This is the Sunday that many call Palm Sunday, Sunday for preparation of the coming week, looking toward Good Friday, the celebration of the resurrection of Christ.
! If you've been here long, it may not surprise you that we're going to continue our verse-by-verse exposition today in the book of Acts.
But that's not because we don't find that there's value at times in taking some moments to prepare for things like Easter Sunday, that there's not value in stepping away from the normal plan at holidays.
Praise the Lord. Last year, we were able to be in the Gospel of Mark and actually preach the resurrection on Easter Sunday from Mark. The timing worked out wonderfully in that way.
Praise the Lord. If we stay on schedule in Acts, that next Sunday I'll be able to continue to preach in Acts on the resurrection because Paul's defense at the Oropagus, he brings up the resurrection and I can preach it from there.
So that's a wonderful thing and in part the reason that we're going to stay in Acts chapter 17 this morning.
Also, though, just as a maybe interesting side note to you, and as we established last year, that Palm Sunday was not a thing. It's actually Palm Monday.
There's no such thing as Silent Wednesday. If you ever care to have fun with that, I'd love to walk you through that timeline and show you that Jesus entered into Jerusalem on a Monday.
And then we see all of the activity that hastens to his crucifixion Friday and then his glorious resurrection on Sunday of the following week.
Before this morning, our text is Acts chapter 17, verses 10 through 15.
Before I read this, let me remind you, beloved, this is God's Word to us.
It was written for His glory and for our good.
We would all do well to listen to it in order to believe its promises and obey its commands.
And I'll begin reading in verse 10.
The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea.
And when they arrived, they went into the Jewish synagogue.
Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica.
They received the word with all eagerness, examining the scriptures daily to see if these things were so.
Many of them, therefore, believed, with not a few Greek women of high standing as well as men.
But when the Jews from Thessalonica learned that the word of God was proclaimed by Paul at Berea also,
they came there too, agitating and stirring up the crowds.
Then the brothers immediately sent Paul off on his way to the sea,
but Silas and Timothy remained there.
Those who conducted Paul brought him as far as Athens.
And after receiving a command for Silas and Timothy to come to him as soon as possible, they departed.
So last week, we looked at Paul and his missionary band's visit to the city of Thessalonica.
They're now in Macedonia.
They've crossed the Aegean Sea.
They're in for the first time.
And Europe, as we know it, the gospel has gone forth into that place.
And we structured our study last week of the first nine verses of Acts chapter 17 around four points.
And those points were as follows.
Gospel courage.
Number two, gospel clarity.
Number three, gospel conversion.
And number four, gospel conflict.
Now, many of those points could be reiterated today.
And I will reiterate them in brief.
Paul and his companions repeat the same activity with similar results as they saw in Thessalonica.
The texts are often taught together.
They parallel one another in many ways.
Note in our text today, number one, gospel courage.
Courage.
In verse 10, we see that the brothers, these are the brothers in Thessalonica,
immediately send Paul and Silas away by night to Berea.
There is no reason to believe that they did so out of fear.
But rather, it is right to assume that they did not want the advance of the gospel to be hindered by their arrest.
So they travel to Berea.
They leave behind those believers they've trained in Thessalonica to continue the advance of the gospel.
We see in 1 Thessalonians chapter 1 that they certainly do this by the power of the Spirit and by the Word of God.
And they move on to Berea.
Berea is a less significant town than Thessalonica.
It's about 45 miles southwest.
It's off the Ignatian Way, which is that Roman highway we've been talking about in weeks past.
And we can rightly assume that they did not escape Thessalonica out of fear
because we see a repeat of their exact courageous action back in Thessalonica.
What do they do?
And when they arrived, they went into the Jewish synagogue.
Luke's not very explicit here, but I like to apply a little pastoral imagination to the text
to say that when they arrived, they traveled through the night,
and the first thing they did is went to the Jewish synagogue.
Maybe not, but I like to conject in that direction.
They went immediately into the Jewish synagogue and once again with great courage preached the gospel.
So we see again this idea of gospel clarity in our text.
Verse 11, right?
We see that these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica.
They received the Word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.
We know that Paul and his companions preached the gospel because the text says they received the Word.
Well, what Word, right?
We want to look at our text in its greater context.
Luke has been writing.
His pen has barely picked up off the page, even though it's been a whole week for us.
So what was the Word, right?
The very same Word that he preached to the Thessalonians.
Look back in chapter 17, verse 2 and 3.
He reasoned with them from the Scriptures,
explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead,
and saying, this Jesus whom I proclaim to you is the Christ.
And so he's now in another synagogue, and he's once again speaking to Jewish worshipers of God,
as well as what would have been referred to as God-fearers, Gentiles, Greeks, our text says,
who would have been coming to the synagogue to try to walk in the ways of God.
And Paul is pointing out to them the insufficiency of the sacrificial system.
For them to be found righteous before Christ, the sacrificial system did not cut it.
It was meant to point to something greater.
All of the religious practice, all of the things prescribed by God for them to do,
was meant to point them to a more perfect sacrifice.
They were meant to look to the Christ.
