Believe in the Church: We are the original politically incorrect people

    Who doesn’t love the birth of a baby? On the Day of Pentecost, as recorded in Acts 2, we see the birth of the church. In our reading in BELIEVE, we see four elements in Acts about the church:

•     The community emerges (Acts 1:1-11; 2:1-41). 
•     The commission of the church enlarges to include Judea and Samaria (Acts 8:1-8, 14-17, 25; 9:31). 
•      The congregation expands to even the Gentiles as seen in Acts 11:1-18). 
•      And ultimately, conversions to ends of the earth “For this is what the Lord has commanded us: “’I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’” See Acts 13:47 and Acts 13:1-3, 38-52.

   The church, or God’s called out ones (which is what the word church in the New Testament language really means), is called out to be independent from the world. In other words, the church was the original politically incorrect society of believers. Somehow, we have convinced ourselves that if only we were more like the world that the world would like us.

     Jesus said the world will hate us because it first hated Him. We are to come out from among them (2 Cor. 6:17. The most common word for Christians in the Bible is “saints” and no that is not just for a select few of holy dead people. All of us who are born again are saints and that word means “set apart ones.”

     The final three analogies of the church (see the first trio here and second trio here) found in the Bible shows that we are to be:

3. Independent from the World.

1.      The Church is a Priesthood, holy and set apart from the World (1 Peter 2:9)
2.      The Church is a People, royally set out of the World (1 Peter 2:9)
3.      The Church is a Proclamation to the World (Acts 2:42-47). We are to be a city set on a hill (Matthew 5).

    When Jesus went to His hometown of Nazareth, His first sermon was out of Isaiah, in which he quoted, ​​“The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, ​​because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed;to proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD.”(Luke 18-19).

    Babies are sure a lot of fun. But they are messy, loud, unpredictable, cranky, needy, and a host of other things, which when we describe them, that sounds a whole lot like the church. It’s been 2,000 years almost since the Day of Pentecost. It is far past the time when we need to grow up as a church and become the full measure and stature of what God has called us “out” to be: saints, who are set apart for the work of the Lord. To God be the glory. 

Believe in the Church: Christ is the big picture

    The proverb of “You can’t see the forest because of the trees” means that we often miss the overall picture because of the details. The Lordship of Jesus Christ in the church is paramount. The needs of the individual members, though important, must come under the direction of the overall leadership of Christ in accomplishing His purpose.

     Believe it or not, not everyone is always happy about everything that goes on at the church. Sometimes people stop giving. Sometimes people start griping. Others stop coming. Paul said we need to not be infants but rather mature, speaking the truth, but in love so that we can grow and build up the body in love, all under the headship of Christ (Eph. 4:15-16).

     Peter's confession that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God, found in Matt 16:13-19, is the first reference by Christ to the church. The centrality of Christ is the rock on which Jesus built the church. Just as there were three analogies to the church on our interdependence on each other, there are three analogies to our dependency on Christ--He is the Head, He is the Bridegroom, and He is the Cornerstone. 

  

     While evangelism and ministry are important, our chief end is to bring glory to Jesus Christ through His church.

          In the previous devotional, we saw the interdependence we have as a church--we need each other. More importantly, we are dependent on Christ, and we obviously need Him. Continuing the analogies of the church, our dependence on Christ shows:

1. The Church is a Body (1 Cor. 12) with Christ the Head.

2. The Church is a Bride (Eph. 5) with Christ the Bridegroom.

3. The Church is a Building (1 Corinthians 3) with Christ the Cornerstone.

      

Chapter 6 Believe Outline 

(pages 92-109)

   1. Covenant Established (Gen. 12:1-9, 15:1-21)

   2. Confession Expressed (Matt. 16:13-19)

   3. Community Emerges (Acts 1:1-11; 2:1-41)

   4. Commission Enlarges (Acts 8:1-8, 14-17, 25; 9:31)

   5. Congregation Expands To Gentiles (Acts 11:1-18)

   6. Conversions to Ends of the Earth (Acts 13:1-3, 38-52)

   7. Call to Church Explained (Eph. 4:1-16)

.....and Evaluated (Rev. 2:1-7)

  

Believe in the Church as a Family

The Church Family

     I love Ephesians because it talks so much about the church as a chosen people (1:4, 14), as a building (2:19-22), as a fellowship (3:9), as a family (3:14-15), as a body (4:15-16), as a bride (5:23-32).  Today I want to emphasize our relationship in Christ as a family. We were born into the human race, but also into a family. In the same way, the born-again Christian is born into the universal church, but we also must be involved as members within the local family of believers.

