In this sermon, the preacher emphasizes the importance and power of the Bible. He describes it as a book that contains the mind of God, the state of man, and the way of salvation. The preacher encourages the audience to read the Bible to gain wisdom, believe in it for salvation, and practice its teachings to live a holy life. He also urges parents to teach the Bible to their children and highlights its significance in times of death and consolation. The preacher concludes by emphasizing that the Bible is the means of sanctification and encourages the audience to embrace its teachings.

You know, I hardly know what to say. I'm so thrilled with what's going on here. Not only these meetings, but being in your homes and meeting with your deacons and meeting your people. It's not strong enough to say that I'm thrilled. Also, I'm thrilled at the caliber of young men that's here. I want to commend Mr. Wells on compiling these things, some hymns with some substance to them. One of the things I've appreciated here is no frivolity. It's serious business. And as I sat there last night and tonight, I thought, and you'll hardly believe this, but could I believe that once I fought as a Christian what you're trying to do here? And I was serious. I ought to tell you a little bit about it. I was the first Christian in my home, and later my brothers both came to know the Lord. One's a Southern Baptist deacon, the other's a Baptist preacher. But the one that's a Baptist preacher, I pointed him to the Savior. He went to theological school, took his first church, and in that church there was an old man. His name was I.C. Herendon. He lived to be about 100. My brother buried him. But that old man listened to my brother for about six months. One day he put his round around him and said, Brother John, Pastor John, you're always talking about Spurgeon, Spurgeon this and Spurgeon that. He said to my brother, but he said, you know, you don't believe what Spurgeon believed. And my brother looked at him, and he was a little man, and my brother's tall. He looked down at him. He said, Brother Herendon, that'll take a little explanation. And for six months, that old man taught my brother the gospel of the grace of God. He taught my brother what our Baptist fathers believed, and some of them died for. You know, when my brother came to me that, he didn't take six months. He thought he was going to give me in about 15 minutes what old brother Herendon was teaching him in about six months. And I got mad at what I was sitting there thinking. How could I get mad and angry with what you're trying to do here? But I did. I got very angry. And I set out to set my brother straight. And humbling as it is, God set me straight. And I had to look a lot of people in the eye that I preached to, talked to. I had to look a lot of people in the eye and say to them. I'd start to say something, and they'd say, That's not what you used to tell us, Ernie. And I'd bow my head, and I'd say, No, I was wrong. And that's not easy. It gets easier as you get older. Well, I've appreciated this. I said to Pastor Esco, I said, How much are you going to charge me for letting me come here tonight? I'm glad. You know, it's a great gift to God's people to get a true shepherd. That's the greatest thing that God could do for you and your family. It's to give you a shepherd that cares for your heart. They're gifts to us. True preachers are gifts to God's people. Christ loved the church so much that one of his cares is manifest in him giving him shepherds that care for the sheep. That's the way he manifests his love. That's one of the ways he manifests his love to his people. And so it thrills me to know the men on this program and your pastor. I believe everyone is one of those true sheep, true shepherds of God's sheep. It's a joy to see them all again, to see my dear old brother Sam and my brother Tom and my brother Tom Meadows last night and others that I won't see. Well, I have an assignment. And still I never drink water, but I might need a little water tonight. I think I'm nervous. I haven't preached in all these years. Somebody asked me today, but do I get knots in my stomach when I preach? And I've preached a good many places in this world and other countries. You know, every time is just about like the first time. And I'll tell you why, and I told them why. I'm dealing with a book tonight that has to do with life and death. I'm dealing with things tonight that have to do with heaven and hell. And if a man is half serious, if he's half serious about what he's doing, I don't see how he could do it and not say that this is awesome. It's awesome to open the book of God. Well, I'd like you to open that book tonight, and I want to read a few passages from 2 Peter. Peter's about to leave this world, and I'll begin with verse 14 where he tells us just that. Knowing that shortly I must put off my tabernacle, even as the Lord Jesus Christ has showed me. Moreover, I will endeavor that ye may be able after my departure to have these things always in remembrance. And what was it that he wanted them to remember so much? What was it that he wanted them to remember? For we have not followed cunning device fables, when we have made known unto you the power of the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. But we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received from God the Father honor and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory. This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount. I suppose he's referring to the mount of transfiguration. We have also a more sure word of prophecy. Now that's, that's quite a statement. He said we heard his voice, we heard the voice. We were eyewitnesses, but there's something that's more sure than that. There's something that's more sure than that. Whereunto ye do well to take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in our hearts. Knowing this first, that no prophecy of, no prophecy of scripture is of any private interpretation. And then this tremendous statement. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man, but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. That's what we have here, what he's talking about. In Psalm 19 verse 1, it tells us that the heavens declare or display or proclaim the glory of God. It is true also that nature, the works of creation, the works of providence also display the glory, the goodness, the wisdom and the power of God. This revelation, that is nature, therefore will leave every man without excuse. However, this revelation is not sufficient. That revelation that nature gives of God's wisdom, His power, His goodness and His glory. That revelation is not sufficient to give the knowledge of our duty. You can look at the stars all night, and the moon all night, and the mountains all day, and you'll never discover your duty to your Maker. It will not give us the knowledge of our duty, or His will concerning the things that are necessary for salvation. Therefore, it pleased the Lord in days past to reveal Himself through holy men of old, who spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost, to give us the Holy Scriptures. We may be moved and induced by the testimony of the Church to have a high esteem of the Scriptures, and reverence and esteem the Scriptures. Also, there are many internal evidences and external evidences. And there are many arguments and abundant testimony which may be used to show us that the Bible evidences itself to be the word of God. However, and I don't want you to miss what I'm going to say next, later in the message. However, even though the Church may give us a high esteem and a reverence, though there's internal and external reverence, though there are abundant arguments and testimonies to show that the Bible evidences itself to be the word of God, but don't miss this. Yet to be fully persuaded and to be fully assured that the divine authority of Scripture, that it is the divine authority of Scripture, there must be, there must be that inward work of the Holy Spirit bearing witness by and with the Word in our hearts. Nobody will ever come to a saving belief in the inspiration of Scripture apart from the work of the Holy Spirit. The same Spirit that breathed into a lump of clay and there was life. The same Spirit that breathed into those men in that unusual, unique, un-understandable way to give us the Scriptures. That same Scriptures, if you want a saving knowledge of them, takes that same Spirit. So as we go on tonight, please don't forget that premise. The whole counsel of God concerning all things that are necessary for God's glory, for man's salvation, for faith in life, is either expressly set down in Scripture, or by good and necessary consequences, deduced from Scripture. Therefore nothing is to be added by new revelation of the Spirit or the traditions of men. All things, however we must admit, all things in the Scripture are not equally plain in themselves, or equally clear to all. But those things that are to be known, believed, and observed for salvation are so clear in the Scriptures that not only the learned, but the unlearned, by a proper use of the ordinary means, may come to a sufficient understanding of the Scripture for salvation. There are many approaches to evidence. There is what the theologians call external evidence. That's what the Bible seems to be. It seems to be that. Some of the external evidence is the unusual origination of the Bible. This is evidence. Forty authors, many of them who didn't know each other, over a period of 1,600 years, all have the same theme, redemption, the same subject, Christ. That is an external evidence, and makes it seem to be the Word of God. There's the unusual preservation of the Bible, how it's been preserved all these years. And there's no book that suffered at the hands of its friends like the Bible. It doesn't only suffer at the hands of its enemies. The Bible suffers more at the hands of its friends. If I didn't believe the Bible for any other reason, any book that stood the punishment that preachers have given this book, it's got to be the Word of God. It's got to be the Word of God. And then there's the unusual unity of the Bible. These are things that make it seem to be the Word of God. The unity of the Bible, the superiority of its teachings, the influence it has everywhere it's been, and then the inexhaustible depth. All these are external evidences, and should say us, this seems to be the Word of God. And then there's the internal evidence, what it claims to be. Somewhere between 3,800 and 4,000 times we have those expressions in the Old Testament. The Lord spake. The Word of the Lord came to me. The Lord said this. The Lord said that. It's claiming for itself. That's the Bible's internal evidence. That's what it claims for itself. And you must always let somebody speak for themselves. That's what the Bible says for itself. We call that internal evidence. And then there's the experimental evidence, what it's proved to be in the hearts and lives of men and women, and in many other ways. You preachers will all know this. I don't know if the other people will or not. But John Wesley had a very simple apologetics. He had a very simple apologetics. He didn't need this for the theologians or anything else. He did this, I think, for the people who sat in the pew. And this was it. This was John Wesley's apologetics for the Bible. He said the Bible must be the invention either of good men or angels, bad men or devils, or God. It's got to be one of the three. He said it could not be the invention of good men or angels, for they neither would they, could they make a book which tells so many lies all the time, and tells so many lies all the time they're alighting. If they, for instance, they were lying. If they said the Lord said it, and if the Lord didn't say it, then they're lying. So John Wesley said it couldn't be good men. They wouldn't tell lies all the time