Paul is likely correcting their misconceptions about who the Christ was.
The common belief in this day by Jews was that Jesus, the Messiah, the one who would come,
would be a deliverer in a political sense.
Would deliver them from Roman rule and restore Jerusalem back to its former glory.
And so he's correcting that thinking all along.
And he's saying to them, this Jesus, this humble Jesus,
the one who came and suffered and died, is the Christ.
He's pointing them rightly to the gospel of Jesus.
And there's a result from that.
We see, thirdly, gospel conversions.
Because of their receiving of the word and their careful study of the scripture,
Luke records for us,
many of them therefore believe, this is verse 12,
with not a few Greek women of high standing as well as men.
So both the Jews and some Greeks believed.
As is most often the case,
when the gospel, courageously proclaimed with clarity,
empowered by the Spirit, will yield conversions,
will see people turn from their wicked ways
and turn to righteousness in Christ.
But not for everyone.
Some will reject the gospel.
And we see this as well in our text.
Gospel conflict.
Please don't think this is a ten minute sermon.
I'm wrapping up from last week into this one.
And then we're going to draw back into it.
So gospel conflict we see as well.
So the very same Jews in Thessalonica
that were stirring up a crowd,
that were bringing about persecution,
that were seeking to arrest Paul and his companions,
that did arrest Jason who was housing him.
The very same Thessalonians.
Because of the jealousy produced within them,
they hear that the gospel is being proclaimed also at Berea,
and they come there and they do the very same thing.
So once again, not because they're fearful,
but because they don't want to impede the gospel going forth,
Paul now is sent off,
while Silas and Timothy remain behind.
They stay there to continue to instruct in the gospel.
And Paul is sent off.
Persecution.
I have posited this to you across our entire study of the book of Acts
and for many years before that.
Persecution is the norm for the devoted follower of Christ.
It is not the exception.
Persecution.
It will take various forms,
in various places,
at various times.
We are not likely to be imprisoned for our faith.
We're probably really doing something unfaithful if we're imprisoned
in the frame of our faith.
We will not be imprisoned in the U.S.,
at least not for now.
But persecution is still to be normative
for the devoted follower of Jesus Christ.
So in brief, we can see much of the same activity
and much of the same response, right?
It's like a repeat of what happened in Thessalonica.
But there is one extremely striking difference
between these two towns.
And it's a difference which is worth our noting at some length.
So please let me draw your attention back to verse 11.
Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica.
They received the word with all eagerness,
examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.
Luke records, for our benefit,
that the Berean Jews were more noble than the Thessalonian Jews.
Why?
First, let's take a look at the word here translated,
more noble.
That's a single word in the Greek.
The word is,
I've got to get ready for the pronunciation,
eugenesteroi,
I believe.
In a couple of other translations,
well-known translations,
the New American Standard Bible
translates that word,
more noble-minded.
The NIV translates it,
of more noble character.
And the Holman Christian Standard Bible,
which is Lifeways New translation,
it's a good one,
says more open-minded.
Now the ESV translators
have done well to just translate the word,
more noble.
It's the most straightforward understanding
of that word,
eugenesteroi,
the root of which is eugeness,
which means well-born.
It's the word that the English word eugenics
is derived from.
Sounds familiar to you.
While I believe that the ESV translators
are more faithful to the Greek language
in this case,
I think that the New American Standard Bible translators
are more faithful to the meaning
of the word,
more noble-minded.
And we can gather that
as we look to the reason why.
Luke tells us why
he's calling them more noble.
And NASB translators expand that idea
to be more noble-minded.
And the rest of verse 11.
The Bereans were more noble
than those in Thessalonica
for two reasons.
Number one,
they received the word
with all eagerness.
They received it with eagerness.
They were teachable.
They weren't closed off
to the idea of something new,
some explanation of
the word of God.
They weren't so trapped
in their form of thinking
about who the Messiah was
that they weren't willing
to hear an alternative explanation.
It is a great mark
of the Christian to be humble.
And a great mark of humility
is teachability.
To hear a case made.
And hear a case made from the Bible.
And to receive it with eagerness.
Not blindly,
to our second point,
but to receive it.
To hear what someone may have to say
to us from the Bible.
They were pleased
to have a case made to them
from the Scripture
as Paul surely did
just as we saw him do
in Thessalonica.
So they were more noble,
more noble-minded
because they received the word
with all eagerness.
And secondly,
because they examined
the Scriptures
to see if these things were so.
Not just that they examined them,
but they examined the Scriptures
daily
to see if these things were so.
They were diligent
to test
anything
that was taught
against,
tested against
the revelation
of God.
It's like they held up
the Holy Writ
and they held up
this teaching
that Paul brought to them
to see if the things
lined up together.
They examined it
very carefully
to see if what Paul
was saying
was so.
Beloved,
the exhortation
this morning for us
is that we
should be like
the Bereans.
We should diligently
examine
every teaching,
hold it up
against the Scripture
to see
if it
is so.
I am thankful
for a church
that does this
for me.
My teaching
is not
above
this kind
of scrutiny.
No one's is.
