Part of the chapter that I want to focus on is beginning there in verse number 14 where
the Bible reads,
But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned, and hast been assured of, knowing
of whom thou hast learned them, and that from a child thou hast known the holy Scriptures
which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof,
for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly
furnished unto all good works.
Now at the very beginning of this chapter he said,
This know also that in the last days perilous times shall come.
And he begins to describe those dangerous times that would come.
And he really describes the world in which we find ourselves living in 2015.
And then after that big long description about how bad things are and how bad things are
going to get in the last days, he says in verse 14,
But, but in spite of all that, he says, continue in the things which thou hast learned, and
hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them.
So what's God saying?
We want to know what we've learned.
We want to be assured of it.
We want to know where it's coming from.
And he says that from a child Timothy had known the holy Scriptures, which are able
to make thee wise unto salvation through faith, which is in Christ Jesus.
And then he says,
All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof,
for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect.
Perfect meaning complete, not lacking anything, without being missing anything.
He says, may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.
And what I want to preach about this morning is the subject of all Scripture being profitable
for doctrine today.
Now this is a foundational type sermon, but it's important that we lay down strongly the
foundations of our faith, that we know what we believe, why we believe it, where it's
coming from.
And one of those foundational truths is that the Bible that we have today, as is in my
hand here, a King James Bible, 66 books, that first of all, this book is the Word of God,
and that all Scripture is contained in this book.
Because if the Bible says all Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable
for doctrine, if God says that the Scriptures are able to make us wise unto salvation through
faith which is in Christ Jesus, we need to know what are the Scriptures?
Where are the Scriptures?
Is this book containing all the Scriptures, some of the Scriptures?
Are there other things outside of this book that are Scripture?
Or are there things within this book that are not Scripture?
You see, today the Bible is under attack.
We know and believe and stand on the fact that this church, that this book is the Word
of God, that everything in this book is the Word of God, and that anything outside of
this book is not the Word of God.
But yet those doctrines are under attack today, and the Bible says in Psalm 11 verse 3, if
the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?
And what greater foundation is there than the Word of God?
Jesus said, therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, shall be
likened unto a wise man that built his house upon a rock.
You know, when you build your life on the Word of God, the sayings of Jesus Christ,
you're building upon the rock.
That's the foundation.
Other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Christ Jesus.
But if the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?
Therefore the devil has always been out to attack the foundation of our faith, even all
the way back to Genesis chapter 3 when he said, Yea, hath God said?
And he questioned God's Word.
He wanted people to doubt whether God's Word was really God's Word.
Now first of all, if you would, turn to John chapter 7, because we want to talk about
this morning, first of all, how do we know that these books in the Bible are God's Word?
Why do we believe that?
And then number 2, we want to look at each part of the Bible, and we want to come to
the conclusion that Paul gave us in 2 Timothy 3 when he said that all scripture is given
by inspiration of God, and that all of it is profitable for doctrine, meaning that Genesis
is profitable for doctrine, Exodus is profitable for doctrine, Leviticus is profitable for
doctrine, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, all the books of the New Testament,
all the books of the Old Testament, they are the timeless Word of God and are profitable
today for doctrine.
Now first of all, when determining what is God's Word, the number 1 consideration is
found in Hebrews 4.12.
Here in John 7, we're going to look at that in a moment, but Hebrews 4.12 says this,
For the Word of God is quick and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing
even the dividing asunder of soul and spirit and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner
of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
So some of the things that we see about the Word of God in that verse is that the Word
of God is powerful, and that the Word of God is without comparison, because it's sharper
than any two-edged sword.
There's no other book, there's no other word that could hold a candle to the Word of God.
So if something is going to be the Word of God, if you're ever going to convince me that
something is the Word of God, it better be powerful.
It better have power, because the Bible says the Word of God is powerful.
Now just logic would tell us that if God is the creator of the universe, and if God created
all these magnificent animals and plants and all of the beautiful things that we see
in nature, and he created our minds that are more powerful than any computer, and if he
created us to be living souls and to be made in his image, and to have basically free will,
you know, which is amazing in and of itself, then we would have to believe that any book
that he writes is going to be an amazing book.
If the author is the supreme being of the universe, who has all knowledge, omniscient,
then anything that he wrote would be amazing.
And anything that is poor literature, that is just junk, that just doesn't make sense,
you know, it can't be from God, because God doesn't put out poor quality work.
Everything that God made in Genesis 1, when he looked upon it, he saw that it was very
good.
So the Bible says in John chapter 7 verse 44, and some of them would have taken him,
but no man laid hands on him.
This is people that wanted to see Jesus get arrested, and certain law enforcement officers
were sent with a warrant for Jesus' arrest, and they're told, arrest Jesus.
It says, some of them would have taken him, but no man laid hands on him.
Then came the officers to the chief priests and Pharisees, and they said unto them, why
have you not brought them?
They're basically looking at these officers and saying, look, we ordered you to go arrest
this guy, why are you coming back without him?
Look at the answer.
The officers answered, never man spake like this man.
Now that's the truth right there.
See, when God speaks, there's no comparison.
No one else can speak like God speaks.
And when Jesus Christ, even in his earthly form, preached the word of God, when people
heard that word come out of his mouth, they said, never man spake like this man.
And they came to arrest him.
And on their way to go arrest him, they heard the preaching, and they couldn't do it.
They were so blown away by what they heard.
See, God's word's powerful, isn't it?
Never man spake like this man.
Look at verse 47.
Then answered the Pharisees, are you also deceived?
Have any of the rulers or the Pharisees believed on him?
But this people who knoweth not the law are cursed.
Now when they say, who knoweth not the law, they're not talking about not knowing the
Bible.
See, when they say the law, they're talking about their law also, which is not just the
Bible.
It included all their traditions and all the junk that they had tagged onto it, which would
later be written down as the Talmud.
And so basically, they're appealing to the experts here.
Have any of the rulers or the Pharisees, I mean, what do the scholars and the experts
and the scientists say?
I mean, they don't believe on him.
But you see, the officers believed the word, why?
Because they heard it.
And the Bible says, faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God.
Those who tried to refute the word, they appealed to so-called experts who are never what they're
really cracked up to be.
You know, the rulers and the Pharisees, have they believed on him?
Well, case closed.
You know, if they didn't believe on him.
Flip over to chapter 10 of John, just a few pages to the right in your Bible.
