2 Timothy chapter 3, beginning at verse 14, and that's on page 1197 of the Church Bibles.
2 Timothy chapter 3, beginning at verse 14, on page 1197.
But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of,
because you know those from whom you learned it,
and how from infancy you have known the holy scriptures,
which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.
All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,
so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead,
and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge.
Preach the word and be prepared in season and out of season.
Correct, rebuke and encourage with great patience and careful instruction.
For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine.
Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers
to say what their itching ears want to hear.
They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.
But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship,
do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.
Thanks very much, Chris.
Well, let's pray together.
The Lord says,
These are the ones I look on with favour,
those who are humble and contrite in spirit
and who tremble at my word.
Father, we come to you in humility,
with a contrite spirit.
We place ourselves under your authority,
asking that your word and your truth
would shape us,
mould us,
change us,
as a church
and as a people.
Father, may that very word that
brought life into existence
be that same word
that speaks to our hearts and lives today,
bringing life
and bringing truth.
Father,
Father, without you
and without you speaking,
we are lost.
we need you.
We need your help.
Thank you for your word
and for its truth to us today.
In Jesus' name.
Amen.
Well, I was thinking during the week
that it would be great
to have a new church building.
Controversial, I know,
but hey,
wouldn't it be nice?
Not just a smaller version
of this community centre,
but a modern,
state-of-the-art building.
The problem is
we don't have any money.
So that got me thinking some more.
So here's my idea
I want to put to you.
For a small fee,
let's say 250 euro per person
and at a bargain,
500 euro per family,
we're going to offer
to look after any births,
deaths and marriages.
So if there's anybody
in the community out there
who's unsure
about what they believe
and just want to cover their bases
in case,
just in case,
there is a God,
we will baptise,
we will bury,
and we will bless.
Or hatch, match and dispatch,
as they say.
For a modest payment,
we will assure them of salvation.
They mightn't understand
what they do,
but we can say,
it's all right,
we have you covered.
And we can even put an announcement
in the local newspaper.
Carragoline Baptist Church,
we have your life covered.
So what do you think?
Well, I hope you would say
something like this.
Johnny, you really can't do that
because that's not what the Bible says.
Salvation is a free gift from God,
received by faith in Jesus Christ.
Well, if you think my idea
is a little bit far-fetched,
come with me back 500 years
to the established church in Europe.
And something similar was happening.
They needed a new church building.
So the Pope at the time,
Leo X,
came up with this ingenious plan.
They were going to sell indulgences
or pardons
to the local people.
Because at that time,
most people believed in a place
called purgatory.
It was kind of an in-between
heaven and earth.
It's a place of torment.
A place where people went
when they died.
It's not in the Bible,
but nevertheless,
this is what the church taught.
And here people would go
and they would have to work off
all their sins
before moving off into heaven.
It was kind of a middle stage.
And this was the genius of the idea.
By selling these indulgences
or pardons
and people buying them
with their hard-earned money,
the Pope was giving them off
time off purgatory.
He was basically accelerating
the place from earth
when you died
to heaven.
For a very small fee,
salvation was being guaranteed
to the people.
You could buy it
with money.
Now, at the same time,
there was a young German monk,
you may have heard of this guy,
called Martin Luther.
And he was teaching
in one of the church's seminaries.
He was an up-and-coming theologian.
And he was serious
about reading the Bible.
And as he began
to lecture his students,
he was teaching through Psalms
and then Romans
and then Galatians,
he discovered something
the church had never,
ever taught him.
In fact,
he was discovering
that what the church taught
wasn't what the Bible said.
And he came to understand
some really core truths.
They weren't new,
but they were rediscovered truths
from the Bible.
They could be summarised
like this.
That salvation
is according to Scripture alone,
in Christ alone,
by grace alone,
so it's a free gift,
through faith alone,
so not something we work for,
but trust in Christ,
for the glory of God alone.
So filled with this passion
for this rediscovered truth
and a concern
for all these people
who were being led astray.
