HopeLives365

Guest (Male): He tells us who we are through the Bible. We are His children. The Bible reveals what every human heart longs for. It reveals the Savior, Jesus Christ, who's our Redeemer and Lord.

This is HopeLives365 with Pastor Mark Finley. Today's message: "The Bible Still Speaks." Enjoy and remember you can always catch up with past messages and stay up-to-date with HopeLives365 and Pastor Mark by going to hopelives365.com. And now, Pastor Mark Finley.

Mark Finley: The Great Plains once stretched as a vast sea of grass across the center of the North American continent. The American buffalo was the predominant grazer of these vast grasslands in numbers often reported to stretch from horizon to horizon. Indian storytellers recall the days when a person could ride a pony in one direction all day and always be with one herd of buffalo. In 1830, estimates place about 40 million—did you get that?—40 million buffalo on the plains.

But the systematic killing of buffalo by railroad workers and the pointless slaughter of the animals for sport almost destroyed the herds. Often, their carcasses were just left on the plains to rot. By 1900, one generation later, there were fewer than 2,000 buffalo which survived. The American bison became an endangered species. Buffaloes were on the verge of becoming extinct. What was once common was in a single generation almost gone, destroyed, killed off, banished.

By May of 1894, Congress passed the Buffalo Endangered Species Act, which outlawed the hunting of buffalo in Yellowstone National Park. I wonder... I wonder, are the truths of the Bible becoming an endangered species? I wonder, is study of the Word of God becoming an endangered species? I wonder, is faith and confidence in God's Word as it reads becoming an endangered species? Something precious, valuable in our Christian heritage is dying off.

It's becoming like the buffalo. The conservative Bible-based movements that once brought revival to our land are becoming like an endangered species. Think of the great educational institutions founded in the 18th and 19th centuries. They were all based on Scripture. Those seminaries in particular were rooted in the Word of God. God's professors believed that the Bible was a trustworthy revelation of God's will. They believed it was inspired, authoritative, and a guide to salvation.

This is true of great institutions like Harvard, Yale, and the great Ivy League schools. Prophecy held a key place in the thinking of many of the colonial leaders in all vocations: physicians, legislators, governors, judges, teachers, college presidents, historians, and poets, as well as theologians. All were gripped by the force of fulfilled prophecy and presented remarkable expositions of prophecy that are often unknown today.

Let me give you a few examples. Take Sir Isaac Newton, the famed mathematician and scholar. He was a deep student of prophecy. Newton believed, for example, in the significance of the prophecies of Daniel, and he wrote on those prophecies. Christopher Columbus, the early discoverer of America, was a serious student of the Book of Daniel. Columbus was motivated to discover the New World in part because he believed in the coming of the Lord. He accepted Matthew 24:14, "This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world to all nations and then shall the end come." He believed each individual must hear the gospel before the return of Jesus.

So, you take Timothy Dwight; he was the first president of Yale University. He believed Scripture's prophecies testified to the Bible's inspiration. When students at Yale became enamored with the atheistic philosophies of the French Revolution, the college president challenged them to an open debate in the college chapel. Dr. Dwight skillfully demonstrated the reliability of the Bible by outlining the historical fulfillment of Daniel's prophecies. Amazed, students sat in stunned silence. This brilliant scholar led Yale students in a spirit-filled revival.

The great educational institutions of early America were places where the faith of students was established, not destroyed. It was built up, not torn down. It was confirmed, not eroded. Prophetic terms were woven into the speech and literature of the times. For example, the famous New England Primer introduced the fulfillment of prophecy to children at a young age. Not only did Harvard University have a lecture series for its students on prophecy, but several of her early presidents wrote on prophecies.

But a dramatic change has occurred in the last hundred years. Dramatic results and changes have taken place. In one generation, rationalism, liberalism, postmodernism has eroded the faith of thousands and tens of thousands of students. Beginning with the rationalism of Germany and France and deism in England, postmodernism permeates almost every major denomination. So-called Christian leaders boldly deny the virgin birth. Many deny the atoning sacrifice of Christ, the literal bodily resurrection, and the second coming.

Now friend, look. You take away the virgin birth, you take away the atonement of Christ, you take away the literal bodily resurrection and the second coming, and what do you have left? Postmodern thought also scoffs at a literal creation account. It ridicules the first 11 chapters of Genesis. This denial is rooted in what I believe is a perilous theological error. They believe the Bible is inspiring but not inspired. They deny the authoritative Word of God in the Bible.

