WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.299 Hot, hasn't it? Been hot here, it's been hot 00:00:03.299 --> 00:00:05.620 out in the Central Valley, it's been hot in the 00:00:05.620 --> 00:00:09.220 Midwest as well. You say, how hot has it been? 00:00:10.640 --> 00:00:13.279 Thank you very much, I appreciate that. How hot 00:00:13.279 --> 00:00:15.720 has it been? I heard that Campbell's Soup was 00:00:15.720 --> 00:00:18.359 going to change the directions on the can. Just 00:00:18.359 --> 00:00:22.120 going to say, pour and eat. If you're out on 00:00:22.120 --> 00:00:24.480 the farm working, all you have to do is reach 00:00:24.480 --> 00:00:26.260 down, pull a potato out of the ground, split 00:00:26.260 --> 00:00:28.539 it open, put butter on it. It's ready to go. 00:00:28.660 --> 00:00:32.380 That's how hot it's been. You say, how hot is 00:00:32.380 --> 00:00:36.140 it? I tell you how hot it is. The cows are giving 00:00:36.140 --> 00:00:41.939 evaporated milk. The chickens are laying hard 00:00:41.939 --> 00:00:46.259 -boiled eggs. The trees are whistling for the 00:00:46.259 --> 00:00:50.770 dogs to come. I mean, that's hot, friends. It 00:00:50.770 --> 00:00:53.890 is hot, enough of that. It's getting hot under 00:00:53.890 --> 00:00:58.469 these lights. Today we are going to talk about 00:00:58.469 --> 00:01:03.109 truth or consequences and think about how we 00:01:03.109 --> 00:01:06.209 can know what the Bible means. I invite you to 00:01:06.209 --> 00:01:09.349 open your Bible to 2 Timothy chapter 2 and verse 00:01:09.349 --> 00:01:14.870 15. A familiar text to readers of the word of 00:01:14.870 --> 00:01:23.400 God. 2 Timothy 2, 15. Do your best to present 00:01:23.400 --> 00:01:27.819 yourself to God as one approved, a workman who 00:01:27.819 --> 00:01:31.420 does not need to be ashamed and who correctly 00:01:31.420 --> 00:01:39.120 handles the word of truth. The Bible is God's 00:01:39.120 --> 00:01:46.219 truth. What God says is truth. And so someone 00:01:46.219 --> 00:01:49.359 says, well, why are there then so many interpretations 00:01:49.359 --> 00:01:54.019 of the Bible? How can the Bible be the truth 00:01:54.019 --> 00:01:57.819 of God when there are so many disagreements about 00:01:57.819 --> 00:02:02.260 it? Fact is, the Bible, like most other books 00:02:02.260 --> 00:02:06.859 or speeches or whatever, can be made to say whatever 00:02:06.859 --> 00:02:10.379 a person wants it to say in certain circumstances. 00:02:11.500 --> 00:02:14.099 And so it brings us to a very important question. 00:02:14.349 --> 00:02:19.590 How do you know what the Bible means? The verse 00:02:19.590 --> 00:02:22.990 here in 2 Timothy chapter 2 says that we need 00:02:22.990 --> 00:02:26.289 to be careful, we need to be diligent. As the 00:02:26.289 --> 00:02:30.449 King James says, we need to study, to present 00:02:30.449 --> 00:02:35.409 ourselves to God as workmen who are approved 00:02:35.409 --> 00:02:39.370 and not ashamed. How do we do that? Well, he 00:02:39.370 --> 00:02:45.159 says, by correctly handling the word of truth, 00:02:46.219 --> 00:02:50.860 the Bible, correctly handling it. The verb that 00:02:50.860 --> 00:02:55.680 is involved there is a picture. It is a picture 00:02:55.680 --> 00:02:58.740 of the people who, in the Bible, when it was 00:02:58.740 --> 00:03:02.780 written, in that day, made tents. And when they 00:03:02.780 --> 00:03:07.620 would make tents, they would cut the cloth or 00:03:07.620 --> 00:03:10.599 the leather. And when they had finished cutting 00:03:10.599 --> 00:03:14.039 it, it all had to fit together. You ladies understand 00:03:14.039 --> 00:03:17.099 this if you're going to make a dress. Did you 00:03:17.099 --> 00:03:19.560 know that ladies used to do that? They used to 00:03:19.560 --> 00:03:21.879 do their own sewing? Yeah, some of you still 00:03:21.879 --> 00:03:24.780 do, as a matter of fact. And when you have finished 00:03:24.780 --> 00:03:28.460 with that pattern, you put the pieces together 00:03:28.460 --> 00:03:34.520 so it fits. The word here means cutting the word 00:03:34.520 --> 00:03:41.020 of truth straight. That is, when you handle the 00:03:41.020 --> 00:03:46.120 word of God, cut it, deal with it, handle it 00:03:46.120 --> 00:03:54.240 in such a way that it all fits together. You 00:03:54.240 --> 00:03:59.379 and I have a teacher to help us. We who are believers 00:03:59.379 --> 00:04:01.860 in Jesus Christ have the Holy Spirit who lives 00:04:01.860 --> 00:04:05.840 within us, a resident tutor in the Word of God. 00:04:06.199 --> 00:04:10.319 In First Corinthians chapter two and verses nine 00:04:10.319 --> 00:04:13.580 through 12, It says, however it is written, no 00:04:13.580 --> 00:04:17.600 eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived 00:04:17.600 --> 00:04:20.639 what God has prepared for those who love him, 00:04:20.680 --> 00:04:23.439 a quotation from the Old Testament. But down 00:04:23.439 --> 00:04:26.579 in verse 12 it goes on to say, we have not received 00:04:26.579 --> 00:04:29.439 the spirit of the world, but the spirit who is 00:04:29.439 --> 00:04:34.939 from God that we may understand what God has 00:04:34.939 --> 00:04:38.839 freely given us. One of the reasons that God 00:04:38.839 --> 00:04:43.060 has given us the Holy Spirit is so that we can 00:04:43.060 --> 00:04:50.279 understand this book that he has written. In 00:04:50.279 --> 00:04:53.839 1 John chapter two verse 27 it says, as for you, 00:04:53.939 --> 00:04:56.819 the anointing you received from him remains in 00:04:56.819 --> 00:05:01.360 you. The anointing refers to the Holy Spirit. 00:05:02.240 --> 00:05:04.699 And you do not need anyone to teach you, but 00:05:04.699 --> 00:05:08.660 as his anointing teaches you about all things. 