Standing on the Promises

2 Timothy 3:10-17

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            Many of you may not be aware that Mark Twain was raised as the son of a Presbyterian preacher.  He grew up in a Presbyterian Church, but left the church for the rest of his adult life.  He said one of the reasons for this was, “It’s not the parts of the Bible I don’t understand which give me trouble, it’s the parts I do understand that cause me distress.”

            Maybe you know the feeling. You’ve read a passage, or heard me read a passage, that you flat-out didn’t understand, and it made no sense to you.  Maybe you’ve read a passage that seemed pretty clear, but you don’t like it, don’t believe it, and never intend on following it.  What do you do then?  Do you get to pick and choose the parts you like and ignore the rest?  Do you put your Bible on a shelf and look for guidance elsewhere, or do you continue to wrestle with and sometimes struggle with this revealed truth in the hopes that tomorrow you may better understand what is a mystery today?

            My hope is that you choose the latter, because how can we possibly discern God’s will if we do not know God’s Word?  My message today is intended to equip you to read the Bible for all its worth.  First, let us pray:

            Compassionate God, since faith comes by hearing your Word, help us to listen to the scriptures with all attention, that they may correct our faults, confirm our faith, and comfort our spirits, through Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh.  Amen.

            The Apostle Paul was languishing in a Roman prison and facing the end of his life.  He used this time to write letters to equip and encourage the next generation.  He had been a mentor to Timothy, but could no longer meet with him over a cup of tea to talk about matters of faith.  So, Paul encouraged him to remain in the Word.  He said, “Continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you have learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings which are able to instruct you for salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.” In other words, Paul is saying, “Remember what you learned in Sunday school class.”

            He then summarized one of the most important lessons he learned which is that God has revealed Himself and His will through his son Jesus Christ and what we need to know about him we learn through truth revealed in scripture.  That’s why he said:

           

“All scripture is inspired by God.”  The literal translation is “God breathed.”  In the same way God’s “ruach”, God’s breath, gave life to all living things.  So, God’s revealed Word is intended to give life to all of us.

Years ago, I was asked to teach a class in a High School comparative religions class.  I was to represent the Protestant Christian point of view.  Other clergy were also given equal time to represent the Roman Catholic tradition as well as Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism.  One of the students asked the inevitable question, “Why should I believe the Bible?”  There are many other sacred texts; the Koran, Hindu’s Bagvad Gita, Buddha’s eightfold path, and many others.  How is the Bible different from any of them?  Why should I believe one over the other?  In other words, “how do I know God breathed more into one than the others?”

There is no way to empirically prove one over the other.  So, the only way for you to make up your own mind is to take the time and read it for yourself.

When the Bible speaks of itself, it uses images of power.  Jeremiah speaks of God’s word as a “fire and a hammer”.  The writer to the Hebrews describes God’s Word as “living and active, sharper than a two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and spirit.”  In the Psalms it is described as a “lamp for our feet and a light for our path.” 

All of these pictures are intended to demonstrate that God’s Word has power and authority and you know that is true because of what it accomplishes.

Deuteronomy 18:27 says you know a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord if the prophecy is fulfilled, if the prophecy is not fulfilled, the prophet does not speak in the name of the Lord.

In the fifty-fifth chapter of Isaiah, God, speaking through the prophet, says:

“For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven…so shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and prosper the thing for which I sent it.”

I believe the Bible speaks words from God not just because the church or someone else tells me so, but because I have seen the impact it has had in our world, in this church, and in my life.

            Years ago I read a story in Reader’s Digest about two men living on the island of Okinawa before the Second World War.  They came across a Bible which had been left in the community by a passing missionary.  They read it and believed it.  One of them eventually became the village chief and the other started a little school to study it.

            During the war, when the American marines were shooting their way across Okinawa, they came upon this town.  As they prepared to make their assault, these two men, the chief and the Bible teacher came out to meet them.  They bowed low, rose and said, “Welcome fellow Christians.”

