Genesis to Esther Series –
Lesson 6
1. The Bible is the Foundation To All Christian Teaching
1. To Reject The Bible Is To Reject Christianity
The Bible is
the foundation to ALL Christian teaching, (or Christian Doctrine.)
“Teaching” and “Doctrine” are one and the same words. To reject the Bible is to reject Christianity. Somebody says: “I’m a Christian, but I don’t believe
in the Bible.” That is impossible!
I quote, and
maybe I’ll read later, from a book that I have, by R. A. Torrey. I have quoted
him for years. He says:
“I believe in the Bible, because I believe in
Jesus Christ, and I believe in Jesus Christ, because I believe in the Bible.
And I am a Christian, because I believe in the Bible. And I’m a Christian,
because I believe in Jesus Christ.”
And you can’t
have the one without the other!
Now the next.
2. All Christian Doctrine Has No More, Or No Less Authority, Than Any Other
Christian Doctrine
All Christian doctrines have the same authority, namely that of Holy Scripture. No Christian Doctrine has more
or less authority than any other Christian Doctrine!
3. To Illustrate
The “Virgin
Birth” is a Bible Doctrine. No one can deny that -- even if you want
to! It is there whether you like it or not. The “Virgin
Birth” is a Bible Doctrine, and therefore, it is a Christian Doctrine. Why is it a Christian
Doctrine? It is a Christian Doctrine, because it is a Bible Doctrine. Anything that is not Bible, is not
Christian. The fact that “God is Creator,” is a Bible
Doctrine, and is therefore, a Christian Doctrine.
The first
Doctrine, that is, the “Virgin Birth,” has the same basis, and therefore, the same authority as the other Bible Doctrines. What is your authority for believing that God Created the Heaven and the
earth? – The Bible.
What is your authority for believing in the Virgin Birth? – the same authority, the Bible.
And every Christian Doctrine has that same authority – Bible
authority.
4. Christianity Is Built Upon What One Confesses, What One Believes About Jesus Christ.
We have gone
over that on many occasions.
Romans 10: 9-10
(9) That if thou shalt confess
with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe
in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou
shalt be saved.
(10) For with the heart man
believeth unto righteousness; and
with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
Somebody says
“Does it matter what I confess I believe?” – Yes it does. It is what you confess you believe, that proves to me whether you are a
Christian or not. It is not basically what you do,
but it’s what you confess you believe.
One does not
have to believe Gen 1:1 to become a Christian. One does not have to believe
the Doctrine of the Virgin Birth to become a
Christian. But, if one is a Christian, one will believe these doctrines – because genuine Christianity accepts the Bible. Did you get that? Genuine
Christianity accepts the Bible, and may I insert – ALL of it.
2. The Christians Of The Early Church Were Students Of Scripture.
The Christians
of the early church were students of Scripture.
At that time, they only had the Old
Testament in writing. Letters were written to them later on,
but in the beginning, they only had the Old Testament. So let’s go back to Acts, to prove that
statement.
1. Acts 11: 19-26
Acts 11: 19-26
(19) Now they which were scattered abroad upon the
persecution that arose about Stephen traveled as far as Phenice, and Cyprus,
and Antioch, preaching the word to none but unto the Jews only.
(20) And some of them were men of Cyprus and Cyrene, which,
when they were come to Antioch, spake unto the Grecians, preaching the Lord
Jesus.
(21) And the hand of the Lord was with them: and a great
number believed, and turned unto the Lord.
(22) Then tidings of
these things came unto the ears of the church which was in Jerusalem: and they
sent forth Barnabas, that he should go as far as Antioch.
(23) Who, when he came, and had seen the grace of God, was
glad, and exhorted them all, that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto
the Lord.
(24) For he was a good man, and full of the Holy Ghost and
of faith: and much people was added unto the Lord.
(25) Then departed Barnabas to Tarsus, for to seek Saul:
(26) And when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch.
And it came to pass, that a whole year they
assembled themselves with the church, and taught much
people. And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.
It is not
stated here, but other Scriptures imply,
that if you had Paul for your teacher, Paul would take the basis of his teaching from the Scriptures.
So the
Christians at Antioch were taught from the Scriptures.
It is positive here. I don’t have to imply anything. It is definitely
stated.
2. Acts 17: 1-2
Acts 17: 1-2
(1) Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and
Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica (That is in the country of Greece.) where
was a synagogue of the Jews:
Now notice
verse 2. This will verify what I said about chapter eleven.
(2) And Paul, as his manner was (Did you get that?) went in
unto them, and three sabbath days reasoned with them
out of the scriptures,
Notice what the
early church did when they met together. They opened the Scriptures, and reasoned together.
Did you get that? How did Paul reason? – out of the Scriptures.
The early church studied the Old Testament.
3. Acts 17: 10-11
Acts 17: 10-11 (Another geographical location)
(10) And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas
by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews.
Now notice
verse 11.
(11) These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in
that they received the word with all readiness
of mind, and searched the scriptures daily,
whether those things were so.
They searched
the Scriptures at Antioch. They did it at Thessalonica. And they did it at Berea.
I like this. Please keep this in mind, so that you will not think that I have, or
will, contradict what I am going to say later on. At this point in the history,
Paul had not yet written his epistles. Did you get
that? He could not give them his epistles.
When they listened to Paul, these Bereans went home,
and searched the Scriptures for themselves.
What is the lesson? They did not take the authority of men. They would only bow to the authority of Scripture.
And I want to
say to you, again and again -- Do not
bow before what I say. If you do not see it in the Bible, then forget it! I am not here to merely express what I
think, and what I believe, I am here to show you what the Bible says. The purpose of a Bible teacher, is to point out
what the Bible says – amplify it, and rub it in. The
Bible says, the early church studied the Scriptures.
4. Acts 18: 24-28
Turn to Acts,
chapter 18. What a wonderful story there is here, regarding a man -- a Jew,
whose name is Apollos.
