Main idea: Five foundational truths Christians embrace about the origin and nature of the Bible.
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Well, I'm I'm Brian stairs. I'm one of the pastor's here super excited that the schedule fell to me. This weekend faith Bible Church has been making a an intentional effort to meet our neighbors. And so for those of you are here from the larger, Emerson, Garfield garland North Hill community, we want to say welcome, welcome to faith Bible Church, we want to let you know who we are and where we are and how we are able and willing to serve you. So if you would like more information about anything, there's an information desk out there, please stop by after another reason I'm excited this morning is that we're starting a brief series entitled, truth, stability in a world of chaos. Without question our culture has spiraled into a very confusing kind of chaos, a kind of chaos. Actually, the in many arenas and social circles denies the existence of absolute truth at all. We're told to follow the science sometimes. And then it seems we're told we must deny the science at other times. It is a world of chaos. What's accepted as true or moral in today's world is not very often determined by social norms and political whims. And sometimes just the thoughts and the desire of the individual, very individualistic society that we're living in. There's not in most people's minds an objective standard of truth that applies to everyone. Universally, what is truth? What is truth? That's a question that's been debated for 1000s of years by philosophers. And for the Christians was most famously posed by the Roman Governor Pilate. On the day he ordered Jesus Christ to be crucified as a criminal. Jesus who had been arrested and was being questioned was describing to Pilate how his kingdom was not of this world, and that if his kingdom was going to be just an earthly kingdom, like every other kingdom, that his followers would have risen up and taken up arms and stage of a military coup like most loyal subjects, a pilot realized, as Jesus was saying this, that Jesus was actually suggesting that he was a king. But Jesus had described himself as a king like no other king before him. It wasn't political, it wasn't military. In nature, Jesus told him, told Pilate that he had been sent in to the world to bear witness to the truth to testify of the truth, and that all those who believe and understand truth, would understand what he was saying. And the rest would be left lost and confused. And just wondering, pilot was in the latter group, and he simply exclaimed in exasperation, what is truth? What is truth? He sounds like the Ebenezer Scrooge of truth, doesn't he? That's truth version of Bah, humbug, if I ever heard it, but admittedly, what Pilate asked that day is a question that many have posed and proposed answers to for centuries. And I guess in some ways, I'm proposing to answer that age old question today, but probably probably not in a way that would satisfy the philosophers or the debaters of this age. I'm probably not smart enough to do that anyway. But I hope I'm simple enough to make some sense out of the question for the rest of us who are looking for stability in a world of chaos, because it's, it's not just moral absolutes. It's chaotic in this world. It's, it's the confusion of living in a world where there's sickness and dying, and an evil. Just all of the things that plague us in this world. It's all chaotic. For the Christian, the Bible is our absolute standard of truth. It has It has always been this way. And I hope by the time we're done this morning, that you'll understand why it's, it's good to assume that this standard of truth is to be accepted even if you've never accepted it before. And I also hope that that those who do accept it are better equipped to excel laying why it should be a absolute standard of truth to others, and why Christians believe and accept it as a universal, authoritative source of truth. People are still asking that question that Pilate posed 2000 years ago what is truth? Jesus prayed the night before his crucifixion actually, he's, he prayed to God and said, God set your people apart by the truth and in he was saying, let them know the truth and let them live your truth let let your people embody your truth Sanctify them in the truth is how he worded it and then he concluded Your word is truth. Jesus own prayer for his people for his followers is that we would know the truth of His Word and that we would live the truth of the Bible that our lives would embody and express the truth and the realities that it contains. And to help us move toward those goals. We're going to we're going to look at together five foundational truths that Christians embrace about the origin and nature of the Bible, five foundational truths that Christians embrace about the origin and the nature of the Bible. This this whole series stability and a world of chaos will kind of be a mini bibley ology, a study of the doctrine of Scripture, before we