2 Timothy 3:16-17
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God, and the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." John 1:1
2 Timothy 3:16-17 says, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”.
The Scriptures are the words of human beings, but underneath and through them the Holy Spirit was at work to make sure everything was said just as God wanted—everything God said just as God wanted it to be. The whole Bible is inspired, every book, every paragraph, every line. The Spirit inspired the writers. We believe it is God’s perfect and holy word. The significance of this is we don’t get to weasel out of parts we don’t like by saying they’re not inspired.
Men do not reject the Bible because it contradicts itself, but because it contradicts them.
I. THE BIBLE IS RELIABLE
But possibly the greatest evidence for the authority of our New Testament are the 1000’s of quotations taken from its pages by the early church fathers. Dean Burgon in his research found in all, 86,489 quotes from the early church fathers (McDowell 1990:47-48; 1991:52). In fact, there are 32,000 quotations from the New Testament found in writings from before 325 A.D. (McDowell Evidence, 1972:52). J. Harold Greenlee points out that the quotations of the scripture in the works of the early church writers are so extensive that the New Testament could virtually be reconstructed from them without the use of New Testament manuscripts. The evidence for the New Testament's reliability is overwhelming!
Somebody asked Charles Spurgeon one time, "How do you defend Scripture?" His response was, "The same way you defend a lion. You just let it loose." The Bible is so reliable it doesn’t even need defending.
II. THE BIBLE IS RELEVANT
That book, sir, is the rock on which our republic rests. Andrew Jackson.
The N.T. is the very best book that was or ever will be known in the world. Charles Dickens.
It is impossible to righteously govern the world without God and the Bible. George Washington.
Within the covers of one single book, the Bible, are all the answers to all the problems that face us today--if only we would read and believe. Ronald Reagan.
III. THE BIBLE IS REVOLUTIONARY
You take every book ever written in the history of the world. They have not had as great an impact on the human race as this single book. Still the best selling book of all time…Countless millions have been changed by it. When people suggest it’s unreliable, poorly documented or inaccurate, they’re simply wrong, and in the vast majority of cases they haven’t really read it.
The great movements for education in Western civilization were motivated more than anything else by the desire for boys and girls to be able to read the word of God for themselves. Countless millions have died because they believed this book.
I want to give you three metaphors from scripture for how the word of God forms us, and I’d like to suggest three prayers that you pray this week as you read it. I’m going to illustrate this with three visuals…this is not original to me…John Ortberg used these visuals to encourage these prayers.
The first one is a lamp. Psalm 119:105 says, "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path."
As you read this week, think about the lamp and pray this prayer, "God, guide me. Use your word to guide me."
The next metaphor is this one. This is a sword.
Ephesians 6:17 “Take…the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”
Hebrews 4:12 “For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”
The prayer to pray here as you read Scripture is, "God, pierce me. Penetrate my defenses. Cut through my self-deception. Convict me where you need to. Reveal where I need to change—judgmental attitudes, gossiping words, addictions and denial, apathy towards my marriage. God, do surgery on my heart."
Then the last visual is this one: bread. Jesus talked about this when he was tempted in the wilderness. He answered Satan, Matthew 4:4 "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'
Jesus is saying that what food is to the body, the words of God are to the soul.
The prayer here is, "Feed me, God. Feed me. Nourish my soul."
What is your life being marinated in?
Monday, May 24, 2010
Monday, May 17, 2010
Week 1: The Big Rocks - We Believe in God
Genesis 1:1…the first verse in the Bible says, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”
I Don’t Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist, by Norman Geisler. Geisler helps us recognize the truth about truth. There are many truths about truth. Hear are some of them:
• Truth is discovered, not invented. It exists independent of anyone’s knowledge of it. (Gravity existed prior to Newton.)
• Truth is transcultural; if something is true, it is true for all people, in all places, at all times (2+2=4 for everyone, everywhere, at every time).
• Truth is unchanging even though our beliefs about truth change. (When we began to believe the earth was round instead of flat, the truth about the earth didn’t change, only our belief about the earth changed.)
