Who Are We? Bible Believing

Introduction

How many of you have heard the saying, “What would Jesus do?” This motto of sorts became really popular the 1990s and early 2000s and remains something that we know and say today as well. Why are we familiar with this statement? In part, because the question is one that we should ask often whenever we are faced with key decisions. Whenever someone says or does something mean, it helps to pause and ask ourselves, “What would Jesus do?” before we proceed. Sometimes asking ourselves this question can be a little inconvenient as doing what Jesus would do would require us to do something out of our comfort zone. We want other people to be nice to us and to make sure that our needs are taken care of, but it can be difficult to always be nice to others. It can be difficult to love others who are rude. It can be difficult to respond with grace whenever someone is a jerk to us.

What we believe internally will dictate how we act externally. This certainly includes what we believe about the Bible. If you believe that the Bible is primarily a book full of stories, then you will try to insert yourself into the story where you don’t belong. If you believe that the Bible is primarily a book full of stories then there can be multiple interpretations of those stories. What must we believe about the Bible? Simply, we must believe that the Bible is truth. Whenever we ask ourselves, “What would Jesus do?” how can we figure out the answer to this question? By looking at what the Bible says. Calvin put it like this, “When the Bible speaks, God speaks.” What does this imply to us? If we say that we believe in God, we must also believe in His Word because it is God-breathed.

A natural question arises at this point, though. Let’s suppose that you have an idea and you think that you’re right but you read in your Bible something completely different. How do you respond? Suppose that you think that you are the person responsible to save other people and this keeps you up at night because that is a burden that you cannot bear. You read in Scripture that it’s not your responsibility to save people and you can’t save people in the first place because you read that it is the Holy Spirit who opens the heart and brings about the harvest. This is a good thing to discover! However, there are other times that we discover things in Scripture that go against what we naturally believe as humans. There are people in our world who believe that life is a cosmic accident and that life isn’t special. In the Bible, we find something entirely different! We see that God created the heavens and the earth and that life is sacred because we are created in His image!

Whenever there is tension between our thoughts or the ideas of others around us and what the Bible says, who wins? For non-Christians, the answer is relatively straightforward. The Bible is a book of stories and nothing more, therefore what I think matters more. Sadly, though, there are some Christians who feel the same way. They believe that the Bible is a good book and contains some truth, but ultimately what matters more is my feelings, thoughts, and emotions. This morning, we are going to cover our 2nd core value as a church and that is the centrality and infallibility of Scripture. Put differently, we believe in the Bible because it is truth and the Bible determines our actions and how we respond in tough situations.

Matthew 5:38–48 CSB

38 “You have heard that it was said, An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. 39 But I tell you, don’t resist an evildoer. On the contrary, if anyone slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. 40 As for the one who wants to sue you and take away your shirt, let him have your coat as well. 41 And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two. 42 Give to the one who asks you, and don’t turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you. 43 “You have heard that it was said, Love your neighbor and hate your enemy. 44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be children of your Father in heaven. For he causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward will you have? Don’t even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what are you doing out of the ordinary? Don’t even the Gentiles do the same? 48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Because we Believe the Bible… Our actions change (38-42)

Over the years there have been some intense debates regarding the truthfulness of the Bible. In Southern Baptist life back some 40 years ago, this was a serious battle as people were divided over Biblical interpretation. Is the Bible absolute truth? A significant amount of people believed that it was partly true but not inerrant. These individuals were in positions of power and authority throughout our denomination and they openly taught that stories such as Abraham offering his son Isaac on Mount Moriah was not a literal story that happened. Other professors in seminaries denied the historical account of Adam and Eve and disputed other events in Genesis and Exodus. This was “normal” for several decades. Enter the 1970s and 1980s when the conservative resurgence took place! There were people who were convicted about the drift in the church and said that the Bible must have the ultimate authority and determine our allegiances and actions instead of our allegiances and opinions forcing the Bible into a box.

