Where is Your Bible?

Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations 393 Space Age Deepens Spiritual Life

Walter F. Burke, general manager of Project Mercury and Gemini, and vice-president of the McDonnell Aircraft Corporation, teaches Sunday school in his church. In an interview he declared:

“I have found nothing in science or space exploration to compel me to throw away my Bible or to reject my Savior, Jesus Christ, in whom I trust. The space age has been a factor in the deepening of my own spiritual life. I read the Bible more now. I get from the Bible what I cannot get from science—the really important things of life.”

Blessed Lord, You have caused all Holy Scriptures to be written for our learning. Grant that we may so hear them, read, mark, learn, and take them to heart that, by the patience and comfort of Your holy Word, we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life. … through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Today, I wish, with the help of the Holy Spirit, to share with you God’s purpose in giving us a written revelation of His will. You see, that is what the Bible is. People like to think of the Bible as God’s Instruction Manual for Life. You may have even heard of the acronym, B-I-B-L-E: Basis Instructions Before Leaving Earth. The Bible, the collection of the Old and New Testaments, with its divisions of the Law, the Prophets, the Writings in the former and the Gospels, Acts, the Pauline Epistles, the Catholic Epistles and Revelation of Jesus Christ in the latter, is much more than that.

John describes his purpose in writing his Gospel in vv. 30 and 31:

John 20:30–31 ESV

Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

Compare that with Luke’s explanation that he gives in the opening paragraph of His Gospel:

English Standard Version Chapter 20

30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

Compare that with Luke’s explanation that he gives in the opening paragraph of His Gospel:

Luke 1:1–4 ESV

Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that have been accomplished among us, just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word have delivered them to us, it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught.

Add to that Paul’s declaration of his purpose in proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ in his Epistle to the Romans:

Romans 1:14–17 ESV

I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish. So I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome. For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”

Then there is Paul’s statement to Timothy in his 1st Epistle to him:

2 Timothy 3:14–17 ESV

But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

Finally, there is John’s opening statement in the closing book of both the New Testament and the completed canon of the Scriptures, the Revelation of Jesus Christ:

Revelation 1:1–3 ESV

The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near.

These words testify to a particular divine purpose. God, in giving us a written record of His dealings with humanity across the various spectrums of life, has shown us His hand. Human understandings of spirituality have always contained an element of mystery. In fact, the more mysterious something was, the more spiritual we tend to judge it to be. Throughout the Bible, however, God tells us that this is, in fact, the opposite of His way of interacting with us. God declares Himself to be our Father, and Good. As a Good Father, he wants His children to know Him, sending His Son for that very purpose, according to John in his Gospel:

John 1:18 ESV

No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.

Why am I giving you all this scholastic stuff on a Sunday morning? One, so that you will know that the Christian faith is not something that suffers fools gladly, and (2) so that you will know that your faith is not blind, it is reasonable. The most intelligent being in the universe did not reveal Himself in a way that calls for stupidity, in fact, it is just the opposite. it is the fool who says in his heart, in the face of what God has revealed in His Word, that “there is no God” ( and 53).

The Greek New Testament, Fourth Revised Edition (with apparatus)

18 {B} μονογενὴς θεός P66 א* B C* L syrp, mg geo2 Origengr Didymus Cyril1/4 // ὁ μονογενὴς θεός P75 א2 33 cop Clement2/3 Clementfrom Origengr Eusebius3/7 Basil1/2 Gregory-Nyssa Epiphanius Serapion1/2 Cyril2/4 // ὁ μονογενὴς υἱός A C3 Wsupp Δ Θ Ψ 0141 ƒ1 ƒ13 28 157 180 205 565 579 597 700 892 1006 1010 1071 1241 1243 1292 1342 1424 1505 Byz [E F G H] Lect ita, , , , , , 2, vg syrc, , arm eth geo1 slav Irenaeuslat Clementfrom Clement1/3 Hippolytus Origenlat Letter of Hymenaeus Alexander Eustathius Eusebius4/7 Serapion1/2 Athanasius Basil1/2 Gregory-Nazianzus Chrysostom Theodore Cyril1/4 Proclus Theodoret John-Damascus; Tertullian Hegemonius Victorinus-Rome Ambrosiaster Hilary5/7 Ps-Priscillian Ambrose10/11 Faustinus Gregory-Elvira Phoebadius Jerome Augustine Varimadum // μονογενὴς υἱὸς θεοῦ itq Irenaeuslat ; Ambrose1/11 // ὁ μονογενής vgms Ps-Vigilius1/2

