The Drama of Redemption
The Drama of Redemption • Sermon • Submitted
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Introduction:
Introduction:
What is the purpose of Scripture?
What is the purpose of Scripture?
15 and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.
Before we get into the purpose of Scripture there is a very important doctrine that we must come to terms with. That is the doctrine of Scripture.
“The authority of Scripture, that it is to be believed and obeyed, does not depend on the testimony of any person, but completely on God, the author. It is to be joyfully received because it is the word of God.
The testimony of the church along with Scripture’s doctrine, its majestic style, the agreement of all its parts, the fact that every part gives glory to God and reveals the only way of our salvation, and it overall perfection together argue that it is the very word of God. All things necessary for God’s own glory and for our salvation, faith, and life, have either clearly been set down by God in Scripture or can properly be deduced from Scripture, so nothing needs to be or ever should be added by new revelations or any new human insights or traditions.
One final thing must be said. All Scripture, every book in the Old and New Testaments, penned by some forty authors and encompassing Biblical Literature, Narrative, History, Poetry, Wisdom, Prophecy, Gospels, Epistles, and Apocalypse, was written under and directed by the inspiration of God.” —Paul David Tripp
1 The heavens declare the glory of God;
And the firmament shows His handiwork.
2 Day unto day utters speech,
And night unto night reveals knowledge.
3 There is no speech nor language
Where their voice is not heard.
19 So that your trust may be in the Lord;
I have instructed you today, even you.
20 Have I not written to you excellent things
Of counsels and knowledge,
21 That I may make you know the certainty of the words of truth,
That you may answer words of truth
To those who send to you?
19 And when they say to you, “Seek those who are mediums and wizards, who whisper and mutter,” should not a people seek their God? Should they seek the dead on behalf of the living? 20 To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.
27 And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.
44 Then He said to them, “These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me.”
13 However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. 14 He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you.
4 For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.
10 But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. 11 For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.
20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone,
13 But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth,
1 God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets,
19 And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts; 20 knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation,
The way we process everything that happens to us in this life have to be shaped by the body of wisdom that is found only between the first chapter in Genesis and the last chapter of Revelation. If the Bible we have in our hands is the word of God, shouldn’t influence every aspect of our lives?
our sense of identity;
the way we make decisions;
the shape of our friendship;
the way we approach our education;
the way we pursue our jobs and careers;
the way we approach romance and marriage;
the way we parent our children;
how we deal with conflict;
how we handle success and failure;
the things we do with our money;
where we look for fulfillment;
how we deal with difficulty;
the way we deal with media and entertainment;
our relationship with the body of Christ.
You cannot sit under the teaching of the word of God with an open and willing heart and remain the same. Like a good teacher, God’s word undoes you and then rebuilds you again. It deconstructs the thoughts and motives of your heart and then reconstructs them.
If you think you have mastered this book, it probably means you haven’t been mastered by it.
Family what you have in your hands is truly the inspired word of God.
15 and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.
All Scripture is “God-breathed” (Theopneustos). Some of the Bible is spoken by God Himself, while other parts are spoken by men who was guided by the Holy Spirit—but all of it is His word, and all of it is beneficial and authoritative. Scripture shows us the way of salvation. It also teaches us, rebukes us when we are wrong, and trains us how to do what is right so that we may be ready to do God’s work.
Verse 16 is one of the most important verse s in the Bible on the subject of inspiration. It teaches that the Scriptures are breathed by God. In a miraculous way, He communicated His word to men and led them to write it down for permanent preservation. What they wrote was the very word of God, inspired and infallible. While it is true that the individual literary style of the writer was not destroyed, it is also true that the very words he used were words given to him by the Holy Spirit:
13 These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
We need to understand too that the writers of the Bible did not give their own private interpretation of things, but wrote the message which was given to them by God:
20 knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, 21 for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.
It is false to say that God simply gave the thoughts to the individual writers and allowed them to express these thoughts in their own word.
The word of God is profitable. Every portion of it is profitable. Although we might wonder about some of the genealogies or obscure passages, yet the Spirit-taught mind will realize that there is spiritual nourishment in every word that has proceeded from the mouth of God.
The Bible is profitable for doctrine, or teaching. It sets forth the mind of God with regard to such themes as the Trinity, angels, man, sin, salvation, sanctification, the church, and future events.
Reproof: as we read the Bible, it speaks to us pointedly concerning those things in our lives which are displeasing to God. Also, it is profitable for refuting error and for answering the tempter.
Correction: It not only points out what is wrong but sets forth the way in which it can be made right.\
Righteousness: The grace of God teaches us to live godly lives, but the word of God traces out in detail the things which go to make up a godly life.
Application:
Application:
Verse 17 Through the word, we can be mature. The goal is to be throughly equipped with all that we need to bring forth every good work which makes up the goal for our salvation: Ephesians 2:8-10
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
“‘Great peace have they which love thy Law: and nothing shall offend them’ (Psalm 119:165).
Yes, a true love for the great Book will bring us great peace from the great God and be a great protection to us. Let us live constantly in the society of the law of the Lord, and it will breed in our hearts a restfulness such as northing else can. The Holy Spirit acts as a Comforter through the Word and shed abroad those benign influences which calm the tempests of the soul.
Nothing is a stumbling block to the man who has the Word of God dwelling in him richly. He takes up his daily cross, and it becomes a delight. For the fiery trial he is prepared and counts it not strange, so as to be utterly cast down by it. He is neither stumbled by prosperity—as so many are—nor crushed by adversity—as other have been—for he lives beyond the changing circumstances of external life. When his Lord puts before him some great mystery of the faith which makes other cry, ‘This is an hard saying; who can hear it?’ the believer accepts it without question; for his intellectual difficulties are overcome by his reverent awe of the law of the Lord, which is to him the supreme authority to which he joyfully bows. Lord, work in us this love, this peace, this rest, this day.”—Spurgeon
Extra:
Extra:
Following the word will keep us from sin: Psalm 119:9
9 How can a young man cleanse his way?
By taking heed according to Your word.
The word gives us spiritual guidance: Psalm 119:105
105 Your word is a lamp to my feet
And a light to my path.
Some of the Bible was written specifically to give us an accurate account of Jesus so that we might believe on Him and have eternal life: John 20:30-31
30 And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.
The word assures the us of our salvation: 1John 5:13
13 These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.
When Jesus was tempted by Satan to turn stones into bread, He responded: Matthew 4:4
4 But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’ ”
Not only does Jesus profess that the Word of God is more important than physical food, but he also refutes Satan’s temptation by quoting God’s word. One of the bible’s purposes, then, is to provide all-important spiritual sustenance and helps us defeat temptation.
The Bible can help us see ourselves in perspective and cut through the distractions of culture that would lead us away from God: Hebrews 4:12
12 For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
It is not human cleverness or will-power that will changes lives. God accomplishes His purposes when the Bible is faithfully proclaimed: Isaiah 55:10-11
10 “For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven,
And do not return there,
But water the earth,
And make it bring forth and bud,
That it may give seed to the sower
And bread to the eater,
11 So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth;
It shall not return to Me void,
But it shall accomplish what I please,
And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.
Family the Bible is not a collection of fanciful tales or wise sayings to picked through. People who want to please God with their lives need to have a regular spiritual diet of God’s word.
What is the narrative of Scripture?
What is the narrative of Scripture?