John chapter 10, verse 1.
Because remember what the sermon's about.
If we want to talk about the authority of all scripture, if we want to talk about the
inspiration of all scripture, you know how to figure out, well, how do we know what's
scripture here?
Well, look at John chapter 10, verse 1, verily, verily, I say unto you, he that enterth not
by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same as a thief and
a robber.
Verse 2.
But he that enterth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.
To him the porter openeth, and the sheep hear his voice.
And he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out.
And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him,
for they know his voice.
And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him, for they know not the voice
of strangers.
This parable spake Jesus unto them, but they understood not what things they were which
he spake unto them.
Then said Jesus unto them again, verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep.
All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them.
I am the door.
By me, if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out and find pasture.
Jump down to verse 26 of chapter 10.
But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep.
As I said unto you, my sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me, and I
give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck
them out of my hand.
Flip over to chapter 16.
What's he saying there?
He's saying, my sheep hear my voice.
They don't know the voice of strangers.
A stranger will they flee from.
What's the Bible teaching here?
It's an important doctrine that those who are saved can recognize the voice of the shepherd
and can discern it from the voice of strangers.
Now people scoff at this today when you use this as a proof of God's word.
When you say, well, I know it's God's word because of the Holy Spirit and his leading.
Because of the fact that I'm one of his sheep and I can discern the voice of the shepherd
and the voice of strangers.
I can tell the difference as it were.
People will scoff at that, but the Bible says in John 16 verse 13, how be it when he,
the spirit of truth is come, he will guide you into all truth, for he shall not speak
of himself, but whatsoever he shall hear that shall he speak, and he will show you things
to come.
So the Bible tells us there that one of the ministries of the Holy Spirit is to lead us
into all truth, to guide us into all truth.
Now go if you would to 1 John chapter 4, 1 John chapter 4.
The Holy Spirit will guide us into all truth.
Whatsoever he shall hear the Bible says, that shall he speak.
It says he shall not speak of himself.
Meaning that the Holy Spirit isn't coming up with his own things to say, but rather
he's not speaking of himself, but rather it says he'll take of mine and show it unto you.
The Bible says, whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak, and he will show you
things to come.
Jesus later said he'll take of mine and show it to you.
Why?
Because the Holy Spirit will take God's word and use that to speak to us.
And because the Holy Spirit is within us, he will guide us into all truth and we're
able to discern the voice of the shepherd from the voice of strangers.
Look at 1 John chapter number 4.
The Bible says in verse 4, year of God, little children, and have overcome them, because
greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world.
They are of the world, therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them.
We are of God.
He that knoweth God heareth us.
He that is not of God heareth not us.
Hereby know we the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.
Is it true, according to the Bible, that God's people are able to discern God's word?
He says, look, if you're saved, if you're one of the sheep, if you're one of God's people,
you are able to know what is God's word and what is not God's word.
You are able to discern that and the Holy Spirit will also help you to discern those
things.
So number 1, the first criteria for something being God's word is it has to be powerful.
And it has to be something where when we hear it, we recognize it as God's word, and
God's spirit testifies to us that it's God's word.
Now you say, well that doesn't sound like a very scientific way.
Well, who said it was scientific?
You know, you need to stop worshiping the God of atheism known as so-called science,
which is mainly a fraud.
Obviously parts of it are true, there's some truth in every lie.
But most of what's taught today as science is a lie and is a fraud.
Where they'll basically try to tell you what happened billions of years ago and call that
science.
You know, real science has to do with observing things in the natural world and quantifying
things and studying things that can be proven, not philosophizing about where the universe
came from.
That's not science.
That is philosophy.
That's religion, okay.
Now if you would, and that's a whole other sermon in and of itself, but go to Matthew
24, actually go to 1 Peter, you're already in 1 John, just go to 1 Peter, I'll read
for you from Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21.
This verse is found exactly the same in all three places.
Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.
That verse is found identical in three places, Matthew, Mark, Luke.
Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.
Here's another criteria besides just God's word having power and being recognized by
the children of God as God's word because they are able to discern that which is a counterfeit
from the real thing because they're saved, because they're of the sheep, because they
have the Holy Spirit also to help them.
But secondly, God's word is preserved because Jesus said heaven and earth shall pass away,
but my words shall not pass away.
So that which passes away is not God's word because God's word will not pass away, the
Bible says.
Ecclesiastes 3.14 says, I know that whatsoever God doeth, it shall be forever.
Nothing can be put to it, nor anything taken from it, and God doeth it that man should
fear before him.
Look at 1 Peter chapter 1 verse 23, being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of
incorruptible by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever.
For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass.
The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away, but the word of the Lord endureth
forever and this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.
So we see here that God's word is preserved.
It's going to abide forever.
It's not going to disappear and fall off the face of the earth.
So number one, God's word is powerful.
Number two, God's word is preserved.
And number three, God's word is productive, because God's word brings salvation.
That's what we saw in 2 Timothy 3.
We see it again right here, that we're saved by the word of God.
It's the word of God that is that seed that brings salvation, the sower soweth the word.
And so God's word is productive, so we know God's word by the fruit of God's word.
So this is how we know God's word.
This is how we discern God's word.
So you say, okay, well here we are with the Bible in our hand and it has 66 books in it.
And some people will question, you know, hey, are all of these books legitimate?
And other people will try to add other books.
Now, you know, when I was a child it doesn't seem like this was as big, but it seems like
more and more the attack on God's word is growing, where people will want to throw out
certain books and add other books, like for example books that they want to add, they'll
talk about, hey, you need to read the book of Enoch or the gospel of Thomas or read the
Apocrypha or whatever they want to add to this list here.
And then other people would want to take away from and say, hey, the scriptures that the
apostle Paul wrote, those aren't really scripture.
Or they'll say, hey, the book of Jude is not legitimate or the gospel of Luke is not legitimate.
And they'll try to take away from this list.
So the question becomes, you know, how do we know that this list is the right list?
How do we know that these 66 books are the right 66 books?
And here's what the Catholics will try to tell us.
And you've probably had a Catholic try to tell you this if you go out soul winning and
knock on the door of a Catholic who's a really hardcore dyed in the wool Catholic.
Here's what they'll often brag to you and claim.
We're the ones who gave you the Bible.
Have you ever heard him, have you ever had him say that to you?
You wouldn't even have the Bible if it wasn't for us.