they're writing the Bible. He said, he said it couldn't be bad men or devils, for they couldn't make a book that would contain all duty, forbid all sin, condemn their souls to hell for all eternity. He said it couldn't be the devil. They wouldn't write a book like that. He said therefore, therefore. And when you see therefore, you must see why it's therefore. Therefore the Bible must be a divine inspiration. Now, it will not do for us to worship the Bible. It will not do for us to have superstitious ideas about the Bible. A lot of Protestants do. It will not do for us to put the Bible in place of God. We do not worship the Bible. We worship the God of the Bible and the Christ of the Bible. It will not do for us to say, I believe the Bible and never pay any attention to what it says. The issue, my friends, is if God has revealed Himself, His will and His word in a recorded word, and this Bible is the record, the faithful record, the true record of Almighty God's revelation to man, and the Holy Spirit is here to interpret the Scriptures by opening blinded eyes that they may see and understand the Scriptures and give us a new heart so that the word of God will be real and living to us. If that's true, I'll tell you something. All our eggs are in one basket. Let me tell you, all our eggs are in one basket. Is the Bible the word of God? Is it the record or the revelation of Almighty God? And I say without any mental reservation, equivocation, or self-evasion of mind in me, whatever, yes, God has displayed His glory in this book that we call the Bible. And tonight I want to give five or six reasons why I believe the Bible is the word of God, and therefore, because it's the word of God, it displays the glory of God. First of all, there's the testimony of the churches. All the mainline old denominations in their old confessions, there is not one that does not testify that this is the word of God. The Methodist discipline, the United Brother, and I don't think you have many of those in the South. They have a lot of them in the North. The Westminster Confession of the Faith of the Presbyterians, the Old Baptist Confession of 1689, the Philadelphia Confession, which was by the Philadelphia Association, out of which we came as Southern Baptists. They all say, the Roman Catholic Church, they all say the Bible is the word of God. That's my first reason why I want to offer why I believe the Bible is the word of God, and why, therefore, it displays the glory of God. The second is the testimony of the apostles. I read you Peter's testimony. He said, We have not followed cunning, devised fables. He said, We were eyewitnesses. He said, We saw his majesty. We heard his voice from heaven, from the Holy Mount. But he said, There's something more sure than that. He said, Holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. Follow Paul. It's interesting. I wish I had time. The problem with these messages is they can turn out. I have a series on this. But I can't do that. So I'll just refer you to Paul. If you follow him as he argues, he goes to the synagogue. And one of the things it says, He reasoned to them out of the Scriptures. Well, why did he reason out of the Scriptures? Because they were the word of God. That was the Old Testament. And when he writes to that young evangelist, He said, All Scripture is given by the inspiration of God. It is profitable, and so on. Second reason, I believe, and I believe it's the word of God, is because of the testimony of the apostles. Third reason is the testimony of the Reformers and church history. The Scriptures, and no honest thinking person, Christian or otherwise, would disagree with this. The Scriptures have produced the godliest men who ever lived in this earth. They believed it. They lived it. They died by it. John Wycliffe, the morning star of the Reformation. William Tyndale. Martin Luther. John Calvin. John Knox. George Whitefield. John Owen. Richard Baxter. John Bunyan, my patron saint. And our own Southern Baptist father. Basil Manley, one of the key men who orchestrated the Convention. It's already been mentioned. James Pettigrew Boyce, the principal founder of Southern Seminary. John A. Dagg, the first writing Southern Baptist theologian. John A. Broaddus, who gave us that great classic on sermon preparation. B.H. Carroll, the founder of the largest seminary in the world. Follow these men to their homes. Follow these men to their social and political lives. Follow these men to their pulpits. Yes, and follow them to their graves. And you will find men who believe in the inspiration of the Scriptures. Follow Bishop John Hooper. Bishop Hugh Latimer. Bishop Ridley. All three who were burned at the stake. If you go to Oxford in England, be sure to look up that monument where their names are. They were burned at the stake. And if you follow them to their stake, you will find that they would not deny their holy convictions. And the reason they would rather die than deny their convictions, why would they not deny their convictions? Because they were based on the Holy Scriptures. That's the third reason. The testimony of the Church. The testimony of the apostles. The testimony of the Reformers and Church history. But I have a more important reason. They are important, and I believe them or I wouldn't have said it. But I have a more important reason why I believe the Scriptures. I read in 2 Corinthians 4, 6, these words. For God commended His light, the light to shine out of darkness. For God who commended the light to shine out of darkness has shined in our hearts to give the light of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. Paul, in this passage, is telling us that the glory of God is displayed in the face of Jesus Christ. My dear friends, he is the star witness of the inspiration and the authority of the Old Testament. Now if the glory of God was displayed in His face, surely the glory of God is displayed in all that He said about the Bible. All that He said about