Truth That Transforms - DJ Dickerson - 6/28/26

In our last lesson in our series that we

started a couple of weeks ago, Truth

That Transforms, Discovering God, His

Word, and Your Purpose, and My Purpose.

Uh we entered in what might be called

the courtroom of evidence.

Uh we examined the testimony of

creation. We considered the fingerprints

of design. Uh we looked at the principle

of cause and effect. And we reflected

upon human consciousness and the moral

law written upon the heart. And after

examining the evidence, we reached the

conclusion that was expressed by the

Apostle Paul in Romans chapter 1 and

Romans 1 · chapter mention

verse 20. And that very section of

scripture, in verses 18 through 20, we

were noting, says, "For the wrath of God

is revealed from heaven against all

ungodliness and unrighteousness of men

who suppress the truth in

unrighteousness, because what may be

known of God is manifest in them, for

God has shown it to them. For since the

creation of the world, his invisible

attributes are clearly seen, being

understood by the things that are made,

even his eternal power and what else?

Godhead, so that they are without

excuse." All right. As we noted in that

lesson, creation tells us what? There's

a creator. Design tells us what? There

is a designer.

And moral law tells us that there is a

lawgiver. See how that works? But once

we went through all of that, then of

course it raises another question that

we have to look at. Questions that we

may have not only on our minds right

now, but also questions we may we may be

asked sometime later on the day or

throughout the week as the Lord gives us

more time here upon this earth. That I

would say a question that is quite

natural that we certainly must ask and

that is has this God spoken which leads

us to this question what is the Bible?

Mhm.

Can we know

anything about God

beyond what we observe in creation? Can

we know what he is like? Can we know why

he made us? Can we know what he expects

from us?

Can we know what has gone wrong with the

world?

Can we know whether there is any hope

beyond sin, suffering, and death? Can we

know the answers to those questions?

Can we know

his will?

And if he has spoken

can we trust what he has revealed to us?

And again, that's the subject for this

morning's lesson. What is the Bible?

Well, for some people the Bible is

merely an old religious book. Uh for

others uh they might call it a

collection of inspiring sayings.

But the Bible presents itself as

something far greater.

Uh

as people try to make it well, it's just

literature or it's just a history book

or it's well, some might say it's just a

family heirloom. Okay, they treat it

like that.

Others may only open it when there's a

time of crisis going on in their lives.

Now,

again, the Bible claims what? To be

God's written revelation to mankind.

That's what the Bible claims to be.

It is not uh

uh merely a record of humanity searching

for God, it is the record of God

revealing himself to humanity.

And there's a distinction that we need

to understand right off, I believe. And

that's this.

Creation reveals the fingerprints of

God.

But scripture reveals the voice of God.

Kind of get that in your mindset. We're

working through these lessons together,

right?

And I mentioned a fingerprint at at a at

a scene may tell an investigator that

someone was present. We used that

example, remember last time?

And again, that's helpful

uh to to identify who was there.

But if we want to know what the person

thought, what that person intended, or

what that person desires to communicate,

we need more than a fingerprint, don't

we?

We need a statement. That's That'd be

nice. We need words. We need

communication. So, how does that fit

into this?

Well, creation tells us that God is.

The Bible tells us who God is.

Creation, as we look around us, even our

own cells, how many times I used that

from the psalmist, we are wonderfully

and fearfully made. We agree with that,

don't we?

Yes, we are. All of creation around us,

the universe, all creation displays

God's power.

But the Bible reveals his character.

Creation shows us his wisdom. The Bible

reveals his holy and divine will.

And as we noted in the verse there in

Romans chapter 1, I bring it back up

Romans 1 · chapter mention

here

that I have outlined.

Creation leaves us without excuse.

And that means the Bible or scripture

shows us the way home.

That's why this lesson about the Bible

matters.

If God has spoken, then his words

deserve more than a casual interest,

doesn't it?

They deserve our attention, our trust,

our submission, our obedience.

Cuz friends,

the first thing I want to mention in

this first point is God has not remained

silent.

