The Bible
1 Corinthians 2:9

INTRO:

Good evening. Tonight I would like to talk a bit about the Bible. There will be many verses that I reference, some of which I will not read but leave to you. The ones I do quote I will do so from the NKJV.

I have found over time that people have differing views about the Bible and one can find in literature some very interesting expressions of this. For example; A friend once said to President Grant that Senator Sumner did not believe in the Bible. "Of course Sumner doesn't believe in the Bible," answered Grant. "He didn't write it." That attitude of mind toward Christian truth, however justly or unjustly imputed to the brilliant senator from New England, is typical of many of those who vent their doubts loudly and boast that they do not accept anything the way other people do but must have infallible proof. There are some people who would never believe in any Bible that they themselves did not write. These people go on to give us a litany of Creeds and Confessions which they dearly love... because they have written them.

We should not be surprised that this because it is a time-honored way of doing things. Who has not read an assignment and had an instructor ask you to explain it in your own words. While this helps the teachers see if you understood the material it has a drawback. Have you ever played the game of telephone passing a message from one to another? You hear the message and then repeat it to the next person. If the message is long enough most of us find we are repeating it in “our own words”. At the end of the game it is always amazing to compare the original with the final version of the repeated message.

Indeed many people today just assume that other religious writings contain the same information found in the Bible, but this isn't true. The importance of any book is realized when we consider, how much information would be lost, if this work had never existed. Concerning God's revelation, Paul noted in 1 Corinthians 2:9 – “But as it is written: "Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.''” [NKJV] There are many truths that are completely unique to this book, truths which other religions have borrowed, but without this book those truths could have never been known to be borrowed.

