Essentials Of The Faith / Sunday Morning Sermon Series / Statement Of Faith

Inspiration Part 2

Intro: For those who have  young children one of the toughest jobs concerning our dear little ones is finding a good, reliable baby sitter.I am sure you do/did what we did when looking for someone to watch Stephanie and Becky, when Kathy and I wanted some time alone...we looked in the paper and called the first person listed in the classified section of the newspaper and hired them....NOT!

 We certainly wouldn't trust our  young children with just anyone. We wanted to make certain they were reliable and trustworthy. This was and still is an important decision.

 When the worship leader reads Scripture during worship they often end by saying 'this is the word of the Lord.'
But
 How do we know that is true?
 How do we know that the Bible is the Word of God?
 How do we know that God will keep His promises to us in His Word?
 How can we know that we are truly saved?
 How can we know that we are going to Heaven?
 How can we know that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah?
 How can we know that Christianity is really true?

     I am sure that if you are anything like me, one or more of these questions have run across your mind from time to time.
How do we really know? I mean come on, I am basing my life, literally on it. As important as who will I trust to baby sit my young children is...asking the question Is the Bible really the Word of God is infinitely more important because the answer we get will have eternal ramifications.

EXP: Many of us have seen the bumper sticker 'God said it! I Believe it! And that Settles it!' And we have used that phrase to quiet our questions about the trustworthiness of Scripture. BUT, I want to tell you something. God's Word better be true, whether I believe it or not...after all, I used to believe in the Easter Bunny and in monsters under my bed!

 Well, I am here this morning to say that Scripture is true. It is a sure thing. You can take it to the bank. You can bet your life on it! The Bible is God's holy and authoritative Word.

 How do I know it? Because of the effect, it alone has, on the lives of sinner and saint alike.Throughout  the many centuries since the Bible has been written, it has been drawing men and women to faith in Christ.  Throughout the many centuries since it was written, the Bible has been building Believers up in the faith and they have been serving God in ways that were not possible apart from the knowledge of the truth of God's Word.

 But, more importantly, I know the Bible is God's holy and authoritative Word because IT says so. And that settles it for me!

Trans: Open your Bible to 2 peter 1:19 where we shall see how the Apostle Peter defends the certainty and trustworthiness of Scripture against the assaults of the false teachers of his day. And where we will find that Scripture is from God and therefor holds ultimate authority in our lives.

Read: 2 Peter 1:19

I. Scripture: Is more sure  (2 Peter 1:19a)
    A. Experience is good
         I want to look first at the beginning of Peters claim. Peter is saying that the prophetic word, Scripture, is more sure...more sure than what? Than our experience, no matter how great or marvelous it may have been. How do I get that?  Lets go back to vs 16.

Read:  2 Peter 1:16-18

     Peter is responding to the false teachers of his day. He said that the gospel of Christ he was teaching was true because he saw Christ exalted in the Transfiguration. Think of it. That was some experience. One Peter never could have forgotten. To see Christ in His glory. I am sure that experience was burned into his mind and I I am sure it made his faith strong.

     But notice what happened to further substantiate that experience for Peter.  Vs. 17  God spoke and said ' This is my beloved Son with whom I am well pleased'. God immediately confirmed Peters experience with His Word.

    B. Scripture is better
     And that is the context for vs 19. Peter is saying,
        as much as that experience drew me closer to the Lord,
        as much as it encouraged my faith,
         as much as it was seen with my eyes  and experienced in my body,
    it was confirmed, made sure for me by God's voice, His  Word.

        And that is the same thing that Scripture does. The prophetic word and Scripture really is the same thing here. Peter is saying that experience is good. Feeling deep inside that you are saved, that God is working and moving in your life, feeling His presence as you walk day by day is great! But what confirms your experience, what makes it true and certain, is the more sure Word of God, is Scripture alone. That is in response to what he said in vs. 10-11

Read vs. 10-11

     Your salvation, your eternal life is made certain to you by the truths of God's Word.

     There are some in the Church of God today who dwell on their quest for the experience.  Whether it be the reception of some special spiritual gift or the emotional high of singing, shouting, swaying and getting lost in the Spirit of God. The problem is not in those things themselves, but in holding the experience of those things up as that which certifies your faith. Scripture alone, is the only true measuring stick of what is profitable and what is superfluous in the Christian walk.
Trans: And that is why Peter says what he does in the rest of verse 19. Listen.

Read: 2 Peter 1:19
 Because Scripture is more certain than your experience, it, Scripture must be followed.

II. Scripture: Is to be followed (2 Peter 1:19b)
    A. Pay attention to Scripture
     He says that you will do well if you pay attention to it. To do well, I think, first means to be pleasing to God, then I believe it means that we will benefit from it. Our labors will be blessed and our needs met by the God who keeps His Word.But we must pay attention, take heed, study and do, be obedient, apply, follow closely.

   B. Scripture is our light
     Why are we told to pay attention, to follow Scripture? Because it in a lamp shining is a dark place. Psalm 119:105 says ...all together  'Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path'.

     Why do we need a light on our path?
         Because the world is a dark place, full of evil and w/o the light of Jesus Christ.
        Because we are walking on a  narrow path that is full of pits and diversions that will only lead us to further darkness, spiritual ignorance and sin.

