The Bible is Clear

and great to be with you in church this morning.

My name's Steve.

I've not met you before,

senior pastor here at St Paul's.

We are, as Asha said, we're in a series on the Bible.

It's good to be with you specifically in church.

Last week, I wasn't with the staff team.

We were away on retreat.

I'm in Bathurst, and you saw me preaching on the screen.

I just want to clear out one thing.

If you were here last week,

you would have seen fireworks.

The fireworks were unplanned.

We don't know where they came from.

Nick and I have got no idea what happened with that moment,

but take it as an act of God.

And so if you've not listened to that sermon yet,

you might want to go back and do that now.

So let me pray as we launch in to this morning

that there would be genuine fireworks in the heart.

Gracious God, we are grateful for you.

We are grateful for you,

the one who is the instigator of all things,

the one who created all things by the power of your word.

You speak and things happen.

We are grateful that you,

the almighty, the everlasting,

the one who never had a beginning,

never has an end,

you have spoken,

and you have spoken with clarity

so that we are not left without a knowledge of your will,

understanding of who we are,

who you are,

and the way to salvation.

We are grateful to you, God,

and I pray that your word will be clear to each of us

as we explore it this morning,

but as we explore it ourselves individually

in relationship with you.

Amen.

Now there's an ancient parable

that's found in both Hindu and Buddhist texts.

It is known as the parable of the blind man and the elephant.

A group of blind men heard that a strange animal

called an elephant had been brought to town

and they found it

and they were feeling around to work out

what is this strange animal.

The first person grabbed hold of the trunk

and said,

well, it's actually clearly a big, thick snake.

Another one grabs hold of the ear,

thought it seemed like some kind of fan.

Another blind man had his arms wrapped around the leg

and said,

elephants are like tree trunks.

The blind man who placed his hand on the side of the elephant

said,

no, no, it's a great wall.

Another who felt its tail says,

no, it's actually a rope is what it is.

The point of the parable,

it's an ancient parable,

the point of it is that

all people are blamed

when it comes to the things of the divine,

when it comes to God.

We know,

we might know part of him,

but we don't really know all of God.

We don't know all of the divine

and we can only ever know a little bit.

And so the conclusion is,

for all of humanity,

must tread carefully

when discussing anything to do with God.

and basically a whole great deal of humility.

So you don't call anything truth,

you just have perceptions,

is all you have.

Now there are two major problems with the parable.

Two major problems.

Firstly,

the whole parable

is told from the standpoint

of someone

who says that

they can see the entire elephant.

That's the first problem with it.

While the parable is making the point

that no one has the whole picture,

the narrator himself

clearly sees the whole picture

and says,

therefore no one has ultimate truth.

The second problem

is somewhat more serious.

While the parable

is perfectly good description

of human inability

in matters of the divine,

it doesn't consider

a paradigm

shattering question.

What if the elephant speaks?

What if the elephant speaks?

What if the elephant could talk?

What if he was to tell the blind man

exactly who he is

or what he is?

Tell them who they are in fact

because they can't see the world.

Tell them what the world is like.

Would the blind man

in that moment

be considered humble

by ignoring the elephant

who says,

trees have got trunks

and they are green

with leaves?

Would they be considered humble

to ignore the elephant

at that point?

And so today

we're looking at

another attribute

of the word of God,

namely the clarity of scripture.

this is

the doctrine

of the clarity of scripture

is primarily

about God's character.

Is God

wise enough

to make himself known?

Is he good enough

to make himself

accessible?

Is he gracious enough

to communicate

in ways

that are understandable

to the meek

and the lowly

and the broken?

Or does God

give us commands

that we cannot

understand

and a self-revelation

that reveals

more questions

than answers

about life?

This is primarily

about the character

of God

and who he is.

So this is the third

attribute

of the Bible

that we're looking

at this morning.

God's word

is clear.

So I've got three points

I'm running through

this morning.

Clearing up clarity,

the Bible's clarity

and the Bible's

difficult clarity.

So clearing up clarity.

The clarity

of scripture

historically

this doctrine

has been known

as the perspicuity

of scripture

which isn't

a very clear word

to mean clarity.

But this is how

the Westminster

Confession

of Faith

describes

the clarity

of scripture.