He has not remained silent. Our

scripture reading that brother Daniel

read there for us and and let us in

begins with an extraordinary

declaration, and what was that?

God spoke.

God who at various times and in various

ways spoke in time past to the fathers

by the prophets. I would tell you that

this may be one of the most important

truths in all of the Bible, and God has

spoken.

The God who created the heavens and the

earth did not leave humanity to simply

wander around through life without

direction.

He did not create us and then retreat

into silence.

He did not leave us to, well, let them

construct their own truth or instruct

their own morality or determine their

own destiny.

No, friends, what we find is God

communicated,

didn't he?

That's what Hebrews 1:1 brings out.

Hebrews 1:1

And what Hebrews 1:1 is telling us right

Hebrews 1:1

off is throughout history God revealed

himself in different ways, and I could

go into a lot of depth on this, but I'm

not. Um

But think about this, what it says when

he in various times and in various ways

spoke.

He spoke directly to individuals like

Abraham,

Moses.

Uh he spoke through dreams, visions. Uh

he spoke through angels. He spoke

through Well, what's it say in verse

one, latter part? Prophets.

He revealed his will through the law.

He taught through historical events,

promises, warnings, poetry, wisdom, and

prophecy.

A lot of various ways in various times

that he did that. And what do we see in

verse two of our text there? Has in

these last days

There we go. Where we at today? spoken

to us by his son,

whom he has appointed heir of all

things, through whom also he made the

world.

So all of God's revelation moves toward

Jesus Christ.

The prophets prepared the way. The

promises pointed forward. The sacrifices

foreshadowed him. The law anticipated

him.

And in the fullness of time,

the word became flesh and dwelt among

us. Isn't that what John 1 and verse 14

says? Prove all things according to

God's word, not DJs.

You know, sometimes I get mixed up with

copying and pasting sometimes when I try

to put things up here. You know, I don't

type all of these out every every one of

these, right?

So make sure to prove all according to

God's word, not DJs. John 1:14 and the

John 1:14

word became flesh and dwelt among us,

and we beheld his glory, the glory as of

the only begotten of the Father, full of

grace

and truth.

See,

Jesus did not merely bring a message

from God. He revealed God.

What did Jesus tell Philip John chapter

John 14 · chapter mention

14 and verse 9.

Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you

so long and yet

you have not known me, Philip?

He who has seen me has seen

the Father. So, how can you say show us

the Father?"

Now, you ready for this?

If we want to know what God values, we

look at Jesus.

If we want to know how God views sin, we

look at Jesus.

And friends, if we want to know how God

feels toward the lost, the hurting, the

broken, guess where we're going to look.

You guessed it, we look at Jesus.

We look at it. And if we want to know

the extent of God's love, we look at the

cross.

Because God has spoken most fully

through his son as Hebrews 1 and verse 2

says.

But then you're saying, "Well, wait a

second. There's another question I have

on my mind."

Jesus lived on the earth

like 2,000 years ago.

How can we know what he taught?

How can we know what he did? How can we

know his will today?

Well,

Jesus prepared his apostles for that

very responsibility.

When you go on down to verse 26 of John

14, you're going to find this. John 14

and verse 26.

But the helper,

the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will

send in my name, will teach you all

things and bring to your remembrance all

things that I said to you.

Because again, even though we say,

"Well, DJ, I know I know a lot of this.

I know this stuff."

And again, I'm looking at it from a

standpoint of you getting questions from

somebody later on today, are you able to

go and and and explain this and expound

upon these things, the scriptures and

teaching someone? Because these these

are questions that are very common

that I come across.

And you, engaging in any conversation

about the Bible,

you're going to have these same

questions brought up to you as well.

So, Jesus talks about a helper. He talks

about the Holy Spirit. Well, you know,

if you go on later on in John 16 and

verse 13, later he says this.

John 16 and verse 13, "However, when he,

the spirit of truth, has come, he will

guide you into all truth, for he will

not speak on his own authority, but

whatever he hears, he will speak, and he

will tell you things to come."

