The Bible is alive. This is a special book, but why? What is so special about the Bible? Why did God want us to have a book and to have in writing the things he has said to us? We are going to examine these questions today in this sermon called Why the Bible?
The Bible is the most treasured and revered book in the world. I have personally watched people from China to Russia weep at receiving a copy of the word of God. They have treated it as a rare treasure to their life. And, a rare treasure it is.
The Bible contains the…
mind of God
state of man
way of salvation
doom of sinners
happiness of believers
Light to direct you
Comfort to cheer you.
The Bible is…
The traveler’s map
The pilgrim’s staff
The pilot’s compass
The soldier’s sword
The Christian’s charter
A mine of wealth
A paradise of glory
A river of pleasure
Its doctrines are holy
Its precepts are binding
Its histories are true
Its decisions are immutable
Christ is its grand subject
Our good its design
The glory of God its end.
Read it to be wise 2
Believe it to be safe
Practice it to be holy.
Read it slowly, frequently, prayer-fully.
The Bible should…
Fill the memory
Rule the heart
Guide the feet
It is given you in life
Will be opened at the judgment,
And be remembered forever.
It involves the highest responsibility
Will reward the greatest labor
and condemn all who trifle with its sacred contents.
The Bible is the Word of God.
Composed by authors hundreds of years apart. From different locations in the world from different vocations and socio-economic backgrounds these authors come into an agreement that would be impossible except for the aid of the supernatural.
John Alexander said:
“The Bible is the infallible revelation of the infallible God—which means that it is entirely trustworthy and reliable. Our attitude toward scripture is desperately
important.”
George Washington said:
“It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and the Bible.
John Quincy Adams said:
“So great is my veneration of the Bible that the earlier my children begin to read it, the more confident will be my hope that they will prove useful citizens of their country and respectable members of society.”
Abraham Lincoln said:
“I believe the Bible is the best gift God has ever given to man. All the good from the savior of the World is communicated to us through this book.”
Horace Greeley said: 3
“It is impossible to mentally or socially enslave a Bible-reading people. The principles of the Bible are the groundwork of human freedom.”
Charles Dickens said:
“The New Testament is the very best book that ever was or ever will be known in the world.”
Walter F. Burke who was General Manager of project Mercury and Gemini said: “I get from the Bible what I cannot get from Science–the really important things of life.”
But what is it about the Bible that makes so many people regard it so very highly?
I. It Endures
The Bible has demonstrated the ability to endure. Governments have changed. Seasons have come and gone. Political thought in the world has shifted. The entire global picture has endured great upheaval. World leaders, great philosophers, very good men and very bad men have come and gone but the Bible has continued on. It has endured like an impenetrable fortress. No other book has been so attacked, so maligned, so hated and so misused and yet, it has endured. (1 Peter 1:24-25 NIV) “For all men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord stands forever.” (Matthew 24:35) “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.” In a transient,
rapidly changing world we can rest on the Bible for it will remain and endure.
II. It is Life-Giving
This book is alive. The Bible is the inspired Word of God. (2 Timothy 3:16) All scripture is given by inspiration of God…” This word inspiration comes from the Greek word, which means to breath. Thus the entire Bible is given by the breath of
God. God’s life through the Holy Spirit fills the Bible. This is no ordinary book. (2 Peter 1:21 NIV) “For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” The Holy Spirit moved on men to speak the Word of God. Jesus said: (John 6:63) “It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.” The Bible is a living book. Martin Luther said: “The Bible is
alive, it speaks to me, it has feet, it runs after me. It has hands, it lays hold of me.” The Bible is unlike any other book I have ever read. Other books are complete after one or two readings but the Bible continues to speak in new and unique ways to
my heart each time I study it. It is an inexhaustible volume, which has no end. Because the Holy Spirit served as the breath of God by which the Bible was written it takes the same Holy Spirit to understand the word of God. Many people cannot understand the Bible because the relationship to the author is negligent or distant. A close relationship4 with the Lord is required if we are to understand scripture. God’s word lives to produce faith within us. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. When God’s word like seed is planted in our heart it produces a life of faith in the author of the
Word—-God himself. The Bible is unique because it endures, it is life giving—a living book and it is life changing.
III. It is Life-Changing
The Bible not only has the ability to inspire but it has the ability to change a person’s life. Diligent study of scripture combined with prayer will change a person’s outlook and behavior in life. Within the Bible are the great truths of Christ’s birth, life, death, and resurrection. If these truths are believed God teaches us that we can be saved. The Bible is more than a lasting literary piece, or an inspirational read to enrich our lives it is the Word of God to us. The Bible is meant to change our life and God will judge each of us by whether we have obeyed his words or not. At the judgment at the end of the world the books will be opened which means that the books of scripture will be opened to show the lost which of God’s laws they have transgressed.
(James 1:22-24) “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any
be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.” God’s Word is meant to be obeyed and it will change our life if we will allow it to.
(Hebrews 4:12 NIV) “For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” The Word of God is
said to be like a two-edged sword, able to pierce our thoughts and the intent of our heart. The Word of God is able to cut to the marrow of our life. Our bone marrow lies deep within our bones. It is in the marrow that the red blood cells; our very life source is produced. People every day in America receive bone marrow transplants to cause the bone marrow to produce cancer free cells and fight against the cancer in our life. God sends His Word to heal us from the inside out, from the marrow outward so that we can be made whole. This medicine of the Word does not always feel good to us. Many people don’t like the Bible because they don’t like what it says about their condition. Mark Twain once said: “Most people are bothered by those passages of scripture which they cannot understand, but as for me, I have always noticed that the passages in Scripture which trouble me most are those which I do understand.”
When God’s Word is clear about our condition we must change according to what the Bible reveals. If the Word is so unique—it endures, it is life giving and life changing then what should be our attitude toward it.
Our Attitude Toward The Bible
A. We Should Read IT!
The Library of Congress recently conducted a survey, which asked, “What book has most influenced your life?” The Bible landed in the number one position. Yet, during the typical week only 45 percent of American Christians read the Bible. Of the 45 percent, just 12 percent claim to read God’s Word daily. Fifty-five percent don’t even bother to open it once a week! It only takes an estimated 70 hours to read the Bible in its entirety. This is a minuscule investment in light of the fact that you will be judged throughout eternity by what it says. One writer said: “Read it through, pray it in, work it out, note it down, and pass it on.”
B. We Should Heed IT!
The Bible is to be obeyed. God wants to write his Words on the tables of you heart. (Psalms 119:11) “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.”
C. We Should Need IT!
Why the Bible? God knew we needed the Bible. He knew that we needed a permanent, enduring, unchanging record of His words to us. He knew we needed words that could generate life in a dead world and he knew that we needed His word to change us, cleanse us and conform us to His image. We should long for the Bible–it is the book we need. (Psalms 119:131) “I opened my mouth, and panted: for I longed for thy commandments.” John Wesley wrote: “I am a creature of a day, passing through life as an arrow through the air. I am a spirit, coming from God, and returning to God; just hovering over the great gulf; a few months hence I am no more seen; I drop into an unchangeable eternity! I want to know one thing—the way to
heaven…God Himself has condescended to teach the way. He hath written it down in a book. O give me that Book! At any price, give me the book of God!”
Why the Bible? We needed it!
The Bible is alive. This is a special book, but why? Why did God want us to have a book and to have in writing the things he has said to us? We are going to examine these questions today in this sermon called Why the Bible?
Denomination: Church of God of Prophecy