Savage Street Church of Christ

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02_11_2018_TheBiblePossessesDivineQualities1_DonRuhl

The Bible Possesses Divine Qualities (Part 1)

“The Bible has been likened to a fountain of living water: the fountain is ever the same, but the water is always fresh.” – Arthur Pink

Don Ruhl • Savage Street, Grants Pass, Oregon • February 11, In the year of our Lord, 2018

Prelude:

1. “The Bible has been likened to a fountain of living water: the fountain is ever the same, but the water is always fresh.” – Arthur Pink
2. It is not good for the body to be without water.
   1. The One who made our bodies
   2. made the water our bodies need.
3. Solomon said in Proverbs 19.2,2 Also it is not good for a soul to be without knowledge…
   (Proverbs 19.2a)

1. The One who made our souls
2. made the knowledge our souls need.

• Arthur Pink said,“Although one may know, word for word, the entire contents of some chapter of Scripture, and although he may have taken the time to ponder thoughtfully every sentence therein, yet, on every subsequent occasion, provided one comes to it again in the spirit of humble inquiry, each fresh reading will reveal new gems never seen there before and new delights will be experienced never met with previously. The most familiar passages will yield as much refreshment at the thousandth perusal as they did at the first.”
• Here is an argument that I want to present to you today:
  1. If the Bible possesses divine qualities, it is the word of God.
  2. The Bible possesses divine qualities.
  3. Therefore, it is the word of God.
• What divine qualities should the Bible have to mark it as God’s word?
  1. It would last forever.
  2. It would be unbreakable.
  3. It would reveal the future.
  4. It would transcend all cultures for all time.

Persuasion:

1. The Bible Will Last Forever
   1. How is it doing so far?
      1. There are other ancient writings that people use today.
      2. So this alone cannot establish the Bible as the word of our Creator.
         1. However, it should at least possess this quality.
         2. If it did not, we could reject it without going any further.
   2. Time has not ended yet.
      1. However, in Mark 13,
         1. we have a promise from the Author of the Bible
         2. that the Bible shall outlast even the universe,
            
            31 “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away” (Mark 13.31).
            
      2. By no means
         1. shall man or
         2. anything that exists
            1. in heaven or
            2. on the earth
         3. make the words of the Bible pass away.
      3. Men and demons keep trying to make the Bible pass away, but
         1. they have failed every time.
         2. Right now in Western Culture
            1. men are trying to rid the public square
            2. of any traces of the Bible.
   3. All such efforts will fail.
      1. Mark my word:
      2. All the enemies of the Bible shall disappear and
         1. it shall remain for future generations.
         2. That leads me to the next point.
2. Man Cannot Break the Bible, But the Bible Breaks Man
   1. Someone has likened the Bible to an anvil.
      1. No hammer breaks the anvil, but
      2. the anvil breaks the hammers.
   2. John 10 shows a promise of the Author of the Bible,
      
      35 …”the Scripture cannot be broken…” (John 10.35).
      
      1. What it says stands.
      2. What it prophecies comes to pass.
   3. Not only is the Bible an anvil, but
      1. in the Book of Jeremiah
      2. the Creator compares His word to fire and a hammer,
         
         29 “Is not My word like a fire?” says the LORD,
         “And like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?”
         (Jeremiah 23.29)
         
         1. We try to
            1. extinguish the fire,
            2. throw away the hammer, and
            3. break in pieces the anvil, but
         2. we find that the Bible breaks us.
   4. The Creator Blacksmith
      1. heats us in His fire,
      2. places us on His anvil, and
      3. smashes us into the form
         1. that He wants us to be.
   5. We try to break the Bible.
      1. The Bible breaks us.
      2. Then it reforms us into the shape that He wants us to be.
3. The Bible Reveals the Future
   1. The Bible tells us things about the future,
      1. at least from the prospective of the writer, and
      2. things happened just as the prophet spoke,
         1. so much so that critics often argue
         2. that it was not a prophecy, but
            1. a historical account.
               1. For example, the Book of Daniel
               2. The Book of Exodus
            2. This is why they like to date things later.
               1. Internal and external evidence shows a certain date.
               2. However, the accuracy of the prophecy so throws off the critic
                  1. that he has to declare that the biblical account
                  2. must have been written after the fact!
   2. With prophecy God has history written down
      1. as though it has already happened.
      2. However, if the actual Author of the Bible is Divine,
         1. would He not know the future?
         2. This is a tough one.
            1. Writing history is one thing.
            2. It has already happened and someone writes it down as history.
               1. However, how can you write of what the future will be
               2. when it has not even happened yet?
   3. Yet, if there is a God
      1. who created the heavens and the earth,
      2. who created all things on the earth,
         1. including the wonders of humanity,
         2. then perhaps He should be able
            1. to say what is going to happen or
            2. in some cases make something happen.
   4. Consider these examples:
      1. Isaiah 45.1 prophesied
         1. of a future king
         2. of another nation
         3. around 150 years later
            