     One qualification for a pastor in 1 Timothy 3:5 is that he manages his family well, with the reasoning that if he cannot manage his family, how can he manage the church. Why would that be a condition of a pastor if it was not also true that the church should be like a family? Since our church is a family, we as members should treat one another as brothers and sisters.

     What impact does this have on us being interdependent on one another? One of the strongest passages on our relationships as a church family comes from 1 John 4:20, as the beloved Apostle wrote that anyone who hates his brother or sister in Christ is not truly a Christian.

     The old saying that “you can pick your friends but you are stuck with your family” is especially true with the family of God. We will be spending eternity with each other and with Christ. So John concludes that we cannot honestly say we love God whom we have never seen if we don’t love His children whom we have seen.

     Benefits of the Family         

     In Galatians 6:10 states that we should do good to all people, especially to those who belong to “the family of believers” (NIV).  Ephesians 2:19 says we are no longer strangers to God, but we are now “of God’s household.” We also are related to our spiritual family in order to meet physical (James 2:15), emotional (Mark10:29,30), and spiritual (1 Cor. 8:11-13) needs. Even as we saw the word “edification” earlier, which means to “build up,” is linked to the construction of a home. Members of the local church are to help one another to grow or be built up into a spiritual household or family (1 Pet. 2:5).

     Blessings of the Family

     In Romans 8:15, we see that we have received a spirit of adoption into God’s family and are now able to cry out to Him as “Abba, Father.” And if we are children of God, then Jesus is our brother and we all have direct access to our Father’s throne to present our requests.

     Behavior of the Family

     1 Tim. 3:15 says we ought to know how to conduct ourselves “in the household of God, which is the church of the living God.” 1 Peter 4:17 says that judgment begins with the “family of God.” We then are recipients of God’s blessings, benefits but also His disciplining as children. (see Hebrews 12:5-11).

Believe in the Church: We will make melody together

     Did you know you could make melody simply by coming to church and you don't even have to be a part of the choir?

     The word "member" conveys the idea that we have a relationship, a fellowship, with one another. The Greek word melos means literally "limb" or "part" of the body and is where we get the word "melody." It is this thought when Paul wrote in Romans 12:4-5, "we are members of one another."
   
    The early Greek writers would only use melos in the plural sense,  which really emphasizes how much we need one another. Yet some people do not understand the importance of being a member of the local church. They feel that being a Christian and a part of the universal church is enough. They say, "I don't have to go to a building to worship God."

    Rick Warren summarizes C.S. Lewis' thought on church membership by saying, "Any organ that is detached from the body will not only miss what it was created to be, it will also shrivel and die quickly. The same is true for Christians that are uncommitted to any specific congregation." (Purpose Driven Church, page 310).

     We are actually privileged and blessed to be an active member of the local body of Christ. Christ used three analogies of how we are interdependent on each other in the church:

1. We are Interdependent as a family (Romans 8:15)
2. We are Interdependent  as a fellowship (1 John 1:3-9)
3. We are Interdependent as a flock of sheep (John 10)

    As a family, we look to God the Father, to Christ as our spiritual brother and the Holy Spirit is who brings us to our adoption "The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father." (Romans 8:15).

     We need each other as members of a fellowship, as seen in 1 John 1:3, that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.


   

Chapter 6 the Church: Does God Believe In Organized Religion?

    “I don’t believe in organized religion” is one of those phrases that sounds smart but is actually dumb.

    Like “Love means never having to say you’re sorry,” a phrase which even Ryan O’Neal made fun of in the movie, “What’s Up Doc?” just two years after he starred in the movie “Love Story.”

    But ask yourself: what system in the world does not have some semblance of organization? Imagine a school system or the military without organization. Any and every business has some form of organization, even Google where the late-bloomer hippie employees go to work barefoot.

    Even families and households have some form of rules and decorum. You can’t just walk up to some strange house and take up residence there just because you like their neighborhood or social income. Any system without some form of structure will fail due to chaos.

