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We're going to be reading from the book of Nehemiah, chapter 8, verses 1 through 13, and verse 18 as printed in the liturgy.
A reading from the book of Nehemiah.
I think I better change these.
When the seventh month came and the Israelites had settled in their towns,
all the people came together as one in the square before the water gate.
They told Ezra, the teacher of the law, to bring out the book of the law of Moses,
which the Lord had commanded for Israel.
So on the first day of the seventh month, Ezra, the priest, brought the law before the assembly,
which was made up of men and women and all who were able to understand.
He read it aloud from daybreak till noon as he faced the square before the water gate
in the presence of the men, women, and others who could understand.
All the people listened attentively to the book of the law.
Ezra, the teacher of the law, stood on a high wooden platform built for the occasion.
Beside him on his right stood Mattathiah, Shema, Aniah, Uriah, Hilkiah, and Maseah.
And on his left were Padaiah, Mishael, Malchiah, Hashem, Hashbadanah, Zechariah, and Meshulam.
Ezra opened the book.
All the people could see him because he was standing above them.
And as he opened it, people all stood up.
Ezra praised the Lord, the great God, and all the people lifted their hands and responded,
Amen, Amen.
Then they bowed down and worshipped the Lord with their faces to the ground.
The Levites, Joshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akub, Shabbathai, Hodiah, Messiah, Kalita, Azariah,
Josabad, Hanan, and Paliah instructed the people in the law
so that they understood what was being read.
Then Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the priest and teacher of the law,
and the Levites who were instructing the people said to them all,
This day is holy to the Lord your God.
Do not mourn or weep.
For all the people had been weeping as they listened to the words of the law.
Nehemiah said,
Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks and send some to those who have nothing prepared.
This day is holy to our Lord.
Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.
The Levites calmed all the people, saying,
Be still, for this is a holy day.
Do not grieve.
Then all the people went away to eat and drink,
to send portions of food and to celebrate with great joy,
because they now understood the words that had been made known to them.
On the second day of the month, the heads of all the families,
along with the priests and the Levites,
gathered around Ezra, the teacher,
to give attention to the words of the law.
Day after day,
from the first day to the last,
Ezra read from the book of the law of God.
They celebrated this festival for seven days,
and on the eighth day,
in accordance with the regulation,
there was an assembly.
This is the word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
I don't know about you,
but I thought not many people could have read all those names
the way that Joan just read those names.
So is that not amazing?
I mean,
I was trying all week and couldn't do it.
So way to go, Joan.
We are continuing today in this journey of exploring God
and looking at these various questions that we have about God,
and today's question is,
is the Bible reliable?
Is the Bible reliable?
18th century French philosopher Voltaire said that,
he predicted that the Bible would become a museum piece
within 100 years of his lifetime,
and would be replaced by more advanced philosophies of life.
But of course, today,
the Bible persists
in remaining one of the most popular books,
the most popular book in the world.
And why is that?
Well, the Apostle Paul writes in the New Testament,
he says this in 2 Timothy 3,
he says,
all Scripture is inspired by God.
All Scripture is inspired.
It's breathed out by God.
And what exactly did God inspire?
What did he breathe out in the creation of the Bible?
Well, over 1,600 years,
about the Bible was written by 40 authors
on three different continents
and two different languages
and over two testaments.
It was written by kings, scholars, philosophers,
fishermen, poets, statesmen, historians,
teachers, prophets, and doctors.
And they all wrote different types of literature,
history, poetry, prophecy, letters, and so forth.
And throughout the Bible,
it makes an amazing claim for itself
that on the one hand,
it's 100% the work of human authors,
and yet it also claims to be 100% inspired by God.
Now, many people in the secular West,
particularly,
increasingly have questions
about the reliability of the Bible.
And maybe that's you,
or maybe that's people in your life
that you're having conversations with.
A lot of people I've met over the years
in the East Bay say that
science has disproved the Bible.
And I believe in science,
and so I can't believe in the supernaturalism
and the miracles of the Bible.
Or another person may say,
as a believer in evolution,
I can't accept the Bible's pre-scientific accounts
of the origin of life.
Or you may say,
well, science isn't necessarily my issue,
but I see much of the Bible
as historically inaccurate.
And I can't be sure,
I don't think any of us can be sure
that the Bible's account of events
is what actually happened.
Or maybe you say,
my problem's not so much science or history.