• Beliefs cannot change a truth fact, no matter how sincerely they are held. (Someone can sincerely believe the world is flat, but that only makes that person sincerely wrong.)
• All truths are absolute truths. Truth is simply truth, period.
Basically, contrary beliefs are possible, but contrary truths are not possible. We can believe everything is true, but we cannot make everything true.
There are four major evidences for the existence of God that people throughout time have argued from.
First, there is the COSMOLOGICAL ARGUMENT.
The name of the argument comes from the Greek word kosmos, which refers to the created order.
This argument goes like this:
1. Whatever begins to exist has a cause of its existence.
2. The universe began to exist.
3. Therefore, the universe has a cause of its existence.
Lee Strobel, the famous investigative journalist from the Chicago Tribune, thought he knew the facts. He became an atheist because of his Yale studies concerning evolution. In his book, The Case for a Creator, he breaks apart the four main pillars of evolution that led him to atheism.
• The Miller Experiment
• Darwin’s Tree of Life
• Ernst Haeckel’s Drawings of Embryos
• The Missing Link
Lee Strobel came to say…“It would have taken more faith for me to remain an atheist than to become a Christian.”
II. MORAL ARGUMENT
This argument states that people have a built-in sense of moral values. Naturalistic evolution has a difficult time explaining this one away.
a. The moral law is undeniable.
Remember the self-defeating claim, there is no absolute truth? Then is that statement absolutely true. Same concept here. There is absolute truth and there is a moral law…absolute values.
b. Since we know what’s absolutely wrong, then there must be an absolute standard of rightness.
Let me show. Question…Is there a difference between Hitler and Mother Teresa? How do you come to that conclusion? One more thought…how do you feel about planes crashing into the World Trade Center?
c. If there were no moral law, then we wouldn’t make excuses for violating it.
Why do people make excuses when they do something wrong or immoral?
C. S. Lewis says, "This points to a connection with a supreme moral being who is responsible for stamping that moral code on the life of all people." This line of argument by C. S. Lewis is so powerful that I would suggest his book, Mere Christianity. He relates, “Who or what else would explain this moral code? What set of molecules would produce a moral awareness in the lives of people all over the world?”
III. DESIGN OR TELEOLOGICAL ARGUMENT
The best illustration of this argument is the story of a watch. Once upon a time my watch was merely a number of disorganized elements and metals lying on a dusty road. Over the process of time, it began to take shape. A few dinosaurs trotting along that dusty road kicked a few of the metals together. Some cavemen in the nearby area passed that way and their shoeless feet kicked a few more elements together. Well, over billions and billions of years this watch began to take shape. Because of the forces acting upon it, the sun, the rain, the wind, and the weather, it began to evolve. It developed hands, and a face, but no legs. Then one day it started ticking. I came along, picked it up, and put it on. And it’s been running ever since. Let me ask you, do you believe the story of my watch?
Voltaire once said, “If a watch proves the existence of a watchmaker but the universe does not prove the existence of a great Architect, then I consent to be called a fool.”
The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork. — Psalm 19:1
Ever since God created the world, his invisible qualities, both his eternal power and his divine nature, have been clearly seen; they are perceived in the things that God has made. So those people have no excuse at all! — Romans 1:20
IV. EXPERIENTIAL ARGUMENT
There is a lot of overwhelming evidence, but only one way to prove God's existence and that is by personal experience. No one who has met with God in a real and personal relationship with him as Father and as sovereign Lord can doubt that such proof is sufficient.
By experiencing God personally we can find out for ourselves that God exists.
Romans 1:25 says some people exchange the truth about God for a lie
The fool says in his heart, "There is no God." — Psalm 53:1
Jeremiah 29:11 says, “I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans to give you a future with hope.”
Find out for yourself how good the Lord is. Psalm 34:8
I Don’t Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist, by Norman Geisler. Geisler helps us recognize the truth about truth. There are many truths about truth. Hear are some of them:
• Truth is discovered, not invented. It exists independent of anyone’s knowledge of it. (Gravity existed prior to Newton.)
