Scriptures: Psalm 19:7-11, 2 Timothy 3:15-17, 2 Peter 1:3-4
Introduction:
The modern objection
What the Bible is
Big Idea: The Bible has everything you need to live well today.
So what?
Study it
Know it
Pray
Dan Jarms 0:13
Well, good morning faith Bible Church. It's It's so good to see all of you we, Linda and I have been away for a few weeks. Yes, she got to go visit the motherland, the the fountain of all good food and artistic delights in Italy. We had a great time there with our kids met Johnny Corvino, who's a pastor and church trainer, church leader trainer in Rome. There might be something future in ministry with him, we had a great time there. And then last week, we were in London and I was preaching I had a nasty head cold, but I preached anyway at Grace life, London. And that was just such a precious time, Mike DN is God's gift to that church, because his gifts in the administration, vision, clarity, just have come alongside the other pastors that are there. And that church is really flourishing, it's really encouraging to watch them. I just have one, one story about about Italy. It kind of goes with our motto, nobody likes to hear when you had a good workout, they just want to hear when you fell on the treadmill. Like, that's, I have a treadmill story. For us. We're on the train from Naples to Florence, we get to Florence and it's just packed a bunch of na platanos going on, on the train. And we're trying to get out but there's two doors to get out of our car. And one of them is not working. That's the one that we're on. And it's me Linda's in that second door, the one that you know, opens and shuts in the middle and Hayden ours my son in law and and there's another guy and all the Italians on our side are yelling as Go on, go on, get out, get out, I can kind of figure out what they're saying roughly, basically by the by the tone and hate and it's like It's blocked. You need to go the other way. No, no, that's the way out. That's the way you guys you know, you don't know what you're doing. And so they send a delegate one of the, you know, husbands goes up and he tries to door and he comes back since it's locked, and all the wives are going to him. No, no, that's the way out. Like it's like, and the trains gonna move on. Like we're not gonna get off because they're trying to get out a door that's closed instead of the door that's open. And Hayden is like you have to go the other way, which they don't understand. And all of Ohio, Linda is standing in that door, and it's just going to come just closing on her over and over and over like a bad dream in an elevator. It was awesome. We had a great time. So many so many amazing things. But by far and away that the greatest time was with the saints last week in grace life, London, they send you their greetings. Well, we are going through a series on the Bible. And we're doing it for a couple of reasons. One is that there are so many of you who are new to faith Bible Church, we want to give you some grounding. The second one is that in our faith and five, we're all going out and reaching our neighbors knocking on doors and inviting them to come if they're willing to come have conversations. And so the way we have been talking to you is getting you ready as a church to have conversations with people. It's very much the vein, I'm going to take it today. And I know some of you are actually new with us in the last week or two weeks and some of you might not have you know, a lot of experience with the Bible. And I'm I've my topic today is going to be talking about the sufficiency of Scripture. I'll tell you what that means in a minute. But Brian, when he kicked us off, did a brilliant job showing what God Himself says about the inspiration and authority of Scripture. Last week, he did another brilliant job of talking about the clarity of Scripture was so helpful in that Nathan and I just am loving to use the word brilliant because that's what the Brits say all the time. About everything. Oh, that's a candy bar. Brilliant. Okay. That actually takes away from what I'm about to say Nathan did a brilliant job showing us what God says about the truthfulness and power of the Bible. I really mean it genuinely for Nathan it was so there we have been listening in although we're listening to Brian's first message in that series like you know it's church at the park but it sure sounds like there's echoes like they're inside. It's really interesting church in the park has echoes a little kids crying Hmm. It turns out, you were rained out. Okay, so sorry about that. Well, if you are with us here for let's say the first or second time or you like the people who brought you here and they love the Bible, but you're not so sure about the Bible. I want to talk to you this morning. When I talk to you this morning. I'm on the plane on Wednesday. I got the middle seat and an exit row. Thankfully I have leg room but I don't have other room. And there's a college student on my left and Linda on the right and I'm about an hour about four hours in, he says you're a pastor, right? How did you know? You know, I'm working on this message right