My problem with the Bible
is that it's culturally obsolete,
that much of its social teaching
is morally regressive.
The things it says about slavery
and women and sexuality,
all of this is impossible to,
makes it impossible for me
to accept that the Bible
has the complete authority
that Christians say that it does.
And if that's you,
we welcome you.
A lot of us have those questions too.
And I cannot begin to even barely address
one of those questions today.
So sorry to disappoint you.
I'm going to lead a lot on the table.
But I do hope that you'll come
to our Q&A afterwards.
And you can grill me
and we'll talk at length
as long as you'd like
about those questions.
I do want to say up top though
that in a way,
the Bible is unreliable.
The Bible can be unreliable
if you read it as an anthology
of helpful thoughts
and a collection of nuggets of wisdom
where we pick and choose different parts
to give us comfort and guidance and direction.
If you read the Bible that way,
it's going to be unreliable for you.
If you come to the Bible
as a series of isolated sayings,
which you dip in at random
and extract little bits with no context,
and then you take those fragments
and you fit them into the various nooks and crannies
of a larger enlightenment story of the world
that says reason is going to conquer nature
and science and technology
is going to help us progress toward a utopia,
the Bible is going to be unreliable to you.
If you try to make the Bible
be about a story
that's completely different
than the story the Bible is actually telling you,
it's not going to be reliable for you.
If you come to the Bible
without a map,
without a framework,
and without particular lenses
for how the different parts
of the Bible fit together
in a unified,
coherent story of the world,
a unified,
coherent story of the kingdom of God
and the covenants
that bring about the kingdom of God,
it's not going to make sense to you
and it's going to be unreliable to you.
And so I want to turn today
to this little book.
I'm guessing not a lot of us
have read Nehemiah lately.
And I want to turn to
the book of Nehemiah chapter 8
where we have 50,000 people
gathered together
to hear,
read,
and taught
the Bible.
And I want to ask the question,
why?
At least for these 50,000 people,
why do they think
the Bible is reliable?
And what might that mean for us?
How might that help us?
So I want to talk a little bit about
listening attentively,
interpreting faithfully,
and responding properly.
Because I think these are keys
to engaging with the Bible
in a reliable way.
Listening attentively,
interpreting faithfully,
and responding properly.
First of all,
listening attentively.
Look at verse 1.
It says that
all the people
assembled with one accord
in the square,
and they told Ezra,
the teacher of the law,
to bring out the book
of the law of Moses
which the Lord had commanded
for Israel.
And then verse 3,
it says,
he read it aloud
from daybreak till noon
as he faced the square
in the presence
of the men,
women,
and the others
who could understand,
and all the people
listened attentively
to the book
of the law.
So this is a gathering
of 50,000 men,
women,
and children
which tells us
that it assumes
that kids have the mental
and spiritual capacity
to understand the Bible
and that these parents
have obviously done something
to prepare their kids
to come and receive
whatever's about to happen
with some benefit.
They've been working
with their kids at home
probably on the Bible.
And if you don't have
any kids' Bibles at home,
I brought a stack
and I'm going to leave them up here
for you to look at afterwards.
But it says that they came
as one.
There was a unity.
There was a solidarity
about this gathering.
And what have they come for?
They say,
bring out the book.
Bring out the book.
They summon Ezra.
Ezra,
is he summoning the people?
Is Ezra imposing the book on him?
Is he begging people
to come to his Bible study?
No, it says the people
take initiative
and they make a demand.
They're eager
and they're enthusiastic
to come and stand here
for six hours
from dawn until noon
and the heat
in the Middle East.
They say,
bring out the book.
And that's how you know
you're in a living church
and you're experiencing
a revival
in the Spirit of God
when the Spirit of God
comes down
and the people are saying,
bring out the stinking book.
And what is this book?
Well, it's called
The Law of Moses
that the Lord commanded.
Right?
The first five books
of the Bible,
Genesis, Exodus,
Leviticus, Numbers,
and Deuteronomy,
The Law of Moses
that the Lord commanded.
And so the question there
is who wrote it?
Did Moses write it
or did the Lord write it?
And the answer is yes.
Fully human,
fully divine.
Just like Jesus,
it's fully humanly authored
and fully divinely inspired
at the same time.
And these people come here
because they trust
that this book is reliable.
Why do they trust that?
Well, to give you
some backstory,
last week we looked at
Exodus 19 through 24
which is actually
the first public reading
of Scripture in the Bible.