• Truth is transcultural; if something is true, it is true for all people, in all places, at all times (2+2=4 for everyone, everywhere, at every time).
• Truth is unchanging even though our beliefs about truth change. (When we began to believe the earth was round instead of flat, the truth about the earth didn’t change, only our belief about the earth changed.)
• Beliefs cannot change a truth fact, no matter how sincerely they are held. (Someone can sincerely believe the world is flat, but that only makes that person sincerely wrong.)
• All truths are absolute truths. Truth is simply truth, period.
Basically, contrary beliefs are possible, but contrary truths are not possible. We can believe everything is true, but we cannot make everything true.
There are four major evidences for the existence of God that people throughout time have argued from.
First, there is the COSMOLOGICAL ARGUMENT.
The name of the argument comes from the Greek word kosmos, which refers to the created order.
This argument goes like this:
1. Whatever begins to exist has a cause of its existence.
2. The universe began to exist.
3. Therefore, the universe has a cause of its existence.
Lee Strobel, the famous investigative journalist from the Chicago Tribune, thought he knew the facts. He became an atheist because of his Yale studies concerning evolution. In his book, The Case for a Creator, he breaks apart the four main pillars of evolution that led him to atheism.
• The Miller Experiment
• Darwin’s Tree of Life
• Ernst Haeckel’s Drawings of Embryos
• The Missing Link
Lee Strobel came to say…“It would have taken more faith for me to remain an atheist than to become a Christian.”
II. MORAL ARGUMENT
This argument states that people have a built-in sense of moral values. Naturalistic evolution has a difficult time explaining this one away.
a. The moral law is undeniable.
Remember the self-defeating claim, there is no absolute truth? Then is that statement absolutely true. Same concept here. There is absolute truth and there is a moral law…absolute values.
b. Since we know what’s absolutely wrong, then there must be an absolute standard of rightness.
Let me show. Question…Is there a difference between Hitler and Mother Teresa? How do you come to that conclusion? One more thought…how do you feel about planes crashing into the World Trade Center?
c. If there were no moral law, then we wouldn’t make excuses for violating it.
Why do people make excuses when they do something wrong or immoral?
C. S. Lewis says, "This points to a connection with a supreme moral being who is responsible for stamping that moral code on the life of all people." This line of argument by C. S. Lewis is so powerful that I would suggest his book, Mere Christianity. He relates, “Who or what else would explain this moral code? What set of molecules would produce a moral awareness in the lives of people all over the world?”
III. DESIGN OR TELEOLOGICAL ARGUMENT
The best illustration of this argument is the story of a watch. Once upon a time my watch was merely a number of disorganized elements and metals lying on a dusty road. Over the process of time, it began to take shape. A few dinosaurs trotting along that dusty road kicked a few of the metals together. Some cavemen in the nearby area passed that way and their shoeless feet kicked a few more elements together. Well, over billions and billions of years this watch began to take shape. Because of the forces acting upon it, the sun, the rain, the wind, and the weather, it began to evolve. It developed hands, and a face, but no legs. Then one day it started ticking. I came along, picked it up, and put it on. And it’s been running ever since. Let me ask you, do you believe the story of my watch?
Voltaire once said, “If a watch proves the existence of a watchmaker but the universe does not prove the existence of a great Architect, then I consent to be called a fool.”
The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork. — Psalm 19:1
Ever since God created the world, his invisible qualities, both his eternal power and his divine nature, have been clearly seen; they are perceived in the things that God has made. So those people have no excuse at all! — Romans 1:20
IV. EXPERIENTIAL ARGUMENT
There is a lot of overwhelming evidence, but only one way to prove God's existence and that is by personal experience. No one who has met with God in a real and personal relationship with him as Father and as sovereign Lord can doubt that such proof is sufficient.
By experiencing God personally we can find out for ourselves that God exists.
Romans 1:25 says some people exchange the truth about God for a lie
The fool says in his heart, "There is no God." — Psalm 53:1
Jeremiah 29:11 says, “I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans to give you a future with hope.”