    God has a purpose in “organized religion.” God is a God of order (1 Cor. 14:33). First Baptist Killeen has structure and problems, rules and hassles, systems and faults. But that does not mean that God cannot use us or any church. In fact, God ordains the church to be His primary way to accomplish His purposes on Earth.

The following is a devotional from Zondervan

KEY QUESTION: How does God accomplish his purposes today?

From the very beginning God has had a vision to be with his people in perfect community. When the first two humans — Adam and Eve — rejected this vision and were escorted from the Garden of Eden, God began to unveil a plan to provide the way back. God’s plan consisted of making Abraham’s offspring into a great nation and then into the body of Christ through Abraham’s descendants. Thus the story of Israel pointed people of all nations to the first coming of Christ — and through him to God’s plan to restore a relationship with his people.

As Jesus was nearing his crucifixion, he told the disciples about what was ahead and about their role in accomplishing God’s ultimate vision for the coming kingdom. [Matthew 16:13-19] highlights that God’s plan for believers is still in force; the vision is for believers to come together in a community that continues to this day.

After the resurrection and ascension of Jesus, God formed this community, called the church, led by his disciples. The story of the church points people of all nations to the second coming of Christ when he will fully restore the original vision of God.

KEY VERSE

 Speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. (Ephesians 4:15)

KEY IDEA

 I believe the church is God’s primary way to accomplish his purposes on earth.

KEY APPLICATION: What difference does this make in the way I live?

•In the body of Christ, you belong to a family focused on all the things of God, which are good, right, and healthy.

•In the body of Christ, you will grow faster in your walk with God. Because of our new identity in Christ, we live to express who we are in Christ, not to prove who we are.

•In the body of Christ, you become a part of a movement larger than yourself.

YOUR TURN

What is a key phrase that describes the purpose of the Christian church in the world? (If you get stuck, you’ll find some ideas in Ephesians 4:1-16.) Join the discussion today and use the hashtag #BelieveTheStory.

Identity: In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in everything, charity

        As we finish this week’s study on identity, notice how this belief leads perfectly into next week’s study on the church, specifically the local church. As members of Christ’s church, there are beliefs that we collectively agree upon that identify us and unite us as Christian believers and specifically as church members.

     But what is Biblical unity?

        Unity, not merely union. There is a story in Judges when Samson tied several pairs of foxes together with a torch in between them. There was a union, but not a unity.

Unity, not uniformity. I liked the way Evangelism Explosion used to say it: God wants unity but not uniformity. He loves diversity, but not needless division.

Unity, not unanimity. And there are times when God wants unity but not unanimity. We do not have to completely agree on every last detail. I don't mind for people to disagree with me as long as they are not disrespectful to my beliefs. One person said it this way,

“In essentials, unity. 

In non-essentials, liberty. 

In everything, charity.”

        Our identity in Christ leads to certain identifying beliefs that unite us together as a church. As Christians, we have more things in common which unite us than we have which divide us, especially in the local church, where we can unite to work for God’s kingdom. Our identity as individuals, along with core identifying beliefs as a church will lead to unity in our diversity.

     Ephesians 3:21 ends a great theological chapter, resounding with “To Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.” Chapter 4 continues that prayer by explaining how we can practically give glory to Christ in the church for all generations -- in unity.

        In Jesus’ High Priestly Prayer, recorded in John 17, He requested three things: the Splendor of God’s Glory (1-13, 24-26), the Sanctity from the world through His word (14-20) and the Symphony in the church’s unity (21-23).

Similarly, Paul lists ways to walk which will unite the church. Ephesians says we must

• Walk in works: the good works God has prepared for us (“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them,” 2:10),
• Walk in worthiness: in the unity of the spirit (“I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called,” 4:1ff),
• Walk not in worldliness: no longer in the futility of worldly thinking (“This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of[d] the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind,” 4:17),
• Walk in love (“And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.” 5:2),
• Walk in the light: as children of the light (“For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light” 5:8),
• Walk in wisdom, not as unwise, but as wise (“See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.” 5:15-16).

        We are indeed united by certain beliefs which identify us as a Christian body. But we are also diversified by certain gifts, talents and yes even opinions which actually strengthen us as members of that body. Those differences should never divide us in our common identity we have in Christ.

(For more on this topic of Identification in Christ, see the series on church membership entitled "Making Membership More Meaninful--Part 3, Membership means Identification."