            They then escorted the marines into the village and discovered the whole town had become disciples of Jesus Christ.  So, instead of a battle, these marines were met with bread. Instead of snipers, they were met by servants of the Lord.  The hard-boiled sergeant who told this story to the editor of Reader’s Digest said, “I can’t figure it out how all of this could happen just because two guys found a Bible and decided they wanted to live like Jesus.”

            I would have told him it happens like that more often than one might think.  Someone opens up this book and reads a verse and thinks, “That’s me, that’s my life right there in black and white.”   Maybe that’s happened to you. You were going through a dark time in life and then you opened this book and discovered you’re not alone. A man named David went through the valley of the shadow and came out on the other side and discovered God was there.  So, you thought, there is hope for me.  Maybe there was a time in your life when you were feeling confused and not sure which way to turn and then read Jesus’ words, “Follow me for I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.”  And then you knew he’d get you to where you need to be.

That’s why anyone who reads the Bible has a verse or two or three they underlined in red because they wanted to remember where that verse was and what they were feeling the moment that revelation hit home.

 I’ve seen the difference God’s Word can make in people’s lives, and I’ve also seen what happens when people try to live apart from the teaching and direction God gives.  I believe we get into trouble when we decide we are going to go it alone – all on our own. When we reject the standards God gives, how do we know where to stand?

How many of the problems we face today have been predicted in God’s word?  How many times have people gotten into trouble because they ignored God’s command against adultery or theft, lying or coveting?  Time and time again God has shown us the way, the truth that leads to life, but we have preferred to follow a truth of our own making.

Paul told Timothy what was likely to happen.  Listen to the way Eugene Peterson paraphrases this scripture:

You’re going to find that there will be times when people will have no stomach for solid teaching, but will fill up on spiritual junk food – catchy opinions that tickle their fancy.

One of the great temptations in American culture is to coble together our own spirituality.  We are like diners at a buffet picking and choosing what we like and passing on the rest.  We are the consummate consumers.  We shop around for cars and clothes, for churches and preachers.  If we like it we’ll buy it; if we don’t we’ll move on.

When we do that though, when we skip the parts of the Bible we don’t like or walk away when someone tells us something about ourselves we don’t want to hear, how will we ever grow, how will we ever know?

We would never tell our children, “It’s O.K. to skip the broccoli and eat only ice cream, but we do that ourselves when it comes to our own spiritual growth.  When we do, the Bible warns us about what will likely happen:

“As the end approaches, people are going to be self-absorbed, money-hungry, self-promoting, stuck-up, profane, contemptuous of parents, crude, coarse, dog-eat-dog, unbending, slanderers, impulsively wild, savage, cynical, ruthless, addicted to lust, and allergic to God.”

It seems to me that comes pretty close to describing the time in which we live.  That’s why we need to return to God’s word again and again because we need teaching and correction, and we need to learn what is right in the sight of God so that we can do what is right in the sight of God.

In the middle ages, the Bible was often chained to the pulpit, because the leaders of the church did not want ordinary people to read it.  They thought people would not be able to understand it.  They thought people should be protected from it.  The leaders read it and then tell the people what to believe and what to do.  That’s why they locked up God’s Word.

During the Reformation, which gave birth to the Presbyterian Church, people like Martin Luther and John Calvin protested and said “That’s not right. The Bible is for everyone.  Now is the time to break the chain.  Now is the time to unlock the Word of God so that everyone can read it for themselves and they can make up their own minds.

Maybe your Bible has been locked up, not by the church, but by your apathy, your resistance to wrestle with the parts you don’t understand and resistance to follow the parts you do.  Now is the time to read it for yourself and make up your own mind.

This is the Word of the Lord.  It is sharper than a two-edged sword, rightly discerning the soul and the Spirit.  This is the Word of the Lord, a lamp for your feet and a light for your path.  God has revealed himself in this way as a means of his grace.

It’s kind of like a Christmas present.  If you never open it up, have you really received the gift?  Open the gift and receive all God has placed in it for you.

Let us pray:

Grant, O Lord, the desire to remain faithfully in your word, the conviction to follow it and the courage to live it. Amen.