The Word of God
is authoritative.
It is His
Word.
And I can only
speak with authority
insofar
as I speak
consistent
with the Word
of God.
I tell you
what it
says.
I need you
to function
as a
God-fearing,
Bible-loving
congregation.
so that if
I err,
you will be
quick to catch
me.
It is my
desire to be
both true
and consistent,
but if pressed
to it,
I will choose
truth over
consistency.
I am glad
to get up here
if I have
erred and said
I screwed
it up.
I've been
shown my
error.
I taught
improperly
and I need
to make
correction.
But,
bring me
correction
with Scripture
and plain
logic.
You've got to
do somersaults
to convince me
of something.
I don't want
to hear it.
Bring me
correction with
Scripture
and plain
logic.
If you come
to me and
you say,
I don't feel
like what you
said is true,
I will go
figure out
why you
feel that
way.
And then
let's talk.
Scripture
and plain
logic.
Your feelings
do not
define the
truth and
neither do
mine.
I want to
give you a
good example
of this.
If you've
been here
for a while,
you have
heard me
talk about
this already,
but it's
too good
not to
talk about
again.
I'm going
to read
to you
from the
biography
written by
A.T.
Pearson
of George
Mueller.
It's called
George
Mueller of
Bristol.
Don't buy
this copy.
It's a
horrible
printing of
it.
But the
book is
wonderful.
This just
happens to
do with
believers
baptism,
but that's
not the
primary
point of
what I'm
reading to
you here.
But George
Mueller serving
as a
pastor was
corrected,
and this is
wonderful.
He says,
while at
Sidmouth
preaching
in April
1830,
three
believing
sisters
held in
his
presence
a
conversation
about
believers
baptism,
which
proved the
suggestion
of another
important step
in his
life,
which has
a wider
bearing
than at
first is
apparent.
They
naturally
asked his
opinion on
the subject
about which
they were
talking,
and he
replied that,
having been
baptized as a
child,
he saw no
need of being
baptized again.
being further
asked if he
had ever yet
prayerfully searched
the word of
God as to
its testimony
in this
matter,
he frankly
confessed that
he had not.
He's a
pastor,
they say,
they're talking
about believers
baptism,
what do you
think,
Pastor Mueller?
And he
says,
having been
baptized as
a child,
I see no
need to be
baptized as
an adult,
and one
of them
says,
have you
ever
prayerfully
searched
the word
of God
for that?
And he
said,
nope.
At
once,
with
unmistakable
plainness of
speech,
and with
rare fidelity,
one of
these sisters
in Christ
promptly
said,
I entreat
you then,
never again
to speak
any more
about it
till you
have done
so.
Isn't
that wonderful?
A bit
later on,
and again,
I commend
this particular
book to you.
A.T.
Pearson was a
pastor and
just a
wonderful
writer.
He says,
what radical
reforms would
be made in
modern worship,
teaching,
and practice?
In the
whole conduct
of disciples
and the
administration
of the
church of
God,
if the
one final
criterion
of all
judgment
were,
what do
the
scriptures
teach?
Recently,
at a
community
group meeting,
I had some
questions asked
of me about
why we do
music the
way we do
music here.
things.
And it
made me
realize that
time is
flying by for
me incredibly
quick because
with these
particular people,
I felt like I
had preached
on that
matter,
but then
realized it's
been half a
decade ago
that we
preached on
why we do
music the
way we do
music.
Everything we
do here,
at least in
our best
attempt,
has an
undergirding of
scripture for
why we do
things,
the way we
do things.
And it
caused me to
realize,
and then talking
with the
elders of our
church to
realize that
we need to
repeat and
talk about
some things
again and
explain why so
that you
understand.
I think for a
lot of you,
music is an
example.
You just enjoy
the way music
is done here,
but you don't
really know the
why behind why
we do music
or anything
else.
Verse by
verse exposition
as another
example in
our church.
And the
answer, we
hope, and I
don't know that
we do this for
perfection, but
we're trying, we
hope, is because
the Bible says
such and such
about such a
thing.
And so we're
going to, in
the years coming,
probably years,
take some time,
pause from time
to time, from
verse by verse
exposition, and
do like a
series across
time called
Why We Do
What We Do.
And fingers
crossed, Wes
is going to
help us produce
some short
videos with
the same, so
you can go
back and
reference those
things, and
that's a big
project in and
of itself.
But we want
you to understand
that as a
church, we
stand on the
foundation of
scripture.
And if you
can show me
that something
we're doing is
an error,
right, again,
by the Bible
and by plain
logging, we
will get it
out of our
meeting together
and our conduct
together as a
church.
We believe
that the
revelation of
God is
absolutely
foundational to
the way we
function together.
It's for your
good, it's for
our good, it's
for our
community's good
that we do
so.
We live in an
epistemologically
schismed society,
right?
No one seems to
be able to
arrive at the
truth, much
less how the
truth should be
arrived at,
right?
the New York
Times just
recently put out
an article
specifically in
regards to our
president, but
is the truth
dead?
Seems to be,
not in specific
to our
president, but
just generally
speaking, right?