the Bible. All how He used the Holy Scriptures in His ministry, and how He applied the Holy Scriptures on unique occasions. I would like you to, I want to call that star witness tonight. And I'd like you to turn to John chapter 5. And we'll be a little tedious here, but I don't want you to miss it. I can't give all the places, but I want to give some. This is my star witness, our Lord Jesus Christ. In John chapter 5, our Lord is having a controversy with the religious leaders of His day. He had a lot of controversies with them. His life was a life of controversy with the religious leaders of His day. And if you look in verses 37 to 39, He said this. And He's talking to this religious crowd, the Jews. And the Father Himself, which hath sent me, hath borne witness of me. Ye have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His shape. And ye have not His word abiding in you. For He wrote, for He hath sent me. For He hath sent me, ye believe not. You don't believe Him. And then in this powerful verse. Search the Scriptures, He said. Well what was He talking about? He was talking about the Old Testament. Search the Scriptures, said Jesus. For in them, that is in the Scriptures, you think you have eternal life. I know a lot of people think they have eternal life and don't have it. You think you have eternal life. And they are they, that is, they are Scriptures which testify of me. Do you see how He used it? Do you see what confidence He had in it? His appeal was to the Scriptures. Drop down to verse 45 and verse 47. He said in verse 45. Do you think that I will accuse you to the Father? There is one that accuses you. Who is it, Jesus? Moses. Now when He said Moses, what is He talking about? Do you know what He is talking about? He is talking about the Pentateuch. And you know what the Pentateuch is? That is the first five books of the Bible. So when He said, even Moses, in whom you trust. And Father. For had He believed Moses, had you believed Moses, said Jesus, you would believe me. Why? For He wrote of me. Do you see how He used the Scriptures with authority? As an authoritative appeal. But if you believe not His writings, how shall you believe my words? In these words we see that we cannot, cannot separate Jesus Christ from the Old Testament. Don't miss that tonight. Those words alone would teach us that we cannot, cannot separate Jesus from the Old Testament. He was the central person of the entire Bible. Christ and the entire Bible stand or fall together. And if you get rid of the Lord Jesus Christ, then you get rid of the whole Bible. And if you get rid of the Bible, you get rid of the Lord Jesus Christ. They stand or fall together. Don't you go for these preachers and say, well it's just Jesus that matters, not so much about the Bible. If you get rid of the Bible, you get rid of... They stand or fall together. And therefore, and I wish all evangelical preachers knew this, therefore Christ must be proclaimed in the context of the whole Bible. Believe me friends, Christ must be proclaimed in the context of the whole Bible. Thus Christ, our star witness. Who is He? Who is He if He's our star witness? You know from watching court cases and being interested in lawsuits, you know that a great deal depends on the credibility of the person on the witness stand. Anybody that's been in court knows that a great deal depends... Cases are won and lost many times, serious cases, on the basis of the credibility of a witness. He was unique. His birth was contrary to the laws of life. His death was contrary to the laws of life. Or laws of death, I mean. He walked on no beautiful carpets or velvet rugs, but He did walk in the waters of the Sea of Galilee. When He died, few men mourned. But a black crape was by God the Father. In His infancy, He startled a king. In His boyhood, He puzzled the doctors. He healed multitudes and made no charge for His services. We're looking at the credibility of the witness now. Herod could not cure Him. Satan could not seduce Him. Death could not destroy Him. And bless God, the grave could not hold Him. He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, that you through His poverty might be rich. He's the chief among ten thousand. He's the bright and morning star. And He's the star witness. What a witness! What a witness! My dear friends, Jesus believed the Scriptures. And if there was not another line in the New Testament, forgetting all that I've said, if there was not another line in the New Testament, that line in John 10, 35, where He said the Scriptures cannot be broken. Let me draw your attention to a few passages that cover the span of His life, from His childhood to the tomb. First, we see Him at Nazareth, in Luke chapter 4. And they bring Him the book, and He opens it at Isaiah, and expounds Isaiah. And what was He doing? He was putting His imperator on the book of Isaiah. They delivered Him the book. See Him as He begins His ministry in Matthew chapter 4. Three times, three times, He quoted from the Old Testament. Verse 4, He quoted, Thus He said it is written. Verse 7, it is written. Verse 10, it is written. Each time, almost a verbatim quote from the Old Testament. Hear Him reply to the Sadducees, who did not believe in the resurrection. What did He say to them in Matthew 22? He said you do err not knowing the Scriptures. See how He used the Scriptures? What confidence He had in the Scriptures? What His appeal was to the Scriptures? What did He do to use as His authority on the subject of divorce? Matthew 19, He said, Have you not read? And what did He quote from Genesis chapter 1 and Genesis chapter 2? Follow Him to the cross. After this, it says in John 19, After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the Scriptures, that the Scriptures might be fulfilled. Hear Him after the victorious resurrection. And this is a tremendous chapter on this point that I want to make. You ought to look at this chapter. I used this chapter with a lawyer once who didn't