As a result of the conservative resurgence, every single SBC seminary, seminary professor and president since has and continues to teach within Biblical inerrancy. Matt Chandler put it like this, “If you’re not confident in the authority of the Scriptures, you’ll be a slave to whatever sounds right.” If you don’t believe in what the Bible clearly says, you will go with the flow and you’ll be tossed back and forth by false doctrine as Ephesians 4:14 says.

In our text, we see in Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount a healthy correction of sorts as he says, “You have heard an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.” What are some things that people in our world say about things that are absolutely wrong? We experience stuff like this every day and we kind of have to bite our tongue to avoid correcting them in a harsh manner. One individual recently said that we cannot trust the Bible to lead us but we can trust the Holy Spirit to lead us. Does this line up with Scripture? Can we trust in the Bible? What does the Bible say about this?

Jesus said this in His high priestly prayer in John 17

John 17:17 CSB

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

Jesus believed that the Word of God was and is truth. If the Word of God is truth, how should that impact our lives? If should impact our lives as we live a different life than non-Christians around us. Our actions should look radically different. This is what Jesus is talking about in the Sermon on the Mount - you have heard this… but now I say to you… He goes about correcting all sorts of teachings from Matthew 5-7. In the human heart there is a tendency and temptation to want ourselves to be on top and to want to “get even” whenever something bad happens. Because we believe in the Bible, our actions change. Whenever someone wrongs us, or slaps us on the right cheek, Jesus says to let them do the same on the left. What does this require for ourselves? How can we succeed in obeying Jesus’ commands in the Sermon on the Mount? By demonstrating generosity and humility towards others. Rather than strike back and seek revenge, we forgive. We turn the other cheek. We go the extra mile. We help out those in need. Why would we do these actions? Because it is what Jesus calls His followers to do.

It’s interesting whenever you talk with other people about Jesus and what they say. People are generally ok with talking about Jesus’ teachings and how they think that people should be more like Jesus. We should all agree, every person should be more like Jesus. However, where do we learn about Jesus Christ? In God’s Word. What makes the red letters in the Bible any more important than the black ones? Nothing. Jesus believed that God’s Word was truth, Paul affirms that reality in 2 Timothy 3:16, and believe the same thing today! All Scripture is God-breathed. If you accept the red letters of Scripture and say that people should be more like Jesus, you have to accept all of Scripture and follow it as well.

Because we believe what the Bible says, we know that it’s not enough to just do the bare minimum… As Jesus says here, we go two miles rather than one. We give to those in need. We go above and beyond. Why do we do these things consistently? Because we believe that Christ doesn’t just get an hour or two a week, He gets all of us! Our actions have changed because we are under new ownership.

How has the Bible has changed your actions in a good way? How many of you all wear glasses or contacts? What is one of the first things that you do each morning? You grab your contacts or glasses! Why do you do this? Because you either can’t see without them or because they help you see much better than you could otherwise. You can read your book or get on your phone and see clearly. Think of the many struggles we have on a daily basis. From anxiety, doubt, anger, confusion, and worry, we face many different things that can be difficult to navigate on our own because we can’t see very well. What must we do? We put on our spiritual glasses by reading our Bible and spending time in God’s Word. This adjusts our lens and helps change our actions to bring glory and honor to God! By reading the Bible and believing in the Bible, our actions must change! Are your actions changing today? Are you spending time in the Word and going the extra mile with your actions around others? If not, prayerfully consider what it means to be Bible minded and how the Bible should shape your actions.

Because we Believe the Bible… Our thoughts change (43-47)

While our actions are important, they are not the only thing that should change whenever we become followers of Christ and dive into Scripture! Think of the changes that Jesus brings to our actions - they are immense, but does Jesus just want us to act a little differently? Are we saved to just behave differently? Absolutely not! Paul says this in 2 Corinthians 5

2 Corinthians 5:17 CSB

17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, and see, the new has come!

We are literally a new creation! Most of us have things called cell phones. While many of us have slightly different phones, consider the phone that you have today and the first cell phone you had. It is most likely looks quite a bit different. Maybe it’s a little bigger and it’s probably a touch screen compared to the smaller predecessor. While the outside looks different, did you know that the inside of the phone is likely 100x more advanced? The original iPhone had 4gb of storage… Fast forward to today and you can get an iPhone with 512gb of storage! The outside looks a little different but the inside is a lot different! It should be the same way in our lives spiritually speaking after we accept Christ as Lord. Yes, we absolutely look differently outside with our words and actions, but as a new creation we think differently. We are reprogrammed, if you will.