here. But before that I was determining that I wanted, I wanted to speak to those of you who here are here today, who are unsure if the Bible is really helpful or relevant today. That's what I was thinking. And so we got to start talking about his background. And I told him, the topic of my sermon is going to be how a 2000 year old book can be relevant for today. And he said, So how are you going to answer the question? Like you just asked a preacher? To answer his question. We have six hours, I have plenty of time. But that's really what I want to do today. If you're if you're here, you might be saying to yourself, how can a 2000 year old book tell us how to live well today? What doesn't have I'm where modern people? Aren't. We have modern people who have learned so much. Why would we go back to a pre modern book? I think that's a really good question for you to ask. It's the modern objection. If we're not careful, it can be the front for what is often called in the study of logic, the modern fallacy. Study of logic, the modern fallacy is this just because something is modern, it's inherently better. If something's anxious, it's inherently worse. And just to keep an open mind for you who are visiting today, or you are new to the Bible today. Let me just give you two outside the Bible examples Euclid, for instance, Euclid was an ancient mathematician dating three centuries before Christ, and geometry students today still study Euclidean theorems, and no engineer ignores them in the design of a building. So just because it's old, doesn't mean it's not necessary or helpful. Like, okay, I mean, that's good about math and science. But what about morality? Like, haven't we progressed so much morality? Well, Confucius lived 500, year before 500 years before Jesus, he's still popular, he calls the silver rule we call the Golden Rule, do not do to others what you would not have them do to you. Nobody says that that rule is outdated and irrelevant. You drop your wallet, you drop your purse, you forget it. You would hope that somebody would try to find you to give your money back. And if you see somebody who's dropped their wallet or purse, you want to give it back to them. Because you wouldn't want the same thing done to you. Somebody just pilfers it and takes the money and you're out of luck. Nobody says those morals are outdated. So the issue isn't old or new, is it? The issue really can't be old or new, the issue has to be what's true. Have to be careful about the modern fallacy. Christians since the Reformation have used an idea that helps get at this answer. The objection is how can a 2000 year old book tell us how to live well today. But Christians haven't answered that. And it's called the sufficiency of Scripture, the sufficiency of Scripture, the sufficiency of the Bible, to know God to properly relate to God, and to please Him in the world. If you're not a particularly religious person, and a lot of the language that Christians are comfortable using, you don't know about, I could say it like this. The Bible has everything you need to know to live well today. The Bible has everything you need to know to live well today. And that big idea you could circle because we'd want to define the live well today, like God defines how we live well today. And before we're done, I want to persuade you to pursue it. I want to persuade you to pursue it. Before we do it. Let me let me say a few things when we talk about the sufficiency of scripture or the fact that the Bible has everything you need to know to live well today. I just want to remind you, the Bible doesn't say everything about everything. That's not what the Bible is. Doesn't say everything about everything. It doesn't tell us how to cook pasta, deliver a baby or change a tire. But it does tell us how to live well doing those things. It does tell us that
Dan Jarms 9:52
so I want to use the apple tree approach. I want to look at the Bible and just take a look at this. This beautiful apple tree and you see the fruit first and then you see the branches. And then you see the trunk and the roots. That's how I want to approach this. Starting with the sweet fruit, move to the branches, then get into the trunk and if you're unconvinced that you should embrace it all I do hope and convince you to give it a good read and a good thing. The college student who is next to me that's that's what I was aiming at, is trying to persuade him to give it an honest reading. And if you are convinced that the Bible has everything you need to live well, I want you to feast on it. Be satisfied. gladly do your homework questions for growth group. gladly do them. This like view like I can't wait, I get to study the Bible. So we're going to take this in three, the Bible tells us first first, we're gonna look at those soul satisfying everyday fruits. The Bible tells us everything we need need to do number one, to live well with yourself to live well with yourself. The Bible is full of truth about how to live well with yourself the key to living well with yourself as to living rightly before your Creator. But it is filled in in doing that it's