Sermon Cloud

• How can we relate to people and cultural settings that happened over 2,000 years ago?
• Can the same God who spoke to an agrarian society speak to our technologically savvy one?
• But what if I have a really difficult problem and have trouble coming to terms with what the Bible says?
• Is the Bible enough for me?
• Who's to say what the Bible really says anyway?
• What's the difference between the Bible and a best-selling Christian book?

Well, a good thing to do is to S.C.A.N. the Scripture. That is to state that Scripture, both Old and New Testament, is sufficient to guide us, brings clarity, has authority and is necessary for us to grow in spiritual maturity.

Sufficiency

            The Bible contains all the words God intended his people to have and we can trust and obey them perfectly. 2 Timothy 3:15-16 says that the Scriptures are able to make us wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus and that all Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training us in righteousness. We can trust that the Bible is enough because God is enough for us. The Bible is God's Word, better yet; it is God's talk to us. As we read and think over what God has said we can ask him in a spirit of humility to teach us and he will.

            We do not have to read all the best selling Christian books to know what God says for us! Though some books are helpful, we are not completely dependent upon them. In the Scripture we find his love and mercy for us, his demands and desires for us, and how we should relate to God and to others. Most of all, God gives us the Scriptures so that we may know him. Psalm 119 is a chapter fully dedicated to describing the Bible.

Clarity

            The Bible is written in a way that its teachings are able to be understood by all who read it while seeking God's help and while being willing to follow it. True, there are some passages of Scripture that are more difficult than others to understand. There are some passages that we will never fully figure out, but we can discern some truth from them. It is helpful to talk to others and to read books that challenge us and calls us to mental exercise, but it is interesting to note that Jesus never blamed the Old Testament for being difficult to understand. He put the onus on his listeners to read, study and know it.

            We should never allow our study of Scripture to bring us to intellectual arrogance. We should always understand that God is much bigger than our finite minds can comprehend. We must also resist the lethargy that says, "Oh, I'll never figure this out, so what's the use?" If we wish to have our hearts brought alive with the beauty and majesty of God shown to us in Jesus Christ, then we need to have our minds renewed with his truth. Please read Proverbs 3:1-8, 1 Corinthians 1:18-2:16 and Romans 12:1-2.

 Authority

            All the words of Scripture are God's words in such a way that to disbelieve or disobey them is to do so to God. We must understand that the Bible was not written at the impulse of men but was written as they were moved by the Spirit (2 Peter 1:20, 21). Having humans as instruments doesn't negate divine authority. Though God spoke to Moses and many other prophets the people regarded those words as coming from the mouth of God.

             Jesus says in John 17:17, "Sanctify them in truth; your word is truth." Notice that Jesus didn't say that God's word is true as if his word conforms to a higher standard, but that the Bible is truth. The Bible is the standard against which everything else is measured. Any teaching or writing by any person is measured against God's word. Anything that is taught in church should always be measured against God's word. There is a great story of a whole group of people who did this. The story is found in Acts 17: 10-15.

Necessity

            The Bible is necessary for knowing the gospel, maintaining a spiritual life and for knowing God's will. It seems like the Bible has fallen on hard times. Many homes have multiple copies of the Bible, yet many Bibles gather dust during week or get sunburned in the family car's back glass. When considering the preponderance of great news that is found within, one must be baffled at why this is so.

             It is through the Scripture that we find out about our need for God's forgiveness and his personal sacrifice to make that happen. (Read Isaiah 53!) We learn about the greatness of God (Isaiah 40) and that he is ever-present (Psalm 139). We find out that we will never be good enough or smart enough to warrant our salvation, but that God does it on his own accord, through faith in Christ Jesus his Son (1 Corinthians 15:1-8; Luke 24:27; Romans 3:19-26). We find out that the Bible is the nourishment we need; it is our daily bread. It is also our hope through out all the stages of our life (Psalm 119:81; Psalm 23).   

Conclusion

            I have never known someone to grow older in their faith and love the Bible less. It is always the opposite-reading leads to loving and loving leads to joy. If you wish to feel great things for God then you must know great things of God (Isaiah 60:10-11). Is not the God on whom we place our destiny, not worthy of trust in the here and now? Taste and see that the LORD is good and take refuge in him (Psalm 34:8).