Israel had just been
rescued from Egypt.
They were no longer slaves
and they needed
a new identity.
They needed a new story
to live by.
And so God gathers
the people at Mount Sinai
and Moses reads
the Scriptures aloud
and as they hear it
they're reminded
of where they came from
and who they are
and the new future
that they're being called
to live for.
And that wasn't the last time
they did that.
Like when they finally got
to the promised land
they did it again.
Joshua pulled out the book.
He pulled all the people together
and they listened
to the Scriptures read aloud
and they remembered
this is where we came from
and this is how
we're to keep living
as part of this new story
that God is writing.
Sadly, after Joshua died
there are no more stories
about people coming together
to hear God's Word.
You get to the book of Judges
and it says that they forgot
the story.
We're told in Judges 2
that the people,
a whole generation arose
who did not know the Lord
or what the Lord
had done for them.
That went on for centuries.
King David brought
the Scriptures back
to the people
and yet they forgot again
and then King Josiah
discovered the law
and the temple
and he got excited
and called all the people
together to practice
this reading of Scripture
and he sparked
this renewal movement
but then of course
they forgot again
and they ended up
in exile in Babylon.
And so that is why
in this moment
when Ezra and Nehemiah
come back from the exile
in Babylon
they know
that the thing
they need to do
above all else
is to remind the people
who they are
and whose they are
and how they're to live.
And so reading Scripture
together became
a core part
of Jewish life.
It was done every week
when they would gather
in the synagogue.
Jesus Himself
participated in this practice
and you may know
that He launched
His public mission
during the weekly reading
of the Scripture
from the scroll of Isaiah
when He said
today in your hearing
this Scripture
is being fulfilled.
And this is why
the Apostle Paul
writes to Timothy
and says devote yourself
to the public reading
of Scripture
and to its preaching
and its teaching.
Do you see why
these people
are listening
so attentively?
Because they know
the pain
of forgetting
their identity.
They know the pain
of losing track
of what story
they're living in.
They know the pain
of not knowing
who they are
and where they came from
and where they're going
and how they're supposed
to live
in light of that.
So I want you to look
at the context
and the posture
for how they're listening
to the Bible.
It says in verse 4
that Ezra the teacher
of the law
stood on a high
wooden platform
built for the occasion
and then in verse 5
it says Ezra opened
the book
and all the people
could see him
because he was
standing above them
and as he opened it
the people all stood up.
Now this high platform
was practical
so that everybody
could see
and everybody could hear
but it was also
symbolic
to say that the word
of God
is above us.
This word of God
is coming down
to us from on high.
It has an authority.
Now think about that.
What's the first question
that Satan asks
human beings
in the scriptures
in Genesis 3?
He says
did God really say?
It's the first question.
Did God really say?
And in that moment
he's tempting
human beings
to rise above
the word of God
to put themselves
over the word
as the critics
of scripture
and to put themselves
in a position
where they are
the judge
and the jury
about the truth
of God.
But these people
in Nehemiah 8
are doing the opposite
of that.
They're sitting
in humility
under the book.
They're standing
with reverence
before the book
because they know
that these are not
mere human words
from Moses
but that this is
the eternal word
of God.
You're supposed
to say amen
at that point.
And the reason
I know you're supposed
to say amen
is in verse 6
where it says
Ezra praised
the Lord
the great God
and all the people
lifted their hands
and responded
amen and amen.
Then they bowed down
and worshipped the Lord
with their faces
to the ground.
I'm not making that up.
Like it's not
just my preference.
It's biblical.
Notice that Ezra
is not standing up there
giving his perspectives
on world history
or giving his opinions
on current events.
He's simply
reading the book,
explaining the book,
applying the book.
And notice that
the book
is neither this
cold cadaver
in a lab
that you
clinically cut on
nor is it
a literary composition
in a classroom
that you critically
comment on.
When the people
heard the book
it says
they along with Ezra
praised the Lord
who is both
the author
and the subject
of this book.
This moment
is thick
with meaning
because the word
of Yahweh
the word
of this great God
who has spoken
is speaking now.
The word
of I am
who I am.
this God
who is infinite,
eternal,
almighty,
holy,
and majestic
is speaking
to us
and he's telling us
the true story
of the world.
He's telling us
who we are
and revealing to us
where we're going
and showing us
how we're supposed
to live.