the consistent statement of this passage is that Jesus is unique (μονογενὴς) and that He came to reveal God to us (ἐξηγήσατο, from the verb ἐξηγέομαι, to set forth in great detail, expound. Oft. as t.t. (terminus technicus (termini technici), technical term(s) for the activity of priests and soothsayers who impart information or reveal divine secrets; also used w. ref. to divine beings themselves).

William Arndt et al., A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000). for the activity of priests and soothsayers who impart information or reveal divine secrets; also used w. ref. to divine beings themselves.

Why am I giving you all this scholastic stuff on a Sunday morning? One, so that you will know that the Christian faith is not something that suffers fools gladly, and (2) so that you will know that your faith is not blind, it is reasonable. The most intelligent being in the universe did not reveal Himself in a way that calls for stupidity, in fact, it is just the opposite. it is the fool who says in his heart, in the face of what God has revealed in His Word, that “there is no God” ( and 53).

William Arndt et al., A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000)

Why am I giving you all this scholastic stuff on a Sunday morning? One, so that you will know that the Christian faith is not something that suffers fools gladly, and (2) so that you will know that your faith is not blind, it is reasonable. The most intelligent being in the universe did not reveal Himself in a way that calls for stupidity, in fact, it is just the opposite. it is the fool who says in his heart, in the face of what God has revealed in His Word, that “there is no God” ( and 53).

Not only the broad strokes of the Word of God, but even the seemingly small details, such as the record of the Gospels that the initial declaration of Jesus’ resurrection and His initial appearance was not to the 11 Apostles, but to women, the one group that would have been given the least credibility among both Jews and Gentiles in that day, show that the writers of the Gospel were interested, not in being persuasive, but in being factual. They weren’t making up stories to explain reality - the meaning of myths - but were reporting what they witnessed - News.

The reason why the Bible is so important, and, as a result, so sought after by those who love God and those who hate Him, whether to learn more about Him or to attack His credibility, is that it makes His will accessible to us, and thus, is the means by which the grace of faith comes to us, for the saving of our souls. God wants us to be saved, and He wants it for all of us. The God of Scripture is not hiding Himself from you, but reveals Himself to you.

God preserved His Word, in the face of the entropic principle of time and the frailties and hostilities of men, so that we could know Him and His will concerning us. He made the Church “a pillar and buttress of the truth,” two terms which refer to supporting structures of permanent buildings. God’s Word is that permanent building that the Church supports in the world.

You cannot love God and ignore His Word, you cannot believe God’s “exceeding great and precious promises” when you don’t “hear them, read, mark, learn, and take them to heart.” The measure of a strong church is not its congregational size, its staff, or its balance sheet. It is its Bible Study.

Gary Mayoral candidate LaVetta Sparks-Wade is fond of saying, “show me your budget, and I’ll show you your priorities.” That is true, not only of our talents and treasure, but our time. Jesus said in that “If you abide in My Word, you are truly My disciples, and you will know the truth and the truth will make you free.” The Living Word, Jesus Christ, is revealed through the written Word, the Bible, as the Spirit of God brings to your remembrance what Christ has told us. Wherever you are sitting, there should be a Bible near you; pick it up. If you want to know Him, you will get to know this.