All things

in scripture

are not alike

plain in themselves

nor alike

clear unto all

and yet

those things

which are necessary

to be known

believed

and observed

for salvation

are so clearly

propounded

and open

in some place

of scripture

or another

that not only

learned

but the unlearned

in a Jew's

set use

of the ordinary

means

may attain

unto a sufficient

understanding

of them.

Which basically

means that last

section is that

it's accessible

to everyone

if you use

the normal

means of reading.

That's basically

what that means.

Now there's a few

nuances there

which are really

helpful.

So let me just

quickly hit you

with the nuances.

Firstly,

some bits

of the Bible

are clearer

than others.

Not every

verse or

every section

has a simple

or an obvious

meaning.

Secondly,

the main things

that we need

to know,

we need to

believe

and we need

to do

are clearly

seen in

scripture.

Thirdly,

though the

essential doctrines

of Christianity

are not

equally clear

in every

passage of

the Bible,

they are

all made

clear

somewhere

in the

Bible.

Fourthly,

that which

is necessary

for salvation

can be

understood

by even

the uneducated.

Lastly,

the most

important point

in the

Bible

may not

be understood

perfectly

but they

can be

understood

sufficiently.

That's the

nuances that

are in there

in the Westminster

Confession.

So the best

way forward

for us is

to just jump

into the

second point

and have

a look at

one passage

in the

Bible,

the one

that Anne

just read

out,

which talks

about the

clarity of

scripture and

the simplicity

of scripture.

So let's

jump into

that one,

the book

of Deuteronomy.

So we're

into Deuteronomy

30,

if you want

to open

your Bible.

In fact,

I'd encourage

you to open

your Bible

at this

point,

Deuteronomy

30.

The book

of Deuteronomy

records the

second giving

of the law

of God,

just as the

Israelites are

there on the

brink of

entering the

promised land.

So let me

just work our

way backwards

in Deuteronomy

just to give

us a little bit

of clarity

of what's

going on

here.

In chapter

34 records

the death

of Moses.

Chapter

33, the

final blessing

of Moses.

Chapter

32, the

song of

Moses before

the blessing.

chapter 31,

the selection

of Joshua

to take

over from

Moses when

he dies.

And

chapters 1

to 30

is basically

just one

really long

sermon.

Don't ever

complain about

mine.

Just one

really long

sermon or

a bunch of

sermons.

Let's have a

five minute

break, stand

up, sit

down, and

then we can

jump back in

the next

one.

That's a

really long

sermon.

And it's

a covenant

renewal

ceremony

spoken by

God through

the mouth

of his

servant

Moses.

So

chapters

29 and

30 is

the climax.

It's the

conclusion of

Moses'

sermon.

And more

specifically,

chapter 30

verses 11

to 20 is

the final

appeal.

It's the

landing point,

the appeal.

Moses is

imploring the

people to

choose life,

not death,

choose life.

And choose

life by

keeping the

commandments and

the statutes

of the law.

That's

verses 15

to 20.

And right

there in

15 to 20

of chapter

30 is the

entire point

that Moses

has been

working towards

in the

previous 30

chapters.

verses 15

is the

key.

I

command you

today to

love the

Lord your

God, to

walk in

obedience to

him and

to keep

his commands,

decrees and

laws, and

then you will

live and

increase and

the Lord your

God will

bless you in

the land you

are entering

to possess.

promise.

It's a call

really to

commitment, it's

a call to

covenant

renewal.

It's a

deeply

personal and

whole of

life transforming

relationship is

what Moses is

calling Israel to

at this point.

And it's a

very basic

and straightforward

appeal, very

simple.

and just

before he

issues this

final appeal,

he makes it

clear to

them that

the appeal

itself and

all that's

required of

them is

not beyond

them.

Verse 11

to 14,

just read out

to us by

Anne, makes

it clear that

God's word,

all of his

statutes, all

of his commands

is not beyond

them and

therefore life

itself is not

beyond them,

not out of

their reach.

Moses says

it's really

clear, you

don't have to

go up to

heaven to

get God's

word, God's

word is not

out of reach,

you don't need

to get in a

spaceship and

launch up to

the Netherlands

to try and

find answers.

