2nd Timothy chapter number 3 of the Bible reads,
This know also that in the last days,
perilous times shall come.
For men should be lovers of their own selves, covetous,
boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents,
unthankful, unholy, without natural affection,
truce breakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce,
despisers of those that are good, traders, heady,
high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God,
having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof.
From such, turn away.
For of this sort are they which creep into houses
and lead captive, silly women, laden with sins,
led away with diverse lusts, ever learning,
never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.
Now as Janus and Jamborees withstood Moses,
so do these also resist the truth.
Men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith.
But they shall proceed no further,
for their folly shall be manifest unto all men,
as theirs also was.
But thou hast fully known my doctrine, manner of life,
purpose, faith, long-suffering, charity, patience,
persecutions, afflictions, which came unto me at Antioch,
at Iconium, at Lystra, what persecutions I endured.
But out of them all the Lord delivered me.
Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus
shall suffer persecution.
But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse,
deceiving and being deceived.
But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned
and has been assured of, knowing
of whom thou hast learned them.
And from a child that was known the holy scriptures, which
were 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."
Let's pray to the Lord God.
We just thank you for this church, for our pastor.
This asks that you would strengthen me now.
Please fill in with your Holy Spirit.
And please bless the preaching.
Help us to be edified and equipped
for the works that you've set before us.
And in Jesus' name we pray, amen.
Amen.
OK, we're in 2 Timothy chapter number 3.
And the title of my sermon this morning
is The Purpose of the Bible.
The Purpose of the Bible.
Look at 2 Timothy 3 and verse 16.
It 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,
thoroughly furnished unto all good works.
Now this morning, I want to talk to you
about the intent of the Bible.
And if I were to give you just a brief explanation,
because obviously in this sermon,
I'm going to go through the particular things
that we see here in 2 Timothy chapter 3.
But if I were to give you a brief answer
to the purpose of the Bible,
I would say that the Bible's prime objective
is essentially to reveal God to humanity
with the hope that man would essentially be reconciled
back unto God through Jesus Christ.
And what the word of God really is,
it's a witness of God the father of his son Jesus Christ
through all of history,
starting with the history of Israel in the Old Testament,
leading up to Jesus Christ being born in the 1st century AD
in Bethlehem's manger,
and of course the gospel being preached into all nations.
And so I want to talk about specifically though,
what the Bible's intent is
according to 2 Timothy chapter number 3 here.
But before I get into that,
let me just explain a couple of things here
regarding what the Bible is not, what it's not for.
And the first thing that I want to point out
is the most obvious and that is it's not a lucky charm.
And that the Bible should never be approached
in a superstitious manner
where somehow the physical Bible itself
will give you some sort of favor with God
just because you possess a Bible in your hands,
have it on your coffee table,
keep it on your nightstand.
The physical Bible itself has no intrinsic value,
has no supernatural ability.
The supernatural ability of the Bible
is found within the content of the word of God.
And even then it's found when you actually obey
the word of God,
that's where the supernatural power comes from.
And it's important to know that
because of the fact that somehow people think,
well, if I own a Bible, if I have a Bible,
if I keep it on the dashboard of my car,
if I keep it on my nightstand,
if we just have a family Bible on the coffee table,
somehow that'll just give me favor with God.
Well, actually the opposite is true.
You say, why is that?
Well, because of the fact that if you own a Bible,
but do not read the Bible,
you're actually accountable for more.
Because of the fact that you have access to the truth
and yet you refuse to read the word of God,
God actually holds you accountable.
And in fact, the Bible specifically says,
to whomsoever much is given of him shall be much required.
And so the Bible should never be used as a lucky charm.
It should never be approached in a superstitious manner.
That's not what the Bible is for.
Secondly, is that the Bible is not a book of fairytales.
Now this is a common argument that atheists
and people who stand in opposition of the Bible
will often say to kind of make Christians mad
or to disrespect the Lord and Christianity.
And they'll say, oh, that book is just a book of fairytales.
Whereas the Bible itself literally warns us
against fairytales.
It's constantly saying not to give heed to Jewish fables,
endless genealogies.
It tells us not to follow cunningly devised fables.
It says not to listen to or believe old wives fables.
I mean, it's constantly warning us
not to be carried about with every wind of doctrine
and fables and lies and deceit.
Why? Because the Bible is full of truth.
It is the truth, okay?
And so it's not a book of fairytales.
And it always kind of cracks me up
that the main people who make statements like that
are people who like believe in aliens and stuff.
They're always like, don't, you know,
that's a book of fairytales.
Why they simultaneously believe in aliens
as they're closing the Bible
and open up the Harry Potter books.
I mean, they rather give heed to fairytales of this world
and claim that the word of God itself is a fairytale.
The word of God is the witness of God.
It's true.
Jesus said that he is the way, the truth and the life.
And of course we know that Jesus is the word of God.
And so never approached the Bible to think that,
oh man, it's just some sort of lucky charm.
It can give me favor with God by merely possessing it.
Oh, it's a book of fairytales.
No, every event in the Bible took place.
No matter how crazy you might think it is,
every single event in the Bible
that the Bible says happened actually happened.
Even the supernatural events of the word of God
actually took place.
And we don't need to make excuses
for the supernatural occurrences in the word of God either.
If the Bible says that God parted the Red Sea,
that's exactly what he did.
It wasn't like an east wind that came.
It's not the Santa Ana winds that we got going on here.
Somehow it was just the temperatures were just right
and part of the waters and all that.
No, he actually parted them
and accomplished a very supernatural
cosmic occurrence there
where it can only be explained as a miracle by God.
So it shouldn't be viewed as a lucky charm.
It should not be viewed as a book of fairytales.
Also, let me mention this is that God,
although this is a book for Christians,
he's made it available to the entire world.
The word of God is for everyone.
Obviously, as we're gonna look at in just a bit,
it profits Christians the most.
But in general, the word of God,
God has made it available and accessible
to every human being on the planet.
And in fact, here in 2 Timothy 3, verse 16,
he starts off by saying, all scripture is given.
Now, if this were true in Paul's day,
it's so much more true today
because today we have a more sure word of prophecy.
We actually have the 66 books of the Bible here
written for us.
We can reference the Old Testament scriptures.
We can reference the law.
We can reference the historical books, the poetical books,
the major and minor prophets.
We can go to the gospels and the epistles.
We have everything available to us,
even regarding events that have not yet taken place.
All scripture is given to us.
We don't have to go to a specific geographical location
in this world to access the Bible.
We literally have it on our phones, okay?
Now, why does God make it available to us?
Because that's God's first step in trying to get us
to search out the truth.
You know, we obviously understand that God
essentially has revealed himself in different ways,
one of them being through creation, right?
Through the created world,
mankind should observe the created world
and come to the conclusion that there is a creator,
not that we came from monkeys or something, right?
No one looks at the observable world and thinks,
oh, you know, we just evolved, okay?
That has to be ingrained in someone
through the public school system,
through that type of propaganda.
