1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:07,440 Noel Puritan Preacher said, �There are just two things I desire to know. 2 00:00:07,440 --> 00:00:10,240 First, does God speak? 3 00:00:10,240 --> 00:00:14,400 Second, what does He say? 4 00:00:14,400 --> 00:00:16,720 God has spoken. 5 00:00:16,720 --> 00:00:22,360 He is a God who communicates, and our commitment as a local church is to attempt to communicate 6 00:00:22,360 --> 00:00:25,680 as clearly as we can the message of God.� 7 00:00:25,680 --> 00:00:32,520 As a church, we believe that message is right here in this book, the Bible. 8 00:00:32,520 --> 00:00:40,440 The Bible is the only book written by God to reveal Himself. 9 00:00:40,440 --> 00:00:50,120 It is the only book written by God to explain man in terms of his origin, his present dilemma, 10 00:00:50,120 --> 00:00:55,600 his redemption, and his future destiny. 11 00:00:55,600 --> 00:01:00,720 The Bible is true in every detail. 12 00:01:00,720 --> 00:01:08,000 It is also believable, authoritative, reliable, and trustworthy. 13 00:01:08,000 --> 00:01:13,520 Having said that, why is there confusion in so many circles these days regarding Christian 14 00:01:13,520 --> 00:01:19,400 doctrine and conduct with regards to the issues of our day? 15 00:01:19,400 --> 00:01:24,840 I believe the answer to that question is that unfortunately not all who claim to be Christians 16 00:01:24,840 --> 00:01:30,920 believe what we have said a few moments ago about the Bible. 17 00:01:30,920 --> 00:01:37,320 And then some of those who do claim to believe the same things that we affirm substitute 18 00:01:37,320 --> 00:01:43,000 other things in their church for the simple teaching of God�s Word. 19 00:01:43,000 --> 00:01:52,080 There are those who substitute the worship and exaltation of man�s intellect, for example, 20 00:01:52,080 --> 00:01:59,680 Christian ideas, rationalism, and the result is inevitably liberal theology, which does 21 00:01:59,680 --> 00:02:03,000 not deserve the name theology. 22 00:02:03,000 --> 00:02:11,840 Then there are others who substitute meeting man�s needs for the simple, clear teaching 23 00:02:11,840 --> 00:02:19,080 of God�s Word, and thus they institute programs upon programs upon programs. 24 00:02:19,080 --> 00:02:24,560 Of course, every church needs to have a certain number of programs, but those programs ought 25 00:02:24,560 --> 00:02:29,440 to be accomplishing something and not just wheels set into motion. 26 00:02:29,440 --> 00:02:35,680 So often our programs end up as entertainment for God�s people. 27 00:02:35,680 --> 00:02:40,480 I can guarantee you that one of our purposes here at Grace Church is to simply teach God�s 28 00:02:40,480 --> 00:02:47,400 Word, and through that the needs of man will be met. 29 00:02:47,400 --> 00:02:53,720 Then there are others who substitute bickering and division over human personalities for 30 00:02:53,720 --> 00:02:58,560 the simple, clear exposition of God�s Word. 31 00:02:58,560 --> 00:03:07,240 And thus there is strife and division, sometimes translated into the term denominationalism. 32 00:03:07,240 --> 00:03:10,880 All of us have, I suppose, denominational backgrounds, and there are certain doctrines 33 00:03:10,880 --> 00:03:18,480 that we perhaps hold dear, taught by the denominations from which we�ve come. 34 00:03:18,480 --> 00:03:24,520 And yet I believe that when it comes to the essential, primary truths of God�s Word, 35 00:03:24,520 --> 00:03:30,400 we can lay aside our denominational titles for the moment and fellowship with one another. 36 00:03:30,400 --> 00:03:37,640 And even on the non-essential, secondary things, we ought not to allow those to cause division 37 00:03:37,640 --> 00:03:40,960 among us as God�s people. 38 00:03:40,960 --> 00:03:44,640 That�s one reason that I�m glad to be here as a part of Grace Church. 39 00:03:44,640 --> 00:03:46,960 We are a non-denominational ministry. 40 00:03:46,960 --> 00:03:50,960 We have convictions about some of the secondary, non-essential doctrines. 41 00:03:50,960 --> 00:03:55,100 We don�t mind teaching those, but we don�t exclude others from our fellowship who may 42 00:03:55,100 --> 00:04:00,600 not agree with us on those things that are non-essential. 43 00:04:00,600 --> 00:04:03,480 However there are some things that are very essential. 44 00:04:03,480 --> 00:04:11,880 They are primary, fundamental, central teachings of God�s Word, and those we emphasize and 45 00:04:11,880 --> 00:04:15,640 declare without any apology or hesitation. 46 00:04:15,640 --> 00:04:20,480 And one of them is in regards to the Bible. 47 00:04:20,480 --> 00:04:28,600 There is the hint among even God�s people these days as to whether the Bible is reliable 48 00:04:28,600 --> 00:04:31,080 or not. 49 00:04:31,080 --> 00:04:34,740 That idea seems to be pervading some circles. 50 00:04:34,740 --> 00:04:37,680 Can we really trust the Bible? 51 00:04:37,680 --> 00:04:43,200 Before we get into the book of Romans, which is going to be our next big bite in expository 52 00:04:43,200 --> 00:04:48,400 preaching, I want us to spend some time talking about the Bible. 53 00:04:48,400 --> 00:04:50,680 Today can we trust the Bible? 54 00:04:50,680 --> 00:04:52,520 Is the Bible reliable? 55 00:04:52,520 --> 00:05:00,840 Now to answer that question, we need to define and to discuss two important terms dealing 56 00:05:00,840 --> 00:05:01,840 with the Bible. 57 00:05:01,840 --> 00:05:05,640 If you have your worship folder, you�ll find the outline in there. 58 00:05:05,640 --> 00:05:11,200 Those two words are revelation and inspiration. 59 00:05:11,200 --> 00:05:15,880 I want to make this more than a theology class this morning, but we�re going to do some 60 00:05:15,880 --> 00:05:18,160 defining. 61 00:05:18,160 --> 00:05:21,200 I hope it will help clarify some things in the minds of some of you. 62 00:05:21,200 --> 00:05:25,120 We�re going to be looking at scripture of course as well to undergird what we�re going 63 00:05:25,120 --> 00:05:29,240 to say about these two important terms, revelation and inspiration. 64 00:05:29,240 --> 00:05:35,320 Now when I use the term revelation, please understand I�m not talking about the book 65 00:05:35,320 --> 00:05:39,840 of the revelation of Jesus Christ, book number 66 in the Bible. 66 00:05:39,840 --> 00:05:47,520 That�s part of it, but I�m talking about the whole revelation of God in the Bible. 