Rush City Baptist Church

The Necessity of Scripture

Sunday, February 24, 2008

INTRODUCTION:  I received the following emails and blogs from some friends who are visiting Ukraine for the first time.  On Monday - You would never believe the conditions over in this country.  Kiev wasn’t too bad, but WhiteChurch is a place time left behind.  The buildings haven’t had repairs since the USSR went belly up.  We were lucky to find an internet shop.  The streets and highways are pretty scary; on the way down I might have pooped my shorts if I had opened my eyes.  People park their cars on the sidewalks or anywhere they want.  Snow removal here is interesting.  I have pictures, but haven’t figured out how to use the Ukrainian computers.  They don’t show the instructions in English.  On Wednesday - How goes the battle in the frozen state?  At least it can’t snow when it’s that cold.  I miss my house, couch, wash machine, dryer and Nascar.  I don’t understand how you like to travel to countries like this?  It’s cheaper to buy cigarettes than coke cola.  What’s up with that?  On Thursday - It’s nice and sunny, and 40 degrees here.  All the snow from the other day melted.  The sand lady was out today, for the ice on the ground. Ukrainians seem a little cranky to me, not a happy people.  We have decided to never eat boiled chicken again!

My friend’s letters show that there is a difference between what most Ukrainians would say are necessities and what Americans would say are necessities.  Even among Americans many of us would not agree on what is a necessity.  For example, most kids think a cell phone is a necessity.  I was talking to two high school boys on Wednesday night before Awana and they could not imagine trying to function without a cell phone.  I go fishing in Canada every July and my fishing partners have a difference of opinion concerning the necessity of fishing tackle for the trip. Husbands and wives have differing opinions about the necessity of certain purchases.

As I bring this series of sermons on the doctrine of Scripture to a conclusion, I want to clearly state that there can be no difference of opinion when it comes to the necessity of God’s Word for our lives. We are going to examine three areas of life in which the Word of God is a necessity.

First, the Bible is necessary for salvation.  Last Sunday we briefly looked at a statement the apostle Paul concerning the message that natural revelation communicates to people about God.  Paul wrote to the Roman church, “The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them.  For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse” (1:18-20).  This passage says at least two truths: first, God reveals His glorious nature through natural revelation, but second, mankind represses that revelation by their sinful nature. 

People generally repress biblical truth one of three ways.  One, rationalization that is expressed by such comments as, “I’m not as bad as so-and-so” or “If that person’s a Christian then I don’t want to be one.”  Or they justify their sinful lifestyle by twisting Scripture.  Two, rebellion that is usually expressed by a blatant sinful lifestyle.  Three, religion that tries to put God in one’s debt due to religious activity.

Here’s the interesting thing about natural revelation. It is sufficient to convict people of sin, but it is not sufficient to give them knowledge of the gospel. Douglas Moo writes, “Every person is 'without excuse' because every person, whether a first-century pagan or a twenty-first-century materialist, has been given a knowledge of God and has spurned that knowledge in favor of idolatry, in all its varied manifestations.  All therefore stand under the awful reality of the wrath of God, and all are in desperate need of the justifying power of the gospel of Christ. We will never come to grips with the importance of the gospel, or be motivated as we should be to proclaim it, until this sad truth has been fully integrated into our worldview."  It is like knowing you are not feeling well, but you have to see a doctor to get the precise diagnosis to find out your precise illness.

Paul makes an important statement concerning the necessity of the proclamation of the gospel, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.  How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in?  And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?  And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news” (Romans 10:13-15).  Paul presents the natural process that results in salvation: Calling depends on believing, believing depends on hearing, hearing depends on preaching, and preaching depends on sending.  Paul goes on to write in Romans 10, “Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.  But I ask: Did they not hear?  Of course they did: “Their voice has gone out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world” (Romans 10:17-18 quoting Psalm 19).

Second, the Bible is necessary for spiritual vitality. For several sermons in this series I have asked, “If your eating habits are like your Bible reading habits, how healthy would you be?”  That comparison is a legitimate one based on the following three passages.  In Matthew 4:4, “Jesus answered (Satan during his temptation in the desert), “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.”  In 1 Peter 2:2-3, the apostle used another food metaphor, “Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.”  Finally, in the book of Hebrews, “We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain because you are slow to learn.  In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness.  But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil” (Hebrews 5:11-14).

Donald Whitney made an insightful statement in his book, “Spiritual Disciplines of the Godly Life.”  “No spiritual discipline is more important than the intake of God’s Word. Nothing can substitute for it. There simply is no healthy Christian life apart from a diet of the milk and meat of Scripture.”  Ask yourself the following questions concerning your Bible reading: Do I love to read and meditate upon the Word of God? Yes or No. Do I understand the Bible? Yes or No. Does God speak to me through His Word? Yes or No.  Does the Bible change my life? Yes or No.  How much time do I spend each day reading the Bible: None, 5 Minutes, 15 Minutes, 30 Minutes, More.  Are my personal devotions consistent and regular? Yes or No.  Do I memorize the Scriptures? Yes or No.  How many verses do I memorize each week? 1-3, 3-7, 7-10, More. Do I personalize, activate and share God’s Word each Day? Yes or No.  Am I growing to love and obey God’s Word more each day? Yes or No.

Look at these statistics that chart the Bible reading habits of people during a typical week by year: 1988 - 36%; 1991 - 45%; 1992 - 47%; 1993 - 34%; 1994 - 37%; 1995 -31% ; 1996 - 34%; 1997 - 36%; 1999 - 34%; 2000 - 40%; 2001 - 37%; 2002 - 42%; 2004 - 44%; 2005 - 45%; 2006 - 47%.  Women (51%) are more likely than are men (42%) to have read the Bible in the past week (2006).  And note the generational differences: 58% of Elders (Builders & Seniors) read the Bible; 47% of Boomers (age 35-49); 42% of Busters (under 35); 32% of Mosaics (1984-2002) read the Bible in a typical week. (2006)

Hearing God’s Word is a spiritual discipline.  We need to prepare our hearts every time the Bible is opened that we are actually hearing Almighty God’s word to us.  Jesus said, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it” (Luke 11:28).  The next spiritual discipline is reading God’s Word.  First, you need to find the time and try to make it the same time every day.  Second, find a Bible reading plan that suits you.  Third, find at least one verse to meditate on each time you read.  Then you need to discipline yourself to study God’s Word.  Add to this the memorizing of Scripture.  And the final step is the application of Scripture to your everyday life.

Third, the Bible is necessary to know God’s will. Now I am speaking about knowing God’s general will for my life, not the specifics of individual decisions.  The apostle Paul wrote in his first letter to the Thessalonian church, “Finally, brothers, we instructed you how to live in order to please God, as in fact you are living.  Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more. For you know what instructions we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus.  It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate lust like the heathen, who do not know God” (4:1-5).

The Bible tells me about the character of God and His plan for the world.  The Bible tells me to value eternal matters over temporal ones.  The Bible tells me that I have a sin nature that must be continually confronted.  The Bible tells me how to treat my spouse and raise my children.  The Bible tells me how to view and handle money and possessions. The Bible tells me to do everything for the glory of God.  The Bible tells me how to prioritize my time in light of my mortality.  The Bible tells me to guard my mouth and to open my ears. The Bible tells me to control my emotions and speak the truth in love.  The Bible tells me to read God’s Word and share my faith.  The Bible tells me not to love the world and to avoid materialism. The Bible tells me to seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.  So, by disciplining myself to read God’s Word on a regular basis I will come to know His will when it comes to making decisions in my life.