Acts 18: 24-28
(24) And a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, (In the land
of Egypt)
an eloquent man, (A good speaker)
I like this:
God is very careful to tell us there are such
men.
and mighty in the scriptures, came to Ephesus.
(That’s in the
land of Turkey)
Apollos was
mighty in the Scriptures. Thank God I have met a few of those men. All
through history, there have been men mighty
in the Scriptures.
(25) This man was instructed in the way of the Lord; and
being fervent in the spirit, he spake and taught diligently the things of the
Lord, knowing only the baptism of John.
(26) And he began to speak boldly in the
synagogue: whom when Aquila and Priscilla had heard, they took him unto them,
and expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly.
(27) And when he was disposed to pass into Achaia, the
brethren wrote, exhorting the disciples to receive him: who, when he was come,
helped them much which had believed through grace:
(28) For he mightily convinced the Jews, and that publicly, showing
by the scriptures that Jesus was Christ.
Apollos did not use his own
authority. But if he was going to present his Doctrine, and teach, he was going
to show what the Scriptures say.
5. Acts 24: 14
Here you have
the testimony of the apostle Paul. He lets us know where he stands, regarding
the Old Testament, -- for in this context, that
is what he is talking about.
Acts 24: 14
(14) But this I confess unto thee, that after the way which
they call heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers, believing all things
which are written in the law and in the prophets.
Now, here is
what to observe, and mark.
Believing all things
which are written in the law and in the
prophets.
Notice, “in the
law,”— that is Genesis. Did Paul believe Genesis?
– Yes. What’s the law? -- that’s Exodus,
Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. Then he adds “and in
the prophets.” In one line, Paul says, I exercise myself,
because I believe all that is in the Old Testament.
And then Paul
writes to Timothy.
6. 2 Timothy 2: 15-16
2 Timothy 2: 15-16
(15) Study to show thyself approved unto God,
a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly
dividing the word of truth.
(16) But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will
increase unto more ungodliness.
That brings us
back to our lessons on Bible history, and geography, and prophecy.
Reviewing statements 1
& 2:
We stated that the Bible is the
foundation of all Christian teaching.
Then major heading #2, the Christians of
the early church were students
of Scripture.
3. Three Statements By A.T. Pierson
We are going to
quote three statements from A. T. Pierson. And I am going to, at this point, recommend
some reading for you. These statements that we are quoting, are taken out of a
book that has been published some while ago. It is called MANY INFALLABLE PROOFS. I
am not sure that it is now available in new
printing, but if you find an old book, it is worth its weight in gold.
The second book
that I shall be quoting from, later on, is: THE BIBLE AND ITS CHRIST, by Ruben A. Torrey. I have an old copy. I suppose that
it has been reissued.
Now some books
that have been reissued: This is recently printed, and I would suggest that you
get the book: THE INSPIRATION
OF THE BIBLE by B.H.
Carroll. In my opinion, I have yet to find a book that compares to this one for
this subject. I have read it at least twice, and I think it is one outstanding
book.
Then there are
two books, written by the same author, Harold Lindsell. This man is still
living, as far as I know. This book is called THE BATTLE FOR THE BIBLE. He wrote this volume first, then he wrote this
companion book THE BIBLE IN
THE BALANCE. These
books, in my opinion, again, are worth their weight in gold. There is a battle
going on today regarding the infallibility of the Scriptures. And these two
books, written by Harold Lindsell, I recommend to any serious student of the
Scriptures.
Then I have
some other books that I will recommend to you. The one is called GOD HAS SPOKEN by J. I. Packer. I believe he is at Regent College.
Some of you may
have seen, PHILLIPS
TRANSLATIONS OF THE SCRIPTURE
---by J. B. Phillips. This is the same author. The book is THE RING OF TRUTH -- by J.B.
Phillips. These are very precious treasures that I have.
All of these
books that I have mentioned, all deal with the subject of the Bible itself, and they are worthy of being read.
Whether you
want to get into the controversy or not, regarding all the translations that
are coming out, here is a book on that subject – WHICH BIBLE by David O. Fuller. He goes into the
history of the King James, the Revised Version, and all of the versions that
are coming out. And he concludes, as many of us are concluding these days, a
lot of these so-called Christian books, and even Bible translations, are not being printed to propagate truth.
Primarily, they
are being printed to make money.
And the love of money is the root of all evil. Don’t ever forget that! Whether
it be printing books, or otherwise, a lot of things are being propagated today.
That’s all you can say it is – it is the love of money.
Well, you know, if somebody translates the Bible, he is really going to sell it!
Let’s get back
to these three statements by A.T. Pierson.
1. Careful Bible Study Will Cure Honest Doubt.
Careful Bible study will cure honest doubt. At this point, I want to read what Torrey has
written. Honest doubters have never really studied
the Bible. And, I’m sorry to say, even some Christians haven’t seriously studied it. Torrey says:
The most important question in religious thought is – Is
the Bible the Word of God? I didn’t always believe the
Bible to be the Word of God. I sincerely doubted that
the Bible was the Word of God. I doubted that
Jesus Christ was the Son of God. I doubted
whether there was a personal God. I was not an infidel, but I was a skeptic. I
did not deny, I questioned. I was not an atheist, I was an agnostic. I
said “ I did not know whether God
exists.” You see, an atheist says “God does not exist.” An agnostic says, “I
don’t know whether God exists or not.”
If the Bible was
the Word of God, I determined to find out, and act accordingly if it were not.
I found out beyond a peradventure, that:
there
is a God,
that
Jesus Christ is the Son of God,
and
that the Bible is the Word of God.
And this man,
before he died, was able to say:
It is with me, not a
matter of mere probability, nor even merely belief, but
of
ABSOLUTE CERTAINTY.
And that man
was one of the educated men of a past generation. It didn’t matter
how you argued with him, it was absolute certainty. That’s how we need to approach the study of
Scriptures – with absolute
certainty, that it is the Word of God. And if it is
the Word of God. then it is worth
studying.