     Why do we need a light on our path?
        Because the world is a dark place where lies are being deliberately spread by false teachers for their own wicked motives and sordid gain.
        And  because the world is getting darker ever day that Christ tarries.

     That is why we need to depend on Scripture to light our way more today than they did in Peter's day until Jesus comes again as the bright and morning star. And Scripture, the truth of God's Word will then shine in our hearts for all eternity and there will be no more darkness for those who are in Christ Jesus.

     Our experience alone will not keep up from stumbling in the dark. Our fellowship with other Believers alone will not keep us from wandering down a path of diversion. It is Scripture alone that will keep us on the narrow path that leads to the Father saying 'Well done thy good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of the Lord.'

Trans: Because Scripture is more sure it is to be followed. But ultimately it is more sure and worthy to be followed because it is from God Himself.

III. Scripture: Is from God (2 Peter 1:20-21)
Read: 2 Peter 1:20-21

    A. Above All
     Above all, or know this first...Scripture is not the product of man's though or will..

ILL: Calvin wrote 'They did not blab their inventions of their own accord or according to their own judgmnts'.

     Scripture is from God through the ministry of the Holy Spirit. Remember that Peter is arguing against the false teachers of his day...and ours as well, who say that while Scripture may be good but it is not the ONLY thing we have going for us so let me tell you what I have experienced and know to be true.  If you listen and are not grounded on the certainly of God's Word you are heading down that wide path that leads to darkness and destruction.

    B. One's Own Interpretation
     Because, Peter says, no prophecy or Scripture is the matter of ones own interpretation. This is a complicated verse, let me just say that I believe this means  first,  that we are not able to understand, to interpret Scripture apart from the ministry of the Holy Spirit first and foremost and second, that the origin of Scripture is not in man but in God.

     How do I know that? Because Peter tells us in vs 21. No prophesy or Scripture was ever made by an act of human will. We didn't come up with the idea.  The human authors of Scripture didn't wake up one day and say, Gee I think I will write a letter to this church and claim it is the Word of God.Peter tells us that these men were moved by the Holy Spirit. I believe this is the key to understanding how God actually inspired the Scriptures. Let's take a closer look.

    C. Moved by the Holy Spirit
         moved: Greek: pheromene: a maritime or nautical term for 'to be carried along, born along.

     Luke used this word in Acts 27:15, 17 in reference to a ship being carried or driven along by the wind. The idea is that the sailing ship was at the hands of the wind and wherever the wind was blowing that is where the ship went. Get the idea. Whatever God wanted the human authors to write, the Holy Spirit carried them along so that what they wrote, although true to their own personalities, experiences and education, was in fact the very Word of God Himself.

     What the Apostles wrote was controlled by the ministry of the Holy Spirit so that it is without error and it is not deficient in any way just because it was written by the pen of man. This is what we mean in our Statement of Faith by the word 'verbally ' inspired. A more formal definition of this comes from John Walvoord

'God so supernaturally directed the writers of Scripture that without excluding their human intelligence, their individuality, their literary style, their personal feelings or any other human factor, His own complete and coherent message was recorded in perfect accuracy, the very words of Scripture bearing the authority of divine authorship.'

     Does that mean the Holy Spirit dictated  the whole of Scripture to the human authors? No, although some parts of the Bible were dictated. To find out more about the method the Holy Spirit used to carry along the human authors you will need to come to the Wed. night  Bible Study this week. That will be the topic of our discussion.

    Another doctrine of Scripture closely associated with inspiration is Providence.Providence means that the human authors were prepared for the very work of writing Scripture by the Holy Spirit. I believe even from before the foundations of the world. (Eph. 1) They were chosen by God and their lives so guided by the Holy Spirit that they were even guarded against any erroneous thinking in connection to writing Scripture. They were not robots, but men who lived according to the sovereign leading of the Holy Spirit. Something, by the say, we are supposed to do as well.

     That is what is meant in Gal. 5:25 by 'keeping in step with the Spirit of God'. Walking and accepting the divine providence of God in the circumstances of your life.

Conclusion:
     The Spirit of God, called and enabled men of God,  to write the Word of God. That was yesterday.

     Today, the Spirit of God, calls men and women of God, to work the will of God.

     God providentially raised up the very men He wanted to write His word. Some were priests, some were fishermen, some were religious leaders, some were peasants and some were kings and He used them all to the praise of His glory.

     Well, God still raises up the very  men and women He wants to serve Him today, whether they are teachers, politicians, pastors, housewives, masons, or even engineers. And He providentially prepares all of them, you and me for the task.

 What is it that God has planned for you?
 What is it that God has prepared you for?

 The Holy Spirit authored Scripture in order to call you to Himself and to perfect in you His will.  In Scripture God comes daily to you when you come daily to Him by reading His Word and paying attention to what it says. Scripture will lead you to His Son, Jesus Christ, Savior and Lord. Scripture will confirm your standing in Christ. Scripture will prove God keeps His promises. Scripture will prove that God has spoken through His divinely chosen and providentially prepared men.

 Scripture proves that it is the Word of God.