We're the ones who actually gave you that list of books, that 66 books list.
You know, we're the ones who picked which one would be included and which one would
be excluded.
Have you had people tell you that?
It's very common for, you know, most Catholics don't know what they believe.
But I'm talking about the ones who actually believe in it.
The ones who go to church more than two times a year and actually, you know, care about
it.
Not just having a shrine to some goddess in their front yard that they're bound down to,
but that actually are into the religion.
You know, that's what they'll try to claim.
We gave you the Bible.
But here's what's funny.
Just think about this.
They claim that they gave us the list of the New Testament books in 397 A.D.
You know, that that's when they gave us that list.
And 397, now just stop and think for a minute.
When did Jesus walk on this earth?
You know, he died around what, 33 A.D.?
Okay, and so when was the New Testament written?
It's written in the first century, right?
I mean if you think about it, these guys only lived so long.
Paul, Peter, James, John, the guys who wrote the Bible, they all lived at the time of Christ.
And so they all wrote it in the first century.
So we're being told that the Catholics, they're the ones who gave us the New Testament in
397 A.D.
Now what doesn't add up about that?
Are you going to expect me to believe that for 300 years Christians are just running
around, I don't know what the Bible is, I don't know which books, I don't know what
to believe.
I don't know whether Thessalonians is legit or not.
You know, I mean do you really expect me to believe that there's no New Testament until
400 A.D.?
No New Testament didn't exist until 400 A.D.
That's ridiculous.
That's bizarre.
Manuscripts of the New Testament, scraps, fragments, before that in all different languages
are out there.
And so it's ridiculous to say, hey, there was no New Testament until 397.
So basically what we have in 397 A.D. is a bunch of people getting together in a big
important meeting and deciding that which everybody already knew who had a brain in
their head.
I mean it'd be like if we just got together and held a big council today and just made
some big decision and we just decided, you know, that there's only one God.
You know, and it's like, well we came up with that in 2015.
You know, but that's what the Catholics try to say, right?
They try to sit there and say, well we're the ones who came up with that list.
In 397 A.D., you're a little late there, buddy.
The religion's been around for 300 and some years and those books had already been believed
and preached and read and that's why they're even still around 300 years later because
everybody's believing them, preaching them, reading them, translating them, evangelizing
with them.
So it's just bizarre that the Catholics will try to say we came up with that list.
Well, you know what?
It's really not that impressive that you came up with that list, Catholics.
Because of the fact that anything you guys left out is a worthless piece of garbage anyway
that can easily be spotted as a fraud.
Look at, if you doubt that the 27 books of the New Testament are the legit books, just
look at the Gospel of Thomas for five seconds.
It's the most ridiculous thing you've ever read in your life.
Look up all these fake books and they just scream out, I'm fake.
They scream out, I'm stupid.
I'm a fraud.
And so you say, well, that's not a, how do you scientifically define it as stupid?
Oh, it's called the Holy Spirit guiding me.
You pick up these books and just immediately God's like, no, this is not the voice of the
shepherd.
Now, hey, you say, well, I don't even understand what you're talking about.
Maybe you're not saved.
You know, people that are saved understand when they hear God's word versus hearing an
imposter they can tell the difference.
Now I got saved as a six year old boy so it's hard for me to understand what it's like going
through life as an unsaved person because I got saved at such a young age.
But my wife got saved as an adult.
You know, other people that got saved later in life, they may be able to better discern
the difference between what it was like before you were saved and what it's like after you're
saved and you have more discernment and your eyes are open and the Holy Spirit's guiding
you.
There's a difference there, okay?
And so we that are saved, we that are Christians, we can read these fake books and instantly
know that they're dumb, that they're a fraud, that they don't add up, that they don't match
the rest of scripture and that they lack power, okay?
Also, many of these so-called other missing scriptures were not preserved.
They're discovered later in the 1800s or in the 1900s.
Well, then they're not God's word.
Listen to me, anything discovered in the 1800s or 1900s is not God's word.
Because it wasn't preserved.
God wouldn't have let his real word fall off the face of the earth for 1700 years.
It doesn't make any sense.
And so don't let the Catholics tell you that they gave us the list.
And then here's also what they'll say.
They'll say, well, if you trust us for the list on the New Testament, why don't you trust
us on the Old Testament?
Because on the New Testament, they have the same list we do, 27 books.
But on the Old Testament, they have more books known as the Apocrypha.
So they don't have 39 books in the Old Testament.
They have more than that.
But here's the thing.
The Catholics didn't declare the Apocrypha as being part of God's word until 1546.
So it wasn't even the same thing.
They try to say, well, if we were right about the one, we're right.
First of all, just because somebody's right about one thing doesn't mean they're right
about everything.
Even a broken clock is right twice per day.
Twice per day, you could look at a broken clock, it'll give you the right time, okay?
So just because they stated the obvious in 397 AD, which books are legit, anybody could
read Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John and see that they're the most amazing books ever written.
And then they look at Thomas and say, this guy's weird.
Now look, I'm not saying Thomas is weird because Thomas was a great apostle.
And he's up in heaven face palming at what people are pawning off in his name.
I mean, think about how would you feel if you're Thomas right now.
And here's the one thing you're known for, doubting?
Doubting Thomas and writing this weird, new age, you know, mystical book, the Gospel of
Thomas.
I mean, it's got to be, you know, he, when we get to heaven, we need to pat him on the
back and say, look, man, we're sorry that you got such a bad rap down here on earth,
you know.
Someday God's going to tell us the truth about Thomas, that he was actually a great guy.
But, you know, they stated the obvious in 397, but that doesn't make them right in 1546
when they said that the Apocrypha is God's word because it isn't.
Now one thing, and I want to get off this subject and get to the rest of the sermon,
but one thing that people will often throw at you is they'll say, well, the King James
originally contained the Apocrypha, right?
So therefore, why isn't it God's word?
Here's why it's not God's word, pick it up and start reading it.
It's junk.
And even, and people say, well, but the translators, the translators didn't consider it God's word.
Here's the proof that the translators did not consider it God's word because the 39
articles of the Church of England, most of the translators were part of what church?
Church of England.
Here is the 39 articles of the Church of England from 1562.
This is their doctrinal statement as a church.
Article 6, okay, of the 39 articles says this, Holy Scripture, and the title of this article
is Of the Sufficiency of the Holy Scriptures for Salvation.