Now, if you say the Bible is inspiring, what you say is, "Yeah, it's a good book, but you can't trust it in history, you can't trust it in its prophecies. Some of those were written after the event. Jesus didn't really create the world in six literal days; we know from science." And they'll go on and on and on with that kind of rationalism. The Bible is either inspired or it is not, my friend. And if the Bible is not inspired, then it's not what it says it is. It's a book of lies, and we can't possibly accept that viewpoint.

The Bible, some will say, contains truth but is not truth. In other words, you can find some truth in the Bible. See, this reinterpretation of Scripture sees the Bible as predominantly shaped by its culture. It views the human elements in Scripture rather than the Spirit's moving upon the authors' thoughts to reveal the divine will. This humanistic approach to Scripture erodes the faith of students and Christians attending Christian churches.

Just one month before his graduation from New York's Union Theological Seminary, one seminarian expressed his doubts in these words: "There is nothing I can absolutely affirm." What a tragedy. His theological education had left him bereft of his faith. One of the first exposés of the belief of future ministers was made about 70 years ago by Redbook magazine. And I think the situation is worse now than it was then. It was in August of 1961.

The pollsters hired one of the top pollsters in the nation to survey a full representation of students preparing for ministry in the United States. Here are some of the astounding results of that poll of ministers in training: 56% rejected the virgin birth of Jesus Christ. 54% rejected the bodily resurrection of Christ. 98% rejected that there would be a personal return of Christ to this earth. Do you see why I say to you that Bible-based, faith-affirming movements, churches, and seminaries are an endangered species in America?

Institutions of higher learning where the faith of our students is being built up, nourished, and strengthened are becoming extinct. Now look, as Christians, we believe that the Bible provides the only right perspective in our search for the understanding of God, ourselves, and the world in which we exist. This presupposition must be retained and employed by the church in the understanding and the proclamation of its message.

God today is calling us back to understand the nature and authority of Scripture. It's urgent that periodically we pause and listen to the claims of the Bible concerning their nature and authority and their significance for us as Christians that are totally consecrated to the Word of God. We must revisit this subject in order to reaffirm its central and all-important function. So first, let's take a look at the nature and authority of the Bible.

The Scriptures came to us making a daring claim, and we have no choice but to listen to it and decide to accept or reject it. The Scriptures claim to have originated in the mind of God Himself. It's impossible to be indifferent to this statement because indifference in this case implies a rejection of the claim. The testimony of the Bible itself forces us to address this topic. What does the Bible say about itself? It becomes extremely important.

In Hebrews 1:1 we read, "God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various places." This type of divine speaking was necessary because of sin. Once the relationship between God and man was broken, God had to take the initiative and reestablish the communication with the human race. It's this divine initiative which consisted in God's self-disclosure we call revelation.

Guest (Male): You're listening to HopeLives365 with Pastor Mark Finley. We'll be right back. And if you like what you're hearing, we invite you to check out our website, hopelives365.com. There you can find many ministry resources, encouraging messages, and even a link to our HopeLives365 YouTube ministry. And, of course, an opportunity to sow into this valuable ministry. Find out more by going to hopelives365.com. That's hopelives365.com. And now, back to Pastor Mark Finley.

Mark Finley: So, prophecy didn't come by the will of man. It came through the inspiration of the Spirit. In 2 Timothy chapter 3, verse 16 says, "All Scripture is inspired by God." That word "inspired" is "God-breathed". The source of the Bible we have in our hands is God Himself. He brought the words of Scripture into existence. Yet He used the vocabulary and literary style of the prophet. They were writers for Him.

They had the freedom to write in the context of their own backgrounds, but the message they wrote is the divinely inspired, authoritative message of God. The varied style of different books presents the characteristics of several writers. The truths revealed are all given by the inspiration of the Spirit, yet they're expressed in language that we can understand. Now thirdly, the Bible informs us that it's authoritative. God expects us to listen and obey His Word.

This authoritative Word of God is determined by the fact that it comes from God to us through His chosen instruments, who wrote under the guidance of the Spirit. It is this dimension of the Scriptures that's unpalatable for the modern and postmodern mind. It's characterized by an unwillingness to accept any ultimate authority outside the individual. The Bible is the ultimate authority. The Bible is the Word of God. The Bible is inspired by God.

