam.

2. If you are caught with a Bible in North Korea, not only will you face imprisonment, torture and even death – but also up to three generations of your family will!

3. Many ministries smuggle or carry God’s Word into banned countries. Radio and television stations beam programming from open nations into those countries who ban the Bible.

4. During the Cold War, Brother Andrew (van der Bijl), born in the Netherlands in 1928, operated like a Christian international spy, smuggling Bibles and Christian literature into communist Eastern Europe in the 1960s, and coordinating the delivery of a million Bibles into China via a tugboat manned by 20 missionaries in the 1980s.

5. No matter how hard they try to restrict it, THE WORD OF GOD CANNOT BE BOUND!

B. ILLUS.: CUSTOMS OFFICERS DON’T SEE IT

1. One time Brother Andrew approached the Communist Romanian border with his Volkswagen Beetle, which was packed with Bibles in secret compartments. He said, “I was told that the border guards would NOT pay me much attention and that I could cross the border unnoticed. However, the guards inspected all the cars ahead of me thoroughly and unpacked them. Even the engines of some vehicles were taken apart and the seats were removed!”

2. Praying, he realized that no wisdom of his could conceal his Bibles. God inspired him to pile the Bibles on the seat next to him, right in plain sight.

3. When he tried to present his documents, the customs-agent scanned his passport, glanced in his car and waved him through. He passed through the checkpoint within 30 seconds, and no one even saw the Bibles beside him!

C. PROPAGANDA CAN’T STOP IT

1. Governments and religions can’t LIMIT HOW GOD’S WORD PENETRATES THE HUMAN HEART. God has ways of reaching the hardest hearts and melting them.

2. A Brazilian man bought a New Testament and took it home intending to burn it. He lit the fire and tried to burn it, but it wouldn't burn.

3. As he spread out the pages so that it would burn more easily, his eye caught a phrase of the Sermon on the Mount, and he hurriedly flung it back into the fire.