06.03. The Most Remarkable Book Ever Written
The Most Remarkable Book Ever Written
I read an article in a paper known as the Appalachian Voice. In the article it quoted a man named Dean Ohlman who stated the goal of the "Opening the Book of Nature" workshop was to, "reintroduce the church to a concept that has been lost: that God has given us two revelations. It goes way back to the founders of the early church and to Saint Augustine that God teaches us through two books: the book of God’s word and the book of God’s works. And since God is the author of both, there should be harmony." (Appalachian Voice, Harvard Ayers Publisher, Boone N.C. Summer 2003, p12.)
Dean Ohlman is not some fringe nut seemingly when he talks about the Book of Nature and God’s revelation. He graduated from Bob Jones and works Radio Bible Class and is associate producer of "Day of Discovery" many of us have watched on TV many times.
So what does the Bible have to say about the revelation of God in nature? It states that God reveals Himself in His creation.
Romans 1:20 "For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse."
Psalms 19:1-3 "The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork. 2 Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge. 3 There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard."
Psalms 97:6 "The heavens declare his righteousness, and all the people see his glory." Still today there has to be more. The fact that there are countless so called divine revelations from God to humans adds confusion to the mix as we attempt to understand who this God of nature is. I submit that without the written revelation we cannot fully understand who God is. This brings us the question of the Bible. Is the Bible God’s revelation or just one of many? Was it merely written by human hands and therefore contains only the philosophy of man and not God. If it is God’s revelation I submit to you that man cannot duplicate it because the Bible claims are exclusive of the truth. So can this remarkable book be remade? Can man come up with a divine revelation apart from the Bible? Are there additional revelations that were to come?
I- The Remarkable Word:
Hebrews 4:12 "For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart."
Today in our mass production lines of products we have moved farther and farther away from anything being produced that are truly one of a kind. Ladies have you ever worn a dress and gone somewhere and someone else had that very same dress on. Or have you ever seen someone with a dress on that you have one in your closet just like and it made you glad you didn’t wear it that day.
There are many things that are minutely unique in our world. For instance you might buy a bench that has been made from branches and poles that have knots and twists that make it unique but it is only different in small ways. There are literally thousands of this type of benches out there. The Bible some claim is only one of many books of God. The Hindi have the writings knows as Vedes which simply means wisdom. The Mormons have the Book of Mormons and other books that they say completes the revelation of God. The Koran is said to be the completion of the revelation of God according to the Muslims. There are also many other lesser known so called revelations. So what makes the Bible unique? There are many reasons. The Bible was written over a period of 1500 years with forty some different authors yet it is amazing how it all ties together and complements itself. The greatest thing that sets the Bible apart is the prophecy it contains. Have you really understood with your heart the fact that no other so called sacred books contain prophecy. Only the Bible declares the end. Isaiah 46:9-10 says, "Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, 10 Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure."
Next week we will look at some of the amazing prophecies and other things when we look at reasons the Word of God is settled.
II- The Purpose of the Word of God:
Without the revelation of God to human kind there would and could not be any understanding of who God is. The ultimate purpose of the Word of God is to bring men and women; boys and girls into a personal relationship with God through Christ.
1 John 5:13 "These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God."
Wrapped up in the purpose of God’s Word is also the answer as to why it is under attack by the enemy. He knows if he can destroy men’s faith in the Word of God he will have destroyed men’s faith in God Himself. Psalms 11:3 "If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?"
Remember the parable of the seed and sower found in Matthew 13:3-8 "Behold, a sower went forth to sow; 4 And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up: 5 Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth: 6 And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. 7 And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them: 8 But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold."
Jesus taught them and us that the seed in this parable is the Word of God. In the Library of Congress enclosed in a glass case with a sign saying to not take pictures of it with a flash lies the Guttenburg Bible. Years ago before the days of the printing press the Bibles were chained to the pulpit. In many countries today where the Word of God is in short supply many times one Bible will be torn apart, not irreverently but so that each person may have a few pages to read and then pass along. Did God intend for the Bible to be enclosed in a glass case or chained to the pulpit so that few could access it? I submit that God intended for His Word to be free to the masses.
I am preaching to construct a biblical grid in the minds of believers through which everything--including what they watch on TV--is processed. -- Joseph Stowell, Leadership, Vol. 13, no. 2.
Do you look at the world through the glasses of mans philosophy, mans sociology, psychology, or through the Word of God.
III- Why Is it not Remakeable?
I have often gone to the bookstores and felt such a sense of awe at all the books that have been written. Still men write more. Some are on history, some are on geography, some on war, many on love. Men continue to write. Still the Word of God stands head an shoulders above all others. There is a timeless truth that seems to percolate from the pages of the precious Word of God.
1- All the literature men write can be no greater then the genius of the author. Someone can come along that can write like a Shakespeare or some other author but none can elevate to the level of the Bible.
I am glad there are things in the Bible I do not understand. If I could take that book up and read it as I would any other book, I might think I could write a book like that. – D.L. Moody, Christian History, no. 25.
This is summed up in the contrast between the words of Jesus when those that heard them compared them to the words of the Rabbi’s. John 7:45-46 "Then came the officers to the chief priests and Pharisees; and they said unto them, Why have ye not brought him? 46 The officers answered, Never man spake like this man."
2- Men will not tell the truth about his spiritual condition. Men today think we need a helping hand to be a little better when in fact we need a new man to replace the old. In his book Modern Times, Paul Johnson notes that Stalin was short—just five feet, four inches tall. Furthermore, a childhood accident had left his left arm stiff and his hand slightly misshapen. So when the dictator commissioned his portrait, he instructed the artist to paint him from his best angle—from below, a perspective that made Stalin seem to tower over the artist. To add to the image, Stalin folded his hands over his stomach, making them appear firm and powerful more like the pseudonym he had chosen: Stalin means "man of steel." It is human nature to put ourselves in the best possible light. But spiritual growth cannot come merely by adjusting the angle of view. God’s Word is a mirror that shows our true condition. – Lew Button Bedford, Pennsylvania. Leadership, Vol. 15, no. 4.
The Bible tells us with just the right angle. We are lost and need salvation to be provided beyond our self.
IV- So Where Do We Go From Here?
Do you today need to accept the salvation that is revealed by the Bible as needed, provided and offered? Perhaps as Christians we need to make a fresh commitment to the Word of Life. Perhaps we need to recommit to the Lord being Lord of our life. Peter once said in, John 6:68 "…Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life."
One spring our family was driving from Fort Lauderdale to Tampa, Florida. As far as the eye could see, orange trees were loaded with fruit. When we stopped for breakfast, I ordered orange juice with my eggs. "I’m sorry," the waitress said. "I can’t bring you orange juice. Our machine is broken." At first I was dumbfounded. We were surrounded by millions of oranges, and I knew they had oranges in the kitchen--orange slices garnished our plates. What was the problem? No juice? Hardly. We were surrounded by thousands of gallons of juice. The problem was they had become dependent on a machine to get it.
Christians are sometimes like that. They may be surrounded by Bibles in their homes, but if something should happen to the Sunday morning preaching service, they would have no nourishment for their souls. The problem is not a lack of spiritual food--but that many Christians haven’t grown enough to know how to get it for themselves. -- Adapted from Leroy Eims in The Lost Art of Disciple Making. Leadership, Vol. 5, no. 3.