I. Consider the following:
1. The Bible presents the concept of the one true God, who is distinct from the Creation.
2. Mankind loses its dignity without the Bible. It is the book that tells us men and women are created in the image of God (Genesis 1:26-27). Apart from this book, what would we really know about morality? What would we know about the institution of marriage?
3. It is the Bible that introduced the concept of 'sin' and the need for salvation.
4. What could be known about death, and eternity without the Bible? Remove the Bible from human history and you are left with a world dominated by things like this:
i. Evil and suffering are illusions.
ii. Reincarnation.
iii. Gods and goddesses controlling various aspects of this world.
iv. Creation is an accident.
v. Absolute truth doesn't exist.
vi. Human life is no more valuable than animal life.
vii. And might makes right.
5. Critics of the Bible quickly forget the freedom that enables them to attack the Bible, is a freedom that wouldn't exist without the Bible! One might wonder without the Bible would the United States of America as a land of freedom ever have come into being.
II. Jesus And The Bible:
A. Jesus is a very inconvenient person for the one who wants 'spirituality' without having to accept the Bible as the Word of God. Critics, skeptics and those who want to have the Bible ‘de-clawed’, find Jesus to be a very frustrating individual, because He is continually referring to the scripture as the Word of God. Some points to Note:
1. To Jesus there wasn't any difference between the Bible saying something and God saying something. What the scripture said, God said, what God said, the scripture said. Matthew 22:31- where it says in part “have you not read what was spoken to you by God, saying,” Then in the next verse Jesus quotes from Exodus 3:6 - “I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.” This same truth is found in other passages. Let me give you some examples:
2. In Genesis 12:3 God said – “I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing.” In Galatians 3:8 – “And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the nations by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, "In you all the nations shall be blessed.''”
3. In Exodus 9:16 God said - “But indeed for this purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth.” In Romans 9:17 – “For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, "Even for this same purpose I have raised you up, that I might show My power in you, and that My name might be declared in all the earth.''”
4. Now in Psalm 95:7 Scripture says - “For He is our God, And we are the people of His pasture, And the sheep of His hand. Today, if you will hear His voice: 8. "Do not harden your hearts, as in the rebellion,”. In Hebrews 3:7 – “Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: "Today, if you will hear His voice, 8. do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion,”
5. Psalm 2:1 Scripture says – “Why do the nations rage, And the people plot a vain thing?” Acts 4:24 the apostle wrote – “"...Lord, You are God, who made heaven and earth and the sea, and all that is in them, 25. "who by the mouth of Your servant David have said: 'Why did the nations rage, and the people plot vain things?”
6. Isaiah 55:3 Scripture says – “Incline your ear, and come to Me. Hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you the sure mercies of David.” Acts 13:34 the apostle wrote – “And that He raised Him from the dead, no more to return to corruption, He has spoken thus: 'I will give you the sure mercies of David.'”
7. Psalm 16:10 David wrote – “For You will not leave my soul in Sheol, Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.” Acts 13:35 the apostle wrote – “"Therefore He also says in another Psalm: 'You will not allow Your Holy One to see corruption.'”
B. Jesus also gave the following endorsements concerning the Old Testament:
1. Its central divisions Luke 16:16 – “"The law and the prophets were until John. Since that time the kingdom of God has been preached, and everyone is pressing into it.” Luke 24:44 – “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.''”
2. The inspiration of its writers Matthew 22:43-45 – “43. He said to them, "How then does David in the Spirit call Him 'Lord,' saying: 44. 'The Lord said to my Lord, "Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool'' '? 45. "If David then calls Him 'Lord,' how is He his Son?''” Matthew 24:15 – “"Therefore when you see the 'abomination of desolation,' spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place'' (whoever reads, let him understand),”
C. One writer noted: 'Jesus had the annoying habit of affirming the very passages that higher criticism calls errors.
1. He affirmed things like Creation Luke 11:50-51 – “50. "that the blood of all the prophets which was shed from the foundation of the world may be required of this generation, 51. "from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah who perished between the altar and the temple. Yes, I say to you, it shall be required of this generation.” He placed Adam and Eve near the beginning of Creation- Mark 10:6 – “But from the beginning of the creation, God 'made them male and female.’” ; And Matthew 19:4-5 – “4. And He answered and said to them, "Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning 'made them male and female,' 5. "and said, 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'?”
2. Also Noah and the Flood Matthew 24:37-39 – “37. "But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. 38. "For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, 39. "and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.”
3. Sodom and Gomorrah Luke 10:12 – “"But I say to you that it will be more tolerable in that Day for Sodom than for that city.”
4. And Jonah and the great fish Matthew. 12:39-41 – “39. But He answered and said to them, "An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40. "For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 41. "The men of Nineveh will rise in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here.”
5. He even went so far as to say that Moses wrote the Law (rather than Ezra or a collection of scribes as some say; see Mark 7:10 – “"For Moses said, 'Honor your father and your mother'; and, 'He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.'”; John 7:19 – “"Did not Moses give you the law, and yet none of you keeps the law? Why do you seek to kill Me?''” ;
6. And that Isaiah wrote all of Isaiah (critical scholars say the last half was written centuries later; see John 12:38-41 where both halves are quoted together and each half is attributed to Isaiah.'
D. Jesus also showed that the scripture was completely sufficient to guide one to eternal life in the story of the Rich Man and Lazarus, Luke 16:31 – “But he said to him, 'If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.' ”
E. Jesus affirmed it to be the Word of God down to the smallest letter or mark of punctuation in the text (Matthew 5:17-18 – “17. "Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. 18. "For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.”
F. Scripture, the Bible does not contradict itself, but rather expresses the same truth on a subject throughout its divisions.
1. Luke 24:27 – “And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.”
2. In Luke 24:44-46 – “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.'' 45. And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures. 46. Then He said to them, "Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day,”
G. The Bible is true in every respect John 17:17 – “"Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.”
H. It is a book that contains the last word. Scripture is the final court of appeals, the final authority. Note in Matthew 4:4,7,10 – “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.'... 7. Jesus said to him, "It is written again, 'You shall not tempt the Lord your God.' ''... 10. Then Jesus said to him, "Away with you, Satan! For it is written, 'You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.'”
I. Nothing can nullify or invalidate what the Bible states as reality; John 10:35 – where it says 'and the Scripture cannot be broken'.
III. Was Jesus Truthful?
A. The claim is being made that the Bible is only infallible concerning spiritual things. That is, the Bible is merely an infallible guide in matters of faith and practice, but there may be errors in reference to science, geography and history within its pages. In addition, Jesus and the biblical writers simply accommodated themselves to various popular errors and myths of the times so they could get their point across.
B. Points to Note:
