Life: What Foundations are You Building On?

The Bible is the Word of God

This sermon was prepared and preached by Pastor Mike Rose at First Federated Church in Des Moines, Iowa, on
Sunday, September 16, 2007.
Copyright © 2007, First Federated Church
Today we begin to unpack the 10 Absolute Truths that are worthy material to build our lives upon.

Absolute No. 1 -- The Bible is The Word of God, able to lead us into all necessary truth.

2 Timothy 3:16-17 – NKJV) – All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine,
for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete,
thoroughly equipped for every good work.

I. What is Necessary Truth?

You ask – Pastor Mike, why would you say the Bible leads us into all “necessary truth” Doesn’t it lead
us into ALL truth? No, it doesn’t!

In order to lead us into ALL Truth the Bible would have to contain all truth, but it doesn’t.

All that the Bible records is True! It gives us the good, the bad, the ugly. Even that which is untrue, it
records in a truthful, accurate way. But the Bible does not contain ALL truth.

What truth does it contain? All necessary truth.

2 Timothy 3:16-17 says the Bible contains everything necessary for correct doctrine, rebuking and
correcting sin, for instruction in righteousness.

In short, everything needed to make the man or woman of God complete and fully equipped for every
good work God ordained for us. That is NESSARY TRUTH.

But how do we know that the Bible is God’s Word?

II. The Bible, God’s Word? How can we be sure?

This morning I make a “Truth Claim.” One that is absolute. My claim is that the Bible IS The Word of
God. How can I be so sure?

Consider the following Evidence:

1. Its unity in diversity – written by more than 40 authors over a span of 1,000 years, yet it is
completely unified in its message, from beginning to end, without contradiction.

2. Its uncommon accuracy – as a historical book, its never been proven wrong. Dates, places, peoples
all existed. When it speaks on a specific subject, what it says about that subject has always proven
true (medicine, geography, science).

3. Its indestructibility and preservation – scores of nations and leaders have tried to eradicate it, yet
today it remains the best seller of all time.

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4. The Testimony of Changed Lives – so changed, by its message and touched by its power have
people been, that thousands have voluntarily given their lives rather than renounce its truths.

5. 100 Percent Accuracy Regarding Fulfillment of Prophecies – not all of the prophecies have been
fulfilled yet, but among the thousands that have, each one transpired just as the Bible said. This is an
indisputable, historical fact!

These five points are convincing arguments and stand in their own right concerning the authenticity of the
Bible as The Word of God.

But the point that means the most to me, and stands as the strongest evidence is the testimony of Jesus.

Consider Jesus’ testimony concerning the Old Testament.

Both secular and Biblical history confirm that when Jesus walked the earth the Old Testament existed just
as it does today. Back then it was known as THE LAW – THE PROPHETS and THE
WRITINGS/The Psalms. As one reviews the words of Jesus, it is clear that He pointed to the Old
Testament and gave testimony that it was the Word of God.

A. Jesus spoke of its central divisions and called it scripture – Luke 24:44-45 – NKJV – Then He
said to them, “These are the words which I spoke to you while I was with you, that all things must be
fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me.
45
And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures.

B. Jesus made mention of individual books, writers and events – Matthew 22:43-44- NLT Jesus said
– Then why does David, speaking under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, call him Lord? For David
said, “The Lord said to my Lord, Sit in honor at my right hand until I humble your enemies beneath
your feet.” – a reference to Psalm 110:1

Matthew 24:15-NLT - Jesus spoke of Daniel and a prophecy he recorded in Daniel 9:27 – The time will
come when you will see what Daniel the prophet spoke about: the sacrilegious object that causes
desecration standing in the holy place – reader, pay attention!

The context of Jesus’ statement clearly points to the fact that He considered Daniel’s writing to be
authoritative and of God.

Additionally, throughout the Gospels, we find Jesus confirming the following Old Testament books as
being authoritative scripture: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, 1 Kings, Psalms,
Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Jonah, Micah, Zephaniah, Malachi.

Furthermore, Jesus referred to these events as historical events: Creation of man; murder of Abel by
Cain; Noah and the flood; Lot and the fate of Lot’s wife; destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah; God’s
giving of Commandments to Moses; manna provided in wilderness; serpent of brass lifted up in the
wilderness; Solomon’s wisdom and glory; three and a half years of famine in days of Elijah; Elisha’s
cleansing of Naamon’s leprosy; Jonah in the great fish for three days and nights; repentance of Nineveh at
Jonah’s preaching; the murder of Zechariah the priest.

Finally, take note of the following passages that show what Jesus thought of the Old Testament scriptures;

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1. Matt 5:17-18 - The Old Testament is reliable and indestructible.
2. Luke 16:31 - The Old Testament scriptures are sufficient.
3. Luke 24:27,44 - The Old Testament scriptures are unified.
4. Matt 12:40 - The Old Testament scriptures are historically accurate.
5. John 17:17 - The Old Testament scriptures are inerrant and infallible.

It cannot be legitimately questioned. Jesus considered the writings, people and events of the Old
Testament to be literal, accurate, to be the Word of God.

Now what about the New Testament? Did Jesus have anything to say about the 27 books known today
as the New Testament? Consider the following two passages:

John 14:25-26 - NLT – 25I am telling you these things now while I am still with you. 26But when the
Father sends the Counselor as My representative – and by the Counselor I mean the Holy Spirit – He
will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I Myself have told you.

