The Words of God

Psalm of the Day: Psalm 147:12-20

Psalm 147:12–20 ESV

Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem! Praise your God, O Zion! For he strengthens the bars of your gates; he blesses your children within you. He makes peace in your borders; he fills you with the finest of the wheat. He sends out his command to the earth; his word runs swiftly. He gives snow like wool; he scatters frost like ashes. He hurls down his crystals of ice like crumbs; who can stand before his cold? He sends out his word, and melts them; he makes his wind blow and the waters flow. He declares his word to Jacob, his statutes and rules to Israel. He has not dealt thus with any other nation; they do not know his rules. Praise the Lord!

Scripture Reading: Psalm 119:1-8

Psalm 119:1–8 ESV

Blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the Lord! Blessed are those who keep his testimonies, who seek him with their whole heart, who also do no wrong, but walk in his ways! You have commanded your precepts to be kept diligently. Oh that my ways may be steadfast in keeping your statutes! Then I shall not be put to shame, having my eyes fixed on all your commandments. I will praise you with an upright heart, when I learn your righteous rules. I will keep your statutes; do not utterly forsake me!

Sermon:

Good Morning Church! I was Glad When they said to me let us go and worship in the house of the Lord.

first the elephant in the room, yes, my knee still kinda hurts, the brace helps. What happened, the true answer is I am getting older, the sort answer is I don’t REALLY know, the longer answer is I was playing racquetball (which I still love and still want to play) and probably tweaked it a little. Then the next day I went to pick up Willow and heard a loud POP and both knees started hurting ab it, but nothing that a bit of Ibuprofen and a over the counter brace couldn’t fix UNTIL Wednesday when I was in my office and wanted to read a book. My goal for this year is to read one book for me a week, so not a book to teach or a book for school, but a book for my betterment, and I had fallen a little behind. So i decided that I would read for an hour straight. I put my feet up on my desk and crossed my legs. And somehow the pressure of one leg on the other pulled and stretched and inflamed what was probably already there. So Desiree blames the racquetball, I blame reading, Jayden blames me being OLD… it is really a combination of those three things... So the full diagnosis is that I have, at a minimum, a partial tear of the LCL. Unfortunately my knee was too swollen to get a good picture on the MRI so I am going in later this week to reevaluate what must be done. Your continued prayers are appreciated as we figure out how we are going to handle all this stuff. But as long as you don't mind me sitting here I don’t mind preaching this way for a week or two. So lets get down to business

Usually I just assume that you all will be looking up the passages that we will cover, but this week is a little different, so If you would please turn with me in your bibles To Matthew 17:21 that will be our passage for today and I will give you all some time to get there. If you don’t have your bible this week two things: one there should be one in your row, you can use that one, and two, while you are turning I will share a piece of wisdom a youth pastor shared with me long ago: You should always take your bible to church, in fact, he would say, showing up to church without your bible should be almost a nightmare to you, like going to school with no clothes on.

I am going to assume though now one of two things. one is that your are at our passage, if so you are reading something like the KJV or NKJV or even the NASB has which says: “But this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.” But for anyone using the ESV, or the NIV or the CSB or a few others you might be thinking: What in the world, why is my bible missing that verse?!?

And here is why this will be a very different sermon, but I believe a very important one, and one that lies very close to my heart. Let me start here: I love The Bible. I have an extraordinarily high view of Scripture. I believe, truly believe that what you hold in your hands when you hold your bible are the very words of God to man. they are uniquely and beautifully the fullness of what we would call “special revelation”. Romans one tells us that God has reveled himself through creation, specifically visible are his “eternal power and divine nature” (Romans 1:20). Yet God has seen fit to reveal more to us. he has given us hope and grace and knowledge of his holiness and goodness, his mercy and love. he has shown us who he is and what he has done, not in creation, but in his acts of salvation and it THIS that makes “special revelation” so special. these are God’s special words to you. But unfortunately, many people come to passages like this one and get a different feeling than I do.