believe the Old Testament. God used it to make him believe the Old Testament. Just this portion. I'll give you the context. I wish I had time to read all these. But it's in Luke chapter 24. And the context of it is this. The disciples were very sad because Jesus had just been crucified. And they were on their way to Emmaus. And they were very sad. Verse 17, they were very sad. At the end of the chapter, however, we find that there was joy. So a lot of things happened between that joy in verse 17. I mean, for the sadness in verse 17. And the joy at the end of the chapter in verse 52 or 53. I'm not sure which. But something happened between there. Verse 27. And beginning at what? Class, I want to see if you're awake. Moses and all the prophets. Now that takes a little more. Moses takes in the penitent. But all the prophets take in a little more, don't they? And all the prophets. He expounded to them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself. You see, you can't separate Jesus from the scriptures. And they said one to another, Did not our hearts burn with him as he talked with us by the way? And while he opened to us the scriptures, And he said unto them, when he opened it, These are the words which I have spoken to you that are yet with you, That all things must be fulfilled which were written, now get this, class, Written in the law of Moses and in the prophets, And now he includes the Psalms. That covers the waterfront. What did Jesus think about the scriptures? Concerning me. Hear him on the Sermon on the Mount, He said, Till heaven and earth pass, One jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, Till all be fulfilled. Hear him in his high priestly prayer in John 17, Where he prayed for the sanctification of his people, And he prayed in verse 17, Sanctify them, how? Through thy truth, thy word is true. He prayed, when he prayed for the sanctification of his people, He put his imprimatur on the scriptures as a means. These and many other scriptures show what the Savior thought of the scriptures, Show how our Savior applied the scriptures, It gives us his attitude toward the smallest detail. Our Savior ended his life of obedience to the scriptures, By dying in obedience to the scriptures. Look to the Father, he did that is, Jesus looked to the Father to raise him from the grave, Death in the grave, I want to say, In the fulfillment of the scriptures. He confirmed the story of Jonah for your critics, You can tell them Jesus confirmed it, Because he referred to it as a fact. He confirmed this terrible, awful judgment of almighty God on Sodom and Gomorrah, When he poured out fire and brimstone, And he'll have to apologize to them if he doesn't do something with America. But Jesus confirmed, he confirmed, he confirmed. And in the garden, when Satan attacked him, Our Lord Jesus Christ again, Revealed that he believed the Bible as the eternal word of the living God. On the cross, in the agony of his suffering of himself, He offered himself a sacrifice as a substitute for sinners. There in that dark hour, but it proved to be a bright hour, There in that dark hour, because it was according to the purpose of God, Our Lord Jesus, in his agony of his suffering, And I believe that suffering was spiritual, I believe it was mental, I believe it was physical as well, Heartbreak it was, heartbreak it was, The heart throb of one who was apparently abandoned by his father. Mystery of mystery. Our Lord Jesus Christ quotes from Psalm 22, Which tells us that he believed that that was the word of the living God. You can hear him quote that Psalm 22 on the cross, When he said, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? My dear friends, if once Christ's authority is established, Then the authority of scripture is established. His claim to be divine is either true or false. If it's true, then his person guarantees the truth, For a divine person will not lie and cannot err. Therefore, his view of the Old Testament is true. What think ye of the Old Testament resolves into the question, What think ye of Christ? And your answer to the first will proclaim your answer to the second. And this will tie us to the New Testament, Because Christianity is not some sort of a fresh start in religion. It's the finishing of that which God begun long ago. The New Testament is not a substitute for the Old Testament, But rather a fulfillment. If the witnesses of the Bible, Or that is the witness of the Bible to Christ, is infallible, Then Christ's witness to the Bible is infallible. In other words, again, the word of Christ and the Bible stand or fall together. Don't you go for these people who want to give you a Christ, And don't believe the Bible. Well, so much for my star witness. There's another reason why I believe the Bible displays the glory of God, And that is, and this is somewhat external evidence, Where it has, there's no exception to this, Where it has been faithfully, fervently, and fearlessly, And sometimes you have to do it fearlessly. Somebody told me, somebody told me, Pastor Esco was like a bull in a pulpit. Fearlessly! They loved him. They don't believe that now. Was expounded faithfully. Where it has been expounded faithfully, fervently, and fearlessly, Where it has been preached and applied, You will find lives changed. And you have a living example of that right here. You will find a church that has life. You'll find churches are being built. And on the other hand, observing the sad results where it is not preached, There will be ignorance of the scripture. And I need not remind you of the results of that. We must make, therefore, that great reformation principle before us. Keep that great principle before us. Sola Scriptura. And when a church or a pulpit departs from that principle, Sola Scriptura, Then you will stop hearing about repentance. You will stop hearing about the necessity of conversion. You will stop hearing about the great essential doctrine of regeneration. You will stop hearing about