An Infallible Word

The Infallibility and Sufficiency of Scripture

Psalm 19:7-9 – 7 The law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul; The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. 8 The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. 9 The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; The judgments of the Lord are true; they are righteous altogether. NASB

PART 2 – The Bible….. “is the only rule to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy Him”

Notice here, the Bible is the ONLY rule…… This is to say that God has not given us any other directives about how we may glorify and enjoy Him other than from the Bible. Therefore, the Bible is sufficient to address the problems we face in life and properly directs us concerning our origin, purposes and destiny in life, and how we are to properly relate to our creator God. It is a complete resource from God about our lives.

The Bible is sufficient as a guide to direct us how we may glorify God and enjoy Him.

The Bible is sufficient to address every matter in life. If it has not spoken explicitly to every matter, it has addressed it in principle. In fact God has met the deepest needs of mankind in His Word, for His Word brings about the most necessary changes which are needed for mankind’s fulfillment. The Word of God is sufficient because it has transforming power to change us into the likeness of God.

Consider how the Bible itself describes its sufficiency to address our life and relationship to God.

Turn with me to 2 Peter 1:2-4….

This passage explains that as we come to know God and Jesus through the Word, we become like Him and have everything we need for life and everything we need to be like Him.

2 Peter 1:2-4 – 2 Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; 3 seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. 4 For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, in order that by them you might become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust. NASB

2 Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord

–          We have grace and peace overflowing IN the knowledge of God, that is, coming to truly know Him

3 His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness

            – He has given us EVERYTHING that we need for life and to be LIKE HIM!

3 through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence

–          We have everything pertaining to godliness THROUGH the true knowledge of Him,

that is, coming to know Him truly

4 He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, in order that by them you might become partakers of the divine nature

–          through the promises(that is the Word of God), we become partakers of the divine

nature….God is revealed and we see Him, by the revelation of the Spirit, and therefore know Him, and become like Him because He becomes our delight, and we seek to become what we delight in….this all happens by the transforming power of the Word and the Spirit

4 having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust. NASB

             – becoming like God we escape the corruption of sin

Turn with me to Psalm 19:7-11….

This passage explains to us many facets of the sufficiency of Scripture to address our needs in life and our relationship to God.

Psalm 19:7-11 – 7 The law of the LORD is perfect, restoring the soul; The testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple. 8 The precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; The commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes. 9 The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; The judgments of the LORD are true; they are righteous altogether. 10 They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold; Sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb. 11 Moreover, by them Thy servant is warned; In keeping them there is great reward. NASB

7 The law of the LORD is perfect, restoring the soul;

            – God’s Word is perfect…it is flawless, it is complete.

– The Word of God is sufficient to restore our soul, that is in our hearts and minds….it is

            able to heal us

7 The testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.

            – The Word of God is sure, it is settled, not wavering or moving, it is certain…it can be

relied on, as sure as it is God’s own Word

– it makes the simple wise….God’s Word is pure wisdom and gives us clear and practical instruction about how to live and make decisions…

– it makes the simple wise….it instructs us how we are to fear God and relate to him….

8 The precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart;

– The Word of God sets for the standard for Right and wrong….it explains what righteousness is, and what true moral principles are….it tells us what is GOOD!

– and knowledge of what is true and right and noble and good causes our hearts to rejoice….not in what is fickle and unsure, but in what is truly righteous and Good…

8 The commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes.

– The words of the Lord are pure words…they are holy and undefiled from the beginning to the end, they do not savor anything that is earthly and impure, rather they are holy and command everything that is holy, and they forbid everything that is impure and unholy. It is evident that the Scriptures are the words of the Holy God, and that the holy men that wrote them were obviously move by the Holy Spirit!

– The Bible gives light to the eyes of our hearts so that we can know, see, and relate to God in such a way as to please Him in every respect….

9 The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever;

– Here the scripture referred to as “the fear of the Lord”….that is what reverences and respects the Lord….the Scriptures teaches us to fear God and hold Him in proper regard, lest we displease Him and be destroyed!

            – The Word of God is fixed in the heavens and will never pass away…..

Matthew 24:35 – 35 “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words shall not pass away.

NASB

9 The judgments of the LORD are true; they are righteous altogether.

– The judgments that God pronounces in His Word will surely come to pass. Every assessment that God makes about anything at all is most certainly according to fact and God’s Word is itself the very standard of Truth! God’s Word teaches us about Justice (which is the very character of God), what it means and its importance to life. When we see how God judges and make responses to situations and ethical matters, we learn the true standard of righteousness and justice.

10 They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold; Sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb.

– God’s Word is more valuable than anything we can own. It is to be the thing we delight above all other things, because in delighting in God’s Word, we delight in God.

Psalm 119:24 – 24 Thy testimonies also are my delight; They are my counselors. NASB

Psalm 119:111 – 111 I have inherited Thy testimonies forever, For they are the joy of my heart. NASB

Job 23:12 – 12 “I have not departed from the command of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food. NASB

11 Moreover, by them Thy servant is warned;

            – God’s Word is filled with wise warnings about how to conduct our lives in a manner that pleases God. The Bible warns that when we fail to please God we sin and the Bible warns us that God is the avenger of sin. The most stern and strict warnings that can be pronounced, are proclaimed in the Bible.

Proverbs 8:32-36 – 32 “Now therefore, O sons, listen to me, For blessed are they who keep my ways. 33 “Heed instruction and be wise, And do not neglect it. 34 “Blessed is the man who listens to me, Watching daily at my gates, Waiting at my doorposts. 35 “For he who finds me finds life, And obtains favor from the Lord. 36 “But he who sins against me injures himself; All those who hate me love death.” NASB

11 In keeping them there is great reward.

– God promises over and over again in His Word to reward those who seek Him and obey Him. The Bible lays out a great contrast of the two kinds of people in the world. Those who glorify and enjoy God, and those who sin against Him and displease Him and ignore Him. The Lord is indeed a rewarder of those who fear Him and love Him, but those who ignore Him He will destroy.

Psalm 145:18-20 – 18 The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, To all who call upon Him in truth. 19 He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him; He will also hear their cry and will save them. 20 The Lord keeps all who love Him; But all the wicked, He will destroy. NASB

Joshua 1:8 – 8 This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success. NASB

Dear church family, let it be known today and take it to your heart…..“the word of God which is contained in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, is the only rule to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy Him”