Whereas when we look at creation, you know,
the heavens declare the glory of God,
and the firmament showeth his handiwork.
That's what the Bible says.
And so when we look at the stars and the celestial bodies
and all of creation, we stand in awe of the fact
that there is a creator out there.
Obviously, that's not enough to get you to the finish line
of salvation through Jesus Christ,
but it's a step in the right direction
because it causes people to respond
to the light that God gives them,
that this world was created by someone,
and then, of course, that should motivate us
to seek out the truth.
But not only that, you know, the Bible also says
in Romans chapter two that we have the law of God
written in our hearts.
What is that referring to?
It's referring to the fact that God has given
each and every one of us a sense of morality,
also known as the conscience,
because every society in this world understands
that murder is wrong.
They understand that stealing is wrong.
They innately know that adultery
and all these things are wrong.
Well, you know, that wasn't taught to them by anybody.
They just innately know that because of the fact
that the law of God is written in their hearts.
So obviously, there is the law of God
found in the word of God,
but God has also imprinted his morality
within every single human being in this world
known as a conscience that when, in conjunction,
when looked at the word of God, the law of God,
it slays us, it causes our spirits to become dead,
and then it helps us to recognize we need a savior, okay,
because we've broken his laws,
we've violated his commands, et cetera.
But then lastly, he reveals himself through the best avenue,
which is the word of God, and all scripture is given.
You know, the Bible tells us in Romans chapter 10
in verse nine, it says that the righteousness
which is the faith speaketh on this wise.
Say not in thine heart, who shall ascend up into heaven
to bring Christ down from above?
You know, who shall descend into the deep
to bring up Christ again from the dead?
But what sayeth it?
The scripture is nigh thee, even in thine mouth,
referring to the fact that the word of God
is close to anyone.
And that's so much more true today than it was
when the Apostle Paul wrote this.
All of us in this room can literally pull out our phones
and just download a Bible app,
even if you forgot your Bible today.
If you forgot your physical Bible today to bring to church,
you can literally just go on your phone
and download a Bible app,
and there you have the word of God.
You don't have to go to a temple, to a synagogue,
to a geographical location.
You don't gotta go to heaven to bring Christ down
from above or go to the deep to bring up Christ again
from the dead.
The word is nigh thee.
You can go to your bookshelf, you can go to your phone.
You probably have multiple apps of the Bible on your phone.
It's accessible to anybody, okay?
Now, why is that important?
Well, because of the fact that even to the unsaved,
the word of God is available.
So they are without excuse.
So anybody who suffers the punishment of eternal damnation
known as hell has zero excuse
because they had access to the truth.
Not that they could come to Christ based upon,
you know, believe on Jesus Christ on their own.
They obviously need someone to show them the word of God
and explain to them.
However, they know how to respond to the light
that God gives them
because the word of God is available even to them, okay?
And even the word of God says in Romans chapter 10
that the word of God has been preached
throughout the whole world, okay?
So every nation has heard about Jesus Christ.
Every nation has heard about the word of God.
And in the day and age in which we live with the internet,
it's made readily accessible.
And not just the word of God.
Biblical preaching is made available.
Biblical preaching through YouTube, through Rumble,
through social media outlets.
The word of God is constantly being pumped out
to all generations so that people are without excuse, okay?
Now go with me if you went to Psalm 19.
Hold your place there in 2 Timothy chapter three
and go to Psalm 19.
So we know that the word of God
is not some sort of superstitious book
that has some sort of divine capabilities
regarding the physical book itself.
The divine capabilities are within the content
of the word of God.
You know, in order for us to prosper, we have to obey it.
The Bible says this book of the law
shall not depart out of thy mouth,
but thou shall meditate therein,
day and night, that thou mayest observe
to do according to all that is written therein.
For then thou shall make thy way prosperous,
and then thou shall have good success.
Implying that in order to be blessed of God,
to have success, to prosper in this world,
it needs to be in our mouth.
Now, why does it say this book of the law
shall not depart out of thy mouth?
Because what's coming out of our mouth
stems from the heart.
Implying that the word of God should be in our hearts, right?
That's where the blessing comes.
So it should not be viewed as a superstitious book.
It's not a book of fairy tales,
and it is available to everyone.
Now, with that being said,
what is the purpose of the Bible?
Well, number one, let me say this,
is that the purpose of the Bible
is to profit those who give heed to it, okay?
Because the Bible says in 2 Timothy 3.16,
all scripture is given by inspiration of God
and is profitable, okay?
Now, what does it mean to profit?
It means it improves the quality of life.
It can improve the Christian's life by blessing them,
but it even improves the lives of unsafe people as well, okay?
Now, let me read to you from a couple of scriptures here
before we get into Psalm 19.
1 Corinthians chapter 14 and verse six says this,
Now, brethren, if I come unto you speaking with tongues,
what shall I profit you,
except I shall speak to you
either by revelation or by knowledge
or by prophesying or by doctrine?
Implying that the way Christians profit
from the word of God is when it's preached to us,
when we are being given doctrine,
when things are being explained by revelation
and knowledge of God's word.
Verse 21 states,
In the law it is written,
with men of other tongues and other lips
will I speak unto this people,
and yet for all that they will not hear me sayeth the Lord.
Wherefore tongues are for a sign,
not to them that believe, but to them that believe not.
But prophesying, another word for prophesying is what?
Preaching, the preaching of God's word,
but prophesying serveth not for them that believe not,
but for them which believe.
So in order for Christians to benefit from God's word,
aside from their daily Bible reading,
because the Bible says to give attendance to reading,
to exhortation, to doctrine,
the way they can profit from the word of God
is by listening to biblical preaching,
because it profits those which believe, right?
You know, if an unsaved person attends a church,
and when we mean unsaved, we're referring to a person
who has not placed their faith in Christ,
they're not a Christian,
they wouldn't necessarily consider themselves
to be a Christian or believers in the Bible,
if they were to come here week in and week out,
they would not profit from the preaching of God's word.
And in fact, they would probably be very offended
at the Bible, right?
Because the Bible is very offensive.
It's a very offensive book.
And I don't like it when pastors make excuses
for the word of God and for the offenses of the Bible.
You know, we're not here to defend God,
we're here to expound what the word of God says.
And you know, if people wanna believe it or not,
that's on them, okay?
We're not here to make the word of God
palatable for mankind.
The word of God is what it is.
If you don't like it, then you don't like it.
But you know what, it would serve you well
if your beliefs lined up with the Bible.
And so after a person gets saved
and they place their faith in Christ for salvation,
they need to profit spiritually by coming to church,
listening to the preaching of God's word,
proving all things, holding fast that which is good.
The Bible says, despise not prophesying.
This is how they can profit from those things.
Look at Psalm 19 in verse number seven here.
It says, the law of the Lord is perfect,
converting the soul.
The testimony of the Lord is sure,
making wise the simple.
What does that mean?
It means if, what's the word simple mean?
Simple can mean stupid.
It can mean without knowledge.
It can mean someone who's just unwise.