Holy Scripture containeth all things necessary to salvation, so that whatsoever is not read
therein nor may be proved thereby is not required of any man that it should be believed as an
article of the faith or be thought requisite or necessary to salvation.
In the name of the Holy Scripture, we do understand these canonical books of the Old and New Testament
of whose authority was never any doubt in the church, saying these are the books that
are canonical, nobody doubts these, these are just clearly understood to be God's word.
And then it lists off the 39 books of the Old Testament.
Then it says, and the other books, so first it says, look, only that which is in the canonical
books, that's all you need to be saved, that's all you have to believe, that's where all
doctrine comes from, and it says these are the canonical books, it lists the 39 books
of the Old Testament.
Then it says, and the other books, as Jerome saith, the church does read for example of
life and instruction of manners, but yet doth it not apply them to establish any doctrine,
such are the following, and then it lists the Apocrypha.
So it says these are good books just to read for the historical value, just to get their
moral stories, they're interesting, but he said no doctrine will be based on these books.
That was the official stance of the King James translators.
Now what does the Bible say, all scripture is profitable for?
They're saying, look, these books have nothing to do with salvation, these books should not
be the basis of any doctrine, they're being included just for their historical value,
and just because they're nice stories that contain good morals.
Most of the books of the Apocrypha don't even claim to be God's word, if you actually read
it.
I picked it up and started reading it in the original 1611 King James replica that I have
back there, that big giant book that's the original 1611 with the crazy font and everything,
and you only have to read a few pages before the translators are putting notes in the column
saying, this verse is corrupt.
It literally says that like, just a few pages in, this verse is corrupt, go to the book
of Ezra to get the true story, and it tells you where you can go in Ezra to get the truth,
and it says this is corrupt.
And there are all kinds of criticisms of the Apocrypha throughout it in the King James.
It's there.
Look, the original King James is full of all kinds of stuff.
I mean, half the page is notes and, you know, I mean, it has less notes than like a Geneva
Bible, but there's all kinds of notes and cross-references, and then there's like an
almanac and a how to find Easter forever chart, Bible reading charts, maps, genealogies.
It's like when you get a study Bible today and it's got all this other stuff in it.
But that stuff isn't God's word, and the King James translators, the only thing that they
declared to be God's word was the 66 books that we have.
So we can still say, hey, the King James Version is the preserved word of God unto us today.
Just because it had the Apocrypha included in a special section where it was pulled out
from the rest of the Old Testament and put in a special section for reference doesn't
mean that it was ever believed by them to be God's word.
The only people who declared it to be God's word were the Catholics, you know, and they
only officially did that in 1546.
So the Apocrypha, you say, well, I don't know, maybe the Apocrypha is God's word.
Okay, are you saved?
Go ahead and read a few books of it and then come back and tell me it's God's word.
You won't because it's junk and you can tell the difference.
People that are saved can tell the difference.
Okay, so the 66 books that we have today are the true words of God, nothing added, nothing
missing, it's all right here.
Any book that people have cast doubt on, like throughout the years people have doubted James,
you know, that's one of the books that's often been doubted.
Jude is another one that's often been doubted.
But here's the thing, James has some of the most powerful verses in the Bible.
We that are saved, we read James and our heart burns within us and we know that it's God's
word.
When we read Jude, it's powerful, we know it's God's word.
Well that's not the criteria, well, it is the criteria for those who are saved.
We believe it because it is powerful, it's been preserved.
Any of these new findings that they're coming out with, they're not God's word because they
haven't been preserved.
Okay, go to 1 Corinthians chapter 14.
So now that we've kind of laid that down, hey, how do we know that the Bible is God's
word?
Because we read the whole thing and it's powerful, it's preserved, it's been translated into
all languages throughout the world and people believe it.
Also it's productive.
Look at the fruit of the King James Bible.
Look at the fruit of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, Acts, Romans.
What is it?
Millions of Christians all over the world who are truly saved by believing in the Lord
Jesus Christ and trusting in salvation by faith alone.
That's the fruit of this book.
By the way, stop and think, what's the fruit of the modern versions?
Apostasy, liberalism, watered down, weak Christianity.
That's been the fruit in America of the modern versions.
You show me a red-hot, leather-lung, fire-breathing, preaching church that's going out and soul-winning
and knocking doors and getting people saved and baptizing converts, I'll show you a church
that's preaching out of the King James Bible only.
You show me a rock and roll fun center, I'll show you the NIV behind the pulpit.
I'll show you the living translation, you know, all these other scriptures.
You know it's true.
Somebody told me one time, well this church is right on everything except they're not
using the King James.
I said, that's impossible.
And then come to find out the church has all kinds of false doctrine because you can't
have the right doctrine if you have the wrong Bible.
And these modern corruptions, it's another sermon in and of itself, they're not God's
word and that's why you see the lack of fruit and that's why you see the apostasy of those
who follow them.
Look at 1 Corinthians chapter 14 because I want to talk about the epistles of Paul because
now that we understand, okay, what's the criteria?
There are people out there that will basically attack certain parts of God's word and one
of the popular trendy doctrine that's been coming up, especially amongst the Hebrew roots
type movement, is to say that the epistles of Paul are not God's word.
And they'll say, Paul was a false apostle.
This is what the Muslims teach also.
The Muslims will say, well, you know, Jesus was legit but Paul was a false teacher.
He corrupted it all.
That's what the Jews will often bring out.
You know, well, it was Paul who corrupted everything.
The Hebrew roots movement.
So the epistles of Paul are under attack.
Let's see what the Bible says about the epistles of Paul.
Look at 1 Corinthians 14 verse 36.
What came the word of God out from you or came it unto you only?
If any man think himself to be a prophet or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things
that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord.
Now right there, we see that Paul is claiming that his epistles are scripture.
Now you say, well, that's coming from Paul himself.
Well go to 2 Peter chapter 3.
But first of all, let me just point out to you that Paul wasn't just writing letters
here.
He is claiming that he is an apostle.
He starts out as epistles by saying, Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ.
And he says, if any man among you think himself prophet or spiritual, hey, let him acknowledge
that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord.
So he's claiming that what he writes is authoritative as scripture.
And then he says, but if any man be ignorant, let him be ignorant, which is a great statement.
But look at 2 Peter 3.15.
It says, an account that the long suffering of our Lord is salvation, even as our beloved
brother Paul also, according to the wisdom given unto him, hath written unto you as also
in all his epistles.
