Acts 17:10-15

This is the Sunday that many call Palm Sunday, Sunday for preparation of the coming week, looking toward Good Friday, the celebration of the resurrection of Christ.

! If you've been here long, it may not surprise you that we're going to continue our verse-by-verse exposition today in the book of Acts.

But that's not because we don't find that there's value at times in taking some moments to prepare for things like Easter Sunday, that there's not value in stepping away from the normal plan at holidays.

Praise the Lord. Last year, we were able to be in the Gospel of Mark and actually preach the resurrection on Easter Sunday from Mark. The timing worked out wonderfully in that way.

Praise the Lord. If we stay on schedule in Acts, that next Sunday I'll be able to continue to preach in Acts on the resurrection because Paul's defense at the Oropagus, he brings up the resurrection and I can preach it from there.

So that's a wonderful thing and in part the reason that we're going to stay in Acts chapter 17 this morning.

Acts 17 · chapter mention

Also, though, just as a maybe interesting side note to you, and as we established last year, that Palm Sunday was not a thing. It's actually Palm Monday.

There's no such thing as Silent Wednesday. If you ever care to have fun with that, I'd love to walk you through that timeline and show you that Jesus entered into Jerusalem on a Monday.

And then we see all of the activity that hastens to his crucifixion Friday and then his glorious resurrection on Sunday of the following week.

Before this morning, our text is Acts chapter 17, verses 10 through 15.

Acts 17:10–15

Before I read this, let me remind you, beloved, this is God's Word to us.

It was written for His glory and for our good.

We would all do well to listen to it in order to believe its promises and obey its commands.

And I'll begin reading in verse 10.

The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea.

And when they arrived, they went into the Jewish synagogue.

Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica.

They received the word with all eagerness, examining the scriptures daily to see if these things were so.

Many of them, therefore, believed, with not a few Greek women of high standing as well as men.

But when the Jews from Thessalonica learned that the word of God was proclaimed by Paul at Berea also,

they came there too, agitating and stirring up the crowds.

Then the brothers immediately sent Paul off on his way to the sea,

but Silas and Timothy remained there.

Those who conducted Paul brought him as far as Athens.

And after receiving a command for Silas and Timothy to come to him as soon as possible, they departed.

So last week, we looked at Paul and his missionary band's visit to the city of Thessalonica.

They're now in Macedonia.

They've crossed the Aegean Sea.

They're in for the first time.

And Europe, as we know it, the gospel has gone forth into that place.

And we structured our study last week of the first nine verses of Acts chapter 17 around four points.

Acts 17 · chapter mention

And those points were as follows.

Gospel courage.

Number two, gospel clarity.

Number three, gospel conversion.

And number four, gospel conflict.

Now, many of those points could be reiterated today.

And I will reiterate them in brief.

Paul and his companions repeat the same activity with similar results as they saw in Thessalonica.

The texts are often taught together.

They parallel one another in many ways.

Note in our text today, number one, gospel courage.

Courage.

In verse 10, we see that the brothers, these are the brothers in Thessalonica,

immediately send Paul and Silas away by night to Berea.

There is no reason to believe that they did so out of fear.

But rather, it is right to assume that they did not want the advance of the gospel to be hindered by their arrest.

So they travel to Berea.

They leave behind those believers they've trained in Thessalonica to continue the advance of the gospel.

We see in 1 Thessalonians chapter 1 that they certainly do this by the power of the Spirit and by the Word of God.

1 Thessalonians 1 · chapter mention

And they move on to Berea.

Berea is a less significant town than Thessalonica.

It's about 45 miles southwest.

It's off the Ignatian Way, which is that Roman highway we've been talking about in weeks past.

And we can rightly assume that they did not escape Thessalonica out of fear

because we see a repeat of their exact courageous action back in Thessalonica.

What do they do?

And when they arrived, they went into the Jewish synagogue.