It's at this point that we are also tempted to limit the authority of Scriptures to the theological or religious realm, claiming freedom to make our own claims in other fields of human knowledge. If we really believe that the Bible is the Word of God revealed to us through His inspired prophets, then we have no choice to submit to its authority by humbly listening to what God has to say. It is because we have accepted the authority of the Scriptures that we believe that they are our only rule of faith and practice.

Religion as well as ethics are under the legitimate authority of the Scriptures. They ought to determine our fundamental beliefs. They ought to determine the way we act. The conceptual, ideological, and ethical foundations of any field need to be enlightened by the message of the Bible. The infallible Word of God must be heard once again in our churches, in our classrooms, in our homes. It must speak not only to the hearts of each one of us but also to our intellect; it must shape our conduct.

We too must understand and accept that God is still addressing us through the Scriptures. He has the right to speak to us; He is our Creator and Redeemer. In giving us the Scriptures, God was not attempting to satisfy our curiosity only. His goal was to achieve certain specific objectives within the plan of salvation. The Apostle Paul summarizes this act of the Bible in 2 Timothy chapter 3, verses 16 and 17.

He says, "All Scripture"—how much Scripture? All Scripture—"is given by inspiration of God." How much Scripture is inspired by God? All of it. Is some more inspired than others? No. Is the New Testament more inspired than the Old Testament? Certainly not. Is the book of Matthew more inspired than the book of Genesis? Definitely not. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God. Now, it's profitable for what? For doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.

Note the Apostle points out that all Scripture is useful. It's useful in the sense of being valuable, beneficial to us. The Bible didn't come into existence by accident but by divine intentionality. Through it, God was reaching out to us to accomplish His loving intention toward us. The first function of the Scriptures mentioned by Paul is teaching. They teach us about God. They teach us about ourselves. They teach us about the world around us.

Scientists are searching for the origin of life on this planet. Some believe in the spontaneous generation of life, while others argue that it reached the planet from outer space. They talk about the Big Bang theory. They're desperate to find answers that make God unnecessary. If God exists, then He has the right to impose divine authority. This is unacceptable to sinful creatures in rebellion against God.

But humans know that unless we find out where life came from, we'll not be able to answer questions like: Who am I? Where did I come from? Where am I going? Why am I here? The truth is that we are unable to answer those questions by ourselves. We only know that we're here, and in order to know how we got here, we have to be told. No human being witnessed the origin of life on the planet.

The Bible tells us that there is a designer and a creator who cannot be found in the natural world because He's beyond the universe. He's the one that's transcendental. He is the one who's far beyond what we can imagine or think. Yet He's come down to us, revealing Himself to us in Christ. He tells us who we are through the Bible. We are His children. The Bible reveals what every human heart longs for. It reveals the Savior, Jesus Christ, who's our Redeemer and Lord.

The one who forgives and transforms. God's revelation in Scripture was written to instruct us in the mystery of salvation through Christ. The teaching function of the Bible provides a solid foundation for our faith. Now, there's something else that Paul tells us in that text in 2 Timothy chapter 3, verse 16. He says the Scripture is useful for rebuking. This word also means conviction, reproof, or correction.

The Scriptures and the Spirit work together rebuking or convicting our consciences of our sinfulness. We need to be informed that without God, we're lost in our sinfulness, that if we insist in our own course of action, we'll destroy ourselves, that by nature we prefer to do what's wrong. Correction is not popular in society and may be one of the reasons we do not carefully listen to the message of the Bible.

When we read it, we're rebuked, and we see ourselves as we really are. This can be painful. Indeed, it is painful. But in order to be healed, we must experience the pain of our disease. God intended the Scriptures to reprove us, to convict us of our sin, so we could find healing in Jesus. Thirdly, the Bible is useful for correcting, restoring, or improvement. The Bible is an agent of change that can transform us.

The more we study it, listen to it, internalize it, the more we're changed. In this process, the message of the Bible becomes part of us. Its thoughts become our thoughts. Its restoring power transforms our hearts. Since the Bible is about Christ and the revelation of God displayed by Him on the cross, by exposing ourselves to the Scriptures, the image of God is restored in us. Through forgiveness and faith in Jesus, we can be restored to fellowship with God.