start talking about the Scripture itself, the literal physical Word of God that we now have the first foundational truth that Christians embrace about the origin and nature of the Bible is this, that God exists and God communicates, God exists, and God communicates. Now, I know, there are a lot of folks who claim to be atheists, and there isn't time to address in detail everything that could or should be said about that. So I'll summarize it by saying they're wrong. God exists. And I'm not trying to be condescending, but I have to start somewhere and starting there not only make sense, it is also described as the only logical starting point from from a cosmological point of view, just in terms of the worldview, look at the world around you. Romans one, verse 19. And 20 says, what can be known about God is plain to them to all mankind, because God has shown it to them. How has he done that, for His invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature have been clearly perceived ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse the the things that have been created, the creation of the world, puts the reality, the attributes, eternal power, divine nature of God on display, and it does that universally for all to see, the complexity and details of this created world reveal that there must be something or more accurately someone with eternal and absolute power behind it. And to deny this or to embrace some other reality is to suppress the truth. Which is what the passage says in the previous verse is the exact disposition of those who don't acknowledge that the world we live in, puts the existence of God on display, but but here's the implication of, of God creating the world if God exists, and he does. And if God has truly created all that we see that includes you and me, it includes every man, woman, and child. And if that's true, then it's also true that all people, all mankind are the Lords. We are simply subjects in a in a worldwide kingdom, overseen by the Almighty God, the Creator of heaven, and earth, a universe over which God is ruling and God who created it, his controlling, and as the king and the creator of the university, he has the position and the power and the authority to demand that all Creation yields to his rule and reign over them until to live in a way that puts His Majesty His divine attributes and power on display. If there is an ultimate being in the universe, who's created all things including us, and who has The ultimate power to create and rule over it, then we are accountable to that being.
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Now I understand that that doesn't answer the objections and the questions of those claiming to be an atheist, but the Bible doesn't really take a whole lot of time to answer those questions. In fact, it says in Psalm 14, verse one, Psalm 53, as well, the fool says, in his heart, there is no God. When the Bible begins in Genesis, chapter one, it assumes god exists when it just begins, in the beginning, God, the beginning of anything, and everything that we might know God was already. And then Romans one, as we saw, tells us that as God created the heavens and the earth, that made evident and obvious to all, so that they were out without excuse that God is. So if God exists, and he does, and if God has created everything, and he has, and if because of that fact, we're morally accountable to, to worship and serve Him, and we are, then we would expect God to communicate that to us, and communicate to us who he is and how we are to, to worship and serve Him. And God does, God exists, and God communicates. Have you ever stopped to consider how we are the only beings in the universe that do religious things? Have you ever just stopped to look at animals don't do religious things. We are by nature, beings that look for people or objects, or gods of any kind that we will pray to and offer sacrifices to and worship and serve. And the history of the human race proves this, that we are by nature, religious beings. Now, I mean, history has some examples of worshipping things that are, are pretty bizarre, right? And often, very disgusting, even violent, and other times downright silly. But you're never going to find another being another animal that worships that looks for an object that is greater and bigger and beyond us. To depend on, or to look to, for help for hope, for mercy. We have been made by God for the purpose of worship. And every culture in every time of history has proven that there's something inherent in the human constitution, in our personhood that knows, there is something bigger than us something longer than time. And that we should seek to find that purpose and that reason why we sense those things, and why we are created to worship. Ecclesiastes three, verse 11, describes it this way. It says, God has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, here's the phrase, he has put eternity into man's heart. Yet so that he cannot find out what God has done. From the beginning to the end, we