00:05:09.399 --> 00:05:14.670 Notice that. His anointing teaches you about 00:05:14.670 --> 00:05:19.490 all things. And so each of us has a personal 00:05:19.490 --> 00:05:24.269 tutor so that we can understand the things of 00:05:24.269 --> 00:05:27.930 God. It is the Holy Spirit who lives within us. 00:05:28.850 --> 00:05:31.230 And yet there are many different understandings 00:05:31.230 --> 00:05:35.170 of the Bible. Among believers, there are different 00:05:35.170 --> 00:05:39.250 understandings of the Bible. There are also critics 00:05:39.250 --> 00:05:41.250 of the Bible. There are people who attack the 00:05:41.250 --> 00:05:44.209 Bible, who say that the Bible is filled with 00:05:44.209 --> 00:05:47.790 inconsistencies and contradictions. Dr. Rick 00:05:47.790 --> 00:05:49.930 Cornish, in his fine book, The Five Men of the 00:05:49.930 --> 00:05:53.610 Apologist, says that there are some common mistakes 00:05:53.610 --> 00:05:55.649 of those who criticize the Bible. I only have 00:05:55.649 --> 00:05:57.870 time this morning to go through them, not to 00:05:57.870 --> 00:06:00.310 illustrate them. But number one, they assume 00:06:00.310 --> 00:06:04.529 that what they cannot explain cannot be explained. 00:06:05.629 --> 00:06:14.829 And that's false. For only a tenth of 1 % of 00:06:14.829 --> 00:06:18.050 the so -called contradictions of the Bible do 00:06:18.050 --> 00:06:20.430 we have difficulty coming up with a plausible 00:06:20.430 --> 00:06:24.329 explanation. But there are critics of the Bible 00:06:24.329 --> 00:06:26.529 who say, well, I can't explain it, therefore 00:06:26.529 --> 00:06:30.550 this is a mystery and it cannot be understood. 00:06:30.709 --> 00:06:35.790 False. Somebody can explain it. Secondly, they 00:06:35.790 --> 00:06:39.439 often ignore or miss the context. of what they 00:06:39.439 --> 00:06:42.079 think is a contradiction. And we'll talk more 00:06:42.079 --> 00:06:44.459 about that in a moment. Third, they sometimes 00:06:44.459 --> 00:06:48.699 take New Testament references to the Old Testament 00:06:48.699 --> 00:06:53.439 as quotes, when in fact they are summaries or 00:06:53.439 --> 00:06:56.899 they are paraphrases of the Old Testament. And 00:06:56.899 --> 00:06:58.779 so when they compare one to the other, they say, 00:06:58.879 --> 00:07:02.319 well, see, it's inconsistent, but not at all. 00:07:02.759 --> 00:07:07.329 Number four, they may point out. the numbers 00:07:07.329 --> 00:07:09.810 of differences between, number of differences 00:07:09.810 --> 00:07:14.050 between accounts of the same incident, not realizing 00:07:14.050 --> 00:07:16.870 that one author may be rounding off figures. 00:07:17.670 --> 00:07:20.730 For example, in the Old Testament, the prophecy 00:07:20.730 --> 00:07:23.569 is that the people of God will be enslaved in 00:07:23.569 --> 00:07:27.089 Egypt for 400 years. But Paul in the book of 00:07:27.089 --> 00:07:31.470 Galatians says was 430 years. And so critics 00:07:31.470 --> 00:07:33.850 of the Bible say, well see, here's an inconsistency. 00:07:34.439 --> 00:07:37.180 But in fact, in the one case, there was a rounding 00:07:37.180 --> 00:07:40.519 off of the numbers. It wasn't intended to be 00:07:40.519 --> 00:07:43.060 precise, but in the New Testament, Paul gives 00:07:43.060 --> 00:07:46.759 us the precise number. Number five, they often 00:07:46.759 --> 00:07:49.439 judge the Bible by modern technical standards 00:07:49.439 --> 00:07:52.579 when it speaks the common language of ordinary 00:07:52.579 --> 00:07:58.550 people at the time of its writing. Why are there 00:07:58.550 --> 00:08:01.709 in some cases such diverse opinions though from 00:08:01.709 --> 00:08:05.970 Bible believers about what the Bible says? About 00:08:05.970 --> 00:08:09.110 people who love God about people who who are 00:08:09.110 --> 00:08:12.790 Christians who are Christ followers Why are there 00:08:12.790 --> 00:08:16.490 in some cases such diverse opinions and it brings 00:08:16.490 --> 00:08:18.410 me to the main point that I want to bring to 00:08:18.410 --> 00:08:22.009 you today and that is what God says is truth 00:08:22.009 --> 00:08:30.629 and How we interpret what he says is vital. What 00:08:30.629 --> 00:08:34.610 God says is truth. How we interpret what God 00:08:34.610 --> 00:08:36.690 says is the vital thing. Now there are different 00:08:36.690 --> 00:08:40.110 schools of interpretation. People who look at 00:08:40.110 --> 00:08:42.009 the Bible differently. For example, there's the 00:08:42.009 --> 00:08:45.549 allegorical school of interpretation. These folks 00:08:45.549 --> 00:08:50.929 look for hidden meanings in the words. This is 00:08:50.929 --> 00:08:54.190 a favorite way to interpret the Bible for the 00:08:54.190 --> 00:08:57.519 Roman Catholic Church. In addition, of course, 00:08:57.519 --> 00:09:00.220 they have other sources of authority that they 00:09:00.220 --> 00:09:02.259 follow. But when they come to the Bible, they 00:09:02.259 --> 00:09:05.019 often look at it allegorically. They don't take 00:09:05.019 --> 00:09:09.639 it literally. The problem with this is that the 00:09:09.639 --> 00:09:13.120 meaning then is left to the fancy of anyone's 00:09:13.120 --> 00:09:19.799 imagination. Allegories themselves are legitimate 00:09:19.799 --> 00:09:22.279 figures of speech. One of the high schoolers 00:09:22.279 --> 00:09:25.769 was using some sarcasm this morning. Well, that 00:09:25.769 --> 00:09:29.250 is a legitimate figure of speech. So is an allegory. 00:09:30.950 --> 00:09:34.610 For example, we this morning sang a song calling 00:09:34.610 --> 00:09:39.129 Jesus the lamb. Does Jesus have four feet and 00:09:39.129 --> 00:09:43.269 bah like a lamb? Of course not. It's an allegory. 