heaven. You will stop hearing about the judgment of almighty God and hell. You will stop hearing about true biblical missions. You will stop hearing about the necessity of the salvation of souls. You will stop hearing about the resurrection of the hope. When a pulpit stops expositing the scriptures as the authoritative word of God, Then it stops irritating men by revealing to them that great gap between men and what they are commanded to be and to do and what they are. You won't hear that gap, that gap won't be seen. Because they won't be irritated to see that gap. This is why unsaved people can go comfortably to hell in a church that does not expound the whole counsel of God. Oh, my dear friends, surely we live in a day when we need a voice of authority. A voice of authority. I hope you don't want to be in this troubled, hell-torn, heartless, cold, sin-sick universe alone with only the voice of people, with no voice of authority. I don't want to be here in this world without some voice of authority. That's why the church that departs from the scriptures ceases to be a church. This is why our generation knows only some kind of a cold hell. Living has become kind of a solitary confinement in this life without a God. Oh, damn. This vague, weak, half-hearted church that has departed from the Bible with this little kind of message, you better repent in a measure or you may be damned to some extent. That's not so with the message of the Bible. The Bible has a message of a God who damns and a God who saves and has power to do both. There's a hellish heart in the Bible. I had a friend, an Irish preacher, over in Canada. We had him for meetings. He went to New College, Edinburgh, where he was trained. He had a great old theological professor by the name of G.T. Thompson. Old G.T. Thompson, that great professor, that great old Scot. He would tell those young preachers, and he did it seriously, he said, A kirk without a hell is not worth a dam. Well, I believe it's because of those results and the results where it's not preached. Another reason why I believe the Bible displays the glory of God is kind of what I'd call practical and somewhat personal. When I was 24, my life was going in a bad direction, and it would have soon arrived there. My marriage was on the rocks. My life was on the rocks. And I was on the rocks. It was an old carpenter that brought to me the message of the Bible. It was that saving message of the Bible that changed me, changed my life, changed my home and my marriage, and bless God, it changed my destination. Not only me, but thousands of more. I've been here just one day, a little over a day, and I've heard the message from others, just in a casual way. They didn't know what they were telling me. Yes, they did. But they didn't know they were telling them something. It was the message of the Bible, that's what they were telling me, the message of the Bible, God, by His Spirit, took and changed my life. You know, the Bible, we must consider the consoling realm of the Bible, that realm of consolation. Have you ever seen the Word of God made effectual by the Spirit in consoling someone? I've seen it, and I've experienced it. It has a consoling message. On the other hand, it is a difficult thing to try to console a broken heart without the promises of the Bible. I like old Bunyan's picture in that immortal allegory. He's got a picture there. I couldn't preach a whole sermon, Joyce, without mentioning John Bunyan and Pilgrim's Progress. I don't even know if you'll get to heaven if you don't read Pilgrim's Progress. You might. But in a place, the pilgrims are on the way to the Celestial City, and they come to where the way is rough and hard. We know something. Oh, you've gone away, you know something about that. The way is rough in places. And there's a place that goes parallel to the lawn called Bypath Meadows. And the pilgrims were very discouraged because the way was rough. And they took advice, the bad advice, of a man by the name of Vain Confidence, who appeared on the scene, and he told them this way is rough. Get over here where Bypath Meadows is. And they got over there, and they followed Vain Confidence into a pit where he was dashed to pieces. But they were so far along that it was too far for them to go back and get on the way again. And they fell asleep. And they fell asleep near a place called Doubting Castle. And Doubting Castle was owned by Giant Despair. And Giant Despair caught them and put them in the dungeon. And in the dungeon, after being there in that stinking dungeon for days, Christians said, and I quote, What a fool I am to lie here in this stinking dungeon. I have a key, I have a key in my bosom called Promise, that will open any door in Doubting Castle. My dear friends, I have used that key on many occasions. When Giant Despair had me locked up in Doubting Castle. You ever been locked up in Doubting Castle? I have. Have you ever been discouraged? And you come to that great passage where God encourages Joshua, and he said, Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage. Be not afraid, neither be dismayed. For the Lord thy God is with thee, whithersoever thou goest. That's the key of Promise. Have you ever been in deep waters? Some of you tonight are in deep waters. There couldn't be a congregation this size without some people in deep waters. You can use the key of Promise. Isaiah says, When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee. Through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee. When thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned, neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. For I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Savior. That's the key of Promise. Have you ever been weak and prayed like David? My soul melted for heaviness. Strengthen thou me according to thy word. Have you ever been afraid? Have you ever been afraid? And the Lord gave you the use of that key. In Isaiah where it says, Fear