2. Careful Study Makes Intelligent, Steadfast Believers.
Careful study
makes intelligent, steadfast
believers. Notice those
words. First of all INTELLIGENT. If you are going to study the Bible, you
have to use your intelligence.
I always say to
my classes: “Is there anybody in my class who does not have in his heart, a desire to be a steadfast believer?” Do you not admire steadfast believers? Do you not love to see someone who is stable in his faith? I think we all want that for ourselves. I can say, for myself, and I
testify publicly, I have seen this in men. I have seen what the Bible has done to men that I have known.
I didn’t see it
when they were younger. But when I was
younger, and they were older, I started to observe them. I think of
Hazelette McLean. Some of you have known Dr. Glenn S. McLean – a friend of
mine, as long as I can remember. His dad became so stable with the Word of God, that when the day of his
funeral came, I took his Bible, and I had the privilege of standing in the pulpit and saying a few words.
I want you to
turn to Psalm 34. As I went through his Bible, on every page there were
markings that indicated a man, who had been stabilized
because of his study of the Scripture.
I haven’t time to share all of them, but I use this as one example that I found
in his Bible.
Psalms 34
(1) I will bless the Lord at all times:
And then down
in verse 4
(4) I sought the Lord
In brother
McLean’s Bible, he puts some negatives – “not the blessing.” Too many people today are seeking the blessing. The
Psalmist didn’t seek the blessing, he said “I sought the Lord.”
The Psalmist
said “I didn’t seek for help, I sought the Lord. I didn’t seek for relief,
I sought the Lord. I didn’t seek for tongues, I sought the Lord.
I didn’t seek for experience, I sought the Lord.”
I got that from
brother McLean. All through his Bible, I could find things like that. And now,
in my later experience, the first thing I want to do when someone dies and I’ve
known them, is to get their Bible, and see what they have done with it
– because their Bible reveals their spirituality.
Oh what a stable man brother McLean was!
I could talk
about brother McNichol, and brother Neve, and brother Hollands, and a whole
list of stabilized men that come to my mind. Stabilized
men – men whom you would want to be like. And the whole thing was attributed to
the fact that they were students of the Word of God.
So we have the
statement: “Careful study
makes intelligent, steadfast believers.” I have taken the statements out of the book by
Pierson, and I have added these following notations:
2 Peter 3: 15-16
(15) And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is
salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given
unto him hath written unto you;
(16) As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these
things; in which are some things hard to be
understood,
That should
encourage all of you. If Peter couldn’t understand all that Paul wrote,
well then, don’t feel too badly if you
can’t understand. For Peter says, “Paul wrote some things that are hard for me to understand.” I have shown you that Paul was the minister to the Gentiles, and Peter was a Jew. And so, Paul
said things that were difficult for Jews
to understand, even as Jews have said things that are difficult for Gentiles to understand. Because of the culture background, Peter said, “There are some things that
are hard to understand.” But that isn’t what I want you to see. I want you to see the rest of the verse.
Which they that are UNLEARNED and UNSTABLE wrest,
as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.
Now let me play on those two words. UNLEARNED – in what context?– the Bible. Unlearned, regarding the Bible.
And what do you expect from an unlearned person? – instability. Unlearned
-- Unstable. Did you
get that? Now, if that is true, is the reverse
not also true? -- If you are learned, you should be stable.
Unlearned – unstable.
Learned – stable
Taught in the Scriptures, learned in the Scriptures,
educated in the Scriptures – should make the individual a stable individual.
Hebrews 13: 7-9
I link it
always with that passage in Peter. I have often said, and I say again, “I want
it recorded, that verse eight is taken out of the context more than any other verse I know in the Bible.” You
always hear verse eight quoted alone. Verse eight says:
(8) Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and for
ever.
Somebody pulls
it out, and supports his Doctrine of
healing, or health, or wealth, or something – because Jesus is the same
yesterday, and today, and for ever. I am not
taking away from that. I want you to see the context
though. Let’s read the preceding verse.
(7) Remember them which have the rule over you, who have
spoken unto you the word of God: whose faith follow, considering the end of
their conversation
“The end of their conversation” (considering the way they live!)
The old English
word “conversation” is “manner of life.” What should you expect from your Bible
teacher? You should expect your Bible teacher to have established a way of life that you can respect. Look at those who teach you, and see how
they live. If their life is not a manifestation of change, you have no
business following them. You consider the way they live before you follow what they say.
(8) Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and for
ever.
For example:
let’s take Saturday night, and Sunday, and Monday. If you were with Jesus on
Saturday, He would be identical in the way He would act on Sunday morning. And
when He went home on Sunday night, and got up Monday, He would be the same. He is the same
on Saturday, and the same on Sunday, and the same on Monday. That’s stability!
You can see in
the context, the next verse says:
(9) Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines.
For it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace;
Now, get it in
the context. Let me reason with you. What are we doing when we are studying the
Bible? What should we be doing? – We should be learning about Him. Paul said “that I might know him.” And so Bible study is, primarily, not so
we can go home and say “I know so much.” That’s
not the purpose. If Bible study swells your head, then you better examine your heart, because there is something wrong with your heart if all that Bible study does is swell
your head. God never intended to swell our heads by studying this Book. God
intends to make us more like Christ. Bible study produces likeness to Christ.
And if we are
growing as a Bible student, if we are growing as a Christian, if we are growing
at all – what is growth? – It is becoming more conformed
to the image of God’s Son. We are becoming more like Him. And what is Jesus? He is the same yesterday, and He
is the same today, and He is the same tomorrow. What is it in one word? He is STABLE. Did you hear that? – He is stable! What will true learning make you? – STABLE. If I am learned,
I am stable!
Now let me say this, and listen carefully. I’m saying
this against the flow of the river of religion today.
All the experience
in the world will not substitute, in a believer’s life, for Bible study. May I repeat that. You can have all the experience
in the world, and I’m not against experience, but when we start substituting experience, for learning what the Scripture says, we become unstable.
We can have wonderful experiences, and become very unstable.