00:09:44.669 --> 00:09:47.690 It describes something about Jesus. We talk about 00:09:47.690 --> 00:09:51.409 the church being a bride or a temple. These are 00:09:51.409 --> 00:09:55.279 allegories. They're legitimate. But allegorism, 00:09:56.679 --> 00:09:59.000 meaning that we approach the whole Bible with 00:09:59.000 --> 00:10:02.899 that way of looking at it, is not a legitimate 00:10:02.899 --> 00:10:06.679 method of interpretation. Because in the end, 00:10:06.700 --> 00:10:10.340 who's to say what it means if everything is an 00:10:10.340 --> 00:10:14.399 allegory? And then there's the liberal school 00:10:14.399 --> 00:10:19.200 of interpretation, which subjects scripture to 00:10:19.200 --> 00:10:23.779 human reasoning and human experiences. This is 00:10:23.779 --> 00:10:26.740 the way that liberal churches and denominations, 00:10:27.200 --> 00:10:31.879 humanists in general, look at the Bible. The 00:10:31.879 --> 00:10:35.960 problem is that it cuts the heart of the supernatural 00:10:35.960 --> 00:10:39.779 out of God's truth. Because if it doesn't fit 00:10:39.779 --> 00:10:44.159 within what man can reason or what man has experienced, 00:10:44.379 --> 00:10:49.519 they throw it out. God wants us to use our minds. 00:10:51.049 --> 00:10:54.690 We do interpret the Bible in light of our experiences. 00:10:55.309 --> 00:10:57.970 These things affect how we understand the scriptures, 00:10:58.049 --> 00:11:03.370 but the Bible is above our human reasoning and 00:11:03.370 --> 00:11:06.750 our experiences. We interpret those in light 00:11:06.750 --> 00:11:09.350 of what God says, not the other way around like 00:11:09.350 --> 00:11:14.570 the liberal school of interpretation. Now there's 00:11:14.570 --> 00:11:16.769 a third school of interpretation called the literal 00:11:16.769 --> 00:11:19.009 school. This is the one that I belong to and 00:11:19.009 --> 00:11:23.019 this church does. and most of you do. The idea 00:11:23.019 --> 00:11:25.419 in literal interpretation is that we need to 00:11:25.419 --> 00:11:28.700 discover what the author intended the meaning 00:11:28.700 --> 00:11:32.980 to be. That's the purpose. I'm not looking for 00:11:32.980 --> 00:11:37.019 hidden meanings in the words. I'm trying to see 00:11:37.019 --> 00:11:41.480 what the author intended to say there. And so 00:11:41.480 --> 00:11:45.039 the words and the sentences are interpreted in 00:11:45.039 --> 00:11:52.389 their usual and customary way. I began my message 00:11:52.389 --> 00:11:55.950 time this morning telling you that Campbell's 00:11:55.950 --> 00:11:59.230 Soup has changed the labels. Did you take that 00:11:59.230 --> 00:12:03.330 literally? No, of course not, because you understood 00:12:03.330 --> 00:12:06.470 that I was telling a joke. Don't go out looking 00:12:06.470 --> 00:12:10.129 for potatoes in the field to be cooked. You'll 00:12:10.129 --> 00:12:13.470 be surprised, they aren't. Because you see, you 00:12:13.470 --> 00:12:17.730 interpreted what I said for what it was. It was 00:12:17.730 --> 00:12:21.100 humor. Maybe poor, but it was an attempt, right? 00:12:22.559 --> 00:12:25.580 You understood the context of that. You took 00:12:25.580 --> 00:12:28.639 it in the usual and customary way for that kind 00:12:28.639 --> 00:12:32.399 of a story. But now let's suppose you get the 00:12:32.399 --> 00:12:34.899 newspaper out and you begin to read the news. 00:12:34.960 --> 00:12:42.559 Do you take that as humor? No, sometimes. You 00:12:42.559 --> 00:12:44.820 go to the funny pages. Do you take that seriously? 00:12:45.960 --> 00:12:48.899 Right, sometimes, I know, I can see this coming, 00:12:49.080 --> 00:12:52.740 right? You go to the editorial page, what do 00:12:52.740 --> 00:12:56.639 you do? You either weep or you get angry, one 00:12:56.639 --> 00:13:00.220 or the other here in San Jose. Well, you see, 00:13:00.340 --> 00:13:04.220 you learn to interpret things in the usual and 00:13:04.220 --> 00:13:07.259 customary way in which it's intended by the author, 00:13:07.879 --> 00:13:10.100 and that's what literal interpretation means. 00:13:11.179 --> 00:13:14.500 Now, today in our world, When people say they 00:13:14.500 --> 00:13:16.639 believe in the literal interpretation of the 00:13:16.639 --> 00:13:19.000 Bible, all kinds of bells and whistles and flags 00:13:19.000 --> 00:13:23.559 go off. Oh, you're one of those people, you believe 00:13:23.559 --> 00:13:28.360 in the literal interpretation of the Bible? President 00:13:28.360 --> 00:13:33.019 Bush was attacked for this during the last campaign, 00:13:33.019 --> 00:13:36.519 you may recall. There was an attempt to undermine 00:13:36.519 --> 00:13:39.460 his credibility and his worthiness by saying 00:13:39.460 --> 00:13:42.850 he believes in the literal interpretation of 00:13:42.850 --> 00:13:45.169 the Bible. Can you imagine having somebody in 00:13:45.169 --> 00:13:47.110 the Oval Office with their finger on the nuclear 00:13:47.110 --> 00:13:49.529 button who believes that the Bible should be 00:13:49.529 --> 00:13:59.250 taken literally? Oh my, how terrible. The problem 00:13:59.250 --> 00:14:02.629 here is that many people fail to understand what 00:14:02.629 --> 00:14:09.960 literal interpretation means. And so today I 00:14:09.960 --> 00:14:12.440 want to talk to you about principles of literal 00:14:12.440 --> 00:14:17.019 interpretation. The story is told about two friends. 00:14:18.659 --> 00:14:20.860 One of whom went to college and was well educated 00:14:20.860 --> 00:14:23.840 and had become very successful. And the other 00:14:23.840 --> 00:14:26.639 had not gone to college, had not been particularly 00:14:26.639 --> 00:14:29.120 industrious, but he too seemed to be doing well. 00:14:29.179 --> 00:14:32.019 And so the one who was the college graduate asked 00:14:32.019 --> 00:14:34.259 his less educated friend, well, how's everything 00:14:34.259 --> 00:14:38.179 going with you? And this less educated, less 00:14:38.179 --> 00:14:43.000 ambitious man said to him, well, one day I opened 00:14:43.000 --> 00:14:46.919 my Bible just at random and I dropped my finger 00:14:46.919 --> 00:14:52.419 on a page. And then I lifted my finger up and 00:14:52.419 --> 00:14:57.980 underneath my finger was the word oil. And so 00:14:57.980 --> 00:15:00.860 I went out and I invested in oil. And oh my goodness, 00:15:01.000 --> 00:15:04.559 the oil wells just gushed. And so I decided to 00:15:04.559 --> 00:15:08.360 try the same method again. I went out and I put 00:15:08.360 --> 00:15:11.440 my finger on the Bible and I looked underneath 00:15:11.440 --> 00:15:15.879 my finger and it was the word gold. And so I 00:15:15.879 --> 00:15:18.799 invested in gold and those minds really produced. 