And this tells us
that this is a glorious God
who's worthy
of our hands
being lifted up
in praise to him.
And I know that makes
some of you uncomfortable
but it's right here.
This is a glorious God
who's worthy
of our loud shouts
of amen,
amen
which means
yes,
I need that,
I want that.
May that be true
in our lives.
You want to practice?
Let's say
amen,
amen.
This glorious God
is worthy
of our bent knees
in humility
and reverence
before him.
He's worthy
of our bowed faces
and our bowed heads
with awe
and wonder
and worship
in his presence.
And as I read this
I say
may the spirit of God
loosen our hands
and loosen our tongues
and loosen our knees
and loosen our faces
in worship
because this is how
Jesus read his Bible.
Did you know
this is how
Jesus read his Bible
as a devout
and passionate Israelite?
He listened attentively
because he discerned
in these words
the authoritative voice
of the Lord
and the story
of the kingdom of God
breaking into this
broken world
from heaven
to earth.
So,
do you want to hear
from God?
Bring out the book.
Open the book.
Listen humbly
and reverently
to the book.
Let the book
sit above you.
Get yourself
below
and beneath
this book.
That's the only way
you're going to find
the Bible
to be reliable
to you.
And may it be said
of us
that when we
Christchurch
opened this book
we praised the Lord
the great God
and we all lifted
our hands
and responded
amen and amen
and we bowed down
to worship the Lord
with our faces
to the ground.
If you read the Bible
in any other way
in any other context
with any other posture
it's not going to
make sense to you.
So,
they're listening
attentively
but also it says
that they're
interpreting
faithfully.
They're interpreting
faithfully.
It says in verse 7
that the Levites
instructed the people
in the law
while the people
were standing there
and they read
from the book
of the law
of God
making it clear
and giving the meaning
so that the people
understood what was
being read.
Now,
they're not
just at home
alone
in a comfy
chair
with a cup of coffee
reading their Bible
by themselves
which is great.
You should keep
doing that
but they're gathered
together in person
with real people
who have faces
and they're not
at home
or on their phone
Googling questions
you know,
finding anonymous
answers on the internet
and believing the first
thing that they click.
Right?
That drives pastors crazy.
It's like
when you go to your doctor
you're like
I've been studying
WebMD
you know
and I have like
five minutes of knowledge
about this.
No,
it says that they
gather together
and Ezra's in the pulpit
and they have 13
teachers on the platform
and 13 Levites
in the pews
these are the
trustworthy and trained
authorized and accountable
interpreters of the scriptures
and what they're doing
is a combination
of preaching
Q&A
small groups
and Sunday school.
They're basically
reading the text
in Hebrew
they're translating it
into Aramaic
which is the
common language
of the people
and they're turning around
after like each chapter
going
do you understand?
And the people say
actually no I don't
I have a question
about this
or a question about
that
and so they go on
to explain
the original
intended meaning
of the text
the plain sense
of the passage
so that everybody
can comprehend it
and apply it
to their lives.
The technical term
for that
is exegesis
it means to
draw out
what is actually
already there
in the text.
The opposite of that
is eisegesis
which is to read
your own ideas
into the text.
