Supplemental Lesson 5
by
Steve Bryant
Read II Kings 22:1-23:30; Isaiah 55:11; and Hebrews 4:12
Last week, I re-read a letter from Leanne. She wrote me during her senior
year of high school. Her letter was brimming over with spiritual excitement.
She said she was falling more deeply in love with Jesus and His Word. Leanne
was home for the holidays and I could still see that love for Christ and
that desire for His Word shining from her spirit. God is raising up a new
Huldah in my friend Leanne. When her moment arrives, Leanne will not be
afraid to boldly proclaim the truth of God’s Word.
Joe is one of our youngest elders. He is completing an intense Biblical
worldview study. He has not only poured himself into the Scripture, but Joe
has read through a veritable library of challenging Biblical worldview
texts. And now, Joe is preparing to share what he has learned with a culture
which is increasingly hostile to Christianity. Again, here is a person who
is accepting the same call that was given to Huldah – to stand up and speak
the truth of God’s Word.
The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) would benefit greatly by a new generation
of women and men who are just like Huldah. I give thanks to God that He is
giving that very gift to His Church. Will we do our part to nurture them? We
need people who know Scripture, love Scripture, respect Scripture,
understand the power of Scripture, and people who are not in the least bit
afraid to communicate the Truth to the Church and culture. Historically,
Presbyterians have done just that. Will each of you do your part to
continue? Will you pour yourself into the study of God’s Word? Will you
lovingly and boldly proclaim it? Will you let your life be continually
transformed by the Word? Will you support and encourage others to do the
same?
Let’s find a new beginning in right perspectives. What exactly do we believe
about these ancient words we know as the Bible?
Presbyterians believe that the Bible is the Word of God. We believe that God
has revealed Himself to human beings in two ways. First, in what we call
*general revelation*. God has revealed Himself through the order and beauty
of creation, in such a way, that virtually all cultures have come to believe
that there is a supernatural other. But you can’t discover enough about God
in creation to provide you with a ‘saving knowledge.” And so, God has
revealed Himself in a second way, through *special revelation*. Special
revelation is the Word of God: The Bible as the Word of God and the Word
which became flesh and dwelt among us – Jesus Christ the Lord. And the only
place you and I can find an intimate knowledge of the Savior is through the
witness of Holy Scripture. For hundreds of years, Presbyterians have
declared unto ourselves and the world that the Bible, because it is the Word
of God, revealing Jesus, is the supreme authority for the living of our
lives and the practice of our faith. We believe that God’s Word is true.
We believe the Bible is true because it is *infallible*. I’ve been studying
the Bible for a long time and I have yet to run across a genuine problem or
error. On the contrary, I have encountered a number of problems and errors
in my interpretation, and in my ability to understand God’s truth. But I’ve
never once found an error in Scripture. People who say the Bible is full of
contradictions need to probe the depths of their hearts. They will find,
just as I, that the fallibility is within us, not within the Scripture.
We believe the Bible is true *because it stands out among other religious
writings*. It reveals Jesus Christ to us. Did you know that the Bible is
number one best seller of all time? If you study the sacred writings of
other religions, you would discover that the Bible stands head and shoulders
above all others as a witness to the truth.
Other religious writings understand God as the creator.
Other sacred writings depict God as a lawgiver.
Other sacred writings declare that God is a judge.
But only the Bible reveals to us that God, in Christ, is our Savior!
We believe the Bible is true *because the evidence backs up Biblical
claims*. Did you know that of all the archeological work that has been done
in the Middle East, and of all the archeological work done with the intent
to disprove the Bible, every single archeological discovery in the Middle
East has corroborated the claims of the Bible. Check for yourselves! Cities
that we thought to never exist have been discovered. People who were thought
by some to be fictitious have been verified. And there has never been a
discovery that contradicted the Bible!
Cities and people have been verified by archeological discoveries, but
certainly none of us builds our believe system on an archeological
foundation. Yes, Biblical places have been verified. Yes, Biblical
characters have been verified. But what about God? Father, Son, and Holy
Spirit? How can we really know that the God revealed to us in the pages of
Scripture is real? How can we know that He is true? Can we know?
There were three men discussing the question, ‘What is the most important
human invention of all time?” The first man, who had a doctoral degree in
mechanical engineering, said, ‘Well that would have to be the wheel. We
human beings wouldn’t have become what we are without the wheel because
virtually all of industry and commerce revolve around the wheel.” The
second man, who was a Pulitzer prize winner, said he thought the greatest
invention was the printing press, that we would not have made so many
advancements without the literacy made possible in the printing press. The
third fellow was a simple man. He mainly hunted and fished. He surprised the
other two when he declared that the most important invention of all time was
the Thermos. He said, ‘Early in the morning before I leave the house, I fill
up my thermos with hot coffee, and even if I pour it up around the middle of
the day, that coffee is still hot. And if I go fishing on a hot day and fill
up my thermos with a cold drink, when I pour it up and it’s just as cold as
can be. Now, gentlemen, I ask you, how do it know?”
How do we know? How do we know that the Bible is true?
The bottom line, is that we Presbyterians take it on educated and rational
faith. It is the quality of faith that clearly recognizes a certain power in
God’s Word. *We believe because there is a power in God’s Word.*
The Book of Hebrews, says that indeed, ‘the Word of God is living and
active.” It is a living and active power. Karl Barth believed that when the
Christian picks up the Bible and begins to read, when human eyes fall upon
the holy written word, the power of the Holy Spirit begins to work, and
through that power, the Risen Lord Jesus is revealed. There is a power in
the Word, the power of new life.