This is what a great blessing this is.

When we read these verses

and and I thought about, you know, if if

I was there as as one of the apostles

and thinking,

you know, I'm so glad that I was not

left to rely upon imperfect

human memory.

Okay?

The Holy Spirit guided them.

And what the Holy Spirit did, he brought

Jesus' words to their remembrance. He

revealed truth to them. And through

their preaching, and yes, guess what?

Through their writing,

the record we have, the message of

Christ was preserved for generations

yet unborn.

Friends, the Bible exists because God

chose to speak.

Now, then we start having more

conversations. All right? So, let's

say we agree on all that first point.

Well,

now we got to talk about this.

So, you're talking about the Bible is

God's word that's given through human

writers.

Well, someone may ask the question,

well, did men write the Bible? Well,

yes.

Men physically wrote words. Now, we can

go through a whole list of things here.

I mean, obviously Moses wrote, David,

Isaiah, Matthew, Mark, Luke, Paul,

Peter, John. We we we got a lot of

records, don't we? We have a lot that

wrote.

But that's not the whole explanation

though to it.

Keep in mind from the first point that

the Bible was written by men who were

guided by God.

What's that scripture we many times will

go to

on this?

If you have the charts in front of you,

you already know the answer.

2 Timothy chapter 3:16 and 17, don't we?

2 Timothy chapter 3:16 and 17. I want

y'all to notice what's stated there

again.

All scripture is given by inspiration of

God.

And is profitable for doctrine, for a

proof, for correction, for instruction

and righteousness that the man of God

may be complete, thoroughly equipped for

every good work.

When you look at that expression, we've

seen this, I'm sure, before at some

point or another, maybe, that when we

look at that word given by inspiration

of God, it carries the idea of

God-breathed.

God-breathed. That's the very thought

there with the translated word

inspiration.

And what that's telling us is that

scripture proceeded from the mind of God

and the words were recorded through

human writers. Yes, but the message

originated where? Originated with God.

Now,

when you look at Again, I'm giving you a

lot of information here. I know this

morning in in short amount of time.

But when you look at these passages and

see how all of this is connected and and

again, if you flip over to 2 Peter 1,

you're going to find again this very

same thought.

2 Peter chapter 1, you look at verse 20

2 Peter 1 · chapter mention

and verse 21. 2 Peter chapter 1 verses

2 Peter 1:20

20 and 21 how Peter explained it this

way.

Knowing this first that no prophecy of

scripture is of any private

interpretation.

Look at verse 21. For prophecy never

came by the will of man, but holy men of

God spoke as they were moved by

Uh-oh.

Didn't we just talk about that one?

We talked about the Holy Spirit. They

were moved by the Holy Spirit.

So the prophets, they weren't sitting

down and deciding I'm going to invent a

message from God. They did not write

merely because well, they possessed a

religious insight. They spoke as they

were moved by the Holy Spirit.

Now let's talk about that word moved.

I'm going to give you some Greek words

and again, I'm not a Greek scholar, is

my studies here. The Greek word that is

from that verb

right?

And it means being carried along or born

along or driven along.

The form is a present passive participle

indicating that the prophets were not

directing the process themselves.

They were being carried along by the

Holy Spirit. I think that's again, we

try to get our understanding in this.

Uh

this word actually the same basic word

moved is used. We We find it in Acts

Acts 27 · chapter mention

chapter 27.

Do y'all know that?

Acts chapter 27 and verses 15 as well as

Acts 27 · chapter mention

verse 17. And that word being used moved

is describing a a ship being driven or

carried along by the wind.

So get this in your mind.

Shouldn't think about the ship there in

Acts 27.

The sailors

were real.

We agree with that.

The ship that they were on,

that was real.

But the wind carried the vessel where it

needed to go.

Very real.

In a similar way, the biblical writers,

they were not lifeless instruments.

They their personalities remain visible.

Their vocabulary differs. I mean, you

look at the differences. Their

backgrounds differ.