67 00:05:47,520 --> 00:05:52,440 And then we�ll define inspiration too and talk about how that affects the Bible. 68 00:05:52,440 --> 00:05:55,600 But first let�s talk about revelation. 69 00:05:55,600 --> 00:06:02,440 A revelation is simply a disclosure of something or someone. 70 00:06:02,440 --> 00:06:08,600 The Bible is a disclosure of God, thus we call it the revelation of God. 71 00:06:08,600 --> 00:06:14,160 Actually there are three types of revelation which God gives to man. 72 00:06:14,160 --> 00:06:21,760 There is natural revelation for example, type number one, natural revelation. 73 00:06:21,760 --> 00:06:31,720 And there are two aspects to this, there is external natural revelation and there is internal 74 00:06:31,720 --> 00:06:32,720 natural revelation. 75 00:06:32,720 --> 00:06:35,840 Let me explain what I mean. 76 00:06:35,840 --> 00:06:40,320 Externally God is revealing himself through nature. 77 00:06:40,320 --> 00:06:49,200 That is the voice of creation shouts to us that God is and it tells us something about 78 00:06:49,200 --> 00:06:54,480 his essential attributes or characteristics. 79 00:06:54,480 --> 00:07:02,360 Psalm 19, you quote it with me, �The heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament 80 00:07:02,360 --> 00:07:08,280 showeth his handiwork.� How much more clear could it be? 81 00:07:08,280 --> 00:07:09,280 Last night was a beautiful night. 82 00:07:09,280 --> 00:07:16,560 I went out to take the dog for its little walk before bedtime and looked up in those 83 00:07:16,560 --> 00:07:17,800 stars in the heavens. 84 00:07:17,800 --> 00:07:20,080 I tell you it was crystal clear last night. 85 00:07:20,080 --> 00:07:21,960 Maybe some of you noticed it. 86 00:07:21,960 --> 00:07:27,480 The stars seemed to be very close to the earth because of the atmospheric conditions. 87 00:07:27,480 --> 00:07:28,760 The moon was beautiful. 88 00:07:28,760 --> 00:07:36,560 I was by myself. 89 00:07:36,560 --> 00:07:40,760 Did you see the northern lights a week and a half ago or something like that? 90 00:07:40,760 --> 00:07:45,000 They were visible after the Wednesday night service for a while up among the north and 91 00:07:45,000 --> 00:07:46,000 then they disappeared. 92 00:07:46,000 --> 00:07:47,000 Beautiful. 93 00:07:47,000 --> 00:07:49,640 Now what are these things saying to us? 94 00:07:49,640 --> 00:07:53,960 They are telling us about the glory of God. 95 00:07:53,960 --> 00:08:03,640 They are telling us about God's eternal power, Romans chapter 1 verse 20. 96 00:08:03,640 --> 00:08:12,560 They are telling us about God's divine nature, Romans chapter 1 verse 20. 97 00:08:12,560 --> 00:08:18,920 And then we have this internal revelation of God that we call the conscience. 98 00:08:18,920 --> 00:08:26,360 And just like the other, anybody in the world has this kind of revelation available to them. 99 00:08:26,360 --> 00:08:31,200 God has put within us the capacity to know the difference between right and wrong. 100 00:08:31,200 --> 00:08:37,120 And even though a person may not have the written law of God in his hands, he has God's 101 00:08:37,120 --> 00:08:41,760 law written on his heart and he is accountable to God for that. 102 00:08:41,760 --> 00:08:47,200 Every person in the world is God's natural revelation. 103 00:08:47,200 --> 00:08:53,200 It tells us about God's wrath according to Romans 1 verse 18, for that too is revealed. 104 00:08:53,200 --> 00:08:58,480 God's wrath is not his fit of anger. 105 00:08:58,480 --> 00:09:02,840 God's wrath is his holy and righteous response to sin. 106 00:09:02,840 --> 00:09:07,040 That's what it is. 107 00:09:07,040 --> 00:09:12,480 And through natural revelation we learn something about the wrath of God. 108 00:09:12,480 --> 00:09:18,000 But then there is a second type of revelation I want to mention and that is written revelation. 109 00:09:18,000 --> 00:09:22,680 Of course this is the main focus of our thinking. 110 00:09:22,680 --> 00:09:24,200 Written revelation is the Bible. 111 00:09:24,200 --> 00:09:30,500 It is the progressive unfolding of God's person and his purposes. 112 00:09:30,500 --> 00:09:35,800 In the Bible we see revealed to us the attributes or the characteristics of God. 113 00:09:35,800 --> 00:09:39,920 By these we understand more fully what God is like. 114 00:09:39,920 --> 00:09:45,080 We're talking about these on Sunday nights right now while I'm here with you on Sunday 115 00:09:45,080 --> 00:09:46,080 evenings. 116 00:09:46,080 --> 00:09:48,680 We're answering the question, what is God like? 117 00:09:48,680 --> 00:09:54,320 Tonight we're going to talk about the triunity of God, sometimes called the Trinity. 118 00:09:54,320 --> 00:09:55,320 What is that? 119 00:09:55,320 --> 00:09:56,660 How do we explain it? 120 00:09:56,660 --> 00:09:59,160 How do we understand it? 121 00:09:59,160 --> 00:10:05,160 But through the Bible we understand about God's person. 122 00:10:05,160 --> 00:10:09,160 God sometimes revealed himself through theophanies or appearances on the earth. 123 00:10:09,160 --> 00:10:10,640 Those are recorded in the Bible. 124 00:10:10,640 --> 00:10:15,640 Of course he used the words of men, the prophets. 125 00:10:15,640 --> 00:10:19,480 Sometimes he revealed himself through miracles and they're recorded for us in the Bible. 126 00:10:19,480 --> 00:10:22,520 So God reveals himself through the written word. 127 00:10:22,520 --> 00:10:29,200 And then there's a third type of revelation and it is personal revelation of God. 128 00:10:29,200 --> 00:10:35,720 It is the fullness of his revelation found in the person of Jesus Christ. 129 00:10:35,720 --> 00:10:41,240 God who in times past spoke to the fathers through the prophets has in these last days 130 00:10:41,240 --> 00:10:45,820 spoken unto us by his son. 131 00:10:45,820 --> 00:10:52,160 His son is the completion of his revelation, the fullness of his revelation. 132 00:10:52,160 --> 00:10:59,040 John said, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full 133 00:10:59,040 --> 00:11:00,800 of grace and truth. 134 00:11:00,800 --> 00:11:07,840 No man has seen God at any time, but the only begotten Son has exposited him, is the word 135 00:11:07,840 --> 00:11:10,020 there in John 1, 18. 136 00:11:10,020 --> 00:11:11,840 He has led him forth revealed. 137 00:11:11,840 --> 00:11:19,720 And thus Jesus could say also in John, he that has seen me has seen the Father. 138 00:11:19,720 --> 00:11:20,720 What a remarkable statement. 