Today on the verdict with Pastor John Monroe. God's Word is sufficient. for every spiritual need. that you have. All you need for salvation.
All the guidance and wisdom and strength you need in life comes from knowing the Holy Scriptures. Welcome to the verdict. featuring the Bible teaching of Pastor John Monroe. How do you view the Bible? Do you see it as unnecessary, perhaps old-fashioned?
Or do you believe as we do? that it is absolute truth, the very word of God. Today, we're thinking of the role and importance of Holy Scripture as we continue to explore next steps in following Jesus.
Now, here's Pastor John Monroe to introduce the next step, Scripture. What do you think about the Bible? Do you believe it is the word of God or just some interesting and historical writings by people who lived thousands of years ago? In our series, Next Steps in Following Jesus, today and next time, we'll be thinking of the Holy Scriptures. Without reading and obeying Scripture, you will not make progress in the Christian faith.
So scripture is essential in taking that next step. in following Jesus. Scripture is is God's revelation. inspired by the Spirit of God and given to His people. If you love someone, you listen to them.
and the Bible is the only book God ever wrote. Join me on the Vandiknow. as we think of this next step in following Jesus. The Holy Scriptures. About one-third of American adults, we're told, report reading the Bible.
once a week or more. Only 24% of millennials claim to do so. And Barna, in his polling, reports that with each passing year, the percentage of Americans who believe that the Bible is, quote, just another book written by men, end quote, increases. Kenneth Briggs, the former religion editor of the New York Times, says in his recent book, The Invisible Bestseller, Searching for the Bible in America, he says that in his study he has found out something that many of us already know that Americans are not reading the Bible. Very much.
It's not because we don't have Bibles, it's just that we're not reading them very much. And that is true, sadly, even in churches. Our theme verse is for the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ coming from Revelation 1. My own calling by God is to preach the word, as Paul says to Timothy in 2 Timothy 4, verse 2. But this is not just a matter of my personal calling.
Holy Scripture is central and foundational as we seek to follow Jesus Christ.
So in this series, next steps in following Jesus, our subject this morning is Scripture. Will you stand and read with me some of what God says about his word? Here are various verses. From scripture. Read with me.
Forever, O Lord. Your word is firmly fixed. In the heavens. Psalm 119, verse 89. For you have exalted above all things your name and your word.
Psalm one hundred and thirty eight, verse two. But this is the one to whom I will look. He who is humble and contrite in spirit. and trembles at my word. Isaiah sixty-six verse two.
It is written Man shall not live by bread alone. But by every word that comes from the mouth of God. Matthew 4 verse 4. The grass withers. The flower fades.
But the word of God abides forever. Isaiah forty verse eight. Please. be seated. I understand the Bible Is sometimes difficult to understand, and I'm going to address that next week.
But if you love someone, You try to understand what they're saying, even if that is difficult. When I first met my wife, she. Didn't know much English. And when she returned to the Faroe Islands and I was in Scotland, we would write, these shows, how old we were, email had never even been thought of. No cell phones.
And so we wrote. And I write very quickly. My writing's not very good. My wife has tremendous Skudney has tremendous neat handwriting, but she found it very difficult to write in English. Later, she told me that she would have an English dictionary.
She had a Faroese dictionary, Faroese being her first native language. She had a Danish dictionary, Danish being her second language, and she was trying to write and communicate to me in English. I like to think, I have regard. To a love of the English language in regard to syntax and grammar and punctuation and all of that. But as I read these letters that came to me, Sometimes they were difficult to understand.
Her choice of a word, her syntax, her grammar was certainly not what I learned in school. But I really didn't worry about that. I wanted to know what she was actually saying, and so I would read and I would reread and I'd put the letter down, and at another point I would take it again. Why? Because I was falling in love with this young woman, and I wanted to know what she was saying.
Do you love Jesus? Don't you want to know what he's saying to you? Say, sometimes the Bible is hard. Much of the Bible It's not that difficult. And this I guarantee, the more you read the Bible, The more you read the Word of God, the more you will want to.
