Back To The Bible - The Inspired Word Of God

Transcription

1 Back To The Bible - The Inspired Word Of God "Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path." (Psalm 119:105) Text: Psalm 19; 2 Peter 1:21 Introduction: 1. Throughout the months of April and May we will be examining various subjects related to the general theme Back To The Bible. 2. In this series we are going to go back to the basics. We will go back to some, fundamental, foundational principles on which our hope of heaven must stand. 3. The Psalmist wrote: If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do? (Psalm 11:3) 4. This morning we begin with the Topic Back To the Bible as the Inspired Word of God. Discussion: I. The Situation A. Many people don t want to believe that the Bible is the inspired word of God, because if it is then they must study and obey it for a hope of heaven. B. Recent surveys have demonstrated that many preachers no longer believe the Bible is inspired. And yet they continue to teach and preach PREACHER'S AGE AND BELIEF IN THE INERRANCY OF SCRIPTURE "Scriptures are the inspired and inerrant Word of God not only in matters of faith but also in historical, Geographical, and other secular matters." C. You ask, How can this be? Most of them once believed the Bible was the word of God. Their love for God and his word sent them off to the seminary where they were taught by professors who knew better. D. Consider the experience of a young student at one of America s largest seminaries. Snowflakes and happy shouts, mingling with the notes of carols ringing from the chimes of a nearby steeple filled the air with the awesome wonder of Christmas. To the chagrin of janitors shoveling clean the campus walks, God seemed bent upon coating the earth in vestments of white in preparation for the Holy season. Through the softly falling flakes I made my way toward the chapel. It was the final day of classes before vacation, and having traded preaching dates with a fellow student, it was to be my privilege to deliver the sermon to the assembled faculty and student body. In tune with the hearts of Christians the world over, my own heart sang to the joy of the miraculous words, "And she brought forth her first born son, and laid him in a manger". From the pulpit I read from the Gospel of Luke, then spoke quietly, reverently, of the birth of Christ, "When the Virgin Mary descended into that dark land of motherhood, she returned, cradling in her arms that which was conceived of the Holy Spirit, the Word made flesh, the only

2 begotten Son of God". The effect of the beauty of the sermon material was, I felt, intensified by the depths of faith from which it sprung. The closing hymn was sung. As I prepared to pronounce the benediction, a professor of New Testament Studies left his seat in a back pew and hurried down the hall to his office Returning quickly, he encountered me at the door of the chapel and thrust into my hands four books. The accompanying remark was caustic: "Take these home and read them... and get those ideas of the Virgin Birth out of your head before you return from vacation." Cut to the point of tears, I accepted the books shoved into my hands. Was nothing sacred to these people? The strains of "Silent Night, Holy Night" lingered in the air as I walked numbly across the parking lot to my car. During the vacation I received a phone call from one of my classmates who informed me that the good professor was more than highly concerned over the recent sermon. The noted New Testament theologian failed to see any sense in promoting me to the rank of upperclassman and eventually sending me out into the world carrying such mythological ideas as "Christ born of a virgin". Having browsed through the books handed me, I went to a nearby public library and sought out a scholarly work written in defense of the Biblical doctrine of the Virgin Birth. At the conclusion of the Christmas vacation I mentioned the book to my professor, who laughingly referred to it as "a nice book that has a lot of words but doesn't say anything". Questioning the professors one by one as weeks passed by, I learned that there was but one among the entire faculty who professed a belief that Christ Jesus was born of the Virgin Mary. However, each professor was a member of a denomination claiming an acceptance of the Apostle's Creed. Another beloved chapter of the Holy Bible had been torn to shreds... (Look Whose Killing God by W. H. Perrin pp ) E. Presently the Jesus Seminar has been looking at the gospels to find the real Jesus. They have been voting with colored beads on which parts of the Gospels are true. They have decided that very little of the information is the Gospels really happened or was spoken by the Master. F. Is it any wonder that sermons are turning into short discourses on current events, social activism and pop psychology pep rallies? G. Hear me! This book, the Bible claims to be the very word of God. It claims that those who obey it will have abundant living in this life and eternal bliss in the life to come. H. This book claims that those who disobey it will spend eternity in a Devil s Hell -- a place of unimaginable, unending torment. I. The claims this book makes on our lives are so serious that we had better make up our minds now is it the word of God or not. And if so what does it say that I must Do. II. I know the Bible is the Word of God. A. Because of its Unity. 1. Forty different authors who lived at various times over a span of 1500 years, from perhaps 1,450 BC or so to almost 100 AD wrote the Bible. 2. The authors lived on several different continents and in many different countries. 3. There was no way they could have collaborated or conspired to make the book have a unifying theme or idea. 4. It would have been logically impossible for these men to assemble a book of ¾ of a million words without contradicting each other. 5. For nearly 30 years people have been saying to me, Well, you know the Bible is full of contradictions. When they say this I just smile and say, Oh really. Could you show just one? I am still waiting for someone to show me just one. 6. The authors came from varied walks of life a) Moses was an heir in an Egyptian royal family who became sheepherder for 40 years b) Jeremiah was a priest (Jer 1:1)