Think of the
children of Israel, who came out of Egypt, and God opened the Red Sea, and God
sent manna from Heaven, and God sent water out of the rock. I’ll tell you, they
had more experiences than some of you have had. They had experiences with God, but they were not learning the Ways
of God, and therefore they were “unstable in all their
ways.”
I have with me,
an article, written some years back. In fact, it was published in 1972. It is
called BEWARE OF THE NEW SUPER
SPIRITUALITY. Francis
Shaffer (the author of that article,) is now with his Lord. I have read his
books and writings with keen interest. This was published in “Eternity
Magazine” – November, 1972. And I want to read parts
of it, and I hope you can see the tenor of what is here. I think it is worth
bringing to your attention.
We are in the midst of another
titanic struggle, between false spirituality, and balanced Christian faith. I
can think of no better term for this new false spirituality, than “super
spirituality.” It is reflected in certain aspects of the
new Pentecostalism.
When this was
written, the Jesus movement was to the fore. It has long since died out.
The old Pentecostal movement
taught a great deal of basic Christian Doctrinal content. Content was
their prime test for fellowship and acceptance. You had to hold to “ right
doctrine,” or you were not accepted in the church, or
allowed to be a pastor.
This is talking
about the old days, the way it was.
Old Pentecostalism’s
strong emphasis on the content of Scripture, made
it a dynamic source of evangelism in South America and elsewhere. People who
give proper emphasis to the Holy Spirit, are bound to be greatly used of God.
With the rise of the new Pentecostalism, we have
something different. In general, the new Pentecostals put their emphasis on external signs
themselves, instead of on content.
Now, notice the
test for the fellowship and acceptance. If you
have had my experience, you are with me. If you haven’t
had my experience, you are against me. That is
about the way that it goes. Now, the rub, of course, is this: there are
Unitarian groups, and they are certainly not
Christians. There are Buddhist groups, who also have external signs. Why did he say that? – because he is against
Pentecostalism as such? – not necessarily. ---
Any external sign can be duplicated and counterfeited.
Will you remember that! You
can duplicate
experiences.
We can also see a parallel
between the new Pentecostals and the Liberals. The liberal theologians don’t
believe in content, or religious truths. They
are really, what is called externalists -- using theological, Christian terminology. Not
believing in truth, they can enter into fellowship
with any other experience-oriented group,
using religious language.
That is
why we are beginning to see a certain new
Pentecostal kind of experience. Instead of accepting a person on the basis of
what one believes, (which has always been
the Christian way,) it is: “Do you have this experience?”
Now this statement, and I conclude the reading here.
Neither experience, nor emotion,
is the basis for our faith!
Many of you who
have heard me, and been around me – know I am emotional. You know I can make
some noise. And I thank God for emotion. I believe in it. But the basis of my faith
is not emotion.
The basis of my faith is not experience. The basis
for my faith is that certain things are true!
Hallelujah! – and they will never
change.
What’s true? -- Jesus came.
What’s true? -- Jesus died.
What’s true? --
Jesus rose from the dead.
What’s true? – Jesus lives in Heaven.
What’s true? – Jesus is coming again.
Listen, our faith does not
find its foundation in how we feel. Aren’t you glad for that; because you
feel good one day, and you don’t feel good the next day. It is not based on our emotion,
because our emotions, like a thermometer, go up and down. But praise God, when
our emotions are there, or when they are not there,
whether the experience is there or not there,
the facts of the foundation of
our faith remain unchanged and unchangeable! Hallelujah.
Look back at
the two statements in their context:
1. Careful Bible
study will cure
honest doubt. Honest doubters, not merely
doubters. Honest doubters have never studied
the Bible carefully.
2. Careful study will make intelligent, steadfast believers.
Now the third:
3. Intelligent Faith Helps Us To Better Service
We can better serve the Lord when our faith is built on intelligent facts. Now an
illustration:
1 Corinthians 15: 58
(58) Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast,
unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that
your labour is not in vain in the Lord.
You remember
what I said about the word “therefore.” Whenever you see a “therefore,” stop
and see what it is there for. It’s always there for a reason. He is joining what goes after
with what has gone before. What is the fifteen chapter of First
Corinthians all about? In a nutshell, there are four R’s that I use all the
time, so I can never forget.
1 Corinthians, chapter fifteen
1. There is going to be a RETURN of Christ. That is what it is about.
2. And when Christ returns, there is going to
be a RESURRECTION.
And when Christ returns, the dead in
Christ will rise first.
3. And those who are alive and remain shall
be caught up. There is going
to be a RAPTURE.
4. And then there is going to be REWARDS.
Now, in the light
of that, verse 58 –
1 Corinthians 15: 58
(58) Therefore
Because there is going to be a Return of Christ, because
there is going to be a Resurrection of the dead, because we are going to Heaven
one of these days --
Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast,
Can you see
that “stedfast” is built on Doctrine? It is what has gone before
in the chapter. It is because I believe
these facts.
Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable,
always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know
Don’t leave
that out. Keep at it!
How do you know? You know because your whole Christianity is built on
facts – not experience. The whole thing is built
on facts
that are now history, facts that are now prophecy.
Because prophetic
facts are interwoven with historical facts, and historical facts are interwoven
with prophetic facts -- the prophetic facts are no less real
than the historical facts. So if I look back, I am encouraged. If I look ahead, I’m encouraged.
(58) Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast,
unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that
your labour is not (never,
never, never) in vain in the Lord.
One translation
I like, says: “It is never
wasted.” You can waste
your time, doing a lot of other things, but when you are studying your Bible,
you are not wasting your time. When you are teaching the Bible, you are not
wasting your time. When you are talking about the things of God, and doing the
work of God, you are never wasting your time. Some people have the idea, the
only time somebody is doing the work of God is when he is in the pulpit, or
behind a desk, or something of that nature. Oh no! The chorus that we taught
the children, still fits:
Chorus:
In
the house, or out of doors,
Brushing
shoes or scrubbing floors.