1. But in reading we find Jesus didn't accommodate Himself to misconceptions of His time. This is one reason why He found Himself involved in so many controversies with the Pharisees and Sadducees. He confronted their false beliefs! Matthew. 22:29 – “Jesus answered and said to them, "You are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God.”; then in Matthew 23 – I’m not going to quote the 39 verses here but encourage you to read that chapter.; and then Matthew 15:1-9 – “1. Then the scribes and Pharisees who were from Jerusalem came to Jesus, saying, 2. "Why do Your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread.'' 3. But He answered and said to them, "Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition? 4. "For God commanded, saying, 'Honor your father and your mother'; and, 'He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.' 5. "But you say, 'Whoever says to his father or mother, "Whatever profit you might have received from me has been dedicated to the temple'' 6. 'is released from honoring his father or mother.' "Thus you have made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition. 7. "Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying: 8. 'These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. 9. And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.' ''”; and John 2:13-16 where He threw out the moneychangers.
2. The Bible is emphatic concerning Jesus' truthfulness: 1 Peter 2:22 – “Who committed no sin, nor was guile found in His mouth”
3. Jesus says in John 3:12 – “If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?” Jesus expected His accuracy in factually testable matters to be proof that He was telling the truth about spiritual matters that cannot be tested.
4. In addition, why would Jesus have to accommodate Himself to any error? Lest someone speak without thinking and say, 'Well, what does Jesus know about science?' 'What does Jesus know about biology, botany, geography, human psychology, genetics, when one becomes a human being, or the origin of the universe.....those things are better left in the hands of the experts!' Have we forgotten something? Have we forgotten, the true expert concerning all these things is Jesus, because He is the Creator! John 1:3 - “All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.” Why would Jesus have to depend upon or use the findings of fallible men for any of His illustrations or sermons? Folks, do fallible men know more about the origin of this universe and mankind, than the Creator Himself? Whose findings would you trust? The being Who brought it into existence, including all the laws that govern it, who was there as an eyewitness and continues to sustain it ? (Colossians 1:17 “And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.” ; or in Hebrews 1:2). Or should you trust a fallible and finite scientist who has only been alive for perhaps the last 50 years, who has never left this planet, and who has only been an 'expert' in his field for perhaps the last 10 or 20 years?
C. If God is the author, as the Bible claims 2 Timothy 3:16-17 – “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 perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.” , just as Jesus plainly asserted for both the Old and New Testament (John 16:13; John 12:48; Matthew 24:35), then how could the Bible state an inaccuracy about any subject? Or are we to believe that when it comes to certain subjects, is God out of His league?
IV. The Limits Of Human Language?
A. Here is the argument that is being made in some circles: 'Human language isn't able to fully communicate truths about God. Hence error about spiritual truths is unavoidable as long as we are stuck with human language.' Let’s think about that because it sounds suspiciously akin to the argument that scripture it too complicated to understand:
1. So why then did God deliberately choose human language as the means of communicating with us? Other options were open to Him (direct communication to each and every individual, an inherent knowledge of the truth built into the human race, and so on). God doesn't seem to have a problem with human language.
2. This argument forgets that man was created with a capacity to understand spiritual truth, to comprehend things about God (Genesis 1:26 – “Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.''”). Human language can perfectly express spiritual truths, and nothing is lost when truths are written down (Ephesians 3:3-5).
3. The written Word is praised for its perfection and truthfulness in Psalms 119: (slowly) Psalm 119:7-8 and in 119:128, 140, 151, 160
4. It is self-defeating to say that language cannot express anything about God, because it just did—it expressed the idea that nothing could be expressed.' (Geisler p. 150)
5. Then there is the question of honesty. If human language can't adequately express the truth about spiritual things, then why isn't the same argument accepted when we come to understanding the universe that God made? People insist that human language can adequately express the truth about the origin of the universe, the nature of man, and a host of deep and complicated subjects.
V. The Biblical Writers:
A. Clearly God is the true author behind every book in the Bible. 'Inspiration does not mean simply that the writer felt enthusiastic, like Handel composing the Messiah. Nor does it mean that the writings are necessarily inspiring, like an uplifting poem.' (Geisler p. 145).
1. Points to Note: The revelation to write came from God. We read of the prophets in 1 Peter 1:10 – “Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you,”; then in 2 Peter 1:21 – “for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.”; and finally in 1 Corinthians 2:10-13 – “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. 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.”.
2. The content, right down to tenses and whether a word was singular or plural also came from God. Matthew 22:31-32 where we read – “31. "But concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God, saying, 32. 'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.''”; and then in Galatians 3:16 where we read – “Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, "And to seeds,'' as of many, but as of one, "And to your Seed,'' who is Christ.”
3. Yet, it is also clear that God allowed or used the human personalities and experiences of the various writers. This accounts for the different literary and grammatical styles that exist between Biblical books and the various personal elements in the books 2 Timothy 4:13; 1 Corinthians 1:16.
i. Some people insist that error must have crept into the Biblical text because God used human writers. But note, there is an analogy between the written Word of God and the Living Word (Jesus). While people say that error is due to the introduction of human thought and human language, they must somehow account for the fact that Jesus Christ was both fully human and fully divine John 1:14 – “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.”
ii. In both cases (the incarnation and revelation), the human and divine are wedded, yet the human aspects have no imperfections. This suggests that sin and error are not necessary consequences of humanity... God can produce both a Person and a Book that are without error.

CONCLUSION:
Accepting the premise that human language cannot adequately reveal spiritual truth, demands the concession that Jesus Christ taught some error. Because, He used the language of mankind to express everything He said.
John 1:18 – “No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.”
John 14:9 – “Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, 'Show us the Father'?”
John 3:12 – “"If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?”
John 6:68 – “Then Simon Peter answered Him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.”
John 12:48 – “"He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day.”
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We learn from the New Testament how to be saved. We need to hear the word; believe in Jesus; repent of our sins; we must confess our belief that Jesus is the Son of God; and be baptized for the remission of our sins... If we follow these steps, the Lord adds us to His church.
Perhaps there is someone in the assembly today with the need to be buried with Christ in baptism. If you have never done these things, we urge you to do so today. If anyone has this need or desires the prayers of faithful Christians on their behalf, we encourage them to come forward while we stand and sing.

Song before the lesson 501—Give Me The Bible
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Reference Sermon: Mark Dunagan