139 00:11:20,720 --> 00:11:25,280 And the Jews understood exactly what he meant because they picked up stones to kill him. 140 00:11:25,280 --> 00:11:31,560 They were going to kill him for blasphemy. 141 00:11:31,560 --> 00:11:35,080 Jesus said that the scriptures speak about him. 142 00:11:35,080 --> 00:11:40,720 Paul said in Colossians 2, 9 that in him all the fullness of deity dwells. 143 00:11:40,720 --> 00:11:45,200 If you want to know what God is like, look at the life of Jesus Christ and listen to 144 00:11:45,200 --> 00:11:48,200 his words and you will find out. 145 00:11:48,200 --> 00:11:53,880 Because he is the personal revelation of Almighty God. 146 00:11:53,880 --> 00:11:57,160 God come in the flesh. 147 00:11:57,160 --> 00:12:01,480 We want to talk, as I've said, primarily about written revelation. 148 00:12:01,480 --> 00:12:06,440 But it's important to see how the three types of revelation work together. 149 00:12:06,440 --> 00:12:10,480 Natural revelation gives me an inner awareness of God. 150 00:12:10,480 --> 00:12:16,560 Man is a religious creature and that's why he creates religions, even if it be a philosophic 151 00:12:16,560 --> 00:12:23,400 religion or if it be a religion of sticks and stones that he makes for altars. 152 00:12:23,400 --> 00:12:27,920 Man needs something to worship because he has an innate awareness of God, but that is 153 00:12:27,920 --> 00:12:34,360 not salvation, that inner awareness. 154 00:12:34,360 --> 00:12:38,360 Then written revelation takes a person a step further. 155 00:12:38,360 --> 00:12:41,400 It gives intellectual knowledge of God. 156 00:12:41,400 --> 00:12:44,760 Through the Bible we understand who God is, who we are. 157 00:12:44,760 --> 00:12:49,600 We understand about Jesus Christ, his death, burial, and resurrection for our sins. 158 00:12:49,600 --> 00:12:56,520 We understand what it means to be saved, but this intellectual knowledge is not salvation 159 00:12:56,520 --> 00:12:57,520 either. 160 00:12:57,520 --> 00:13:03,840 For the Bible says that the demons have this kind of intellectual knowledge of God, but 161 00:13:03,840 --> 00:13:08,600 they're not saved. 162 00:13:08,600 --> 00:13:13,040 After we come to understand something about the written revelation, we go that next step 163 00:13:13,040 --> 00:13:17,720 and learn something about the personal revelation of God in Jesus Christ. 164 00:13:17,720 --> 00:13:23,480 Relation is a personal relationship with Christ. 165 00:13:23,480 --> 00:13:30,780 Christianity is not a philosophy in its essence. 166 00:13:30,780 --> 00:13:33,760 Christianity is not a good way to live. 167 00:13:33,760 --> 00:13:38,280 We sometimes talk about the Christian life and I understand what's usually meant by 168 00:13:38,280 --> 00:13:41,480 that, but I get concerned that there are some people who think that being a Christian is 169 00:13:41,480 --> 00:13:45,280 just living a certain way. 170 00:13:45,280 --> 00:13:50,400 My friend Christianity in its essence, biblical Christianity, is a personal relationship with 171 00:13:50,400 --> 00:13:51,980 God. 172 00:13:51,980 --> 00:14:00,480 That can only be discovered through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, the personal 173 00:14:00,480 --> 00:14:02,520 revelation of God. 174 00:14:02,520 --> 00:14:09,720 The purpose of revelation then is to disclose God, to tell us about his glory, and then 175 00:14:09,720 --> 00:14:15,920 to bring us into a right relationship with this God of glory. 176 00:14:15,920 --> 00:14:16,920 That's what revelation is. 177 00:14:16,920 --> 00:14:23,880 I want to spend most of our time on inspiration. 178 00:14:23,880 --> 00:14:27,120 Inspiration is different than revelation. 179 00:14:27,120 --> 00:14:31,120 There is a distinction between the two. 180 00:14:31,120 --> 00:14:34,120 Revelation is the content. 181 00:14:34,120 --> 00:14:39,320 It's what God has said. 182 00:14:39,320 --> 00:14:45,200 Inspiration is how God brought this revelation to us. 183 00:14:45,200 --> 00:14:47,080 It's the method that God used. 184 00:14:47,080 --> 00:14:49,240 Do you see the difference? 185 00:14:49,240 --> 00:14:54,840 There are some people who confuse the two terms and that can lead to doctrinal error. 186 00:14:54,840 --> 00:14:57,760 Revelation is what God has said about himself. 187 00:14:57,760 --> 00:15:06,120 Inspiration is how God brought that message to you and to me, how he brought it. 188 00:15:06,120 --> 00:15:09,920 Let's talk first about a definition of inspiration. 189 00:15:09,920 --> 00:15:13,960 To do that, it might be helpful to start on the negative side of things and to say what 190 00:15:13,960 --> 00:15:16,400 inspiration is not. 191 00:15:16,400 --> 00:15:21,840 I start there because there are false theories of inspiration being promoted in some circles 192 00:15:21,840 --> 00:15:22,840 these days. 193 00:15:22,840 --> 00:15:28,040 Let's talk about what inspiration is not first. 194 00:15:28,040 --> 00:15:33,360 Inspiration is not defined by what is called the natural theory. 195 00:15:33,360 --> 00:15:36,240 You might want to jot that down. 196 00:15:36,240 --> 00:15:38,920 The natural theory, what is that? 197 00:15:38,920 --> 00:15:47,360 Well, it's the kind of inspiration that produces a good painting or composition or work of 198 00:15:47,360 --> 00:15:48,520 poetry. 199 00:15:48,520 --> 00:15:56,880 It is, in other words, the product of human genius, but the Bible is not that. 200 00:15:56,880 --> 00:16:05,760 Most religions have a book or writing of some kind in which are contained the writings of 201 00:16:05,760 --> 00:16:10,760 men about God, what they think about God. 202 00:16:10,760 --> 00:16:13,400 That is not the Bible. 203 00:16:13,400 --> 00:16:17,360 The Bible is what God has said about himself. 204 00:16:17,360 --> 00:16:21,600 It is not natural in its definition. 205 00:16:21,600 --> 00:16:27,080 Inspiration is not defined best by the dictation theory. 206 00:16:27,080 --> 00:16:31,900 There are some people who place the writers of scripture into a role of being something 207 00:16:31,900 --> 00:16:34,480 like a secretary. 208 00:16:34,480 --> 00:16:39,600 They say that God simply dictated his word to these people who wrote the Bible, that 209 00:16:39,600 --> 00:16:41,840 they heard the words and wrote them down. 210 00:16:41,840 --> 00:16:46,840 They were little more than passive instruments, but if that were true, we would expect the 211 00:16:46,840 --> 00:16:50,080 Bible to have the same kind of a tone throughout it. 212 00:16:50,080 --> 00:16:53,000 And it doesn't. 213 00:16:53,000 --> 00:16:55,400 Different cultures are seen. 214 00:16:55,400 --> 00:16:57,200 Different personalities come through. 