Sola Scriptura Breakaway

When there’s a lot of people making a lot of bad choices all across society, we end up with a culture that’s in an absolute mess.

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In the year 2022, that’s precisely where we are.

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The United States of America was founded on Biblical principles, God’s Word was honored, and the vast majority of families were part of a local church.

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Society was by no means perfect, with things like the evils of slavery and later segregation, and people were a little better at living fake lives and hiding their sins to avoid shame.

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But as a Christian nation, everyone knew there was a standard: The Bible, the Holy Word of God.

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There was a respect and reverence for God Almighty and His Word.

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Hebrews 4:12

NIV

For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

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Many people in America lived godly lives because they allowed the living Word to penetrate them and the Holy Spirit convicted them of sin in their lives, and so we had a culture that wasn’t perfect, but honored God.

Fast Forward to Today:

Half of the US- around 168,000,000 people- read the Bible only once a year or not at all.

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Without the standard of the God’s Word in our culture, today...

-People try to find their identities in their sexuality rather than in Chris

-Students are gunned down in local schools on a regular basis

-There are currently an estimated 200,000-300,000 sex slaves within our country

What about Good Church-going people? They read the Bible, right?

When asked if they had “heard of the Great Commission,” half of U.S. churchgoers (51%) say they do not know this term.

Only 17% of churchgoers know what they should be doing as a Christian...

Now, this is a problem for a lot of reasons, and it shows how little most Christians dig into the Word of God.

And all throughout Church History, when the common people don’t read the Bible, corrupt people in church leadership begin to rise up and convince people of outright lies.

For instance, in the Middle Ages the church had a little thing called an “Indulgence.”

How could the church get duped into this sort of thing?

The Bible wasn’t allowed to be read by the common people.

Only the Priests could do that.

And many of those priests began to spew out lies and tried to put a God stamp of approval on it.

Fast Forward to today.

Churchgoers are allowed to read the Bible where we live, but many choose not to.

And so a lot of people who profess to be Christians but don’t know the Bible- they can be fooled into believing lies just like those people were 500 years ago.

Martin Luther, along with others, were tired of church leadership spitting out lies that had nothing to do with God’s Word.

The Reformers said that Scripture the ultimate authority for theological discussion.

This pushed the Reformers to reject several theological doctrines of the Catholic Church at the time, such as the sale of indulgences

Sola Scriptura (“Scripture alone”): placing ultimate theological authority in the Bible alone.

BIBLICAL CHRISTIANITY

In a world that is tearing apart at the seams, with some leaders ignoring God’s clear and living Word, this is what the church of Jesus Christ must get back to:

Reading the Word.

Asking the Lord to give us insight into what it means.

And living like this Jesus we read about in the Bible.

And there is not better place to start than with your generation.

If you begin good Bible-reading habits now, you will grow into a stronger Christian, one who is able to stand up and call out lies because you’ve read the truth containes in God’s Word.

GOD

Sitting in a Roman prison near the end of his life, the Apostle Paul wrote to His son in the faith Timothy that there would be evil in the last days:

2 Timothy 3:1–5 M:BCL

Don’t be naive. There are difficult times ahead. As the end approaches, people are going to be self-absorbed, money-hungry, self-promoting, stuck-up, profane, contemptuous of parents, crude, coarse, dog-eat-dog, unbending, slanderers, impulsively wild, savage, cynical, treacherous, ruthless, bloated windbags, addicted to lust, and allergic to God. They’ll make a show of religion, but behind the scenes they’re animals. Stay clear of these people.

This description is eerily similar to the culture we live in today.

But how does one live as a Christ-follower in the midst of so much evil?

Well, Paul gave Timothy instructions that we can apply to our lives today:

2 Timothy 3:14–17 NCV

But you should continue following the teachings you learned. You know they are true, because you trust those who taught you. Since you were a child you have known the Holy Scriptures which are able to make you wise. And that wisdom leads to salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for showing people what is wrong in their lives, for correcting faults, and for teaching how to live right. Using the Scriptures, the person who serves God will be capable, having all that is needed to do every good work.

THE WORD MAKES US WISE

This wisdom has a specific goal: the primary purpose of Scripture is to point the way to salvation.

Timothy was raised by a faithful mother and grandmother (2 Tim 1:5). These two women planted seeds that would one day bear fruit in Timothy’s life as long as he continued in this same faith.

The formative years in children’s lives can lay a foundation and set a trajectory that can sustain them through the trials of life.

