A Bible without Trust
2 Timothy 3:16
1 Peter 1:23-25
Intro
Since the beginning of time in the Garden of Eden, Satan has been attacking the Word of God, trying to lead people astray.
Satan attacks the Word from the outside. He rises up people like Caesar to try to crush the Word. But he also attacks it from the inside also. He places Trojan horses in the church to lead people astray. He brings up liberals to get people to think that the Word cannot be trusted; false prophets who teach that the Bible is what you want it to be for you, and false translators who have translate the Word into their own words.
Satan’s attacks have caused a great illiteracy of the bible among church goers. Let’s be truthful with ourselves today. How many of us can say that we truly know the Bible the way we should.
This morning I want us to take a look at some things we should know about the Bible.
READ TEXT
I. The Bible is the indisputable Word of God
a. 1,000 times throughout the Bible the word is referred to as the “Word of God”
b. Why would it be referred this way:
i. God is speaking to us
i. When you open the Word of God to read from it, it is the same as having God speaking directly to you.
ii. You are not receiving a second hand story, but receiving the story directly from the source.
ii. It is perfect like God
i. The Old Testament supports the New Testament, and vice versa.
ii. The Bible doesn’t contradict itself, even though we do our best to contradicting our teachings of the Word.
iii. It has the power to save souls
iv. It is the assurance of salvation
v. It is real and relevant today like Christ.
II. The Bible is the incorruptible Word of God
a. It is free from tarnishing and stain
b. Nothing can stain the Word of God no matter how hard they try.
i. Year after year, people try to disprove the Word of God.
ii. One day science will catch up to the Word of God and stop trying to discount it.
c. It is perfect!
III. The Bible is God’s indestructible Word
a. The words of today will be used to wrap fish tomorrow, but the Word of God is here to stay.
b. Every infidel that tried to destroy the Bible has passed away and been buried, but the Bible keeps marching on.
IV. The Bible is the indispensable Word of God
a. It cannot be replaced, it is the same Word that provided messages to the church in the beginning and still today.
b. The gospel that is preached today is the same gospel that disciples carried with them.
c. The messages of the gospel don’t need to be re-thought, just taught again.
i. The word of God is not to be changed, because the world is changing.
ii. The Word of God remains as a constant in a every changing world.
iii. If there is one thing you can count on, it is the Word of God.
i. You move away from home and come back 20 years later and you are going to have a hard time recognizing things, because they have changed with time.
ii. Yet, the Word of God is still the same.
V. What do we need to do?
a. Get back to the basics of the Bible
i. Read it systematically
i. Just don’t fling open the Word and start to read where ever your finger lands.
ii. Have a plan for reading the Bible through.
a. It is sad to say that less then 25% of Christians today have read the entire Bible from cover to cover.
b. I would encourage each and every one of you to read it all the way through. If you have already done so, read it again.
i. You will be surprised what you can learn the second time around.
ii. Let me give you some good advice to those that have never done so though, don’t start in Genesis, if you do you will quit before you even get through Deuteronomy.
iii. Start in the Gospels or the book of James
ii. Study it
i. There is a BIG difference between reading and studying the Bible
ii. To read the bible is to skim through its pages, hearing the stories, history, songs, prophecy, and gospel.
iii. But to study the Word is to dig into the Word to pull up the rich treasures within.
a. So pull out your commentaries, dictionaries, and others resources to help you.
b. If you don’t have a lot of resources, then stop by the church library. They have everything you need and then some.
iii. Memorize it
i. The chances are that you are not going to have your Bible with you, when you need it most.
ii. But, if you start to memorize the scriptures, you can take those with you every where you go.
I really enjoy history, especially military history and one thing that I have always found when reading about the stories of POW’s, is that they would say that having the Word of God with them in their heart help them make it through. Because the enemy could take away just about everything from them, but they could not take the gospel message from their hearts and the promises it proclaims.
iv. Share it
v. Live it
i. The Word of God is not a novel to be read and then placed back on the book shelf.
ii. The Word of God is a “How To” book.
iii. God didn’t pour out all He has to offer in the Bible for us not to use it.
Closing
God loved us so much to give us His only begotten son, that we may have life and have it abundantly. But he didn’t just stop there. He didn’t calls us and then expect us to figure it all out on our own. No he has given us His perfect Word to carry us through. That we maybe able to life our lives according to His purpose and have hope for tomorrow. So don’t just carry your Bible with you on Sunday to church, but make it apart of your daily life and put your trust into it, for it will not lead you astray.