215 00:16:57,200 --> 00:17:04,080 You know, if you go to the Greek, when you're reading the writing of Luke or John or Paul, 216 00:17:04,080 --> 00:17:07,920 it's entirely different. 217 00:17:07,920 --> 00:17:16,200 Luke is obviously the educated physician, and his Greek is tough, but very proper. 218 00:17:16,200 --> 00:17:20,160 Paul on the other hand was more casual about the way he wrote. 219 00:17:20,160 --> 00:17:23,840 He comes through in every epistle he wrote the same way. 220 00:17:23,840 --> 00:17:28,720 So the dictation theory doesn't best describe it, because if God had dictated it, you would 221 00:17:28,720 --> 00:17:32,440 expect it to be the same all the way through. 222 00:17:32,440 --> 00:17:36,720 Then there is what is called the partial theory of inspiration. 223 00:17:36,720 --> 00:17:41,000 Those who teach this say that only part of the Bible is inspired. 224 00:17:41,000 --> 00:17:46,180 The moral and spiritual teaching of the Bible is inspired, but the rest of it is only the 225 00:17:46,180 --> 00:17:50,080 writings of men. 226 00:17:50,080 --> 00:17:53,680 Now among the problems with that theory is this. 227 00:17:53,680 --> 00:17:57,920 Who is qualified to say what's inspired and what isn't, and what is the moral and spiritual 228 00:17:57,920 --> 00:18:00,320 teaching and what isn't? 229 00:18:00,320 --> 00:18:06,600 It seems to me a very difficult theory to follow through with if one believes in what 230 00:18:06,600 --> 00:18:11,360 is called the partial theory, only part of the Bible is inspired. 231 00:18:11,360 --> 00:18:14,600 And then there are those who teach what is called the existential theory. 232 00:18:14,600 --> 00:18:19,960 Don't let that word scare you. 233 00:18:19,960 --> 00:18:23,560 Existential theory, what does it mean? 234 00:18:23,560 --> 00:18:30,760 Well the idea is that you open your Bible and read it, and when a passage of scripture 235 00:18:30,760 --> 00:18:36,760 leaps out at you and it becomes real to you, that at that moment God inspires that scripture 236 00:18:36,760 --> 00:18:43,160 to you, but it may not be inspired by somebody else. 237 00:18:43,160 --> 00:18:49,600 This is the position of the neo-orthodox theologians. 238 00:18:49,600 --> 00:18:54,640 And then there is a fifth and final false theory that we'll talk about, that is the 239 00:18:54,640 --> 00:18:56,920 conceptual theory. 240 00:18:56,920 --> 00:18:57,920 What does that mean? 241 00:18:57,920 --> 00:19:05,080 Well it means, say these people, that the thoughts of the Bible are inspired, but not 242 00:19:05,080 --> 00:19:07,280 the words. 243 00:19:07,280 --> 00:19:14,040 In other words, God gave the thoughts to Paul or Peter, and they wrote down the thoughts 244 00:19:14,040 --> 00:19:15,240 in their own words. 245 00:19:15,240 --> 00:19:19,520 God wasn't really concerned about the words at all, as long as they got the point, the 246 00:19:19,520 --> 00:19:21,680 thought across. 247 00:19:21,680 --> 00:19:25,960 And we reject that as well, and we'll explain why in a moment. 248 00:19:25,960 --> 00:19:30,580 What then is the proper explanation of inspiration? 249 00:19:30,580 --> 00:19:35,480 It's what I call the superintendent method. 250 00:19:35,480 --> 00:19:39,760 How did God deliver his word, his revelation to us? 251 00:19:39,760 --> 00:19:42,480 Through the superintendent method. 252 00:19:42,480 --> 00:19:43,480 What does that mean? 253 00:19:43,480 --> 00:19:55,240 It means that men were directed by God in the choice of words without violation of their 254 00:19:55,240 --> 00:20:00,480 own personalities. 255 00:20:00,480 --> 00:20:06,800 That men were directed by God in the choice of their words without violation of their 256 00:20:06,800 --> 00:20:14,040 own personalities, and one more phrase for those of you writing this, so that what was 257 00:20:14,040 --> 00:20:18,060 written was what God wanted said. 258 00:20:18,060 --> 00:20:27,180 In other words, God was concerned for more than just getting the thought across. 259 00:20:27,180 --> 00:20:32,160 He wanted the thought expressed in the right words. 260 00:20:32,160 --> 00:20:38,720 So without crushing and suppressing the personalities of the writers of Scripture, he nonetheless 261 00:20:38,720 --> 00:20:44,000 superintended them so that as they wrote, even the words they chose to use within their 262 00:20:44,000 --> 00:20:48,560 own personality context were the words that God wanted them to use. 263 00:20:48,560 --> 00:20:56,680 Now that is important, and thus we talk about the verbal plenary inspiration of Scripture. 264 00:20:56,680 --> 00:20:58,760 Two more words. 265 00:20:58,760 --> 00:21:03,320 Verbal means that every word is inspired by God. 266 00:21:03,320 --> 00:21:06,400 Plenary simply means that the thought, too, is inspired by God. 267 00:21:06,400 --> 00:21:09,400 So that's what the words simply mean. 268 00:21:09,400 --> 00:21:13,000 Verbal plenary inspiration. 269 00:21:13,000 --> 00:21:19,840 God superintended human personalities so that what they wrote were the words and thoughts 270 00:21:19,840 --> 00:21:22,160 that he wanted to be written down. 271 00:21:22,160 --> 00:21:31,040 It's very difficult, isn't it, to think of thoughts being transmitted without words? 272 00:21:31,040 --> 00:21:36,400 What I think in my mind I'm saying to you, and if you were to respond to me by just thoughts, 273 00:21:36,400 --> 00:21:41,200 that wouldn't be very fulfilling to me, because I wouldn't know what you were saying. 274 00:21:41,200 --> 00:21:45,120 So you have to speak words to me to communicate your thoughts. 275 00:21:45,120 --> 00:21:50,120 So you see words and thoughts are inseparable. 276 00:21:50,120 --> 00:21:56,520 Professor Westcott said this, the thoughts are wedded to words as necessarily as the 277 00:21:56,520 --> 00:21:59,360 soul is to the body. 278 00:21:59,360 --> 00:22:07,800 Dr. Ralph Kuiper made this statement, you can as easily have music without notes or 279 00:22:07,800 --> 00:22:14,200 mathematics without figures as thoughts without words. 280 00:22:14,200 --> 00:22:19,840 That's why we believe that both the words and the thoughts are inspired, are a part 281 00:22:19,840 --> 00:22:20,840 of inspiration. 