If you look back to the Old Testament,

you say, "Well, David, he wrote as a

shepherd and a warrior and a king,

didn't he?"

Luke, well, you read the book of Luke

and he wrote with careful attention as

as that of a historian and a and a

physician.

Paul, he wrote wrote with a reasoning of

a trained scholar and the passion of a

of an apostle.

Oh, and Peter.

Peter often wrote with a directness of a

fisherman

who had walked with Jesus.

And you can see their distinct

personalities.

But yet it's all what? It's all united.

So yeah, their personalities were

present, yet the Holy Spirit guided the

message so that what they wrote was what

God intended to reveal.

Paul told the Corinthians

in 1 Corinthians 2 and verse 13,

1 Corinthians 2 and verse 13,

"These things we also speak, not in

words which man's wisdom teaches,

but which the Holy Spirit teaches,

comparing spiritual things with

spiritual."

The Bible, therefore, is not merely

words of Moses, David, Isaiah, Paul,

John, and so forth. It's the word of God

again communicated through them. Make

sure we have that in our minds.

Cuz that's why Paul praised the

Thessalonians. Isn't that right?

1 Thessalonians 2 and verse 13,

"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."

This is something here. We're talking

about all of this this morning in a

series of lessons.

They understood the difference. They did

not treat apostolic teaching as human

opinion. They received it as the word of

God.

And I'm going to tell you, friends, this

morning, that same distinction matters

still today.

When we open the Bible, we are not

merely reading what ancient people

thought about God.

We are reading what God chose to reveal

through them.

Now,

second,

we say we have

all of these things in play in our

minds,

and I mentioned a moment ago with all

the different and distinct personalities

that that that that are certainly from

fishermen to kings and so forth.

That that the Bible, you know, again

contains many individual books written

by different men, different places,

under different circumstances. Some of

that we'll get into

in our our next lesson as well.

But the point I want to bring up in this

book is the Bible tells one unified

story.

Because within its page pages we find

history, law, poetry, prophecy, wisdom,

biography, letters, and visions. All of

those things are in there.

And yet despite all of that variety,

the Bible

tells one unified story.

And that unity is one of I would say of

the Bible's most remarkable

characteristics.

Because the Bible is not a pile of

disconnected religious documents that

we're just going to glue in here and

it's just, you know, hopefully you can

make sense of it.

It's a complete revelation moving in one

direction.

It begins with creation.

It explains the entrance of sin and

unfolds God's plan of redemption. It

centers upon Jesus Christ.

It reveals the establishment of his

church and it ends with a hope of final

victory and eternal fellowship with God.

From beginning to end, one great story

is being told.

God created, humanity rebelled, sin

separated, God promised, Christ came,

Christ died, Christ arose, the gospel

was proclaimed, the church was

established, Christ will return, and

God's people will be brought home. And

you're like, well, that's a quick

summary.

But how often do we see it as such?

That many people, they know individual

Bible accounts, Bible stories, but have

never seen how all of those fit

together.

Like we know about Noah in the ark,

don't we?

From Genesis chapter 6. We know about

Genesis 6 · chapter mention

Abraham and Isaac.

Moses and the Red Sea. David and

Goliath. Daniel and the lions' den.

Jesus feeding the multitudes. The cross

and the empty tomb. See, we know those

are are very popular

stories, but I'm telling you this

morning, those are not isolated stories.

They are chapters with an within one

unfolding plan. That's what is so

mind-blowing.

Remember we were talking about not too

long ago from Luke chapter 24, Jesus was

Luke 24 · chapter mention

talking about this.

Remember, Jesus met two disciples on the

road to Emmaus, and and and this is what

we have recorded in verse 27, Luke 24,

"And beginning at Moses and all the

prophets, he, Jesus, he expounded them

in all the scriptures the things

concerning himself."

And then later on in verse 44,

"Then he said to them, these are the

words which I spoke to you while I was

still with you, that all things must be

fulfilled which were written in the law

of Moses and the prophets and the Psalms

concerning

me."

