The Bible-One of God's Greatest Gifts

The Bible is presented as one of God’s greatest gifts to humanity, and its preservation stands as a remarkable achievement throughout history. Long before the printing press, every copy of Scripture was carefully reproduced by hand, helping preserve God’s Word through generations. 

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Do we really understand what a priceless gift the Bible is? The Bible is one of God's greatest gifts to mankind. The Bible's preservation is one of the remarkable stories in human history. Before the invention of the printing press, every copy of Scripture had to be made by hand. The scribes developed meticulous copying practices to ensure accuracy. After the invention of the printing press, early translators faced persecution and even death for translating the Bible into various languages. Many printers and publishers also risked their lives to disseminate the knowledge of the truth, the Bible. God guided and inspired the human authors of the Bible so they could record exactly what he intended. All scripture is God breathed, it says in 2 Timothy 3.16. The God who created us, male and female, gave us a guide to live by. God's instruction manual for mankind is the Bible. Within its pages, we find the laws of God, and these laws, if followed, result in peace and happiness. One is blessed for living in accordance with them, yet there are painful consequences that result from breaking these laws. It is God who determines what is right and what is wrong. Only our Creator has the right to determine what sin is. The Bible defines sin as lawlessness or the transgression of the law. In 1 John 3 4, it says whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness. In the King James Version, it says sin is the transgression of the law. When we break God's laws, therefore we sin, and what is the penalty for sin? The Scriptures plainly state, for the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord in Romans 6.23. We've all sinned. We all deserve death, which is the penalty for sin. If Jesus had not died for us, none of us could be forgiven, and none of us would inherit eternal life. The Father gave his only begotten Son, and His Son, Jesus the Christ, gave His life and paid the death penalty in our stead. But their conditions that must be met if Christ's blood is to wash away our sins. We must acknowledge our sins and repent of them, that is, change our way of life. We will not live perfect, sinless lives, but we have to be striving to overcome and grow spiritually. Building godly character requires effort and it is a long process, a lifelong process. Yet we do not earn salvation. Salvation is a gift. We are saved by grace, which is free, unmerited pardon. But does that mean that we can ignore the laws of God and live in sin? Absolutely not. We're commanded to obey the laws of God and walk as Jesus walked. We cannot live in sin and break God's laws with impunity and expect God to grant us eternal life. The Apostle Paul said in Romans chapter 6, verses 1 and 2, What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not. How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? When a rich young ruler asked Jesus Christ the question, Good teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life? What was Christ's response to the question? Christ simply said, If you want to enter into life, keep the commandments. In the final hours of the life of Christ, we see that he did not do away with the laws of God, as so many assume. On the contrary, he said, If you love me, keep my commandments, in John 14, 15. And he who has my commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves me, and he who loves me will be loved by my Father, in verse 21. In Matthew 7, verses 21 to 23, Christ, looking ahead to the time when we must all give account, said, Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in your name, cast out demons in your name, and done many wonders in your name? And then I will declare to them, I never knew you, depart from me, you who practice lawlessness. All of God's laws were designed with mankind's best interest in mind, and if followed, these laws lead to happiness and peace and joy. Commandment keeping leads to an abundant life. The Apostle Paul said, Therefore the law is holy, the commandment holy and just and good, in Romans 7, verse twelve. Consider the Ten Commandments, are any of them bad for us or bad for our neighbor? Of course not. You shall not murder is a good law for you and I and for everyone. You shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. These and the other commandments are all good laws that benefit both us and our neighbor. And God spelled it out in very plain, simple language that anyone can understand. If we obey God's commandments, we're blessed for doing so. If we break the commandments, we do so to our detriment. There's always consequences for sin. When God spoke to the Israelites on Mount Sinai, the mountain was completely covered in smoke. Its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, the Bible says, and the whole mountain quaked greatly. The mighty blast of a trumpet sounded long and louder and louder, and the people were not allowed to touch the mountain lest they die. The thunder rolled, the lightning rent the sky, and people heard the mighty voice of God as he spoke the Ten Commandments. It was an awesome event, one that those in attendance would never have forgotten. The commandments haven't changed. They remain the same yet today. They are as relevant now as they were then. Some people think that Jesus came to do away with the law, but did he? How did Christ magnify the law? Over 700 years prior to Christ's earthly ministry, the ancient prophet Isaiah, inspired by God, prophesied that the ministry of Jesus Christ was destined to magnify the law and make it more honorable. We read this in Isaiah chapter 42 and verse 21. The Hebrew word used here literally means make great or cause to be great. In other words, a fitting definition to the prophetic statement made by Isaiah would be he will extol, law, or cause to be held in greater esteem, increase in significance or intensify the law. It could easily be translated magnify. So contrary to popular belief, Christ came not to destroy, but rather to fulfill or magnify the very law that He Himself wrote on two tables of stone at Mount Sinai over 14 centuries previously. Jesus perfectly fulfilled, lived by and magnified God's law to show us its fullest spiritual application and to set an example that we should follow in his steps. Christ Himself verified and confirmed that this indeed was his purpose, as seen in Matthew 5, verses 17 and 18. We begin in verse 17, where he says, Do not think that I came to destroy the law or the prophets. I did not come to destroy, but to fulfill or magnify the law. What law or laws was it that Christ came to magnify? When Christ said he did not come to destroy the law, he was referring to the eternal, spiritual, or we might say moral law of God, not the ceremonial, sacrificial, or ritualistic laws containing in the law of Moses. The Greek scholars acknowledge the word here translated to fulfill means not only to do or perform, but to fill to the full. In context, it has the meaning of to bring to full expression, to bring out its fullest significance and meaning. Some might confuse the word fulfill in verse 17 with the word fulfilled in verse 18. And even though the translators use the same English word in both cases, the original text actually has two entirely different words. The word fulfill in verse 18 means to take place or to come to pass. Let's read verse 18. For assuredly