We don't seem
to know what the
truth is or how
to arrive at it.
Some of you in
my hearing this
morning are
modernists.
It's from
modernist thinking
that we get
things like the
scientific method,
modernists want
to measure
things out, to
see the concrete
evidence for,
something we can
quantify to say,
and this is what
works.
This is the way
that we ought
to go.
Some of you in
my hearing this
morning are
postmodernists.
I tend to fall
into that category.
That category is
getting smaller and
smaller as our
church moves on.
postmodernists tend
to believe that
the truth is
defined by your
own experience of
the truth.
So I experience
something to be
true, therefore it
is true, and
nobody can debate
that with me.
And most of you
in my hearing this
morning are
post-postmodernists.
You need a much
more creative name
than that, but
you're currently
being called
post-postmodernists.
And here's the
frightening result of
postmodernity.
is that post-postmodernists
tend to believe that
the truth cannot be
arrived at at all.
Even your own
experience of the
truth may not be
true.
How can I possibly
know?
And all of these
have some strengths
and some weaknesses
to be sure.
I'm not trying to
dismiss any of them
entirely, but any
one of these
epistemological views
needs to be
anchored in the
unfailing reality
that the Bible
is God's
word and
therefore is
entirely true
and contains
within it
everything we
need to know
concerning the
worship of God.
Like, we need
to believe in
revelation.
I have to
believe in
something outside
of myself.
I know myself
too well to
think that I
can arrive as
a postmodern
thinker at the
truth for
myself.
I need to
believe that
God has spoken
and that I
have those very
words for my
benefit.
2 Timothy
chapter 3
verse 16
and 17
Paul writes,
all scripture
is breathed
out by God.
This idea of
being breathed
out is expired
by God.
Him as the
very source,
His very
breath.
We often talk
in the Bible
of being inspired,
spoken into
men who
penned it.
Paul is
upping that
idea by
saying it's
actually breathed
out.
He is the
very source
of it.
It's breathed
out by God
and it's
profitable.
It's 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.
We need to
believe in
these scriptures.
On your
bulletin this
morning, the
historical quote
for you,
Martin Lloyd
Jones said,
there can be
no doubt
whatsoever that
all the
troubles in
the church
today and
most of
the troubles
in the
world are
due to a
departure from
the authority
of the
Bible.
Now, for
your benefit,
I hope,
we're still
talking about
the Bereans,
we're talking
about how we
should be like
the Bereans,
but I want to
put up on the
screen for you
article one of
our church's
statement of
faith, which
is on the
scriptures.
So there it
is for you,
for you to
interact with it
visually as I
read it to
you.
We believe
that the
Holy Bible
was written
by men,
divinely
inspired,
and is a
perfect treasure
of heavenly
instruction.
That it has
gods for its
author,
he expired it,
salvation for
its end,
and truth
without any
mixture of
error for
its matter.
That it
reveals the
principles by
which God
will judge
us and
therefore is
and shall
remain to
the end of
the world
the true
center of
Christian union
and the
supreme
standard by
which all
human conduct,
creeds,
and opinions
should be
tried.
It's a
beautiful
statement,
isn't it?
We didn't
write it.
It's from the
New Hampshire
confession.
It is the
great standard
by which all
other truths
are tried.
And isn't
that what the
Bereans are
doing?
Searching the
scriptures
diligently to
that end.
This statement
speaks to the
authority,
the inerrancy,
the clarity,
the necessity,
and the
sufficiency of
the scriptures.
These are all
extremely important
Bible doctrines
or doctrines
of the
Bible.
What do we
believe is
true of
what we
call our
scripture?
And I want
to go through
those with
you.
Authority,
inerrancy,
clarity,
necessity,
sufficiency.
I just want
to lay out
some definitions
for you.
You will
not have
time to
write these
down,
but I am
taking these
directly from
Wayne Grudem's
Systematic Theology.
I figured it would
be best for
me to give
you someone
else's definition
you can go
to and study
more on
Wayne Grudem's
Systematic Theology.
It's a
wonderful book
which I would
have to lift
like this
this morning
to show
to you.
I've got a
copy you
can borrow
if you would
like to.
So the
authority of
scripture means
that all the
words in
scripture are
God's words
in such a
way that to
disbelieve or
disobey any
word of the
scripture is to
disbelieve or
disobey God.
They're God's
very words.
He has spoken
to us.
So they have
authority.
The Bible has
authority because
God has spoken
them.
To disbelieve
or disobey
is to
disbelieve or
disobey
God
himself.
The children
are memorizing
Psalm 1.
You would do
well to join
with us in
memorizing
Psalm 1.
If you
memorize no
other scripture
this year,
which I
encourage you
to do so,
but at least
participate.
Don't check
out when I'm
down here
reciting with
some level
of proficiency.
Psalm 1
which says
this,
Blessed is
the man
who walks
not in the
counsel of
the wicked,
nor stands
in the way
of sinners,
nor sits
in the seat
of scoffers,
but his
delight is
in the law
of the Lord,
and on his
law he
meditates
day and
night.