Jesus gives us some commands in the Sermon on the Mount and they apply to our actions, but they ultimately start in our hearts and minds. Most Christians can say that they’ve never murdered someone or committed physical adultery with someone but what does Jesus say in the Sermon on the Mount about these things? Is it just the physical act that is the sin? No. The sin starts inside, before the physical action. Jesus says this

Matthew 5:28 CSB

28 But I tell you, everyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

Yikes! As we grow in our understanding of Scripture, though, and we allow it to change our lives and we submit to it, we are transformed from the inside out like Paul talks about in Romans 12

Romans 12:2 CSB

2 Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.

There is something natural to treating people like us well. As Jesus says, even the Gentiles do that! Is that what we are called to do, though? Are we only to respect and love those who we like and who think or look like we do? That’s not what the Bible says… Yet, it is exactly what many Christians have done for hundreds of years. We say this, “I will respect you… if you respect me.” Is that what the Bible commands? No. What if people are mean to us? What if they disrespect us? What if they persecute us? We love them and pray for them. Maybe we pray for God to knock them upside the head, but we pray for them nonetheless! This is the Biblical command - even though it’s not always practiced in Christendom.

How can we do this effectively? How can we truly love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us? By being transformed from the inside out. By understanding what the Bible says about forgiveness, mercy, and grace. By seeing that God is merciful to us all - as verse 45 shares.

JI Packer, one of the greatest theologians and Christians scholars of the last hundred years, once said, “There’s a difference between knowing God and knowing about God.” Think about this for a moment. You can read the Bible and know about God but to genuinely know God and believe in Him, you don’t just read the Bible, you believe what it says and you allow it to change your entire life! There are so many people in churches today who think that they know God because they read their Bible and they read about what He is like. Hear me when I say that Bible reading is extremely important and we are called to abide in the vine in John 15 and that requires us to read the Word regularly. However, are we only supposed to read Scripture and call it good enough? Is knowing about God all that we are supposed to do? No. Everything about us changes whenever we know God. Whenever we believe in Him. Whenever we trust in Him. Whenever we belong to Him. Whenever we believe in what the Bible says, our thoughts about other people and about ourselves change dramatically.

Practically, how does believing in the Bible - specifically, believing in Jesus - change our thoughts? Consider the greatest injustice in the history of the world: the death of Jesus Christ. Whenever Jesus was in the process of being nailed to the cross, what did He do? Was He cursing the Roman guards? No. Was He silent? No. We see this in Luke 23

Luke 23:34 CSB

34 Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, because they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided his clothes and cast lots.

Maybe your translation says “what they do” rather than what they are doing. In the Greek, the word is active, not passive or future, meaning that the action being done to Jesus is still being done. Jesus literally prays for these people as they are nailing Him to the cross. John Stott, based on this reality, says this, “If the cruel torture of crucifixion could not silence our Lord’s prayer for his enemies, what pain, pride, prejudice or sloth could justify the silencing of ours?” We see a similar example in Acts 7 with Stephen. As he is being stoned by these Jews, he cries out and asks the Lord to forgive these people and not hold this sin against them. How, or why, would Stephen and Jesus be able to forgive these people in the midst of persecution? Because they had a proper perspective of things. They didn’t respond as humans normally would because they thought through things differently. They could forgive someone who was in the process of killing them because they understood that God loved that person and because God loved that person, they are called to do the same.

What excuse do we have to not love others?

DA Carson put it like this, “To return evil for good is devilish; to return good for good is human; to return good for evil is divine.” How can you do a better job of returning good for evil? It starts with diving into the Word and seeing why we are supposed to do this and by having our thoughts changed from being about self-preservation to being about Kingdom expansion.