Proverbs 22:6 NIV

Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.

Parents, this is why it’s so important to model Biblical Christianity for your kids.

Kids are like sponges- they will take in the good, bad and ugly!

What are you pouring into their lives?

Do they know the truth of God’s Word and see it lived out in your life?

Maybe your a youth leader like me and you’ve got “youth group kids” who don’t have a godly example in the home but love coming to your church because they feel welcome here.

You have an opportunity to pour the wisdom of the Word into their lives!

Ain’t nothing better than that!

Kids have a lot of junk being thrown at them in 2022… they need parents and leaders who will guide them in the truth.

The Word Trains Us For Good Works

In the same way, God’s Word gets our souls and minds in shape to go out and get something good done!

This is amazing! In a world full of bad things, we spread the goodness of God one kind word, one prayer, and one person pointed to Jesus Christ at a time.

When you read the Word, look for ways God may be calling you to do something that will point others to Jesus Christ.

There are opportunities every single day.

Being kind to that kid everyone ignores.

Leading a prayer group or Christian Club at your school.

(First Priority or FCA)

In Luke a teacher of the law comes up to Jesus and asks how he can get eternal life, so Jesus asks him what the law “OT” says:

Luke 10:27 NCV

The man answered, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.” Also, “Love your neighbor as you love yourself.”

Now, I know we talked a little about how crazy the world is right now… and so sometimes Christians can get into the habit of wanting to put our heads in the sand and just get away from culture.

But when Jesus talked about loving our neighbors, He wasn’t just referring to people who are exactly like us or those we are comfortable around.

And we can’t love our neighbors if we never interact with them.

Check out the prayer that Jesus prayed for His disciples the night before He was crucified:

John 17:17–18 NIV

Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.

WHEN I WHOLLY FOLLOW GOD’S WORD, I AM MADE HOLY.

And being Holy involves living like Jesus and shining the light of Christ in all those dark places of society.

It ain’t comfortable, but it’s what Christ-followers are called to do.

YOU

God speaks through His Word to change lives.

Have you allowed Him to change yours?

Romans 1:16 (NIV)

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes:

*Title Slide*

If you’re already saved:

Are you allowing God’s Word to change you and grow you every day?

You know for that to happen, you should be reading it.. like everyday!

Mind-blowing right?

You can grab a paper Bible, read a handful of chapters each day and in a year you can read the entire thing!

(Show YouVersion)

Or you can download the YouVersion Bible app, where there’s dozens of translations and languages, and Bible reading plans with short devotionals on numerous topics.. you can even have a friend join you in reading a plan together. You can even listen to a reading of the Bible on your way to school.

I read “Bible in One Year” plan with Pastor Nicky Gumbel.

Our student ministry at Science Hill has a devotional plan in YouVersion that goes along with our Wed night messages.

There’s lots of ways to get into the Word… but However you do it, just do it!

If you need a Bible, ask someone at church to get you one.

If you have a phone, download the Bible app.

Just don’t make excuses for not reading the Bible if you’re a Christian.

In a world that is full of lies, there’s never been a more important time in history to know the truth.

There is power behind the truth of this Word.

Power to save.

Power to Sanctify.

Power to change the world.

WE

A businessman well known for being a jerk once announced to writer Mark Twain, “Before I die I want to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. I will climb Mount Sinai and read the Ten Commandments aloud at the top.”

”I have a better idea,” replied Twain. “You could stay in Boston and keep them.”

As Christians, reading the Bible is important for us.

What’s even more important is allowing God’s Word to get into us.

For Christ to make a difference in the way we walk, talk and live out our lives in Christ.

We can go on Mission Trips (which I do), and talk about doing big things for God, but we must be living like Christ in the midst of the people around us everyday who desperately need to see Him.

Q&A time

I want to give you a chance right now to get into the WORD.

Take the next 25-30 minutes to find or make a Bible reading plan.

There are youth leaders here who can help you figure that out.

If you have the YouVersion Bible app, you can join a friend and read a plan together.

If you’ve never really read the Bible, that’s ok! A great place to start is the Book of John.

And don’t worry about not understanding it all at first.

If you pray and ask God to help you understand it, he will guide you.

And you have youth leaders and friends who love you and will help you too!

If you don’t make a plan now, then you’re planning to fail in reading the Word, in continuing to grow in Christ once you leave here.

So may we leave this place, get into the Word, and get the Word out into the streets so that lives and our communities will be changed forever.

*PRAYER*