sense it in our hearts, we have eternity in our hearts, we know there's something bigger and beyond ourselves, we know there's something more significant than just our short time on Earth. Even though he says, It's a mystery that we can't figure out on our own, which is why God communicates because we sense it, but we can't figure it out on our own. If God has made us to worship and serve Him, then we would expect God to communicate to us right, who he is, and how we are to worship and serve Him. And that's, broadly that first foundational truth here God exists. And God communicates. Christians believe the Bible is God's communication to us about how we can know Him and how we are to worship and serve him. That's actually our second foundational truth, that the Bible claims to be God's very words. The Bible claims to be God's very words. Now I realized that by asserting God exists, and that God is a creator, to whom we owe worship and allegiance. And by stating that if these things were true that God would certainly communicate his day Androids and expectations to us, I realized that by getting us all there logically, I haven't proven in some absolute way that the God of creation is the God of the Bible. Or that the Bible is the word given to us by that one true God. Christians, of course, believe this, that we always have. And I'm certainly espousing that conviction and belief this morning and calling everyone to embrace it. I'll show you how the Bible claims to be the word of God, but I can't in a definitive way, prove that point. There really is a point at which you simply accept and believe these things by faith. Although I think next week we're going to talk about the reliability of Scripture and we're gonna we're gonna find out why there are reasons grounded in facts that we can trust the Bible and therefore trust its claims. What are those claims? Well, first, we have the Bible's description, that it is God's word given to us. And second, Timothy 316, the apostle Paul writes all scripture and by that he means the old and at that time in process, New Testaments, both, All Scripture all the writings are breathed out, by God. That's the phrase he uses sexually one word in the original language of the Bible. That phrase breathed out by God is a very literal way to translate. It basically communicates that the words of the Bible, all of the scriptures that we call the Bible are as much God's word as they would be if he were to open a literal mouth. And they came out of him just like breath and words come out of our mouths. That's That's why the Bible in Peters first letter describes the manner of this word coming to us as being totally super intended by God Himself. And second, Peter 121, no, no prophecy that is no word of God was ever produced by the will of man. But men spoke from God, as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. And I would say that applies to the verbal prophecies of that are recorded in the Old Testament. I believe that applies to all of the revelatory prophecies that were recorded in both Old and New Testaments and Peter's saying the Holy Spirit used men, he used men to penned the words, to put them on paper, actually, to put them on papyrus and animal skins, but let's not get technical. He used men to pin those words, but he did it in such a way that he himself was bearing or carrying them along. Through the process, God was in control of every detail. Jesus believed that God was so in control of every detail, that in Matthew five in the Sermon on the Mount, he says, about the law and the prophets about the Old Testament writings, I haven't come to abolish them though he he certainly initiated a number of changes, right? From Old to New Testament and how we worship the Lord. So he's, he's clarifying, I have not come to abolish the law and the prophets, but to fulfill them. For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth passed away, not an iota. That's the smallest letter in the Hebrew alphabet, and not a dot, the smallest little tick mark in the Hebrew language, not one iota, not one dot will pass from the law until all is accomplished. I mean, he's, he's saying every little detail in God's inspired word will come to pass. The Bible claims to be God's word, and Jesus and the New Testament writers assume this to be true, even as some of them are pinning it themself. Over 700 times in the first five books of the Bible, and over 4000 times in the Old Testament, alone, we see the Bible claiming, God said, or this is the word of God or this is the word of the Lord and the word of the Lord came to the Prophet saying, or some such statement or implication over 4000 times. In the Old Testament alone, I mean, it's this. This is either true, or the biggest hoax on the planet. Right? You don't claim something for 1000 times. If you don't think it's true, now, I'm not you might be Thinking actually, well, that's circular reasoning. You're saying, I believe the Bible is God's word because the Bible says it's God's word. And that's circular reasoning.