Martin Luther went down
to his local church
and he nailed up
or stuck up
on the church door
95 theses
or, if you like,
95 mini-statements
about the truth
of the Gospel.
Because the local church door
was like your town notice board.
It's where people went
to find out
what was going on
and what was happening.
And his aim was
to challenge the church
and the leaders of the church
to get back
to the central truth
of the Bible.
And this great event,
which will be celebrated
in October of this year,
500 years,
has become known
as the Reformation.
Because
it was a desire
to reform the church
in line
with the teaching
of Scripture.
Now we may be sitting here
and thinking
500 years ago,
I hate history.
And that was
an awful long time ago.
I sympathise with you.
I sat through
history classes in school
and I did not like it.
But,
there's lots
that we can learn from it.
And in one sense,
500 years later,
we are still
to be
reformers.
So I want us
to think of ourselves
as being reformers.
As we go back
to the Bible,
we are always
being reformed.
We are being shaped
and changed
by what the Bible
teaches.
Or to put it
another way,
if we as a church
are to go forward,
if we're to be
the kind of church
that God calls us to be,
if we're to be
the kind of Christians
God wants us to be,
we are to first
go back to Scripture.
We must take
one step back
to Scripture
to be able
to take
steps forward.
You see,
what Martin Luther
had rediscovered
was not new.
And his desire
to get back
to the Bible
was not new.
It was something
that the Apostle Paul
took seriously
and encouraged
his fellow servant
Timothy to do.
So have a look
in 2 Timothy
chapter 3
and verse 14.
2 Timothy 3
verse 14.
Verse 14,
but as for you,
so the Apostle Paul
here is writing
to this young pastor
called Timothy.
He's somewhere
about 16 or 18.
and he was pastor
or one of the elders
of a church
in Ephesus,
a very,
very young man.
And he's been given
this responsibility
of taking care
of the church.
Paul is nearing
the end of his life
and so he's passing on
and he's encouraging
to Timothy
to start his ministry
and to continue
his ministry
by getting back
to Scripture.
So let's read
verse 14.
But as for you,
Timothy,
continue in what
you have learned
and have become
convinced of
because you know
from those
from whom
you've learned it.
So what has
Timothy been learning?
Well, look at verse 15.
How from infancy,
from a little child,
you have known
the Holy Scriptures.
Timothy,
you've started
with the Scriptures.
Chapter 1 tells us
that it was his mother
and grandmother
that took the time
to teach
their young Timothy
and that's an encouragement
for us as parents
if we've got children
to be investing
at the very early stages
and teaching them
the good news
of God's Word.
So he started
with this knowledge
of the Scriptures
and Paul is now saying
continue on.
Make the Bible
central to your life
and to your teaching
and the reason
look down at
chapter 4 verse 3.
For the time
will come
when men
will not put up
with sound doctrine,
they'll not put up
with the truth
of what Scripture teaches.
Instead,
to suit their own desires,
they will gather
round them
a great number
of teachers
to say what
their itching ears
want to hear.
So people
don't want to hear
what the Bible
has to say
but they want to hear
what they want to hear.
Verse 4,
they will turn
their ears away
from the truth
and turn aside
to myths.
You see,
just as there was
in the time
of Timothy,
just as there was
500 years ago
and it's still
the same today,
there will always
be those
who come to the church
who will wander
away from
the truth of Scripture
and lead
other people
away from
the message
of the Bible.
They move away
from God's revelation
to man-made
tradition
and our job
like a Timothy
or a Martin Luther
is to get back
to what the Bible
teaches.
You see,
one of the most
important questions
we could always
be asking ourselves
is this,
what does
the Bible
say?
How are we
made right
with God?
Well,
what does
the Bible
say?
What should
the church
teach?
What should
we be doing
as a church?
Well,
what does
the Bible
say?
How are we
to live as
Christians
in the world?
Well,
what does
the Bible
teach?
What determines
my decision-making?
What kind
of church
should I
go to?
Well,
what does
the Bible
say?
It's not
important
what I
think
or what
you think
or what
anybody else
has to say,
but what
does
Scripture
have to
say?
What does
it teach
us?