That's Jesus talking to them.

And what he was doing, he said, here's

the big picture.

The big picture of the law pointing to

him. The prophets, the Psalms, the

sacrifices, the promises, the entire

biblical story converges upon Christ.

You

sometimes imagery helps me. Um I'm a

very visual learner. I'll just

be quick and let me tell you about that.

Kinsey definitely knows that about me.

She's going to say something about

something. She wants to do something

with this on the wall of the house. You

know, what would you think? You're going

to have to get me a picture.

You want to draw that out for me. And

I'm glad she's she's she's good at doing

that cuz

I can't make sense of any of it.

So, I have to have that imagery. And So,

the imagery I was thinking about sharing

with you this morning on this is is I

think of of of a great tapestry.

Uh when you view it from the back,

woah, what do you see? There's a bunch

of loose threads. There's going to be

some knots. And there's colors that just

appear

disconnected. Just

I don't know.

I don't know what's going on there.

It just doesn't look right. But when you

turn it around, what do you have? You

have a complete picture that emerges,

don't you?

And that's the beauty of it.

When you even think about individual

passages, they may sometimes

seem separate when viewed alone.

But when we step back and see the whole

revelation, that's what we have. We have

a picture that looks Oh, that's clear.

That makes sense. All these pieces of a

puzzle that we sometimes use that

example, they're all over What do we do

with that? They all go together.

And Jesus Christ stands at the center.

And I'm telling you

that that unity is not accidental.

It reflects one divine mind behind the

message

that we have today.

Cuz let me tell you about the Bible.

Third thing I want to share with you is

the Bible reveals what creation alone

cannot tell us.

Creation reveals much about God, no

doubt about it. Romans 1 covered we

covered some of that as well on Sunday

last two Sundays ago.

But Psalm 19 that brother Bobby led for

us and and and you think about that

message and that song as well as what

Psalm 19 speaks about.

Verse one right off, the heavens declare

the glory of God and the firmament shows

his handiwork.

But later in the same Psalm David moves

from creation to revelation.

He goes from Psalm 19 verse one to Psalm

19 and verse seven and as we just sang

right before the lesson is what? The law

of the Lord is perfect converting the

soul, the testimony of the Lord is sure

making wise the simple.

What did you just get from that in Psalm

19 verse one and verse seven?

What you just saw is the heavens reveal

God's glory and in verse seven you just

saw the scripture reveals God's will.

Creation can show us that God possesses

great power but creation alone does not

tell us how sinners can be forgiven.

The stars can show us God's wisdom but

they do not explain the meaning of the

cross.

The mountains can inspire all but they

do not tell us what God commands us to

do.

The oceans can display majesty but they

do not reveal the terms of the gospel.

You see what I'm saying? For those

truths we need

God's spoken and written revelation.

Romans 10 and verse 14, look at it.

Romans 10 and verse 14.

How then shall they call on him in whom

they have not believed? And how shall

they believe in in him

of whom they have not heard? And how

shall they hear without a preacher?

What does he conclude in verse 17?

So then faith comes by hearing and

hearing by the word of God.

Saving faith does not arise from simply

looking at nature.

Saving faith comes through hearing the

message of Jesus Christ.

Think about how that works.

Creation can lead us to ask questions.

Who made this? We just talked about

that, didn't we? Scripture though

answers the God and Father of our Lord

and Savior Jesus Christ. Creation will

tell us

we are accountable.

Scripture tells us how we can be

reconciled.

Again, creation reveals there's a

creator, the creator, God, and scripture

reveals the savior.

That is why the Bible is so

necessary.

Because without revelation, mankind

would be left with questions that

creation alone cannot answer.

But I'm thankful today that God has not

left us guessing.

Because he has spoken.

He has spoken.

It has been preserved

for us even this day.

Now,

let me move on.

Some people,

you know, treat the Bible

as though it belonged on an episode of

Unsolved Mysteries.

They say everyone interprets it

differently.

And they conclude that no one can truly

know what God means.

