The Confidence We Can Have in the Bible
1 Thessalonians 2:13
DATE: Aug 7, 2005 AM
PLACE: BBC Ballincollig
I. Introduction (Gal 2:20; 1Thes 2:13)
A. Still continuing in our attempt to swap-out faulty aspects of our lives with the perfect life of Jesus Christ
B. It is the first Sunday of August and we turn now to learning how to develop Christian confidence, faith, assurance like Jesus had while on this earth
C. The Christian Life needs to be full of confidences, not doubts and uncertainty:
1. Jesus was sure of Himself, sure of what he taught, sure of what He was doing, sure of His results – He never hesitated, or debated whether what He was doing was right or wrong – He never wasted time second guessing
2. The life of the Christian is to be one of confidence – not cockiness, or boastfulness, but assurance and authority based upon absolute truth
D. There are Four Areas where a Christian should have confidence – no doubts; no hesitations
1. Confidence in God’s Word (Heb 4:12)
2. Confidence in God’s Will – that it is best, and will work all things together for good (Ps 40:8)
3. Confidence in God’s Timing (Isa 40:28-31; Eccl 3:10)
4. Confidence in God’s Strength/Grace – not OUR strength (2Cor 12)
E. This morning, I want to show you just how reliable this Book of books that I hold in my hand really is – that it is INDEED the word of God and not men
F. Why? What does it matter? Well, according to Gal 2:20, the life which you and I now live, we need to live by the FAITH of the Son of God
G. His faith was firmly established, solidly built upon the absolute character of the written word of God
H. Learning just how awesome the Bible is will help anybody get to where they can trust its words for every heartache and every trial
II. Message – The Pure Word of God
A. What is the Bible? A Summary
1. A Written Revelation from God intended to reveal an all powerful, all holy, and yet invisible God to a lost world so it would could be saved! You couldn’t know God unless he revealed Himself (1Jn 5:11)
2. The entire revelation consists of 66 books – not 72
3. Written by 40 authors from kings to shepherds to fishermen to doctors
4. Spanning across 2,100 years from start to finish, beginning with the Book of Job and ending with the Book of the Revelation
5. Explaining the origin and destiny of all things in the simplest of terms
6. Written first for the heart of man, but also the mind and body’s benefit – it’s a healthy Book!
7. To be taken literally, and practically unless it says otherwise – never mysteriously. It says what it means and it means what it says
B. How Did We Get the Bible? (Ps 68:11; Mt 4:4)
1. God spoke it
2. Jewish prophets wrote God’s words in Old Testament times in Hebrew
3. Jewish apostles wrote God’s words in New Testament times in Greek
4. The resulting Book has been translated into all the main languages
5. Our Bible was translated in 1611 – almost 400 years ago, and yet see how closely our language has stayed to that of the Bible!!!
C. How Do We Know the Bible is Absolutely True?
1. Prophetic Accuracy – 33 prophecies about the coming of the Messiah fulfilled to the letter. No other book on the planet has anything NEAR it
2. Historical Accuracy – basically, every place and event has been documented as true – not so with the book of Mormon, etc.
3. Scientific Accuracy – describing the earth as a ball suspended in space upon nothing is a marvellous feat before satellites (Job 26:7). Other religions say the earth is sitting on the backs of elephants, etc.
4. Its Effect and Influence on Society (Acts 17:6) – changed it for the better
5. Its Supernatural Preservation (Mt 24:35) against all odds!
D. Just How Confident Was Jesus with the Bible? His View of the Scriptures
1. The Lord Jesus Christ taught that every word of Scripture proceeded from God (Matt 4:4; 2Tim 3:16) – that is called inspiration.
2. He taught the doctrine of the preservation of Scripture (Matt 5:17-18; 24:35; Luke 6:17) – what good is a perfect Bible that gets lost???
3. The Lord never corrected or criticized Scripture (John 17:17).
4. He taught the absolute authority of Scripture (John 10:34-36).
5. Christ Jesus accepted the Old Testament Jewish Scriptures, but rejected the Apocrypha (Luke 24:44).
6. He taught that the Old Testament Scriptures all pointed to Him (Luke 24:27,44), NOT to the church or to Peter, or to Mary!
