Essential of our Faith - The Holy Bible
1. What the Lord is giving me at this time for my series
2. The Lord has not moved me away from the conviction of preaching and teaching the basics
3. Steroid use by professional athletes is an illustration I would like to use and how the average, everyday coach, parent or teacher would deal with it
4. Child abduction, the child in Florida and child molestation, the Michael Jackson’s trial and how one would remind their own children about this
5. Tornado drill, this past week at our schools, reviewing the basics
6. Remember the classes on Church discipline there are two types – preventative discipline and corrective discipline
a. And thus, for example, a parent will remind their child before leaving home, how they are to act in public (preventative) but if they act up then action will be taken (corrective)
7. These are troubling times, embarrassing times, times when one questions what’s going on and where are we headed?
8. All of this is having an impact on the church
a. The Leadership discussion about a class dealing with the basics doctrines of our faith (new member class
b. Nothing out there, on the market, that satisfies our need
c. Thus we need to develop our own basic doctrine study material
9. This sermon series is an attempt to develop and lay the ground work for classes dealing with the basic doctrine and I like to call them the essentials
10. Pray with me New Hope as we start this sermon series dealing with the essentials of our faith
11. Over the next few weeks I would like for use to explore together five essentials of our faith; Scripture, God (and we have preached a series here), Man, Salvation, and the Church
In our membership binder, we find in the fundamental doctrines or what we believe, these words; LISTEN
“We believe that the Holy Bible was written by men divinely inspired and is a perfect treasure of heavenly instruction consisting of the sixty-six books from Genesis to Revelation. We believe that it has God as its author, salvation for its end, and truth, without any mixture of error, for its matter. We believe that it reveals the principles by which God will judge us; and therefore is, and shall remain to the end of the world, the true center of Christian union, and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and opinions should be tried.”
There are seven scripture references for this essential belief; Psalms 119:160, Proverbs 30:5-6, 2 Timothy 3:15-17, Matthew 4:4, Matthew 5:18, 1 Peter 1:24-25, 2 Peter 1:19-21.
We began each of our fundamental doctrine statements with the words ‘We believe.’ I have just one question for you to ponder in this introduction sermon. Do we (and highlight the word ‘we’), do we really believe what I just read?
So many times we want to move into advance studies when we have not mastered, become proficient or obtained a working knowledge of the basics.
1. Brother Brad’s teaching (from the Bible)
2. Brother Willie’s preaching (from the Bible)
3. Growth Group, and fellowship ministries (from the Bible)
A perfect stranger wouldn’t have to observe and listen long in order to come to the conclusion that New Hope Baptist Church is a Bible preaching and Bible teaching church. But do we believe it.
For it is beginning to surface more and more by their fruits and actions (or lack of actions), that in our local churches there are from the pulpit to the door individuals who do not believe all that this Bible says. From publishing companies to the individual who knocks on your front door, there is a disbelief in the Bible. From the removal of gender sensitive words to questioning passages of scripture, this fundamental belief needs reviewing and re-teaching.
1. Listen at one of the seven Scriptural reference to this essential belief.
a. 2 Timothy 3:15-17 “15 and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
2. Please focus on the first phase of verse 16; ‘all Scripture is given by inspiration of God,’
a. Inspired or God breathed
3. Scripture, the Holy Bible is a divine product not a manufactured product. Breathed out by the all mighty and this is very important all knowing God
4. Our belief statement says we believe that it is a perfect treasure of heavenly instruction consisting of the sixty-six books from Genesis to Revelation, that it has God as its author, salvation for its end and (get this now) truth, without any mixture of error, for its matter.
5. Therefore every word, every phase, every style is God breathed.
6. Some object because of translations my response to that is this Bible is God breathed by an all knowing God, who was aware even back when there was no language called English, He knew then that English would be a major world language as it is now.
7. The word is continually being translated into new languages, one of the organization that we support with our mission offering is Tyndells and they are involved in Bible translations.
8. But then again God in His sovereignty will raise up brothers like Brad and Willie who will have an opportunity to be exposed to the original languages and come back and teach the brethren.
a. What am I saying, God can use even the reader digress bible to reach His own
9. Another practical point – I hate to read generation
10. Reading one of the most important common gift given to mankind
11. Reading to look at symbols, letters, marking, or words, carefully so as to understand the meaning of something written.
12. Writing to express or communicate using letters, characters, or words
13. Word a unit of language, consisting of one or more spoken sound or written representation, that functions as a principal carrier of meaning
14. There are people who can’t read and usually they want to learn how to read. But you have others who can read some but don’t like reading
15. My class at high school
16. What does this mean? Well if I don’t like reading period, then I definitely won’t be reading the Bible specifically.
17. That being the case it becomes spiritual and a flesh and spirit war.
18. We further believe that it reveals the principle by which God will judge us; and therefore is, and shall remain to the end of the world, the true center of Christian union, and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and opinions should be tried
19. Do you believe this about that Bible you hold in your hand? If not then don’t shut it up and hide it some where but be like the people of Berea who were more fair-minded that those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.
20. We are going to set up camp around this passage of scripture (2 Timothy 3:15-17) for the next week or so. Pray that our Lord meet with us around the camp fire and make know his will to us and for us. And as Paul said at the end of Ephesians, pray for me that utterance may be given to me that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel of Jesus Christ our Lord. Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. Amen
2 Timothy 3:13
13 But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived.
It does not get better; it gets worse, evil men and impostors in and around us. What is the answer? It is becoming proficient in the essentials of our faith. We who are pastors and teachers in our local fellowship commit a grave error by assuming that everyone is proficient when actually they are not. Take, for example the written word of God, Scripture or the Holy Bible; do you believe in the infallibility of Scripture, do you believe in the inerrancy of Scripture, and do you know the difference.
Infallible means that something can not err. And inerrancy means that it does not err.
Psalm 119:160
“The entirety of Your word is truth, And every one of Your righteous judgments endures forever.”
Proverbs 30:5-6
“Every word of God is pure; He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him. 6 Do not add to His words, Lest He rebuke you, and you be found a liar.”
2 Timothy 3:15-17
“15 and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
Matthew 4:4
4 But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’”
Matthew 5:18
18 For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.
1 Peter 1:24-25
24 because “All flesh is as grass, And all the glory of man as the flower of the grass. The grass withers, And its flower falls away, 25 But the word of the Lord endures forever.”
Now this is the word which by the gospel was preached to you.
2 Peter 1:19-21
19 And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts; 20 knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, 21 for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.