282 00:22:20,840 --> 00:22:27,360 Dr. J. Vernon McGee tells a whimsical story, I'm sure, about a little girl who was taking 283 00:22:27,360 --> 00:22:29,880 singing lessons from a famous teacher. 284 00:22:29,880 --> 00:22:37,000 He, of course, was at her recital and after it was over she was anxious to know what his 285 00:22:37,000 --> 00:22:38,680 reaction was. 286 00:22:38,680 --> 00:22:42,840 He didn't come back to congratulate her after the recital, so she rushed out and cornered 287 00:22:42,840 --> 00:22:46,400 a good friend of hers and she said, what did he say? 288 00:22:46,400 --> 00:22:51,280 And her friend said, he said that you sang heavenly. 289 00:22:51,280 --> 00:22:55,080 Well, she couldn't quite believe that. 290 00:22:55,080 --> 00:23:02,520 So she said a little bit more, she said, is that exactly what he said? 291 00:23:02,520 --> 00:23:06,040 And her friend said, no, but that's what he meant. 292 00:23:06,040 --> 00:23:08,120 The girl still wasn't pleased. 293 00:23:08,120 --> 00:23:12,680 So she insisted, well tell me the exact words he used. 294 00:23:12,680 --> 00:23:17,080 And his friend being cornered, her friend being cornered said, well his exact words 295 00:23:17,080 --> 00:23:20,720 were that was an unearthly noise. 296 00:23:20,720 --> 00:23:25,760 A little bit of difference there, isn't there? 297 00:23:25,760 --> 00:23:31,240 You see you have to communicate thoughts with words, exact words. 298 00:23:31,240 --> 00:23:33,120 They are important. 299 00:23:33,120 --> 00:23:38,520 There's a difference between a heavenly noise, or a heavenly sound rather, and an unearthly 300 00:23:38,520 --> 00:23:40,600 noise. 301 00:23:40,600 --> 00:23:45,720 And thus we believe that God is vitally concerned and inspiration about both. 302 00:23:45,720 --> 00:23:49,320 Now what is the purpose then of inspiration? 303 00:23:49,320 --> 00:23:57,660 It is to assure the infallibility and the reliability of the revelation. 304 00:23:57,660 --> 00:24:01,600 That's why it's important, and that's why we're talking about it. 305 00:24:01,600 --> 00:24:07,000 I recognize at this point it's been more like a theology class than a Sunday sermon. 306 00:24:07,000 --> 00:24:12,320 But I want us to look into Scripture now and to see some verses from this book to undergird 307 00:24:12,320 --> 00:24:14,240 what we've been talking about. 308 00:24:14,240 --> 00:24:21,160 The first one is 2 Peter chapter 1, verses 20 and 21. 309 00:24:21,160 --> 00:24:25,520 And some of you folks knew I would be getting there eventually because this is one of the 310 00:24:25,520 --> 00:24:30,200 key verses in Scripture regarding its inspiration. 311 00:24:30,200 --> 00:24:39,280 2 Peter chapter 1, verses 20 and 21. 312 00:24:39,280 --> 00:24:48,000 Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's 313 00:24:48,000 --> 00:24:50,560 own interpretation. 314 00:24:50,560 --> 00:24:51,560 Verse 21. 315 00:24:51,560 --> 00:25:00,960 For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were 316 00:25:00,960 --> 00:25:04,200 carried along by the Holy Spirit. 317 00:25:04,200 --> 00:25:07,640 We see three important facts in that verse. 318 00:25:07,640 --> 00:25:12,040 Number one, men spoke from God. 319 00:25:12,040 --> 00:25:19,220 God was pleased to use human personalities as the instruments by which he would reveal 320 00:25:19,220 --> 00:25:21,520 himself in the Bible. 321 00:25:21,520 --> 00:25:23,480 Men spoke from God. 322 00:25:23,480 --> 00:25:28,040 Number two, their words did not originate with themselves. 323 00:25:28,040 --> 00:25:35,220 In other words, Peter didn't sit down and say, well, what shall I say about God today? 324 00:25:35,220 --> 00:25:38,600 They didn't originate their words. 325 00:25:38,600 --> 00:25:46,640 Their words, number three, came from God because the Holy Spirit carried them along as they 326 00:25:46,640 --> 00:25:48,320 spoke. 327 00:25:48,320 --> 00:25:50,720 He impelled them. 328 00:25:50,720 --> 00:25:55,160 Perhaps we can illustrate that by a leaf that falls from the tree down into the brook and 329 00:25:55,160 --> 00:25:59,840 then is carried by the power of the brook, or the sailboat that is put out onto the lake 330 00:25:59,840 --> 00:26:05,620 and then the sail is put up and the wind comes and fills the sail and moves it along. 331 00:26:05,620 --> 00:26:12,800 What this verse is saying is that there were men in days of old who were in a unique and 332 00:26:12,800 --> 00:26:20,560 special way carried along by the power of the Holy Spirit so that as they wrote what 333 00:26:20,560 --> 00:26:27,360 they wrote were the very words that God wanted communicated. 334 00:26:27,360 --> 00:26:29,960 We have examples of that. 335 00:26:29,960 --> 00:26:33,480 Let's turn first to see the example of David. 336 00:26:33,480 --> 00:26:38,760 To do that, go back to 2 Samuel chapter 23 for a moment. 337 00:26:38,760 --> 00:26:50,560 Here we have the last words of this great man of God. 338 00:26:50,560 --> 00:26:56,280 It's described as the oracle of David, son of Jesse, the oracle of the man exalted by 339 00:26:56,280 --> 00:27:05,040 the Most High, the man anointed by the God of Jacob, Israel's singer of songs. 340 00:27:05,040 --> 00:27:13,920 You talk about a multi-talented individual, you have to include David in the list somewhere. 341 00:27:13,920 --> 00:27:20,120 Now in verse 2, here is the claim that David makes, 2 Samuel 23 verse 2. 342 00:27:20,120 --> 00:27:25,560 It says, the Spirit of the Lord spoke through me. 343 00:27:25,560 --> 00:27:30,500 His word was on my tongue. 344 00:27:30,500 --> 00:27:35,360 What David is claiming here is different than what I'm doing now. 345 00:27:35,360 --> 00:27:41,520 Right now I am teaching you what the Bible says, but David is saying, when I spoke, the 346 00:27:41,520 --> 00:27:45,280 Holy Spirit put the words in my mouth. 347 00:27:45,280 --> 00:27:49,400 His word was on my tongue. 348 00:27:49,400 --> 00:27:52,720 He is claiming what Peter was talking about. 349 00:27:52,720 --> 00:27:59,080 The Spirit bore them along, he carried them along, these writers of scripture. 350 00:27:59,080 --> 00:28:04,080 Now to see an example of what David is referring to, let's go back to the New Testament again 351 00:28:04,080 --> 00:28:10,520 to a prayer meeting in Acts chapter 4. 352 00:28:10,520 --> 00:28:15,880 Here's an example of what David was saying about himself. 