He is like
a tree
planted by
streams of
water that
yields its
fruit in
its season,
and its
leaf does
not wither.
In all
that he
does,
he prospers.
The wicked
are not so,
but are like
chaff that the
wind drives
away.
Therefore the
wicked will
not stand
in the
judgment,
nor sinners
in the
congregation
of the
righteous.
For the
Lord knows
the way
of the
righteous,
but the
way of
the wicked
will perish.
It was
laid before
us in
Psalm 1
a choice
to be
made.
It's
binary
in
nature.
You'll
find
yourself
wicked,
you're
way not
prospering,
final judgment
being yours,
or you'll
find yourself
prospering,
being righteous,
by doing
what?
Meditating
in the
law of
God.
We get
such
clear,
more
beautiful
gospel
understanding
of this
when we
know that
we are
found
righteous
in
Christ.
And that
being found
righteous,
being accepted
by God
in Christ,
what we
now do
is we
turn to
Him
in
His
Word.
We look
for the
good
instruction
of our
loving
Father.
Beloved,
this is
God's
Word for
us,
written
for His
glory
and for
our
good.
We would
all do
well to
listen to
it,
to believe
its promises,
and obey
its commands.
I mentioned
to you
earlier in
our
announcements,
talking about
having a
Bible-centered,
gospel-saturated
counseling center
in our
area.
Our
church needs
this,
our community
needs this,
because most
of our
problems,
most of
them are
spiritual
problems,
and they
need a
gospel
answer.
We need
to pick
up the
Word and
be instructed
by it,
and meditate
on it,
and memorize
it,
and apply
it to
all the
intricacies,
all the
little
challenges
of our
life.
The
Bible
speaks to
every
single
one of
them.
Spiritual
problems
always
have
gospel
answers.
So that's
the authority
of the
Scripture.
The
inerrancy
of Scripture
is the
next one.
The
inerrancy
of Scripture
means that
Scripture
in the
original
manuscripts,
we're
removing
translation
problems,
right?
Not
inspired,
right?
The
ESV,
not
inspired.
The
NASB,
not
inspired.
I get
some
debates
with
people
about
those
two
translations.
It's a
little
fun.
The
King
James
Version,
not
inspired.
The
original
manuscript,
okay?
The
inerrancy
of Scripture
means that
Scripture
in the
original
manuscripts
does not
affirm
anything
that is
contrary
to
fact.
Proverbs
35,
every
word of
God
proves
true.
He is
a shield
to those
who take
refuge
in Him.
The
clarity
of Scripture.
The
clarity
of Scripture
means that
the Bible
is written
in such
a way
that its
teachings
are able
to be
understood
by all
who will
read it,
seeking
God's
help,
and being
willing
to follow
it.
I'll read
that one
again to
you.
The
clarity
of Scripture
means,
and I hope
this is a
comfort to
some of
you who
are daunted
by the
study of
the Bible.
The
clarity
of Scripture
means that
the Bible
is written
in such
a way
that its
teachings
are able
to be
understood
by all
who will
read it,
seeking
God's
help,
and being
willing
to follow
it.
Psalm
19,
7 reads,
The
law of
the Lord
is perfect,
reviving
the soul.
The
testimony
of the
Lord
is sure,
making
wise
the
simple.
I am
so
encouraged
by the
doctrine
of
the
clarity
of
Scripture.
It
presses
me
to
teach
the
Bible
to
my
children.
It
amazes
me
already
some of
the
concepts
that
they
are
wrapping
their
minds
around,
that I
am
fumbling
through.
How do I
teach this
to a
five-year-old?
That they
seem to be
already
picking up
some of
these
glorious
truths.
it
means
that the
person
who
has
just
come
out
from
underneath
a
bridge
in
Atlanta
and
is
still
going
through
drug
addiction
withdrawals
can pick
up the
Bible
and have
it
speak
to his
heart
and he
can
respond
in
faith
to it.
Now,
as we
consider
the
clarity
of
Scripture,
some of
your
minds
may
think,
then why
do
so many
people
think
so
many
different
things
about
the
Bible?
Simply,
we could
take a
bunch of
the
errors
of
the
Bible
and
just
say
they're
errors.
People
don't
translate
the
Bible.
They
don't
understand
it.
They
may
not
be
in
the
faith.
They're
not
faithful
readers
of
their
Bible.
They're
not
obedient
to
the
call
of
the
Bible.
But
some
of
the
nuances,
some
of
us
denominationally
!
We're
so
close
in
so
many
ways,
yet
one
thing,
and
our
translative
errors
are
ours,
not
the
Bible's.
So
the
problem
is that
we're
humans,
and
we're
working
out
some
of
the
complexities
of
the
Scripture,
but
still the
clarity
of
Scripture
as a
doctrine
stands.
We
can
know
how
it
is
where
to
be
saved,
how
it
is
where
to
follow
God.
The
necessity
of
Scripture.
The
necessity
of
Scripture
means that
the Bible
is
necessary
for
knowing
the
gospel,
for
maintaining
spiritual
life,
and for
knowing
God's
will,
but
is not
necessary
for
knowing
that
God
exists,
or for
knowing
something
about
God's
character
and
moral
laws.