3 c) David was a shepherd who became a king d) Peter, Andrew, James and John were fishermen e) Matthew was a tax collector f) Amos was a shepherd (Amos 1:1) 7. Some, like Moses or Paul, were highly educated (Acts 7:21-22; Acts 22:3) 8. Others, like Peter or John, were noted for their lack of education (Acts 4:13). 9. It didn t matter whether the writer was educated or uneducated. The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul; the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple; (Psalm 19:7) B. I know it is the word of God because of its very survival. 1. No book in the history of the world has had so much effort expended to eradicate it. 2. Voltaire claimed that the Bible would no longer exist within 100 years of his writing. Probably none of you own Voltaire s writings, but you all own at least one Bible, and it is still the #1 Best Seller. In fact within 50 years of Voltaire s claims against the Bible, he had died and his house and printing press were being used by the International Bible Society to print and distribute Bibles. C. Scientific accuracy the Bible is not a book of science, but it is a book of truth. So, any time it makes references to scientific fact it tells the truth sometimes thousands of years before man discovered the scientific truth. 1. Gravity the ancients believed the earth was supported on something such as Charles Atlas, a giant turtle, snake or elephant. He stretches out the north over empty space; He hangs the earth on nothing. (Job 26:7) 2. The Bible taught the earth was round 700 years BC. It is He who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers, Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, And spreads them out like a tent to dwell in. (Isaiah 40:22) a) Columbus and Magellan didn t prove this until 2,100 years later. 3. Communicable diseases at a time when men believed that disease was caused by evil spirits, bad air, and the like the Bible taught how to treat communicable diseases (Leviticus 13). 4. Moses obviously didn t learn these principles from his Egyptian teachers. Consider the following Egyptian text from the time of Moses. To prevent the hair from turning gray, anoint it with the blood of a black calf which has been boiled in oil, or with the fat of a rattlesnake." This prescription comes from the famous Papyrus Ebers, a medical book written in Egypt about 1552 B.C. Since Egypt occupied the dominant position in the ancient medical world, the Papyrus is of great importance as a record of the medical knowledge of that day. The book also contains prescriptions for people who are losing hair: "When it falls out, one remedy is to apply a mixture of six fats, namely those of the horse, the hippopotamus, the crocodile, the cat, the snake, and the ibex. To strengthen it, anoint with the tooth of a donkey crushed in honey." An extra-special hairdressing for the Egyptian Queen Schesch consisted of equal parts of a heel of an Abyssinian greyhound, date blossoms, and asses' hoofs, boiled in oil. The choice preparation was intended to make the royal hair grow. To save victims bitten by poisonous snakes, physicians of that day gave them "magic water" to drink-water that had been poured over a special idol. To embedded splinters they applied worms' blood and donkey dung. Since dung is loaded with tetanus spores, it is little wonder that lockjaw took a heavy toll of splinter cases.

4 Several hundred remedies for diseases are advised in the Papyrus Ebers. The drugs include "lizards' blood, swine s' teeth, putrid meat, stinking fat, moisture from pigs' ears, milk goose grease, asses' hoofs, animal fats from various sources, excreta from animals, including human beings, donkeys, antelopes, dogs, cats, and even flies." (None of These Diseases by Dr. S. I McMillan). 5. Anthropology geneticists have only recently discovered that all of mankind descends genetically from one woman. (Acts 17:26) "And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, (Gen. 3:20) And Adam called his wife's name Eve, because she was the mother of all living. 6. Prophetic fulfillment A. 333 prophecies concerning Christ. All of them came true. (Examples and statistical analysis to be placed here later) III. The Bible Claims to be the inspired word of God. A. Over 1,000 times the Bible claims to be the Word of God. B. OT claims the words are the words of God 3,808 times! (Exodus 20:1) And God spoke all these words, saying: (Exodus 24:4) And Moses wrote all the words of the LORD. And he rose early in the morning, and built an altar at the foot of the mountain, and twelve pillars according to the twelve tribes of Israel. (Exodus 35:1) Then Moses gathered all the congregation of the children of Israel together, and said to them, "These are the words which the LORD has commanded you to do: (Deut. 18:18) 'I will raise up for them a Prophet like you from among their brethren, and will put My words in His mouth, and He shall speak to them all that I command Him. (Jer. 1:9) Then the LORD put forth His hand and touched my mouth, and the LORD said to me: "Behold, I have put My words in your mouth. C. The New Testament claims the Bible is the word of God (2 Pet 1:21) for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. (Mat 1:22) So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: (Mark 12:36) "For David himself said by the Holy Spirit: 'The LORD said to my Lord, "Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool."' (Luke 1:70) As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets, Who have been since the world began, (Luke 1:16) "And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. (Mat 10:19) "But when they deliver you up, do not worry about how or what you should speak. For it will be given to you in that hour what you should speak;

5 (Mat 10:20) "for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you. (John 16:13-15) "However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. {14} "He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. {15} "All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you. (1 Cor 2:10-13) But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. {11} For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. {12} Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. {13} These things we also speak, not in words which man's wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. (Gal 1:11) But I make known to you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. (Gal 1:12) For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through the revelation of Jesus Christ. Conclusion 1. We will be judged by the word 2. Jesus words John 12: The threat is greater than we realize. Some are teaching that the Bible is not verbally inspired or inerrant. They claim that anyone who teaches verbal inspiration and inerrancy is a fundamentalist. Excuse me I believe the Bible is inerrant and I am not a fundamentalist. I am a Christian. Jesus thought these things. Was he a fundamentalist? 4. Movements, philosophies, methodologies, cultural norms and doctrines are constantly changing. What is not changing is the Bible the inspired word of God.