Resisting the Spirit of the Age
Session 2: Holding to the Supremacy of the Word of God
I.The Word of God is Under Attack:
The Word of God is our light, it is our moral code, it gives us instructions about salvation and righteousness. The Bible is our truth, our plumbline and our anchor to the next age and the purposes of God. But we are living in a dark hour, a time where nothing is sacred. Satan desires to snuff out that light in this dark age wherever it may be found in order that darkness might reign unchecked. The Word of God is under attack; the Enemy of our souls is making every possible effort to silence it, change it and convince us that it obsolete and irrelevant, even causing the Church to doubt its truth. With out anyone knowing what is happening Satan has carefully drained the Church of its power. All the authority that the Body of Christ is intended to be walking in rests on believing the truths found in the pages of the Bible, by getting us to lean on a different source for our strength we loose our way and have no strength at all.
“Everything is possible for one who believes (Mk. 9:23).”
“Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done (Mt. 21:21).”
“you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind (Jm. 1:6).”
II.The Source of the Truth:
When we say that the Bible is our source we mean that without it we would be completely devoid of a moral compass, lost and unable to identity what is right. It is our source for knowing truth and error, it is our instruction manual for life and our starting place for understanding the world around us.
- The Word of God is the Truth:
The Bible is not just a helpful religious book, it is the only reliable source of truth. The Bible is the Word of God written and preserved for us to have access to truth in a world full of darkness. As followers of Jesus the Bible is central to our daily lives.
“Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth (Jn. 17:17).”
“He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created (Jm. 1:18).”
“Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God (2Co. 4:2).”
“I trust in your word. Never take your word of truth from my mouth, for I have put my hope in your laws (Ps. 119:42-43).”
- Truth that Set You Free:
Let us all remember how we came to Christ; one way or another it all comes back to the Bible. Either you heard it preached, you read it and were convicted or someone who had read it told you what it said and you gave your life to the Man that the Bible testifies about; Jesus. You believed theBible’s most central message and were set free fro the bondage of sin and were made a new creation; it would be infinitely foolish to deviate course after that.
“Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free (Jn. 8:32).”
“For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord (Eph. 5:8).”
“You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand (Ps. 16:11).”
- Truth About Who God Is:
The Bible is our source for knowing who God is. It’s stories, prophesies, declarations and teachings all tell us about His nature and emotions, His values, His love and His demands. We were given only one such source and to minimize or dismiss it is the most foolish decision imaginable; it’s like willingly throwing gold overboard into the ocean because it cluttered up the deck.
“But you, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness(Ps. 86:15).”
“He is my loving God and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield, in whom I take refuge (Ps. 144:2)”
“Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other (Is. 45:22).”
- Truth About Eternity:
The Bible is our source of information about Heaven and Hell, about eternal life or burning in Hell forever. It tell us how to avoid one and embrace the other, it is a very serious book with very serious truths that can not be ignored or cherry picked.
“Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent (Jn. 17:3).”
“If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life maimed or crippled than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire (Mt. 18:8).”
“And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life (Mt. 19:29).”
III.Infallible and Authoritative:
The Bible is the flawless Word of God, it’s content is trustworthy. God is the source of all human authority and following His Word is how He delegates authority on the Earth.
“Every word of God is flawless; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him (Pr. 30:5).”
- The Bible is Always Right:
God wrote the Bible, it is right, it is true and trustworthy. Everything that is written within its pages is correct perspective, the right way to live, the truth about issues and people and places. The Bible isn’t just full of good ideas, it is the foundation for what is true and right.
“For the word of the Lord is right and true; he is faithful in all he does (Ps. 33:4).”
“Let God be true, and every human being a liar (Ro. 3:4).”
- The Bible is Good for Us:
Even lost people who will apply the teachings of the Bible will be blessed by the portions they employ. This is because God’s Word is good for us because it’s the wisdom of God about life and about how things work. It’s teachings follow the laws and principles that God has written into the very fabric of life under the sun. When we do what it says things go well for us.
“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work (2Ti. 3:16-17).”
- The Very Words of God:
We aren’t talking about a religious book that describes how to adhere to the tenets of that religious order, we are talking about the very things that God says and has said. The Bible is the Word of God, the very words that God has spoken to mankind for us to have in this life. The Bible is the collection of things that God has said and that He wanted written and accessible.
“For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart (He 4:12).”
- It is Unchangeable:
Man does not have clearance nor the understanding to change the Word of God. That which is written is valid for all the ages and no one has permission to add to or take away from the Bible.
“I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this scroll: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to that person the plagues described in this scroll. And if anyone takes words away from this scroll of prophecy, God will take away from that person any share in the tree of life and in the Holy City, which are described in this scroll (Re. 22:18-19).”
- The Bible is Perfect:
The perfect God wrote the perfect Word of God, it was communicated just the way that the Lord intended, it came through the vessels that He wanted to and it’s contents are flawless.