Washing,
Ironing, baking too.
Sometimes
making Irish stew.
I’ll
do it all for Jesus.
If you do it
all for Jesus, it is not in
vain. Will you remember
that! It doesn’t matter what you do. If you are doing it for Him, it is not in vain in the Lord. Why? One of these
days, the Lord is going to come. What is He going to reward for? – faithfulness. He is going to look for one thing -- faithfulness. Faithfulness in what? Faithfulness in the big job – NO –
faithfulness in the little job.
I know it must
be difficult for these busy men, to take time to video these lessons. But some
people across the country are blessed by these studies. If one Saint is helped, to go on his journey praising God –
their labour is not in vain. And if we can’t pay them here, they are going to be
paid on the other side. They are not in vain
in the Lord.
4. The Deeper One’s Conviction, The More Earnest One Will Be.
The deeper ones conviction, the more earnest one will be. I want to tell you this: there are a lot
of things done today in the name of Christianity. And how can I say this without
sounding terribly critical? There are a lot of things today, in my opinion,
that are done too lightly. Lightness and treachery go together.
You get on a
happy bandwagon, and everybody is having a happy time, playing their banjo
going to Heaven. That is not the way it is with me, and I don’t think that is the way it should be, or is
for you. Thank God, there are times we enjoy
ourselves. But there are other times, when we should take up our cross, and
follow Him. Bearing your cross is not always easy. And Christianity is not a bed of roses. But some
people, it seems to me, are not very earnest.
That’s what I am getting at. I trust you will forgive me for saying this.
Every year, our
students are given a paper to fill out about their teachers, for our observation. They don’t have to sign their name.
There is a question on there about lesson preparation. And then a question
about the personality of the teacher – about his earnestness. And to my knowledge, for which I praise God, there
has never yet been a student who has written on the papers questioning my earnestness. And I think, if it got to the place, where the
people that I preach and teach, would question my earnestness, I would want to quit. I believe that deep conviction reveals the fact that one is earnest in what one is doing. And the more your conviction, then the more earnest you are going to be.
5. Firm Faith Gives One Solid Conviction.
Intelligent faith gives firm faith, and firm faith gives one solid
conviction.
Hebrews 13: 6
(6) So that we may boldly say,
Connect it with
verse five.
(5) He hath said, (middle of the verse God has spoken.)
He hath said:
(6) So that we boldly say,
I think you can
see what I am getting at. If God has spoken, and we are saying what God
has said, then we can speak boldly. I boldly say “whosoever calls on the Name of the
Lord shall be Saved!”
I make no apology for making that statement. I say it boldly. Why? God
said it. And if God said it, then I
can say it too.
4. We Believe The Bible (Including All Of Genesis) Is Inspired By God.
1. 2 Timothy 3: 16
2 Timothy 3: 16
(16) All scripture is given by inspiration
of God.
As the earth and man owe their very existence to God, Scripture holds its very existence to the direct creative activity
of God. Although man wrote it, it was God who brought it into being.
There is a like
illustration, I think, in the birth of a child. Although in birth, human instruments are used, without the Creative Activity of God, no child would ever be born. Do you agree with that statement? God uses humans to bring humans
into being. But behind, is the work of the Creativity of God. The Bible would not
have come into being, had it not been for God.
2. 2 Peter 1:21
Speaking of the
Scripture, and the Prophecy of Scripture:
2 Peter 1: 21
(21) For the prophecy came not in old
time by the will of man:
Mark those
words so they go together. NOT
BY THE WILL OF MAN.
Scripture did not come into being because man willed it into being. Scripture came into being
because GOD willed. And because of the Activity of
God, we have our Bible. Inspiration of the Bible is thought to describe the writers, rather than the Writings.
But it describes not the writers,
but the Writings. In 2 Timothy 3:16 where the Word is used, the writers
are not even mentioned.
There are some
things that I wrote some years ago regarding “inspiration,”
that I think I should read.
1. I find that the Lord and the apostles (if
I may reverently say so) make
comparatively little, of the sacred writers
of the Old Testament, but
comparatively everything about the Writings.
Did you get that? It is not
the writers that were inspired, it is
what they wrote that was inspired
of God. And so it is not the men that we study, but the Writings of the men.
2. The human instruments were under Divine constraint and restraint.
That is, they had to declare all the God-given
Words. And on the other
hand, they could not add any words of their own choosing. All
Scripture
was given by Inspiration of God.
Right now, in
Britain, there is a battle of the Bible going on. If you looked at the News
yesterday, you saw Dr. Martin Lloyd Jones’ picture in the Abbey in Britain. He
was reading his Sermon on Memorial Day of the fortieth year. Praise God, there
are some men within the Anglican church, who are still standing for the truth, in spite of what they have to face.
But this
Archbishop questions Bible Inspiration. Here is this man who is the head (and that’s the
tragedy of it) of the Anglican church in England, and he is now questioning the
Inspiration of the Bible.
I’ll tell you, when you start to question
the Inspiration of the Bible,
you start to undermine Christianity. What did we say in the
beginning of this lesson? – All Christian Doctrine
is based on the Scriptures. And if the Scriptures are not Inspired, we have no ground on which to stand.
John 6: 63 Jesus is speaking.
(63) It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth
nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and
they are life.
5.We Believe The Bible (Including
All Of Genesis) Is The Word Of God.
1. Genesis 1: 3, 6, 9, 11, 14, 20
etc.“GOD SAID”
Go to Genesis,
chapter one. Some of you are wondering if we are ever going to get there. We are eventually.
Genesis 1: 3, 6, 9, 11, 14, 20, etc.
(3) And God said
(6) And God said
(9) And God said
(11) And God said
(14) And God said
(20) And God said
(24) And God said
(26) And God said
You can’t get
out of the first chapter of the Bible, but you are face-to-face
with the fact, that in this Book, God has spoken,
and is speaking, and will speak. God is speaking in the Word of God. It is the Word of God, or it is nothing!