You know, think of the term simpleton, right?
Well, according to the Bible,
when you read the word of God,
God makes you wise.
He converts you from being a simpleton
to someone who has wisdom, someone with knowledge,
someone who has wisdom.
That's what happens there.
Verse eight says, the statutes of the Lord are right.
Rejoice in the heart.
So there's no aspect of the Bible that's wrong.
There's no teaching of God's word.
There's no law in the Bible,
no principle or statute that is morally wrong
or inaccurate or with error,
because he says the statutes of the Lord are right.
Rejoice in the heart.
The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.
The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever.
The judgments of the Lord are true
and righteous altogether.
More to be desired are they than gold,
yea, than much fine gold,
sweeter also than honey in the honeycomb.
So God is themes his word even above the most valuable,
precious metal that this world can offer.
So if you were to choose between monetary wealth,
precious stones and the knowledge of God's word,
the creator of the universe says, go with God's word.
It holds more value than any amount of gold
that this world or anyone can offer you.
He says it's also sweeter than honey in the honeycomb.
Why? Because it feeds the soul.
Verse 11, moreover by them is thy servant warned
and in keeping of them there is great reward,
the Bible says.
So why does it profit believers?
Well, number one, because of the fact that
it actually warns you from destruction
because this world operates on a system
where there's cause and effect.
You do this, this is what's gonna happen to you.
If you do this, you'll be successful.
If you don't do this, you know you won't be successful.
If you're involved in this particular sin,
you will be punished in this manner.
This is the system by which we operate.
Whether you agree with it or not, okay,
because anybody can make the argument and say,
well, I don't believe that.
Well, your lack of belief or belief
doesn't make something true or not.
Someone can say they don't believe in gravity
and say, you know what, I don't believe in gravity.
I think I can fly.
And they can hop on the roof and say,
I'm gonna prove that I don't believe in gravity,
which they do prove that if they jump, right?
But the outcome shows us that gravity's true
whether they believe it or not.
And by the way, not just the outcome,
but the hospital bills and the broken bones
and the embarrassment and the shame
will prove that, yeah, gravity does exist.
Well, in like manner, the principles of God's word
are true whether you want to believe in them or not,
whether you want to argue against them or not,
whether you want to defame them or not.
At the end of the day, the consequences are still true.
The rewards are still true.
And so the Bible's telling us here
that by them, thy servant is warned.
So life is filled with God just warning us
from the outcome of bad decisions.
But it also states that in keeping them,
there is great reward, okay?
In other words, that if we obey the word of God
and keep God's commandments,
God will greatly recompense us
for our obedience to the word of God.
The Bible tells us that when we have faith,
he that cometh to God must believe that he is
and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
The blessing of the Lord and maketh rich, the Bible says,
and he addeth no sorrow to it.
So God rewards people for their obedience to God's word.
And by the way, not in just this lifetime
because the Bible offers rewards for Christians
to obey God's word here in this life,
but guess what, also in the life to come.
And the Bible also says to not exercise ourself,
that bodily exercise profiteth little,
but godliness is profitable into all things,
having the promise of that which is now
and of the life which is to come,
implying that the reward that God gives us
is not only a temporary reward that we receive here,
but even an eternal reward.
What are we saying?
The Bible profits us as Christians.
And that's why it's important for Christians
to attend a church where they're teaching the Bible.
You never wanna attend a church
where they're not explaining
how the rewards are distributed.
You never wanna attend a church
where they're not warning you on a consistent basis
over the pitfalls of this life.
Why?
Because God wants to warn you,
but he also wants to reward you.
And if you're not situated in a spiritual location
where they're expounding unto you the rewards of that,
how are you gonna be rewarded by God
if you don't know what to obey
and how to reach that end, you understand?
Go to Deuteronomy chapter four, if you would.
Deuteronomy chapter number four.
And obviously we understand that people can learn
the Bible on their own if they're saved,
but people do cap out at a certain point, okay?
There's only so much you can learn on your own.
And this is why the Bible tells us
that he's given to people, apostles and prophets
and pastors and evangelists for the work of the ministry,
for the perfecting of the saints,
for the edifying of the body of Christ.
And then he goes on to say that we henceforth
be no more children tossed to and fro,
carried about with every wind of doctrine
by the slider men in cunning craftiness
whereby they lie in way to deceit.
There's only so much you can grow by yourself
in the Christian faith.
You obviously need someone else
to kind of bring you along as well.
And there's other people in this world
who have matured in their knowledge of God's word
that can kind of fill in the blanks for you
and fill in the areas that you are deficient in spiritually.
And this is done, according to the Bible,
through the local New Testament church.
That's how a local New Testament church can profit you
is by teaching you what to stay away from
but also what rewards you.
Now, let me read to you from a couple of verses
in Proverbs chapter two,
before we get into Deuteronomy chapter four.
Proverbs two says this in verse number one,
"'My son, if thou wilt receive my words
"'and hide my commandments with thee,
"'so that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom
"'and apply thine heart to understanding,
"'yea, if thou cryest after knowledge
"'and liftest up thy voice for understanding,
"'if thou seekest her as silver
"'and searches for her as for his treasures,
"'then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord
"'and find the knowledge of God.'"
So obviously, it's not just a matter of impartation
of knowledge that rewards us or warns us.
It's when you apply it.
And God here is saying, through the book of Proverbs,
that we should search after knowledge
the way you would search after hidden treasures, right?
So if I were to tell you,
there's a million dollars in your backyard
buried somewhere.
I don't know where, but it's there.
And let's just say it was true, okay?
Somehow I had the credibility to tell you that.
Let's say I was like the billionaire who put them there,
okay?
This is a fairy tale, okay?
Okay, I'm not preaching the Bible,
I'm giving you a fairy tale.
Most of you would be like, okay,
I'm gonna take a day off of work,
and I'm gonna search for those million dollars.
I don't care how dirty my clothes get,
I don't care how many blisters I get from digging.
And if I just say, you just have to keep digging,
I don't know how deep it is.
Oh, you're gonna dig deep.
Why?
Because you know that there's something of value there.
Well, God says that's how deeply we should dig
into God's word to find out the knowledge of God, okay?
And so apply it, but also search for it.
That means we should have a yearning for the word of God,
for the knowledge of the Bible,
to the point that we read it consistently every day,
expecting treasure in return.
Because the Christian life is not just the life
of discipline of reading the Bible,
it's a discipline of reading the Bible with an expectation.
God wants us to expect knowledge when we read the Bible.
God wants us to expect wisdom when we read the Bible.
He wants us to have a spirit of expectation
when we approach Him in prayer
and in the reading of God's word.
He goes on to say,
"'For the Lord giveth wisdom,
"'out of His mouth coveth knowledge and understanding.
"'He lathe up sound wisdom for the righteous,
"'He is a buckler to them that walk uprightly.'"
And then He goes on to say in verse 10,
"'When wisdom enterth into thine heart
"'and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul,
"'discretion shall preserve thee,
"'understanding shall keep thee.'"