Notice that.
As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things
hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable rest as they do also
the other what?
The other scriptures.
He says, look, our beloved brother Paul has written unto you in all his epistles, yes,
there are some things in his epistles that are hard to be understood that people who
are unlearned or unstable will twist or rest, but he said they do that with the other scriptures
too.
So look, what's he calling Paul's writings?
He's calling them scripture, saying Paul's writings are scripture.
The people who twist them are the same ones who twist other scriptures as well.
So here we have the apostle Peter, who walked and talked with Jesus, who was one of the
inner circle of the three, Peter, James, and John, and we see him sanctioning and approving
all the epistles of Paul saying they are God's word and that he wrote according to the wisdom
given unto him by God, he was inspired by God.
That's what the Bible says.
Now go to 1 Corinthians chapter number 1.
So the epistles of Paul are stated by Paul himself and by Peter to be God's word.
But the biggest reason we know that they're God's word is that number 1, they're powerful.
Number 2, they are preserved.
And number 3, they are productive.
They bring forth grapefruit.
I mean, what do we use more than anything when we're out soul winning and getting people
saved?
What's been the most common way to get people saved in the last hundred years?
The Romans road, right?
From the epistle of Paul to the Romans.
Powerful book.
I mean, Romans is considered by many to be, you know, the greatest book of the New Testament,
their favorite book of the New Testament.
It's a powerful book.
Now all of Paul's epistles are clearly God's word just by the power that they have.
No doubt about it.
But then other people will sometimes make another error.
So we've kind of talked about the fact that, okay, all these 66 books are God's word.
And then we've talked about the fact that other cheap imitations are easily spotted
as such.
A cheap imitation by anyone who has the Holy Spirit living inside of them.
But then, even amongst those who will agree with us that all 66 of these books are God's
word, a common error you'll find, even amongst people who say, oh, I believe the whole Bible,
they'll try to say that certain parts of the Bible don't apply to us.
In fact, huge portions of the Bible don't apply to us.
And this is where it becomes important where the Bible said all scripture is given by inspiration
of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction
in righteousness.
Because there is a great teaching out there today even amongst independent Baptists.
Huge numbers of independent Baptists will say that certain parts of the Bible are no
longer profitable for doctrine.
Now on the extreme end of that spectrum, you have those who are called dispensationalists
or hyper-dispensationalists.
And on the extreme end of that spectrum, here's what they'll say.
The only books that we are to get our doctrine from today are the Epistles of Paul.
That's it.
And they'll say, well, it's all God's word but, you know, Paul is our apostle, they'll
say.
We're Gentiles.
And so Paul is our apostle so we get our doctrine in the New Testament church age from Paul,
he's our apostle.
Who's ever heard that before?
Yeah.
And, you know, Sam Gipp is a big false teacher that will talk about how Jesus and Paul preach
different gospels and Paul is our apostle as Gentiles and so forth.
Now look how foolish that is in light of Scripture.
Look down at 1 Corinthians chapter 1 verse 10.
Now I beseech you brethren by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ that you all speak the
same thing and that there be no divisions among you but that you be perfectly joined
together in the same mind and in the same judgment.
For it has been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house
of Chloe that there are contentions among you.
Now this I say that every one of you sayeth, I'm of Paul and I have Apollos and I have
Cephas.
And who's Cephas?
Peter.
Cephas is another word for Peter.
I have Cephas and I have Christ.
Is Christ divided?
Was Paul crucified for you or were you baptized in the name of Paul?
I thank God that I baptized none of you but Crispus and Gaius lest any should say that
I baptized in my own name.
Look how foolish is it to get up in 2015 and say, well Paul is our apostle when he flat
out rebuked people for saying I'm of Paul.
Well I'm of Paul.
He's my apostle.
Well I'm of Peter.
He's my apostle.
But yet people actually say this today that Paul is our apostle.
No you want to know who our apostle is?
Jesus.
Hebrews chapter 3 verse 1 says this, wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling,
consider the apostle and high priest of our profession, Christ Jesus.
Look if we're going to say, well he's my apostle, that's going to be Jesus.
Hey was Paul crucified for you?
Were you baptized in the name of Paul?
No.
And so we want to be careful that we don't exalt the epistles of Paul and somehow say
that they are more authoritative than else.
It doesn't make any sense folks when he specifically rebuked people for getting behind Peter more
than Paul or Paul more than Peter.
Well he's our apostle.
No, no, no.
Everybody in the world has the same apostle, Jesus.
And then everybody has these other apostles too to help us, James, John, Paul.
It's not just one certain apostle.
Now here's what they're twisting.
They're twisting Romans 11, 13 where it says, for I speak to you Gentiles and so much as
I'm the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify my novice.
See, he's the apostle of the Gentiles.
But what does it say right in that verse?
For I speak to you Gentiles in as much as I'm the apostle of the Gentiles.
What did Paul mean when he said I'm the apostle of the Gentiles?
He's saying I'm speaking to Gentiles.
Why?
Paul spent his life traveling throughout the Mediterranean region and preaching the gospel
to the Gentiles.
Remember he kept trying to reach the Jews and they wouldn't listen so he shook off the
dust of his feet and said I'm going to the Gentiles.
From henceforth I'm going to the Gentiles.
God called me to go preach to the Gentiles.
So when he said I'm the apostle of the Gentiles, what's he saying?
He said I'm going to go preach the gospel to Gentiles back then.
So to say well he's our apostle, no because we're not Gentiles living 2,000 years ago.
So he didn't come personally, he talked to us, okay?
And that doesn't make any sense because Jesus told all the apostles to go into all the world.
He told the 11 disciples go teach all nations.
You know, just some of them stuck with reaching Jews, that was their disobedience, okay?
Everybody's supposed to preach the gospel to every creature, all nations.
So to sit there and say well Paul's our apostle, when it flat out says don't say I'm of Paul,
it just shows the ridiculousness of that doctrine.
And here's where you say well why would anyone believe that or teach that?
Well because they want to reject the teachings of Jesus.
They want to reject the teachings of Jesus.
Because you'll show them teachings from Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John and here's what they
say, oh but we don't get our doctrine from that, we get it from Paul.
What in the world?
How could you elevate anything above the teachings of Christ?
Now look, I think that Paul's epistles are on the same level as Christ's teachings because
the Holy Spirit gave the teachings to Paul, just like Jesus spake by the power of the
Holy Ghost.