Verse 13,

nor is it

beyond the

sea so

that you

have to

ask who

will cross

the sea to

get it and

proclaim it

to us so

that we may

obey it.

In the

Bible, the

sea is a

symbol of

chaos and

destruction.

In fact,

Paul quotes

this verse

in Romans

Romans 10 · chapter mention

chapter 10

and he

calls it

the abyss.

Revelation

9 calls it

the abyss.

It's the

place of

destruction,

of death,

of torment.

In

ancient times,

the sea

represented

death and

destruction.

Death was

sinking into

the abyss.

And the

great stories

of ancient

cultures were

the stories of

adventures taking

on the seas to

discover new

worlds and

explore uncharted

lands.

What Moses

is saying here

with these

images is we

do not relate

to God like

that.

It's not that

hard.

We don't have

to search the

heavens.

We don't have

to go on a

quest over the

seas.

God has

communicated to

us.

He says God

has come near

to us.

All ancient

cultures,

all ancient

cultures,

where the

divine secrets,

the mysteries of

how to live

life, the

secrets of

the universe,

defined

things known

only to the

gods.

And it was

only a very

few courageous

people in

those cultures

who were

willing to

go on the

quest beyond

civilized

lands to

connect with

the gods and

to bring back

the secrets of

the universe.

And Moses

doesn't buy into

that at all

in any way.

Deuteronomy

says the God

to whom highest

heaven cannot

contain has

descended to

us.

earth.

He came

down to

Mount Sinai

and he

spoke.

To access

the secret

universe,

you do not

need to be

an elite

scientist.

You don't

need to be a

gifted artist.

You don't

need to be a

regular attendee

at an exclusive

retreat in the

rainforest.

You don't

need to climb

to the top of

the highest

mountain or

dive into the

depths of

the sea.

The secrets

of the

universe have

traditionally been

virtually in

every hotel

room in the

Western world.

Just sitting

beside the

bed in a

drawer, top

drawer normally.

Placed there

by the

Gideons.

It's in the

Bible and the

Bible is

everywhere.

With

estimated total

sales of

over five

billion copies,

the Bible is

the best

selling publication

of all time.

It has had a

profound influence.

In fact, it has

shaped both

Western culture

and history

and most

cultures around

the globe.

And to

date, it is

translated or

currently being

translated into

about half of

the world's

languages.

The secret of

the universe is

right under our

noses and it

is accessible.

For sure, there

are some hard

things to

understand.

But the

core message of

the Bible is

unbelievably

accessible.

It is right

there.

What God

wants of us

is not hidden,

it's not far

off, it's not

locked up into

some vault.

The word of

God can be on

our lips and

taught to our

children.

It is right

in front of

us, ready to

be understood

and obeyed.

And yet,

this

accessibility and

simplicity can

be quite

deceptive.

Because

modern people

have the

same problem

as ancient

people.

We tend to

think that if

any insight to

be really

important,

then it has to

be brilliant,

it has to be

sophisticated,

it has to be

new.

And the Bible's

not any of

those things.

things.

And so let me

just say, if

you are

exploring

Christianity

right now,

don't be

offended by

the simplicity

and the

ordinariness

of the

Bible.

Even

Christians

struggle with

the simplicity

of their

faith and

the Bible.

people.

The Old

Testament says

we are

saved by

God's grace

to be his

special

possession.

That's the

summary of the

Old Testament,

saved by God's

grace to be

his special

possession.

And the New

Testament adds

that this is

done and

completed in

the person of

Jesus Christ.

It's as

simple as

that.

So why

is it so

hard?

Let's move

to the

final point,

the difficulty,

the Bible's

difficult

clarity.

The clarity

and simplicity

of God's

word is

in fact

its

difficulty.

The reason

we don't

need to

ascend to

heaven or

cross the

abyss is

because God

is near and

that means

his word

to us

is near.

God has

made himself

and the

way of

salvation

known to

us simply

and clearly.

These

analogies

that Moses

uses is a

roundabout way

of saying

that relationship

with God

is not

something that

we have to

pursue and

achieve

ourselves.

We don't

go on a

quest to

connect with

the divine

in order to

have a

relationship

with him.

The analogy

Moses uses

here is

to reveal

that God

comes to

us and

he saves

us by

his grace.