353 00:28:15,880 --> 00:28:29,760 In Acts chapter 4 verse 25, let's back up to verse 24 to get the whole prayer. 354 00:28:29,760 --> 00:28:33,680 The context is that Peter and John had been released from their incarceration and they 355 00:28:33,680 --> 00:28:38,120 went back to the believers to share with them what had happened. 356 00:28:38,120 --> 00:28:42,160 And after they had done that, it says, they raised their voices together in prayer to 357 00:28:42,160 --> 00:28:43,160 God. 358 00:28:43,160 --> 00:28:45,480 And here's what they prayed. 359 00:28:45,480 --> 00:28:52,560 Even Lord, you made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them. 360 00:28:52,560 --> 00:28:57,680 I want you to notice the prayer here starts with worship and that is a good example for 361 00:28:57,680 --> 00:29:00,760 you and me in our prayer lives. 362 00:29:00,760 --> 00:29:10,720 Verse 25, you spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our father David. 363 00:29:10,720 --> 00:29:13,240 And then he quotes from Psalm 2. 364 00:29:13,240 --> 00:29:16,720 Why do the nations rage in the people's plot in vain? 365 00:29:16,720 --> 00:29:20,760 The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the Lord 366 00:29:20,760 --> 00:29:23,480 and against his anointed one. 367 00:29:23,480 --> 00:29:25,320 Psalm 2 verses 1 and 2. 368 00:29:25,320 --> 00:29:26,920 What is being said here? 369 00:29:26,920 --> 00:29:34,760 Well these believers are praying and they're saying, Lord, you spoke through David your 370 00:29:34,760 --> 00:29:35,760 word. 371 00:29:35,760 --> 00:29:45,080 And then they quote from Psalm 2, an illustration of what David was talking about when he says, 372 00:29:45,080 --> 00:29:48,480 the Spirit of the Lord put the words on my tongue to say. 373 00:29:48,480 --> 00:29:52,160 A unique thing folks, it's not happening today. 374 00:29:52,160 --> 00:29:56,240 It does not happen today. 375 00:29:56,240 --> 00:30:08,640 Let's look at another illustration in Isaiah and go back to chapter 1 and I'll show you 376 00:30:08,640 --> 00:30:10,320 something here. 377 00:30:10,320 --> 00:30:22,360 There's a phrase used in verse 18 which is found or a facsimile thereof is found some 378 00:30:22,360 --> 00:30:27,120 2500 times in the Bible. 379 00:30:27,120 --> 00:30:31,520 Verse 18, I suppose many of you could quote, Isaiah 1. 380 00:30:31,520 --> 00:30:37,720 Come now, let us reason together for the next three words. 381 00:30:37,720 --> 00:30:47,280 Says the Lord over and over again in the Bible, thus saith the Lord, not Isaiah. 382 00:30:47,280 --> 00:30:50,560 This is what the Lord says. 383 00:30:50,560 --> 00:30:56,400 Look again in verse 20, but if you resist and rebel, you'll be devoured by the sword 384 00:30:56,400 --> 00:31:00,840 for the mouth of the Lord has spoken it. 385 00:31:00,840 --> 00:31:04,080 Go over to Isaiah chapter 5 for a moment. 386 00:31:04,080 --> 00:31:08,840 But here's something different to illustrate what we're talking about. 387 00:31:08,840 --> 00:31:12,280 Jesus wasn't the only one to use parables. 388 00:31:12,280 --> 00:31:15,800 Isaiah in verses 1 and 2 gives a parable. 389 00:31:15,800 --> 00:31:22,640 It is the story of a man who planted a vineyard, but the vineyard didn't produce good fruit. 390 00:31:22,640 --> 00:31:26,440 The story represents Israel. 391 00:31:26,440 --> 00:31:30,960 Israel is the vineyard and the husbandman of the vineyard is God. 392 00:31:30,960 --> 00:31:35,840 In other words, God is communicating here his displeasure with Israel. 393 00:31:35,840 --> 00:31:42,920 And so Isaiah goes on to say in verse 3, Now you dwellers in Jerusalem and men of Judah, 394 00:31:42,920 --> 00:31:46,200 judge between me and my vineyard. 395 00:31:46,200 --> 00:31:50,400 What more could have been done for my vineyard than I have done for it? 396 00:31:50,400 --> 00:31:54,120 When I looked for good grapes, why did it yield only bad? 397 00:31:54,120 --> 00:31:57,720 Now I will tell you what I am going to do to my vineyard. 398 00:31:57,720 --> 00:32:00,720 You see what Isaiah is doing here? 399 00:32:00,720 --> 00:32:04,280 He is speaking in the first person. 400 00:32:04,280 --> 00:32:13,240 He is so identified with the words coming through him that he speaks as God. 401 00:32:13,240 --> 00:32:15,120 That would be a blasphemous thing to do. 402 00:32:15,120 --> 00:32:17,460 Who would dare do it? 403 00:32:17,460 --> 00:32:20,520 He goes on to speak about God and says, I will take away the hedge. 404 00:32:20,520 --> 00:32:21,520 It will be destroyed. 405 00:32:21,520 --> 00:32:22,520 I will break down the wall. 406 00:32:22,520 --> 00:32:23,800 I will make it a wasteland. 407 00:32:23,800 --> 00:32:28,200 I will command the clouds, not to rain. 408 00:32:28,200 --> 00:32:33,760 My friend, only God could make those statements and only God has the prerogative of judgment. 409 00:32:33,760 --> 00:32:40,600 Who would dare write these words unless he believed that he was uttering the very words 410 00:32:40,600 --> 00:32:43,880 that God was putting into his mouth? 411 00:32:43,880 --> 00:32:46,680 You see that is what Isaiah believed. 412 00:32:46,680 --> 00:32:48,960 That is what was happening. 413 00:32:48,960 --> 00:32:53,000 Now we could look at Jeremiah 1, verses 9 and 17. 414 00:32:53,000 --> 00:32:54,000 We don't have time. 415 00:32:54,000 --> 00:32:56,120 I am just giving you the references. 416 00:32:56,120 --> 00:33:04,240 We could look at John 14, verse 26, in which Jesus pre-authenticates, if you please, the 417 00:33:04,240 --> 00:33:06,480 writings of the apostles. 418 00:33:06,480 --> 00:33:11,360 He says the Holy Spirit will bring these things back to your minds and he did and they wrote. 419 00:33:11,360 --> 00:33:13,680 We have the New Testament. 420 00:33:13,680 --> 00:33:21,120 Paul says in 1 Thessalonians 2, 13, what I am writing unto you is the word of the Lord. 421 00:33:21,120 --> 00:33:28,400 Peter says about Paul in 2 Peter 3, verses 15 and 16 that his words have the same weight 422 00:33:28,400 --> 00:33:31,200 as scripture. 423 00:33:31,200 --> 00:33:37,200 Peter would never say that about that Old Testament that he so revered as a Jew unless 424 00:33:37,200 --> 00:33:41,360 he believed with all of his heart that what Paul had said was the very word of God as 425 00:33:41,360 --> 00:33:43,320 were the Old Testament scriptures. 