What is that referring to?
It protects you.
"'To deliver thee from the way of evil men,
"'from the man that speaketh froward things,'" it says.
So what is it saying?
You know, when you read God's word,
you grow in knowledge, but you also grow in discretion.
You know, a really bad way of saying this
is like street smarts.
It gives you the street smarts
without having to be in the street, right?
You say, why is that?
Discretion is the ability,
not necessarily to just have book knowledge,
but just to have discernment.
Because, you know, some people can have book smarts,
but don't have any discernment.
They can't really tell if a person
has ill intentions towards them or not.
They can't really discern the intentions of man.
Well, God actually imparts wisdom
where we're able to tell the intentions of man sometimes,
and it keeps us from evil men.
I mean, that's an amazing quality to have.
And some people have that quality without the Bible,
given, that's completely understandable, right?
That happens.
But here's the thing, they acquire that ability
through years of running into evil people
and having evil people do wrong unto them.
So they kind of gain it by experience.
Whereas the Bible says, you can gain it without experience.
So if I can gain something with experience
or without experience, I would do it without.
So that means a person who's in their 50s and 60s
can acquire the ability to discern through experience,
40 years of experience, 20 years of experience,
whereas the 20-year-old doesn't even have to go
through those traumatic experiences to gain that wisdom.
They can just get it straight from God's Word.
I mean, that is an incredible ability to have.
That's a major flex.
Because we don't have to experience all the traumatic things
in order to have that wisdom.
God says He can just give it to you,
but you gotta search for it.
You gotta ask for it, you gotta apply it,
and the Bible says He'll keep you from the evil man.
And so it's very much profitable for believers.
So the point that I have there is the fact that
getting into a church that's profiting you spiritually,
that's teaching you the Word of God,
so you can profit from it by being warned of bad decisions,
but also being rewarded for the right decisions.
The next point I have here regarding profiting
is that it also profits unbelievers.
So the Word of God is actually unbiased.
There's certain laws in the Bible, principles in the Bible,
that are universal to everyone.
So if the laws of God are applied to nations and societies
that are not Christian nations, not Christian societies,
they don't believe in God, but if those laws are instituted,
that society will benefit from it greatly.
Why?
Because these laws are universal.
The economy of the Bible profits anybody,
whether believer or non-believer.
Look at Deuteronomy chapter four and verse number five.
It says, behold, I have taught you statutes and judgments,
even as the Lord my God commanded me,
that you should do so in the land
whether you go to possess it.
Now, let me explain a couple things here
before we continue on.
When the Bible talks about statutes and judgments,
it's a very general term to describe
just any commandment of the Lord, right?
And there are certain commandments in the Bible
that have spiritual ramifications,
but then there's other commandments in the Bible,
laws in the Bible, that aren't necessarily spiritual
in nature, they're just good practical advice, okay?
And so when we refer to the statutes and the commandments,
it can be referring to that which is spiritual,
but it can also be describing the practicality
of the way a society operates, okay?
Look at verse six.
Keep therefore and do them, for this is your wisdom
and understanding in the sight of the nations,
which shall hear of these statutes and say,
surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.
He says, for what nation is there so great
and who hath a God so nigh unto them as the Lord our God
and all things that we call upon him for?
And what nation is there so great that hath statutes
and judgments so righteous as all this law
which I set before you this day?
So God essentially hears the hearts of men
of the surrounding nations,
and he knows what they think about God and his word.
They're like, wow, these commandments are awesome.
These statutes are incredible.
Who is this nation that possesses such wonderful statutes
to be applied in a land?
And what I believe it's implying here is the fact
that the Bible improves every society
that implements its laws and statutes.
It will automatically improve it in a great way
when those laws are actually enacted.
Once a nation adheres to the Bible,
even in the most incremental way,
the Bible will enhance the quality of life in that society.
Okay?
Let me give you an example.
You know, the United States of America right now,
theft is just a huge thing right now.
And before it was just like people would steal things
from stores and if they got caught,
they would do some time in jail.
But now it's like you can't even take them to jail.
Now you just gotta watch them as they just grab everything
and just leave, right?
It's almost as if you have to like assist them.
Like, can I get the door for you as you're leaving?
Because it becomes so, it's almost like against,
it's actually against the law to stop them
or to do anything harmful unto them
if they're actually stealing from a store.
So the United States, the crime of theft
used to be punishable by incarceration.
And when it was punishable by incarceration,
it was punishable by that at the taxpayer's expense.
Right?
So you think about a person who is being robbed.
Someone steals something from that particular person.
In the country in which we live,
they don't get, they don't receive restitution for that.
In fact, they don't get anything.
In fact, they have to pay their tax dollars, right?
They have to pay to incarcerate the person
if they get caught.
And when the person is incarcerated,
I mean, they get three square meals,
they got a gym, they got cable there.
I've seen people, you know, they have phones in there.
Not because I've seen it personally,
but you know, I've heard of this.
They have phones in there.
I mean, they basically live a normal life.
And so the person who's being stolen from,
they have to, they don't get anything
in return for their loss.
What do they get?
They have to pay taxes.
And what happens to that thief?
He ends up getting released later on to steal once again.
I mean, it's a really foolish way
of dealing with theft in this country, right?
So the victim isn't required for his losses.
The thief goes free and he's able to steal again.
Whereas if our country were to institute
biblical laws against theft,
it would actually benefit and profit both parties.
Because of the fact that the Bible issues
full restitution to the victim,
and in some instances, even more than just
the actual restitution, the full restitution,
depending upon what's being stolen.
And if the thief was not able to pay because he's broke,
then essentially he would have to work for that person
until full restitution could be made.
They say, well, how does, I mean,
I'm not for thieves or anything like that,
but how does that benefit the thief?
Well, if a thief stole a possession,
they were caught, they didn't have money,
and they had to work for it to pay it back double,
at the end of paying back double,
you know, if he wasn't a simpleton,
he would think to himself, that was stupid stealing that.
I could literally have just worked and have two of those.
I could have literally bought two sheep.
I could have just bought two animals instead of stealing,
and then having to work for this guy,
and now he gets two, and I get nothing.
But what he actually gets is knowledge and a work ethic.
This is why the Bible says,
let him that stole steal no more,
but rather than let him labor with his hands
that which is good,
that he may have to give to him that needeth.
So not only does it profit the victim,
because he gets more back, right?
But it also profits the thief,
because he acquires a skill,
he gets a work ethic, he gains wisdom,
and he also gets to profit someone else,
because the Bible says that he should work to the point
where instead of stealing,
he should actually profit others,
give to him that needeth,
which in turn results in what?
God blessing him as well.
Now, this has nothing to do with Christians.
I mean, it can, this is just for a society.
So that means if we're to institute that law
in the United States of America,
it would benefit even the unsaved.
The quality of life would go up exceedingly in this land
if that were to take place,
because the Bible is universally compatible to every nation
as long as they implement his laws,
it will benefit them greatly.
