God's Word is a Catalyst for Revival

Dean Boorman in his book The History of Winchester Firearms, tells the story:

“Thousands of people each year visit the Winchester Mansion in San Jose, California. This massive structure was built by Sarah Winchester, the widow of the gun company owner. For thirty-eight years, from 1884 until her death in 1922, the house was under constant construction. Teams of carpenters, masons and other workers were employed around the clock. Various stories have been told about the reason for this unusual practice. Most center on Mrs. Winchester’s belief that she either was haunted or would be haunted by the ghosts of those killed by her husband’s weapons unless she kept building her house. Others claim that she thought she would not die as long as building continued.

Whatever the reason, she continued ordering more renovations and construction as long as she lived. There are more than 10,000 windows in the Winchester Mansion, doorways and stairs that lead to blank walls, and some 160 rooms in total. It is estimated that she spent more than $70,000,000 in today’s money on largely pointless construction—all in a desperate search for peace that was ultimately doomed to fail.

Many people today are seeking peace through equally fruitless means. They turn to pleasure, drugs, alcohol, immorality, wealth and other dead end avenues. Like the staircases that lead nowhere in the Winchester Mansion, pursuing such paths will never bring peace. Instead we find peace when we follow the path that God has given us in His Word. Those who keep the law of God in their hearts and obey it in their actions add peace to their lives. Rather than seeking peace as an end, we should seek to follow Christ. When we do we will find that peace comes as a side effect that we receive from Him.”

Where does Jesus teaching stand in the world’s pursuit of peace? What was His assessment of the Bible? This morning, I’d like to share a three observations with you. First...

Jesus sets the record straight on His teaching, which had a high view of the Old Testament.

At this point, our Lord’s reputation was starting to form. What was Jesus of Nazareth about? He was right up front. He tells us that He is not about. He isn’t about doing away with God’s law.

Jesus here is placing himself in the history of prophets, teachers and Biblical interpreters. He was often accused of misleading others, or a blasphemer, He clears the air on His respect for and relationship to the Old Testament Law. He says in Matthew 5:17-19

Matthew 5:17–18(ESV)

17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.

The word for “fulfill” is πληρόω, means “to carry out” or “bring to its full expression,” or “show forth its true meaning.” (BAGD)

The Law and the Prophets stood for all of the Old Testament. And a true prophet from God would uphold His revelation, not disagree with or disregard it.

What he says in verse 18 is interesting. He is describing the smallest strokes of the Hebrew script. The “jot” was the smallest letter in the Hebrew alphabet, while a tittle was the tail attached to a letter. Jesus is essentially saying: “Not the smallest stroke of the pen will pass away from the written law until all is accomplished.

How this works is thus. Jesus actively fulfilled God’s commandments to qualify as the Messiah. He could not be a sacrifice for our sins, if He was not sinless. When He was baptized by John, it was done in order that righteousness would be fulfilled. And through His death and resurrection, we can also fulfill the demands of the law, albeit imperfectly. As Paul states in Romans 8:4.

Romans 8:4 (ESV)

4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

And, Romans 10:4 (ESV)

4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.

Galatians 3:24 (ESV)

24 “So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith.” Other versions say: “The law is our tutor to lead us to Christ.”

Ferguson goes on to state:

“Jesus did not weaken the law. On the contrary, he let it out of the cage in which the Pharisees had imprisoned it, allowing it to pounce on our secret thoughts and motives, and tear to pieces our bland assumption that we are able to keep it in our own strength.” (Ferguson, 71-72).

And that is a good application of this text. You and I read the Ten Commandments, for instance. We see our failure in obeying the Law of God perfectly. Therefore we look upon another, namely the man Christ Jesus, who perfectly fulfilled God’s requirements. He is the One who did what we could never do. Whatever your deficiencies; whatever your failures, look to Jesus!

Author Dave Guill writes:

“For almost 250 years, Christians endured the brutality of Roman persecution. During that time, many followers of The Way suffered unspeakable deaths at the hands of their captors. Polycarp, the Bishop of Smyrna, was one of many arrested for being a Christian and killed for his faith.

Polycarp was killed sometime between the year 155- 168 CE. According to the Martyrdom of Polycarp [1], he was betrayed by members of his own household, captured, and taken to the colosseum, where the local proconsul [2] attempted to coax him into offering sacrifices to Caesar.

So the proconsul said to Polycarp, ‘Take the oath. I will let you go. Just revile Christ.’ Polycarp answered, ‘For eighty and six years I have been his servant, and he has done me no wrong. And how can I now blaspheme my king who saved me?’”