The less you read the Bible, the less you will want to. And my goal this morning is to tell you something about the character of the Bible and the impact of Holy Scripture so that you will read it more, so that this powerful, eternal Word of God will transform your life. And then next week, we'll think of how we can read and study the Bible with more understanding. Let's think, first of all, of the truth of the Bible. Turn with me, if you have your Bible, towards the end of the New Testament to 2 Timothy.
Chapter Three, Second Timothy chapter three, and we're going to read first of all in verse sixteen. This letter, 2 Timothy, is Paul's last letter. He's about to die. And before he dies, he's given some wonderful teaching to this young man, Timothy. Second Timothy 3, verse 16, Paul writes: All scripture is breathed out by God.
and profitable for teaching. For reproof. For correction and for training in righteousness. Verse 17: that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work. God's word is truth.
Jesus, when he was praying to his heavenly father in John chapter 17, says in verse 17 to his heavenly father, your word is truth. What a strong statement. Not just that it's true. He is certainly not just saying it contains truth. It is a stronger statement than that.
He's saying, Your word is truth. And Paul is saying the same thing another way. He's saying, All scripture is inspired by God. All scripture is God-breathed, this God who cannot lie, is a God who speaks. A God who communicates in His grace to us.
How does He speak to us? Through the process of what we call inspiration.
So the God who cannot lie has spoken, has spoken in his word, so that what we have in the Bible in written form are the very words. of God.
So this book, the Bible, is the word of God. It contains God's eternal truths.
So when the Bible speaks God is speaking. Do you believe that? You want to know what God says? People say, well, it's a pity God didn't tell us, God has told us. When the Bible speaks, God is speaking, and God's word is truth.
in our culture increasingly. The lines between truth and error, between truth and lies, are becoming increasingly blurred. The Economist, in their September 10, 16 edition, has as their cover. Art of the lie. Post-truth politics in the age of social media.
Now, The Economist is not a Christian magazine, it's very secular, but very influential. And it Heads this article, this very important article. I commend it to you: The Art of the Lie, Post-Truth. Politics. In the age of social media.
And the article says that politicians have always lied. Anyone disagree with that? Not saying all politicians lie all the time. But politicians, the article says, have always lied. And then it asks.
Does it matter if they leave the truth behind entirely? Goes on to say, in the age of social media, quote, lies, rumor, and gossip spread with alarming speed. Lies that are widely shared online within a network, whose members trust each other more than they trust any mainstream media source, can quickly take on the appearance of truth. Presented with evidence that contradicts a belief that is dearly held, people have a tendency to ditch the facts first. How sad.
And the article ends by saying that, quote, Post-truth politics will be with us for some time to come. The art of the lie.
Now, whatever you think of the present uh campaigns by our candidates. One thing we know is Whether you're a Republican or a Democrat or an Independent or don't care about any of them, one thing seems very clear: it's difficult to know. what the truth is. It's difficult to know what do they actually believe. Can I believe what this person is saying?
And this article and Economist is saying, not just in the United States, but increasingly throughout the world, we have the art of the lie. Who can we believe? What do you base your life in? What do you belie base your beliefs on? Faced with changes in morals and ethics in our society, our culture, I think, does one of two things.
First of all, it redefines the basis of morality. No longer do we have objective standards. No longer do we as a culture believe in objective truth. It is all a matter of personal preferences. Make your own truth.
I'm okay, you're okay. You don't bother me, I won't bother you. You don't judge me, I'm certainly not going to judge you. And so we redefine. What's right?
We redefine. What's wrong? Secondly, We try to redefine the character of God.
Now how arrogant. And how absurd is that? But we want to redefine God So that we have a God who is more palatable, a God who is more amenable. to our way of thinking. A God who's going to accept the way I live, whatever it is, my lifestyle.
So often we hear someone say, My God accepts my lifestyle. Or my God would never send anyone to hell. Or in other words, God is who I say he is. or will be what I want him to be. What kind of God is that?