Luke's not very explicit here, but I like to apply a little pastoral imagination to the text

to say that when they arrived, they traveled through the night,

and the first thing they did is went to the Jewish synagogue.

Maybe not, but I like to conject in that direction.

They went immediately into the Jewish synagogue and once again with great courage preached the gospel.

So we see again this idea of gospel clarity in our text.

Verse 11, right?

We see that these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica.

They received the Word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.

We know that Paul and his companions preached the gospel because the text says they received the Word.

Well, what Word, right?

We want to look at our text in its greater context.

Luke has been writing.

His pen has barely picked up off the page, even though it's been a whole week for us.

So what was the Word, right?

The very same Word that he preached to the Thessalonians.

Look back in chapter 17, verse 2 and 3.

He reasoned with them from the Scriptures,

explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead,

and saying, this Jesus whom I proclaim to you is the Christ.

And so he's now in another synagogue, and he's once again speaking to Jewish worshipers of God,

as well as what would have been referred to as God-fearers, Gentiles, Greeks, our text says,

who would have been coming to the synagogue to try to walk in the ways of God.

And Paul is pointing out to them the insufficiency of the sacrificial system.

For them to be found righteous before Christ, the sacrificial system did not cut it.

It was meant to point to something greater.

All of the religious practice, all of the things prescribed by God for them to do,

was meant to point them to a more perfect sacrifice.

They were meant to look to the Christ.

Paul is likely correcting their misconceptions about who the Christ was.

The common belief in this day by Jews was that Jesus, the Messiah, the one who would come,

would be a deliverer in a political sense.

Would deliver them from Roman rule and restore Jerusalem back to its former glory.

And so he's correcting that thinking all along.

And he's saying to them, this Jesus, this humble Jesus,

the one who came and suffered and died, is the Christ.

He's pointing them rightly to the gospel of Jesus.

And there's a result from that.

We see, thirdly, gospel conversions.

Because of their receiving of the word and their careful study of the scripture,

Luke records for us,

many of them therefore believe, this is verse 12,

with not a few Greek women of high standing as well as men.

So both the Jews and some Greeks believed.

As is most often the case,

when the gospel, courageously proclaimed with clarity,

empowered by the Spirit, will yield conversions,

will see people turn from their wicked ways

and turn to righteousness in Christ.

But not for everyone.

Some will reject the gospel.

And we see this as well in our text.

Gospel conflict.

Please don't think this is a ten minute sermon.

I'm wrapping up from last week into this one.

And then we're going to draw back into it.

So gospel conflict we see as well.

So the very same Jews in Thessalonica

that were stirring up a crowd,

that were bringing about persecution,

that were seeking to arrest Paul and his companions,

that did arrest Jason who was housing him.

The very same Thessalonians.

Because of the jealousy produced within them,

they hear that the gospel is being proclaimed also at Berea,

and they come there and they do the very same thing.

So once again, not because they're fearful,

but because they don't want to impede the gospel going forth,

Paul now is sent off,

while Silas and Timothy remain behind.

They stay there to continue to instruct in the gospel.

And Paul is sent off.

Persecution.

I have posited this to you across our entire study of the book of Acts

and for many years before that.

Persecution is the norm for the devoted follower of Christ.

It is not the exception.

Persecution.

It will take various forms,

in various places,

at various times.

We are not likely to be imprisoned for our faith.

We're probably really doing something unfaithful if we're imprisoned

in the frame of our faith.

We will not be imprisoned in the U.S.,

at least not for now.

But persecution is still to be normative

for the devoted follower of Jesus Christ.

So in brief, we can see much of the same activity

and much of the same response, right?

It's like a repeat of what happened in Thessalonica.

But there is one extremely striking difference

between these two towns.

And it's a difference which is worth our noting at some length.

So please let me draw your attention back to verse 11.

Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica.

They received the word with all eagerness,

examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.

Luke records, for our benefit,

that the Berean Jews were more noble than the Thessalonian Jews.