“As for God, his way is perfect: The Lord’s word is flawless; he shields all who take refuge in him (Ps. 18:30).”
- Consequential:
Belief in the Word of God is not optional; people really will burn in Hell forever if they reject the teachings of the Bible.
“But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger (Ro. 2:8).”
IV.Lines of Opposition:
The Enemy is hard at work on a multi-front attack on the validity of the Scriptures. His intention is to dismantle truth in this generation by bringing into question the relevance and value of the Bible. What should alarm us is how quickly he has been able to marginalize the Word of God for most of our generation in such a short period of time. There are currently several lines of opposition which are unwittingly carrying out the Enemy’s strategies.
- Secular Thought Accuses the Truth:
Secular thought has long accused the Bible of being just a book from history that should not be taken seriously. Their position is that this old book has no bearing on life and that the religious zealots who believe it (real Christians) are boarder on insanity and lack understanding about how the world works. This line of thinking has infiltrated our society in the mainstream; now our government, media, schools and pop culture all reflect this worldview. They are puffed up, believing to have understanding but in reality they lack the very starting point of wisdom in this age.
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction(Pr. 1:7).”
- People that Don’t Like its Teachings:
There are also many who just hate righteousness and who therefore war against the teachings of the Bible because they love their sin. We live in a culture that was raised in Church and that knows right from wrong and has chosen wrong. Its message is convicting to the lives they have chosen to live and so of course they oppose the Bible, many of them are in positions of great influence in our culture, which permits them a large audience to subject their views to.
“Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth rise up and the rulers band together against the Lord and against his anointed, saying, “Let us break their chains and throw off their shackles (Ps. 2:1-3).”
- Immature Believers Question It:
It is normal for a new believer to have to work through the question of the Bible’s validity. What is unfortunate is how many opposing voices they immediately hear that are all seeking to take the truth of the Word of God from them. With our culture fully submersed into opposing the Bible it doesn’t take long for persecution and accusation to rise against these new believers from every angle. This makes it increasingly more difficult to believe the truth.
“Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away (Mk. 4:16-17).”
- Entire Denominations have Reversed Their Stance:
It is a sad day. There are entire denominations that have voted out the Bible, still perhaps giving it lip service but dismissing it as not authoritative, reducing it’s teachings from inerrant to flawable and it’s teachings to merely helpful life principles. The Church has been infiltrated and now the opposition is no longer only an outward fight but one fought from within as well. Groups within the Church have voted men into positions to make such decision who will tell them what they want to hear.
“For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear(2Ti. 4:3).”
- Carnal Church Goers Seek to Extinguish It:
There are many within the four walls of the Church that are living in significant areas of moral compromise unchecked. They are those who love the idea of being religious but they want nothing to do with God’s righteousness. They live carnal lives within the Church unrestricted and unchecked. This is an epidemic in the Church, and I believe to be the most dangerous of these oppositions because it gives permission for people to call themselves Christians who are not and then they serve as models of what it means to follow Jesus. They are then making disciples in their image and they raise up those who are twice the sons of hell as they are. There are many in our ranks that because no one confronts them about their sin they are like the Pharisees of old, religious but carnal and through their involvement in the Church they are influencing others and series their consciences.
“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when you have succeeded, you make them twice as much a child of hell as you are (Mt. 23:15).”
V.The Church that Falters on God’s Word:
We should not think it a small thing for the Church to falter on the Word of God; these are the words and instructions that the architect of all life and truth handed down to us that we might walk according to his purposes. The decision to give in to the spirit of this age will have significant consequence related to our corporate destiny, individual’s salvation and our ability to minister on God’s behalf.
- Will be Weak:
For any part of the Church, whether an individual, a congregation or an entire denomination that falters on the authoritative and inerrant nature of the Bible one sure result is that it is willfully robed of the power of the gospel.
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes (Ro. 1:16).”
“My message and my preaching were not with wiseand persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power (1Co. 2:4)”
- Is Condemned:
Every person will one day have to give an account before God for what they said about the Bible; about how they treated it’s teachings and how they responded to its instructions. Those who falter on the truth of the Word of God will be rewarded accordingly.
“But I tell you that men will have to give ac- count on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be ac- quitted, and by your words you will be condemned(Mt. 12:36-37).”
- Operates in Falsehood:
The Church is the Body of Christ; we are supposed to be His representatives, saying what He said and doing what He did. The Church that dismisses the flawless Word of God is no longer a reflection of God but instead a false institution that once held God’s truth but that now reflects the world’s views not God’s.
“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot (Mt. 5:13).”
“If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness(Mt. 6:23)!”
- Will Ultimately Fall Away:
There is a great falling away coming to the Church. No one who falters on the truth will be safe, in fact they will be opening themselves up to every form of deception and ultimately they will deny the Lord and fall away. The current trend of undermining the Word of God as truth is preparation for the worst hour the Church has ever known.
“At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved (Mt. 24:10-13).”
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