00:15:19.019 --> 00:15:24.259 I have become as rich as a movie star. A successful 00:15:24.259 --> 00:15:27.740 friend was so impressed with this method of using 00:15:27.740 --> 00:15:30.360 the Bible that he rushed back to his hotel, he 00:15:30.360 --> 00:15:32.279 opened the drawer, got out the Gideon Bible. 00:15:32.580 --> 00:15:34.899 He flipped it open, shut his eyes, dropped his 00:15:34.899 --> 00:15:37.440 finger in. and then he opened his eyes to see 00:15:37.440 --> 00:15:39.360 what was under his finger, and right under his 00:15:39.360 --> 00:15:50.419 finger were the words, chapter 11. What do we 00:15:50.419 --> 00:15:53.159 mean by literal interpretation of the Bible? 00:15:53.220 --> 00:15:55.000 That's what we need to find out this morning. 00:15:56.179 --> 00:15:58.799 So bear with me as we work our way through these 00:15:58.799 --> 00:16:01.440 principles of interpretation. The first one is 00:16:01.440 --> 00:16:05.659 the principle of accuracy. the principle of accuracy. 00:16:07.220 --> 00:16:09.360 There are some things we need to consider when 00:16:09.360 --> 00:16:11.580 we come to a text of the Bible. First of all, 00:16:11.620 --> 00:16:14.399 we need to be sure we understand what the language 00:16:14.399 --> 00:16:18.899 is really saying. This means we need to get some 00:16:18.899 --> 00:16:21.759 tools, some Bible study tools perhaps, or a good 00:16:21.759 --> 00:16:25.100 study Bible that will help us understand the 00:16:25.100 --> 00:16:29.899 grammar, or the definitions, or even the structure 00:16:29.899 --> 00:16:34.059 of the language. I remember reading an article 00:16:34.059 --> 00:16:36.980 years ago in a newspaper in Ohio about a man 00:16:36.980 --> 00:16:42.620 who was a Christian and he was protesting a law 00:16:42.620 --> 00:16:46.639 regarding union bargaining. And he said the Bible 00:16:46.639 --> 00:16:48.960 is against it because the Bible says there should 00:16:48.960 --> 00:16:54.740 be no striker. Now if you've read the King James 00:16:54.740 --> 00:16:57.440 Bible you know that those two words are put together 00:16:57.440 --> 00:17:02.000 in Timothy. No striker. But it's not talking 00:17:02.000 --> 00:17:05.920 about union bargaining. You need to go back and 00:17:05.920 --> 00:17:09.039 check what that word striker really means before 00:17:09.039 --> 00:17:11.680 you come up with that kind of a crazy interpretation. 00:17:13.500 --> 00:17:17.240 Galatians chapter six. In verse two it says, 00:17:17.660 --> 00:17:23.039 bear ye one another's burdens. Three verses later 00:17:23.039 --> 00:17:26.480 it says, every man shall bear his own burden. 00:17:29.870 --> 00:17:32.269 Bear one another's burdens, every man will bear 00:17:32.269 --> 00:17:35.049 his own burden. Doesn't that seem inconsistent? 00:17:36.069 --> 00:17:39.369 It's a contradiction there, isn't there? Go back 00:17:39.369 --> 00:17:43.150 and check the words. And most of the more contemporary 00:17:43.150 --> 00:17:45.589 translations have picked up on this and they 00:17:45.589 --> 00:17:49.190 interpret it so that it's not confusing. But 00:17:49.190 --> 00:17:52.369 the point is, be accurate before you decide what 00:17:52.369 --> 00:17:56.690 the interpretation is. Look at the history. Find 00:17:56.690 --> 00:18:00.180 out what was happening in the larger scene. when 00:18:00.180 --> 00:18:03.200 Jeremiah wrote those words or when Isaiah gave 00:18:03.200 --> 00:18:06.900 that prophecy. Understand something of the history. 00:18:06.940 --> 00:18:11.039 Look at the culture. I don't need to tell you 00:18:11.039 --> 00:18:14.000 that the Bible was not written in Western civilization. 00:18:14.740 --> 00:18:18.279 It was not written in the 21st century. And so 00:18:18.279 --> 00:18:20.680 we need to understand something of the culture 00:18:20.680 --> 00:18:24.180 of that day when the author wrote it. Look at 00:18:24.180 --> 00:18:28.279 the geography. In the Bible, it warns about, 00:18:28.279 --> 00:18:31.200 in the last days, the King of the North and the 00:18:31.200 --> 00:18:34.420 King of the South. Does that mean that we need 00:18:34.420 --> 00:18:38.339 to beware of Canada and of Mexico? Well, maybe, 00:18:38.660 --> 00:18:42.339 to be honest, but that's another sermon. But 00:18:42.339 --> 00:18:44.339 the geography of the Bible, when it talks about 00:18:44.339 --> 00:18:46.599 North and South, it's talking about North of 00:18:46.599 --> 00:18:51.279 Palestine, not North of San Jose. It's talking 00:18:51.279 --> 00:18:54.539 about what's South of Palestine. Understand the 00:18:54.539 --> 00:18:57.079 geography. The point is, what did the author 00:18:57.079 --> 00:19:01.220 mean by these words? Sometimes you hear people 00:19:01.220 --> 00:19:07.019 say, well, here's what it means to me. And folks, 00:19:07.039 --> 00:19:08.640 there's nothing wrong with that because we all 00:19:08.640 --> 00:19:10.400 are trying to interpret the Bible, but the key 00:19:10.400 --> 00:19:13.980 question is not what does it mean to me. The 00:19:13.980 --> 00:19:16.339 key question is what did it mean to the author 00:19:16.339 --> 00:19:21.220 when he wrote those words? And once I understand 00:19:21.220 --> 00:19:25.339 what he meant by it, then I can see how it applies 00:19:25.339 --> 00:19:30.440 to my life, to my situation, to my world. Second 00:19:30.440 --> 00:19:33.220 principle, the principle of accommodation. First, 00:19:33.720 --> 00:19:36.599 the principle of accuracy, but now the principle 00:19:36.599 --> 00:19:40.380 of accommodation, which says that God is speaking 00:19:40.380 --> 00:19:46.900 his truth in man's terms, in human terms. He 00:19:46.900 --> 00:19:50.960 uses expressions that you and I can identify 00:19:50.960 --> 00:19:55.390 with and grasp. I mean, after all, God is so 00:19:55.390 --> 00:19:58.329 different than we are that if he didn't do that, 00:19:58.329 --> 00:20:00.730 there's no way we could comprehend his truth. 