Why?

First, let's take a look at the word here translated,

more noble.

That's a single word in the Greek.

The word is,

I've got to get ready for the pronunciation,

eugenesteroi,

I believe.

In a couple of other translations,

well-known translations,

the New American Standard Bible

translates that word,

more noble-minded.

The NIV translates it,

of more noble character.

And the Holman Christian Standard Bible,

which is Lifeways New translation,

it's a good one,

says more open-minded.

Now the ESV translators

have done well to just translate the word,

more noble.

It's the most straightforward understanding

of that word,

eugenesteroi,

the root of which is eugeness,

which means well-born.

It's the word that the English word eugenics

is derived from.

Sounds familiar to you.

While I believe that the ESV translators

are more faithful to the Greek language

in this case,

I think that the New American Standard Bible translators

are more faithful to the meaning

of the word,

more noble-minded.

And we can gather that

as we look to the reason why.

Luke tells us why

he's calling them more noble.

And NASB translators expand that idea

to be more noble-minded.

And the rest of verse 11.

The Bereans were more noble

than those in Thessalonica

for two reasons.

Number one,

they received the word

with all eagerness.

They received it with eagerness.

They were teachable.

They weren't closed off

to the idea of something new,

some explanation of

the word of God.

They weren't so trapped

in their form of thinking

about who the Messiah was

that they weren't willing

to hear an alternative explanation.

It is a great mark

of the Christian to be humble.

And a great mark of humility

is teachability.

To hear a case made.

And hear a case made from the Bible.

And to receive it with eagerness.

Not blindly,

to our second point,

but to receive it.

To hear what someone may have to say

to us from the Bible.

They were pleased

to have a case made to them

from the Scripture

as Paul surely did

just as we saw him do

in Thessalonica.

So they were more noble,

more noble-minded

because they received the word

with all eagerness.

And secondly,

because they examined

the Scriptures

to see if these things were so.

Not just that they examined them,

but they examined the Scriptures

daily

to see if these things were so.

They were diligent

to test

anything

that was taught

against,

tested against

the revelation

of God.

It's like they held up

the Holy Writ

and they held up

this teaching

that Paul brought to them

to see if the things

lined up together.

They examined it

very carefully

to see if what Paul

was saying

was so.

Beloved,

the exhortation

this morning for us

is that we

should be like

the Bereans.

We should diligently

examine

every teaching,

hold it up

against the Scripture

to see

if it

is so.

I am thankful

for a church

that does this

for me.

My teaching

is not

above

this kind

of scrutiny.

No one's is.

The Word of God

is authoritative.

It is His

Word.

And I can only

speak with authority

insofar

as I speak

consistent

with the Word

of God.

I tell you

what it

says.

I need you

to function

as a

God-fearing,

Bible-loving

congregation.

so that if

I err,

you will be

quick to catch

me.

It is my

desire to be

both true

and consistent,

but if pressed

to it,

I will choose

truth over

consistency.

I am glad

to get up here

if I have

erred and said

I screwed

it up.

I've been

shown my

error.

I taught

improperly

and I need

to make

correction.

But,

bring me

correction

with Scripture

and plain

logic.

You've got to

do somersaults

to convince me

of something.

I don't want

to hear it.

Bring me

correction with

Scripture

and plain

logic.

If you come

to me and

you say,

I don't feel

like what you

said is true,

I will go

figure out

why you

feel that

way.

And then

let's talk.

Scripture

and plain

logic.

Your feelings

do not

define the

truth and

neither do

mine.

I want to

give you a

good example

of this.

If you've

been here

for a while,

you have

heard me

talk about

this already,

but it's

too good

not to

talk about

again.

I'm going

to read

to you

from the

biography

written by

A.T.

Pearson

of George

Mueller.

It's called

George

Mueller of

Bristol.

Don't buy

this copy.

It's a

horrible

printing of

it.