Your New Identity Is Your New Identification

     Does anybody you know give out nicknames? Melissa’s dad gave his grandkids nicknames. “Scooter” because Rachel would scoot along rather than crawl, “Hannah Banana” because it rhymed and that’s what Grandma called her, “Mar mar” because older “Bubba” couldn’t say Marshall, and “Top Cat” because of Terrynce Caleb’s initials (and Granddad’s brother first called him that).

     Maybe somebody in your family makes up nicknames. When we get into a relationship with God, he doesn’t give us a nickname, he gives us a new name. Your name is your identification and God not only gives you a new identity but a new way of identifying just who and whose you are. You belong to God!

     Isaiah 62:2 says “You shall be called by a new name, which the mouth of the Lord will name.”

     Revelation 2:17 and 3:12 says this: “Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give that person a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to the one who receives it…  ¹² The one who is victorious I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will they leave it. I will write on them the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on them my new name.”

    I think it is so wonderful God gave so many people new names, not just Abram and Sarai, but Simon became Peter, Saul became Paul. Can you believe it but God has a new name for you when you get to heaven. You have a new identity and it is yours for the taking!!

    There is a song by Matthew West which has the following chorus:

Hello, my name is child of the one true King

I’ve been saved, I’ve been changed, I have been set free
"Amazing Grace" is the song I sing
Hello, my name is child of the one true King
 

Whoa oh ah oh ah oh oh

Whoa oh ah oh ah oh oh

Whoa oh ah oh ah oh oh  

    Whoops, sorry, I got a little carried away after listening to that song about four times as inspiration to this article. Rather than just reading the lyrics, go listen to the song yourself by clicking on the link at the bottom of the page and rejoice in your new identity in Christ. And remember this: God loves you just the way you are but He loves you too much to leave you just the way you are.

    Your new identity will be revealed as you believe and become more like Christ.

 

Listen to Matthew West's Hello My Name Is...

Believe Chapter 5-- Who am I?

     The following devotional comes from Zondervan.

Chapter 5: Identity in Christ

KEY QUESTION: Who am I?

The beautiful thing about God’s kingdom is that all those who welcome Jesus as their Lord are given the opportunity to accept a new identity through him. This is illustrated poignantly through the story of a crooked tax collector named Zacchaeus. Tax collectors were among the most despised people in Israel because they chose to work for Rome and were making themselves rich by gouging their fellow Jews. But Zaccheaus shows that even the lost can be adopted and made new.

Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.

When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.

All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.”

But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.”

Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham.” (Luke 19:1-9)

KEY VERSE

Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God. (JOHN 1:12)

KEY IDEA

I believe I am significant because of my position as a child of God.

KEY APPLICATION: What difference does this make in the way I live?

• Because of our new identity in Christ, we are free from condemnation. (Romans 8:1)

• Because of our new identity in Christ, our worth comes from our position in Christ, not our performance. (Matthew 11:28)

• Because of our new identity in Christ, we live to express who we are in Christ, not to prove who we are.

• Because of our new identity in Christ, we can focus on building others up, not tearing them down.

YOUR TURN

How has the concept of being adopted by God the Father as his child and being welcomed into his household affect your identity and your sense of purpose?
 

Believe Chapter 5: Identity in Christ

 

 

 

     A new identity, a new name, a new family through adoption to God’s family, a new inheritance, a new birth, a new indwelling of God’s Holy Spirit within me, I am now a new creation with a new belonging in the body of Christ and have a new citizenship in my new home which resides in eternity.

     Becoming a Christian is so much more than just starting over. Yesterday, my daughter Rachel was in church with us along with her boyfriend, Daniel Salters, who is working his way up to major league baseball. Several weeks ago, she posted a news story about him in which he talks about his identity is not in being a baseball player, but who he is in Christ. See this link at http://www.gameonlu.com/video-gallery/?videoID=343

   This week we will be studying who our identity is in Christ. In Bible Study Fellowship, we will see that when John the Baptist came on the scene, they asked him, “who are you?” Later in the life of Jesus, Jesus Himself asked “Who do people say that I am?”

    In Believe, and in tomorrow’s devotional, we will see at the very end of Jesus' ministry, he encountered a tax collector named Zacchaeus, whose identity changed after encountering Jesus. 