00:20:01.730 --> 00:20:06.730 And so he accommodates himself to us. For example, 00:20:06.730 --> 00:20:12.789 he speaks in his word about his hand, the hand 00:20:12.789 --> 00:20:16.849 of the Lord. It speaks about the face of the 00:20:16.849 --> 00:20:21.619 Lord. It speaks about the arm of the Lord. Now 00:20:21.619 --> 00:20:24.859 that doesn't mean that God has a face, a hand, 00:20:25.119 --> 00:20:31.779 an arm. God is spirit. He doesn't have those 00:20:31.779 --> 00:20:36.180 features about himself, except as he is incarnate 00:20:36.180 --> 00:20:41.240 in Christ. But those are words that accommodate 00:20:41.240 --> 00:20:45.819 to our understanding that God is active. God 00:20:45.819 --> 00:20:50.970 is watching. God is guarding. God is attacking 00:20:50.970 --> 00:20:56.230 the principles of accommodation. Principle of 00:20:56.230 --> 00:20:59.349 accommodation. Number three, the principle of 00:20:59.349 --> 00:21:04.970 progressive revelation. When I seek to interpret 00:21:04.970 --> 00:21:08.390 the scripture, I need to understand that God 00:21:08.390 --> 00:21:12.309 has revealed his truth little by little over 00:21:12.309 --> 00:21:18.849 a span of time. So that when I look into the 00:21:18.849 --> 00:21:21.769 Bible at one particular point, before I seek 00:21:21.769 --> 00:21:25.269 to understand what God is saying in that verse 00:21:25.269 --> 00:21:29.390 about that idea, I need to be sure that I have 00:21:29.390 --> 00:21:32.950 an understanding of all that God says about that 00:21:32.950 --> 00:21:37.509 idea. Because when I'm back here somewhere or 00:21:37.509 --> 00:21:40.150 up here somewhere, I need to know what the rest 00:21:40.150 --> 00:21:44.269 of scripture says. In Hebrews chapter one, verses 00:21:44.269 --> 00:21:47.329 one and two, it says, in the past, God spoke 00:21:47.329 --> 00:21:51.109 to our forefathers through the prophets at many 00:21:51.109 --> 00:21:55.549 times and in various ways. A little here, a little 00:21:55.549 --> 00:22:00.789 there. But in these last days, He has spoken 00:22:00.789 --> 00:22:05.470 to us by His Son, which is a way of saying that 00:22:05.470 --> 00:22:13.529 God has now fully and finally spoken. So I need 00:22:13.529 --> 00:22:16.329 to understand the principle of progressive revelation, 00:22:17.650 --> 00:22:20.289 if I'm going to interpret scripture literally. 00:22:22.890 --> 00:22:25.150 And then, fourthly, there's the principle of 00:22:25.150 --> 00:22:30.089 unity. That is that every passage of scripture 00:22:30.089 --> 00:22:36.069 has but one meaning. And that meaning must be 00:22:36.069 --> 00:22:40.700 consistent with the whole of scripture. You say, 00:22:40.799 --> 00:22:43.460 well, if every passage has one meaning and you 00:22:43.460 --> 00:22:46.680 have three people with three different meanings, 00:22:47.200 --> 00:22:51.480 who has the right one? Well, if you're one of 00:22:51.480 --> 00:22:53.220 the three, of course, that answers the question, 00:22:53.380 --> 00:22:57.660 right? No. The fact is, all three of them could 00:22:57.660 --> 00:23:03.880 be wrong. But every passage of scripture has 00:23:03.880 --> 00:23:09.160 only one meaning. and that one meaning will fit 00:23:09.160 --> 00:23:11.640 with all of the rest of scripture. That's what 00:23:11.640 --> 00:23:14.240 Paul was saying to Timothy, make it all fit, 00:23:14.359 --> 00:23:17.779 cut it straight so that you don't end up in your 00:23:17.779 --> 00:23:20.380 understanding of the Bible with these huge gaps 00:23:20.380 --> 00:23:25.359 that things just don't come together. The principle 00:23:25.359 --> 00:23:31.099 of unity. The story is told about the devil. 00:23:32.259 --> 00:23:34.680 who was walking along the road with one of his 00:23:34.680 --> 00:23:37.200 cohorts one day, and as they were walking along, 00:23:37.220 --> 00:23:40.420 they saw a human being in front of them, a man 00:23:40.420 --> 00:23:44.539 pick up a shiny object. And the devil's cohort 00:23:44.539 --> 00:23:46.640 said, well, what did he find? And the devil said, 00:23:46.660 --> 00:23:51.839 he found a piece of the truth. And the cohort 00:23:51.839 --> 00:23:54.099 of the devil said, well, doesn't it bother you 00:23:54.099 --> 00:23:58.200 that he found a piece of the truth? And the devil 00:23:58.200 --> 00:24:00.740 replied to him, no, I'll see to it that he makes 00:24:00.740 --> 00:24:05.410 a religion out of it. You see, and so often that 00:24:05.410 --> 00:24:10.490 happens. People have a piece of the truth. And 00:24:10.490 --> 00:24:12.869 around that piece of the truth, they build a 00:24:12.869 --> 00:24:16.789 structure of belief that is inconsistent with 00:24:16.789 --> 00:24:22.109 the rest of the scriptures. Beware of getting 00:24:22.109 --> 00:24:27.809 just a piece of the truth. Understand it in its 00:24:27.809 --> 00:24:30.730 whole. You say, well, that takes time. It does. 00:24:32.009 --> 00:24:34.150 You say, well I'm just a new believer, how can 00:24:34.150 --> 00:24:36.849 I possibly then understand the scripture? Grow, 00:24:38.109 --> 00:24:42.369 be disciples, get somebody else who's further 00:24:42.369 --> 00:24:45.569 down the road from you and ask them to help you 00:24:45.569 --> 00:24:49.130 get caught up. This is not something that takes, 00:24:49.450 --> 00:24:52.670 well it does take a lifetime in one sense. But 00:24:52.670 --> 00:24:55.109 the fact is you can understand the whole of scriptures 00:24:55.109 --> 00:24:58.630 in a relatively short period of time in the big 00:24:58.630 --> 00:25:02.160 picture of things. so that you can interpret 00:25:02.160 --> 00:25:06.839 correctly. And then, fifthly, there is the principle 