When
Martin Luther
was challenged
and questioned
about these
rediscovered
views,
these truths
about salvation
and Scripture,
he said
this,
your
imperial
majesty
and your
lordship
demand a
simple
answer.
Here it
is,
plain and
straight.
Unless I
am convicted
of error
by the
Scriptures,
I cannot
and will
not recant
anything.
On this
I take
my stand.
I can
do no
other.
God
help me.
So he
took his
stand on
Scripture
alone and
everything
was lived
and practiced
under that.
So Scripture
alone is
where we
must begin
and where
we must
continue.
There's three
things we
want to learn
about Scripture
and why
it is so
central and
so important
to us.
First,
the source
of Scripture.
We start
with Scripture
because its
origin or
its source
is not
man or
a church
but God
himself.
So look
at verse
16.
2 Timothy
chapter 3
verse 16.
There's a
little phrase
there.
It says
all Scripture
is God
breathed.
Now all
Scripture
implies both
the Old
Testament
and the
New
Testament.
So when
we're talking
of Scripture
think old
and new.
Let me give
you an example
of this.
If you just
go back a
couple of
pages to
1 Timothy
chapter 5
verse 17.
1 Timothy
chapter 5
verse 17.
So he's
giving instructions
to Timothy
about elders.
So chapter
3 he's been
talking to the
elders, the
leaders of
the church.
And one of
the primary
roles of an
elder, he
tells us in
chapter 3, is
that they must
be able to
teach.
They must be
able to teach
God's word
and apply
God's word.
And here he
says something
else.
Chapter 5
verse 17.
The elders
who direct
the affairs
of the church
so they give
direction through
the word.
He says they
are worthy
of double
honour,
especially those
whose work
is preaching
and teaching.
And now he
wants to back
up what he's
saying.
Verse 18.
For the
scripture says
do not
muzzle the
ox while it's
treading out
the grain,
which is a
quote from
Deuteronomy,
the Old
Testament.
So if the
donkey or
the horse
or the ox
gets some
food,
well then so
should those
who are doing
the work of
teaching.
And then he
says the
worker deserves
his wages,
which is a
quote from
Luke's gospel,
which is in
the New
Testament.
So can you
see what Paul
is doing?
He's making
a case and
to make his
case he refers
to both the
Old Testament
and the New
Testament and
he calls them
the scriptures.
So when we're
talking about
scriptures,
we're talking
about everything
that's in the
Old Testament
and everything
that's in the
New Testament
from Genesis
to Revelation,
the whole
Bible.
It's this book
that we're
looking at right
now, nothing
more and
nothing less.
And that must
remain central
to the life
of the church.
So all of
scripture, we
don't pick the
pieces that we
want and the
bits we don't
like we leave to
one side.
We don't go,
oh well this is
what Jesus said,
I can deal with
that, but Paul
said that so I
don't listen to
Paul because I
don't like Paul.
No, all of
scripture, everything
together is God's
word because it
is, secondly, God
breathed.
So go back to
2 Timothy 3
verse 16.
It says that all
scripture is God
breathed.
Now God
breathed is a
technical term
and it's really
important that we
understand it.
It simply means
that the words,
the Bible,
originates in
the mind of
God.
So every word
written in the
Bible has been
chosen or has
been inspired by
God.
So the Bible is
not man's
invention, it's
not the church's
idea, but it is
God's revealed
truth to us.
Again, if we
go forward just
a few pages to
2 Peter, so
Hebrews after
Timothy, Hebrews
James, well
there's a
Titus in there
as well, Titus,
Hebrews, James
and then 1
Peter, 2
Peter chapter
1 verse 20.
2 Peter chapter
1 verse 20.
So we're
thinking about
what it is to
be God
breathed, that
God's word
originates in
the mind of
God, not in
somebody's ideas.
So 2 Peter
chapter 1
verse 20.
So Peter is
writing, he
says, above
all you must
understand that
no prophecy of
scripture came
about by the
prophet's own
interpretation.
For prophecy
never had its
origin in the
will of man,
but men spoke
from God as
they were carried
along by the
Holy Spirit.