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Yeah, I love circles. I did really good with geometry in in college. Of course, there's an element of circular reasoning here. But that is true with any claim to absolute truth. Even if your absolute truth is a is atheism, right? If something makes sense to you, then you're actually claiming that the reason it makes sense to you is because I make sense that there's always circular reasoning, ultimately, again, and I think it goes back to the fact that because we're religious beings, and we look for truth, and we look for objects to worship, that ultimately we we have to either look to ourself, as this the standard of belief, or we need to look to something outside ourself as the standard of belief. What is key here is the Bible makes the claim that is the word of the Creator of the heavens and earth. And it is unequivocal in that. And mankind, seeking to know and understand this creator needs to evaluate that claim. And we'll see in our fourth point, the claims the content, the consistency of the Bible, it does authenticate itself, it does prove to be what it claims to be. And we'll see more of that, I believe next week. And this has always been reality, even if some even many have asserted that people just randomly decided, what is in the Bible that's, I used to say, you can read all about that in the religion section of your local newspaper, but we don't have those anymore. So now we have to watch it on the History Channel. Evolution of preaching, I've talked to many people over the years who say they believe in God, maybe even believe in Jesus even believed, historically, Jesus died on a cross and claimed to be paying for the sins of the world. But they don't believe that the Bible is given to us directly by God, or that the Bible is, without at least some deficiency, they say something like, I believe in God, but I think God is like this, or God is like that. And I think God will accept me, if I live like this, or if I do that. It's very nebulous. And as I said earlier, it's very individualistic. But I would say that for for non atheists, for people who do believe in God, that is probably the most common way to think about who God is, and what acquires them. It is very, a very self styled very individualistic view of who God is, and, and how to worship him and, and what is salvation? And what has God called us to be and do but notice, the circular reasoning that exists even in the logic of those who usually tell me it's circular reasoning to believe the Bible is God's word. Why does the person believe God is like this, and God requires that and God will accept me if I only do these things. They believe that because it's what they believe, isn't it? There's no standard, there's no absolute statement of, of those things that they can rely on. It's something that's internal to them. Perhaps they've they've heard things in person and they it becomes an amalgamation of things that they believe. It becomes their own personal version of the of a bible of sorts, I guess. I understand in a post modern world that we are told we can accept any truth for ourself. You do you and all that, right? What's true for you may not be true for me, is a very common belief and mantra in a post modern world. But again, it's because philosophically, the worldview that is promoted, has abandoned the idea that truth is truth. So when in our world we encounter to so called truths that contradict one another. We just say, That's true for you. This is true for me, but that can't be reality. If truth is really truth, right? Either one of them. Is error, not true. Or maybe both of them are not true, but they can't actually both be true. At the same time, right? Two cannot be two and three, at the same time, just because I want to be three, which is how I think, after dinner when the desserts are coming out
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maybe this idea of all truth can be truth, there could be contradictory truths. Maybe that describes you. Maybe it describes a family member or friend or co worker. This idea I can I can believe whatever I want, about who God is, and what, what he thinks, what He requires. And I have encountered this so many times over the years. And when I do I, I asked an important question, and it logically flows from where we've come from already this morning that God exists, and God communicates, if there is a God. And if we are going to give an account to him one day, because he is the creator of heaven and earth, and we are part of His creation. Are you really willing to stake your entire life and eternity, on a personal belief that you've created that amalgamation of realities and truths that you think are, are real? Are you going to stick your entire life and eternity on a personal private belief system that actually, to some extent, is unique to you? That seems very, very dangerous. At best, it's dangerous. At worst, it's blasphemous, right? You're basically saying, I, I am determining eternal truth. For me. That sounds a lot like God doesn't. That logically leads to a third foundational truth helps us see why is so important. God exists and God communicates one, the Bible claims to be the very words of God. That means it is an objective standard of truth that is outside of ourselves. It's not a personal belief system. It's an objective standard of truth, that is outside ourselves. And that leads to consider this third foundational truth, it is good that God has chosen to communicate in writing. It is good that God has chosen to communicate to the human race in writing. Why is it good that God has chosen to communicate in writing? Well, one reason is because once it's in writing, it doesn't change. It's there for everyone to read, and understand. And I recognize not everyone can read. If I mean, there's a large percentage of people on the planet who cannot read