Now, it's never gonna happen,
obviously this is out of eternity,
because everyone here just hates the Bible,
they hate the word of God.
So both parties will come out winning.
How about the cancellation of debt every seven years?
So in the Bible, every seven years,
God would just cancel all debt.
So all your student loans and credit cards,
everything would be forgiven after seven years.
So obviously you would have to work
for whoever you're indebted to,
but at the seven year mark, God would just cancel it all.
And obviously that would be very beneficial to a land.
He said, well, that kind of helps the debtor,
but what about the person they're in debt to?
Well, it would actually impede usurers, right?
So it would cause usurers to not lend with usury
and all that, which obviously the Bible
also speaks out against,
but according to Deuteronomy 15,
that's exactly what would take place.
And in that society, that society would thrive
and would succeed and prosper
because the debts are being canceled every seven years
and everyone gets a fresh new start.
They don't get like a blotch on their credit.
They don't get a blotch on their record or whatever it may be.
For example, the prison systems is something
that's not a biblical concept either,
because someone who gets caught with marijuana,
which obviously we're not for marijuana here,
they do prison time or something like that,
and it gets on their record
and it just like stays on their record
and it impedes them from moving forward, getting a job,
living a normal life thereafter.
They're just kind of like an outcast of society
where they can't function properly.
And you know what that does?
It causes them to resort back to crime,
which you kind of wonder if it's done intentionally.
Whereas the Bible prescribes particular punishments
for particular crimes,
and the punishment is meant to reform the individual
to the point where if that individual repents
and reforms and makes restitution
or they get their lashes, right,
that that individual can move on with their life thereafter
and not have to be bogged down
with an ill reputation of the past, okay?
It's not right.
You know, the Bible says in 1 Timothy 1, verse 8,
but we know that the law is good if a man use it lawfully,
knowing this that the law is not made for a righteous man,
but for the lawless and disobedient,
for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane,
for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers,
for manslayers, for whoremongers,
for them to defile themselves with mankind,
for men stealers, for liars, for perjured persons,
and if there be any other thing
that is contrary to sound doctrine.
And so a society would greatly improve and benefit from,
would profit from the Bible, whether they're saved or not.
And you think of the death penalty, for example,
that's obviously not a thing today,
but instituting the death penalty
would greatly improve a society
because then you wouldn't have serial killers, rapists,
and child molesters running rampant,
whereas the prison systems right now
is just a revolving door of child molesters
and they're able to be released
and violate children once again.
And by their own admission, by the way,
they say that that's exactly what they'll do
if they get released, you know?
Whereas if the death penalty was instituted,
that would reduce those crimes significantly in the land.
And so the point that I'm trying to make here
is the fact that the Bible is prophet,
the purpose of the Bible is to profit all nations.
And in fact, all of these things,
even though these particular practical laws of the land
are not necessarily spiritual laws,
it actually creates and cultivates
a nation who institutes them.
It cultivates a nation to essentially
prepare them for salvation.
Because when you have a nation
that adheres to the laws of God,
it creates a righteous nation,
which in turn causes people to recognize
that actions have consequences,
which is exactly the thought
that is needed in order to be saved, okay?
And this is why the Bible says
that Jesus is the desire of all nations,
because he is the great equalizer,
he is the great judge who will bring justice upon all
and bring salvation, okay?
The law is also the desire of all nations.
Jesus Christ is the desire of all nations
because he profits everyone.
He is the savior of all men, the Bible says,
but especially those that believe.
Now, turn with me if you would to, let's see here,
go to 2 Peter 3, if you would, 2 Peter 3.
What is the purpose of the Bible?
It's to profit believers and non-believers,
but it's also, according to 2 Timothy 3, to give doctrine.
Now, don't let that word scare you, okay?
Doctrine doesn't necessarily mean systematic theology,
it just means teaching, okay?
So in other words,
the word of God gives knowledge and information.
But the great thing, listen to this,
the great thing about the Bible is that it's capable,
because it's God's word,
it's capable of imparting knowledge to all age groups.
So any age group can actually benefit from the Bible
and understand the Bible no matter what age they are.
Now, obviously, we're not talking about a baby here, okay?
Although the Bible does say that, you know,
out of the mouth of babes, that was perfect praise.
And I have children who sing praises unto the Lord,
and I think they're fulfilling
what the Bible's saying there.
But when they're at an age where they're capable
of learning just any information, period,
they can't learn the Bible.
And this is one of the reasons why we have kids
in the service with us, right?
We don't have them in Sunday school classes, in nurseries,
where they try to dumb down the scriptures
in order for them to understand,
because the children in our church
can understand the word of God.
And in fact, they're like a sponge that soaks everything up,
and they remember things.
I mean, I've had countless conversations with my children
about sermons that I've preached, and they're listening.
I mean, they're giving heed
to what the word of God is saying.
Why?
Because the word of God is profitable for doctrine.
It can't teach the child, as it can teach the ancient,
as it can teach the 20-year-old, the 30-year-old.
It can teach any age bracket
and any spiritual bracket as well.
Because there's someone in here today
who's still a baby in Christ
who's benefiting from this sermon,
and I guarantee you there's someone who's been a Christian
for decades on end who's also benefiting
from the word of God as well
because the Bible is profitable for doctrine.
And you say, why is that important to note?
Well, because people make this argument, saved and unsaved.
It's like, well, I can't read the Bible.
It's too hard to understand.
You know what I mean?
I just don't read it because it's just too hard.
The King James Bible is just too hard,
but it's actually not, okay?
Now, there's aspects of the Bible
that is difficult to understand,
which is meant for mature ears,
meaning a person who has exercised their senses
to discern both good and evil.
They've read the word of God multiple times,
and they're ready for that meat.
But the word of God also has milk as well
for you to digest if you can't understand it.
And when you look at the word of God,
the word of God from Old and New Testament
has all types of categories that you can choose from.
I mean, you have the law, right?
Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy.
Then you have the historical books
where the law gives you the doctrine
of God's moral standard of the creation period, of course,
God's moral standard, his laws and his statutes,
the shadow of things to come.
But then you also have the historical books
that gives you the knowledge of the history of Israel
and the kings of Israel
and what is it that took place in those eras.
But it also has poetical books as well, right?
The book of Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes,
Song of Solomon.
These are all a section of the Bible
that really resonates with our soul and our emotions.
So if you are a history buff,
you like to geek out on history,
you can geek out on the historical books
because it has a lot of information in that regard.
It can feed you in that regard.
But let's say you're going through a tough time
and you're like, I don't really care
about history right now.
I don't need to know what king did right
in the eyes of the Lord.
I don't need to know who begat who right now.
Well, what I actually need is to be reminded
that the Lord loves me
and that there's someone in the Bible
who's as miserable as I am right now, right?
You know what?
Go to the book of Psalms.
And you can read how David said
that he's watered his couch with tears.
And you're like, I know what he's talking about.
I did the same thing, but it wasn't my couch.
It was my bed.
You know what I mean?
Trying myself to sleep at night.