I mean it's all from God, God's the author of the whole Bible.
You know, that's why I'm not necessarily a fan of putting the words of Christ in red
because they put the whole thing in red.
You know, in the beginning was the word.
The word was with God, the word was God.
The same was in the beginning with God.
You know, who decides what is really out of the mouth of Christ, well it's all from the
Spirit of Christ.
You know, it's all God's word.
But to sit there and say, oh the teachings of Jesus don't apply, only the teachings of
Paul.
First of all, let me say this.
There's no contradiction between the teachings of Jesus and the teachings of Paul.
See that's the fallacy that people have going in.
They go into it like, well Jesus and Paul are teaching two different things so which
one do we believe?
No, here's the truth, they both agree in one.
And they try to say, oh there's the gospel that Paul preached which is salvation by grace
through faith and then they say that Jesus didn't teach salvation by faith.
Okay, how about this verse?
For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth
in him should not perish but have everlasting life.
Who said that verse?
Jesus.
Doesn't that sound like salvation by grace through faith?
Or how about John 6 47, verily verily I say unto thee, he that believeth on me has everlasting
life.
Sounds like salvation by faith to me.
How about John 5 24, verily verily I say unto you, he that believeth on me has everlasting
life.
Sounds like salvation by faith to me.
He that heareth my word and believeth on him that sent me has everlasting life and shall
not come into condemnation but is passed from death unto life.
Sounds like salvation by grace through faith to me.
What about John 10 28, I give unto them eternal life and they shall never perish, neither
shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
Sounds like the eternal security of the believer to me.
How about John 11, I am the resurrection in the life.
He that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live and whosoever liveth and
believeth in me shall never die.
That's the same gospel that Jesus preached is the same gospel that Paul preached just
because he preached it to the Gentiles is irrelevant because he said I'm not ashamed
of the gospel of Christ for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth
to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
Isn't it interesting that the gospel that was the power of God to salvation to everyone
that believeth was the same thing that went to the Jews first and then it went to the
Greek?
It's not two different gospels.
Well Paul's gospel, Jesus' gospel.
Look Steven Anderson's gospel better be Jesus' gospel or it's the wrong gospel.
Paul's gospel when he says my gospel he means the gospel he preached.
You know we should we better all be preaching the same gospel because there's only one gospel
and if anyone preaches another gospel let him be accursed and Paul said it even if I
myself preach another gospel let me be accursed.
Remember that?
He said if any man come unto you and teach any other doctrine though we or an angel from
heaven teach any other gospel unto you than that which you have received let him be accursed.
So if Paul was preaching another gospel he cursed himself which makes no sense.
So there's a false doctrine out there that wants to eliminate the epistles of Paul.
There's another false doctrine out there that wants to exalt the epistles of Paul and say
that they're the only thing to get our doctrine from.
No all scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine.
Go to Matthew chapter number five.
One of the reasons why these dispensational teachers teach this stuff what you'll notice
is that a lot of the architects of this doctrine are divorced and remarried which I'm not here
to attack you if you're divorced and remarried.
My parents are divorced and remarried you know meaning that they married someone else
I'm saying.
They got divorced and married other people.
You know I understand that there are a lot of people that are in that situation and you
know what the Bible says you know forgetting those things which are behind and reaching
forth unto those things which are before.
You can't go back in time and change the past but you can follow Christ's commandments from
here on out and you know the person that you're married to right now you can stay married
to them and you know till death do us part and not break another vow like you broke the
first one.
But let me say this though the Bible teaches that if you marry if you divorce your wife
and marry someone else you're committing adultery.
If you divorce your husband and marry someone else you're committing adultery.
You marry you're a single guy you've never been married and you marry a divorced woman
you just committed adultery.
That's what the Bible says over and over Jesus taught that over and over but what they'll
try to say is oh that doesn't apply even though it's found in Matthew Mark and Luke repeatedly
they'll say that doesn't apply.
Mark 12 doesn't apply Luke 16 doesn't apply Matthew 5 doesn't apply Matthew 19 doesn't
apply.
Let's take a verse in 1 Corinthians 7 and twist it and say it's teaching something else.
Well first of all 1 Corinthians 7 is teaching none other than what Jesus taught.
There's no difference in doctrine if you actually discern it correctly and read it correctly.
But you can't sit there and try to pit the teachings of Paul against the teachings of
Jesus if they're both God's Word they need to both be true.
But because a lot of these guys want to get divorced remarried divorce remarried and remain
pastor even though they should be blameless and the husband of one wife they want to go
through all these divorce and remarriages and remain pastor they embrace conveniently
this dispensational teaching.
Men like Schofield who abandoned his wife and just left her high and dry moved to another
state and married someone else okay.
Men like John Hagee you know who teaches stuff divorce and remarried.
Men like Peter Ruckman divorced and remarried three times you know who is basically you
know Sam Gipp is Peter Ruckman's disciple that's where this stuff is really coming from
and it cracks me up how people reject Peter Ruckman's cult like teachings but then they
accept Sam Gipp when he teaches all the same junk he just repackages it a little differently
he's just not as smart as Peter Ruckman you know it's pretty much the only difference
between those two.
Peter Ruckman was a lying false teacher but at least he was smart you know at least he
could draw well with chalk.
But anyway let's go to Matthew 5 look at verse 17 and let's talk about another part
of scripture that people sometimes like to throw out you know there's people who are
throwing out the epistles of Paul another thing that people will try to throw out is
the Old Testament scriptures and just try to throw out the whole Old Testament and say
all our doctrine has to only come from the New Testament and they won't take any anything
you point to them in the Old Testament they say but not for us not for us well what did
Jesus say?
Matthew 5 17 think not that I've come to destroy the law or the prophets I came not to destroy
but to fulfill for verily I say unto you till heaven and earth pass one jot or one tittle
shall in no wise pass from the law till all be fulfilled whosoever therefore shall break
one of these least commandments and shall teach men so he shall be called the least
in the kingdom of heaven but whosoever shall do and teach them the same should be called
great in the kingdom of heaven.