and there are large numbers of people who don't have a Bible in their their language, either, which is, which are sad realities. But once it's in writing, it never changes, Lord willing, those languages will get it. And those who can't read will hear the Word of God read to them. But once it's in writing, it doesn't change. And that's why we use phrases like, I'm going to need to get that in writing. we've ever said that to somebody. Why do we say that? Why don't we use phrases like that? Put it in a contract, please, let's sign it, put it in words on a paper. So I can confirm later, what was agreed to or what was said writing it down at least limits the ability of people to change what they said, in the future, what's no different with God's truth. He has communicated to it and it has been written down. And again, the reliability of the biblical manuscripts in terms of hasn't really changed is ridiculous. It's humanly impossible. And I don't have time to go into that. What we have in the text of Scripture are the very words that were written down in centuries past. A second reason communicating and writing is good when it comes to the Bible is that now this truth is objective, right? It is black and white, so to speak, and it is there for all of us to read and understand and for the Christian to follow and obey. And that's a scary aspect of someone just independently deciding or embracing God is, has whatever or whoever they they think he is, right when a person believes what they believe is their own individual little belief system. It's personal. It's very subjective. Just as I described it a moment ago, it's entirely based on your own internal belief and your own authority. I believe this because it's what? Well, I believe, but if everyone on the planet did that, how many religions would we have? As many as we have people on the planet, right? Let's come together, we'll just be the three of us. The other 8 billion configured out? No, the religion of self styled individualism can't be right. And as I said before, it's a dangerous thing to stake your life and eternity on now, understandably, while the text of the Bible is written down. And while it is therefore able to be objectively read and understood, I'm definitely not naive to think that all people or even all Christians understand it exactly the same way, all the time. And every particular I get to speak to you again in two weeks on the clarity of Scripture, and we'll talk about that more there. But now that the point is that now that we have the Bible, we have God's word and it is written, it is therefore unchanging, it becomes the standard by which we can understand and measure every expression and every statement of truth. The Bible is an objective standard of truth. It's foundational for us this morning to understand that if God our Creator exists, then he requires us to know and worship and serve them. And if he requires that, he would most certainly communicate with us how we've just seen the Bible claims to be that communication from God, and it's good that it was written down, because that sets it in stone, it least puts it in black and white, even if I misunderstand it, or you misunderstand it, it is what it is. And it can be understood in plain language, which is actually a good segue into our next point, it's it's often asserted that in the history of the church, a bunch of guys at a religious conference, they call them councils, way back then a bunch of guys that are religious conference got together and decided which books which letters were going to be in the Bible, that is not actually true, at least not in the way it's usually asserted, and talked about on the History Channel for lack of a more guilty party.
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And that's our fourth foundational truth that Christians embrace about the origin and nature of the Bible. No man or council decided what was truly God's word. No man or council decided what was truly God's word. We're talking about the inspiration of, of God's Word, His communication to us. That's what it claims for most of modern history. This idea this truth was basically understood, especially so in the Protestant church, that I won't go into the differences of the Protestants and the Catholics in this regard. But no man or council decided what was truly God's Word, the way it should be properly understood and has for centuries. If you remember just one phrase about this point it it's this that the Bible is self authenticating. The Bible is self authenticating it, it authenticates its self, people, and not even a group of people decided what was authentic and true, it was authentic and true by its very nature. Now men did get together and discuss these things and recognized what was the real and genuine nature of those writings. But they weren't the ones who decided what was in God's word. What are those objective facts and realities? That the, and we can recognize about God's word there. There are perhaps a few different ways that could talk about those objective facts and realities. I'm going to give you three from Barry Cooper's little book, can I really trust the Bible? Great little book available? I think in the tribe book room, forgive me if it isn't. The early church recognized again, not decided, but recognized which writings especially New Testament writings, were three things apostolic, which means that they came with the authority of an apostle, a disciple of Jesus and eyewitness of Jesus, to they were historically widely recognized as being authoritative and true. And third, they were Orthodox, the actual content of what those writings said, were themselves also universally recognized as It's true. So when they were apostolic, not just anyone was writing things, claiming to be God's Word, the Christian religion was largely grounded on the testimony of eyewitnesses to the teaching and