And so you have those poetical books
that can teach you doctrine even through emotion
of the miserable state of a heart
that's going through a heartbreak
of some sort of traumatic experience.
It can teach you doctrine through the law.
It can teach you doctrine through the historical books
and the events of the history of Israel.
It can teach you doctrine through misery
and emotional distraught individuals in the Bible
through the poetical books.
And then it can teach you doctrine
through the major and minor prophets.
You say, what is that for?
To teach you judgment.
Okay.
And those are often the books that people want to avoid
because it shows a side of God that Christians of today
don't really like to talk about.
You say, what side is that?
The destructive and wrathful side of him.
You know, they always want to focus.
I mean, I'm all for Psalms, by the way.
I love the book of Psalms.
I love the book of Proverbs.
I love the book of Job.
But you know what, the major and minor prophets
kind of shows the ugly side of the Bible.
And in my opinion, there's no ugly side.
It's all beautiful, amen.
But it gives you a balanced view.
And so if you're not learning the law,
if you're not learning the historical aspects of Israel,
if you're not depressed or discouraged,
and you just want to be reminded of the nature of God,
go to the major and minor prophets
where God is just destroying nations
for their disobedience to him,
where God is executing vengeance
upon nations who hate him, okay?
But you know what, it also has a section
which is obviously probably the most important section.
And that is, it has a section on the gospels,
which is the life of Jesus Christ,
which obviously is for the salvation of the lost, right?
Where you can learn about the life of Jesus Christ
culminating to you believing on Jesus Christ for salvation.
And so it's filled with that doctrine.
In fact, what did Paul tell Timothy
in 2 Timothy chapter three?
And that from a child, thou has known the scriptures
that are able to make thee wise unto salvation,
the Bible says.
So don't think that, oh man, my little Peabody here
is never gonna learn anything
because you're using too many big words or something.
Nobody's ever gonna make thee wise unto salvation.
My son got saved here listening to my preaching,
and I didn't tell him like, hey,
you need to make sure you get saved,
just through consistent giving of the gospel,
through the preaching of God's word,
he came under his own volition wanting to get saved
because of the fact that the Bible has power, my friends,
and the doctrine is compatible for all ages.
Don't ever think, oh man, but we need a coloring book
to really explain in church, you know what I mean?
We need, what is those Bibles called?
The illustration Bible.
I need an illustration Bible for my child.
Give him a King James Bible.
Now obviously, don't start him off in Leviticus, okay?
But even in the gospels, there is a book that is compatible
to teach doctrine to a person who doesn't necessarily
understand all the Bible, and that is the book of John.
It's a very easy to read section of the Bible,
of the gospels, to explain the word of God,
and in fact, it is the gospel that is most notably known
for its ability to communicate salvation
by believing on Jesus Christ.
It's very repetitious in that area,
whereas Matthew, Mark, Luke are the gospels
that essentially focus on other aspects of the kingdom.
It's addressed to different individuals,
whereas the book of John,
it's literally just for everyone, okay?
That's why when we go out sowing,
and if we ever give out a Bible who someone gets saved,
we always tell them, start in the book of John
because it's very easily read, it's very digestible,
not only for an adult who just got saved,
but even for a child, okay?
Because the wording is very simplistic.
And then of course, you have the Acts of the Apostles
and the Epistles and the book of Revelation.
All of these are compatible for anyone
who wants to learn a particular subject in the Bible.
So if you're a person here, you're just like,
well, you know, I don't really wanna hear anything
from the book of Proverbs or the book of John, you know?
And I kinda know all those things.
Okay, then delve into the book of Zechariah.
Delve into the book of Daniel and the book of Revelation,
and that should keep you busy for a very long time.
Because the Bible, there's aspects of the Bible
that are shallow enough for you not to drown in,
but there's aspects of the Bible that are so deep
that it'll take you a long time to ever reach the bottom,
and in fact, there is no bottom.
So it can satiate the hunger for knowledge
for any age bracket.
Okay, what am I saying here?
What I'm saying is that it's profitable for doctrine.
The purpose of the Bible is to teach you things,
and it has all types of genres that you can choose from,
and it's very profitable in that regard.
Okay, where do I have you turn?
Look at 2 Peter 3, verse number one.
It says, this second epistle, beloved,
I now write unto you, and both which I stir up
your pure minds by way of remembrance,
that you be mindful of the words which were spoken before
by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us,
the apostles of the Lord and Savior,
knowing this first, that there shall come in the last day
scoffers walking after their own lusts,
and saying, where is the promise of his coming?
For since the fathers fell asleep,
all things continue as they were
from the beginning of the creation.
For this they are willingly ignorant of,
that the word, excuse me, that by the word of God,
the heavens of old, and the earth standing out of the water
and in the water, whereby the world that then was
being overflowed with water, perished.
But the heavens and the earth, which are now,
by the same word, are kept in store,
reserved unto fire against the day of judgment,
and perdition of ungodly men.
So here we see the apostle Peter repeating
to the strangers which are in Cappadocia, Bithynia,
Galatia, Pontius, regarding the judgment of God.
And so, often, in churches, if churches aren't careful,
they're really one-sided when it comes to doctrine, right?
You know, on a Sunday morning,
they only wanna talk about salvation.
Or on a Sunday morning, they only wanna talk
about the love of God, whereas doctrine should be spread out
through all genres of the Bible, including God's judgment.
And he's even saying here that he wants to remind them
and stir up their pure minds again by way of remembrance,
teaching them the doctrine of God's wrath,
of his judgment to come.
Why, because if not, you create a generation of Christians
who are ignorant, and sometimes even willingly ignorant,
of these things, and then, ultimately,
that leads to apostasy, where they don't even believe
on Jesus Christ anymore.
And so that's important.
Now, go with me, if you would, to,
go to 1 Corinthians 14, 1 Corinthians chapter 14.
You got two more points, and I'm done.
What's the purpose of the Bible?
Number three, the purpose of the Bible
is to tell you where you are wrong.
The Bible's literally meant to,
the Bible says, for doctrine, for reproof.
What does that mean?
To tell you you are wrong.
You say, what do you mean?
It literally tell you, oh, that's your belief?
That's wrong.
That's actually inaccurate, that's not correct.
It's very bold, right?
Well, it's because it's God's word.
And so, the purpose of the Bible
is to literally point its finger at humanity
and say, you're all wrong.
It doesn't matter how many of you agree
on something that you claim to be right,
you're all wrong and God is right.
Now, that is very important.
You say, why, you know, that sounds kinda mean.
It's gonna hurt people's feelings.
It's gonna rub people the wrong way.
I don't know how that can be profitable,
by just hurting people's feelings,
by telling them that they're wrong.
Well, because of the fact that it's telling people
that they're wrong in areas that matter,
such as salvation and eternal damnation.
Because if a person believes
that they can have eternal life by doing good works,
by repenting of their sin, by getting baptized,
by doing a righteous work,
they're gonna suffer the consequences of that.
So, they need the correction of God's word to say,
it's not by works of righteousness, which we have done,
but according to his mercy, he saved us.