Quick Review
We will look at
the major headings that we have covered.
1. The Bible
The Bible is the foundation of all
Christian teaching. Thus, for a Christian, nothing
in this world is of greater importance than the Scriptures. Without the Scriptures,
Christianity would not exist in our world today.
2 .Christians Of The Early Church
Were Students Of Scripture.
This fact is
easily discovered when we read the book of Acts, as we have already done.
3. Three Statements By A. T. Pierson
To us, they are
very important. And we repeat the statements made:
1. Careful
Study Of The Bible Will Cure Honest Doubt.
An honest
doubter has never really studied the Bible itself.
2. Careful
Study Makes Intelligent, Steadfast Believers.
3. Intelligent
Faith Helps One To Better Service.
4. We Believe The Bible (Including All Of Genesis) Is Inspired By God
We make that
emphasis – “all of Genesis” because there are some telling us that part of Genesis is not
Inspired. We believe the Bible, including all of Genesis is Inspired
by God. The emphasis must never be put upon the men who wrote the Scriptures – (although they have a
place of honor) but we must always remember that the attention is to be focused
on the Writings. The men
were not Inspired. It was the Writings that were Inspired.
And Genesis, therefore, is true because it is Inspired of God.
Now we continue
our study with:
5. We Believe The Bible (Including All Of Genesis) Is The Word Of God.
We pointed out
from Genesis chapter one, -- “GOD
SAID.”
2. Daniel 9: 9-13
Turn to Daniel,
and let us observe how the prophet Daniel read the Scriptures. And of course,
when we say “Scriptures,” it is including all
of the Old Testament, as well as the New.
Daniel, this
great man of God, has set himself to pray. And in his prayer (in verse nine) he
says:
Daniel 9: 9-13
(9) To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses.
I rather like
that. Not just “forgiveness,” but “forgivenesses.”
Though we have rebelled against him;
Now notice
carefully:
(10) Neither have we obeyed the voice (that word “Voice”) of the
Lord our God, to walk in his laws, which he set before us by his
servants the prophets.
(11) Yea, all Israel have transgressed thy law, even by
departing, that they might not (and here it is again) obey thy
voice; therefore the curse is poured upon us, and the
oath that is written in the law of Moses the servant of God, because we have
sinned against him.
(12) And he hath confirmed his words, which he spake against
us, and against our judges that judged us, by bringing upon us a great evil: for
under the whole heaven hath not been done as hath been done upon Jerusalem.
Now notice
verse 13.
(13) As it is written in the law of Moses, all this evil is
come upon us: yet made we not our prayer before the Lord our God, that we might
turn from our iniquities, and understand thy FABLES.
That’s the way it is being read in seminaries
today. But that isn’t what it says. Daniel read the Prophets. And
Daniel read Moses. And Daniel said two things:
1. The Prophets and Moses are the Voice of God.
2. And the Prophets and Moses are the Truth of God.
And so we begin
with that conviction. When we are studying Genesis,
it is the Word of God. It says: and
understand thy truth.
3. Matthew 22: 29-32
I think all
students should know where this verse is, and so we should go back to it, and
back to it, until it registers.
Turn to Matthew
chapter 22 -- where the Sadducees were questioning Jesus regarding the Doctrine
of Resurrection. We will read verses 29 through 32, because I want you to get
the context of verse 29.
Matthew 22: 29-32
(29) Jesus answered and said unto them (the Sadducees)Ye do
err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God.
(30) For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are
given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven.
(31) But as touching the resurrection of the dead,
(Notice, Jesus’
Words are being recorded.) have ye not read that which was spoken unto you
Now notice, I
want you to see what it says. He is quoting from the book of Moses – the book
of Exodus. Here is what Jesus said: have ye not read that which was
spoken unto you by God, saying,
So when Moses was speaking, we are hearing, not the voice of Moses,
but the Voice of God. Jesus said so. Have you read it? God was speaking.
(32) 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.
And that is the
commentary of the Lord Jesus.
4. 1 Thessalonians 2: 13- 14
1 Thessalonians 2: 13-14
Very important
verses regarding this point, that all of
the Bible is the Word of God.
(13) For this cause also thank we God without ceasing,
because, when ye received the word of God (Not the word of men, but the Word of God.)
The word of God which
ye heard of us, ye received it not as the
word of men, but as it is in truth, the
word of God, which effectually worketh also in
you that believe.
(14) For ye, brethren, became followers of the churches of
God
The Word of God
worketh because it is
the Word of God. That is why it is powerful.
5. Hebrews 1: 1
A verse we have
looked at before, but look at it again, in light of this heading.
Hebrews 1: 1
(1) God, who at sundry times and in divers
manners spake in time past unto the fathers by
the prophets.
For my occasion
in this lesson, just two words “God spake.”
Who did He speak by? – By Moses, by the prophets,
by the writers of the Scriptures – God has spoken.
Now we turn to
Acts 3, where we have the same thing from the lips of another.
Acts 3: 20-21
(20) And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you:
(21) Whom the heaven must receive until the times of
restitution of all things, which God hath spoken.
God hath
spoken. And how has God spoken?
By the mouth of all his holy prophets since
the world began.
Now that is
either the truth, or it is a lie. And I thank God I believe that is the Truth. From Moses right, through to Malachi, God has spoken
by the mouth of his prophets.
Now, if you go
back to the book of Ezekiel, I will give you one illustration of how
wonderfully this is followed through elsewhere.
Ezekiel 6: 1 (Notice what Ezekiel claims.)
(1) And the word of the Lord came
unto me, saying,
That’s the first statement in chapter 6)
Now look in
chapter 7.