I'm going to tell you at this point,

God's will can be known.

It is true that people often disagree

about the Bible.

It's also true that some passages, you

know, again, we talk about careful

study. And the fact that something must

be studied carefully does not mean that

it cannot be understood.

Look what Paul said in Ephesians chapter

Ephesians 3:3–5

3 verses 3 through 5.

Ephesians chapter 3 verses 3 through 5.

Ephesians 3:3–5

How that by revelation he had he made

known to me the mystery as I have

briefly written already, by which when

you read you may understand my knowledge

in the mystery of Christ, which in other

ages was not made known to the sons of

men, as it has now been revealed by the

spirit to his holy apostles and

prophets.

So, we covered a lot of that already,

didn't we?

I want you to notice something. There is

so much confidence that Paul gives us

here.

Paul said

he wrote

they could read

and by reading they could understand.

God did not reveal his will in order to

conceal it again. See, that just doesn't

make sense, does it?

And Moses told Israel in Deuteronomy 29

Deuteronomy 29:29

verse 29, he said the secret things

belong to the Lord our God, but those

things which are revealed belong to us

and our children forever, that we may do

all the words of this law.

Are there some secret things that we

don't know that have not been revealed?

I'm going to say, "Yeah, there's some

things."

We don't know everything that God knows,

and we cannot answer every question

about providence and about eternity or

the unseen world. We we don't know all

the answers to some of those things, but

the things God has revealed, they belong

to us.

And he revealed them so we might obey.

More imagery from the scriptures, Psalm

Psalms 119:105

119:105.

How is the word described?

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a

light to my path. Psalm 119:105.

Psalms 119:105

See, we we see things like that. And and

a lamp that's given so that a traveler

could see where to walk.

See, God's word is not intended to leave

us in

deeper darkness. It gives direction. It

identifies danger. It reveals the right

path. It shows us how to live.

So, the problem is often not, you know,

that God has failed to speak clearly.

That's not it.

The problem is that we sometimes

approach the Bible with the wrong

attitude.

Cuz sometimes

folks will grab the Bible and they'll

read looking for support for what we

already believe.

We we we may we may pull a Bible off the

shelf and we will start looking to

isolate verses from their context.

We may allow tradition to control our

interpretation.

We may ask, "What does this verse mean

to me?" before asking this vital

question. And that is, "What did God

communicate through this passage?"

See, an humble student does not place

their own ideas above the text. They

listen. They study. They compare

scripture with scripture. They they

consider the speaker of the audience,

the covenant, the the context, the

purpose.

They handle the word of God

carefully. 2 Timothy 2 and verse 15.

2 Timothy 2 and verse 15 says what? If

you're using old King James, you use

King James version? Says study to show

yourself, right?

Be diligent to present yourself approved

to God, a worker who does not need to be

ashamed, rightly dividing the word of

truth.

Friends, the point I want to emphasize

here is that God's will can be known.

But it must be approached honestly and

handled

correctly.

It has to be.

What else about the Bible?

Well, the Bible provides everything

necessary for faithful living.

You know, we used that passage a moment

ago from 2 Timothy chapter 3.

2 Timothy 3 · chapter mention

And the latter part there of verse 17

talks or verse the latter part of verse

16 says that profitable for doctrine,

for reproof, for correction, for

instruction in righteousness, that the

man of God may be complete, thoroughly

equipped for every good work.

What's that telling us? Scripture

teaches us what is right,

exposes what is wrong, correction

corrects our direction, and trains us to

live righteously.

That's why we see that

in verse 17.

The Bible is sufficient to accomplish

what God designed

for it to accomplish.

And again, it it does not answer every

question human curiosity may invent. It

it it doesn't teach us how to repair an

engine or perform surgery or build a

computer that's because that's not its

purpose.

It reveals what we need to know about

God,

about sin, about salvation, about

worship, about righteousness, about the

church, about Christian living, about

judgment, about eternity.

That's what the Bible does.

Second Peter 1 and verse 3, look at that

one. Second Peter 1 and verse 3.