Fourth, the Scripture's useful for training in righteousness. I have the impression that the term righteousness here does not seem to have the primary purpose of designating righteousness by faith but proper behavior. It refers to the Bible as a means of training us in the way of morality and behavior. We call this learning process sanctification. Those who have come to Jesus, those who are saved by grace through faith, those whose hearts have been transformed, are in the process of sanctification.

Those who have been transformed by the living Word of God are like children and therefore need constant instruction on how to live for the glory of God. This role of the Bible is not popular today because people want to do as they please. They don't want any external authority training them, telling them how to live. They want moral and religious independence, the right to decide without interference what to believe and how to conduct their lives.

But the truth is that we live in a moral universe and that we're accountable to God as our moral arbitrator for the way we handle our lives. Finally, Paul says that through the Scripture, the man of God may be thoroughly equipped to every good work. God wants to make us useful to Him and to the rest of humanity. Those who take the Bible seriously become instruments of God—a man, a woman of God, a holy servant to the Lord, equipped to do good works.

And that implies that the good works are not natural to us, but God through His grace changes us so we can do good works. Remember what it says in Ephesians chapter 2, verses 8 through 10. It says, "By grace are you saved... it is the gift of God and not of yourself lest anyone should boast." Then in verse 10, it says, "We are created by Christ for good works." So as we study the Word of God and Christ changes our lives, we become obedient servants of Jesus.

Those who've been redeemed by Christ and in whose hearts the love of God has been poured are enabled through the power of the Spirit and the working through the Scriptures to work for the Lord, represent Him to the world, and perform those good works. You see, look, many might think the authority of the Bible is to be limited to religious beliefs and practices, not to the realm of the history and origin of the world. This understanding has led some to argue that Genesis 1 and 2 is making a theological statement—God's Creator—but it's not a historical one.

These distinctions in modern thinking are blatantly wrong. The historical setting of the supernatural events recorded in the Old and New Testament are accepted as authentic. For example, you can take supernatural events in the Old Testament, and the New Testament accepts them as authentic. For instance, Paul accepted the creation account of Adam and Eve and their subsequent fall as historical facts. You can read that in 1 Timothy chapter 2, verse 13 and 14.

The same can be said about the Exodus and the crossing of the Red Sea; you find that in 1 Corinthians 10:1. Other apostles accepted as historical events the story of Balaam, 2 Peter chapter 2, verse 16. The fall of Jericho in Hebrews 11:30, a historical event. The period of the judges, also Hebrews 11:30. The miracles of Elijah, James 5:17. The list could go on and on and on, but it's sufficient for our purpose.

The New Testament does not separate the religious from the historical events of the Old Testament. The writers of the New Testament believed in God's personal intervention in history. And if you look at Jesus' statements about creation, you look at how creation is mentioned throughout the entire New Testament, you find that the New Testament writers accepted the fact that creation took place in six literal days; God rested on the seventh day.

As you look at what's taking place today in the Christian church, God today is calling us back to the authority of the Scriptures. God is calling us back to faithfulness to His Word. The prophets of old, though they be dead, still speak. The apostles speak. Faithful Bible students, men and women through the ages who've given their lives for the teachings of Scripture, speak to us. The reformers, the scholars of giant intellect and indomitable resolve to be loyal to Scripture, speak to us.

Guest (Male): You've been listening to HopeLives365 with Pastor Mark Finley. We hope you've enjoyed today's message and remind you that you can find more in our many ministry resources at hopelives365.com. And you can support this ministry by going to hopelives365.com/donate. And now, a final thought from Pastor Mark.

Mark Finley: 20th-century persecuted Christians, those who've sacrificed their lives for everything for the teachings of this book, the Bible, speak to us. Some who've been brutally martyred for their faith in some remote mission station, some oppressed under the heel of a dictatorial godless atheistic political system speak. Yes, God is speaking to us, and Jesus speaks to us with blood-stained brow, wounded hands. The Savior Himself speaks from a bloody bar on the old wooden cross.

He says, "Be faithful to My Word." He says, "Cling to My Word." He says, "My Word is inspired." The chorus of the faithful, ten thousand times ten thousand voices, all echo the same song: "Be faithful to the Word of God, uphold the Word of God, uphold the Word of God, uphold the Word of God." My brother, my sister, let the Word of God guide your life because Jesus says, "I am the way, the truth, and the life." May the truths of the Word of God burn in your heart.