But the

book is

wonderful.

This just

happens to

do with

believers

baptism,

but that's

not the

primary

point of

what I'm

reading to

you here.

But George

Mueller serving

as a

pastor was

corrected,

and this is

wonderful.

He says,

while at

Sidmouth

preaching

in April

1830,

three

believing

sisters

held in

his

presence

a

conversation

about

believers

baptism,

which

proved the

suggestion

of another

important step

in his

life,

which has

a wider

bearing

than at

first is

apparent.

They

naturally

asked his

opinion on

the subject

about which

they were

talking,

and he

replied that,

having been

baptized as a

child,

he saw no

need of being

baptized again.

being further

asked if he

had ever yet

prayerfully searched

the word of

God as to

its testimony

in this

matter,

he frankly

confessed that

he had not.

He's a

pastor,

they say,

they're talking

about believers

baptism,

what do you

think,

Pastor Mueller?

And he

says,

having been

baptized as

a child,

I see no

need to be

baptized as

an adult,

and one

of them

says,

have you

ever

prayerfully

searched

the word

of God

for that?

And he

said,

nope.

At

once,

with

unmistakable

plainness of

speech,

and with

rare fidelity,

one of

these sisters

in Christ

promptly

said,

I entreat

you then,

never again

to speak

any more

about it

till you

have done

so.

Isn't

that wonderful?

A bit

later on,

and again,

I commend

this particular

book to you.

A.T.

Pearson was a

pastor and

just a

wonderful

writer.

He says,

what radical

reforms would

be made in

modern worship,

teaching,

and practice?

In the

whole conduct

of disciples

and the

administration

of the

church of

God,

if the

one final

criterion

of all

judgment

were,

what do

the

scriptures

teach?

Recently,

at a

community

group meeting,

I had some

questions asked

of me about

why we do

music the

way we do

music here.

things.

And it

made me

realize that

time is

flying by for

me incredibly

quick because

with these

particular people,

I felt like I

had preached

on that

matter,

but then

realized it's

been half a

decade ago

that we

preached on

why we do

music the

way we do

music.

Everything we

do here,

at least in

our best

attempt,

has an

undergirding of

scripture for

why we do

things,

the way we

do things.

And it

caused me to

realize,

and then talking

with the

elders of our

church to

realize that

we need to

repeat and

talk about

some things

again and

explain why so

that you

understand.

I think for a

lot of you,

music is an

example.

You just enjoy

the way music

is done here,

but you don't

really know the

why behind why

we do music

or anything

else.

Verse by

verse exposition

as another

example in

our church.

And the

answer, we

hope, and I

don't know that

we do this for

perfection, but

we're trying, we

hope, is because

the Bible says

such and such

about such a

thing.

And so we're

going to, in

the years coming,

probably years,

take some time,

pause from time

to time, from

verse by verse

exposition, and

do like a

series across

time called

Why We Do

What We Do.

And fingers

crossed, Wes

is going to

help us produce

some short

videos with

the same, so

you can go

back and

reference those

things, and

that's a big

project in and

of itself.

But we want

you to understand

that as a

church, we

stand on the

foundation of

scripture.

And if you

can show me

that something

we're doing is

an error,

right, again,

by the Bible

and by plain

logging, we

will get it

out of our

meeting together

and our conduct

together as a

church.

We believe

that the

revelation of

God is

absolutely

foundational to

the way we

function together.

It's for your

good, it's for

our good, it's

for our

community's good

that we do

so.

We live in an

epistemologically

schismed society,

right?

No one seems to

be able to

arrive at the

truth, much

less how the

truth should be

arrived at,

right?

the New York

Times just

recently put out

an article

specifically in

regards to our

president, but

is the truth

dead?

Seems to be,

not in specific

to our

president, but

just generally

speaking, right?

We don't seem

to know what the

truth is or how

to arrive at it.

Some of you in

my hearing this

morning are

modernists.