            1 “Thus says the LORD to His anointed,
            To Cyrus, whose right hand I have held—
            To subdue nations before him
            And loose the armor of kings,
            To open before him the double doors,
            So that the gates will not be shut…”
            (Isaiah 45.1)
            
            1. Could you reveal who will be president of Russia in 150 years?
            2. The reason I know that cannot is this:
               1. All the news media in America said that the candidate from the Democrat Party would be our new president, but
               2. as you know it was the Republican candidate who won.
                  1. We can’t even foretell who will be our own new president now.
                  2. We certainly cannot do it for another nation 150 years from now, and we would not be able to say what that president for the other country will do for our country.
      2. Jesus of Nazareth: As one man said,
         1. “He would be born of a virgin, called Emmanuel, born in Bethlehem. Great persons would come to adore Him, there would be the killing of children in Bethlehem. He would be called out of Egypt. He would be preceded by a forerunner. He would be anointed with the Holy Spirit. He’d be a prophet like Moses, a priest after the order is now Melchizedek. He would be entering into His public ministry in Galilee. He would be entering publicly into Jerusalem and come into the temple. He would live in poverty and meekness, tenderness, and compassion. He would be without the deceit, He’d be full of zeal, preaching with parables, working miracles, bearing reproach. He would be rejected by His own Jewish brethren. The Jews and Gentiles would combined together against Him. He would be betrayed by a friend. His disciples would forsake Him. He would be sold for thirty pieces of silver. At that price would be given for a potter’s field.
         2. “He would die with intense suffering yet be silent under that suffering. He would be struck on the cheek, His visage would be marred. He would be spit upon and scarred. His hands and His feet would be nailed to the cross. He would be forsaken by God, He would cry out, “My God My God, why have You forsaken Me?” He would be mocked. Gal and vinegar would be offered to Him. His garments would be parted. Lots would be cast for His clothing. He would be numbered among the transgressors. He would intercede for His murderers. He would die but not a bone of His body would be broken. He would be pierced long before crucifixion would even ever be invented. He would be buried with the rich. His flesh would not see corruption. He would be raised from the dead. He would ascend back to the right hand of God the Father.”
         3. Jesus could not have tried to fulfill many of these prophecies.
         4. Jesus would not have tried to fulfill many of these prophecies since they meant harm for Him.
      3. What other book, religious or otherwise, has made such predictions?
4. The Bible Transcends All Cultures for All Time
   1. The Bible Stays Relevant
      1. Because it touches upon what is common to all people.
      2. It is just as relevant when you are young
         1. as when you are middle-aged and
         2. as when you are older.
   2. The Bible Works with All Cultures for All Time
      1. I claim that the same God who
         1. made the earth and the heavens, the universe,
         2. also made the Bible.
            1. Does it not make sense then
            2. that the two would work harmoniously?
               1. I would even go beyond that and say
               2. true successful living in this world comes from
                  1. living as God directs in His Bible.
                  2. His Book shows the best way to live on earth, because
                     1. He made both and
                     2. intended one, the Bible, to instruct us
                        1. on how to live in the other, the world.
                        2. Consider these examples.
                        3. See for yourself whether these are true and
                        4. the best ways to go in life.
      2. Kindness
         
         22 What is desired in a man is kindness,
         And a poor man is better than a liar.
         (Proverbs 19.22)12 Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; 13 bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. 14 But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection (Colossians 3.12–14).
      3. Diligence
         
         24 The hand of the diligent will rule,
         But the lazy man will be put to forced labor.
         (Proverbs 12.24)5 The plans of the diligent lead surely to plenty,
         But those of everyone who is hasty, surely to poverty.
         (Proverbs 21.5)
      4. Righteousness
         
         13 Righteous lips are the delight of kings,
         And they love him who speaks what is right.
         (Proverbs 16.13)4 Riches do not profit in the day of wrath,
         But righteousness delivers from death.
         (Proverbs 11.4)

         18 The wicked man does deceptive work,
         But he who sows righteousness will have a sure reward.
         (Proverbs 11.18)