Relationship

with him is

something that

we receive,

not something

that we

achieve.

We also

see in the

second half of

the passage

that Moses

seems to

contradict

himself in

these verses.

How can

Moses say

things like

the commandment

is not

too hard

for you

in verse

11 and

that you

can do

it in

verse 14.

You don't

need to go

up to

heaven,

you don't

need to

cross the

sea,

it's right

in front

of you.

But then

he says

in verse

17,

but if

your heart

turns away

and you

are not

obedient and

if you

are drawn

away to

bow down

to other

gods and

worship them,

I declare to

you this day

that you will

certainly be

destroyed.

You will

not live

long in

the land

you are

crossing the

Jordan to

enter and

possess.

This day I

call the

heavens and

the earth

as witnesses

against you

that I have

set before

you life and

death,

blessings and

curses,

now choose

life.

So if

it's entirely

by God's

work to

establish

relationship

with us,

why does

he include

that?

Because on

the surface

when you

read that it

sounds very

much like

striving.

It sounds

very much

like put

your socks

up and

keep them

pulled up,

otherwise

you're done.

It seems

to contradict

the first

half of

the passage,

but it

doesn't.

The clue

in

understanding

this is

in fact the

entire

sermon of

Deuteronomy

is almost

the last

thing he

says in

chapter 30.

It's in

verse 20.

For the

Lord is

your life.

Not you

are your

life, not

your obedience

is your

life, the

Lord is

your life.

That is,

they have

life already,

so this

must be

referring to

something a

bit more

than just

the fact

that they're

alive, it's

referring to

spiritual life,

it's referring

to eternal

life.

Up to this

point in

Deuteronomy,

life is

connected to

obedience,

death is

connected to

disobedience.

obedience.

The Bible

is clear, it

is simple, it

is accessible,

and God

expects it to

be obeyed.

And so

life is

connected to

obedience and

death is

connected to

disobedience.

And yet,

they've already

failed multiple

times.

There's not a

single person

who's righteous,

Romans chapter

three.

because the

Bible also

reveals our

inability, our

powerlessness, it

reveals our

sin, our lack

of righteousness.

So verse 20

is not saying

that if you

obey God, he

will give you

life.

It is saying

he is your

life.

And Paul

explains it.

in Romans

Romans 10 · chapter mention

chapter 10

when he

picks up

Deuteronomy

30.

As he's

proclaiming the

good news of

salvation in

Jesus Christ to

the church in

Rome.

I'm going to

read it to

you.

Christ is the

culmination of

the law so

that there may

be righteousness

for everyone

who believes.

Moses writes

this about the

righteous that is

by the law.

The person

who does

these things

will live

by them.

But the

righteous that

is by faith

says, do

not say in

your heart,

who will

ascend into

heaven?

That is to

bring Christ

down.

Or who

will descend

to the deep?

That is to

bring Christ

up from the

dead.

But what

does it say?

The word is

near you.

It is in your

mouth and in

your heart.

That is the

message concerning

faith that we

proclaim.

If you

declare with

your mouth

Jesus is

Lord and

believe in

your heart

that God

raised him

from the

dead, you

will be

saved.

What he

says there in

Romans 10 is

that Jesus

is the end

of the law

of righteousness.

The law

still exists

to please

God and to

change your

life, but it

is never meant

to be and

never will ever

meant to be a

means to stand

before God

justified and

accepted.

Why?

Because Jesus

came from

heaven to

us and

then not

just to us

but went

to the

abyss of

chaos and

destruction and

death to

bring eternal

life to

everyone who

will accept

him.

And that's

threatening.

It is so

simple.

The message

of the Bible

is so

simple.

Every bit

of it screams

out, look to

Jesus, look to

Jesus, every

bit of it.

And yet it

is so, so

hard.

So complex.

So

threatening.

Because what

kind of God

has a bar of

salvation that

is so low?

What kind of

God does

that?

A God of

grace who

allows anyone

to come.

A bar so

low that

anyone can

step over

it.

Because it's

a bar of

grace, not a

bar of

works.

And yet

it's not

such a low

bar, is

it?

Not

really.

It

demands that

we lose

our pride.

