WHY DO WE NEED THE BIBLE?

Matthew 5:17–20

Martin Luther wrote, “A man’s word is a little sound that flies into the air, and soon vanishes; but the Word of God is greater than heaven and earth, yea, greater than death and hell, for it forms part of the power of God, and endures everlastingly.”

In the book of Amos, God prophesied, “The days are coming … when I will send a famine through the land—not a famine of food … but a famine of hearing the words of the Lord. Men will stagger from sea to sea and wander from north to east, searching for the word of the Lord, but they will not find it.” I think the case could be made that this prophecy has or is coming true today.

I think all of us deep down yearn for God to speak to us. That is why in stories we even have animals, trees, spirits, and aliens speaking to us. We want not only to be heard, but to hear from something or someone beyond ourselves. The reason we have this longing is because God does speak and primarily through his Word. In the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5:17-20 Jesus Christ tells us three things about the Bible we would be wise to listen.

1. The Bible is the Word of God

Jesus says in verse 18, “I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.” When Jesus talks about the Law and the Prophets, he is talking about the Old Testament Scripture. What is Jesus Christ’s attitude toward the Law and the Prophets? He doesn’t just say it’s true. He says it will all be accomplished. That means every prophecy will come true, but more than that, every promise will be fulfilled. Every warning and every threat will be followed through on.

Every single command in here will someday be obeyed because someday, “Every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.” Jesus said every jot and tittle, every single letter and piece of a letter cannot be … What? It cannot be broken. It cannot be falsified. It cannot be written off. It cannot be discounted, not one part of it, because every part of it is the Word of God, and on the Word of God, the basis of it, Jesus Christ says God is running the universe. It will all be accomplished.

Consider how Jesus applied Scripture to his own life. When tempted by Satan, he quoted Scriptures. When he was teaching, he quoted Scriptures. When others were attacking him, he quoted Scriptures. When Jesus Christ was down and dying, when he was on the cross being ripped apart, he quotes Scripture. If we are going to be like Jesus we are going to have to learn the Scriptures and how to apply them to our lives. When you are attacked and when you are in the utmost pain, you cannot reflect; all you can do is act instinctively. Jesus’ deepest instincts whenever he was in the midst of the worse pain, when he was not just facing death but he was facing the abyss, the abyss of God’s wrath, you can’t do anything at a time like that but cry out from your gut, from your instincts. What is he doing? He is quoting Psalms 22. He is quoting Isaiah 50. He faces every joy, he faces every conflict, he faces every danger, and he faces every temptation quoting the Word of God. It was central in his life, let the same be said of us.

2. Jesus Christ himself is the point of the Word of God

The Bible is not just an interesting book full of great stories and rules. It is all about Jesus. “… I come not to abolish them [the Law and the Prophets] but to fulfill them.” What does that mean? It means, first, that Jesus Christ is the point of the Bible. From beginning to end Jesus is there. God demonstrates His love in that the Lamb was slain before the foundation of the world (Rev. 13:8).

When Jesus says, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets,” that means, “I came to fulfill the Law for you.” Every human being needs to fulfill the Law, and we cannot fulfill the Law. So how can we go to heaven? Jesus Christ says, “I fulfilled the Law for you.” That is the Gospel, Jesus did for each of us what we could not do for ourselves. He lived a perfect life and died the perfect sacrifice so that we could live with him forever. That is grace and that is the story of the Bible.

3. The purpose of the Bible is not only for information, but it is also for transformation.

Jesus also says, “Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”

That means search the Scriptures and let the Scriptures search you. We read, study, and meditate on the Scriptures because we want to change and be more like Jesus.

Fall Programing

Starting this Wednesday night and then on Sunday evenings as well we will have classes and activities for all ages. We do this because we believe in the power of the Word of God. We have Sunday School for all ages. Sunday nights we have a group for mothers of small children, children’s play practice, Jr. and Sr. High programing, and an adult Bible study. On Wednesday evenings we have something for every age. This is all to point to the Jesus, please join us.