filled with helpful things. I mean, you can use your toothbrush, you can use your toothbrush to clean your grill, you can, but you'll never use it as a toothbrush again. Right? I mean, a toothbrush is made for something. And I just I'd say that's just an illustration you are made for something and to operate in a certain way. And when you ruin that, it's going to cause trouble. So the Bible from front to finish is written to replace the rotten fruit of our lives with good fruit to take us out of the desert and swamp and put us into a thriving garden. And you have to admit that this is an era and a culture. With with more. It's self admitted anxiety, depression, suicidal thoughts, disappointment and unhappiness than ever in history. One of the boons one of the benefits of widespread therapy is we're all really well equipped with from our therapist, how to know how we feel. That's the job of a therapist. How do you feel and why do you feel it? What the Bible does is tell us what to do about how we feel. Brian read this last week, he referred to some of it just flick back with me to Psalm 19, seven through 11. I don't want to go full exposition, but I want to show you how this plays out. In the Bible. It helps us live well with ourselves and in proper relationship with God. Psalm 19, Psalm 19, from verse seven to 11 talks about the Bible, the Bible talks about itself. God talks about himself. And he says some things that should hopefully whet your appetite, get your attention there, there that beautiful fruit on the tree. verse seven says the law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul, the law of the Lord is the instruction of God. Now it's what we have in the Bible. I mean, have you ever felt lifeless, tired out or dead inside? That's a common human experience go through various things and we kind of feel dead inside. The Bible promises, energy and refreshment from the Lord. The Lord the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul. It's giving life the testimony of the Lord. Continuing on in verse seven is sure making wise the simple. Have you ever been at a loss for what to do? In life or in relationship, or in a decision you need to make? The Bible gives wisdom. The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart I mean, have you made mistakes and do those mistakes those failures, dog you and depress you have trials and tragedies left you undone, depressed, you know the Bible Promises, joy, rejoicing the heart. The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes mean have you ever felt like you're in the dark? About a situation you're in or the people that you're with and relationship and you can't see clearly what's going on? The Bible gives illumination that lights up our way. First time the fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever. Do you feel the pressure of the latest virtue signaling, virtue signaling that's where you have to tell everybody that you're sort of in about the latest virtuous thing. Whether it's the environment or a diet, there's always someone there to tell you what you that you are a terrible person for doing what you're doing. And here's what good people do. And then you have to tell them, I'm a good person. So I do this, like when we go to Seattle, if you went to a restaurant, and you don't get it, right, which one's compost? Which one's general waste and which one is recycling? There is a, there is a garbage enforcer in every restaurant. I mean, we care and we recycle. But what's the problem with recycle? Let's say plastic. What's the problem with recycling plastic? There's a new virtue signaling. It doesn't work. It's terrible. Like the latest virtue signaling is that doesn't work. Well, great. What's the new rules? It? Wouldn't it be nice to know the rules that endure. Wouldn't be nicely that the Bible has those. There's not a new set of ways to please God and a new set of ways to love and care best for people. They're the same they endure. We're not on this roller coaster of what's the latest cultural standard that we're going to upset. The rules of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. I mean, wouldn't you like a consistent way to know what's the right thing to do? I bet you do. Me David gets really excited about a more desired are they than gold. I mean, they're valuable, even much fine gold sweeter than honey and drippings from the honeycomb. Moreover, by them, your servant is warned. I mean, you've ever said something or done something. And immediately, you know, you just stepped in it. Oh, I just said something. And now there's trouble in the room. we've ever done that, wouldn't you like a warning? To tell you what to avoid? What to not step in? I bet you word the Bible has that God's God's warnings are in the Bible. So we don't get ourselves in trouble and the people that we have in our lives that we care about and love following the Bible can keep you out of so much trouble. And keeping them there is great reward. great reward. Not only are you warned, but there's blessing in it. Let me give you just a couple illustrations. Let's like let's take that