What can the Bible do for us?

In our last lesson, we looked at how can we tell if a religious book is inspired. We looked at certain qualities that the Bible has, focusing on the fact that it has no errors or contradictions and is perfect. We saw how the Bible is 100% accurate, regardless of being written by 40 authors and over a 1600-year period of time. No other ancient book meets this criteria.

We also looked at prophecies, what they are, and the examples the Bible contains about Jesus and other events that happened far in the future, but were accurately foretold by the prophets. We saw how the main requirement for the prophecy was that the prophet HAD to be accurate 100%, or otherwise they would be sentenced to death. Again no other book meets this criteria of having every prophecy it made fulfilled perfectly. But the Bible does!

Today, we will look at what the Bible can do for us.

We have already seen that the Bible can fully equip us for every good work (2 Tim 3:16-17). But what else is the Bible good for?

1.         The first thing that the Bible can do for us is give us the standard according to which we will be judged.

In Hebrews 9:27, we read that “And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment”.

Q: What does this mean?

Q: How many chances do we get after we die before the judgement?

Q: When can we make a difference in our relationship with God and Christ – before or after we die?

In Romans 2:6, 16, we read that “who will render to each one according to his deeds” and “in the day when God will judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ, according to my gospel.”

Q: What does this mean?

Q: Who will repay us for what we have done?  God

Q: Who will God do this through?  Jesus Christ

Q: How will we be judged? According to the Bible.

When someone commits a crime – they are arrested, charged and are brought before the judge.  The judge looks at the actions that caused the alleged crime – the judge does not look at how nice the person became after the crime.  That doesn’t factor into the judgement.  Same with God – He judges us after our life is lived on earth, we cannot change our punishment after death – no amount of money, prayers, or pleading will do that.  It is based on what we did. 

Q: How does the Bible determine our salvation? It determines our salvation based on whether we obeyed it or not through our deeds and actions towards Christ’s gospel.

2.        The second thing that the Bible can do for us is show us what the Word of God (and the will of God is) and how we are saved today.

In 1 Thessalonians 2:13, we read: “For this reason we also thank God without ceasing, because when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe.”

Q: Why was Paul thankful? Because the Thessalonians received the Word of God as truth and not just as mere words of men.

Q: What is the difference between believing in God’s Word or man’s word?  Men’s words don’t effectively work in us and they are fallible.  God’s Word is welcoming.

In Romans 1:16, we read: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.”

Q: What is the gospel of Christ?  The power of God to save all

Q: How do we know where to find the gospel of Christ?  In God’s Word the Bible

3.        The third thing that the Bible can do for us is show us that the Word of God is understandable and that we can obey it.

In 2 Corinthians 1:13, we read that: “For we are not writing any other things to you than what you read or understand. Now I trust you will understand, even to the end.”

Q: What is Paul saying here?  The Bible is understandable

Ephesians 5:17 tells us that: “Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.”

Q: How can we be wise?  By understanding what the will of God is.

Q: How do we know the will of God?  Through the Bible

As in the previous example of a judge: in life – the judge determines the rules and whether or not they have been broken.  We are wise when we learn the laws of the land and obey them.  We can’t just know the laws but refuse to follow them.  That won’t exempt us from punishment.  We can’t just know the speed limit is 50 km.  We have to obey the speed limit in order to not get a ticket.

Once someone understands the Bible, they must also obey it.

In 1 Peter 4:17, we read that: “For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God?”

Peter is telling the church that persecution is upon them and that this is to be expected.

Q: What is Peter implying will happen to those who do not obey the gospel of God?  They will suffer eternal judgment. 

Q: What is necessary to be saved from judgement? Belief and obedience in the Gospel

Q: Can you believe or obey but not do both and be saved from judgement?  No, you need both to be saved.

In 2 Thessalonians 1:7-8, we read that: “and to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, 8 in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Q: Who will receive Jesus’ vengeance?  Those who don’t know or obey the gospel of Christ

What then are the two requirements to be saved?  Know God and obey the gospel of Jesus Christ.

How do we know and obey the gospel?  Through the Bible

It is not enough just to believe in Jesus, but to obey Him and His gospel as well.  Those who just believe will have vengeance taken on them.

James 2:19-20, says that: “You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble! 20 But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?” And in verse 24, we read: “You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only.”

What does this say about having faith?