7. He taught that man will be judged by God's written word (John 12:47-48)
8. Everything He did was according to the written word (Mk 14:27)
9. He fought His enemies only with the word of God (Lk 4:32) not with swords or fists!
10. Jesus seemed to think the word of God was all anyone needed to live well
E. Jesus and all believers are confident in the Bible because it is…
1. Perfect – no error (1Cor 13:9,10) from start to finish (Ps 119:160)
2. Eternal (1Pet 1:23)
3. True – absolutely true (John 17:17) – doesn’t just contain truths
4. Complete (Rev 22:18,19) – a finished product
5. Sufficient (2Tim 3:15-17)
F. Why Do People Find the Bible Hard to Understand? (Isa 55:8)
1. Because they are too lazy to READ it – so they are ignorant of its contents
2. Because they come to it with preconceived notions and it doesn’t read like they expect it to
3. Because they are not interested in obeying what it says to do – stubborn
4. Because they are too easily upset about a God who is bigger than them
5. Because they are too proud to humble themselves and come to the Bible like a thirsty man, or a child all over again (Jam 1:21)
6. Because it was written by GOD and must be studied and prayed over!
G. What Should We Do with Our Bibles?
1. Tremble at it (Isa 66:1-2) – honour it above all other people and things
2. Read it and Study it - Beg God to open your eyes to its truths (Ps 119:18)
3. Obey every word – every word! Trust that God knows what to do, and has already written down instructions way ahead of time!!!
4. Use It - Let it do the work God made for it to do – let it operate on you like a surgeon first (Heb 4:12)…
a. Convert You (1Pet 1:23) are you born again? It comes by believing the words in this Book (Rom 10:17)
b. Cleanse You (John 15:3)
c. Command You (Acts 9:6)
d. Change You (Jer 23:28,29)
e. Cause You to Rejoice (Ps 119:162) make a hardened man leap for joy
5. Then, Go out and Preach the word (2Tim 4:2) – it will work (Isa 55:11)
6. Don’t worry about defending it – just let it loose like a sword needs no defence
III. Conclusion – The Pure Word of God
A. Our Bible is a marvellous Book! God spoke it and it was written down in Hebrew and later Greek, and then translated into all the major languages
B. We Know the Bible is Absolutely True Because of:
1. Prophetic Accuracy
2. Historical Accuracy
3. Scientific Accuracy
4. Its Effect and Influence on Society
5. Its Supernatural Preservation
C. Jesus’ View of the Scriptures was that it was perfect and absolutely right:
D. What are the characteristics of the Bible?
1. Perfect – no error (1Cor 13:9,10) from start to finish (Ps 119:160)
2. Alive (Heb 4:12) – it is a living Book (Ps 119:89)
3. Eternal (1Pet 1:23)
4. True – absolutely true (John 17:17)
5. Complete (Rev 22:18,19)
6. Powerful (Heb 4:12)
7. Sufficient (2Tim 3:15-17)
E. Sure, People Find the Bible Hard to Understand - but that proves it was written by Someone smarter!
F. Are you confident in the contents of this Bible? Or has the world whittled away at your trust that this Book is from God and right and true?
G. What Should We Do with Our Bibles?
1. Tremble at it (Isa 66:1-2) – honour it above all other people and things
2. Read it and Study it - Beg God to open your eyes to its truths (Ps 119:18)
3. Obey every word – every word!
4. Use It - Let it do the work God made for it to do:
a. Convert You (1Pet 1:23) are you born again?
b. Cleanse You (John 15:3)
c. Command You (Acts 9:6)
d. Change You (Jer 23:28,29)
e. Cause You to Rejoice (Ps 119:162) make a hardened man leap for joy
5. Go out of here and Preach it (2Tim 4:2) It will work!
Craig Ledbetter
Bible Baptist Church, Ballincollig, Cork, Ireland