It

demands that

we lose

our pride

and the

right to

look down

on any

other human

being.

It also

demands that

we surrender

control of

our life.

life.

If we

are not

prepared to

let go of

ourselves,

we discover

that the

bar is in

fact far

too high

for us.

Far too

high.

This is the

threatening

costliness of

the free

grace of

God.

The message

of the

Bible is

so, so

simple.

It is so

clear.

And yet it is

so difficult

to take.

If you're

exploring

Christianity,

understand the

difficulty of

the simplicity

of the

Christian

faith.

However,

however,

grasping the

simplicity of

the Christian

faith as

it is

proclaimed in

the Bible,

in all of

its difficulty,

is in fact how

you become a

Christian.

In that

moment,

the moment the

clarity and

the simplicity

of the message

of God's

grace in

Jesus Christ

hits you

and you

are willing

to pay

the cost of

surrendering your

pride and

control of

your life,

is the

moment that

you enter

into a

relationship

with the

God who

holds all

the secrets

of the

universe.

It really

is that

simple and

it really

is that

difficult.

You see,

this clarity,

this doctrine

that we're

looking at

this morning,

the clarity

of Scripture,

historical

document,

is so

far,

so far

from some

dry

biblical

teaching,

Christian

teaching.

There is

so much

at stake

on the

clarity of

Scripture.

It insists

that even

the simplest

disciple can

understand the

message of the

Bible and be

saved.

The Bible

isn't just

for pastors

and scholars

with a working

knowledge of

Hebrew and

Greek.

You don't

need to know

about Second

Temple Judaism.

You don't

need to know

about Greco-Roman

customs nor

ancient Near East

religion.

Nor do you

need to be

schooled in

redaction

criticism,

source

criticism,

form

criticism,

and all

that other

stuff I

had to

do.

And still

trying to

work out.

God is

not the

God of

the smarty

pants only,

as much as

we might want

to make him

such on the

North Shore

of Sydney.

The clarity

of Scripture

reveals so

much about

the character

of God.

What kind

of God

would reveal

his love?

What kind

of God

would reveal

his redemption

in terms so

technical and

concepts so

profound that

only an elite

group of

professional scholars

could possibly

understand them?

Not the God

of the Bible.

Relationship

with him

is accessible

to all.

And so

if you are

a Christian,

say,

well,

I know the

gospel,

I don't need

to know

anything more,

I've got to

clear on the

gospel,

that's about

it I need.

If that is

your response,

you do not

yet know

the gospel.

You do

not yet

know the

gospel.

You must

mind the

depths,

the depths

of Scripture

to get

clearer and

clearer picture

of who

God is.

The majesty

of this

God.

William

Tindall's

life

was often

in danger

because of

his efforts

to translate

the Bible

into the

language of

the common

people.

It was his

goal in

life was

to make

sure that

the Bible

was accessible

to every

person in

the English

speaking world.

He was

once in

dispute with

what he

called a

learned man

about all

people having

access to

God's word

and this

learned man

said,

no way,

that's

ridiculous,

it's just

for the

pastors and

the preachers

and the

priests.

And he

said to

him what

is now

famous words,

if God

spare my

life before

many years

I will

cause a

boy that

drives the

plough,

that he

will have

more knowledge

of the

scriptures than

the Pope

himself.

Tindall's

pursuit of

the clarity

of scripture

for all

people ended

up costing

him his

life.

As he

died,

his final

cry out,

the final

thing he

said was

effectively a

prayer,

it was a

prayer,

Lord,

open the

king of

England's

eyes.

And I'm

assuming it's

because of

what I

preached last

week,

open his

eyes that

he might

see the

majesty and

the glory

of God

in

scripture.

The God

of grace

in scripture.

And so we

pray,

yes Lord,

open our

eyes too,

that we

might see the

power and

the privilege

that we

have in

reading the

Bible in

a language

that we

can

understand.

Open our

eyes,

Lord,

so that we

might see

clearly the

wonderful things

that are in

your word.

Open our

eyes to the

truth of

salvation by

grace through

Christ alone

that you have

clearly revealed

to us in

every page of

scripture.

Open our

eyes,

Lord,

that we

might see

your majesty

and your

meekness

for our

joy.

Amen.