Is this a God that we make? As if reality depends on what I think, what I'm comfortable with, but this is where our society has gone. That's not the true God. That's not the living God. That's not the God who in the beginning created the heavens and the earth.
It's certainly not the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It's certainly not the God of the Bible. Truth. Has gone out the window. The art of the lie.
Has swept into our society. Can I say, even assaults the church. Are you surprised? If you know your Bible, you really shouldn't be too surprised because the first recorded words in Scripture by our enemy are. The devil says to Eve Did God actually say that?
That's Genesis 3. I mean, come on, come on. Did God actually say that? We hear that today, don't we? God didn't actually say that, did He?
Well, in actual fact, He did. How clear could it be?
Now you can reject God and say you don't believe in God, but the Word of God is very, very clear. But our enemy is always saying that. Did God actually say that? Isn't it interesting that when our Lord was tempted by the enemy in Matthew chapter 4? as the enemy attacked him.
Do you know what he said? It is written. For it is written. He goes back to the eternal word of God. Yes, you're trying to distort truth.
You're trying to redefine truth. You're trying to conjure up a different kind of God. You're trying to say that what the Bible says, God didn't actually say that. God didn't mean that. These were writing in primitive times, and we were so much more educated.
We know so much more. That's always the enemy's attack. Our enemy does all he can. To throw doubts in our mind as to the accuracy, the trustworthiness, and the reliability of Holy Scripture. No book has been so attacked, so vilified.
So ridiculed As the Bible. That is why we make A huge issue of the Word of God. If we no longer accept the Bible as our authority, anything goes. I go home. Don't know if I could get a job practicing law again.
It's a while since I did. But I pack my bags. I go home if this book is not the Word of God. Why would I devote myself to a Word? that is full of errors, that is now outdated, and that God is no longer speaking.
God's Word. reveals The truth. Turn with me also to James. James chapter One. God's word is truth, and it reveals the truth.
So when we want to know what God says, On a certain subject, we don't get together and go into some kind of dialogue. What do you think? What do I think? No, we humbly come to scripture. And say, what does God say?
God's word reveals the truth. James 1. Verse 22, James is going to say that God's word is a mirror which reveals the truth. James 1 verse 22, but be doers of the word. and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets Well he's like. We're often deceived, aren't we? Our society deceives us, not just our politicians. But we are often deceived.
We're often deceived on a personal basis of who we are and what is truth when we're growing up. We're told by parents, by brothers and sisters, by teachers, by coaches and by others, things about us which may or may not be true. Jim, you're an outstanding athlete, Jim is told. Actual fact, he's very mediocre, but he keeps being told by his dad that he's an outstanding Susie, you've got a beautiful voice. The rest of us, when we hear Susie, say, really?
But she's constantly told she's got a beautiful voice. Or, Bob, you're no good, you'll not amount to anything. Or Mary, you're not as pretty, you're not as smart as your older sister. As we're growing up, we hear a lot of voices, a lot of ideas coming at us from all kinds of sources.
Now, most of the input we get is probably.
well intended is probably sincerely Given. But it's never it is never totally accurate It is so easily Learned As we grow up, even as we go into adulthood, that we have a distorted view of ourselves as to what is true. Many of you have been into the Hall of Mirrors, haven't you? At a fair. And what happens there?
We we look at ourselves And looking back at us, we know it's ourselves, but there's a distortion. We may have a bigger head than we normally have and a thin body. We may have long legs or short legs. It may, these murders may. cause us to look very fat or or very, very thin.
The mirrors are reflecting who we are, but they're not reflecting accurately. They give a distorted view of reality. A false Mirror. A false Perception. Before I leave for church, I take a quick look at the mirror.
My wife is sick today, and even though she was sick, she wanted to check me over before I left the house as if I'm a child. And she wanted to straighten my tie. I had just looked in the mirror. And got my tie exactly as I wanted, but there you are. She sometimes, before I leave, says, Let me check you, John.