00:25:06.839 --> 00:25:12.119 of context. The point here is check the environment 00:25:12.119 --> 00:25:17.259 of what you're interpreting. Seek to discover 00:25:17.259 --> 00:25:22.019 the meaning in that environment. The point is 00:25:22.019 --> 00:25:23.839 this. I have a little bit of an illustration 00:25:23.839 --> 00:25:26.559 to show you. You start out with one verse of 00:25:26.559 --> 00:25:30.460 the Bible. And that's the verse you're focusing 00:25:30.460 --> 00:25:33.119 on, let's say. Now, if you're going to interpret 00:25:33.119 --> 00:25:36.359 that verse, you need to look at the immediate 00:25:36.359 --> 00:25:39.799 neighborhood of that verse, which we call the 00:25:39.799 --> 00:25:43.680 paragraph. Most Bible translations have some 00:25:43.680 --> 00:25:47.160 sort of paragraph structure that are given to 00:25:47.160 --> 00:25:50.940 it, and so look at the larger paragraph. Who's 00:25:50.940 --> 00:25:56.240 talking here? Where is this happening? What is 00:25:56.240 --> 00:26:01.740 being talked about here in this paragraph? And 00:26:01.740 --> 00:26:03.500 when you think you'd understand that paragraph, 00:26:03.559 --> 00:26:06.059 then go to the next level and look at it in the 00:26:06.059 --> 00:26:11.220 context of the book. Okay, so this is from the 00:26:11.220 --> 00:26:15.539 Gospel of Matthew, and let's see, Matthew talks 00:26:15.539 --> 00:26:20.559 especially about Jesus as the king, and so here's 00:26:20.559 --> 00:26:23.980 how this verse can be understood in the context 00:26:23.980 --> 00:26:27.890 of Matthew. And then folks, it's helpful if you 00:26:27.890 --> 00:26:30.809 take it to another realm, and let me just use 00:26:30.809 --> 00:26:34.289 the word, look at it in the context of its dispensation. 00:26:35.809 --> 00:26:40.750 That is, with whom is God dealing in the world? 00:26:42.029 --> 00:26:45.289 What is the covenant that's involved here in 00:26:45.289 --> 00:26:48.269 this relationship that I'm looking at between 00:26:48.269 --> 00:26:53.230 Noah and God, for example? Or between Abraham 00:26:53.230 --> 00:27:00.160 and God? or between you and God. Now here's one 00:27:00.160 --> 00:27:03.680 of the big issues today in our culture and the 00:27:03.680 --> 00:27:06.039 fear that people have of those of us who take 00:27:06.039 --> 00:27:09.480 the Bible literally. Turn with me to the book 00:27:09.480 --> 00:27:22.680 of Leviticus chapter 20. Leviticus chapter 20. 00:27:23.759 --> 00:27:34.180 And we will look at verse 13. It says, if a man 00:27:34.180 --> 00:27:38.619 lies with a man as one lies with a woman, both 00:27:38.619 --> 00:27:43.480 of them have done what is detestable. They must 00:27:43.480 --> 00:27:47.700 be put to death. Their blood will be on their 00:27:47.700 --> 00:27:51.000 own heads. Have you ever heard this verse quoted 00:27:51.000 --> 00:27:56.140 in the culture today? Very commonly used. You 00:27:56.140 --> 00:27:58.240 can't go to the Bible and what it says about 00:27:58.240 --> 00:28:01.019 homosexuality. Well, if you take the Bible literally, 00:28:01.359 --> 00:28:06.099 you'll be stoning homosexuals. You say, oh my 00:28:06.099 --> 00:28:09.559 goodness, yes, I guess I would be. So are you 00:28:09.559 --> 00:28:14.200 put off by that? As one who interprets the Bible 00:28:14.200 --> 00:28:18.799 literally, you shouldn't be. You shouldn't be. 00:28:19.599 --> 00:28:21.640 Because if you interpret the Bible literally, 00:28:21.660 --> 00:28:23.559 you're following the principles we're talking 00:28:23.559 --> 00:28:27.640 about this morning. All of them apply to this 00:28:27.640 --> 00:28:31.599 verse that we've talked about. Be sure you understand 00:28:31.599 --> 00:28:36.720 the language. Is God accommodating himself here 00:28:36.720 --> 00:28:42.859 in some way to us? And so forth. And then we 00:28:42.859 --> 00:28:46.940 come to context. And so we stop and we think. 00:28:46.940 --> 00:28:51.920 And we ask ourselves, well, Is this written to 00:28:51.920 --> 00:28:57.059 the church today? And the answer is no, it's 00:28:57.059 --> 00:29:02.299 not. You see, as we look at this in the context 00:29:02.299 --> 00:29:05.740 of the book, we understand that this is a paragraph 00:29:05.740 --> 00:29:11.920 in a book that deals with regulations for the 00:29:11.920 --> 00:29:16.539 people of Israel as they would establish a theocracy. 00:29:19.200 --> 00:29:25.660 3 ,000 years ago. And in the context of that, 00:29:25.759 --> 00:29:28.539 this is what God says. But notice he not only 00:29:28.539 --> 00:29:32.480 says that about homosexuals, he says that about 00:29:32.480 --> 00:29:36.099 someone in verse 10 who commits adultery with 00:29:36.099 --> 00:29:40.119 another man's wife. If a man sleeps with his 00:29:40.119 --> 00:29:44.460 father's wife, if a man sleeps with his daughter 00:29:44.460 --> 00:29:49.349 -in -law, He even says in verse nine, if anyone 00:29:49.349 --> 00:29:54.049 curses his father or mother, he must be put to 00:29:54.049 --> 00:30:00.089 death. So how literal do we want to be? We want 00:30:00.089 --> 00:30:04.750 to be literal. But remember, literal means that 00:30:04.750 --> 00:30:09.289 we use this principle of context. And so we remember 00:30:09.289 --> 00:30:12.750 that this was not written to the church, this 00:30:12.750 --> 00:30:16.150 was written to another people, another time. 00:30:16.740 --> 00:30:19.400 God was relating to the people of Israel under 00:30:19.400 --> 00:30:23.960 the covenant of the law. We are not related to 00:30:23.960 --> 00:30:26.200 God under the covenant of the law. We are related 00:30:26.200 --> 00:30:29.480 to God today under the covenant of grace. We 00:30:29.480 --> 00:30:35.180 are not Israel. We're part of the church. So 00:30:35.180 --> 00:30:36.839 you say, well then we just throw the whole thing 00:30:36.839 --> 00:30:40.579 out? Oh no, wait a minute, wait a minute. In 00:30:40.579 --> 00:30:44.279 the New Testament, The moral standard represented 