Now what we can see from that verse is that the Bible teaches that there are saved people
who are going to get this wrong because he talks about saved people throwing out Old
Testament commandments and they're still going to heaven but they're going to be the least
in the kingdom of heaven if they're teaching that and then there are those who do the commandments
and teach them that will be called great in the kingdom of heaven so this shows that people
can be saved without keeping the commandments you're saved by faith but those who keep the
commandments are going to be called great those who teach men hey we don't need to worry
about this stuff are not going to be great okay now here's where people get confused
and and the reason why people get confused is because we live in a day where many people
are uneducated simple stupid whatever you want to call it okay because of the fact that
we've been dumbed down through TV video games movies it used to be that people did a lot
more reading they did a lot more studying they had a lot more intelligence because they
didn't just rot their brain on TV all day okay so they knew more I mean if you look
at the the man who founded our country for example you know they would like graduate
from the sixth grade like I was reading about Samuel Adams in order to graduate from the
sixth grade he had to compose and deliver a speech in Latin I mean he's living in America
his language is English but they they're studying Greek Latin and he had to get up and deliver
a speech in Latin to graduate from the sixth grade okay and that's why sometimes you'll
hear about oh this president he only had a sixth grade education he only had an eighth
grade education yeah but it was more than your college education his sixth grade was
like you getting your bachelors or masters I mean yeah I mean seriously because back
then you know people did more study and they they they thought about things and they didn't
just you know rah rah ice cream cotton candy you know video game TV just you know being
idiot I mean kids today like they don't want to buckle down and do any real schoolwork
or do any real reading or do any real study let's face you know and we need to make sure
that we don't fall into that trap of the world where we become really dumbed down we need
and even as adults we need to keep learning keep studying keep reading our Bibles learn
and not be an imbecile but so many people have been so dumbed down they want to dumb
down the Bible too and this is where a lot of these modern versions are coming from oh
the King James is just too hard to understand maybe you're just too dumb you know it's hard
to understand when you're stupid think about it I mean it's hard to understand when you
get you know when when you're speaking texting language all day I mean yeah oh it's so hard
to understand well I'd hate for you to have to do anything hard now wouldn't we I mean
it is God's Word now look parts of the Bible are easy to understand very easy other parts
are hard to understand good why would I want to read some super easy book my whole life
I'd be sick of it we want the Bible to have some things that are easy and some things
that are hard here's something that's easy being saved he said you just come as a little
child the faith of a child you know you just put all your trust in him it's easy it's like
drinking a water it's like taking a bite a piece of bread it's like going through a
door it's real easy total faith in Jesus no works lest any man should boast it's real
simple but here's what sometimes people make the mistake of thinking that everything in
the Bible is going to be simple everything in the Bible is going to be easy they want
everything to just be super simple and super easy and if you can't explain it to me in
10 seconds well I'm just not interested because that's my attention span this is how sometimes
people are now thank God the gospel is real easy it's real simple you explain to a little
kid and they get it but that doesn't mean that every concept in the Bible is going to
be equally easy some things in the Bible are harder to understand and one of those things
that's not just as super and it's not that complicated but this is something that people
struggle with today is they don't understand the difference between the Old Testament and
the New Testament it's like they have this really dumb way of thinking of just we either
we're going to just reject the whole thing either we're just going to reject the whole
thing or we're going to embrace even the parts of it that were specifically changed in the
New Testament it's like they can't it's like oh I don't get it well God explained to you
that the priesthood being changed there is made of necessity a change also of the law
so there are some things that have changed from the Old Testament to the New Testament
and there are whole chapters in the New Testament that teach us about that a lot of the book
of Hebrews is dedicated to teaching us that Colossians is teaching us that okay we get
some teaching on that in the book of Romans okay all throughout the New Testament there
is teaching about the difference between the Old Testament and the New Testament but because
people are dumbed down they either just have this all or nothing just you know I'm either
just gonna not listen to anything the Old Testament's telling me or I'm going to just
go back and reinstitute stuff that God did away with it's not that simple folks you have
to study the Bible now let me give it to you in a nutshell what the Bible teaches the Bible
teaches that there are certain things that have been changed in the New Testament now
anything that God did not specifically change in the New Testament we don't have the right
to just change okay so here's the rule of thumb we follow everything in the Old Testament
unless it's specifically it's changed in the New Testament and if it's been specifically
changed in the New Testament then we follow that now what you say well why would God change
things now first of all let me say this God himself doesn't change who God is never changes
because the Bible says Jesus Christ the same yesterday and today and forever and then the
Bible also says for I am the Lord I change not therefore you sons of Jacob are not consumed
so we see that God doesn't change but the reason why there is a change between the Old
Testament and the New Testament is because the children of Israel did not continue in
that covenant so he made a new covenant it was because of man's failure not God's failure
that a new covenant was instituted now here's what has changed in the New Testament in the
New Testament the ceremonial law has changed because in the Old Testament there was a lot
of ceremony and ritual that was pointing them toward the coming of Jesus this would be your
animal sacrifices this would be the Levitical priesthood this would be the incense that
is burned in the temple and in the tabernacle this would be the Ark of the Covenant and
those kinds of all these symbolic things that pointed unto the coming of Christ those things
are specifically done away another thing that is specifically repeatedly done away in the
New Testament are the dietary restrictions where in the Old Testament they didn't eat
pork they didn't eat shrimp and things like that but in the New Testament those things
have been specifically repealed another thing is the Sabbath day in the Old Testament they
were not to work on the Sabbath day whereas in the New Testament again specifically repealed
I've done whole sermons on that these are specific changes but other than that God doesn't
give us the right to just take 80% of our Bible and just reject it because the New Testament
is only you know about a fourth or a fifth of the Bible you know the 75 80% of it is
the Old Testament we don't just throw it out we discern it okay now even the parts
that have been changed are still profitable for doctrine why because if we go to a part
about an animal sacrifice it's still profitable for doctrine why because it tells us something
about the sacrifice of Jesus we can go back and study those animal sacrifices and use
them to understand Jesus and understand his sacrifice we can go back and look at the washings
and so forth and apply them spiritually in the New Testament of what they represent of
us living a clean life and so forth we can take the dietary restrictions and use them
to teach New Testament truths like for example the fact that every clean beast in the Old
Testament parted the hoof and chewed the cud you know again there are all kinds of spiritual
implications of that of not just talking the talk but walking the walk to be clean you
know the cud and the hoof and so it's all it's a whole nother sermon of itself but they're
