Sermon Tone Analysis

Good evening.

•We are continuing our study of the Baptist Catechism.

•Specifically, we are using the edition found in the white catechism booklets that we give out for free here at the church.

(Published by Reformed Baptist Publications)

•And this evening, we come to Question 6. 

•And this question has to do with our use of the Word of God.

Questions 5-7 all have to do with the Scriptures, their authority, their use, and their general teaching.

•We find them so early in the catechism because our view of Scripture is the foundation of all the rest of our doctrine.

Brothers and sisters, the Word of God is a very important subject for us to consider.

•The Scriptures are to be our highest treasure in this world aside from God Himself.

And that is because in the Scriptures, we hear from Him and He is revealed to us.

•And so, we would do well to meditate upon these things.

•And that is exactly what we will be doing this evening by considering Question 6 of our catechism.

As always, I want to make something plain:

•This catechism is not the Word of God.

And it is not inspired by God. 

•BUT, we do believe that it is a faithful summary of many doctrines contained in the Scriptures.

•And so, it is a faithful guide for us as we seek to learn the doctrines of our Faith, and as it provides Scripture proofs for what it teaches.

•Again, it is not Scripture.

But it is a good summary of what is taught in Scripture, just like our Confession of Faith and the Creeds we confess.

Now, with that said, I will pray and we will begin to consider our question and answer for this evening.

(PRAY)

Our Great God, 

We thank you for this Lord’s Day and how you’ve blessed us already.

And we are grateful that we can meet again as we seek to keep the whole day unto the Lord.

We ask now that you would guide our thinking as we consider your Word.

By your Spirit, lead us into more and more truth as we search the Scriptures.

And sanctify us by it.

We do not merely want our heads filled, but we desire to be conformed more and more into the image of your Son, our Lord, Jesus Christ.

Glorify yourself in us this day.

We ask these things in Jesus’ Name and for His sake.

Amen.

Our question for this evening.

I ask that you would read the answer with me.

Q.

May all men make use of the Scriptures?

A. All men are not only permitted, but commanded and exhorted, to read, hear, and understand the Holy Scriptures.

•(Let’s do that again.)

1.) Let’s begin by considering the question.

•“May all men make use of the Scriptures?”

•Our question uses the word “may” here.

And, if you had a good English teacher, you’ll remember that “may” is a word of PERMISSION.

•So we’re being asked this: Are all people PERMITTED to use and benefit from the Scriptures?

Now, who would do the permitting in this situation?

•Well, considering that the Bible tells us that the Bible is God’s Book, it’s His Word, authored by His Spirit working through men, it belongs to Him. 

•And, therefore, God would be the One who gets to determine who is and who is not allowed to use the Bible.

•It’s His Book, so He gets to decide what it’s used for and who gets to use it.

So then, our question, at root, is this:

•Does God permit all people to make use of the Scriptures?

•That’s the question.

And that may seem like an odd question to us.

•We’re Protestants.

We believe in Sola Scriptura.

We all own and read copies of the Scriptures.

•So, our knee-jerk answer is “Of course all men may make use of the Scriptures!”

•So this question may seem odd to us.

But I think that is because we are so many centuries removed from the clutches of the Roman Catholic Church.

•I think that’s the background to this question.

•The men who put this catechism together were not that far removed from the beginning of the Reformation.

And Rome still had much power in their day.

You see, there are some religious traditions, like Rome, that believe that knowing the Bible and using it are not ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY for the average Christian.

•More than that, the Roman Church used to teach that it was dangerous to give a Bible to the person in the pew.

(And many still believe that today.)

•They believed that the Bible, in general, is simply too convoluted and difficult for the average believer to understand.

•And so, they fought hard against the Bible being translated into the common languages of the ordinary people.

•The Roman Church believes that it is only the clergy who MUST have, understand, and use the Bible.

(And that’s even a bit debatable, honestly.)

•The common people are to simply receive what the Church tells them and have faith that the Church is telling them the truth.

(Sola Ecclesia instead of Sola Scriptura.)

So then, back when this catechism was written, it was a fairly common belief that God did not permit ordinary Christians to read the Word of God. 

•But, in reality, it was simply the Roman Church who said that, not God.

But let’s be fair:

•Nowadays, they think it’s fine to give people a Bible.

•But they still admit that it is not NECESSARY for the average person to know or even really understand what the Bible says.

•Knowing what the Church says about the Bible is technically enough according to Rome.

BUT IS THAT WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES?

•There is the question.

•What does God say about who is to use His Word? 

•And so, the question stands: “May all men make use of the Scriptures?”

2.) Our answer to that is this:

“All men are not only permitted, but commanded and exhorted, to read, hear, and understand the Holy Scriptures.”

•I will now defend that answer using the Bible itself.

(We will be considering the Scripture proofs in the catechism along with some others.)

1.

We turn now to the Gospel of John 5:39.

•Jesus is in the middle of a discussion/debate with some of the Jews (probably Pharisees) and He says:

•“You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me…”

Now, let’s reason for a moment from this text and others in the Bible.

•If the Scriptures bear witness about Jesus, as Jesus says (and they do), AND God commands that all men everywhere repent and believe upon Jesus (Acts 4:11-12), then surely God wants men to read and understand the Scriptures.

•The Scriptures reveal the One whom God demands we turn to in faith.

So surely, God is pleased that men would search the Scriptures for Him.

But considering the verse itself, notice that the men Jesus spoke to in John 5:39 were NOT rebuked for using the Scriptures.

•Not at all.

You won’t find Jesus ever rebuking anyone for using the Bible.

•They were not even rebuked for SEARCHING the Scriptures.

That is, DILIGENTLY reading and studying them trying to mine them out for truth.

•Rather, they were rebuked for NOT BELIEVING what the Scriptures taught and revealed about Jesus Christ.

•It’s almost as if Jesus is saying that it’s a good thing to search the Scriptures, but the problem is unbelief and the misuse of Scripture.

Not only that, but quickly consider this:

•We often read of how Jesus gets upset when those to whom He speaks DO NOT KNOW what the Word says.

•Jesus is constantly saying things like: “Do you not know?