00:30:44.279 --> 00:30:50.319 here is repeated for the church. God still calls 00:30:50.319 --> 00:30:58.279 it sin, but God never authorizes the church to 00:30:58.279 --> 00:31:02.660 carry out capital punishment. I felt like it 00:31:02.660 --> 00:31:07.359 a couple of times in my life in ministry. God 00:31:07.359 --> 00:31:10.759 has never authorized that. Because you see right 00:31:10.759 --> 00:31:13.299 now he's working on the invisible kingdom of 00:31:13.299 --> 00:31:16.900 the heart. Someday he will establish a visible 00:31:16.900 --> 00:31:21.319 kingdom and reign in the world. So you see what 00:31:21.319 --> 00:31:24.400 we take from Leviticus 20 is the moral standard, 00:31:24.539 --> 00:31:27.440 the moral definition that God does give there 00:31:27.440 --> 00:31:31.059 and he repeats in the New Testament for all time. 00:31:32.819 --> 00:31:37.259 But he never authorizes the carrying out of capital 00:31:37.259 --> 00:31:41.680 punishment for that sin. in the age, the dispensation 00:31:41.680 --> 00:31:46.180 in which we live. So you see how that works? 00:31:47.259 --> 00:31:50.180 As a person who literally interprets the Bible, 00:31:50.339 --> 00:31:52.640 you can't go back to Leviticus 20 and demand 00:31:52.640 --> 00:31:55.420 the death penalty for these kinds of actions. 00:31:56.319 --> 00:31:59.700 Because you believe in the literal interpretation 00:31:59.700 --> 00:32:06.500 of the Bible. And the principle of context. And 00:32:06.500 --> 00:32:08.440 then after you've looked at the dispensation, 00:32:08.619 --> 00:32:11.619 is this written to Israel? Is this written to 00:32:11.619 --> 00:32:15.079 me? You need to remind yourself of this, that 00:32:15.079 --> 00:32:19.220 all of the Bible is for me, but not all of the 00:32:19.220 --> 00:32:24.240 Bible is to me. Do you understand that? In other 00:32:24.240 --> 00:32:26.200 words, what's written in the Old Testament is 00:32:26.200 --> 00:32:28.619 for my instruction, my example, and my learning. 00:32:28.680 --> 00:32:32.759 I need to go there, it's for me. But it's not 00:32:32.759 --> 00:32:36.700 to me what's especially to me is the New Testament 00:32:36.700 --> 00:32:41.599 Because that's the the the covenant the new covenant 00:32:41.599 --> 00:32:46.220 by which I am related to God And after you've 00:32:46.220 --> 00:32:47.680 looked at all of that then look at the whole 00:32:47.680 --> 00:32:50.240 Bible and say well How does this verse fit into 00:32:50.240 --> 00:32:53.039 the whole of scripture and what I know about 00:32:53.039 --> 00:32:58.259 God? To be very honest with you one of the reasons 00:32:58.259 --> 00:33:01.319 that I for years now have not been able to support 00:33:01.640 --> 00:33:04.480 Bill Gothard and the Institute of Basic Youth 00:33:04.480 --> 00:33:07.640 Conflicts is because of the failure on the part 00:33:07.640 --> 00:33:10.960 of that ministry to apply principles like these 00:33:10.960 --> 00:33:14.880 to their interpretation of the scriptures, which 00:33:14.880 --> 00:33:17.519 has led them in some cases, not in every case, 00:33:17.599 --> 00:33:21.500 but in some cases to really miss the mark and 00:33:21.500 --> 00:33:27.319 to teach some bizarre things. How we interpret 00:33:27.319 --> 00:33:31.099 the Bible makes a huge difference. And this morning 00:33:31.099 --> 00:33:33.099 I've talked to you about five of these principles. 00:33:33.400 --> 00:33:35.980 There are more that we could talk about, but 00:33:35.980 --> 00:33:42.119 these are five big ones. What God says is truth, 00:33:42.680 --> 00:33:48.380 and how we interpret it is vital. You say, well, 00:33:48.380 --> 00:33:50.420 it sounds to me like a lot of work really to 00:33:50.420 --> 00:33:53.259 do this, and the fact is, of course, yes, it 00:33:53.259 --> 00:34:00.359 is. It is work. Show yourself a workman. a workman 00:34:00.359 --> 00:34:06.160 who is approved and not ashamed. I can come to 00:34:06.160 --> 00:34:10.400 the word of truth and put together stuff that 00:34:10.400 --> 00:34:14.400 I say I believe and end up being ashamed of it 00:34:14.400 --> 00:34:17.460 because it just simply is a mishmash, it doesn't 00:34:17.460 --> 00:34:22.739 fit together. In one church we had a gentleman 00:34:22.739 --> 00:34:26.719 who had come to the Bible and he was quote self 00:34:26.719 --> 00:34:30.809 -taught and I admired his study habits, but he 00:34:30.809 --> 00:34:34.070 had come up with this bizarre combination of 00:34:34.070 --> 00:34:37.250 doctrines that simply did not fit and he wanted 00:34:37.250 --> 00:34:40.349 desperately to be a teacher in our church, but 00:34:40.349 --> 00:34:44.389 he couldn't be. Because though he had studied, 00:34:45.750 --> 00:34:50.969 he had not studied rightly and could not be approved. 00:34:52.769 --> 00:34:56.119 It is work. It is work. And when I come up with 00:34:56.119 --> 00:34:59.599 my interpretation, I need to keep an open ear 00:34:59.599 --> 00:35:04.659 to others as well. Let me just finish up by saying 00:35:04.659 --> 00:35:07.480 this. By applying these principles, a follower 00:35:07.480 --> 00:35:11.139 of Jesus can, number one, be humbly confident 00:35:11.139 --> 00:35:17.380 of what the truth is. Now we are being intimidated 00:35:17.380 --> 00:35:20.000 these days by our culture that says you can't 00:35:20.000 --> 00:35:23.800 really know what the Bible means. So just keep 00:35:23.800 --> 00:35:29.139 it out of the conversation. That's baloney. You 00:35:29.139 --> 00:35:32.320 can be confident of what the truth of God is, 00:35:33.099 --> 00:35:36.599 but there's always space for humility in that 00:35:36.599 --> 00:35:40.739 because no one has a perfect grasp of all the 00:35:40.739 --> 00:35:45.780 truth. I was in a pastor's meeting one time and 00:35:45.780 --> 00:35:48.500 a person got up and asked Dr. John MacArthur, 00:35:49.659 --> 00:35:52.539 who is not known for having few convictions or 00:35:52.539 --> 00:35:56.260 light convictions, right? And ask him, well, 00:35:56.280 --> 00:36:00.119 is there any place that you're wrong? Oh boy, 00:36:00.179 --> 00:36:04.440 there's a loaded question. John answered it beautifully. 