Message for THE LORD S DAY EVENING, June 10, 2012 Christian Hope Church of Christ, Plymouth, North Carolina by Reggie A. Braziel, Minister Favorite Verses Not Found In the Bible II Timothy 2:15 (NKJV) Please turn with me in your Bibles to II Timothy, the second chapter, and let s read verse 15.. P R A Y E R II Timothy 2:15 (NKJV) 15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. ************************************************************************************* I N T R O D U C T I O N In our scripture verse, the apostle Paul is telling young Timothy about the importance of studying the word of God. In the King James Version this verse reads: II Timothy 2:15 (King James Version) 15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. -When we hear the word study it brings back memories of those long hours we spent doing homework after school and preparing for exams. -STUDY means WORK! -STUDY means DISCIPLINE! -Every minute spent STUDYING means a minute away from something else we would rather be doing.
Few of us like to study. In fact, most of us probably even hate to study. I venture a guess if you were to ask one hundred Christians to tell you what s their favorite verse in the Bible NOT A SINGLE ONE OF THEM WOULD SAY, II Timothy 2:15. I m not going to lie to you. STUDYING God s word does require WORK and DISCIPLINE.. and TIME.and EFFORT and COMMITMENT. If you wait until you feel like studying God s word or you wait until you are in the mood to study God s word, you will never do it! But if you are willing to discipline yourself to spend some time in the word of God each and every day you ll soon discover the REWARDS and BENEFITS are greatly worth it. (1) You will grow to know the mind and heart of GOD more each day. (2) You will grow stronger in your walk of faith. (3) You will gain more confidence to talk to others about Christ and the Bible. (4) You will find peace in knowing that you are being obedient to God s commands to read, study and meditate on His word. (5) You will gain wisdom to make better decisions and choices that will be based upon God s word instead of your feelings and intuition. (6) You will come to a greater understanding of God s will, His plan, and His purpose for your life. (7) You will have the comfort and peace of knowing that you are honoring God by spending time in His word. (8) And there s a real good possibility you will sleep much better at night if you will spend some time reading God s word before going to bed. Just a couple of chapters over, in II Timothy 4, Paul warned Timothy that
a time was coming when the BIBLE would become less and less important to people. 2 Timothy 4:1-5 (NKJV) 1 I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom: 2 Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. 3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; 4 and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. 5 But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. Is it possible Paul is describing many of today s Christians? Biblical illiteracy has become a major problem within today s Church. According to a recent Gallup poll, about six in ten Americans (59%) say they read the Bible at least on occasion, with the most likely readers being women, non-whites, older people, Republicans, and political conservatives. In terms of frequency of readership, 16% of Americans say that they read the Bible every day, 21% say they read it weekly, 12% say they read the Bible monthly, 10% say less than monthly and 41% say that they rarely or never read the Bible. To illustrate just how serious a problem Biblical illiteracy has become, I would like to spend the remainder of the message sharing with you some of THE FAVORITE VERSES OF MANY CHRISTIANS THAT AREN T EVEN IN THE BIBLE. (1) God HELPS those who help THEMSELVES is NOT in the Bible!
Now perhaps some of you thought that verse is actually in the Bible, and if its not, IT OUGHT TO BE! It sounds like a PROVERB, but its not. In fact, you can read from Genesis to Revelation and you won t find any verse that says, God helps those who help themselves. One of the earliest recordings of this biblical sounding phrase was in Aesops fable Hercules and The Wagoneer. Here is the text of that brief fable: A WAGGONER was once driving a heavy load along a very muddy way. At last he came to a part of the road where the wheels sank half-way into the mire, and the more the horses pulled, the deeper sank the wheels. So the Waggoner threw down his whip, and knelt down and prayed to Hercules the Strong. "O Hercules, help me in this my hour of distress," quoth he. But Hercules appeared to him, and said: "Tut, man, don t sprawl there. Get up and put your shoulder to the wheel. "The gods help them who help themselves. (2) Spare the ROD, spoil the CHILD is NOT in the Bible. Now before you go thumbing through the Book of Proverbs to prove me wrong on this one, let me save you the time and trouble and tell you its not there. But let me quick to add, that while those exact words, Spare the rod, spoil the child are not in the Bible, there are several verses in Proverbs that do espouse that truth. Proverbs 13:24 (NKJV) He who spares his rod hates his son, But he who loves him disciplines him promptly. Proverbs 22:15 (NKJV) Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child;
The rod of correction will drive it far from him. PROVERBS 23:13 (NKJV) 13 Do not withhold correction from a child, For if you beat him with a rod, he will not die. Now here s another FAVORITE VERSE that s NOT in the BIBLE. (3) CLEANLINESS is next to GODLINESS is NOT in the Bible! Do you mean to tell me that s NOT in the Bible? Absolutely! It may be in FIRST HESITATIONS or SECOND OPINIONS, but its NOT in the WORD of GOD! While there are scriptures about cleanliness in the Bible, not a one of them says, Cleanliness is next to godliness. 1 John 1:9 (NKJV) If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. James 4:8 (NKJV) Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. It may SOUND like a Bible verse. And people may think it s a Bible verse, but Cleanliness is next to godliness is NOT in the Bible. (4) To THINE own self be TRUE is NOT in the Bible. Many people believe that is in the Bible because it has some what of an Old King James flavor to it! But To thy own self be true is NOT in the Bible.