Peter wrote,

"As His divine power has given to us all

things that pertain to life and

godliness through the knowledge of Him

who called us by glory and virtue."

God has not given us part of what we

need. He has given us all things that

pertain to life and godliness.

This is the faith that we This is where

faith comes from, doesn't it? Romans

Romans 10:17

10:17. Same thing Jude and verse 3 talks

about. "Beloved, while I was very

diligent to write to you concerning our

common salvation, I found it necessary

to write to you exhorting you to contend

earnestly for the faith which was once

delivered for all

which was once for all delivered to the

saints." The faith was delivered. It was

not meant to be rewritten by every

generation that comes along. It does not

need to be modernized by adding Well,

new revelations. It does not need to be

supplemented by human creeds.

The Bible itself,

God's word is sufficient. Human

traditions, they're going to change. We

know that. Cultural values, they're

going to shift. We know that. Popular

opinions, they will rise and they will

fall, but the word of God remains even

as Isaiah 40 and verse 8 says, "The

grass withers, the flower fades, but the

word of our God stands forever."

Friends, we don't need a new truth for a

new generation. We need the unchanging

truth applied faithfully to every

generation.

That's what we need.

I'm going to ask you this this morning.

Can you Do you trust the Bible?

Do you trust?

When you open the Bible and all that

we've talked about so far, do you say

that is God's revealed word?

Do you believe that?

Can you trust it?

I'm going to submit to you in this one.

We can trust the Bible because we can

trust God.

Our confidence in scripture ultimately

rests upon the character of the one who

gave it. The Bible even claims of

itself, and we're going to talk about

that on in these lessons in this series.

You know, Paul spoke of in Titus 1 and

verse 2, God who cannot lie.

The Hebrew writer in Hebrews 6 and verse

18 brings this up. That by two immutable

things in which it is impossible for God

to lie.

There's many more where that comes from.

But even Jesus himself in that prayer in

John 17 and verse 17 says, "Sanctify

them by your truth. Your word is truth."

God is truth. Therefore, what do we

deduce from that?

He

What he gives us is truth.

As human beings, we sometimes What do we

do as humans? We we might lie

intentionally.

Uh sometimes we may speak inaccurately

because our knowledge is limited.

Sometimes our memories fail.

Right?

Sometimes we misunderstood what

happened.

But I'll tell you that, although that is

definitely the human being part of us,

none of those weaknesses apply to God.

God knows all things.

He sees the beginning and the end. He

understands every fact clearly and

perfectly. He He does not deceive. He

does not make mistakes. He does not

forget. He does not speak carelessly.

His character guarantees the

trustworthiness of his word.

Now, this does not mean we should never

examine the evidence supporting the

Bible.

In later lessons, we're going to

consider how the scriptures were

preserved.

We're going to We're going to look at

how the books were recognized. We're

going to talk about what manuscript

evidence exists. We're going to talk

about why, again, we can trust the Bible

that has reached us today.

But, what I want to do in this lesson

is before examining those questions, we

have to understand the foundation.

Because if the Bible is truly God's

word,

then its authority does not arise from a

church council, a scholar, a preacher,

or a religious tradition,

ever.

The authority comes from God.

The church did not create the word of

God.

The word of God created the church.

Human beings did not give scripture its

authority. They recognized the authority

it already possessed because it came

from God.

So,

in all of this,

what do we boil it down to?

The Bible does more than inform, it

transforms. Isn't that what these series

of lessons are about?

That's the title of this series, Truth

that Transforms. The Bible was not given

so we could Well, I'm going to satisfy

my curiosity today.

It was

not given so we could go out and win

religious arguments with folks. It was

not given so we could just collect facts

and memorize names or complete reading

schedules. It was given to change us.

Because the word of God is described in

Hebrews 4 and verse 12 as living and

powerful and sharper than any two-edged

sword, piercing even the division of

soul and spirit and of joints and

marrow, and a discerner of the thoughts

and intents of the heart.