00:36:04.500 --> 00:36:08.739 He said, you know, I very well may be. But if 00:36:08.739 --> 00:36:12.420 I knew where it was, I would change it. Isn't 00:36:12.420 --> 00:36:16.219 that true of all of us? So he's confident about 00:36:16.219 --> 00:36:18.719 what the truth says, and you need to be confident 00:36:18.719 --> 00:36:21.199 about what the truth says, but with humility. 00:36:22.260 --> 00:36:24.840 You don't have to be indecisive and uncertain 00:36:24.840 --> 00:36:28.980 about what the Bible means, study it. And when 00:36:28.980 --> 00:36:32.000 you've applied these principles of literal interpretation, 00:36:32.280 --> 00:36:36.280 then be confident, but always with an open mind 00:36:36.280 --> 00:36:41.389 to learn from somebody else. Secondly, By applying 00:36:41.389 --> 00:36:43.550 these principles, you as a follower of Jesus 00:36:43.550 --> 00:36:46.809 can be graciously bold to stand for the truth. 00:36:47.750 --> 00:36:50.429 There has never been a time in history, perhaps, 00:36:51.550 --> 00:36:54.110 when there was more of a need for people of God 00:36:54.110 --> 00:36:58.889 to stand for the truth. This is no place and 00:36:58.889 --> 00:37:03.170 time in history for timidity. God calls you and 00:37:03.170 --> 00:37:09.099 me to publicly and graciously Be courageous to 00:37:09.099 --> 00:37:12.780 represent the truth in our world. And so if you 00:37:12.780 --> 00:37:17.599 know the truth, don't be intimidated. Don't be 00:37:17.599 --> 00:37:21.480 embarrassed. Don't be reticent to stand up for 00:37:21.480 --> 00:37:26.780 the truth. But don't be a jerk about it. Some 00:37:26.780 --> 00:37:29.719 people can be so obstinate and mean -spirited 00:37:29.719 --> 00:37:32.639 that you're embarrassed to run around with them. 00:37:34.199 --> 00:37:37.699 Thirdly, By applying these principles, you as 00:37:37.699 --> 00:37:41.440 a follower of Jesus can be genuinely caring to 00:37:41.440 --> 00:37:44.960 share the truth with others. You see, God teaches 00:37:44.960 --> 00:37:47.420 you and me the truth so that we can then impart 00:37:47.420 --> 00:37:51.840 it to others. He does not give us the truth so 00:37:51.840 --> 00:37:54.940 that we can get really smart and keep it for 00:37:54.940 --> 00:37:59.860 ourselves. It is too eternally vital for others. 00:38:00.400 --> 00:38:02.780 And so we need to look in our sphere of influence 00:38:02.780 --> 00:38:08.210 and say, God, Who needs this truth today? To 00:38:08.210 --> 00:38:11.309 whom can I share this little tidbit that I have 00:38:11.309 --> 00:38:14.010 from your word and understand and believe and 00:38:14.010 --> 00:38:17.469 accept with all of my heart and pass it along? 00:38:19.250 --> 00:38:21.269 Look in your world and discover where people 00:38:21.269 --> 00:38:24.090 are on that evangelism scale that we used last 00:38:24.090 --> 00:38:27.090 spring. Remember that? from the minus side down 00:38:27.090 --> 00:38:29.429 here all the way up to conversion and then beyond, 00:38:29.889 --> 00:38:33.030 find out where they are and on that scale and 00:38:33.030 --> 00:38:35.789 seek in sharing with them some truth that will 00:38:35.789 --> 00:38:39.909 move them along a notch at a time. Let the Holy 00:38:39.909 --> 00:38:43.769 Spirit be your partner in that. What God says 00:38:43.769 --> 00:38:50.650 is truth. What God says is truth. The consequences. 00:38:51.789 --> 00:38:55.809 for failing to follow the truth are enormous 00:38:55.809 --> 00:39:02.530 and potentially eternal. Potentially eternal. 00:39:05.130 --> 00:39:09.150 I can go up in an airplane and decide that the 00:39:09.150 --> 00:39:14.949 law of gravity does not apply to me. I can say 00:39:14.949 --> 00:39:19.489 I'm above and beyond that. I have evolved as 00:39:19.489 --> 00:39:22.659 a creature to the point that the law of gravity 00:39:22.659 --> 00:39:27.159 no longer applies to me. But all the time there's 00:39:27.159 --> 00:39:30.159 this truth out here about the law of gravity, 00:39:30.320 --> 00:39:36.019 right? But I can be so convinced and so ignorant 00:39:36.019 --> 00:39:40.000 that I would ignore the truth and step out of 00:39:40.000 --> 00:39:45.760 the airplane. The consequences are enormous. 00:39:46.719 --> 00:39:50.630 And so it is morally and spiritually. with God's 00:39:50.630 --> 00:39:54.409 truth. You and I can say, it doesn't mean that. 00:39:55.150 --> 00:39:57.869 You and I can say, it's obsolete. It's for another 00:39:57.869 --> 00:40:01.869 age. It's for another day. And we can battle 00:40:01.869 --> 00:40:06.070 with the Bible. We can say it isn't true. But 00:40:06.070 --> 00:40:10.510 my friend, the Bible is God's truth. It is God's 00:40:10.510 --> 00:40:13.409 truth. And if we fail to follow it, there are 00:40:13.409 --> 00:40:17.210 enormous and potentially eternal consequences 00:40:17.210 --> 00:40:21.539 in our lives. It's important we understand it. 00:40:21.940 --> 00:40:25.280 It's important that we practice it. Let's pray. 00:40:27.760 --> 00:40:29.639 Father, I pray that you will take these words 00:40:29.639 --> 00:40:34.239 this morning that deal with how to understand 00:40:34.239 --> 00:40:39.019 your word and motivate all of us to be even better 00:40:39.019 --> 00:40:44.840 students of it. I pray that we will apply the 00:40:44.840 --> 00:40:48.139 principles that we've learned this morning that 00:40:48.139 --> 00:40:52.980 we will be humble and gracious with what we do 00:40:52.980 --> 00:40:56.500 with it and how we understand it. I pray that 00:40:56.500 --> 00:41:01.340 you will make us men and women of the truth and 00:41:01.340 --> 00:41:06.280 may we share it, may we stand for it in our culture 00:41:06.280 --> 00:41:12.300 and thus represent you well. In Jesus' name, 00:41:12.940 --> 00:41:13.260 amen.