Ezekiel 7: 1
(1) Moreover the word of the Lord
came unto me, saying
Ezekiel 12: 1
(1) The word of the Lord also
came unto me, saying,
Ezekiel 13: 1
(1) And the word of the Lord came
unto me, saying,
Ezekiel 14: 2
(2) And the word of the Lord came
unto me, saying,
Ezekiel 15: 1
(1) And the word of the Lord came
unto me, saying,
Ezekiel 16: 1
(1) Again the word of the Lord came
unto me, saying,
Ezekiel 17: 1
(1) And the word of the Lord came
unto me, saying,
Ezekiel 18: 1
(1) The word of the Lord came
unto me again, saying,
Ezekiel 20: 2
(2) Then came the word of the Lord unto
me, saying,
Ezekiel 21: 1
(1) And the word of the Lord came
unto me, saying,
Ezekiel 22: 1
(1) Moreover the word of the Lord came
unto me, saying,
Ezekiel 23: 1
(1) The word of the Lord came
again unto me, saying,
Ezekiel 24: 1
(1) Again in the ninth year, in the tenth month, in the
tenth day of the month, the word of the Lord come
unto me, saying,
Ezekiel 25: 1
(1) The word of the Lord came
again unto me, saying,
I won’t go further, but I think I have gotten across
the point. I think the point is very plain. Listen, the book of Ezekiel, that
becomes so exciting as you start reading its chapters, is either the Word of the Lord, or it is nothing
at all.
And that’s what the Bible is. The Bible is the Word of God,
or forget it!
The Bible is the Word of God, or chuck it! But praise God, we believe; because the Bible is the
Word of God, it speaks to our hearts.
Now that brings
us to point number six.
6. Therefore, The Bible Is A Book Of Final Authority.
Therefore, the
Bible is not merely a Book of authority, but the Bible is a Book of FINAL authority. What authority can be higher than the authority of God!
And so now we get back to Genesis 1: 1 again.
Genesis 1:1
(1) In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
That is FINAL! On this
basis, we reject evolution. If we accept Genesis 1:1, we are going to
save ourselves a lot of heartache, a lot of headache, and more than that, a lot
of lost time -- because Genesis 1:1 speaks with the authority of God.
We have read from John 5: 46-47. On numerous occasions Jesus said “if you don’t believe Moses, you won’t believe
me.”
John 5: 46-47
(46) For had ye believed Moses, ye
would have believed me: for he wrote of me.
(47) But if ye believe not his writings, how
shall ye believe my words?
Now let’s go to
Luke 16, and see this wonderful principle, again illustrated, and definitely stated.
Luke 16: 29-31
It is the story
of the rich man, who was saying to Abraham “send somebody back and talk to my
brethren.”
(29) Abraham saith unto him, They (your brothers who are still alive on
earth) have Moses (Genesis to Deuteronomy) and the
prophets; In other
words, they have the Old Testament. Let them
hear them.
(30) And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto
them from the dead, they will repent.
And here is the
Word of the Lord, recorded for our learning:
(31) And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses
and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the
dead.
That gives you
the authority of the Bible. If you will not be persuaded
by what the Bible says, you will be persuaded by no other voice, because THE BIBLE IS THE VOICE OF GOD. And what authority is higher than the Voice of God? We have used Corinthians where
Paul says:
1 Corinthians 14: 37-38
(37) If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual,
let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments
of the Lord.
(38) But if any man be ignorant, let him be ignorant.
Now turning to
Matthew where Jesus was tempted of the devil.
Matthew 4: 4-10
(4) But he answered and said, It is
written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every
word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
(5) Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and
sitteth him on a pinnacle of the temple,
(6) And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast
thyself down: for it is written, He
shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall
bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.
(7) Jesus said unto him, It is
written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.
(8) Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high
mountain, and showeth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;
(9) And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee,
if thou wilt fall down and worship me.
(10) Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is
written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him
only shalt thou serve.
When Jesus was
tempted of the devil, in answering the devil, He said three times, “IT IS WRITTEN.” Believing in the deity of Christ, someone said “Could
He not have spoken apart from the Bible?” Yes, but He was meeting
the devil as a man, endued
with the Holy Spirit.
And as a man endued with the Holy Spirit, He could quote
no authority higher
than the Word of God. The Bible is the highest authority this world affords. And if we say AMEN to that, then we are on the right track. And, until
we can say AMEN to that, we are not on the right track!
Historically,
there have been arguments, and there are still arguments. Back a few hundred years ago, in the days
of Martin Luther, the argument with the Roman church was, and perhaps I could say, still is, basically on the authority
of Scripture. You see, the Roman church accepts:
the authority of Scripture
PLUS the authority of the church,
PLUS the authority of the Pope,
PLUS the authority of tradition.
Mark 7: 13 Jesus said
(13) Making the word of God of none effect through
your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many
such like things do ye.
Jesus said they
made “void the Scriptures by
tradition.” And I think
we better remember that one. That hasn’t changed one little bit! And when
Martin Luther had his contest with the Roman church, over 400 years ago, he
made this statement:
The church is to be subject to
Scripture;
the Scripture is not subject to the church.
I agree with
that.
It is not “What says the church?” but “What saith the Word of God?” And I repeat: If Scripture does not speak with final authority, what in this world does? And so, I accept
the Bible without question, as being final
authority.
And that leads
me to the last point.
7. The Bible, Sets Standards For Life And Conduct.
Because the Bible is final authority, the Bible sets standards for
life and conduct.
Here are some
examples that I am really not going to say much about. It just gives you a
little outline of what is here in the Bible, that a lot of people don’t want to
pay any attention to. All I have done here, is link together some Scriptures that have one word in common. It is a word that is out-of-date today.
Ephesians 6: 1
Talking to
children. What is the Bible’s
standard? The Bible,
being the Word of God, is a standard for life and conduct. And what does it
say?
Ephesians 6: 1
(1) Children, obey your
parents in the Lord for this is right.
Children obey your parents. Why?
– because it is right. Who says it is right? – God does. And so what is the standard? – start with the
children. Children are to be obedient to their parents, because God says so.
I read, some
time ago, about a family that moved into a district, and they said of them:
“The people must be foreigners, because their children obey their
parents.” I don’t know if you get the humor of
that, but in our country, it seems to me that parents are afraid of their children.