Let s give credit where credit is due on this one: This saying actually comes to us in William Shakespeare s tragedy Hamlet. Polonius, the older counselor of Prince Hamlet s uncle, King Claudius, is in the midst of dispensing advice to his son, Laertes, who is about to leave Denmark and go back to France. Polonius said to Laertes, This above all things: to thine own self be true. By the way, it is also from Shakespeare s Hamlet we get another FAVORITE VERSE NOT FOUND IN THE BIBLE Neither a borrower, nor a lender be. (5) The eye is the WINDOW of the SOUL is NOT in the Bible. This is another one of those favorite verses people love to throw around as though its from the word of God. But in fact, this verse is NOT in the Bible. Matthew 6:22 (NKJV) The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. Luke 11:34 (NKJV) The lamp of the body is the eye. Therefore, when your eye is good, your whole body also is full of light. But when your eye is bad, your body also is full of darkness. As the old saying goes, close but no cigar. The lamp of the body is the eye, BUT THE EYE IS NOT THE WINDOW OF THE SOUL! (6) Once SAVED, always SAVED is NOT in the BIBLE! This is one of the most popular teachings today among denominational Churches, yet sadly there isn t one verse in the Bible that says, Once saved, always saved. Nor is the similar saying, Once in grace, always in grace found
in the scriptures either. Matthew 7:21 (NKJV) Not everyone who says to Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Hebrews 6:4-6 (NKJV) 4 For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, 5 and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, 6 if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame. Galatians 5:4 (NKJV) You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace. 2 Peter 2:20-22 (NKJV) 20 For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning. 21 For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them. 22 But it has happened to them according to the true proverb: A dog returns to his own vomit, and, a sow, having washed, to her wallowing in the mire. (7) The SERENITY Prayer is NOT found in the Bible. The Serenity Prayer says.. God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference.
The wording of this prayer is beautiful. But its not in the Bible. The Serenity Prayer was actually pinned back in the 1930 s by Theologian Reinhold Niebuhr. (8) The SINNER S Prayer is NOT found in the Bible either. The so-called sinner s prayer is very popular in many Protestant circles. Many radio and TV preachers conclude their broadcast by inviting people to pray the sinner s prayer which goes something like this: Heavenly Father, I know that I am a sinner and that I deserve to go to hell. I believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross for my sins. I do now receive him as my Lord and personal Savior. I promise to serve you to the best of my ability. Please save me. In Jesus name, Amen. This prayer is NOT found in the BIBLE. Those who adhere to the sinner s prayer cite Acts 2:21 for support: And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the Name of the LORD shall be saved. While it is true that salvation can only be found in the Name of Christ, there are equally important scriptures that cannot be ignored. *The Bible also tells us we must BELIEVE. Acts 16:31 (NKJV) So they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household. Do we just ignore this command? The Bible also says we must REPENT of our sins. Acts 2:38 (NKJV) Then Peter said to them, Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Why didn t Peter just command all those people at Pentecost to pray the sinner s prayer? Why did he
command them to repent and be immersed? Are we to just ignore this command as though it isn t in the Bible? The Bible also says we must CONFESS Christ as our Savior. Romans 10:9 (NKJV).that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. The Bible also teaches we must be BAPTIZED or IMMERSED for the remission of our sins. Listen to Acts 2:38 again Then Peter said to them, Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. (NKJV) The Bible also teaches we must be FAITHFUL to the LORD until death. Revelation 2:10b (NKJV) Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life. All of those scriptures have to do with salvation and yet not a single one of them mentions a sinner s prayer. C O N C L U S I O N This brings us right back to where we started and that is the issue of STUDYING THE WORD OF GOD. Its not only important that you and I know WHAT IS IN THE BIBLE, it is equally important that you and I know WHAT IS NOT IN THE BIBLE. May it be said of US as it was said of the Bereans in Acts 17:11...
Acts 17:11 (NKJV) These (the Bereans) were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so. Study to show yourself approved unto God, a workman that does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.