She wants to check my shoes, straighten my. Ties, I'm just glad she doesn't try to comb my hair. I mean, it's ridiculous. And occasionally, over the years, she said, Do you really want to go out looking like that? By the way, young men, young married men, never ever say that to your wife.
Do you really want to go out looking like that? In my earlier years of marriage, I tried it. I no longer say that. Partly women can say that to the man, but men can't say that to the woman. Not if you want to have an easy life.
There we are. She's not here today, so I can say these things. But Gudney is acting, as it were, as a mirror. James is telling us This is so important. But this book is a perfect Murder.
It is the pure True. Does it make you uncomfortable sometimes? Absolutely. Are there times when you wish, oh, I wish that scripture wasn't there, but that is true. But it has absolutely no distortions.
The psalmists tell us it is pure. It is perfect. It is absolute Truth. Our friends or family may flatter us, they may insult us. But in God's word, There are no distortions.
God's Word. is perfect. Alec Rombrandt, the Dutch Uh painter. And uh he painted about a hundred self-portraits. The remarkable thing is, Rembrandt Unlike many artists, He painted himself exactly as he was.
You know, you would think if I had a nose like that and I was painting it, I might make it a little different. But he had such integrity as an artist, he painted himself exactly as he was, at least to the best of his ability. And disreputed, he said, I can't paint others as they are. Until I paint myself as I am. Do you want to know?
Who you really are? Do you want to get a perfect evaluation? It's wonderful having a friend. Having an honest spouse, parent to tell you things. But they are not.
Perfect. They have their prejudices. They may insult you, they may flatter you. They may be well-meaning, but they don't give a perfect analysis of who you are. But God's Word does.
It reveals absolute truth. You see, without the Word of God, You will rationalize your conduct. You will make excuses. You will say, Well, that's just the way I am. You have to put up with it, you just have to accept me as I am, but God's Word.
exposes us. The writer of Hebrew says it's sharper than a two-edged Sword. It goes right into the hidden recesses of our hearts so that our eyes are opened to see ourselves not as others see us, not as how we would like to see ourselves. But it exposes us as to who we really are. This is the truth of the Bible.
Now secondly, the character of the Bible. What does Paul say as we look back at 2 Timothy 3, verse 16? He says All scripture is breathed out. By God. The Bible is the inspired and inerrant Word of God.
In your translation, it may have the word inspired. In the ESV, which I'm reading from, it says, breathed out. Scripture is the very breath. This is the verdict, featuring the Bible teaching of Pastor John Monroe. There's still more to hear when John returns in just a moment, so stay with us.
From matters of truth and identity, to the subjects of love and grace, our world seems more confused than ever. but to find truth and certainty about who we are and find peace, we must turn our attention away from the world and look to the Word of God. To help you do that, John wrote a booklet titled Eternal Security, Finding Certainty in a Chaotic World. Through this special resource, John shares his personal testimony, along with a careful examination of Scripture, to offer us clarity on matters of eternity. Get your copy today by visiting our website at theverdict.org.
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The verdict is a ministry of Calvary Church in South Charlotte. We're located on the corner of Highway 51 and Ray Road. If you've been looking for a church home or a community to help you grow in your walk with Christ, We invite you to join us for our Sunday services. For more details about Calvary and our service times, visit theverdict.org.
Now, here's Pastor John Monroe.
Well, what's your verdict? Do you agree that the Bible is the supernatural word of God? Perfect. and without error. It is absolute truth or Do you feel that you decide your own truth?
Don't fall into that error which is all around us in today's culture. The Bible is God's eternal word, and this I guarantee. If you read the Holy Scriptures and obey them, your life will be transformed. Join me next time on the verdict as we continue thinking of the importance of Holy Scripture. in our next steps in following Jesus.
Thanks for joining us today on The Verdict. I'm Michelle Davies. Today's program with Pastor John Monroe was produced and sponsored by Calvary Church in Charlotte, North Carolina.