426 00:33:43,320 --> 00:33:46,040 So what I am saying to you is this. 427 00:33:46,040 --> 00:33:52,240 What we have in this revelation here is a unique book inspired by God. 428 00:33:52,240 --> 00:33:59,080 God used human personalities to communicate his word to us. 429 00:33:59,080 --> 00:34:02,440 We could talk about 2 Timothy 3, 16. 430 00:34:02,440 --> 00:34:06,440 All scripture is what? 431 00:34:06,440 --> 00:34:08,400 Inspired by God. 432 00:34:08,400 --> 00:34:13,240 Literally it says all scripture is God breathed. 433 00:34:13,240 --> 00:34:21,600 And because it is, Paul says that the scriptures are holy, Romans 1 and 2. 434 00:34:21,600 --> 00:34:26,640 Romans 3, 2 he says he calls them the very words of God. 435 00:34:26,640 --> 00:34:31,720 2 Timothy 3, 15 he calls them sacred. 436 00:34:31,720 --> 00:34:38,040 Those words could never be used if the Bible were less than what we claim it is, the very 437 00:34:38,040 --> 00:34:39,040 word of God. 438 00:34:39,040 --> 00:34:42,640 Now what are the implications of this? 439 00:34:42,640 --> 00:34:45,200 We have to close. 440 00:34:45,200 --> 00:34:53,800 Dear people, inspiration is critical to the authority of the Bible. 441 00:34:53,800 --> 00:35:00,520 There are people who talk as the Indian used to say with a forked tongue. 442 00:35:00,520 --> 00:35:06,640 On the one hand they talk about believing in the inspiration of the Bible, but they 443 00:35:06,640 --> 00:35:13,400 define it as something less than what we've talked about today. 444 00:35:13,400 --> 00:35:15,760 On the other hand they say the Bible has authority. 445 00:35:15,760 --> 00:35:19,680 In fact that's become the big word to use now. 446 00:35:19,680 --> 00:35:24,440 There are some people embarrassed by the word inspiration so they talk about the authority 447 00:35:24,440 --> 00:35:27,040 of the Bible. 448 00:35:27,040 --> 00:35:32,520 Because we believe the Bible is inspired in the sense that we've defined it this morning, 449 00:35:32,520 --> 00:35:36,280 we have an authority that is number one, trustworthy. 450 00:35:36,280 --> 00:35:43,640 It is wholly true, it is inerrant in whatever subject it speaks about, it is infallible. 451 00:35:43,640 --> 00:35:45,480 There are some people who do not believe that. 452 00:35:45,480 --> 00:35:49,960 But I like the words of Dr. Edward J. Young who is now with the Lord but who was for a 453 00:35:49,960 --> 00:35:55,480 number of years professor of theology at Westminster Theological Seminary. 454 00:35:55,480 --> 00:36:02,640 There is no such thing as inspiration which does not carry with it the correlate of infallibility. 455 00:36:02,640 --> 00:36:08,200 A Bible that is infallible, and we speak of course of the original, is a Bible which is 456 00:36:08,200 --> 00:36:10,000 not inspired. 457 00:36:10,000 --> 00:36:13,840 A Bible that is inspired is a Bible that is infallible. 458 00:36:13,840 --> 00:36:16,040 There is no middle ground. 459 00:36:16,040 --> 00:36:17,880 Dr. J.I. 460 00:36:17,880 --> 00:36:26,520 Packer, what scripture says is to be received as the infallible word of the infallible God 461 00:36:26,520 --> 00:36:33,440 and to assert biblical inerrancy and infallibility is just to confess faith in number one, the 462 00:36:33,440 --> 00:36:39,480 divine origin of the Bible, and number two, the truthfulness and trustworthiness of God. 463 00:36:39,480 --> 00:36:44,400 My friend, it's impossible to believe in the God who cannot lie and to say that the 464 00:36:44,400 --> 00:36:46,760 Bible has mistakes in it. 465 00:36:46,760 --> 00:36:53,200 Whether those mistakes be claimed to be in the area of history or science or some other 466 00:36:53,200 --> 00:36:54,200 area. 467 00:36:54,200 --> 00:37:01,040 But he is the God of truth as he has revealed himself to be that it mandates a Bible that 468 00:37:01,040 --> 00:37:03,560 is inerrant. 469 00:37:03,560 --> 00:37:08,040 How can one say he believes in the virgin birth, the sinless life, the blood atonement, 470 00:37:08,040 --> 00:37:15,840 the resurrection of Christ and so on, and yet deny the inspiration of the Bible, the 471 00:37:15,840 --> 00:37:24,160 verbal plenary inspiration of the Bible because it takes away his authority to believe those 472 00:37:24,160 --> 00:37:28,800 other doctrines if he does not believe in the doctrine of the Bible. 473 00:37:28,800 --> 00:37:31,720 You see the two are inseparable. 474 00:37:31,720 --> 00:37:36,080 But because we have a Bible that's inspired, we have an authority that's trustworthy. 475 00:37:36,080 --> 00:37:39,280 We also have an authority that's durable. 476 00:37:39,280 --> 00:37:47,480 There are churches and denominations who base their doctrines on the counsels of men and 477 00:37:47,480 --> 00:37:51,220 the teachings of religious leaders. 478 00:37:51,220 --> 00:37:54,240 These teachings do not have lasting authority. 479 00:37:54,240 --> 00:37:55,240 Why is that? 480 00:37:55,240 --> 00:38:01,240 Well, because there's a new generation that rises up and they have different ideas and 481 00:38:01,240 --> 00:38:07,120 so they pass them along to those people in those denominations or churches. 482 00:38:07,120 --> 00:38:09,200 And it brings a great deal of confusion. 483 00:38:09,200 --> 00:38:14,720 I have talked to many people within the last ten years of my ministry who are disillusioned 484 00:38:14,720 --> 00:38:20,880 in the places where they've been in the religious world because they say everything is changing. 485 00:38:20,880 --> 00:38:26,760 What I was brought up to believe is now said to not be true. 486 00:38:26,760 --> 00:38:27,760 Why is that? 487 00:38:27,760 --> 00:38:35,800 Well, because unless one has the authority of the inspired Word of God as the basis for 488 00:38:35,800 --> 00:38:38,640 his teachings, his teachings can change. 489 00:38:38,640 --> 00:38:40,440 But the Bible doesn't change. 490 00:38:40,440 --> 00:38:44,040 Jesus said heaven and earth shall pass away, but what? 491 00:38:44,040 --> 00:38:47,040 My words shall not pass away. 492 00:38:47,040 --> 00:38:51,280 It is a durable foundation for our beliefs. 493 00:38:51,280 --> 00:38:57,120 And finally, because the Bible is inspired, as we have said, it is an authority that is 494 00:38:57,120 --> 00:38:58,120 final. 495 00:38:58,120 --> 00:39:03,280 Let me just give you three references to look up on your own if you're interested in studying 496 00:39:03,280 --> 00:39:04,280 that point. 