"A Case for the Word" Part 2

“A Case For The Word – Part 2”

Colossians 3:12-16 – “Let the Word of Christ Dwell in You Richly”

Introduction

Illustration

Kids brushing their teeth

· As humans, we won’t be committed to make things a regular part of our life until we are convinced of the importance to do them – In this case cavities, etc.

The same is true for us spending time prayerfully reading and studying God’s Word

· It is far easier and less time consuming to be taught the Bible through the sermons on Sunday

Must confess that I unknowingly lied last week by saying only 2 weeks – way too important

· I said last week there is so much to cover concerning what the Bible says about God’s Word that we would only be covering the most important aspects

Then I remembered my duties as your pastor

· Important for us to know why my highest priority as your pastor is the teaching and preaching of Scripture

· Also, why Thunder Basin puts of highest value Thunder Basin puts of highest value the teaching and preaching of Scripture and for us to know it through regular time in it

Exegetical VS Topical Sermons

· What covered in topical (Having the best marriage and other topics) are actually products or results of accurate teaching and preaching the Bible

Last week: 3 aspects in verse 16- “The word of Christ”

· Dwell richly

· Teaching and admonishing each other based on Scripture in all wisdom

· And singing with thanksgiving

· They represent Godly living through mutual involvement in the lives of others

Prosecuting attorney: argue the case for God’s Word

· Burden of proof

· Present a compelling argument/case

· I want to cover every important aspect of Scripture to present the best case I can to persuade and convince you how important it is to spend regular time in your Bibles and then to actually do it

· We don’t study Scripture to only receive knowledge but also to result in transformed lives and action

· Goal by end of sermon: you would be thoroughly convinced of the importance of knowing and applying Scripture AND to be committed to regular study of Scripture

To do this I’ll Present:

· Biblical facts regarding Scripture

· Why so important to study and know Scripture so it dwells in us richly?

· Purpose of Bible AND How we profit from study of Bible

FACTS

1: 66 Books: 39 in OT and 27 known as the cannon of Scripture

2: Scripture is inerrant: There are no errors at all

Proverbs 30:5-6

5 Every word of God proves true;

he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.

John 17:17

17 Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.

Inerrant also means the Bible never contradicts itself

· Good example of mistake that Bible contradicts itself is Paul on grace and James on works

There is a harmony, unity, and consistency throughout the Bible:

· That glorifies God

· And reveals God’s overarching plan of salvation through Jesus.

o Old Testament: Jesus is PREDICTED

o Gospels: Jesus is REVEALED

o Acts: Jesus is PREACHED

o Epistles: Jesus is EXPLAINED

o Revelation: Jesus is EXPECTED

3: Only the Holy Spirit gives us proper interpretation and understanding of Scripture

· Ultimately the interpretation of Scripture is revealed to us by the Holy Spirit

· Our Teacher with a capitol “T”

1 Corinthians 1:21 and 23

It pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. 23 We preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles

1 Corinthians 2:12-13

12 Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. 13 And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.

4: Who wrote the Bible?

· Scripture is written by both God and man

· Ultimately God is the true author of Scripture

· What human authors wrote were words inspired by God

2 Timothy 3:16

All Scripture is breathed out by God

1 Peter 1:21

21 For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

· God chose men to write what He inspired and revealed to them through Holy Spirit (God breathed)

· However, He let man use his own intellect, experiences, and personalities; but God made sure there was no error

· B.B. Warfield: If God wants to prepare a series of letters like Paul’s, He prepares a Paul to write them

5: Another important fact is that the Word of God is a “Person not pen”

· John 1:1

· 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

Hebrews 1:1-3

Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets (Prophets received God’s direct revelation which they communicated to the people of Israel), 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.

6: The Word of God is the primary way God speaks to us

· Many sit and wait to hear God – may be waiting for a long time

· God spoke to humanity then and He still speaks to humanity now

· If we want to hear God, we must open our Bibles

· What more can God say that He hasn’t already said in Scripture?

Scripture reveals God’s will for the church

· Our church, our family, and our ministries are all operate under the authority of Scripture

· The church bows down to the authority of Scripture

· This means everything we do here is based on Scripture.

o How we established our vision frame

o How we have determined the different ministries in our church

COMMANDS TO KNOW BIBLE

God commands that we know and apply Scripture

Joshua 1:8

8 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.

God also commands that we be obedient to Scripture

Along with our Scripture for today:

Luke 6:46-47

46 “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you? 47 Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: 48 he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built.

Luke 11:28

28 Jesus said, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!”

Conclusion

In Colossians 3:12-17 we’ve been about what it looks like to live a Godly life

That a functioning faith should affect every area of our life

· Well, it’s God’s Word that informs us of how to live Godly lives and why

When Word of God dwells in us richly

· It becomes central to our lives

· It’s on the forefront of our minds

· It dictates our behaviors, thoughts, and words

When the Word of God is central and dwelling in us richly, it produces:

· Evidence of our faith

· Living a Godly life

· Spiritual growth and maturity

· And a strong relationship with Jesus

· If not, Word isn’t in use

These are all directly proportionate with our time in Scripture

· The input of God’s Word = output of Godly living

I hope I have met the burdon of proof arguing the case for God’s Word

· It is essentially impossible for us to know our Bibles if we rely on a 1-2 hour service on Sunday

· Goal: you would be thoroughly convinced of the importance of knowing and applying Scripture AND to be committed to regular study of Scripture

Application

· We have many excuses for not reading our Bibles

o I don’t have enough time

o I don’t understand it

o The sermons on Sunday is all I need to learn the Bible

· Most every passage in Bible has applications and implications for our lives

· Some passages, the application is written right in the text like what we looked at today

· Others require us to learn what the text is teaching and then draw out the application

Read Scripture references in bulletin

Pick one book of the Bible, I suggest from the New Testament and commit to reading and studying it

· Answer the questions on the bulletin

A BELIEVER who studies Scripture is a healthy, thriving BELIEVER

A CHURCH who studies the Word is a healthy, thriving CHURCH