And rather than the children obey the parents, the parents obey the children. God has set a standard – children are to be obedient.
There are a lot of things regarding that, but remember, God says it is right. Everybody says “Amen” to that.
Let’s go to the
next one. It’s a little more difficult for some who will be looking and studying
with us in this lesson, and maybe for some who are present.
Titus 2: 5
Of all the
arguments we don’t face, we have all accepted the fact that
the Bible is the Word of God haven’t we? We have accepted the fact that
when the Bible speaks, God
has spoken. And now, here is a word regarding young
women in verse four. We have talked about the
children, and because we are not children, we all say “Amen” to that. But
now:
Titus 2: 4-5
(4) That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love
their husbands, to love their children,
(5) to be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, (and then we don’t like this) obedient to their
own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.
Children are to be obedient.
And God says women are to be obedient
to their husband. That leads us onto thin ice, when we
start talking about that today. But there it is in the Bible, whether we like
it or not. I know that there are some men that do not act like husbands, they act like beasts. I always try to balance this, and I suppose I should
do it here.
Three times in
Ephesians 5, the husband is told to love his wife. And he is to love her, as
Christ loved the Church. And I dare say this: any man who loves his wife as Christ loved the Church -- won’t
be difficult to obey. If he does what God
says, then obedience will be easy.
But you see, it
doesn’t take away from the fact of the standard.
God says that children are to be obedient.
And God says that wives are to obey
their husbands, because God has made the husband the head
of the wife. There are other Scriptures dealing with the reasons. I’m not dealing with the reasons.
I am simply showing you that there are standards
in the Word of God, that today,
are rejected by the majority.
Ephesians 6: 5
(5) Servants,
I suppose, each
adult, some time or other, has been in this category; you have had some sort of
a boss, somewhere.
(5) Servants, be obedient (There is that word OBEY
again.)
to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with
fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ;
Obey your
masters as if you were serving Christ. Who likes that word today? Who believes, that when you get a job, you should be obedient to your boss? Well, whether you believe it or not, that is sound
Bible Doctrine! That is Bible teaching. That is Bible standard. What a difference this world would be, if we would follow it.
1 Timothy 5: 1
Another
standard. and of course, I sit up and take notice, because of where I am. This should have something to do with me.
(1) Rebuke not an elder, but entreat him as a father; and
the younger men as brethren;
(2) The elder women as mothers;
It is talking
about a younger generation in a relationship to a standard
with the older generation. The younger are to show obedience
to those who are older.
As I looked
over this, I thought of a story in the Old Testament. Turn with me back to 2
Chronicles 10. We have an illustration of what is happening in the world today.
There is a tendency, in the world in general, to think of old people as having nothing
more to contribute. That’s why we try and retire everybody at 65, and kick them
upstairs, more or less. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if you had a Senate for all of
the aged, so you could put them upstairs to do nothing that was of any value at
all!
I was told the
other day that there are some young people who will not read the End Times Messenger (our magazine.) And what is
their reason? -- it is written by old
fellows! And if it is written by old
fellows, it has nothing to say to a younger generation. It was also stated “Those old fellows,
are not ‘with it’ anymore.” Will you let me show you a Bible story that
illustrates what I am talking about?
2 Chronicles 10:
You have to go
back and read the story in its context. Solomon had been the wisest king. In
fact, he was the wisest man who ever lived. And I gather that the
counselors in Solomon’s cabinet, would have been comparatively wise men. But in
the tenth chapter, Solomon has died, and his son Rehoboam comes to the throne.
2 Chronicles 10: 6
(6) And king Rehoboam took counsel with the old men
that had stood before Solomon his father while he yet lived,
(8) But he forsook the
counsel which the old men gave him, and took counsel
with the young men that were brought up with him,
(10) And the young men that were brought up with him spake
unto him, saying, Thus shalt thou answer the people that spake unto thee,
saying, Thy father made our yoke heavy, but make thou it somewhat lighter for
us; thus shalt thou say unto them, My little finger shall be thicker than my
father’s loins.
And if you go
on and read the story – Rehoboam got himself in real trouble.
And the basis of the story is this: The old men were still there to give some instruction for the young men to follow, but they wouldn’t take it.
And so they got themselves into all kinds of jams. And that is what is happening, as I see the world today. God has made some rules,
but we don’t want to follow them. What is the rule?
Children, obey your elders. Younger generation, look up to the older generation. Why? – for the simple reason, they have
lived longer than you. And if they have lived longer
than you, they should have some wisdom that
they can impart unto you, and perhaps save you some heartaches. Well, this is
the standard.
Romans 13: 1
There is another
standard that is here, that we don’t like. I know
how I react. And I know how Christians react. And I don’t wonder that the world looks at the
Bible and says “We don’t have anything to do with that, because it is too rigid.”
Romans 13: 1
(1) Let every soul be subject unto
the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the
powers that be are ordained of God
In other words,
in plain language, “let every soul obey the government.” Who set down the rules? God. This is the Word of God.
Hebrews 13: 7, 17
We come from
the government of the world, to inside the Church.
I know that you can get men who are parents
for instance, who will abuse their authority. You can find governments that will abuse
their authority. And you can find preachers
that will do the same. But listen, the fact still remains --- God has made the rules, and a father, who breaks the rules of a
father, is going to have to answer to God. A government that breaks the rules
is going to have to answer to God. And so are we.
Hebrews 13: 7, 17
(7) Remember them which have the rule over you, who have
spoken unto you the word of God: whose faith follow, considering the end of
their conversation.
Hebrews 13: 17
(17) Obey
There is that
awful word again OBEY. Children, are to obey. Wives are to obey.
Christians are to obey government.
Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves;
for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do
it with joy, and not with grief; for that is unprofitable for you.
These are some of the Standards that are in the Word
of God. Don’t ever forget, leadership, (in all of its phases,) is ordained of God. And when God has ordained leadership, He has ordained obedience to that leadership. This is the Word of God,
or it is nothing at all!