497 00:39:04,280 --> 00:39:16,340 Deuteronomy 4.2, Proverbs 30 verses 5 and 6, and Revelation 22 verses 18 and 19. 498 00:39:16,340 --> 00:39:20,640 We have in the Word of God an authority that is final. 499 00:39:20,640 --> 00:39:27,400 Thus the Bible condemns critics who take it away, take away from the Word of God. 500 00:39:27,400 --> 00:39:32,280 Sometimes that's done through human intellect that leads to liberal theology, as we've 501 00:39:32,280 --> 00:39:33,280 said. 502 00:39:33,280 --> 00:39:38,360 They subject the Bible to higher criticism, but I tell you what educated theologian in 503 00:39:38,360 --> 00:39:46,640 the world is worthy to stand as a critic of this book in that sense. 504 00:39:46,640 --> 00:39:49,680 The Bible condemns those who add to the Bible. 505 00:39:49,680 --> 00:39:56,440 There are many cults in our world today, and most of them claim to have some further revelation 506 00:39:56,440 --> 00:40:00,280 from God. 507 00:40:00,280 --> 00:40:05,180 The Bible closed in its revelation in the first century. 508 00:40:05,180 --> 00:40:06,180 God said it all then. 509 00:40:06,180 --> 00:40:11,920 He doesn't have to say anymore now, and he's not. 510 00:40:11,920 --> 00:40:18,560 We may have further light in what God has said in the Word, but revelation ceased. 511 00:40:18,560 --> 00:40:24,080 Inspiration ceased in that first century with those who wrote the words. 512 00:40:24,080 --> 00:40:30,080 And then there is even a more subtle and deceitful way in which the Bible's final authority is 513 00:40:30,080 --> 00:40:32,760 being undermined these days. 514 00:40:32,760 --> 00:40:39,840 And that is through the emphasis upon the cultural background of the Bible to the exclusion 515 00:40:39,840 --> 00:40:45,120 of what the text itself says. 516 00:40:45,120 --> 00:40:51,360 There are those who study so hard the background of the culture of that day that they begin 517 00:40:51,360 --> 00:40:55,120 then to explain away what the Bible has to say very clearly. 518 00:40:55,120 --> 00:41:00,500 Now it's true that there are some things that are written in a cultural context, but listen 519 00:41:00,500 --> 00:41:02,440 to me. 520 00:41:02,440 --> 00:41:09,480 When you find that true in the Bible, beneath that cultural issue is almost always a principle 521 00:41:09,480 --> 00:41:16,400 that is timeless, and it is not to be limited to that particular culture. 522 00:41:16,400 --> 00:41:22,920 And yet there are those today who are subtly and I think deceitfully undermining the authority 523 00:41:22,920 --> 00:41:28,520 of God's Word by just looking at the culture and explaining away what the Bible says. 524 00:41:28,520 --> 00:41:33,080 Dear people, I want you to know that we as a church are committed. 525 00:41:33,080 --> 00:41:35,000 I don't mean a little bit. 526 00:41:35,000 --> 00:41:37,280 I don't mean 99%. 527 00:41:37,280 --> 00:41:50,200 I mean we are 100% behind teaching simply and clearly what God has to say in his Book. 528 00:41:50,200 --> 00:41:51,480 That's why we're here. 529 00:41:51,480 --> 00:41:56,200 I believe it's one reason that God has been pleased to do the work he has in our midst 530 00:41:56,200 --> 00:41:57,200 in this last year. 531 00:41:57,200 --> 00:41:59,800 That's not to the credit of me or anybody else. 532 00:41:59,800 --> 00:42:02,560 It's to the credit and glory of God. 533 00:42:02,560 --> 00:42:07,800 God has promised to honor his Word, and as we are careful to honor it, God promises to 534 00:42:07,800 --> 00:42:09,280 prosper us. 535 00:42:09,280 --> 00:42:14,680 And that's true if it would be our church or if it would be us personally. 536 00:42:14,680 --> 00:42:18,320 Are you honoring God's Word in your life? 537 00:42:18,320 --> 00:42:21,560 You understand what this Book is? 538 00:42:21,560 --> 00:42:22,560 You understand? 539 00:42:22,560 --> 00:42:28,040 It is God revealing himself to you. 540 00:42:28,040 --> 00:42:32,720 That means that God wants you to know him. 541 00:42:32,720 --> 00:42:34,660 He wants you to know him. 542 00:42:34,660 --> 00:42:38,220 You couldn't if he had not taken the initiative. 543 00:42:38,220 --> 00:42:40,600 How precious this Book is. 544 00:42:40,600 --> 00:42:43,440 Is it precious to you? 545 00:42:43,440 --> 00:42:46,640 How much time have you spent lately? 546 00:42:46,640 --> 00:42:54,520 Do you see the face of God in the words of this Book? 547 00:42:54,520 --> 00:42:59,720 God wants to meet with you and to show you himself. 548 00:42:59,720 --> 00:43:03,600 He wants to explain you to you, too. 549 00:43:03,600 --> 00:43:07,240 He does it right here. 550 00:43:07,240 --> 00:43:11,840 I'm talking to some people who know what it is to every day have a time with God in 551 00:43:11,840 --> 00:43:12,840 the Word. 552 00:43:12,840 --> 00:43:16,360 But I'm talking to some other people who don't. 553 00:43:16,360 --> 00:43:19,440 Some of you have slipped away from patterns that you've established in the past. 554 00:43:19,440 --> 00:43:24,800 Others of you have never yet established a time when you were with God. 555 00:43:24,800 --> 00:43:27,960 Will you do that? 556 00:43:27,960 --> 00:43:33,560 There's not an appointment in your week more important than that one between you and God 557 00:43:33,560 --> 00:43:34,560 every day. 558 00:43:34,560 --> 00:43:38,760 If it would be five minutes to get started, then do it faithfully, or ten minutes or fifteen 559 00:43:38,760 --> 00:43:43,240 minutes, but meet with God in this Book. 560 00:43:43,240 --> 00:43:44,240 Then obey it. 561 00:43:44,240 --> 00:43:50,680 Do what he tells you to do, and his prosperity will pour into your life. 562 00:43:50,680 --> 00:43:56,160 His spiritual blessings will make so real to you, life in a new dimension will open 563 00:43:56,160 --> 00:44:01,560 up if you honor this Book. 564 00:44:01,560 --> 00:44:04,280 Let's pray. 565 00:44:04,280 --> 00:44:12,240 God our Father, we thank you for this unique Book that we have, that you've given to us 566 00:44:12,240 --> 00:44:14,540 by grace. 567 00:44:14,540 --> 00:44:22,800 We thank you for the special way in which it was delivered. 568 00:44:22,800 --> 00:44:29,280 Forgive us for the casual attitude that we've had so often toward the Bible. 569 00:44:29,280 --> 00:44:37,200 I pray that as a church and as individuals, we will honor and obey your word as we ought, 570 00:44:37,200 --> 00:44:41,520 that thus we may know your blessing in our lives. 571 00:44:41,520 --> 00:44:43,280 In Jesus' name, Amen.