not, for I am with thee. Be not dismayed, for I am thy God. I will strengthen thee, yea, I will help thee. Yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. Ah, my dear friends, I hope you latch on to some of the keys. Because you get in these places, you get to where you're afraid. You go through deep waters, you're discouraged, you're weak. Have you ever needed provision and protection? Oh, bless God, the key of Promise. Christians use it. It's great in consolation. Consolation in a time of doubt. Consolation in a time of despair and discouragement. Consolation in a time when you're defeated. And preachers get defeated. Oh, bless God. Consolation in a time of death. I wouldn't know how to preach a funeral sermon without the Bible. I say sometimes when I preach funeral sermons, I say I could call all the scientists in the world, and they have nothing to say. I could call all the philosophers in the world, and they have nothing to say. I said, my dear friends, I have a book. Well, I guess I'm going to finish, Bill. I'm going to finish tonight. I'm on third base, heading home. All right. Christian, here's a book. And I've already put it out. It's the means of your sanctification. Jesus prayed it in John 15.3. He says, Now you're clean through the word. David prayed. You young men, I'm glad to see so many young people here last night and tonight. I sat back there and watched them take notes. What a thrill it was to me. Sometimes I find I'm sitting on the back row writing notes, but not that kind. Different kind of notes. Let me tell you something, Christian. This book contains the mind of God, the state of man, the way of salvation. It contains the doom of sinners, the happiness of believers. Its doctrines are holy. Its precepts are binding. Its history is true. Its decisions are immutable. Therefore, I say to you, dear heart, read it to be wise. Believe it to be saved. Practice it to be holy. It contains light for your direction, food to support you, and comfort and cheer you. Somebody said it's the traveler's map. It's the pilgrim's staff. It's the pilot's compass. It's the soldier's sword. Here is the book. Here in this book, paradise is regained. Heaven is open, and the gates of hell are closed. Christ Jesus is its great object and subject. Our good is its design, and the glory of God is its end. This book should fill our memory. It should rule our hearts. It should guide our feet. Read it frequently. Read it prayerfully, because it's a mine of wealth. It's a paradise of glory, a river of pleasure. It is given you in this life, and I believe it will be opened to judgment and be remembered forever. Therefore, it involves the highest responsibility. And let me tell you, it condemns. It condemns all who trifle with its contents. It points to the chamber of death, and tells us to go up to that chamber with peace, because Jesus died. It points to that dark valley, and bids us go down through that gloomy darkness with confidence and peace, because Jesus rose. Parents, let me plead with you tonight. Teach it to your children. Teach it to your children. From a child, thou hast known the Holy Scriptures. Thou hast known the Holy Scriptures, for they will make you wise unto salvation. Salvation, salvation. Ah, dear young parents, teach it to your children. Young people, glad there's so many of you here. This is a book that tells you about the future, tells you about the end. This book tells you about the real meaning of life, both the purpose and motives of life. And it's important to have both. You need a right purpose, but you need a right motive. Yes, in the words of the old Confession, it says, All that is necessary for faith, that is what we're to believe, and life, that's how we're to live. All that's necessary for those are in the book. Young people, don't join this world of young people who are trying to live a life without meaning, without purpose, without hope, who don't know where they're going or where they come from or why they're here. Please ask yourself those three questions. They might seem trite and easy, but you'll never ask more profound questions. Why am I here? Where am I going? Where did I come from? It might be more important questions than you'll get in school. Creation, my dear friend, and I'm going to speak to you who are not converted tonight. And I can't believe that in an audience this size, it would be all converted. Creation and providence will tell you about the goodness of God. Creation and providence will tell you about the wisdom of God, the power of God. And that fact alone will leave you without excuse at the judgment. But only the scriptures will give you the knowledge of God and His will that are necessary. Oh, my unconverted friend, where can you find such wonderful invitations outside the Bible? Oh, don't you love that Old Testament invitation in Israel where it says, Oh, everyone that thirsteth, come ye to the waters. Buy milk and wine and bread without money or without price. What an invitation. Go to the last chapter in the Bible. The spirit and the bride say, Come. And him that is a thirst, come. And whosoever will. Our invitation is whosoever will, let him come. Who wants water? I do. I tell you what, who wants water? Thirsty people. You find me somebody's thirsty and I'll find you a whosoever will. Listen, my unconverted friend, when this Bible says black, you just better say black. When this Bible says lost, you better say that's lost. When the Bible says hell, you better say hell. And believe that it means hell. When the Bible talks about judgment, you just better say it means judgment. For the Bible is a faithful record of Almighty God's revelation to sinful men. And it tells the truth about sinful men. I tell you, my friend, a man doesn't go to hell unaware of what kind of person he is. For we live in a land, he doesn't need to go to hell. We live in a land of Bibles. And what I'm talking about in the Bible is about hell. You won't find out in your English book