John 16:12-14- NLT – 12Oh, there is so much more I want to tell you, but you can’t bear it now.
13
When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth. He will not be presenting His own
ideas; He will be telling you what He has heard. He will tell you about the future. 14He will bring Me
glory by revealing to you whatever He receives from Me.

I find three things Jesus prophesied to His disciples that the Holy Spirit would do when He came:

1. He would remind them of what Jesus had said. This is the Gospel record, the four Gospels
record the life, work and words of Jesus.
2. He would reveal new truth – He said there was more He wanted to teach His disciples, but they
were not yet ready. In verse 13, He said that when the Spirit came He would then guide them into
this truth. The 21 Epistles of the New Testament are the record of that new revelation.
3. He would reveal the future – the book of Revelation is the New Testament book of prophecy
and was given as, Revelation 1:1 says “…to show His servants what must soon take place.” i.e.
the future.

Jesus gave testimony that when He departed and the Holy Spirit came, the Spirit would remind the
disciples what He had said (the Gospels), reveal new truth (the Epistles) and reveal the future (the book of
Revelation).

This accounts for 26 of the 27 books of the New Testament. Only the book of Acts fails to fall into one of
these categories. The book of Acts is a book of history, recording the return of Jesus to the Father, the
coming of the Holy Spirit, and the birth and early years of the Church.

Acts then is the fulfillment of:

• John 14:28-29 – Jesus foretold his return to the Father.

• John 16:7 – Jesus foretold the coming of the Holy Spirit.
• Matthew 16:18 – Jesus foretold the building of His Church.

I believe the case is conclusive. We can know that the Bible we hold in our hands today is the Word of
God because of:

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 1. Unity in diversity.
2. Uncommon accuracy.
3. Indestructibility and preservation.
4. The testimony of changed lives.
5. 100 percent accuracy regarding fulfillment of prophecies.
6. The testimony and prophecy of Jesus Christ.

Finally, since we can be sure that the Bible is God’s Word by many convincing proofs, then as a
Christian, what should my relationship be toward it?

III. The Bible, God’s Word! My relationship to it.

If all that I have presented to you is true, then it means the book we hold in our hands is the Word of
God.

That means it contains all that we need to navigate through this life successfully (successfully as defined
by God) and to be pleasing to Him in every way, fulfilling the purpose for which He created us.

Wouldn’t you agree, that makes this book excessively important?

Since the Bible contains all truth necessary for fulfilling the purposes God, then we need to adopt the
following as our attitude toward it: Concerning God’s Word we need to be eager and committed to:

1. Hear it – Romans 10:17 says - 17So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. –
All of us need to have our faith strengthened, Hearing the Word of God read and proclaimed
strengthens our faith

2. Read it – Deuteronomy 17:19 - 19And it (the Scriptures/Law) shall be with him, and he shall read it
all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the LORD his God and be careful to observe all the
words of this law and these statutes … The Bible is a book that is meant to be read.

3. Study it – Acts 17:11 - 11And the people of Berea were more open-minded than those in
Thessalonica, and they listened eagerly to Paul’s message. They searched (Studied) the Scriptures
day after day to check up on Paul and Silas, to see if they were really teaching the truth.

I will never purposely misrepresent scripture, but I am a man with limitations, I am prone to making
mistakes. God gave you a perfect, inspired Word. Don’t be guilty of only taking what someone else says
about it. Study it yourself so you can know and follow Christ accordingly.

4. Memorize it - Proverbs 7:2-3 – NLT - Guard my teachings as your most precious possession. 3Tie
them on your fingers as a reminder. Write them deep within your heart.

Memorizing helps in the following ways: 1) helps in resisting temptation, 2) helps in making wise
decisions 3) strengthens us when under stress.

A Bible is not always handy when faced with these things, but the Word memorized can remind us of
truth that can give us victory over schemes of Satan.

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5. Meditate on it – Psalm 1:2 – NKJV - But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he
meditates day and night.

Meditation is focused thinking. When you meditate on the Word, it’s like studying a beautiful diamond.
Your looking at it from various angles, gleaning from it all that God has put into it, and by doing this, you
are beginning to make the Word part of your actual being.

The more the Word gets into you, the more you can get out of it.

Finally, hearing, reading, studying, memorizing, meditating – all of these are good as it pertains to the
Word, but this last one is crucial.

6. Apply It – James 1:22 – NKJV - 22But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving
yourselves.

This is where many Christians are, DECIEVED! They think they have done something great simply
because they heard or read the Word.

But the Word was not given with the primary goal to hear or read it. The primary goal is to put what
you’ve heard and read into action.

When it’s put into action it can make great change and accomplish much for the glory of God and the
benefit of the believer.

So I come down to these final thoughts:

The Bible is the Word of God, able to lead us into all eternally, necessary truth.

So take heed to this Truth. The Bible is:

• Inspired by God.
• Infallible in its instruction.
• Authoritative in its commands.
• Complete in its make-up.
• Trustworthy as the foundation for your life.

Therefore, we should build our lives upon its sure foundation.

The First Federated Church copyright, above, is for the sermon itself, not for any items quoted in the sermon, unless
otherwise stated. All quoted items are done so in good faith, and the source is attributed when it is known.

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