     It is a good question for us to ask ourselves: “Who am I?” How do you identify yourself? “Doctor, lawyer, Indian chief, rich man, poor man, beggar man, thief” the old saying went. Proverbs says, “As a man thinks in his heart, so he is.” But the New Covenant declares that God gives us a new heart. See the following verses on how a new heart equals a new thinking which leads to a new identity.
 
Ezekiel 18:31 -- Cast away from you all the transgressions which you have committed, and get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. For why should you die, O house of Israel?   

Ezekiel 36:26 -- I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 

Jeremiah 31:31-33 – ³¹ “The days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah. ³² It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them, ” declares the LORD.  ³³ “This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time,” declares the LORD. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.
 
Hebrews 10:16 -- “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them,”

     No longer sinner, but now a saint; no longer lost, but now found; no longer estranged from God, but now a child of God. Jesus indeed is making “all things new” (John 21:5).

 

 

 

Believe the Bible for its Power, Purpose and Preservation

    In the artistic rendering portion of the video this week, we see Jesus’ three-fold temptation in the desert. The way that Jesus confronted temptation was that He used Scripture to defeat the devil … and we should too!

     The Power of Scripture. Our memory verse, 2 Timothy 3:16-17, says that Scripture is God-inspired, all of it! Jesus knew the power of God’s Word in battling temptation. The three temptations of the flesh, fame and fortune (turning stones to bread, putting God to test, worshipping Satan to possess all kingdoms) remind us of Eve’s temptation of flesh (“good for food”), fame (“to make one wise”), and fortune (“pleasant to the eyes”). 1 John 2:16 also sees this unholy trinity of “the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life,” which wars against our body, soul and spirit.

    Jesus’ temptation found in Matt. 4:1-11 was against his body (bread), soul (testing God), and spirit (worshipping Satan, not God). Many even see parallels in Scripture to Satan’s downfall was also found in body/flesh (beauty, Ezek. 28:17a), soul/fame/mind & heart & will (corrupted wisdom, Ezek. 28:17b), and spirit/pride/idolatry (Isa. 14:14).

    The Purpose of Scripture. BELIEVE this week also speaks to the “why?” of the Bible. God’s Word is not only powerful and authoritative, but there is a reason for it. Isa. 55:6-13 says it will not return void, but accomplishes His purpose. Too often people use God’s word for their purposes, misquoting or manipulating it. That’s why I like the lengthy passages in Believe; it shows the context of the text to prevent pretexts (say that three times fast). Hebrews 4:12-13 says the Bible penetrates our soul, spirit and joints and marrow (body). Why do we have a Bible? To teach, rebuke, correct and train.

   Think of those irritating GPS voices. They tell us the direction. When we get off course, the voice will rebuke us (“recalculating”), correct our course, and then once we are back on course, those voices tell us we are on the fastest route (training). It is a poor analogy, I know, but maybe the Navigators drawing shows it better (using the King James version).

    The Preservation of Scripture. Randy Frazee speaks about the revelation, inspiration, transmission and translation of Scripture. He says that out of the 24,000 copies of the New Testament (compared to only 643 ancient copies of Homer’s The Iliad, a distance second place finisher in extant copies) only 400 words (out of 138,200 total Greek words) carry any question to what they meant in the original penning, and none of those relate to actual doctrine. That’s a 99.71 agreement or if it were a college Grade Point Average, it would be a 3.99 GPA!

    Benjamin B Warfield said, “…not only is the New Testament unrivalled among ancient writings in the purity of its text as actually transmitted and kept in use, but also in the abundance of testimony which has come down to us…” Frazee concludes “It is clear … that God himself oversaw the handling and care of his Word in a meticulous manner. Factor in the numerous attempts at literary genocide of the Bible, and our confidence in it only rises.” (Think, Act, Be Like Jesus, by Randy Frazee, page 52).

    No truer words were ever spoken than these: “The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever.” (Isa. 40:8)

Believe the Bible -- The Truth, the Whole Truth, Nothing but the Truth

   So what is the big deal about believing some parts of the Bible but not others? Why can’t we pick and choose what we want to believe and ignore the other parts that either disagree with us or disagree with our society?