For by grace are you saved through faith,
and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God,
not of works, lest any man should boast.
Well, you do, you still gotta keep the law, wrong, wrong.
Therefore, we conclude that a man is justified by faith
without the deeds of the law.
So, the Bible's just constantly correcting us.
Not just unsaved, but even corrects us, Christians.
I mean, I would say that we as Christians
are getting corrected by God more than unbelievers are.
Unbelievers are the ones who are complaining
about the corrections of the Bible the most,
but we're actually the ones who get corrected more.
Because we're here every Sunday, every week,
just getting corrected by the Bible, right?
Like, oh man, Christianity's so judgmental,
it's always pointing the finger at everybody.
We point the finger at ourselves more than anybody else.
That's literally what we do every single,
you know what part of my job is?
Is to tell you guys that you're wrong.
That's literally what it is.
Because the Bible says,
preach the word, be instant, end season, out of season,
reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.
Doesn't say exhort, exhort, and exhort
with all longsuffering and doctrine.
Encourage, exhort, be nice with all longsuffering
and doctrine, it says reprove and rebuke.
That means tell someone that they're wrong
and then tell someone that they're wrong
in a very strong way,
where you're just kind of yelling at them.
That's what the Bible says.
Now, this is funny because of the fact that
people always bring up this argument like,
oh, the Bible's written by man, right?
Bible's written by man, we can't trust it.
But the thing is, I heard this quote
and I thought it was really good.
Someone once said, if the Bible was written by man,
then why does it go against
all of man's natural inhibitions?
Right?
Why does it just go against everything that we want to do
if it's written by a man?
I'll tell you why, because it's not,
it was penned down by man.
And I often say, yeah, the Bible was written by a man,
but this particular one was actually done by a machine.
But the contents of God's word is God who wrote it.
He is the divine author, and which is why
the word of God just goes against our natural inhibitions.
It goes against us, and that's why
we constantly have to be corrected.
But in order for anyone to succeed,
even outside of Christianity,
there needs to be a level of correction.
You can't succeed in anything if you're not corrected
and reproved at one point or another.
At your job, at school, what if everyone
just got straight A's, no matter what answer
or solution they put on, you wouldn't learn anything.
What if school was just, I mean,
that's probably how it is now, I don't know.
But what if school was just consolation prizes
all across the board, you know?
Even if they answered wrongly, no one would learn anything.
Why, because we require correction
in order to straighten our paths and get the answer right.
Well, the Bible is filled with correction, my friends.
That's what the Bible teaches us.
It's profitable for doctrine, for reproof.
Look at 1 Corinthians 14, and verse 24 says,
but if all prophesy, and there come in one
that believeth not, or one unlearned,
he is convinced of all, he is judged of all.
Now what is this talking about?
It's referring to the fact that if an unbeliever
or one that is unlearned, what is that referring to?
Just a person who might be saved,
but they don't know the Bible.
If they come to church, they should expect,
listen to this, to be judged.
You know when people say, oh, that church is so judgmental?
I'm like, man, it must be a good church.
You don't wanna go to a church where they're just
really, really nice to you, and they never correct you
for anything, you can just do no wrong.
You're just perfectly fine where you're at.
No, we need to be judged.
And it says here that if someone comes in,
he is convinced of all, he is judged of all, verse 25.
And thus are the secrets of his heart made manifest.
And so falling down on his face, he will worship God
and report that God is in you of a truth.
The result of telling you that you're wrong
is that you correct your ways so that you're right,
and eventually you essentially give glory
to God because of it, okay?
He's judged of all.
Why is he judged of all?
Because when the preacher gives up and preaches
the word of God about a secret in your heart,
then the secrets of your heart are made manifest.
Then you're like, oh, who told him this?
I can't tell you, by the way, that happens
not just to unsaved people, that happens to Christians
in my church all the time.
Where I preach something and they're just like,
did you tell them that we fought last night or something?
That's an example, but you know, it's a fairy tale.
But you know, it's like, did you tell,
or they nudge each other as if like,
I have moles in the church or something
coming to give me information like,
hey, I got some content for you to preach on.
This is good stuff right here, you know,
just mention this or mention that.
I don't have anybody telling me anything.
What it is is that you're being judged
and the contents, the secrets of your heart
are being made manifest, right?
They're highly manifest by you blushing, right?
Or you being embarrassed or whatever,
but the intention is for you to correct it.
And so that is important that whether you're unsaved
or just a Christian who's unlearned,
you benefit from God's word because it's correcting you.
Don't be so, don't be a part of this soft society today,
this snowflake society that cannot take
any correction whatsoever, okay?
We need to be corrected, that is important.
And in fact, one of the responsibilities of the Holy Spirit
who's known as the comforter in the same passage
in John chapter 16, he says that he reproves the world of sin
so while it calls him the comforter,
he also says that he reproves the world of sin.
Even the Holy Spirit who's called the comforter,
who helps us in our time of need and prays for us
and indwells within us, even the Bible says there
that he reproves the world of sin.
Now go to Acts chapter two, Acts chapter two.
Acts chapter two, if you would,
because I'm gonna give you two responses
to how people respond to the Bible, okay?
And this type of response is pretty accurate
all across the board.
Obviously the degrees of it may change a little bit,
but we're gonna look at two extreme examples,
but essentially this is how people respond.
So when the Bible is preached or when you read the Bible
and it corrects you, you can do one of two things.
Here's the first one, Acts 2 36.
Therefore, let all the house of Israel know assuredly,
this is Peter preaching, that God had made the same Jesus
whom ye crucified, both Lord and Christ.
So he's preaching to the Jews and he's talking about Jesus
and then he kind of just like throws that in there.
Whom, by the way, ye crucified.
I mean, that's bold, right?
Because there's like a bunch of them and he's just like,
know assuredly that God has made the same Jesus
who you guys crucified, you know?
You're just kind of like throwing that in there, right?
Both Lord and Christ.
Know when they, excuse me, verse 37.
Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their hearts
and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles,
men and brethren, what shall we do?
So these men who heard these words
were pricked in their hearts.
What does that mean?
They were like convicted, right?
They felt anguish about it.
It pricked them in their hearts.
And what was their response?
So Peter, what should we do?
Now that's a great response there.
That's the response that God wants from anybody
who hears the word of God when it pricks them.
The response should never be like, ye,
who, ye's a lot of people, who are you talking about,
you know, or contradict.
No, they're just like, so what, they take responsibility
and then say, what shall we do then?
And so when the word of God is preached unto you,
this is the response that we need to give as Christians.
What is that?
Take responsibility, don't buck responsibility,
don't make excuses, don't point to,
well, if I had a mom and dad who grew up in church,
or if my husband, or if my wife,
or if you would just be preached this,
don't blame anybody else.
Just say, I'm pricked in my heart, what should I do then?
That's the proper response.
Then Peter said unto them,
repent and be baptized every one of you
in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins,
and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
Go to Acts chapter seven, Acts chapter seven.