That's where God's word reaches. Reaches

places human words cannot reach.

How it exposes motives and confronts sin

and comforts the grieving, strengthens

the weak and convicts the rebellious,

gives hope to the hopeless.

Leads the lost to Christ.

Teaches the saved how to live.

But transformation does not happen

simply because I own a Bible.

It happens when the word is heard,

believed, and obeyed. James 1 verse 22

James 1:22

says it right out. But be doers of the

word and not hearers only, deceiving

your selves.

Cuz friends, it's possible to hear truth

without being changed by It's possible

to sit through sermons and attend Bible

classes and underline verses and still

resist what God is saying. That's

possible.

The Bible is not a mirror merely to be

admired. James says it's a mirror into

which we must look honestly.

And when it reveals something that needs

to be changed, we must respond.

When it exposes sin, we must repent.

When it gives a command, we must obey.

When it offers a promise, we must trust.

And when it directs our steps, we must

follow.

Because friends, truth transforms only

when truth is received.

Now, I know I gave you a lot this

morning.

And I appreciate your kind attention

in this lesson.

We began with several questions.

Has God spoken?

Yes.

He spoke through the prophets. He spoke

most fully through his son.

He guided the apostles by the Holy

Spirit as we saw. He preserved his

message in scripture.

Can we know his will?

Yes.

God revealed his will so that it could

be read, understood, believed, and

obeyed.

Can we trust what he has revealed?

Yes.

The God who cannot lie stands behind his

word.

What then is the Bible?

Well, as we noted, the Bible is God's

inspired written revelation.

It is his message communicated through

human writers under the guidance of the

Holy Spirit.

Tells one unified story centered upon

Christ as we mentioned. Reveals what

creation alone cannot tell us. Provides

everything necessary for life and

godliness as Peter mentioned. Carries

the very authority of God. And it

possesses the power to transform every

honest heart

that receives it.

Very beginning of lesson, you remember

what I said? Remember? I may have said

to remember that. If you didn't know

maybe you did remember.

Creation is God's fingerprint.

Scripture is God's voice.

And now what God has spoken, we must

decide whether we're going to listen to

it, whether we're going to obey to it.

And and this leads naturally to our next

question. What are we talking about? How

did all of it come together? How are

they preserved? Who rec- Who recognized

the books that belong in scripture? Can

we trust the manuscripts and

translations that we have today? That's

going to be a future lesson coming up,

so stay tuned. All right?

Cuz how do we get the Bible? It's going

to be another question that you're going

to be asked in your studies with other

folks.

Before this morning today, we have

learned that truth is not something

mankind invented.

Truth comes from God.

Cuz the question is no longer, has God

spoken? The question is, will we

actually listen and obey what he has

said?

Jesus warned in John 12:48, "He who

John 12:48

rejects and does not receive my words

has that which judges him.

The word that I have spoken will judge

him in the last day." And you say,

"Is the Bible important?"

Is it important? Absolutely.

You want to know what you're going to be

judged by in the day of judgment? You

got it right in front of you.

The same word that offers salvation one

day stand as a standard of judgment,

friends. And we cannot claim that God

remains silent. We cannot claim that he

left us without direction because he's

spoken to us through Jesus.

The gospel tells us that Jesus Christ

died for our sins, was buried, and rose

again.

And the word calls us

to believe in Christ,

turn from sin and repentance, confess

Jesus to be the son of the living God,

and be baptized

into Christ for the forgiveness of our

sins. That's God's plan of salvation

that we have recorded for us.

And you can do that this morning.

If you want to study more about God's

plan of salvation from his word, you let

us know. We'd love to study with you.

For those who have put on the body of

Christ in baptism as a disciple of

Christ, that same word calls us to walk

faithfully in the light as he is in

light.

So, perhaps today the word of God has

revealed something in your life that

needs to change.

To return,

prayers or encouragement from your

fellow brethren.

Do not merely hear the word, allow that

truth to transform you.

God has spoken, His word is truth,

and His invitation

is open right now.