We do not want
to do
eisegesis
we want
to do
exegesis
we're not
coming to the
Bible
to see ourselves
reflected back
to us
as in a mirror
we're coming
to the Bible
to draw out
the truth
of God
that's there
and I need
to press on this
because in the
digital age
and this
Amazon culture
that we live in
you click a button
and a book
shows up like an hour
later on your doorstep
magically
these books
that are called
Christian books
with that label
or we have blogs
or podcasts
or sermons
and we need to ask
more critical questions
is this book
giving me
a feel good
message
with some life hacks
or is it giving me
the truth
of the word of God
is what I'm taking
in right now
drawing out
what the Bible
meant
and what it means
or is it imposing
its own meaning
on the Bible
and baptizing
the dominant paradigm
and giving to me
the modern
or postmodern
zeitgeist
is what's coming
into my eyes
and what's coming
into my ears
aligning
with the prophets
and the apostles
can Moses
and David
and Isaiah
and Ezra
can Jesus
and Peter
and Paul
and James
hear this
and say amen
and amen
that is such
an important question
for us to ask
the gospel
of John
chapter 1
says that Jesus
is the eternal
word of God
made flesh
he's the final
word of God
and so
it's important
for us
to think about
how did the word
of God
interpret the word
of God
right when Jesus
read the Bible
how did he interpret
the Bible
well quickly
you know
when he was tempted
by the devil
Jesus says
it is written
and then he quotes
Deuteronomy
which he has memorized
and he says
man shall not live
on bread alone
but what
on every word
that proceeds
from the mouth
of God
that's our spiritual food
that's our spiritual
nourishment
is the words
of God
and he opens
the sermon
on the mount
and what does he say
he says
do not think
that I've come
to abolish
the law
and the prophets
that I've come
to tear them down
that I've come
to deconstruct them
no I've not come
to abolish them
but to fulfill them
for truly I tell you
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
therefore Jesus says
anyone who sets aside
one of the least
of these commands
and teaches others
accordingly
will be called
least in the kingdom
of heaven
whoever unties
or relaxes
or plays fast
and loose
or tries to accommodate
this word
to our time and place
you're going to be
least in the kingdom
of heaven
Jesus says
but whoever practices
and teaches
these commands
will be called
great in the kingdom
of heaven
and Jesus continues
on in the sermon
on the mount
taking issue
with illegitimate
interpretations
of the bible
confronting head on
erroneous interpretations
of this book
he says later
in the gospel of Matthew
you're in error
because you don't know
the scriptures
or the power of God
he says in the gospel
of John
scripture
cannot be
broken
so if you believe
Jesus is
who he claimed
to be
then we've got
to honor the fact
that Jesus quoted
and alluded to
almost every
book in the Old Testament
authoritatively
and that Jesus
reads the bible
with respect
to the original
intended meaning
of the text
but what's so
astonishing
it's not so much
that
every faithful
Israelite
did that
what's astonishing
is the way
that Jesus
interprets
the story
of the bible
because he
basically says
I'm the hero
of this story
I'm the golden
key that unlocks
this book
he says in
John 5
you study the
scriptures diligently
because you think
that in them
you have eternal
life
these are the
very scriptures
that testify
about me
if you believed
Moses
you would believe
me
for he wrote
about
me
he goes on
and he
says
that this is
after his
resurrection
from the dead
he meets
with two
disciples
and it says
that beginning
with Moses
and all the
prophets
he explained
to them
what was said
and all the
scriptures
concerning
himself
and then he
meets with
all of his
disciples
and he says
everything
must be
fulfilled
that is
written
about me
in the
law of
Moses
the prophets
and the
Psalms
now you
might object
to that
and say
well the
gospels
that you're
quoting from
these are
legends
right
these are
myths
that the
church
made up
we don't
really have
the real
Jesus
of history
he's been
lost
in the
midst
of time
and none
of what
he said
none
of what
he did
can be
historically
validated
but I
would just
like to
invite you
to begin
examining
the original
documents
and sources
I think
we actually
have a
slide
if we
want to
pull that
up
what
you'll
find
is
overwhelming
an overwhelming
amount
of evidence
for the
life
and the
death
and the
resurrection
of
Jesus
when you
think about
the copies
that we
have
and the
time it
took
between the
original
and the
copies
and the
amount of
manuscripts
that we
have
compared with
everything else
that we
know in
the
ancient
world
I think
we'd have
to say
that Jesus
Christ
and the
resurrection
of Jesus
Christ
is the
most
and best
attested
fact
in ancient
history
I love