all these things that can be taught but what we have to understand is that the things that
were changed from Old to New Testament were not things that were intrinsically sinful
or evil see it was never intrinsically sinful or evil to eat pork I mean think about it
why did they have that commandment and if you would flip over to Genesis 9 why did they
have that commandment not to eat pork because he's trying to teach them a symbolic truth
and that's why he even instituted it later in history because if you look at Genesis
9 they were allowed to eat pork in Genesis 9 look at Genesis chapter 9 this is Noah getting
off the ark and this is just one verse I could point to other verses as well but in Genesis
9 3 it says this every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you as the green herb have
I given you all things and it's not going to be for another thousand years or so approximately
that God's going to tell them only eat that which parts the hoof and choose the cud so
why was it wrong under the old covenant to eat pork it was wrong because God said don't
do it that's the only reason it was wrong it wasn't that there's something wrong with
pork I happen to think that pork is one of the best meats you know though I mean I've
been to Chipotle hundreds I saw something in the news about some guy who's eating Chipotle
every day for the last hundred and fifty days and I'm like why is this news I mean that's
nothing it's not like he's eating it for every meal he eats there once a day every day but
that's pretty close to my life sometimes but the thing is I've been to Chipotle several
hundred times yay a thousand times and you know the most common thing that I order is
the carnitas and if I don't get the carnitas I get the barbacoa but honestly there's nothing
intrinsically wrong with pork or the oh it's bad for you look pork is the other white meat
okay just shut up and then don't hit me with that but the thing is the reason why it was
wrong is just because God said don't do it you know I mean if God says don't do it don't
do it I mean it's that simple but it doesn't mean that there's inherently something wrong
because if it was inherently wrong then why did God let people eat it for thousands of years and
if you look at human history the period where they're not supposed to eat it is like about
1600 years okay and how long has this world been around 6300 years approximately we don't know the
exact number but we know that our earth has been around here for about 6300 years so about one
fourth of that time there was a prohibition on pork why because it was for a specific time right
here plain as day in Genesis 9 3 he says every and and look how specific is every moving thing
that liveth shall be meat for you even as the green herb have I given you all things and that's what
they were operating under in the days of Noah that's what Abraham Isaac and Jacob were operating
under okay it's not until later when the ceremonial law came in with Moses the old covenant that
anything changed with that so we see that there are specific changes of things that are not
inherently sinful see there's nothing inherently sinful about working seven days a week or eating
pork or you know not washing your hands or whatever because even Jesus said you know to eat
without one washing hands to file with not a man but then also in the Old Testament we have all
these moral laws okay that are given and those things haven't changed you know murder is
inherently wrong so you know that didn't change in the new adultery is inherently wrong but even
things like cross-dressing you'll try to show Christians today where the Bible says the woman
shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man neither shall a man put on a woman's garment for
all that do so are an abomination under the Lord thy God oh well that's Old Testament hold on a
second where did Jesus make any change and say you know you have heard that it has been said by
them of old time thou shalt not cross dress but I say unto you be transgender I mean there's
nothing like that I mean do you really think Jesus died on the cross in order to deliver us
from men's clothing to deliver women from having to wear female clothing I mean that's bizarre but
people in their simplicity just want to just throw out the whole Old Testament just it's all or
nothing either we're gonna offer a goat as an animal sacrifice or we're throwing out the whole
thing no it's not that simple you study the Bible and and and learn the difference so we see that
the Old Testament teaching you know you quote them Leviticus on on the homos the sodomites and
what do they do oh that's Old Testament yeah so is love thy neighbor as thyself Old Testament
Leviticus 19 so is you know thou shalt not commit adultery thou shalt not steal thou shalt not kill
all these great teachings of the Bible are still in place okay so what am I saying what's the
sermon about here's what the sermons about this book is the foundation this book is the rock of
our salvation and this book is the book on which we base our lives have faith that these are the
66 books that God wants us to have believe that don't get these weird thoughts of oh there's
something else out there and 99% of the people are out looking for something else have never
even read these right they haven't even read this cover to cover the who the lost books of the
Bible why don't you read the ones that are already there that are found okay so they say oh there's
something else there or then or don't read the Bible trying to figure out well I'm trying to
figure out some of these books don't seem legit this has been tested and tried and proven for the
last 2,000 years we know that this is the Word of God don't doubt Hebrews James 1st 2nd 3rd John Jude
it you look ask the Holy Spirit whether it's true or not and you'll know the answer if you're saved
it's clear we want to know that the book that we hold in our hand is the not was the Word of God
is the Word of God today and that all of it is profitable for doctrine meaning that we need to
read the whole book and skip nothing now I'm not going to ask for a raise of hands who's read the
Bible cover to cover but it's a shameful thing that the vast majority of Christians in America
today have not read the Bible cover to cover now I know in our church most people have read it
cover to cover because that's something that we emphasize here but if you've never read the Bible
cover to cover you need to start immediately and realize that all scripture is there so that we can
be thoroughly furnished unto all good works he said look in the last days perilous times shall
come but continue in what you've learned know who you learned it from and that you've been assured
of it that it's the Word of God and realize that all scripture is necessary today in 2015 as we
live in the last days all of it is needed we need all man does not live by bread alone but by every
word that proceeded out of the mouth of God you need Leviticus today you need numbers you need
Deuteronomy and so I challenge you with this if you've never read the Bible cover to cover take
the table of contents of your Bible right here and go through and check off the books that you know
for sure that you've already read don't just keep reading Genesis a million times don't read Matthew
for the thirtieth time if you haven't read the whole thing go through and if you and if you
haven't done any of it well then you haven't done any of it start at the beginning you know start
with read the whole New Testament then read the whole Old Testament that's the order I would do
it if I hadn't read it but go through and just check off every book you know for sure not like
well I think I probably read mark at some point no books that you know a hundred percent sure that
you read the whole thing check those off and then start checking off the rest of them as you
go and keep checking them off until you've read the whole Bible cover to cover you say well I've
already done that well then read it again and again and again and again let's bow your heads
and have a word of prayer father we thank you so much for your word Lord it's a treasure it's
timeless it's just as powerful today as it was 2,000 years ago Lord and there are all kinds of
wolves and devils out there that are trying to destroy our faith in the Bible trying to bring
out all these new discoveries and new scriptures and new versions and change what we believe Lord
but father help us not to be deceived by anyone who wants to take away or add to the words of
this book help us to be assured of the fact that these 66 books are your word and that we would
believe every word read every word and that we'd be thoroughly furnished unto all good works in
2015 in Jesus name we pray Amen