So what the
authors had to
say, the
authors of
scripture, it
isn't their own
ideas, their own
imagination, but
if you look at the
end of verse 21,
men spoke from
God as they
were carried
along by the
Holy Spirit.
So as the
work of God's
Spirit was in
their lives, so
they began to
write what God
called them to
write.
Now another
person who's
just died
recently, a few
years ago, John
Stott, explained
it like this, which
I think is very
helpful.
He said, God
spoke his
words through
their words, using
their different
personalities and
style in such a
way that their
words were
simultaneously his.
So God didn't
just dictate
mechanically and
go write this
and then say a
whole load of
things and they
just wrote down
word for word,
but God used
their personalities.
That's why when
we read Paul, he
writes in a
different way.
Peter writes in
a different way.
Moses writes in
a different way.
God used their
different personalities
and style, but
yet their words
were at the same
time God's
words.
So we start
with Scripture
because the
source of
Scripture originates
in the mind of
God and it's
for us today.
The second
reason why we
need Scripture
is its purpose.
And again, we
see two things
here.
The purpose of
Scripture first
is it leads to
our salvation.
So go back to
2 Timothy
chapter 3
and verse
15.
Back to
2 Timothy
3 verse
15.
So he says
there, how
from infancy
you have
known the
Holy Scriptures
which are
able to
make you
wise for
salvation
through
faith in
Christ Jesus.
So it
leads people
to salvation.
If you
were to
summarize the
whole of the
Bible in
one word,
what would
you use?
If you
were to
summarize the
whole Bible
in one
word,
you ever
thought what
you would
say?
Well, I
think salvation
would be a
good word
because the
whole of
Scripture from
beginning to
end is God's
unfolding plan,
his true
story to
save us
from the
judgment that
we deserve.
The Bible
tells us the
story of what
we're like,
that God
made us,
that he
loves us,
that he
rules over
us, but
we rebelled
against him,
we turned
against God,
we sinned,
just like
Adam and
Eve, we've
turned away
from God,
and we
need saved
from God's
judgment,
from his
wrath, and
that salvation
comes not
through our
own efforts,
not by the
things I can
do, but
through the
person of
Jesus Christ.
So it
says in
verse 15,
the
scriptures
which are
able to
make you
wise for
salvation
through
faith in
Christ Jesus.
So as we
read and
listen to
scripture, it
makes us
wise for
salvation, it
shows us our
need to be
saved.
Scripture
itself doesn't
save me, so
if I read
the Bible, it's
not going to
save me by
itself.
Rather, the
scriptures
open up my
eyes to help
me see the
need for
Jesus.
It brings me
back to who
Jesus is and
shows me that
Jesus died for
me on the
cross, that he
rose again from
the grave, defeating
death, and as
we trust in the
person of Jesus, we
are saved.
As it says at the
end of verse 15,
for salvation
comes through
faith in
Christ Jesus.
It's by trusting
in him.
Let me quote
again, this
time from a
living author.
Tim Keller
explains it like
this, which I
think is very,
very helpful.
The Bible, he
says, then is
not a collection
of fables or
fictional stories
that give us
insights on how
to find God
and live right.
Rather, it is
both true
history and a
unified story
about how God
came to find
us in the
person of Jesus
Christ, who
died in our
place so that
we could be
saved by grace
through faith
and live with
him forever in
a remade world,
the garden city
of God.
The Bible is
not primarily
about us and
what we should
do.
It is first and
foremost about
Jesus and what
he has done.
So as we read
through Scripture,
we discover that
God's great plan,
it's all about
pointing us to
Jesus Christ and
how he can save
us and how he
changes us.
So the first
purpose of
Scripture is to
bring us to
Jesus who can
save us.
The second
purpose of
Scripture is
for our
sanctification.
Sanctification is
just simply a
word to describe
God's ongoing
work in our
lives to mature
us and to
grow us in
our Christian
faith.
And the way
that God does
this is through
Scripture,
through the
Bible.
So again,
look at
verse 16.