    Have you ever heard of the Jefferson Bible? With a razor blade, Thomas Jefferson cut out the verses that liked and pasted them in a new Bible, leaving out the verses he didn’t like. Marilyn Mellowes from the PBS show Frontline said this, “In short, Mr. Jefferson’s Jesus, modeled on the ideals of the Enlightenment thinkers of his day, bore a striking resemblance to Jefferson himself.” (Dr. David Jeremiah, I Never Thought I’d See The Day, pg. 81)

   God created us in His image, but whenever we pick and choose what parts of the Bible we want to believe and what parts we want to ignore, we then begin to make a god in our own image. And the Bible defines that a idolatry, making a god in the image of our culture or our imagination. Paul told us to “buffet” our body, but some people want to buffet the Bible, making a smorgasbord of Scripture.

   If we are followers of Christ, and we believe that Jesus is the Son of God, we cannot take a view of the Bible any differently than did our Lord and Savior, and He said it will outlast the heavens and the earth (Mark 13:31). If you only believe in following the “red letters” and ignoring the rest, then please read these “red letters” of Christ’s words: “If you believed Moses, you would believe Me, for he wrote about me. But since you do not believe what he wrote, how are you going to believe what I say?” (John 5:46-47).  Jesus told Satan himself, “Man shall not live on bread alone, but every word that comes from the mouth of God.” (Matt. 4:4). Not some words, every word even down to the jot and tittle. The mouth of the Lord is the entire word of God (Isa. 1:20, 40:5, 58:14). 

   The Bible was not written by mere humans, nor mortal man. Paul commended the Thessalonians, “you received the word of God which you heard from us. You did not accept it as a human word, but as it actually is, the word of God,” (1 Thess 2:13). Peter said Scripture “never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, even though they were human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”

   If you are going to reject some parts of the Bible, then who told you to do that? Not God. Not Jesus. Not the Bible. YOU told yourself to do that! 

    This week’s reading shows that 
God initiates His revelation (Exodus 3:1-4:17), 
  He illuminates His revelation (Luke 24:27-49), 
     He interprets His own revelation (2 Peter 1:1-21), 
He is the inventor of Scripture (Exod. 19-20), 
  He Himself interacted with Scripture (Matt. 4:1-11), 
     He is the inspiration of all Scripture (2 Tim. 3:10-17), 
He intervenes with Scripture (Isa. 55:6-13), 
  He invigorates and investigates our soul, spirit, thoughts and attitudes with Scripture (Heb. 4:12-13), 
     the Bible is impossible to add to and immovable to subtract from (Deut. 4:1-2), 
immortal in its endurance (Isa 40:6-8), 
  inerrant and infallible in every aspect (Prov. 30:5-6), 
    instructive to all (2 Tim. 4:2) 
      impervious to change, 
        invincible to attack, and 
          infinite in application to our lives. 
The Word was in the beginning (John 1:1) and 
   it will endure for eternity (Matt. 24:35). 

Believe The Word - - Going Farther than BELIEVE

    As much as I have been writing about BELIEVE for the past few weeks, it may surprise you that this week may be one of my least favorite. What’s more, it is the week that speaks about the Bible.

    It is not that anything is in this week that is wrong, but rather that this week is, pardon the pun, weak; it simply does not go far enough in affirming the word of God, the Bible. I am sure it is hard to put everything about the Word of God in a single week and a single chapter of a book. Entire books and commentaries have been written about the Bible so how can anyone put all that needs to be believed about the Bible in a mere week and a simple chapter.

    The key idea is not wrong but it is not fully complete. “I believe the Bible is the inspired Word of God that guides my beliefs and actions.” Yes, that is a true statement, but the Bible is more than merely “inspired.” 2 Timothy 3:16 says ALL of the Bible is not only inspired but God-inspired, God-breathed. It not only guides my beliefs, but it is absolutely authoritative to guide our beliefs. Benjamin Warfield concludes his exposition on this verse with the following statement:

What (2 Timothy 3:16-17) affirms is that the Scriptures owe their origin to an activity of God, the Holy Ghost, and (the Scriptures) are in the highest and truest sense His creation. It is on this foundation of Divine origin that all the high attributes of Scripture are built.

    Secondly the four statements of summation of beliefs begin with this one, “I believe the Bible is absolutely true…” …if only the first statement would have stopped there. In the study guide on pages 35 and 38 it goes on but does not need to. The Bible is absolutely true period. The second statement is “the words of the Bible are the words from God,” begs the question, if they are words of God, are they therefore not absolutely true in all things and not solely “in matters of faith and morals”?