It's from

modernist thinking

that we get

things like the

scientific method,

modernists want

to measure

things out, to

see the concrete

evidence for,

something we can

quantify to say,

and this is what

works.

This is the way

that we ought

to go.

Some of you in

my hearing this

morning are

postmodernists.

I tend to fall

into that category.

That category is

getting smaller and

smaller as our

church moves on.

postmodernists tend

to believe that

the truth is

defined by your

own experience of

the truth.

So I experience

something to be

true, therefore it

is true, and

nobody can debate

that with me.

And most of you

in my hearing this

morning are

post-postmodernists.

You need a much

more creative name

than that, but

you're currently

being called

post-postmodernists.

And here's the

frightening result of

postmodernity.

is that post-postmodernists

tend to believe that

the truth cannot be

arrived at at all.

Even your own

experience of the

truth may not be

true.

How can I possibly

know?

And all of these

have some strengths

and some weaknesses

to be sure.

I'm not trying to

dismiss any of them

entirely, but any

one of these

epistemological views

needs to be

anchored in the

unfailing reality

that the Bible

is God's

word and

therefore is

entirely true

and contains

within it

everything we

need to know

concerning the

worship of God.

Like, we need

to believe in

revelation.

I have to

believe in

something outside

of myself.

I know myself

too well to

think that I

can arrive as

a postmodern

thinker at the

truth for

myself.

I need to

believe that

God has spoken

and that I

have those very

words for my

benefit.

2 Timothy

2 Timothy 3:16

chapter 3

verse 16

and 17

Paul writes,

all scripture

is breathed

out by God.

This idea of

being breathed

out is expired

by God.

Him as the

very source,

His very

breath.

We often talk

in the Bible

of being inspired,

spoken into

men who

penned it.

Paul is

upping that

idea by

saying it's

actually breathed

out.

He is the

very source

of it.

It's breathed

out by God

and it's

profitable.

It's profitable

for teaching,

for reproof,

for correction,

and for training

in righteousness.

That the man

of God may be

complete,

equipped for

every good

work.

We need to

believe in

these scriptures.

On your

bulletin this

morning, the

historical quote

for you,

Martin Lloyd

Jones said,

there can be

no doubt

whatsoever that

all the

troubles in

the church

today and

most of

the troubles

in the

world are

due to a

departure from

the authority

of the

Bible.

Now, for

your benefit,

I hope,

we're still

talking about

the Bereans,

we're talking

about how we

should be like

the Bereans,

but I want to

put up on the

screen for you

article one of

our church's

statement of

faith, which

is on the

scriptures.

So there it

is for you,

for you to

interact with it

visually as I

read it to

you.

We believe

that the

Holy Bible

was written

by men,

divinely

inspired,

and is a

perfect treasure

of heavenly

instruction.

That it has

gods for its

author,

he expired it,

salvation for

its end,

and truth

without any

mixture of

error for

its matter.

That it

reveals the

principles by

which God

will judge

us and

therefore is

and shall

remain to

the end of

the world

the true

center of

Christian union

and the

supreme

standard by

which all

human conduct,

creeds,

and opinions

should be

tried.

It's a

beautiful

statement,

isn't it?

We didn't

write it.

It's from the

New Hampshire

confession.

It is the

great standard

by which all

other truths

are tried.

And isn't

that what the

Bereans are

doing?

Searching the

scriptures

diligently to

that end.

This statement

speaks to the

authority,

the inerrancy,

the clarity,

the necessity,

and the

sufficiency of

the scriptures.

These are all

extremely important

Bible doctrines

or doctrines

of the

Bible.

What do we

believe is

true of

what we

call our

scripture?

And I want

to go through

those with

you.

Authority,

inerrancy,

clarity,

necessity,

sufficiency.

I just want

to lay out

some definitions

for you.

You will

not have

time to

write these

down,

but I am

taking these

directly from

Wayne Grudem's

Systematic Theology.