Who has belief in God according to verse 19?  Demons

Does that guarantee salvation for them? No!

Illustration:  Students in University – can you just know the material in your course, or do you have to obey and demonstrate your knowledge by taking the quizzes, labs, and essays? Do you have to follow the professor’s requirements or just say “I know it and believe what you are saying?”  Of course you need to show what you know.  Same with God – believing He exists and believing what He says is not enough – even the demons do that, we have to show our faith through our deeds – not to prove ourselves, but to demonstrate our obedience to God and our love for Him (See Jesus’ example in John 5:30 and Matthew 26:39)

Conclusions: The Bible gives us the standard according to which we will be judged. It also shows us the will of God and how we can be saved. We can understand the Bible, and we are required to obey it.

Why the Bible

Why the Bible?

Why is the Bible the book we study to learn about Christianity?

What are the Claims of the Bible Writers?

That the Bible is inspired by God.

In 2 Peter 1:20-21, we read: 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.

The term here for “moved” or “carried along” is the same as the one used in Acts 27:15: The ship was caught by the storm and could not head into the wind; so we gave way to it and were driven along.

This means the Bible writers were controlled and directed in what they wrote by the Bible.

The word “no” means that the Bible authors did not put in the text anything that was their own thought or opinion.

“Knowing this first” or “above all” means that this is a very important thing to understand.

2 Peter 3:16 says about the writing of Paul: He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction.

Why was it important for the Scripture (or the writings in the Bible) to be from God or the Holy Spirit?

What happens when the writings of men are passed as writings of God?

What does God say about himself? Hebrews 13:8: Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

What does it mean that God does not change?

James 1:17: 17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.

Numbers 23:19: 19 God is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?

What happens with the word of men?

It changes.

Why would it present a problem when the word of men changes?

People are told that they are saved at different times, in different places by doing or not doing certain things that may be or may not in the Bible.

2 Timothy 3:16-17: All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Again, we see “all” and “God-breathed.” But here we also see the purposes for which the Word of God is useful.

What does it mean to be thoroughly equipped?

It means “completely” “fully”

What does it mean for “every good work”?

Everything. Everything that is good, lovely, beneficial – you can be completely equipped for by studying the Word of God!

What then is the need or purpose of the teachings of men?

To help us understand the verse, but not go beyond the verse or the meaning of the text. For example, you can read a book on Greek grammar to understand the meaning of certain words—like the example we used before of the word “driven”—or to understand the theme of a book or the cultural background or the setting in which the story is told. One example is the fact that most shepherds in Israel were not for hire, but each of them took care of the sheep they owned, so they cared more about what happened to the sheep because the loss was personal, and that is why when Jesus compares Himself to a shepherd the meaning is more personal (John 10).

What should we be careful of when looking at the teachings of man?

Need to heed the words of the Bible not to add or take away from the word of God. 

Deuteronomy 4:2: Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it, but keep the commands of the Lord your God that I give you.

Revelation 22:18-19: 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. 19 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.

Twist the Word of God to mean something that it does not say. For example, people who believe that Jesus is not God. We have shown with many verses in our previous lesson that Jesus Himself said that He is God, and yet, there are many teachers that insist Jesus is not God and they are leading many other people in that direction.

Who has the authority to change the Word of God?

Galatians 1:6-9: I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— 7 which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse! 9 As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let them be under God’s curse!

How can we prevent being confused or misled by teachings of men?

If we know what the truth is, then it would be difficult for us to be misled. This underlines the importance of us learning what the Bible truly teaches and what God expects from us.

What are we expected to do with the Word of God?

2 Timothy 2:14-16: Keep reminding God’s people of these things. Warn them before God against quarreling about words; it is of no value, and only ruins those who listen. 15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. 16 Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly.

Do not quarrel about words – what does that mean?

Correctly handle the word of truth – what does that mean?

Make sure you know what is and isn’t from the inspired Words of God!  Understand and apply it correctly.

If we are not familiar with the Bible, then things can be taught to us that are not true. Examples range from even the most common things, like the “apple” that Adam and Eve ate, or the “three wise men” or “the whale that swallowed Jonah” to deep meaningful concepts and principles of how one can be saved, faith vs. works, or the importance of baptism.

Conclusion: It is important to realize that the Bible is the only book that has the Word of God, and it is the only book that we need to be guided to live a godly Christian life and to be completely equipped to serve God.