All Scripture
is God
breathed,
so it has
its origin in
God and it's
for us,
and it is
useful for
teaching,
rebuking,
correcting,
and training in
righteousness.
us.
So as we
come to
God's Word,
we are to
let God's
Word filter
into our
minds.
We're to let
it have an
effect in
us.
Because the
more we read
God's Word,
the more we
listen to it,
as we are
told that we
are taught by
it.
We're taught
more about
who God is,
who Christ
is, who
the Spirit
is.
We learn
more about
God, and
how we
should relate
to Him.
But we're
also rebuked
by it,
verse 16.
So as I
begin to
read the
Bible and
listen to
it, then
it shows me
the areas
in my life
that need
to be
changed,
the areas
that don't
fall in
line with
God's
way.
And unless
I read
it, I'm
not going
to know
that I
need to
change.
It doesn't
just rebuke
us, but
it corrects
us.
So it
shows us
the area
we need
to change,
but it
also
corrects.
It shows
us how
we can
be changed.
It actually
shows me
how I can
change to
be more
like Jesus
through acts
of repentance
and faith
and meeting
together with
one another
and through
prayer.
But it
doesn't just
correct me,
it trains
me, trains
in righteousness,
builds up my
understanding of
the Bible so
I can teach
and encourage
others.
But that's
not just the
job of the
pastor or
the elder.
Each one
of us should
be trained
up so that
we can teach
and encourage
others.
And the
whole purpose
for all of
this, look
at verse
17, so
that the man
of God and
the woman of
God may be
thoroughly
equipped for
every good
work.
You see,
scripture is
the nutrients,
the energy
that we
need to
keep on
growing as
a Christian.
Yesterday, I
had a great
day where I
went walking
up Caron
2 and
along the
way I
needed to
drink, as
everybody does.
If we don't
drink, you
run out of
water and you
have no energy
and you can't
do anything.
Well, imagine
trying to
climb a
mountain without
any water.
Or imagine
trying to live
just a few
days without
water.
You'd maybe
last, at
best, two,
three days
maximum.
But then what
happens without
water?
Your organs
begin to fail.
They dry up,
they shrivel
up, and they
stop functioning.
And then you
die very, very
slowly.
But you do
die.
And the
same is true
that if we
don't drink
in God's
word, if
we're not
being immersed
in God's
word, then
the same
effects will
happen to us
spiritually.
We will
never mature.
We will
never grow.
We will
never become
the people
God calls
us to be.
We will
slowly die
as a
Christian.
So let
me ask the
question.
Are we
people who
are being
immersed in
God's word?
When was
the last
time that
you opened
up the
Bible to
read it
for yourself?
to hear God
speaking to
you?
How he
can change
you?
How he
can shape
you?
How he
can build
you up?
If you
find reading
difficult,
when was
the last
time you
heard it
on audio?
Just hearing
what God
is saying
to us.
Without
it, we
die.
We never
grow, we
never mature.
We're
just like
little
toddlers,
never being
the people
God calls
us to
be.
So God
gives us
the gift
of his
word to
bring us,
to make
us aware
of our
need of
salvation,
to bring
us to
Christ.
But not
just to
bring us
to Christ,
to grow
us to be
more like
Christ.
And he
does that
through his
word.
So, if
we have
the source
of
scripture,
which is
God, the
purpose,
which is
for our
salvation and
our
sanctification,
what's our
response to
scripture?
How should
we be
responding as
God's people
to his
word?
Well, let
me give
you three
areas that
I think it
should really
affect us and
shape us as
a church and
as individuals.
First, in
the area of
authority.
Scripture alone
doesn't mean
that we can't
read other
people's
writings.
We've already
listened to
some of them
today by
listening to
what Martin
Luther said
or John
Stott or
Tim Keller.
It doesn't
mean that we
can't read
what anybody
else says.
It doesn't
mean to say
we can't
listen to
other preachers
or teachers
or have
our own
opinions.
It simply
means that
everything we
listen to,
everything that
we read,
must come
under the
authority of
scripture.