So I'm not just getting up here and saying that,
you know, you're gonna be corrected,
and it's just like a whipping post.
The intention of the whip, the spiritual whip,
the Bible talks about, you know,
strikes to the inward parts of the belly,
is so that you say, what should I do then?
Where should I change it?
How should I correct this?
Look at Acts seven, verse 51.
This is Stephen preaching, Stephen is the first deacon.
Verse 51, he says, ye stiff neck
and uncircumcised in hearts and ears.
So he's also talking to a group of Jews.
And you know, he might have seen the example of Peter,
and he's just like, I like that rhetoric.
Ye do always resist the Holy Ghost,
as your fathers did, so do ye.
Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted?
And they have slain them,
which showed before the coming of the just one,
of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers,
who have received the law by the disposition of angels,
and have not kept it.
So he's just, man, he's getting on these Jews.
He's just like, you're responsible for it.
You're stiff necked.
And even when, you know,
you're given the law by the disposition of angels,
you didn't keep it.
God supernaturally revealed himself to you,
and you still didn't keep it.
Verse 54, when they heard these things,
they were cut to the heart.
That's kind of similar to the pricking of the heart, right?
They're just like, ah, and look what it says.
And they gnashed on him with their teeth.
Now, what is gnashing of the teeth?
Well, in the Bible,
when it describes someone going to hell,
it actually says that they're weeping and wailing
and gnashing their teeth.
Now, the reason someone would be gnashing their teeth
in hell is because they are in pain.
It pains them, right?
So the reason these people gnashed on him with their teeth
is because the word of God was giving them pain.
They're just like, ah, stop saying that.
They can't handle the truth.
They don't want to accept the truth.
He's saying, well, what did this crowd do?
They killed him.
They stoned Stephen.
They actually stopped their ears,
because they don't want to hear it anymore,
and then they rushed him and killed him
and stoned him with stones.
These are the two extreme cases here.
So here's what you could do to me.
When I preach, you could either, number one,
be pricked, no matter what, by the way,
you're going to be cut to the heart, pricked in the heart.
But you could either say, what shall we do?
Or you can gnash at me with your teeth.
You're not going to rush me, though.
It's not going to happen, okay?
We've all learned from Stephen's example here.
But you'll gnash at me with your teeth.
But what I'm essentially saying here is the fact
that these are the responses that people give
to the purpose of the Bible.
They miss the fact that the purpose of the Bible
is to correct, is to tell you that you're wrong,
is to tell you, hey, what you believe
is salvation is wrong.
It's 100% wrong.
You're trusting in your works.
You're trusting in your own abilities.
You're not placing your faith in Jesus Christ
exclusively, you're not willing to call upon
the name of the Lord according to the Bible.
You will go to hell when you die.
That is what the Bible says.
I just don't like the way you're telling me that.
Well, I can say it nicely.
I can say it in a low voice, high volume, low volume.
It actually does not change the message at all.
Because the message still stands.
That's exactly what the Bible says.
The Bible is meant to correct us.
And then lastly, the purpose of the Bible
is to tell you how to do it right.
Because he says all scriptures given by inspiration of God
is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction,
for instruction in righteousness.
It would be horrible, it would be terrible
if God just tells us everything that we're doing wrong
and just like figure it out.
You know what I mean?
If I got up here and just like, you're all wrong,
let's pray, right, and just dismiss.
No, the Bible also gives us instructions
in righteousness as well.
It tells us how to do it right.
The Bible's not just gonna tell us
that we're wrong about salvation.
It's gonna tell us, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ
and thou shalt be saved.
It's gonna tell us that salvation is a gift
that can never be lost.
The instruction is, this is what the Bible says,
this is why you're wrong,
but this is also the way you can do it rightly.
And so you never want to have the type of preaching
or Bible teaching where you have this attitude
that says, prophesy not unto us right things,
prophesy unto us smooth things,
prophesy unto us deceits,
which is what the Israelites in the days of Jeremiah said,
or excuse me, the days of Isaiah said.
You know, they're just like,
we don't want to hear right preaching,
we want to hear you tell us lies.
And you know what, that exists today.
Where someone would rather go to a church
where they just, it's all cotton candy and purple lights
and you can never do wrong,
and they can walk away with the conscience that says,
well, at least I went to church,
whereas we should go to church
because the Bible has a purpose.
We should go to a church
where the purpose of the Bible is being fulfilled,
which is to give me doctrine, to approve me, to correct me,
and to instruct me in the way of righteousness.
And it says that the man of God may be perfect,
thoroughly furnished until all good works.
And I'll finish with this illustration in that regard, okay?
You know, think of a house.
Let's say if we were to equate salvation with a house, okay?
And when you believe on Jesus Christ,
you're given this eternal house, right?
This nice, big house, you know,
we can describe it as the resurrection,
which is a brand new house, but it's not furnished.
In other words, there's no couches.
There's no California king in there.
You don't have all the nice knickknacks and all that,
coffee table, whatever.
There's no lights in it, but the house is there.
Well, after salvation, God says,
then you should start reading the Bible and obeying it.
Why? Because at that point,
it'll make you perfect, meaning complete,
and it'll thoroughly furnish you.
What does that mean?
It'll add all the couches, the tables, all the accessories.
It'll thoroughly furnish that house,
that brand new house that God has given to you
via salvation, known as the resurrection,
it'll thoroughly furnish that house as well.
So you have one of two choices.
You can either have an empty house
and just be happy with the fact that you have four walls,
which is great, right?
You know, have salvation is like, I'm saved.
So, you know, I'm going to heaven.
And you know what?
That's 100% accurate.
If you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ
and you choose not to serve God thereafter,
you're still saved.
You are still saved, even if you choose not to,
because the Bible tells us that it's not by works.
But to him that worketh not,
but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly,
his faith is counted for righteousness.
But let's just be honest.
We would all want at least a bed to sleep on,
a couch to sit on, a place to put our soda on,
a place to eat our food on.
And the Bible actually tells us that God is willing
to thoroughly furnish us, give us all of the accessories
and the rewards, but it comes by reading the Bible.
It comes by hearing, preaching.
It comes by being in church.
This is the purpose of the Bible.
The purpose of the Bible is to teach about salvation,
but it's also to thoroughly furnish you unto all good works.
And so what is the sermon this morning?
Just to exalt the Bible, amen?
And to exalt and define the purpose of the word of God,
that we may benefit from it and recognize we need doctrine,
but we also need to be corrected.
And we need to be shown the way of righteousness as well.
Let's pray.
Father, we thank you so much for your word,
and we're so thankful for the great treasures
that it provides us when we read it,
when we give heed to it.
Help us to be a people that are doers of the word
and not hearers only, deceiving ourselves, Lord.
And none of us like to be corrected.
I don't think anybody does, myself included,
but it's a necessary aspect of our Christian life
if we're gonna improve.
And I pray that you help us to take to heart
the message of this morning.
We love you, we thank you,
and we pray these things in Jesus' name, amen.
["In the Hall of the Mountain King"]