tree. Let's look at some of the apples. Let me pick one of the apples, you know just about every human endeavor is followed by this sense of that really it? You can you get determined to do well in school, you can pass the test. You can get the diploma, you can land the job, you've landed the job, and you're so excited about it only to have a whole bunch of fellow employees who are really annoying. I got a great job but I have to work with these people. Do you buy the house but it always needs repairs. You get the new gadget, but it breaks. Did you know there's a whole book of the Bible about disappointment. It's called Ecclesiastes Solomon endeavored to get everything he could possibly get and achieve and experience and in the end he went Meaningless, meaningless, all is meaningless. And Salomon teaches how to live well with disappointment. Have you ever wonder why the jerks and cheats of the world seem to get more and get away with it? You know, there's a whole chapter in the Psalms, Psalm 73. The deal with that Jesus teaches a whole chapter on how to go from anxious and worried about food and fashion to peace and joy with a heavenly father who provides everything you need. And the end of God's story through Jesus Christ, we find that there will be an end of death, of crying, of mourning and of pain. The Bible is a book that unfolds how to live well with yourself
Dan Jarms 19:38
as you're properly related to God. If you go into our biblical Counseling Center, we have just the scores of these little booklets and I bet there's 200 kinds of topics to take you from a problem to a soul supporting solution because the Bible isn't a book of problems. The Bible is a book of solutions. So if you're unsure, like should I give the Bible some serious attention, I want you to just take a look at those apples on the tree and see what it promises. But we need to go farther than that, we need to go farther than that. We start with the apples and the fruit, we need to go into the branches that support it. And that's where we find that the Bible has everything we need to live well with others. Everything we need to live well with others, it has everything we need to live well itself, it has everything we need to live well with others. I mean, it's not enough to figure out my own junk that makes me unhappy, I also have to figure out how to live with other people's junk that makes them unhappy. You really can't live well with yourself without figuring out how to live well with others because we are made as social people. Know what's, what are some of the obvious proofs that we don't live well with others, I'll give you a really obvious one. That when you reach into your purse or reach into your pocket, you're gonna I hope you remember, it's what's the obvious proof that we don't live without, with others locks. The fact that you have to carry keys is proof that we don't live well with others. It's proof that either we are our neighbors, our discontent at the core. If we had an endless supply of you know, because we had an endless supply of whatever was most important to us, we wouldn't lock it up why? It's an endless supply. Somebody could come and just take as much of it as they wanted. But it's endless. Like, go ahead, have as much of it as you want. I don't need to lock it up. I have so much it'll never run out. You don't need to lock something that's in in supply, but we don't have an endless supply of stuff. In fact, what the Bible tells us is that wanting what I don't have and hoarding what I do have is the root of just about every conflict.
Dan Jarms 22:14
So what does the Bible do about this? The Bible has everything we need to live well with others. We go back to second Timothy three, verse 16, and especially verse 17. There's one phrase that helps us with this. Second, Timothy 316 says all scripture is breathed out by God. Brian said it last week, he said at the first week, the Bible is God's self revelation. It's his story. It reveals his character has plans to redeem for himself or people to bring the world into justice in order and to create a new situation a new heavens and new earth. That's that's the Bible storyline. It's breathed out by God. It's profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness That the man of God may be complete and equipped for every good work. By definition, every time doing good is used in the Bible. It is others centered. By definition, doing good means doing what is beautiful and beneficial to others. So what he's saying here is that the Bible tells us everything we need, so that we can do good works, we can do things that benefit others, which is the core of living well with others. Jesus core moral teaching so far, surpasses Confucius is Confucius taught, do not do to others what you would not want them to do to you. I mean, you don't like being disrespected Well, then don't disrespect others. And it's, that's it's good wisdom. But Jesus turns this positive and so surpasses it. Love your neighbor as yourself. When you take care of your needs, don't you? Oh, yes, I do. Well then take care of the needs of others, even if it's very costly show genuine care and love. The highest command in Scripture was the love of God with everything in you. The second is to love your neighbor as yourself. Jesus establishes the highest moral standards that have been unsurpassed and will remain unsurpassed forever