John 8:31–32 ESV

So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

John 8:31–32 ESV

So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

The Bible tells us that “while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” - He loves is as we are. but He didn’t die and be raised to leave us that way; we are “beloved of God, called saints.” God didn’t leave our salvation to be dependent upon our ability to pass on verbal traditions, but as the writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews testified,

Hebrews 10:5–7 ESV

Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said, “Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body have you prepared for me; in burnt offerings and sin offerings you have taken no pleasure. Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come to do your will, O God, as it is written of me in the scroll of the book.’ ”

One characteristic that our era shares with that of Dr. Luther is that Christianity in the West today is “a mile wide and an inch deep.” Talking about His own time, he wrote something that looks completely contemporary:

The Book of Concord Handbook

[1] The deplorable, wretched deprivation that I recently encountered while I was a visitor has constrained and compelled me to prepare this catechism, or Christian instruction,6 in such a brief, plain, and simple version. [2] Dear God, what misery I beheld! The ordinary person, especially in the villages, knows absolutely nothing about the Christian faith, and unfortunately many pastors are completely unskilled and incompetent teachers. [3] Yet supposedly they all bear the name Christian, are baptized, and receive the holy sacrament, even though they do not know the Lord’s Prayer, the Creed, or the Ten Commandments! As a result they live like simple cattle or irrational pigs and, despite the fact that the gospel has returned, have mastered the fine art of misusing all their freedom.

[4] O you bishops! How are you going to answer to Christ, now that you have so shamefully neglected the people and have not exercised your office for even a single second? May you escape punishment for this! [5] You forbid the cup [to the laity] in the Lord’s Supper and insist on observance of your human laws, while never even bothering to ask whether the people know the Lord’s Prayer, the Creed, the Ten Commandments, or a single section of God’s Word. Shame on you forever!

So alarmed was he that Dr. Luther had this admonition for those who refused to be taught God’s Word in even the Small Catechism:

People may visit to hear a preacher who is entertaining, but they will grow under a pastor who faithfully labors in Word and doctrine. An entertainer might draw a crowd, but only shepherd will grow a church. You called me to shepherd you, and I cannot do it in weekly 15 minute increments. If you fed your family like that they would starve to death within weeks. I’m not trying to starve you, I’m here to help you! Help me help you! If I had more time with you in Bible Study on Monday, and maybe even Wednesday, I would spend less time preaching to you on Sunday!

The Book of Concord Handbook

[11] Those who do not want to learn these things—who must be told how they deny Christ and are not Christians—should also not be admitted to the sacrament, should not be sponsors for children at baptism, and should not exercise any aspect of Christian freedom, but instead should simply be sent back home to the pope and his officials and, along with them, to the devil himself.

How many of you, sitting here today, might qualify for this sentence if Dr. Luther were looking at us? How many of us sitting here are old on the outside, but babies on the inside? Tell me today, how I can help you? Tell me when we can meet to study the Scriptures “which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus?” Grab on of those visitor cards and fill it out, write me a letter or an email, call me, do something - but don’t just sit there, spiritually emaciated in the land of milk and honey, getting excited by the sound of my voice without understanding what I said. For Christ’s sake - Don’t be THAT guy!

God, in His mercy, gave me this message instead of the one about “doubting Thomas” or “believing without seeing” or the one about “the power of binding and releasing forgiveness.” What does this mean? If you don’t know, this is why. Please, let’s be what we can be, not just what we are. We can be that royal priesthood, we can be His witnesses. We can be more than simultaneously saints and sinners. We can be the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. Then we must be His disciples, not just in name, but in fact. Not just hanging around because we “ate our fill of the loaves,” but because we “saw signs,” as Jesus said in reproach to the Jews in . We recognize the signs of the Lord’s presence and live accordingly. We stir one another up to good works, we learn how to truly love our neighbor as ourselves, we worship the Father in Spirit and in truth. Is that who you want to be? Is that what you want the world to see?

I’m not finished, but I’m done. So let the peace of God, that passes all understanding guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.

he signs of the Lord’s presence and live accordingly. We stir one another up to good works, we learn how to truly love our neighbor as ourselves, we worship the Father in Spirit and in truth.

Where is Your Bible?

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