Necessity of Scripture

Introduction:

Recap of series, “What is the Bible?”

Bible is perfectly true

Bible is totally authoritative

Today we are going to talk about how the Bible is Necessary

Prayer

Illustration/Main Point:

Why this topic is important and different than the last two weeks

Business illustration

Imagine there’s a company handbook that’s perfectly true

Imagine it’s totally authoritative of all aspects of your job

That doesn’t mean that it’s completely necessary to get a promotion, let’s say

Perhaps you learned from watching others who were great at the job (Buddhist)

Perhaps you just work really hard, and the good you do outweighs the bad (Catholic)

Perhaps your company split really early into its existence and you follow the other companies handbook even though it was written by someone completely different (Islamic)

This is not at all what we’re saying about the Bible - it is the only way

Completely true, totally authoritative, and absolutely necessary

This is not at all what our world says today, however

Universalism: all people who ever lived will be saved because God loves everyone and won’t judge anyone

Religious pluralism: all sincere religious people from all religions will be saved because all religions are just different paths to the same God

Inclusivism: people can only be saved through the redeeming work of Christ, but all people who ever lived will still be saved, because after people die they will find out that they were saved by Christ’s word, even people who had never heard of him or believed in Him

Annihilationism: people who have not believed in Christ will not be saved, but after they die they will not be punished because they will be annihilated and cease to exist

Postmortem evangelism: after unbelievers die, they will be given another opportunity to trust in Christ, and most or all of them will be saved in this way

And then you have the Biblical view, exclusivism: only those who have heard of Christ and trusted in him will be saved

If this view is true… which we’ll show that it is in just a moment, then the Bible is absolutely necessary and without it there are eternal consequences

Main Point: “Only by God’s Word can the non-believer know salvation and the believer live it out – with absolute clarity.”

Now… here’s how we’re going to look at this

First, what Scripture is not necessary for...

Then, what Scripture is necessary for...

And lastly, the practical implications of the necessity of Scripture

Let’s start with...

What Scripture isn’t Necessary For...

Romans 1:16–25 (CSB)

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew, and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith, just as it is written: The righteous will live by faith. For God’s wrath is revealed from heaven against all godlessness and unrighteousness of people who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth, since what can be known about God is evident among them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, that is, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen since the creation of the world, being understood through what he has made. As a result, people are without excuse. For though they knew God, they did not glorify him as God or show gratitude. Instead, their thinking became worthless, and their senseless hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man, birds, four-footed animals, and reptiles. Therefore God delivered them over in the desires of their hearts to sexual impurity, so that their bodies were degraded among themselves. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served what has been created instead of the Creator, who is praised forever. Amen.

Starts off by addressing the power of the gospel (God’s Word)

Then essentially says that all people innately know they need God… outwardly through creation and inwardly by our own blatant sinfulness

Scripture is not Necessary to know that God exists

Listen to what is says in verses 19-20

...what can be known about God is evident among them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, that is, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen since the creation of the world, being understood through what he has made. As a result, people are without excuse.

This is confirmed throughout Scripture

Psalm 19:1 CSB

The heavens declare the glory of God, and the expanse proclaims the work of his hands.

Let me give a practical example of how this can work… without using Scripture

There is an apologetic argument called the cosmological argument

It goes like this… expound

God must be… (Frank Turek)

spaceless, timeless, and immaterial because space-time and matter were created. Therefore, the cause must transcend space-time and matter

self-existent and fully infinite because a timeless being has no beginning and was not caused by another

Simple because an infinite being can’t have parts (a being with parts would imply assembly by another)

Personal in order to choose to create (since an impersonal force has no capacity to choose)

Powerful because it created everything out of nothing

Intelligent because of the design and complexity of the universe

Scripture is not Necessary to know our Sin

Romans 1 goes on to say in verses 21-25 to say...

For though they knew God, they did not glorify him as God or show gratitude. Instead, their thinking became worthless, and their senseless hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man, birds, four-footed animals, and reptiles. Therefore God delivered them over in the desires of their hearts to sexual impurity, so that their bodies were degraded among themselves. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served what has been created instead of the Creator, who is praised forever. Amen.

We know we’re sinful

Again, think about it without even using Scripture

There is another apologetic argument for the existence of God called the “morality argument”

expound

Now… let me clarify. Just because Scripture isn’t need to know that God exists or that you are sinful and in need of saving… doesn’t mean it’s not helpful, or better yet, the best way to know the existence of God and the sinfulness of man and our need of saving

This now… leads us to the more important, yet simpler point

Again… our main point was...

Main Point: “Only by God’s Word can the non-believer know salvation and the believer live it out – with absolute clarity.”

Scripture is necessary for salvation and for holy living. Let’s turn again to Scripture

What Scripture is Necessary For...

Romans 10:8–17 CSB

On the contrary, what does it say? The message is near you, in your mouth and in your heart. This is the message of faith that we proclaim: If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. One believes with the heart, resulting in righteousness, and one confesses with the mouth, resulting in salvation. For the Scripture says, Everyone who believes on him will not be put to shame, since there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, because the same Lord of all richly blesses all who call on him. For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. How, then, can they call on him they have not believed in? And how can they believe without hearing about him? And how can they hear without a preacher? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news. But not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, Lord, who has believed our message? So faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the message about Christ.

Scripture is Necessary for Salvation

Implications of the above text

you must call upon the name of the Lord to be saved

you can only call on His name if you believe in Him

you cannot believe in Christ if you haven’t heard of Him

you can’t hear of Him unless someone tells you

Therefore, saving faith comes from hearing the gospel message and this hearing of the gospel message comes about through the word of Christ. So… without hearing the preaching of the gospel of Christ, no one can be saved.

This is seen all throughout Scripture

John 3:18 CSB

Anyone who believes in him is not condemned, but anyone who does not believe is already condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the one and only Son of God.

Acts 4:12 CSB

There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to people by which we must be saved.”

1 Timothy 2:5–6 CSB

For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, a testimony at the proper time.

Jesus Himself says in John 14:6 “Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

Jesus, the Word that became flesh, is necessary to have heard in order to be saved.

So again… you cannot be saved without the Word… it was and is necessary for salvation

But not just necessary for salvation… also for how you live once you’re saved

Scripture is Necessary for Holy Living

The life of a Christian is difficult - stuck between sin and eternity

The Bible teaches us how to live

Matthew 4:4 CSB

He answered, “It is written: Man must not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.”

Deuteronomy 32:47 CSB

For they are not meaningless words to you but they are your life, and by them you will live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to possess.”

John 17:17 CSB

Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.

You can’t obediently follow God and live your life totally for Him apart from His Word. It is 100% necessary to live like Jesus

Practical Implications:

Read the Word

for salvation

for holy living

Share the Word

Over 6000 people have died since we’ve begun our service who have never even heard the gospel

Closing Thoughts:

Holy Spirit Led