Dan Jarms 24:49
know there's an entire books of the Bible, praising good government and condemning bad government I read Psalm 72, for instance, which is, which is a prayer of David about what a godly king should be. And if you read what a godly king should be, you'll read what a godly government should be and you'll read what a godly society should be. The book of Micah is an entire book in the Old Testament condemning Israel's government and Israel's people for their corruptness, especially their insensitivity to the poor and the vulnerable. Jeremiah 29 tells you how to live in a city so to Psalm 101 And Psalm 107, and tells people how to live well in cities. Galatians 610, says do good to all men. The Bible is brimming with helpful teaching on communication, conflict resolution, and above all, the evil desires that are at the root of all of our sins, and our conflicts. There's a whole book on social relationships, whether it's parenting, marriage, friendship or quarrels. It's called the Proverbs. And the whole goal of Proverbs is to teach us how to live life well, following God's design. When we look at what the Bible is, we talk about what Christians call the sufficiency of Scripture, the Bible has everything you need to live well, to live well with self to live well with others. We started by looking at the fruit on the tree, we looked at the branches, those social relationships, but we can't really finish this without going to the trunk and the route. Because most importantly, most importantly, the Bible tells us how to live well with God, how to live well with God. And in saving the most important for last. It has everything we need to live well with God. What Christians have meant for centuries, sufficiency of Scripture means that we have all we need to relate properly to God and to please him. There's no other outside authority that helps us determine this. The Scripture has it the Scripture interprets itself this Scripture declares itself and it's really important to say this you cannot live well with yourself or live well with others without first living well with God. I mean, some somebody could could give you a brand new Tesla electric car. Hey, you you want a drawing, you're gonna get a brand new Tesla. You're really excited about it, you go online, you look at the YouTube videos, you find out the model that you're going to get and you realize this dashboard. This is more advanced than William Shatner had in Star Trek. I mean, look at the steering wheel, look at the all of the readouts. I'm in that car sounds silent when it goes through my neighborhood, this is going to be amazing.
Dan Jarms 28:12
And then there comes the Tesla's delivered, but it doesn't have a central processing unit or a battery. What good is an electric car without a battery? Second, give you the Bible. But if you don't deal with the heart, and your heart toward God, it's just going to be frustrating. At best, what you're going to do is try to staple rotten fruit to a tree. It's going to be frustrating. The most important thing about the Bible is how we find that to be restored with God. And back in Second Timothy 315 We read it at the beginning. Paul writes to Timothy says Timothy you know how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus, in the ABLE is not as in it's got potential. No, it is able as in powerful, it is powerful to make you wise for salvation. The Bible is a revelation of man's rebellion against God from Genesis chapter three, and the fitting punishment for stealing what was not theirs. That is the curse of the storyline of the Bible. But more importantly, it's the story of God's prescription God's answer to our sin and our rebellion against Him. From the beginning, God promises to resolve his own problem, and we find it as the pages of Scripture unfold that God Himself in the person of Jesus takes on human flesh and lives and human life like we do tempted and always try that and always, never getting riches, dying a homeless man, always pleasing the Father, being betrayed by his closest friends, being condemned by the leadership that have should have taken him being condemned by the nations being crucified on a cross, and they're on the cross, absorbing all of the punishment that we deserved. This is what the Scriptures promised from beginning to end. It's what they detail from beginning to end, and you are that criminal. And Jesus took that punishment. And if you renounce all other objects of your worship, all other hopes and you trust solely in him, you can be saved. Romans 10 Nine says, confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead and you'll be saved. The Bible doesn't say everything about everything. But it says everything that you need so that you would trust God's provision for your life now and for your eternity, through the work of Jesus Christ, trust Him.