    While Moses being confronted by the burning bush (the first and lengthiest section of this week's reading) is vitally true, in regards to the Scripture, the following are even more germane to the authority of the Bible: 

• Jesus’ statement in Matt. 5:18 that not one jot or tittle will fall;
• 1 Peter 1:23-25 is essential in studying that the Word of God regenerates us and will endure forever; 
• that the Bereans in Acts 17:11-15 were noble to search the Scriptures to know what is true;
• Jesus said the Holy Scriptures could not be broken in John 12:35-36 and frequently chided the religious by asking, “Have you not read?” implying that they were ignorant of God’s Word which is authoritative in all things;
• That the Scriptures are written so that we might know that we have eternal life (at least John's writings which are summarized in 1 John 5:13).

    For a good study on the reliability of God’s Word, the Bible, consider reading Kevin DeYoung’s book, Taking God At His Word and Will Davis Jr.’s book A Man Who Told Us the Truth. At the end of DeYoung’s book, he lists 30 books that affirm the Word of God.

     Perhaps one of the most greatest encouragements of the truth of God’s Word is when Jesus, the Son of God, is praying to the Father in John 17 and prays for us with these words, “Sanctify them by the truth, Your Word is truth.” His word will protect us and sanctify us.

Believe Chapter 4: The Bible--Take His Word For It

    When I first went into the ministry as Education Pastor at FBC Brownsville, even though I had a master’s degree in Religious Education, I really didn’t know what education ministers do all week…Order Sunday School material, then what?? I called up the music minister and asked him what Frank, my predecessor, did. He said, “You would have to ask him,” almost as if he didn’t know either. 

     At First Baptist Killeen, the education ministry is all about the Bible. The 12 deacons we are considering are asked if they believe the Bible is the Word of God. We believe that God’s Word has the right to command our beliefs and our actions! 

     Many of those who attend Sunday morning only and

don’t come to a LifeGroup...

   ...don’t come to a study on Sunday or Wednesday evenings... 

       ...and don’t study the Bible in a small group...

...they do not really get the whole picture of our church, Christianity and what it means to be a disciple of Christ in the context of a small group of believers. 

    This BELIEVE series is a great time for those who only attend the FBC Killeen worship service to become a part of a small group study. The text book BELIEVE is about 95% specifically selected Scriptures to reinforce 30 key Beliefs, Practices and Virtues. The other 5% is explanation of how to Think, Act and Be like Jesus. 

The following devotional comes from Zondervan:

KEY QUESTION: How can I know God and his will for my life?

    How do we know God? How do we understand and see the world we live in? How do we grasp where we came from and why we are here? How do we know where this story is ultimately heading?

    The answer is profound—God reveals himself and his grand plan to us. Our Role is to listen and believe. The Bible repeatedly records that God communicated to his people at specific times with specific messages. In some cases, such as with Moses at the burning bush, he spoke audibly.

    In other instances he spoke through dreams or visions or less direct impressions. But the words of the Lord were always given to his people to reveal his plan for them and for all humanity. God revealed his story because he loves us. 

    The Lord spoke mostly through prophets in the Old Testament and through Jesus and the apostles in the New Testament. 

    Throughout the Bible the writers warned readers that they should not add or take away from God’s Word. God has given and preserved his Word for us so we can rely on it to guide our lives into all truth and according to God’s good plan. Therefore, Christians revere the Bible and affirm its right to command our beliefs and actions.

 KEY VERSE

     All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16–17)

KEY IDEA

     I believe the Bible is the God-inspired Word of God that is the Supreme Authority which guides my beliefs and action.

KEY APPLICATION: What difference does this make in the way I live? 

    The Bible is the lens from which we view the world. God’s Word informs what we      think and feel about everything we encounter. We see the intervention of God in history, in our present lives, and on into the future as He continues to write his grand story.

    We are obligated and motivated to study the Bible to understand God’s will for our lives. The Bible forms the content of truth we seek to marinate our minds in.

    The principles in the Bible must govern our lives, even when we don’t fully      understand or like what it teaches.

YOUR TURN

    In what ways have you experienced the Word of God as “alive and active” in your own spiritual life?