to the death and resurrection of Christ. So it stands to reason, as these writings are being collected, and coming to Christians in general, that those who were themselves apostles or eyewitnesses of these things, would get it right more often on a human level. Now, those writings that are truly scripture, of course, we already saw God was bearing those men along by the Holy Spirit, ensuring the truth of it. But there was a human element to that, as well. And by the way, this is why many of the writings that sometimes others claim should be part of the Bible. The History Channel, the gospel of Thomas, like how many people have heard of the Gospel of Thomas, right, the last gospel they used to call it those gospels, they they falsely claimed to be written by an apostle, though they can historically be proven to not have been written by them. That's the problem. Right? Before they get out of the first sentence, telling you who wrote it, they're already lying. How can something with a lie in the first line be true? Right, gospel, Thomas can't be true. Gospel, Peter can't be true. So those are just historical facts. Second, they will be widely recognized. What you find over the course of the first three and four centuries of Christian history is that those books that had authority were the ones that others closest to the time of writing, were also quoting and appealing to as truth. So we have all this stuff, letters and books written by people from the first few centuries of the church. And early Christians, like Polycarp, for instance, actually knew the apostle John Polycarp. Later discipled, a man named erroneous, who quoted authoritatively from almost every book of the New Testament, was born at 130. So we're just talking about decades after the death of the apostle John. That's one example of many as to how they were able to assess which books and letters were widely recognized as being from the apostles from the eyewitnesses, and were therefore authoritative, of course, the most obvious reality to assess if they are true is, are they true? Right. That means primarily that the content is consistent with itself, and it's consistent, and matches up with the whole of the other scriptures. Because God's not going to contradict himself, which is amazing. When you consider the Bible was written over the course of like, 14 1500 years, with, I think, something like 40 Different authors, consistent with itself from beginning to end, I believe, rightly understood. But then you see some of these other writings, the gospel of Thomas that I mentioned earlier, would you like me to read you the end of the Gospel of Thomas, are you ready? And Simon Peter said to them, let Mary go away from us, for women are not worthy of life. Jesus said, Lo, I shall lead her so that I may make her a male, that she to me become a living spirit resembling you males. For every woman who makes herself a male will enter the kingdom of heaven. Amazing that liberals want me to believe that, right? All of those extra biblical writings, all of them, you if you were to read them, please don't. Just after you get this memorized, I give you permission to read them. If you were just to pick them up, you'd be like What on earth is that? There isn't a ring of truth to it. They're full of historical inaccuracies. But what we find with the Bible, right 1500 years of historical accuracy, proven accuracy, the more they dig around in the dirt over in the other part of the world, the more they find out how accurate the Bible is. And there's so much more that can be said. But I think that's suffice is to make the point. The Bible is written down and the words haven't changed. And they authenticate themselves, based on their own character and content. It's not man, or councils that decided what was truly God's word. The fifth foundational truth that Christians embrace the last one this morning. If the Bible is truly God's word, it's authoritative. If the Bible is truly God's word, it's authoritative. We're outlining the truth of the inspiration and authority. The Bible has been under attack forever, but especially the last two or three generations. Charles Ryrie said this a couple of decades ago, maybe more now, he said, not many years ago, all you had to say to affirm your belief in the inspiration of the Bible, was to say, I believe the Bible is the Word of God. That was it. Later, it became necessary to add that you believe the Bible was the inspired Word of God. Later you had to include, I believe the Bible is the verbally inspired Word of God, which means in every word, verbally, then, to mean the same thing you had to say the plenary verbal inspired word, every word, not just the words, not just the concepts, but every word and today, you have to say, the plenary verbal, inspired, infallible word of God. I have to add all the adjectives on the front end. Just to clarify with people, I actually think God is speaking truth to me through this book and every detail. The Bible is not just another religious book that has a lot of good ideas, that is similar to other religious writings that people think have good morals and ideas. If there is one true God, the Creator of heaven and earth, then there is a God to whom we will one day answer. And that's what the Bible affirms. Acts chapter four, verse 12, and there is salvation and no one else. For there is no other name under heaven, given among men, by which we must be saved. If God will one day require an accounting of our life, whether we have lived to worship and serve Him as He deserves, then it stands to reason he would tell us how, how to know him, how to worship them, how to serve Him, the Bible claims to be that communication to us for that very purpose. And this message about who God is and how we're to know and worship him, it's been given to us right here, in this objective, unchanging black and white form of written words.