In other
words, what
we teach as
a church,
what we
practice as
a church,
must be
ruled by
scripture.
And the
problem at
the time of
the Reformation
500 years
ago was the
church as
an institution
had become
the authority.
authority.
So what
the church
leader said
was equal
in authority
to what
scripture said.
So if the
church leader
said this,
well it was
to be taken
as if God
had spoken.
They didn't
submit themselves
to God's
word.
Rather the
people had to
submit to
man's word.
They followed
tradition
instead of
God's
revelation.
And the
same kind
of things
can happen
to us
today if
we are not
careful.
It's not
only wrong
to do it
but it's
extremely
dangerous
because it
leads people
away from
Christ and
away from
God's
truth.
We don't
want to be
following
man-made
traditions.
We want
to follow
God's
revelation.
That is
our authority.
And this
was something
that Timothy
had to watch
out for.
If you go
back to
2 Timothy
chapter 2
verse 17
as Paul
is writing
to this
young
pastor
leader
he's
encouraging
him to
get back
to scripture
and to be
aware that
there will
be those
who go
away from
scripture.
So verse
17 he
says their
teaching
will spread
like gangrene.
It's
infectious.
It's
poisonous.
It's going
to do
damage to
people.
Among
them
were
Hymenaeus
and
Philetus.
Two
people who
were in
the church
who were
teaching
things they
ought not
to.
Verse
18 they
wandered
away from
the truth.
They were
teaching
traditions
rather than
God's
revelation.
So as
a church
we need
to seek
to submit
to God's
authority.
Everything
we say
everything
we do
must come
under
God's
word.
So it's
not the
authority
of the
pastor.
It's
not the
authority
of our
statement
of belief.
It's
not the
authority
of our
church
constitution
and all
those things
may be
good and
proper but
everything
must come
under the
authority of
scripture.
So let me
challenge you
and encourage
you.
As you
listen to
me or to
whoever else
may be
preaching,
as you
observe what
we practice
and what we
do as a
church,
do you
just listen
and go
yeah that's
fine,
oh we'll
do this,
that's fine.
How do
you know
it's fine?
You might
be listening
here right
now and
you haven't
even got a
Bible with
you and
you're
thinking oh
yeah except
that,
how do
you know?
How do
you know
it's true?
It's your
job,
your
responsibility,
your role
to look to
scripture and
say is this
what the
Bible says?
Is what we
are practicing
what the
Bible teaches?
So first,
it must be
our authority.
Second,
it's sufficient.
Scripture,
the Bible,
is God's
revelation of
himself.
This is how
we get to
know God
because God
has revealed
himself to
us through
his word
and it's
complete.
Everything that
God has to
say about
us today
is in
God's
word.
It's
complete.
It's
sufficient.
God didn't
leave us
speculating
about what
we should
believe or
how we
should behave
as Christians.
It is a
clear word
to us
today.
That means
we don't
need a
further word
or we don't
need more
revelation.
We don't
need somebody
writing in
new books
or coming
up with
new ideas
and say,
did you
know this
about God?
You never
heard about
this.
No,
what we
have in
God's
word is
sufficient.
John
Calvin was
another man
similar to
Martin Luther
who was
seeking to
reform the
church, to
bring it
back to
scripture.
He was
working in
France and
he stood
against those
who sought
to add to
scripture.
And this is
what he said,
which I think
is helpful.
let this
then be a
sure axiom.
Let this
be the
standard by
which we
measure
everything.
That nothing
ought to be
admitted in
the church
as the
word of
God,
save that
which is
contained
first in
the law
and the
prophets,
which refers
to the
Old
Testament,
and secondly
to the
writings of
the ten
apostles,
which refers
to the
authors of
the New
Testament.
And that
there be
no other
method of
teaching in
the church
than according
to the
prescribed rule
of his
word.
And that
message is
the same
message for
us today.
We shouldn't
allow in any
other teaching
or any
other ideas
except that
which is
contained within
scripture.
Now today
you might go
to some
churches and
they'll say
things,
well,
we have
the Bible,
but that's
not enough,
that's not
sufficient.