Those who diminish God’s law/revelation are damaging to God’s work.

Matthew 5:19 (ESV)

19 Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

H.L. Ellison states:

“The law was a revelation of God’s will and would therefore stand till heaven and earth pass away. To relax a commandment is to claim authority over God. (H.L. Ellison, “Matthew,” A New Testament Commentary, 141).

Jesus speaks from authority. His voice is higher than all the others. He is speaking here as if He authored the Law of God. Jesus’ message in the Sermon on the Mount, at this point is going to turn inward, addressing the heart. That is something that the teaching of the Pharisees never did. In fact, they skirted such an application. Jesus called them “whitewashed tombs,” because of this.

J.C. Ryle, in his warning on disregarding the Ten Commandments, stated: “The law of the Ten Commandments is God's eternal measure of right and wrong.”

Unfortunately, there comes along a teacher now and then that will say things like: “We must unhitch the Old Testament from the Christian life.” Friends, we need the Old Testament to understand God’s holiness. Sinclair Ferguson, longtime professor at nearby Westminster Seminary, writes:

“The law does three things. It expresses the character of God and His will for man's life. Further, it teaches us the true character of man. God’s intention for man is that he live in accordance with the law of the Lord. Thirdly, the law teaches us the character of salvation.” (Ferguson, The Sermon on the Mount: Kingdom Life in a Fallen World, 70).

Notice how God’s law is viewed in the Psalms.

Psalm 119:97 ESV

97 Oh how I love your law! It is my meditation all the day.

Too often we regard God’s law with drudgery. We fail to see that the Old Testament law is a reflection of His character. It reveals to us our need for a Savior. It is a guide for your conscience.

We are to love God’s law because it reveals His character.

Psalm 19:7–8 (ESV)

7 The law of the Lord is perfect,

reviving the soul;

the testimony of the Lord is sure,

making wise the simple;

8 the precepts of the Lord are right,

rejoicing the heart;

the commandment of the Lord is pure,

enlightening the eyes;

Psalm 19:10 “More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb.”

Why are Christians people of the book? I like the way that American pastor and author A. W. Tozer put it:

“The facts are that God is not silent, has never been silent. It is the nature of God to speak. The second Person of the Holy Trinity is called the Word. The Bible is the inevitable outcome of God’s continuous speech. It is the infallible declaration of His mind for us put into our familiar human words.” (A.W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God, 77-78)

This is why we must regard all of Scripture as God’s word, His revelation to us. This is why Paul states in...

2 Timothy 3:16–17 ESV

16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

As a church, we determined many years ago to regard the Scriptures as the “...ultimate authority in our lives. The Bible is God’s word in written form, and we want to honor ...the written Word of God, the ultimate authority in our individual lives and in the life of Central Schwenkfelder Church.” (See www.cscfamily.org).

We live in a world where there is so much noise and distraction. We need to get back to God’s word to understand life and what He has for us and what he requires of us.

Our righteousness must be inward, as well as outward, founded on Jesus.

Matthew 5:20 ESV

20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

As we have discovered, Jesus had a very high view of the Old Testament Scriptures. And what’s more is that He placed His own teaching on par with God’s word. Take for instance, His words in Luke 6:46-49

Luke 6:46–49 ESV

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. 49 But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great.”

What did the Pharisees lack? Love. Compassion. The Holy Spirit, just to name a few. And it is that different type of love- a love that is sacrificial, that sets Christians apart.

Conclusion

Maria Dyer was born in 1837 on the mission field in China where her parents were pioneer missionaries. Both her parents died when Maria was a little girl, and she was sent back to England to be raised by an uncle. The loss of her parents, however, did not deter her young heart from the importance of sharing the gospel. At age sixteen she, along with her sister, returned to China to work in a girl’s school as a missionary herself. Five years later, she married Hudson Taylor, a man well-known today for his life of ministry, faith, and sacrifice.

Hudson and Maria’s work was often criticized—even by other Christians. At one point Maria wrote, “As to the harsh judgings of the world, or the more painful misunderstandings of Christian brethren, I generally feel that the best plan is to go on with our work and leave God to vindicate our cause.” Of their nine children, only four survived to adulthood. Maria herself died of cholera when she was just forty-three. But she believed the cause was worthy of the sacrifice. On her grave marker these words were inscribed: “For her to live was Christ, and to die was gain.”

In a day when many are self-absorbed and care more about what they can get rather than what they can give, we need a renewal of sacrificial love. It was God’s love for us that sent Jesus into the world to die for our sins, and it is that kind of giving love that our world needs so greatly today. When we love God as we should, our interests fade as we magnify Him.