These
things
can be
observed
in the
world
around
us,
but
it
is
necessary
for
knowing
the
gospel,
for
maintaining
spiritual
life,
and for
knowing
God's
will.
So
for
practices
of
faith,
the
Bible
is
necessary.
Romans
10,
17,
so faith
comes from
hearing,
and hearing
through the
word of
Christ,
either spoken
or picked
up and
read.
This is the
way that
faith is
produced in
us,
both saving
faith and
continuing
faith.
Scripture
is necessary
for that.
The
sufficiency
of Scripture,
this is one
of my
favorites,
the
sufficiency
of Scripture
means
that
Scripture
contained
all the
words of
God
He
intended
His
people
to
have
at
each
stage
of
redemptive
history,
and that
it now
contains
all the
words of
God
we need
for
salvation,
for
trusting
Him
perfectly,
and for
obeying
Him
perfectly.
So,
the
revelation
unfolded
to
God's
people,
and it
was
sufficient
at
each
of
those
stages
of
its
unfolding,
as it
was
delivered
across
time.
But now,
we find
ourselves
with a
clothed
canon,
right?
The
Scriptures
have been
clothed,
66
books,
this is
the
canonized
Bible
of the
Christian
church,
I'm
going to
make a
case
for that
to you
in brief
in a
moment.
But this
is ours,
we pick
it up,
it gives
us
everything
we need,
it's
sufficient
in every
way for
salvation,
for trusting
Him
perfectly,
and for
God.
And beloved,
I say too
often in
our church
leadership,
and in our
church
membership,
in a
general way,
that this
just gets put
up on the
shelf as
another
book,
just gets
slid up
on the
shelf,
and there's
so many
books that
tell you
how things
ought to
be done,
what it
looks like
to follow
Christ,
and so
many of
those
err.
Now,
I am a
reader of
books,
I love
books,
my goal
every year
is to read
50 books,
which means
I think my
high score
is 32
right now,
I am not
on track to
meet that
this year,
but maybe
I'll be
able to
do some
catching up
this summer,
I love
to read,
the only
books worth
reading are
rich in
scripture,
they point
us back
to the
Bible,
they're just
helping us
better comprehend
what the
Bible has
to say,
right?
Topically,
specifically,
you pick up a
book on a
good topic,
and it's
pulling together
the scripture
for you,
and laying
out the
theme for
you,
as is
presented in
all of
the Bible.
But the
scripture
itself is
sufficient.
I am
thankful that
I,
and this is
not an
anti-seminary
pitch,
but I'm
thankful that
I didn't
go to
seminary,
because it
made me
really desperate
to know
what the
Bible said.
I just
had no
clue what
we were
doing when
we started
this,
but I
had this
great manual,
and it
had all
the answers
in it
for how
we needed
to conduct
ourselves
as a
church,
and for
myself as
a pastor.
So the
sufficiency of
scripture is
extremely
precious to
me.
Revelation
chapter 22,
verses 18
and 19,
this is the
very end
of the
canon,
the last
chapter of
the book
of Revelation.
I warn
everyone who
hears the
words of
the
prophecy
of this
book,
if anyone
adds to
them,
God will
add to
him the
plagues
described
in this
book.
And if
anyone
takes away
from the
words of
the book
of this
prophecy,
God will
take away
his share
in the
tree of
life and
in the
holy city,
which are
described
in this
book.
Now,
of course,
the primary
reference of
these two
verses is to
the book
of Revelation.
But its
placement at
the end of
the canon
I think
is incredibly
significant.
And the
placement of
these two
verses in
the last
chapter of
our
scripture is
significant.
And I
think that it
yields a
second application
to the
whole of
the Christian
Bible.
So the
Bereans
received the
word with
all eagerness,
right?
They were
teachable and
they were
examining the
scriptures daily
to see if
these things
were so.
So what
is Luke
referring to
when he
says the
scriptures?
They were
examining the
scriptures.
What does
he mean?
He is
referring to
the Jewish
canon,
right?
What is
called the
Tanakh.
If you're
meeting with
an unbelieving
Jew,
don't call it
the Old
Testament.
That's super
offensive to
them.
Call it the
Tanakh.
The 39
books of
our Old
Testament.
So it's our
Old Testament,
39 books.
this is what
he's referring
to.
Turn with me,
if you will,
to your table
of contents
in your
copy of
God's
Word.
If you were
doing this
digitally,
I don't
know if
you have a
table of
contents on
your digital
Bible.
I'm not
sure.
I'm not
sure.
I'm not
sure.
I'm not
sure.
I'm not
sure.
I'm not
sure.
I'm not
sure.
I'm not
sure.
So you'll
see in your
table of
contents,
the Old
Testament,
the New
Testament,
the Old
Testament.
They're not
numbered for
you,
but there
are 39
books in
the Old
Testament.
If you do
a quick
count and
you have
more than
39 books
in your
Old
Testament,
you need
to get a
new copy
of the
Bible,
it's possible,
it is possible
that you would
have a whole
set of books
we won't talk
about right
now,
but they
don't belong
in the
canon of
Christian
Scripture.