There's still
more things
we need to
hear from
God.
So they'll
say something
like this,
God told
me,
or God
has said.
So rather
than rely on
what God
has said
about himself
in the
Bible,
people depend
on their
own thoughts
and imaginations.
Because the
only way that
we can know
if God
has told us
anything and
we can be
sure that
it's God
speaking to
us,
is what
God has
already said
in scripture.
This is what
Timothy,
again,
was told to
look out
for.
Go back
to chapter
4,
verse 3.
2 Timothy
4,
verse 3.
For the
time will
come when
men will
not put
up with
sound
doctrine.
They go,
well, we
can invent
our own
ideas and
traditions.
Instead, to
suit their
own desires,
they will
gather around
them a
great number
of teachers
to say
what their
itching
ears want
to hear.
They will
turn their
ears away
from the
truth and
turn aside
to myths,
to man-made
traditions.
And all
that will
do is
lead people
into all
kinds of
confusion about
who God
is and what
we should do
as a church.
We don't
decide what
we do as
a church
according to
what I
feel or
what I
like.
It's not
about my
preference or
your preference.
It's about
what does
the Bible
teach us?
What has
God revealed
about himself?
We don't
need any
more extra
revelation.
it is
sufficient.
And then
third,
we come
to
Scripture
not like
any other
book,
but as
it is,
the Word
of God.
We read
God's Word,
we listen
to it
explained
and applied.
We do
not sit
above it,
but we
simply come
and live
under it.
If you've
ever been
to a
traditional
church
building,
not like
this,
you'll
probably
find that
when you
go into
some of
the old
buildings,
you'll
find that
there's a
great big
pulpit
away up
high.
Have you
ever seen
that great
big wooden
thing?
And there
the minister
would walk
up all
these stairs
and he
would sit
up at the
top and
the congregation
would be
down below
somewhere.
well,
apart from
it being
odd to
us,
there was
a purpose
in it.
It was
supposed to
symbolise that
the Word
had an
authority and
the people
were sitting
under the
authority of
God's Word.
And we
come here
today,
we're on
the same
plane,
the same
level here,
but all
of us
together are
under the
authority
of God's
Word and
we must
approach it
with humility.
Isaiah 66
verse 12,
this is how
we opened
up with
this prayer
this morning.
God says,
Isaiah 66
verse 12,
these are the
ones I look
on with
favour,
those who
are humble
and contrite
in spirit
and who
tremble
at my
word.
Yeah,
we can
wrestle with
it,
we can
ask our
questions and
we can
struggle over
it,
we can
come to
home groups
where we
try to
work out
how does
this apply,
what does
it mean?
But at
the end
of the
day,
in faith,
we simply
humbly
obey,
trusting that
what our
creator God
says is
good and
right and
is best
for us.
It's not
my opinion,
it's not
what I feel
or what I
think,
but what
God is
saying to
us.
Another
reformer,
this time
this guy
Ulrich
Zwingli,
who was
working in
Switzerland,
he put
it like
this,
he wrote
a lot
about
God's
word,
he said,
the word
of God
is certain
and can
never fail,
it is
clear and
will never
leave us
in darkness,
it teaches
its own
truth,
it arises
and irradiates
the soul
of man
with full
salvation
and grace,
it gives
the soul
sure comfort
in God,
it humbles
it,
so that
it loses
and indeed
condemns
itself
and lays
hold
of God.
This is
what scripture
should do,
bring us
to a place
of humility
and say,
Lord,
your will
be done
in my
life,
let your
word take
centre place,
let me live
according to it
and give me
the grace
and give me
the power
of your
spirit
to obey
and do
what it
says.
Salvation
is according
to scripture
alone.
We would
never know
anything of
God's salvation
if God
did not
reveal it
to us
in his
words.
We would
never know
anything about
Jesus,
what it is
to grow
in him,
how we
should live
and how we
should behave
as a church
unless God
spoke.
This is
God's
message
alive to
us today
to change
us and
make us
more like
him.
So let's
together,
in humility,
live under
his word.
Let's pray
together.
Amen.