Many of you do not know this story, but it is part of my testimony that got me into ministry: Right after getting married Desiree and I found ourselves looking for a new church, we felt that the leadership was not focused on growing us into mature disciples but rather making sure seats were filled and bills were paid. So innocently and naively we headed off. We found a bit of a church plant and at his point in my life I wanted to be wanted and they really wanted someone to do youth ministry. So here I am, a 22 year old recent college graduate with little to no experience leading anything, let alone a ministry. But I loved the kids and I loved the opportunity. But then one day everything changed. one of the biggest changes was the pastor of this church plant (who was also much too young and immature) found out that a verse like this one was missing form his bible. and he went off the deep end, I remember one Sunday he told everyone who had an NIV Bible that they needed to throw it away, that it was a work of the devil and no good for you. And I watched the damage that this type of thought could have. It shook peoples confidence, in more ways than one. It shook their confidence in Scripture, but it also shook their confidence in their salvation. I was led to the Lord but someone using the NIV Bible they would think (which as much as I talk trash about the NIV bible specifically to Lawrence I was too, and I really do love the NIV bible). So hear my heart, and this is really my one huge point today.

My one Point is that you can trust your Bible. You should love your Bible. When you sit down to read your bible, (aside from some very specific exceptions, if you are concerned come talk to me late) you are reading God’s words, it has authority and power. It is the means that God uses to preserve his teaching and instruction to all mankind. Love your bible.

So how Do I get there? How can we use this one missing verse to get us to that point, that was my question this week. And here is where I landed. I don’t think you need me to dive deep into the seeds of what is known as TEXTUAL CRITICISM. Though that is fascinating and Important topic It is just too technical. So Let me tell you this: (1) of all the passages that may be missing from your Bible, none of them were taken out lightly, but rather as we blessedly discover more and older manuscripts we realize that the original letters and Gospels didn’t have these, they were later added by scribes for various reasons (and those are not nefarious either). For this one we can sort of see exactly what happened. The scribe was writing this passage in Matthew and had fresh in his mind for some reason the Mark version of the story. and As Mark ends with Jesus and the disciples talking Jesus says: This kind cannot be driven out but by prayer. So the scribe accidently wrote that portion from memory at the end of Matthew. I get confused sometimes too. So 1 is to let you know that nothing nefarious is going on, but two is to note this: There is no doctrine and no truth that we loose from Scripture because of these missing passages. No essential doctrine or truth of Who God is and what he is done is taken away here, so you can still have confidence. But three, and this is the most important, do you trust God? Do you trust that God would preserve his words to us. DO you trust in the trustworthy God that he would not allow a whole people to be so lost as to not hear his words or do you trust that God working through the HS will use his words to teach you? Because I do.

So instead of textual criticism I would like to look at three doctrines of Scripture today that I believe can help you to love God’s word (with a bonus fourth one at Grace Group which I miss greatly and at this point they will have to cut of my leg to keep me from coming.)

Three Doctrines of Scripture to Cherish

We can and should note that there are many various doctrines of Scripture that are worthy of your time and attention, these are just three that I find most instructive and useful in your life. And the three form a sort of threefold chord that can bind you to God’s word and give you what you need for life.

I was reading a book this week all about puritan Theology, in fact it was the book that I was reading when I hurt my knee... and one thing that they mentioned over and over again is that Theology, and by extension doctrines, are only valuable insofar as they empower and enliven us to imitate our savior. So as we cover these we will define them, I will give a scriptural basis for all of them, but please, let us consider how these doctrines can empower us to, as Peter told us, be holy as He is holy!

Often the fear that I have in a sermon like this is that we will receive knowledge that puffs up, but doesn't empower us to live like Christ. Truly understood, all sound doctrine should elevate God and his power and show us what it means to be his. It should foster a spirit of humility as we contemplate the God who would bless us with such precocious truths. We should be convicted of our sin, reminded of our savior, and our hearts should burn with passion for him, theology rightly done will do this.

The first I would like to look at is the INSPIRATION of Scripture.