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And that's why they have ultimate authority. God has spoken in the scriptures, it is truth, it is divine reality, it, it defines what it means to live life in relationship to God. In a world of chaos, right? The Bible makes sense of it all. That it describes how the chaos and instability that we all experience as a result of the human race, choosing rebellion against God, which is resulted in all of us coming into the world with this corrupt nature and in need of spiritual life. The Bible describes how God in His grace and mercy, determined to, to purchase out of this fallen race of people for his own so that we could be transformed spiritually so that we would worship Him. It describes how God did that by becoming one of us, in the person of Jesus Christ, taking on human nature forever so that he could pay the penalty of death for us. That's what he was doing on the cross, paying the penalty of death for our sin, an infinite and infinitely loving God paying an infinite debt owed by the human race. So that we could live with him and all eternity, not in chaos. But in the opposite of chaos. The Bible describes how he will one day justly judge sin. But lovingly welcome home those who've begged for mercy and for him to cast our judgment on the person of Christ because He paid that penalty. We're still called to turn to him, this creator of heaven and earth, turn to him. Love him, worship Him. Serve him. That's that's the truth of the gospel. It's what brings spiritual transformation. It's what guarantees that we will live with and enjoy God forever. But when and until he comes To alter and restore this world forever out of this chaos that has become, he's calling us to himself, right? In the words of Peter and x 319. And following repent, therefore, and turn back that your sins may be blotted out. that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that He may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, whom heaven must receive. Here's, here's the chaos going away. Listen, Heaven receives the Christ, until the time for restoring all the things about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets, long ago, truth. Stability in a world of chaos, the message of the Bible is a message of hope and redemption, and of restoration is the only message that makes sense of all the chaos in our world. By describing the origin of the chaos and describing God's solution for the chaos, sin and pain and sickness and death, and the evils that are done to us, the wars that are perpetrated, and threatened, the confusing and twisting and upside down ways of our world. The truth of the Bible makes sense of all those things. And because of the redemption, God accomplished through Christ, He will someday for those who love and worship Him, He will someday bring permanent stability and permanent restoration of all these things. Back to that stable, and perfect reality for which he made it is called the new heavens and the new earth. We're in righteousness dwells. This is the inspiration and authority of the scriptures. I hope it's been a good intro for truth, stability. In a world of chaos, God exists and God communicates the Bible claims to be God's very words. And he's chosen to communicate to us in writing so that it's fixed and unchanging. Men didn't decide what was in there. And because of all those things, it's authoritative. It's authoritative for how to know and worship and serve the one true and living God. Let's pray. God, we thank You. We thank you that you have in your grace and mercy given us truth, you, you have spoken to us. The grass withers and the flower fades, but the word of the Lord will abide forever. You have communicated to us in an unchanging way that's objective and true and stands outside of ourselves. And we are grateful God, I pray every heart and soul here would be assured and confident in the truth of your word. And God I pray, every soul here would put their faith and trust in you for salvation and in your word, for that guidance and stability that can be ours. Through it, we ask it in Christ's name, Amen.
Brian is the Pastor of Counseling & Equipping at Faith Bible Church. He is passionate about the local church, and equipping the saints to effectively serve one another. Before coming to Spokane, he spent 14 years serving God's people as a pastor in rural New England (Vermont & New Hampshire).
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