this
that I read
this week
from Andrew
Wilson
he says
ultimately
our trust
in the
Bible
stems
from our
trust in
Jesus
Christ
the
man
who
is
God
the
king
of
the
world
the
crucified
risen
and
exalted
rescuer
I don't
trust in
Jesus
because I
trust in
the
Bible
I trust
the
Bible
because I
trust
in
Jesus
I
love
him
and I've
decided
to follow
him
so if
he
talks
and
acts
as if
the
Bible
is
trustworthy
authoritative
good
helpful
and
powerful
I
will
too
even
if
some
of my
questions
remain
unanswered
or even
if
some
of my
answers
remain
unpopular
what we
want to
do
at
Christ
Church
is to
help
you
learn
how to
read
the
Bible
as
one
book
with
one
author
with
one
storyline
with
one
subject
and
we
want
to
teach
you
how
to
interpret
this
amazing
book
faithfully
right
they're
listening
attentively
and
they're
interpreting
faithfully
and
I
want
to
conclude
by
talking
about
how
they're
also
responding
properly
they're
responding
properly
look at
verse
nine
then
Nehemiah
the governor
Ezra
the priest
and teacher
of the law
and the
Levites
who were
instructing
the people
said to
them all
this day
is holy
to the
Lord
your God
do not
mourn
or weep
for all
the people
have been
weeping
as they
listened
to the
words
of the
law
why
were
they
weeping
this word
had been
reverently
read
it had
been
painstakingly
interpreted
it had
been
worshipfully
received
and now
they're
beginning
to weep
over
their
laxity
they're
beginning
to weep
over how
loosely
they've
sat
to the
things
of
God
they're
beginning
to weep
because
they're
convicted
of their
sin
and their
disobedience
before
God
they're
beginning
to weep
because
they've
not acted
in accordance
with
God's
word
they're
grieved
because
they realize
that they've
grieved
the heart
of God
and they've
quenched
the spirit
of God
if there's
one thing
that the
Bible
can be
relied
upon
to do
it's
to show
us
that
all the
great
problems
of the
world
they're
not
out
there
they're
right
here
and
that's
why
they're
weeping
and
through
the word
of God
and through
the spirit
of God
God's
grace
begins
to move
upon
these
people
and
the spirit
of God
begins
to awaken
the sleepy
and enliven
the dead
and quicken
the lethargic
right
all scripture
is God
breathed
Paul says
and it's
useful
for teaching
rebuking
correcting
and training
and righteousness
and that's
what's
happening
right now
they're
being taught
and corrected
and rebuked
and trained
in righteousness
not as
detached
objective
critics
who are
just
receiving
a bunch
of
information
but as
engaged
subjective
characters
who are
being
invited
to be
involved
as the
people
of God
in
the
unfolding
story
of God
but
they're
not only
weeping
their
weeping
is replaced
with joy
it says
in verse
10
Nehemiah
said
go and
enjoy
choice
food
and sweet
drinks
which is
why we
have
donuts
and coffee
after church
he says
go and
do that
because
this day
is holy
to our
Lord
do not
grieve
for the
joy
of the
Lord
is
your
strength
at this
moment
the
eternal
and
infinite
joy
of
the
Lord
almighty
is
beginning
to
flow
into
the
people
of
God
and
give
them
strength
for
their
souls
and
to
fortify
them
in
their
inner
being
why
is
that
because
they
celebrated
with
great
joy
because
they
now
understood
the
words
that
had
been
made
known
to
them
the
way
to
get
the
joy
of
the
Lord
is
to
understand
the
word
of
the
Lord
you
know
what's
amazing
is that
this was
just
day
one
they
stayed
for
seven
days
to
read
God's
word
like
this
and
why
did
they
want
more
and
more
of
the
Lord's
word
and
more
and more
of
his
day
because
they
were
preparing
themselves
for
the
coming
day
of
atonement
they
say
look
don't
be
so
sad
stop
crying
and
start
partying
because
the
holiest
day
of
the
year
is
coming
in
a
couple
of
days
when
the
great
high
priest
is
going
to
take
the
blood
of
the
sacrificial
lamb
into
the
very
presence
of
God
and
the
holy
of
holies
and
he's
going
to
make
an
atonement
to
cleanse
us
all
from
these
sins
that
we're
weeping
about
so
stop
weeping
this is a
time for
joy
it's a
time to
celebrate
the
God of
all
grace
and to
let
his
joy
become
our
joy
and
friends
as we
prepare to
come to
this
table
we have
a much
greater
atonement
to rejoice
in
today
we
we have
an
atonement
that's
not
symbolic
but
that's
actual
we have
an
atonement
that's
not
temporary
but
it's
eternal
the
law
of
God
should
come
and
make
us
aware
of
the
great
and
deep
problem
of
our
sins
so
that
we
weep
but
the
gospel
of
God
brings
us
this
great
solution
of
the
priest
and
the
sacrifice
Jesus
Christ
who
cleanses
us
of
our
sins
and
makes
us
one
with
God
and
that's
why
I
believe
the
Bible
is a
reliable
book
because
it's
telling
us
about
the
one
author
the
one
storyline
the
one
subject
of
the
book
bring
out
the
book
open
the
book
read
the
book
understand
that
this
whole
book
is
about
Christ
and
him
crucified
let's
read
the
book
in
the
name
of
the
Father
Son
and
Holy
Spirit
Amen