I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, not one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. In other words, take place or comes to pass. Not one jot or one tittle will by no means pass? This is an incredible statement that Jesus made. It's one of the strongest statements in the entire Bible, affirming that the Word of God, the Scriptures, are absolutely trustworthy and that it has not been done away with. But some might say, what about love? Doesn't love nullify or do away with the commandments? The Apostle John places a great deal of importance and emphasis on love. But John never said love superseded or destroyed the law. In fact, John wrote in 1 John 5, 3, for this is the love of God that we keep his commandments, and his commandments are not burdensome. Keeping the commandments is evidence of love and reverence for God. And his commandments are not burdensome, they're not grievous. The Greek word means heavy or difficult to bear, to be borne as a burden. God's laws are not unreasonable, and what he requires is not beyond our ability to comply with if Christ lives in us through the indwelling of his spirit. Those who sincerely endeavor to keep his commandments do not complain that they're a burden. The complaints come from those who object to keeping God's laws and claim they are unreasonable, that they impose unnecessary restraints, that they are frankly impossible to be complied with. God's law is not burdensome because it's rooted in love and designed for mankind's good. It acts as a guide for living. God's commandments prevent harm. They lead to a fulfilling and happy life. So love then, far from superseding or doing away with the law, the Ten Commandments, is at the very heart and essence of the law. It is the spirit of the law. Love is the very tool that Christ used to intensify, to magnify, and fulfill his law. Christ said in John 14, 15, If you love me, keep my commandments. And he said these words shortly before his death, shortly before his crucifixion. He says in verse 19, Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but he who does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say to you that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and the Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. The scribes and the Pharisees were regarded as being far above the average person as far as righteousness is concerned. And yet Christ called them hypocrites. Because their righteousness was a show and they wanted to be seen by men, their righteousness was disingenuous. Many people in the world today have lost sight of right and wrong. In fact, many of the world's sinful practices are actually approved of and even embraced by society today. Even many professing Christians and so-called religious leaders have compromised on right and wrong. They have been accepting of what God plainly condemns. It seems that in many churches today that money and the number of members that they have are more important than what God says. God said, Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter in Isaiah 5.20. God inspired the apostle Paul to warn us against living in sin. And he actually pointed out the end result of doing so. In 1 Corinthians 6, verses 9 and 10, Paul was inspired to write, Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? And Paul goes on to list some of the sins that will keep us out of the kingdom. He says, Do not be deceived, neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, or revilers, or extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. Very plain and simple truth. The kingdom of God refers to the soon coming kingdom of God to be established on the earth. And God says, do not be deceived. He requires us to live righteously. Paul emphasizes the kinds of people listed in these verses will not inherit the kingdom of God. For instance, fornication, adultery, and homosexuality are listed as sins that unless repented of will actually keep one out of God's kingdom. How many people today ignore these plain verses? How many in our own nation approve of these sins? Sins that God said would keep us out of the kingdom. Some people they claim that they're born with these problems. Yet if this is true, we have no control over these sins, well then God is unfair and we're doomed to failure. It is a fact that there is no sin that we cannot overcome with God's help. Paul in his letter to the church at Philippi said, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. In his letter to the church at Corinth, he wrote, No temptation has overtaken you except such as common to man. But God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you were able, but with the temptation will also make a way of escape that you may be able to bear it. So what does God require of us? How can we be delivered from the penalty that these sins incur? Well, there's light at the end of the tunnel. We'll end with 1 John chapter 1, verses 6 through 9. In verse 6, it says, If we say that we have fellowship with Him and we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. Walk refers to a way of life or daily practice. And to walk in darkness means to live contrary to God's laws and to live a sinful life. God says, we lie and do not practice the truth. To claim fellowship with God without living a moral life or practicing the truth is to live alive. And since God is holy and he cannot sin, the fact remains. Verse 7, but if we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and notice the blood of Jesus Christ, his son, cleanses us from all sin. If we strive to live according to God's law, and we follow the example of Jesus Christ, walking as he walked, then we have fellowship with one another. And when a Christian conducts, uh when a Christian's conduct reflects God's perfect character, then real fellowship is possible, not only with other Christians, but also with God. If we have God's Spirit dwelling in us and we're striving to live righteously, this leads to peace. It leads to unity. The development of holy righteous character is what this life is all about. Only the shed blood of Christ can cleanse us from all sin. Verse 8, if we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. The fact is we all sin. To have no sin is to have no need of a savior. But yet Romans 3.23 says that we've all sinned, we've all fallen short. Even in the Old Testament, in 2 Chronicles 6.36, it states, For there is no one who does not sin. In verse 9, it says, if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. We must confess our sins to God and seek His forgiveness if we are to be pardoned. God says we are all sinners in need of forgiveness, and to confess is to admit that we are sinners and that we are in need of God's mercy. In Proverbs 28, 13, it says, He who covers his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy. If a believer confesses his or her specific sins to God and repents, that is, turns from their sins into obedience to God, the Bible says he will cleanse them from all unrighteousness. Cleansing and forgiveness are guaranteed because God is faithful to his promises. God can maintain his perfect character and yet forgive us because of the perfect and righteous sacrifice of Jesus Christ, his own son. Justice is still served, the penalty is still paid because Jesus paid the death penalty in our stead. Again, the Bible is one of God's greatest gifts. It provides a solid foundation on which to base our lives. It is a moral compass that gives us direction. It shows us what is right and what is wrong. It speaks of the blessings for obedience and the curses for sin. Which path will you choose?

SPEAKER_00 20:21

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