Dan Jarms 31:37
The Bible doesn't just tell us about how to be saved. Sadly, that's how most Christians think of the Bible. It's just enough for me to be saved. But I don't really think it has helpful answers about other things. I'll go other places, even many Christians don't think it has the answers, but I want to beg you on a show you, the Bible says it's got everything you need to know not only on how to be reconciled to God, but now how to live a god pleasing life, with yourself and with others. From here on out. All scripture is breathed out by God is profitable for teaching, useful, profitable, beneficial for teaching, understand the truths about God and how to live life doctrine, for reproof, for correcting, like stopping you in your place. That's reproof, stopping you in your place, mourning for correcting getting you on the right track for training now, figuring out how to live a life consistent with the righteousness that's in God and the righteousness declared by God that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. It's how to live well with God by being reconciled through Christ and how to live well with God now in trusting Christ and the word that He's given us. Which leads us to a second classic passage on the sufficiency of Scripture. Second, Peter, one, three through four turn over, it's a little bit to the right. If you have a paper Bible with you, you can type in your reference if you have an electronic version of it. But second, Peter says this. His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness through the knowledge of him who called us to His own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us His precious and very great promises. So that through them you'll be might become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world, because of sinful desire. I mean, here is that cornerstone idea his divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness. That's where we get our definition of living life well, all things for life and godliness. Living in a way that corresponds to God's character, and excellence. Verse forces by which he is granted to us His precious and very great promises. Through the knowledge of Christ, Christ is sufficient to give us all that we need and Christ gives us promises. Another way of describing the scriptures, giving us hope now hope in the future. Remember, the Bible is not a book of problems. It's a book of answers. The Bible is a book of promises. Not only does the Bible give us hope, but what he says is believing those promises can change us so that through them you might become partakers sharers in the divine nature of God. Well, you can think of sharing as in terms of a meal, feasting on it. You could turn think of sharing in terms of taking on some of the characteristics and that's what he's talking about. We start taking on the characteristics of the divine nature, we start becoming changed to be like God Himself helps us escape the corruption that's in the world because of sinful desire. That's why we don't live well with ourselves, sinful desire. It's why we don't live well with others. It's why we don't live well with God, but God through Christ and Christ through His Word has given us everything we need to be restored to him, with well with him, others and ourselves. Let me step back from the tree. Again, I just want to illustrate this for you. We, we see the delicious apples
Dan Jarms 35:51
this was very much what was going on in my life. As I was a sophomore in college. I was getting sin getting, I was achieving and feeling those Salomon moments of disappointment. And I was invited to and I walked into a college fellowship where I saw students who had an effervescent joy and excitement about God. And I was internally roiling in sadness and despair, and a fear of judgment. I said, That's what I want. That's what I want. The Bible makes it possible to live well with yourself guilt, despair, loneliness, hopelessness, anger, bitterness, and every other miserable feeling is addressed in this book. But we have to connect it is this just this is not a good life coach. The Bible is not a good life coach. Let's connect them together. Psalm 42. For instance, Psalm 42, Psalm of David, verses five and six, David writes down this question, why are you cast down? Oh, my soul? Why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God, for I shall again, praise him my salvation. And my God. David has really ugly circumstances going down going on around him? Why are you cast down? Well, I got people like my son who's trying to kill me. That's kind of rough. If you wake up one morning, and your son wants to kill you, I think that's going to be the start of a no good very bad, rotten day.