The INSPIRATION of Scripture

Our Scripture reference here is one that many of us have heard over and over again, and it is precious to us as well. 2 Timothy 3:16. As a note, i find it weird that 3:16 is such an important part of so many books of the bible. John 3:16: ““For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” Luke 3:16 is the promise of Jesu being the one who will baptize in Fire. 1 Corinthians 3:16 is the truth that your body is the temple of the holy Spirit, 1 Timothy 3:16 is often referred to as the earliest Christian hymn. 1 Timothy 3:16 “Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness: He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory.” 1 John 3:16 “By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.” But that is an aside I often wonder about, but not important for our conversation today. Instead lets read really quickly 2 Timothy 3:16

2 Timothy 3:16 ESV

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,

Here is truly the heart behind the doctrine of the inspiration of Scripture. It is that the scriptures are “GOD BREATHED”. That As God wants them to be spoken, they are. What God wants to reveal, HE does, that thought it is Paul or John, or Moses or Isaiah, or WHOMEVER writing with their hand, they are being moved by God such that we can rightly say they are God’s words. This is why I can in one breath say: Moses says in Deuteronomy 6:4 ““Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.” And the very next sentence I can say that God himself claims the title of One, he alone is God, he alone reigns and HE told us that. It is because though moses wrote it, he did so under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. So I would like to share a definition, and we will do these for all of the doctrines, I want to give you something that you can see as a definition of these doctrines, but hear my heart. there will be no test. By and large these are definitions that I stole with maybe some minor tweaks here and there, but i give them because I think they are helpful to you, but I don’t really care that memorize or write these down word for word, I care that you hear the heart behind them. So for inspiration we would say this:

SLIDE

In the inspiration of the Holy Scripture, The Holy Spirit so moves prophets and apostles that in their writing of their words they communicate God’s Word in servant form

There are a few points here that I want you to grasp onto., One: the holy Spirit is the one that is moving. he is what we would call the ultimate cause of the writing of Scripture. he is the one who moves these men to write. It is he that brings to their knowledge and their memory and it is even him who moves them to write in the first place. But this leads us to point two: the Holy Spirit moves these so that in THEIR writing of THEIR words God is speaking.

Paul's epistle to the Romans is truly PAUL’S epistle to the Romans. He wrote it. Inspiration does not mean that the author disappears. it is not a doctrine that states that these men were possessed in some way or put into a trance whereby God wrote HIS words through their bodies. The books written by whomever are from them. Matthew is truly Matthews words. This is why we can see his personality and his care and concern shining through. Inspiration does not mean that God obliterates the individual to write through them, rather, being moved by the holy Spirit they write from their heart what God desires them to write. Such that it is, the last thought here, GOD’s Words in Servant form

These are truly his words, but given to us in a form that a) we can understand and digest but b) a way that is submitted to him and his authority. These words have power not because when you put words in a certain order there is some power, rather, because God inspired the holy writers to write these things they are invested with his power as his servant. They do as he wills and wants. he empowers them. This is why they “will not return void” because they are God’s. This is the heart of inspiration. When you sit down to read Paul, you are reading Paul, speaking as God’s servant God’s word.

I often used to think: how cool would it have been to hear Isiah speak, how cool would it be to hear someone who had been taken to God’s throne room speak with that authority. but two things: One, probably not great to have to hear form Isaiah, those were a rebellious people in for a world of trouble… But more importantly, We have. When you are reading God’s word you are hearing from one empowered by God to speak HIS words. The inspiration of Scripture means that there is power in these words, they can change your life, they can change your ETERNITY, they are a joy and a blessing to us all.

This leads us to our next thought. If These are God’s words, what more do we need? the short answer is nothing, the answer in a doctrine is the SUFFICIENCY OF SCRIPTURE

The SUFFICIENCY of Scripture

Here our passage is 1 Peter 1:3.

Definition: From the Westminster confession of the Faith section 1 paragraph 6: “The whole council of God, concerning all things necessary for his own Glory, man’s salvation, faith and life, is either expressly set down in Scripture, or by good and necessary consequence deduced from Scripture; unto which nothing at any time is to be added, whether by new revelations of the Spirit, or traditions of men.”

Scripture reference: 2 Peter 1:3-4

Exposition:

The PERSPICUITY of Scripture

Definition: Because God is light his words are radiant and clear. Consequently the Bible’s basic message of salvation and its basic requirements for life in God’s presence are sufficiently clear that, under the Spirit’s guidance, and by means of the ordinary practices of reading, all regenerate saints may perceive, receive, and respond to its teaching

Scripture reference: Deuteronomy 30:11-14

Exposition: