Love Worth Finding

Guest (Male): The Bible is worthy of our trust. Listen closely to Adrian Rogers. You don't have to be ashamed of the Bible. I mean, you don't have to stand behind a corner and wonder, "Am I going to be an ignorant rube for believing the Bible?" My dear friend, this book is timeless. It is indestructible. It is infallible. It is eternal. It is not the book of the month or the book of the year; it is the book of the ages. Forever, oh Lord, thy word is settled in heaven. That's an incredible thing, that we're holding in our hand a document that is literally millenniums old in some instances. Still, we're finding help and comfort and wisdom from this book. Friend, it's an incredible book.

Welcome to Love Worth Finding, featuring real truth that never changes, found in the teaching of pastor and author Adrian Rogers. In part one of today's message, we learned that the more we read the Word of God, the more it will reveal itself to be true. It is a supernatural book, divinely inspired by God, often called the very breath of God. It's a spiritual book, written by the Holy Spirit, and it is the Savior's book. Jesus is the hero of the Bible; He's found on every page. If you have your Bible, turn now to Psalm 119 as Adrian Rogers reveals the rest of the seven wonders of the Word.

Adrian Rogers: What are the seven wonders of the Word of God as I see them tonight? Well, first of all, wonder number one: the Bible is a supernatural book. No other book was written as the Bible was written. Now, the Bible says in 2 Timothy chapter 3 and verse 16 that all scripture is given by inspiration of God. And it literally means that the scripture is God-breathed. The Bible is as much the Word of God as if God were up here in a physical body speaking words.

And so as you read the Bible, it's a very human book. You see the prayers, the praises, the fears, the victories, the yearnings, the frustrations of the men who wrote this book. It's marked by their personalities. Yet, God, in and through these men, was the one who was doing the speaking, the leading. Not only is it a supernatural book, but my dear friend, it is a spiritual book. Now, what I mean by that is that the Bible, written by the Holy Spirit, must be interpreted by the Holy Spirit.

Now, revelation is God's communication of truth to man. Inspiration, in a broader sense than the narrow sense I gave just a few moments ago, is the recording of that revelation. But you see, revelation and inspiration is not enough. We still need illumination to be able to understand the Word of God. And in these scriptures that I read to you tonight, notice that they were prayers: "Lord, open my eyes that I may behold wondrous things in thy law." This book is a spiritual book.

And you'll not rip truth out of it. God will reveal it to you; you won't have it. I mean, you may have a perfectly inspired Word of God, but until the Holy Spirit uses it as His convicting, cutting sword, or until He illumines you as a student of it, it'll not be real in your heart. Thirdly, third wonder of the Word: not only is it a supernatural book and not only is it a spiritual book, it is the Savior's book. The Savior's book. I say it's the Savior's book, number one, because He believed it.

And it's the Savior's book, number two, because it presents Him. Jesus Christ is the hero of the Bible. If you read the Bible and you don't find Jesus Christ somewhere, somehow, standing in the shadows or presented in plain view, go back and read it again because the Bible is about the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, let me just say, reiterate those two things again. First of all, Jesus was a believer in the inerrancy of the Word of God. Even the liberals have to confess that Jesus was a believer in the inerrancy of the Word of God.

Jesus said in John chapter 10 and verse 35, "The scripture cannot be broken." That's what Jesus Christ said about the scripture. And by the way, just turn to the Gospel of John, chapter 5. I want you to see what the Lord Jesus said about the Word of God. John chapter 5 and verse 39. Jesus said, "Search the scriptures; in them you think that you have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me." And by the way, what scriptures was He talking about then? The Old Testament.

The New Testament had not yet been written. And Jesus, speaking to the Pharisees and to others, said, "You search the scriptures; these are they which testify of me." Don't ever get the idea that the Old Testament is about Israel and the New Testament is about the church, or the Old Testament is about history and the New Testament is about the Lord Jesus. Friend, Jesus said concerning the scriptures, the holy writings, that they testify of Him.

And then I want you to look down in verse 45, John chapter 5, verse 45. "Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father: there is one that accuseth you, even Moses, in whom ye trust." Now, when He said Moses, He was talking about what we call the Pentateuch: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, called under one heading: Moses. Now, Jesus believed that Moses wrote the Pentateuch.

And then notice what He says in verse 46. "For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me: for he," Moses, "wrote of me." And then I want you to notice this, that Jesus put the writings of Moses and His sayings on the same plane. "But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my words?" Do you see that? Do you see what He did? You see, He endorsed what Moses wrote, and He put what Moses wrote on the same level as His own words.

Now, turn back to the book of Luke here for just a moment. Luke chapter 24. I'm just trying to show you Jesus' view of the Bible because why? Well, He's your master, and the servant's view of the Bible must be the same as his master's, right? Now, look in Luke chapter 24. We're back on the Emmaus road now. Jesus is walking along with these two forlorn disciples, sees that they don't understand His resurrection, and He says to them in verse 25, "O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken."

Now, do you know what Jesus Christ would call you tonight if you don't believe all that the Old Testament prophets said? He would call you a fool and slow of heart. That means dull of hearing. "O fools, and slow of heart to believe not all that the prophets have spoken." And then notice how He reasoned with them. "Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory?" And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, that is, He began in the Pentateuch and went right on through the rest of the Bible, "Beginning at Moses and all of the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself."

Oh, how I would have loved to have had a tape recording of that. Can you imagine what that must have been like? To be walking along with the very Son of God who begins with the book of Genesis and He goes right on through the Bible, and He shows them in all the Bible the things concerning Himself—the Old Testament. Oh, wow. You see, what I'm trying to say is, my dear friend, this supernatural book, this spiritual book, is the Savior's book. He believed it. He said the scriptures cannot be broken.

And He said, "You search the scriptures, for these are they which testify of me." Jesus is the theme, the hero, of all of the Bible. In Genesis, He's the promised seed. In Exodus, He's the Passover Lamb. In Leviticus, He's that perfect sacrifice. In Numbers, He is that star out of Jacob. In Deuteronomy, He's the prophet that is greater than Moses. In Joshua, He is the Commander-in-Chief. In Judges, the Deliverer. In Kings and Chronicles and Samuel, He's the King of kings.

In Ezra, He is God's temple. In Nehemiah, He is the gate to the city. In Esther, He is the one come for such a time as this. In Job, He is the Redeemer who will stand in the last day upon the earth. In Psalms, He's the good shepherd. In Proverbs, He is the wisdom of God. In Ecclesiastes, the one upon whom we attend. In Isaiah, He is the virgin-born Son of God. In Jeremiah, He is the righteous branch. In the Song of Solomon, He is the one altogether lovely. And in the book of Hosea, He is God's Son called out of Egypt. In Malachi, He's the sun of righteousness with healing in His wings.

This book is the Savior's book. Now, there are some who would accuse you if you love the Bible too much. Do you know what they will accuse you of? Too much according to them. If you love it too much according to them, they will accuse you of bibliolatry. You know what that means? They say you've made an idol of the Bible; you worship the Bible. Well, dear friend, let me tell you something. If they call your deep love for the Bible bibliolatry, that's their problem and not yours, unless you actually worship the Bible and allow it to stand between you and Christ.

But if it brings you closer to Christ, pay no attention to them. Just keep on loving the Bible and cherish it all the more. It is the Savior's book. And because He loved it and believed it, you can love it and believe it. Now, here's the fourth wonder of the Word of God. It, my dear friend, is a sovereign book. A sovereign book. Now, what I mean by that is it is the supreme authority in spiritual matters. Not human reason. Don't take the Bible and parade it past the bar of human judgment to see if you agree with it or not.

Not conscience. Conscience is not the supreme authority. If you had to choose between obeying the Bible or obeying your conscience, I hope you know what you would do: obey the Bible. You see, conscience is not an infallible guide. Your conscience is like a sundial. Only a true light, the sun, will make it register the right thing. Don't look at the Bible with a flashlight of human opinion. You have to look at the Bible in the light of the Holy Spirit of God, not the flashlight of public opinion. Tradition is not the authority.

Jesus warned of those in Mark chapter 7 and verse 13 who make the Word of God of none effect through their tradition. You say, "Pastor, I don't like you calling the Bible sovereign because God is sovereign." Yes. And the Bible says, "God says." God says. Let me give you a verse, friend, that'll blow your doors off. Here it is: Psalm 138, verse 2, "For thou hast magnified thy word above thy name." Now, you chew on that one for a while. God has magnified His Word above His name.

So, dear friend, this book is a sovereign book. A man and his word may be different in this dishonest world in which we live, but God and His Word are the same. If you can bank on God, you can bank on the Word of God. It is a sovereign book. I want to say the fifth wonder of this wonderful book is: it is a surviving book. A surviving book. It goes on and on and on and on. Matthew chapter 24 and verse 35, "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall never pass away."

1 Peter chapter 1, verse 24, "The word of the Lord endureth for ever." Forever. When the earth becomes asunder and the stars splinter and fade, the Word of God will be in existence. It doesn't change; it survives. Ever so often, we'll read in the newspapers about some new theory as to how the earth began, or how the universe began, and how some early man—they've found this thing or that thing—or somebody has found some hidden esoteric books and all of this thing. Ever so often, you'll read this and then people forget about it.

The Word of God just keeps on going on. You know, I'm so glad the Bible doesn't agree with modern science in every instance. Why? Because if it agreed with today's science, tomorrow it may be wrong because science is constantly changing. You give these scientists enough time, and maybe sooner or later they'll catch up with the Word of God. I'm serious about that. That's not a cliché. Friend, it's an incredible book. You don't have to be ashamed of the Bible. I mean, you don't have to stand behind a corner and wonder, "Am I going to be an ignorant rube for believing the Bible?"

My dear friend, this book is timeless. It is ultimate. It is indestructible. It is infallible. It is eternal. It is not the book of the month or the book of the year; it is the book of the ages. Forever, oh Lord, thy word is settled in heaven. That's an incredible thing, that we're holding in our hand a document that is literally millenniums old in some instances. And here we are in the 20th century, the atomic age, and still we're finding help and comfort and wisdom from this book. Let God be true and let every man be a liar.

Thank God for this book that is a surviving book. And Dr. Lee, this time Robert G. Lee, not Robert E. Lee, said this concerning the Bible: "Enemy noise has not silenced one warning. The enemy's black smoke has not dimmed one bright hope. The enemy's stabs have not torn one blemish in its snow-white vesture. Infidel ink has not diluted one drop of her honey. The enemy has not plucked one petal from the Rose of Sharon, nor imposed one stain upon her purity."

I love that. I like that. I want to say that the sixth wonder of the seven wonders of the Word is this: that not only is the Bible a surviving book, but the Bible is a sustaining book. Not only does it survive, but it enables me to survive. As you are physically sustained by physical nutriment, you are spiritually sustained by the Word of God. That's exactly what Jesus Christ taught in Matthew chapter 4, verse 4, when He said, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God."

Every word that comes out of God's mouth is to your spirit what bread is to your body. That's the reason that old Job said in perhaps the oldest piece of literature known to man, the book of Job, Job 23, verse 12, "I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food." That is, if I had to choose between the Word of God and groceries, I'd have to choose the Bible. I'm afraid most of us wouldn't do that. "I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary meat."

And it'd do most of us a lot of good if we studied more and ate less. Say amen. You know this is true. It's a sustaining book. Here's what God's Word says: 1 Peter chapter 2, verse 2. "As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby." No wonder we have so many baby Christians who remain babies; they don't get the Word of God. They're not growing. The great Bible teacher of yesteryear was Dr. R.A. Torrey. If you have any of Dr. Torrey's books, read them; if you don't have some, buy them.

Here's what Dr. Torrey said: "Oh, you may talk about power, but if you neglect the one book that God has given you as the one instrument through which He imparts and exercises His power, you will not have it. 99 Christians in every 100 are merely playing at Bible study, and therefore 99 Christians in every 100 are mere weaklings when they might be giants both in their Christian life and in their service."

And I've been pastor long enough of this dear church that I love with all of my heart and soul to know that a great number of our people are only playing at Bible study. And about all the real nutriment they get is when they come here on Sunday, and I'm grateful that you do. But friend, this book is a sustaining book. The older I get, the longer I live, the more I know, the more I understand the sustaining power of the Word of God.

I want to say the last of these seven wonderful things that I have seen in the Word of God tonight: this book that is all of these other things is, therefore, a supercharged book. I mean, dear friend, it has incredible power. I preached on the power of the blood of Jesus Christ. The verse that I used was John 6 and verse 63 where Jesus said, "The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life."

We read other books; this book reads us. Hebrews chapter 4, verse 12 says the Word of God is quick and powerful and sharper than a two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit. It's quick. You know what the word quick means in the old King James English? It means it's living. It's alive. It breathes, it sings, it pulsates with power. There's power in the Word of God. Jesus said, "The words I speak unto you, they're spirit, they're life."

It's quick. It's powerful, energes. It means that it is full of energy. Well, I've preached it long enough to know, friend, this book does things to people that nothing else will. I mean, there's power in this thing. I've seen it and piercing. Listen, it's able to penetrate and scrutinize the innermost part of your personality. So many figures of speech in the Bible. The Bible is called a seed because it impregnates. It's called a fire because it burns. It's called a hammer because it crushes. It's called a sword because it cuts.

One more time I want to tell you that the purpose of the Bible is to present Jesus Christ as the Savior of the world. And that's the reason the Apostle Paul said, "I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation." James 1, verse 18: "Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth." I hope you'll always stand in awe of this book. And I've mentioned seven wonders out of 70,000 wonders of the Word of God.

Guest (Male): And today, if you have questions regarding your faith in Jesus Christ or what the Bible really says, we would love to offer you an insightful resource on our website. It's our Discover Jesus page. There you'll find answers you may need about your faith. We have a response section for everyone. You can share how this message or others have made a difference in your life. Simply go to lwf.org/radio and click the tab that says Discover Jesus. Let us hear from you today.

Hi, this is Cary Vaughn, and this program has been brought to you by Love Worth Finding, a non-profit ministry showcasing the powerful preaching and teaching of pastor Adrian Rogers. We operate solely through the generous gifts of individual supporters just like you. To give a gift today, call 1-877-LOVEGOD. That's 1-877-568-3463. Or write to us at Love Worth Finding, Box 38600, Memphis, Tennessee 38183. You can also connect with us online by going to lwf.org/radio.

There, we offer helpful resources inspired by the timeless teachings of pastor Adrian Rogers. Additionally, you can sign up for daily emails, donate to the ministry, and learn more about how to become an ambassador of the Word. Thank you so much for listening today. Be sure to join us next time for more profound truth simply stated, right here on Love Worth Finding.

I want to share what a student had to say about one of our new online courses. He wrote, "I trust pastor Rogers and have been a listener for a long time. These courses have opened my eyes to quite a few practices I need to do in my life. Thank you all for continuing to bring his teachings and God-given wisdom to people like me." Well, that warms our heart here at Love Worth Finding because we are so honored to be able to continue to share these timeless teachings and then the exciting new resources we develop to help you flourish in your faith.

And that's why when you donate to the ministry this month, we want to send you a copy of our new resource, "In the Beginning God: Timeless Truth for Today's Culture." This is a pocket-sized question and answer book drawn from the messages of pastor Rogers, specifically from his teaching on the book of Genesis. Request the book when you call with a gift at 1-877-LOVEGOD. And thank you for your generous support of Love Worth Finding.