39 is
going to
begin with
Genesis
and end
with the
book of
Malachi.
So that
should be
the way,
just out of
curiosity,
this is
getting very
lecturing,
I'm sorry,
anybody have
something that's
different?
Are you willing
to put your
hand up?
I'd probably
not,
I'd probably
just made
you unwilling
to put
your hand
up.
Okay,
come tell
me later
if you
do,
I'd love
to see
what you've
got going
on there.
Okay,
so this is
the order
of our
Old
Testament.
Many
people don't
know this,
it's not
chronological,
it's ordered
by types
of book,
and the
way we
got this
order was
from the
Septuagint,
which was
the Greek
translation of
the Old
Testament,
which is
carried into
our day
because in
the early
church,
they were
primarily
using the
Septuagint as
their copy of
the Old
Testament
scriptures.
So that's
why we end
up with
this order.
But this was
not the order
of the canon
in Jesus'
day.
You may not
be aware of
that.
I wasn't
until some
years ago.
Jesus'
Bible,
Jesus'
Old Testament
was divided
up into
three sections.
Torah,
which was
the law,
Genesis,
Exodus,
Leviticus,
Numbers,
Deuteronomy,
the Nebaim,
which is the
prophets,
Joshua,
Judges,
1 and 2 Samuel,
1 and 2 Kings,
Isaiah,
Jeremiah,
Ezekiel,
and then the
minor prophets,
which were
treated as
one book,
which in
our Old
Testament are
twelve,
Hosea,
Joel,
Amos,
Obadiah,
Jonah,
Micah,
Nahum,
Habakkuk,
Zephaniah,
Haggai,
Zechariah,
Malachi,
okay,
and then
the Chetuvim,
or the
writings,
which is called
the writings,
and this is
in the order
that it would
have been,
Psalms,
Job,
Proverbs,
Ruth,
Song of
Solomon,
Ecclesiastics,
!
would have began
with Genesis,
and would have
ended with
2 Chronicles,
okay,
you're tracking
my logic,
just a different
order,
same 39 books,
but in a different
order,
okay,
and here's where
it gets really
good,
turn to Luke
chapter 11,
verse 49,
and the case
I'm making
in summary
is this was
the scriptures,
now our Old
Testament,
that the Bereans
used,
and this is why
we still use
these 39 books,
in a different
order,
right,
but that's okay,
that's not
significant,
but these are
the 39 that
are canonized
in our Old
Testament,
this is wonderful,
Luke 11,
verse 49
through 51,
Jesus speaking,
therefore also
the wisdom
of God said,
I will send
them prophets
and apostles,
some of whom
they will kill
and persecute,
so that the
blood of all
the prophets
shed from the
foundation of
the world
may be charged
against this
generation,
here's the
significant
statement,
from the
blood of
Abel,
to the
blood of
Zechariah,
who perished
between the
altar and
the sanctuary,
yes,
I tell you,
it will be
required of
this generation,
so Jesus
references two
prophets who
were martyred,
right,
he starts with
Abel,
this is of
Cain and
Abel,
and it's
likely that
the explanation
of why he'd
be calling him
a prophet,
right,
would be
Genesis 4,
10,
and the
Lord said,
what have
you done?
The voice
of your
brother's blood
is crying
to me
from the
ground,
right,
so there's
a proclamation
being made
against Cain
by the blood
of Abel,
right,
so it's likely
this is why
Jesus is
referring to
him as a
prophet,
Genesis 4,
verse 10,
okay,
chronologically,
the last
prophet martyred
was Uriah,
some 200 years
after the
Zechariah that
Jesus refers
to here,
chronologically,
it's Uriah,
you can read
about that in
Jeremiah chapter
26,
right,
Jesus instead
talks about
Zechariah who's
different than
the prophet who
wrote the book
Zechariah,
it's a different
Zechariah,
in 2nd
Chronicles 24,
verse 20 and
21,
then the spirit
of God
clothed
Zechariah the
son of
Jehoiada the
priest,
and he stood
above the people
and said to
them,
thus says God,
why do you
break the
commandments of
the Lord so
that you
cannot prosper?
Because you
have forsaken
the Lord,
he has forsaken
you,
but they
conspired against
him and by
command of the
king they
stoned him
with stones
in the court
of the house
of the Lord.
So Zechariah
is stoned to
death in 2nd
Chronicles 24,
verse 21.
So the
significance of
that is that
Jesus' Bible,
remember the
order is
different,
it starts with
the book of
Genesis,
it ends with
the book of
2nd
Chronicles.
So he's not
speaking in a
timeline in
chronological terms,
he's speaking in
their Bible.
It would be like
if we said from
Genesis to
Revelation,
the entire book
is true,
right?
He's bookending
it, right,
for their
understanding and
we lose that
because we don't
have the Jewish
canon in that
order in our
hands any longer.
So Jesus'
scripture,
the scripture of
his day,
now our
Old Testament,
right?
It's why we
take it as the
Old Testament
Bible.
So that's
incredible,
right?
I mean,
it's an amazing
proof.