I figured it would

be best for

me to give

you someone

else's definition

you can go

to and study

more on

Wayne Grudem's

Systematic Theology.

It's a

wonderful book

which I would

have to lift

like this

this morning

to show

to you.

I've got a

copy you

can borrow

if you would

like to.

So the

authority of

scripture means

that all the

words in

scripture are

God's words

in such a

way that to

disbelieve or

disobey any

word of the

scripture is to

disbelieve or

disobey God.

They're God's

very words.

He has spoken

to us.

So they have

authority.

The Bible has

authority because

God has spoken

them.

To disbelieve

or disobey

is to

disbelieve or

disobey

God

himself.

The children

are memorizing

Psalm 1.

You would do

well to join

with us in

memorizing

Psalm 1.

If you

memorize no

other scripture

this year,

which I

encourage you

to do so,

but at least

participate.

Don't check

out when I'm

down here

reciting with

some level

of proficiency.

Psalm 1

which says

this,

Blessed is

the man

who walks

not in the

counsel of

the wicked,

nor stands

in the way

of sinners,

nor sits

in the seat

of scoffers,

but his

delight is

in the law

of the Lord,

and on his

law he

meditates

day and

night.

He is like

a tree

planted by

streams of

water that

yields its

fruit in

its season,

and its

leaf does

not wither.

In all

that he

does,

he prospers.

The wicked

are not so,

but are like

chaff that the

wind drives

away.

Therefore the

wicked will

not stand

in the

judgment,

nor sinners

in the

congregation

of the

righteous.

For the

Lord knows

the way

of the

righteous,

but the

way of

the wicked

will perish.

It was

laid before

us in

Psalm 1

a choice

to be

made.

It's

binary

in

nature.

You'll

find

yourself

wicked,

you're

way not

prospering,

final judgment

being yours,

or you'll

find yourself

prospering,

being righteous,

by doing

what?

Meditating

in the

law of

God.

We get

such

clear,

more

beautiful

gospel

understanding

of this

when we

know that

we are

found

righteous

in

Christ.

And that

being found

righteous,

being accepted

by God

in Christ,

what we

now do

is we

turn to

Him

in

His

Word.

We look

for the

good

instruction

of our

loving

Father.

Beloved,

this is

God's

Word for

us,

written

for His

glory

and for

our

good.

We would

all do

well to

listen to

it,

to believe

its promises,

and obey

its commands.

I mentioned

to you

earlier in

our

announcements,

talking about

having a

Bible-centered,

gospel-saturated

counseling center

in our

area.

Our

church needs

this,

our community

needs this,

because most

of our

problems,

most of

them are

spiritual

problems,

and they

need a

gospel

answer.

We need

to pick

up the

Word and

be instructed

by it,

and meditate

on it,

and memorize

it,

and apply

it to

all the

intricacies,

all the

little

challenges

of our

life.

The

Bible

speaks to

every

single

one of

them.

Spiritual

problems

always

have

gospel

answers.

So that's

the authority

of the

Scripture.

The

inerrancy

of Scripture

is the

next one.

The

inerrancy

of Scripture

means that

Scripture

in the

original

manuscripts,

we're

removing

translation

problems,

right?

Not

inspired,

right?

The

ESV,

not

inspired.

The

NASB,

not

inspired.

I get

some

debates

with

people

about

those

two

translations.

It's a

little

fun.

The

King

James

Version,

not

inspired.

The

original

manuscript,

okay?

The

inerrancy

of Scripture

means that

Scripture

in the

original

manuscripts

does not

affirm

anything

that is

contrary

to

fact.

Proverbs

35,

35,

every

word of

God

proves

true.

He is

a shield

to those

who take

refuge

in Him.

The

clarity

of Scripture.

The

clarity

of Scripture

means that

the Bible

is written

in such

a way

that its

teachings

are able

to be

understood

by all

who will

read it,

seeking

God's

help,

and being

willing

to follow

it.