Find out for yourself how good the Lord is. Psalm 34:8
Monday, May 10, 2010
Week 5: Snapshots- Be Realistic
We make choices that determine what our lives will be like.
Luke 10:38-42
"Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things but only one thing is needed."
"Be very careful how you live, not as unwise but as wise." Ephesians 5:15
Step One: Evaluate Your Lifestyle
Step Two: Enjoy The Present
- Live in then now
- Don't Procrastinate
Step Three: Embrace What's Most Important
- Be realistic and understand you can't do everything
- Organize your activities around relationships
1. My relationship with God
2. My family
3. My church family
4. My work
5. My world or my community
"But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." Matt. 6:33
"Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things but only
Luke 10:38-42
"Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things but only one thing is needed."
"Be very careful how you live, not as unwise but as wise." Ephesians 5:15
Step One: Evaluate Your Lifestyle
Step Two: Enjoy The Present
- Live in then now
- Don't Procrastinate
Step Three: Embrace What's Most Important
- Be realistic and understand you can't do everything
- Organize your activities around relationships
1. My relationship with God
2. My family
3. My church family
4. My work
5. My world or my community
"But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." Matt. 6:33
"Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things but only
Monday, May 3, 2010
Week 4: Snapshots – Unwavering Commitment
Ephesians 5:25-33
Marriage is not something that happens to us. It is a thing we create. This simple statement has profound implications. It means that how I behave in the marriage and how I treat my wife (or husband) profoundly affects my marriage.
”For Husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God’s word. He did this to present her to himself as a glorious church without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. Instead, she will be holy and without fault. In the same way, husbands ought to love their wives as they love their own bodies. For a man who loves his wife actually shows love for himself. No one hates his own body but feeds and cares for it, just as Christ cares for the church. And we are members of his body.
As the scripture say, ‘A man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.’ This is a great mystery, but it is an illustration of the way Christ and the church are one. So again I say, each man must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.” (NLT)
Husbands are instructed to love their wives with Christ-like love. Paul illustrated this with three comparisons.
In the first comparison, he said that-
1. Husbands are to love their wives with the kind of love with which Christ loved the church (v. 25).
The second comparison
2. Husbands are to love their wives in the same way they love their own bodies (v. 28).
Christian husband, love your wife. Love her by sacrificing your time and energy and resources on her. Love her by lavishing your attention on her. One more thing-
3. Husbands are to love their wives as they love themselves (v. 33).
Paul wrote, "Husbands love your wives." Love them sacrificially. Love them by lavishing your attention on them. And love them by being devoted to them.
Christ-follower marriages require Christ-follower husbands behaving toward their wives with Christ-like love. A Model to the world of Unwavering Commitment!!!
Marriage is not something that happens to us. It is a thing we create. This simple statement has profound implications. It means that how I behave in the marriage and how I treat my wife (or husband) profoundly affects my marriage.
”For Husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God’s word. He did this to present her to himself as a glorious church without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. Instead, she will be holy and without fault. In the same way, husbands ought to love their wives as they love their own bodies. For a man who loves his wife actually shows love for himself. No one hates his own body but feeds and cares for it, just as Christ cares for the church. And we are members of his body.
As the scripture say, ‘A man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.’ This is a great mystery, but it is an illustration of the way Christ and the church are one. So again I say, each man must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.” (NLT)
Husbands are instructed to love their wives with Christ-like love. Paul illustrated this with three comparisons.
In the first comparison, he said that-
1. Husbands are to love their wives with the kind of love with which Christ loved the church (v. 25).
The second comparison
2. Husbands are to love their wives in the same way they love their own bodies (v. 28).
Christian husband, love your wife. Love her by sacrificing your time and energy and resources on her. Love her by lavishing your attention on her. One more thing-
3. Husbands are to love their wives as they love themselves (v. 33).
Paul wrote, "Husbands love your wives." Love them sacrificially. Love them by lavishing your attention on them. And love them by being devoted to them.
Christ-follower marriages require Christ-follower husbands behaving toward their wives with Christ-like love. A Model to the world of Unwavering Commitment!!!
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