A Peculiar
Glory is a
John Piper book
you should read
if you're
interested.
You should
just read it,
whether you're
interested or
not,
it'd be good
for you to
do that.
Really wonderful
he makes that
case in longer
form than I
just did for
you, right?
So we have
the Old
Testament,
it was Jesus'
Old Testament,
that's good
enough for me,
not what of
the New Testament.
It gets a little
more complicated
and I can't
make the full
case to you
this morning,
both for the
sake of time
and preparation,
but in brief
I want to give
you this,
the additional
27 books,
the 27 books
of our New
Testament,
right,
that we accept
into the canon,
right?
How do we
know,
right?
Too much to
say,
so let me
give you this
single affirmation
and commend
to you
some further
study on
it.
We accept
the canonicity
of the New
Testament,
right?
We accept
the 27 books
as the Word
of God
because of
their
apostolicity,
right?
Not simply
meaning written
by an
apostle or
in close
association
with an
apostle,
although it
does mean
those things,
right?
The book
was either
written by
an apostle
or in
close
association
with an
apostle
like Luke,
right?
Wrote the
Gospel of
Luke and
the book
of Acts.
Not an
apostle,
but in
close
association.
Was getting
first-hand
information
from an
apostle.
But it
doesn't just
mean that,
but the
words of
God
written by
inspired
men.
So,
we're trying
to understand
how is it
that we
figure out
apostolicity?
Like,
how do we
know that
God inspired
these men
that wrote
these
books?
Paul writes
this in
1 Corinthians
chapter 2
verses 11
through 13.
For who
knows a
person's
thoughts
except the
spirit of
that person
which is
in him?
So,
also,
no one
comprehends
the thoughts
of God
except the
spirit of
God.
Now,
we have
received
not the
spirit of
the world,
but the
spirit who
is from
God,
that we
might
understand
the things
freely
given us
by
God.
So,
we,
he's talking
about the
apostles,
have received
the spirit
of God
so that
we can
understand
the things
given to
us by
God.
Verse 13,
and we
impart this,
we teach
this,
in words,
not taught
by human
wisdom,
but taught
by the
spirit,
interpreting
spiritual truths
to those
who are
spiritual.
So,
there's a
spiritual
activity
happening,
this double
miracle of
the inspiration
in the
writing as
well as
in the
understanding.
So,
how do we
know that
our New
Testament
canon is
the words
of God?
The process
of canonization
was governed
by
spiritual
reality
being
spiritually
discerned
by the
church.
Again,
I'm going to
read to you
from A Peculiar
Glory,
and just see
if you can
track me
here.
Michael Kruger
wrote a book
recently called
Canon Revisited,
Establishing the
Origins and
Authority of
the New
Testament
books,
wrote this,
The apostles
were mouthpieces
of Christ
and were given
the task of
delivering and
preserving this
redemptive
message,
which was
originally delivered
orally,
but eventually
was embodied
in a more
permanent
written form.
The New
Testament books
were considered
authoritative
not because
the church
declared them
to be so,
or even
because they
were written
directly by
an apostle,
but because
they were
understood
to bear
the essential
apostolic
deposit.
For this
reason,
Ritterbos,
who was a
Dutch
theologian,
died in
2007,
is able to
assert,
and I love
this,
in its
redemptive
historical sense,
the canon
is not the
product of
the church,
rather,
the church
is the
product of
the canon.
Or as the
New Testament
scholar F.F.
Bruce said
a generation
earlier,
the New Testament
canon was not
demarcated by
the arbitrary
degree of any
church council.
When at last
a church council,
the Senate of
Hippo in
AD 393 listed
the 27 books
of the New
Testament,
it did not
confer upon
them any
authority which
they did not
already possess,
but simply
recorded their
previously
established
canonicity.
So the
letters of
the apostles
and those
who were
close to
the apostles
had been
active in
the lives
of the
church.
Here's Nathan's
simple summary
of everything
I just said.
It had
proved out
its God
inspiration.
It had been
at work
in the
church.
And Piper's
book,
A Peculiar
Glory,
is titled
That because
of the
way that
the scriptures
are affirmed
to those
who believe
in Christ.
That we
see it
living and
active in
our own
lives.
That we
pick it
up and
it causes
us to
magnify
this Jesus
who we
cannot
tangibly
touch and
see.
A Peculiar
Glory,
that this
book comes
to life
to those
who are
gods.
And so
we trust
that process
as much,
much later
New Testament
followers.
And so
we have
the closed
canon,
the 49
books of
the Old
Testaments
and 27
books of
the New
Testament.
And beloved,
we should
know them.
We should
read them
and we
should meditate
upon them
and we
should
memorize
them.
We should
have our
lives
and our
church
and our
community
and our
world
shaped by
them.
Let us
love
this
treasure.
This is
a gift.
It's been
so generously
given to
this generation.
We have
ample
resources
to know
God
by His
Word.
And let us
be like the
Bereans,
receiving the
Word with
all eagerness
and examining
the Scriptures
daily to see
if these
things are
so.
Let's pray
together.
Let's pray
together.