I'll read

that one

again to

you.

The

clarity

of Scripture

means,

and I hope

this is a

comfort to

some of

you who

are daunted

by the

study of

the Bible.

The

clarity

of Scripture

means that

the Bible

is written

in such

a way

that its

teachings

are able

to be

understood

by all

who will

read it,

seeking

God's

help,

and being

willing

to follow

it.

Psalm

19,

7 reads,

The

law of

the Lord

is perfect,

reviving

the soul.

The

testimony

of the

Lord

is sure,

making

wise

the

simple.

I am

so

encouraged

by the

doctrine

of

the

clarity

of

Scripture.

It

presses

me

to

teach

the

Bible

to

my

children.

It

amazes

me

already

some of

the

concepts

that

they

are

wrapping

their

minds

around,

that I

am

fumbling

through.

How do I

teach this

to a

five-year-old?

That they

seem to be

already

picking up

some of

these

glorious

truths.

it

means

that the

person

who

has

just

come

out

from

underneath

a

bridge

in

Atlanta

and

is

still

going

through

drug

addiction

withdrawals

can pick

up the

Bible

and have

it

speak

to his

heart

and he

can

respond

in

faith

to it.

Now,

as we

consider

the

clarity

of

Scripture,

some of

your

minds

may

think,

then why

do

so many

people

think

so

many

different

things

about

the

Bible?

Simply,

we could

take a

bunch of

the

errors

of

the

Bible

and

just

say

they're

errors.

People

don't

translate

the

Bible.

They

don't

understand

it.

They

may

not

be

in

the

faith.

They're

not

faithful

readers

of

their

Bible.

They're

not

obedient

to

the

call

of

the

Bible.

But

some

of

the

nuances,

some

of

us

denominationally

!

We're

so

close

in

so

many

ways,

yet

one

thing,

and

our

translative

errors

are

ours,

not

the

Bible's.

So

the

problem

is that

we're

humans,

and

we're

working

out

some

of

the

complexities

of

the

Scripture,

but

still the

clarity

of

Scripture

as a

doctrine

stands.

We

can

know

how

it

is

where

to

be

saved,

how

it

is

where

to

follow

God.

The

necessity

of

Scripture.

The

necessity

of

Scripture

means that

the Bible

is

necessary

for

knowing

the

gospel,

for

maintaining

spiritual

life,

and for

knowing

God's

will,

but

is not

necessary

for

knowing

that

God

exists,

or for

knowing

something

about

God's

character

and

moral

laws.

These

things

can be

observed

in the

world

around

us,

but

it

is

necessary

for

knowing

the

gospel,

for

maintaining

spiritual

life,

and for

knowing

God's

will.

So

for

practices

of

faith,

the

Bible

is

necessary.

Romans

10,

17,

so faith

comes from

hearing,

and hearing

through the

word of

Christ,

either spoken

or picked

up and

read.

This is the

way that

faith is

produced in

us,

both saving

faith and

continuing

faith.

Scripture

is necessary

for that.

The

sufficiency

of Scripture,

this is one

of my

favorites,

the

sufficiency

of Scripture

means

that

Scripture

contained

all the

words of

God

He

intended

His

people

to

have

at

each

stage

of

redemptive

history,

and that

it now

contains

all the

words of

God

we need

for

salvation,

for

trusting

Him

perfectly,

and for

obeying

Him

perfectly.

So,

the

revelation

unfolded

to

God's

people,

and it

was

sufficient

at

each

of

those

stages

of

its

unfolding,

as it

was

delivered

across

time.

But now,

we find

ourselves

with a

clothed

canon,

right?

The

Scriptures

have been

clothed,

66

books,

this is

the

canonized

Bible

of the

Christian

church,

I'm

going to

make a

case

for that

to you

in brief

in a

moment.

But this

is ours,

we pick

it up,

it gives

us

everything

we need,

it's

sufficient