Sermon Tone Analysis

There are lots of books on how to study the Bible.

There are lots of different techniques.

To some degree, how we study the Bible must be adjusted for our own personality, knowledge, ability, resources, purpose, and so on.

There are lots of books on how to study the Bible.

There are lots of different techniques.

To some degree, how we study the Bible must be adjusted for our own personality, knowledge, ability, resources, purpose, and so on.

When I was first saved in 1978, studying the Bible meant reading and reading and reading and then reading some more.

Now, 39 years later – 39 years today, in fact – studying the Bible means looking at and translating original languages, reading commentaries and academic works, researching history and geography and customs, reading what godly men have written over the life of the church.

Studying the Bible means everything along that spectrum, and it can look very different from person to person, and, truthfully, from passage to passage.

When I was first saved in 1978, studying the Bible meant reading and reading and reading and then reading some more.

Now, 39 years later – 39 years today, in fact – studying the Bible means looking at and translating original languages, reading commentaries and academic works, researching history and geography and customs, reading what godly men have written over the life of the church.

Studying the Bible means everything along that spectrum, and it can look very different from person to person, and, truthfully, from passage to passage.

But at the very same time, studying the Bible comes down to a few, easily understood goals.

Understanding

First, we must understand what the biblical text says, in exactly the same way that we understand anything that we read.

This is the opening sentence of an article in the Norfolk Daily News this past week: Investigators for the Nebraska state fire marshal have been unable to determine what caused a fire that destroyed a building in downtown Osmond.

We understand what this means, don’t we?

Of course we do.

In fact, it’s so well written that there isn’t any way to simplify it any further.

The text of Scripture also speaks:

A voice says, “Cry!”

And I said, “What shall I cry?”

All flesh is grass, and all its beauty is like the flower of the field.

The grass withers, the flower fades when the breath of the LORD blows on it; surely the people are grass.

The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.

It is poetic, certainly, but there isn’t any mystery to this statement.

The length of human life is to God what the length of the life of grass and flowers are to us.

Just as grass withers and flowers fade, human lives end.

But, the Word of God will stand forever.

It will never end.

It will never fade.

By the way, this is exactly why we revere the Word of God as we do, and take the study of it as seriously as we do.

It is eternal.

In fact, God’s Word is more eternal than we are.

It is poetic, certainly, but there isn’t any mystery to this statement.

The length of human life is to God what the length of the life of grass and flowers are to us.

Just as grass withers and flowers fade, human lives end.

But, the Word of God will stand forever.

It will never end.

It will never fade.

By the way, this is exactly why we revere the Word of God as we do, and take the study of it as seriously as we do.

It is eternal.

In fact, God’s Word is more eternal than we are.

The first aim of Bible study is to understand what the text says.

Appropriation

The second is to appropriate the text, to receive it and make that known my own.

The purpose of understanding Scripture is not the same as understanding a news article.

We can find a news article interesting without it making the slightest difference in our lives.

Osmond, Nebraska is not too far away, but the fire that took place there probably doesn’t affect anyone here this morning.

But the Word of God, since it is God’s Word, does affect us and have meaning for us.

So once we have an understanding of what says, we need to personally take hold of its truth and believe it.

It’s not just ALL flesh that is grass, but MY flesh that is like grass.

MY life seems so long, so complicated, so involved, so diverse, but as far as God is concerned, I sprang up in a brief moment, and as soon as I reached full size I began to fade and wither.

God, on the other hand, is eternal, and therefore His Word is eternal and unfading.

It is as true today as it was when it was first given.

It is as powerful today as it was when it was first given.

It is as relevant today as it was when it was first given.

First, we need to understand what the Bible says.

Second, we must fully and humbly receive that truth.

Belief & Action

And third, we must believe and act on what the Bible says.

It’s not enough to simply understand the eternal power and nature of the Scripture.

Neither is it enough to receive that truth, to say, “Yes, I agree that the Bible is God’s Word and is eternal.”

I must truly believe that it is eternal, and live according to that belief.

That’s why James insists,

But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.

Those who only hear the Word of God deceive themselves into thinking that it has made a difference in them.

They mistake echoes of thunder, mere noise, with the sounds of actual progress and change.

Behind every single fallen Christian leader, behind every scandal and sin in the church, is the belief that hearing is sufficient on its own, that acknowledging the truth is all that matters, and that faith and action can exist apart from one another.

Those who only hear the Word of God deceive themselves into thinking that it has made a difference in them.

They mistake echoes of thunder, mere noise, with the sounds of actual progress and change.

Behind every single fallen Christian leader, behind every scandal and sin in the church, is the belief that hearing is sufficient on its own, that acknowledging the truth is all that matters, and that faith and action can exist apart from one another.

So thinking about , come to this as a faith-settled application.

First of all, because God’s Word is eternal, and eternally true, and because I am so obviously not, my life needs to be built upon His Word, and not upon my ideas or experiences, nor those of my culture and world.

This has tremendous significance for life today.

Seeking Prophecies

For instance, there are people who frantically pursue prophecies who, at the same time, reject much of what God has said in His Word.

They are turning away from what is absolutely and unquestionably God’s Word and therefore God’s will, and instead chasing some so-called “word from God” that affirms and comforts them.

They are, as Jesus said, building their houses on sand, not on solid rock.

Visits to Heaven

Or think about the “I died and went to heaven and came back to sell merchandise” books that have become a trend in the last couple of decades.

Those books deny the Word of God, which says that heaven is not for us to know; just on that basis, we know that anyone who makes that claim is lying.

Not to mention the fact that the books tend to differ from one another, and, present heaven as a place where sinners would be very happy to be, and, present heaven as a home for people, and, present heaven as an idealistic earthly existence.

Sinful Self-Transformation

Or, think about the changes in modern culture regarding sex and sexuality, marriage, homosexuality, so-called “gender identity,” and so on.

Every single one of those changes is in direct opposition to the Word of God; every single one is an act of rebellion against God Himself.

Why are these ideas and teachings flourishing in our time?

Because people have rejected the truthfulness and sufficiency of the Word of God.

In fact, the very same spirit is behind each one: God must speak to me as I desire Him to; heaven must be what I want it to be; I am my own God, and I will make myself into whatever I want.

Our world is constantly pulling us away from the Scriptures.

Some do it through spiritual promises or heavenly visions; others do it by proudly contradicting the Scriptures.

Regardless of the reason or the method, we must remain faithful to what God has revealed in the Bible.

Our world is constantly pulling us away from the Scriptures.

Some do it through spiritual promises or heavenly visions; others do it by proudly contradicting the Scriptures.

Regardless of the reason or the method, we must remain faithful to what God has revealed in the Bible.

Second, I see in that however long I live on the earth, my earthly life is nothing but a few passing moments in the whole of creation.

As the old hymn says, “This world is not my home, I’m just a-passin’ through.”

Just a-passin’ is right; although a few people in each generation become so memorable that 100 or 500 years later they are remembered, the vast majority of us are gone, as a much newer and less spiritual song put it, like dust in the wind.

Few are remembered, even by their own descendants.

How then should I live?