how to keep out of hell. You won't find it in your math book. You won't find it in your science book. The only place you'll find out how to keep out of hell is in the Bible. And with all my heart I believe if you get a Bible and start reading with a cry in your heart for God to tell you the truth about yourself, you'll soon know yourself and you'll soon know God. And there are two knowledges without which no one will be saved. I don't know which gives birth to the others, but no one will ever be saved that doesn't know himself. And no one will ever be saved that doesn't know God. The Bible tells us the truth about ourselves. But thank God it just doesn't tell us about ourselves. Wouldn't that be an awful place to stop? Oh my. Oh my. Listen to me. This revelation tells us the way home. It tells us the way home. It tells us the way of salvation. It tells us the way of God. It tells us that there's a way of escape. It tells us the way of salvation for sinners. Thank God the Bible tells us the way to God. No other book does. You know who I pity most in this world? Of church members. Where I'm staying, we talked tonight, just as we were leaving the house, I asked one of the places where I'm staying about some friend. Are they saved? I don't know. I asked about another sister. She knows she's not saved. And I said, you know, that's the next best thing to being saved. That's right. The best thing is to be saved and know it and have a well-grounded assurance. The next best thing to be saved, the next best thing is to know I'm not saved. But do you know what the worst thing is? Listen to me carefully. The worst thing is to be a baptized church member and think you're saved and not. That's the worst state to be in because that's self-deception. And that you may be deceived by salesmen, by other people. You may be deceived by each other. But the worst kind of deception is to think that I'm saved. You know, Dr. Tom Nettles was in the ministry before he was saved. He was an ordained minister before he was saved. He gave that testimony in our church and one of my deacons got saved through that testimony. That's a fact. That is a fact. He went home to his wife and listened to the tape. He listened to his wife. He said to his wife, you know, that's what's the matter with me. He's had every office in the church and he wasn't saved. I've met people who had gone to the missions room and came back and wasn't saved. And one day they found out they weren't saved. And I'll tell you, when they find out they're not saved, they're not far from the kingdom. That's right. Uh-huh. How about that? They're not far from the kingdom. Well, let me ask you. Do you know anything about heart, religion? I mean, do you know anything about the power of things? The power of things. I know you know the words. I don't suppose there's many people that don't know the words. But that's not my question. My question is, is do you know anything about the power of things? Has the Bible changed you? Let me tell you. I hope there's not mockers and critics here. But do you know that every mocker and critic who belittles this revelation, I want to remind you of something. If you have friends that belittle it in school, I don't know if you'll remind me of this. After every assailant and critic has made their last attack on the Bible, their funeral sermon, let me review what I've got to say. I'm going to do it in three minutes less. Why do I believe the Bible is the word of God and displays the glory of God? Because of its own testimony of itself, because of the testimony of the church, because of the testimony of the apostles and how they use it and how it affected them and others, because of the testimony of the reformers and church history, cries out to the fact in showing how the doctrines affect their lives. And then by star witness I believe it because the Savior put his divine stamp of approval on the scriptures by how he used them and his attitude toward the smallest detail. The scriptures cannot be broken, he said. And then I believe it because of the results of where it's preached and where it's practiced and where it's received. I believe it because of experience and the practical results in my own heart and in the hearts of others. Where childhood needs a standard and youth a beacon light, where sorrow sighs for comfort or weakness longs for might, bring forth the Holy Bible, the Bible there it stands, resolving all life's problems and meeting its demands. Though sophistry conceal it, the Bible there it stands. Though Pharisees profane it, its influence expands. It fills the world with fragrance whose sweetness never cloying. It lifts our eyes to heaven and heightens human joy, despised and torn to pieces. By infidels derides, though thunderbolts of hatred and haughty cynics pride, all these have railed against it in this and other lands. Yet dynasties have fallen, and here the Bible stands. From paradise to highway, the Bible there it stands. Its promises unfailing, nor grievous its commands. It points men to the Savior, the lover of their soul. Salvation is its watchword, and eternity is its promise. O most gracious Father, how we thank you that you didn't leave us in this world to guess about our duty, to guess about who you are and what you've done, but you've given us this word that taught us of ourselves, that taught us of the Savior. Our Father, we thank you for all those here tonight who come under that category of being recipients of your matchless grace and the person and work of Jesus Christ. But our Father, for those who are strangers to your covenant, those who are strangers to heart religion, those who are strangers to the power of religion, we pray thee, our Father, that you would accompany them with restlessness until they rest in Jesus, until they rest in Jesus. Thank you for this wonderful week together. Accept our praise, our worship, and our thanksgiving, because we ask it in the matchless, peerless name of Jesus Christ, the Lord.