Welcome to Delight in Grace, the teaching ministry of Rich Powell, pastor of Grace Bible Church in Winston-Salem. Plenty of people claim to have answers and solutions to our problems.
Opinions are abundant wherever we look. But the Bible is different. It is, as D. Helm put it, the true and authoritative story of God as He enters human history. Biblical faith, far from being man-made, is a response to God's self-disclosure. He has turned on the light for us through His Word. Scripture is reliable and trustworthy. It holds the answers for the greatest longings of our soul. Today we're tuning into this message titled, Written Authority. Let's listen in. This is part three of the message, first preached on August 6, 2025 at Grace Bible Church in Winston-Salem. It's part of a sermon series through 1 Peter titled, Live as People Who Remember.
2 Corinthians 12, Paul writes this, The signs of a true apostle were performed among you, with utmost patience, with signs and wonders and mighty works. Why? Because they were specifically commissioned by Jesus Christ with His authority to establish truth for the church. Not a personal subjective experience. Subjective reality. And it's with the written authority that we have here in the Scriptures. Alright, some of you are starting to get your eyes glassed over here. Alright, so let's move on here.
This is important because we have to understand why is Peter writing this? Are there truths, are there philosophies, are there ideas out there today that claim to be true? Yes. How do you know if they are or not? How do you know that you believe that Jesus has risen from the dead? How do you know, what confidence do you have that that is true? Well, the Bible says so. Well, what if I don't believe the Bible? Well, there's a problem there. There's a written authority there.
Okay? Now, we could get deep into that and that's not the point of that. This is what I'm just saying. There is the justification of our faith, the foundation of our faith includes a written authority. This is not man-made. There is a written authority here, objective reality, fulfilled prophecy, written authority. The basis of faith is this.
I remember hearing my dad say this a long time ago and when he first said it I thought, what? The basis of faith is scripture. The basis of faith is taking God at his word. That's what faith is.
It's taking God at his word. Even Jesus appealed to the witness of scripture, the witness authority of the written record. Keep your finger in 1 Peter there. I'm going to have you turn with me back to the Gospel of John. I don't do this often, but turn with me back to the Gospel of John chapter 5. John chapter 5. This is Jesus speaking and here's what he says. John 5 verse 31. If I alone bear witness about myself, my testimony is not true. Now, right there makes so many faith systems in the world today absolutely false.
Right? Why? Because they're based on one man's subjective experience. Verse 32. There is another who bears witness about me and I know that the testimony that bears about me is true. You sent to John and he has borne witness to the truth. Not that the testimony that I receive is from man, but I say these things so that you may be saved. He who was burning and shining lamp, you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light, but the testimony that I have is greater than that of John. For the works that the Father has given me to accomplish the very works that I am doing bear witness about me that the Father has sent me.
What is that? That's objective reality. Jesus actually healed people in front of a crowd of witnesses. Okay? It wasn't a subjective experience.
That's just one example. And the Father who sent me has himself borne witness about me, his voice you have never heard, his form you have never seen, and you do not have his word abiding in you for you do not believe the one who has sent me. Here it is. Verse 39. You search the scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life and it is they that bear witness about me. The scriptures. Verse 40. Yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life. For the sake of time skip down to verse 44.
How can you believe when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God? Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father. There is one who accuses you, Moses, on whom you have sent your hope.
What does he mean by that? Moses. Moses was the author of the Pentateuch. First five books of scripture. For if you believed Moses, you would believe me. For he what?
Wrote of me. For if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words? Do you see the authority of written scripture there? That is what Jesus was following.
The authority of written scripture. Do you remember the story that Jesus gave? It is recorded in Luke chapter 16, the story of Lazarus and the rich man. Lazarus dies and he goes to the bosom of Abraham, which is another way of saying near God. And then the rich man dies and he is in torment.
And he recognizes that he has brothers back home that need to be rescued from this place of torment. And so he is asking Father Abraham, he says please send someone back. And Father Abraham says no, they have the scriptures. And then this rich man says no, but if somebody rises from the dead, they will believe him. And then Father Abraham says if they do not believe the scriptures, then they also will not believe if someone rises from the dead.
You see which has the greater authority there? Jesus recognized that. And we would love it today, we would absolutely love it if somebody were in our midst and they were just doing miracles and raising people from the dead.
And changing water into wine, right? But think about it, Jesus did all that, didn't he? And how many followers did he have at his ascension?
Maybe 120? You see, it's not the miracles that cause people to believe. It is the written authority of scripture where God reveals himself and captivates people's hearts. So what we have here in scripture as Peter said, 2 Peter 1 verse 4, what is it that we have? Scripture to us as God's people is his very precious and very great promises. We have God's precious and very great promises.
We need to know them, we need to understand them so that we can entrust ourselves to them. As he says in verse 19, you will do well to pay attention to what God has said. Very well known verse, all scripture is given by what? Inspiration of God. All scripture is God-breathed.
God making himself known to us. Notice that it does not say all truth is God-breathed. Now, I believe all truth is God's truth if it is in fact true. But not everything that claims to be true is true. But what is true is of God. All truth is God's truth but, but not all truth is God's word. Don't ask me to repeat that, right?
I can't if you need me to. But not all truth is God. All truth is God's truth because it's his creation. He is the creator and the sustainer and the redeemer. Of him, through him and to him are what?
All things. It kind of wraps it up, doesn't it? All truth is God's truth but not all truth is God's word.
Why? Because God's self-disclosure has a particular accuracy and authority and power to transform. Scripture, written scripture. That's why when we come here, whether it's an ABF or a midweek study or Sunday morning here, there is a gravity to opening this up and handling it accurately. We don't do this flippantly.
There's no, we can't afford that. There is an authority in it. We are bound to it.
Because the basis of our faith is taking God at his word. Okay, those main points, three main points. Now here's the so what. Yes, we have God's precious and very great promises in writing. So what? Number one, four points.
This is what I want you to take home. God's self-disclosure is trustworthy information. God's self-disclosure is trustworthy information, not because I say so, but because for all the reasons we've been talking about this morning and the last couple of weeks. We can have even greater confidence, even greater confidence in the word of God, his precious and very great promises. We can have greater confidence in this than an airline pilot can have on the instrument panel in his airline, in his airplane. He can't see where he's going.
If it's cloud cover or if it's night, he can't see where he's going, but he has information and he can accurately, safely fly and land the airplane using those instruments. Why? Because it's trustworthy information. Listen to me. You and I can live and die with confidence because we have trustworthy information in writing. That's the word of God to us. Psalm 119 verse 160, the sum of your word is truth.
Every one of your righteous rules endures forever. So in scriptures that it might be fulfilled. Matthew's gospel, for example, numerous times that it might be fulfilled. What might be fulfilled? The Old Testament scriptures were fulfilled in what Jesus did, in what the church is doing. Thanks for joining us here at Delight in Grace. You've been listening to Rich Powell, the lead pastor at Grace Bible Church in Winston-Salem. The Delight in Grace mission is to help you know that God designed you to realize your highest good and your deepest satisfaction in him. The one who is infinitely good. We hope you'll join us again on weekdays at 10 a.m.