Dan Jarms 37:50
David says, Soul hope in God. Hope in God, I shall again praise him. I know there is a future. I could just have you write down the question. Why are you cast down? Oh, my soul. Why are you in turmoil within me? And if I just asked you that, like, what was the hardest part about your week? You could say something like, well, I failed a test. I got caught stealing. My spouse is divorcing me. I got into hit and run accident. I have to go to DUI court. I'm still single. And I'm 32. My family is upset with me because I'm a Christian. I was abused when I was younger. And those are all real, all painful, all genuinely difficult circumstances. How do you live well with yourself? Well, you have to live well with God. And this is David's answer. Hope in God, not self and not in circumstances to change. Hope in God. The great Christian philosopher Augustine discovered this 1600 years ago and we've been quoting it ever since you have made us for yourself, Oh Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you. And I want to ask you, friend, you're here today, you're not so sure that a ancient book has answers to modern problems. But you do know restlessness. You wouldn't be here. If you didn't. I want you to give the Bible a really good look. Read it, study it. God is our only true and lasting source of satisfaction or only hope. And he promises a day when troubles of this life are forever gone and a rearview mirror and a sunset on all trauma and difficulty. And you will only live life well. When you live it properly with God. In a real sense, the Bible as God's operator's manual for living life well before him and one of the most powerful chapters in the Bible for healing, broken relationships and dealing with sinful relationships, is in Paul's letter to the Ephesians. Notice how both of these this is living well with others. Listen to what he says at the closing these just two powerful little verses. It says that all bitterness and wrath, anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Now, if I was going to describe a pretty miserable feeling person, I would describe them like this bitter wrathful angry, clamoring, slandering, and devising evil. That is a miserable person
Dan Jarms 40:45
are the people away, instead, be kind to one another, tender hearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. There's the root, we get all the way down to the root of how to live well with others and how to live well with self. It is in Christ because through Christ, God has provided forgiveness. You won't be able to live well with others until you first live well with God and first live well with God is to repent from worshiping anything else but him and receiving the forgiveness that he's granted. Just what did God do in Christ? Well, Christ gave up personal selfish happiness was betrayed and abandoned by his closest friends, he was arrested and he was crucified. And after his resurrection, restored them, restored them. On the cross Jesus willfully, joyfully did the greatest good ever done, he por bore the punishment of our sins. And when you trust Him as Savior and Lord, You are forgiven completely. You are restored and not only restored, you're given a new heart, to bear good fruit. And when you have been forgiven, and you recognize what Christ has forgiven you, you don't need to punish other people. You don't need to punish other people. You can let all the bitterness, wrath and unforgiveness go. Here's what's true. If you have God, by faith in Jesus Christ, you have the most precious and important thing you will ever need. And it is a supply that will never run out. Somebody could look at you and see it and say, Can I have more of that God? Can I have more of that God? And you're gonna say, Yes, I have an endless supply. I don't need to keep it locked up. I don't need to keep it quiet. Here it is. And that's what I'm saying to you, friend. Those of us who have Jesus Christ have this endless supply of God in His satisfaction. And we have this endless supply which enables forgiveness and enables peace. It enables all kinds of godly things. It has everything we need to live life well before God, and others. Sitting on the plane with this young man. When I got done, he said, I really know I should read the Bible. Be intellectually honest, and he'd read it I should, I should look into it for myself, I gave him a four book challenge. So if you're brand new to the Bible, let me give you a four book challenge get through these four books. And I think it will convince you to keep reading the whole thing. read Genesis, which is the story of how God created and started his whole plan. Then read John. It's the story of what Jesus did to make new life. Then read Psalms which is how to pray through every circumstance you could ever face in life. Then read Proverbs Regenesis John Psalms, Proverbs. If you're willing to give those four books a real look, I would guess you will be compelled to keep reading and knowing because out of it, we see the Creator and His good redeeming plan. We see how to speak to God on a day by day basis through the prayers of the Psalms and we get wisdom for navigating life living it well before him. I don't think you're going to ever be able to say that the Bible has nothing relevant for today. The Bible has everything we need to live well before God today. Father, we look now to the words that we've heard, that we've read in the Bible, we pray that those of us who do believe it would prioritize studying it and following it, because it is a word of life. These precious promises, transform us. So God, I would pray that you would do a work in those who already know the Bible and love the Bible to know it more, love it more, and have open mouths and open hearts. To Boldly speak about it. For those who are still unsure, I pray that this would at least convinced them to start reading it themselves. We know your word has power. And we have story after story of people who are transformed simply by reading the Bible. So I pray that that would be the case. Thank you for giving us everything we need to living life well before you Christ's name, Amen.
Dr. Dan Jarms is teaching pastor and team leader at Faith Bible Church in Spokane Washington, as well as associate dean at TMS Spokane. He has been married for over 30 years to Linda, and has three adult children. He earned his B.A. in English at the Master’s College, B.Ed. at Eastern Washington University, M.Div and D.Min in Expository Preaching at The Master’s Seminary. His other interests include NCAA basketball, gardening, brick oven cooking.
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