Because we Believe the Bible… Our priorities change (48)

As we experience this change internally, everything about us shifts. Whenever your life is no longer about yourself, you gain some much needed perspective about the world around you. What truly matters most of all in your life? There is the stereotypical “church” answer which is: God. Seriously, though, consider what do you spend most of your time doing? What is at the forefront of your priority list? One study I came across this week found 7 things that are routinely given as the highest priorities in human life:

Family

Friendships

Community

Health

Security

Progress

Fun

We would be lying through our teeth if we said that those 7 things didn’t matter at all - they do! Having a loving family and strong friendships can help more than having billions of dollars (not that I would know) because they are with you through thick and thin. Having health and security goes a long ways in giving us peace of mind and everyone likes to have a little fun. These aren’t bad things… But they also cannot be the highest priority in the life of a Christian. Why is this the case? Because we are called, as Jesus says in verse 48, to be perfect.

Does this mean that you can’t be perfect whenever you focus primarily on your family or friends? Does this mean that those things are bad and we should cut them out of our lives? Absolutely not. It does mean that something else must come first, though. To beat a dead horse, God doesn’t primarily want you to be happy, He wants you to be holy. Thankfully, as your priorities change in life, growing in holiness genuinely makes us happy because we are a new creation - but God calls for us to be holy throughout Scripture

Leviticus 19:2 CSB

2 “Speak to the entire Israelite community and tell them: Be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy.

This can come across as frustrating because we know that it is impossible for us to be perfect. There is no one perfect - no not one. You are not perfect, your spouse is not perfect, contrary to what many people have said, Gabriel is not perfect either - he makes the smelliest of smells once or twice a day! We’re not perfect - the Bible reminds us of this often and we know this deep down.

Craig Bloomberg is helpful here as he notes this about verse 48, “Jesus is challenging them to grow in obedience to God’s will—to become more like him.” If Jesus is the standard of what holiness looks like, we are called to be like Him. We are to be like Christ. How can we be like Christ? Were we always like Christ? Not at all. Ephesians 5 reminds us

Ephesians 5:8 CSB

8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light—

We were once lost. We were once dead. We were once in darkness… But now, we are in the light. Just as there is stark contrast between dark and light, there must be a stark contrast in our lives before and after Christ. Paul talks about this in Romans 7:18 as He says that nothing good lives in him. Why would Paul say this? Because as humans, apart from the Holy Spirit, we are unrighteous. As Christians, we know that this is no longer true, as we are declared righteous, but why? Because of the Holy Spirit’s presence in our lives and Christ’s sacrifice for our sins on the cross!

If you believe in what the Bible says - if you believe that it is truth, then there must be a change in your life. If you believe that the Bible is nothing more than some stories or partial truth, then you can pick and choose what to do and what not to do. For those of us who believe in the inerrancy and sufficiency of Scripture, though, we strive to live it all out because we understand that our calling is to be holy like Christ. How can we do this? By relying on Scripture each and every day. By reading it and applying it to our lives. Danny Akin puts it well when he says, “As you proceed in the Christian life, be more and more zealous for Christ’s glory than for your good reputation among others.” As we live with this mindset, as our priorities change, we can make strides to be more like Christ.

Conclusion

Where are you at today when it comes to your understanding and love of Scripture? Many people, Christians included, look at Scripture as a self-help book of sorts. If you read your Bible 5 minutes a day, God will love you a little bit more because God helps the ones who help themselves. Friends, reading the Bible is vitally important but understanding it and applying it to our lives is even more important. We have to understand that the Bible is written to us, yes, but it’s not primarily about us. It’s primarily about Jesus. He is the hero of the storyline! In the Bible we see several key components: Creation, fall, redemption, and restoration. As people who believe in the Bible, we know that God is still at work today. He still has a plan!

We also know that we have a role to play in His grand plan. It’s not enough to soak God’s Word up like a sponge and leave it at that. We soak it up and we pour it out. It is imperative that we take time to read God’s Word and that His Word changes us from the inside out. Think of some ways that you should look differently today as a result of God’s Word?

Application:

Because God’s Word is true - we can trust it at all times

Because God’s Word is true - we must obey it at all times

Because God’s Word is true - we must pray and forgive others