We believe the Bible is true because there is a tremendous body of evidence
which suggests that God has been at work in powerful and miraculous ways to
shape His Word, to protect it, and to bring it to us in it’s current form.
Some of the most fascinating stories of history revolve around the question,
‘How did the Bible come to us in its current form?” Great stories
surrounding the Council of Jamnia in the first century when the books of the
Old Testament were finally settled on. Great stories from the early years of
the Church when they wrangled over the New Testament books. Here’s one of
the most fascinating stories of all: (Remember, God’s Word is a living and
active power.)
In 1844, a 29 year old scholar named Tischendorf was traveling through the
Middle East in his studies. He stopped for a brief stay at an old Greek
Orthodox monastery on Mount Sinai, called the Monastery of St. Catherine.
The monastery had been there for a thousand years. The monks were simple
men, not educated and scholarly, but spiritual. They prayed. Tischendorf
happened to be in the kitchen. He watched the monk in charge of the cooking.
The monk reached down into a waste basket and crumpled up several old and
very brittle pages. Parchment paper. He placed them in the oven and when he
lit them, they burst in to flames because they were so very dry. Tischendorf
looked into the wastebasket and discovered that it was full of the old
parchment. He didn’t know exactly what it was but he knew that it was very
old and possibly very important, and he went through the roof! ‘Do you
realize what you are doing? These pages are much too valuable to be used to
start fires!” The monk didn’t know. He couldn’t read. He explained that it
made a good fire and that he had already burned up two wastebaskets full.
And he was a little miffed at Tischendorf. Jumping about and raising his
voice. One doesn’t act that way in a monastery. But the good natured monk
gave Tischendorf 43 leaves to take with him.
He begged for more, but was unsuccessful and he had to leave the monastery.
The pages were discovered to be very ancient copies of the Septuagint – the
Old Testament written in the Greek language, texts from I Chronicles,
Jeremiah, Nehemiah, and Esther.
In 1853, Tischendorf returned to St. Catherine’s. All the while, he had been
worrying about the monk in the kitchen with wastebaskets full of ancient
manuscripts. And when he arrived, they wouldn’t let him even look at a
single piece of paper.
In 1859, he returned again. But this time with the authority of the Russian
Czar, Alexander II, and 7000 roubles. Tischendorf was able to purchase a
collection of manuscripts wrapped in a red cloth. They were in excellent
condition, and he stayed up all night reading them. He said that he
considered sleep sacriligious under the circumstances. What did he purchase?
The manuscripts wrapped in a red cloth have come to be known as Codex
Sinaiticus, the oldest complete copy of the New Testament ever discovered.
They now rest in the British Museum. And to think, that for so many years
the illiterate monks had been using old pages to light fires, and had come
so close to wiping out such an important treasure of Biblical literature.
Who sent Tischendorf to that monastery? Do think that by chance he stumbled
over these pages in the wastebasket? Or do you believe that God’s Word is a
living and active power?
The book of Isaiah declares, ‘My Word…will not return to me empty, but
will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.”
The late Dr. Clayton Bell, pastor of Highland Park Presbyterian Church in
Dallas, told a story that shows us exactly how God’s Word is alive with
power:
In the late 1920’s, a Presbyterian missionary by the name of Robert Burris,
set out on a 95 mile journey into China. In his luggage, he carried 2000
copies of the New Testament. He intended to set up a mission and use the
Bibles in his work. Along the way, he happened upon two men leading a pony.
They said that a distinguished looking American shouldn’t be walking but
riding upon this pony and they offered to sell the pony for $50. Burris said
he didn’t have $50. ‘Well, then, we’ll sell her to you for $40.” But Burris
didn’t have $40. ‘$15?” He didn’t even have $15. All he had was 80 cents.
No sale. Later that night he happened upon the same two men. Now they
intended to rob him and Burris realized that what had taken place earlier
that day was only an attempt on their part to find out how much money they
were going to steal. They shook him down and discovered the truth. He only
had 80 cents to his name. And they threatened to behead him if he didn’t
come up with something else. The robbers left, taking all of his luggage and
the 2000 copies of the New Testament with them. That night, Burris prayed,
‘Lord I claim that verse, My Word…will not return to me empty, but will
accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.”’
Twenty five years later, Burris was forced to come home because of illness.
He then served as the pastor of a Presbyterian church in Canton, Ohio. A
neighbor from another denomination invited Burris to a meeting to hear from
a Chinese missionary who was home on furlough. The missionary had worked
about 300 miles from Burris’ base of operation. He showed slides of his
work. And one of the slides was of a crudely build bamboo hut, the church
home to about 400 people. The missionary referred to this particular church
as the ‘Miracle Church.” He said that ‘when the first Christians went into
the area to do evangelistic work, they found this church with four hundred
members and no mission worker had been there before. Furthermore, every
church member had copy of the New Testament and we have no idea where they
came from.” But Reverend Burris knew! And, he knew that the Word of God is
a living and active power, and that God’s word will not return empty.
(Adapted from A Passion for the Gospel, p.120-121)
*Closing Prayer:*
Your Word, O Lord, is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path.
Preserve us, O Lord, through Your Word. Feed us. Empower us. Embolden us.
Excite us. Each morning when we arise, remind us that Your Word is living
and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, able to penetrate the soul,
the spirit, the joint and marrow of our being. Able, as well, to transform a
culture, once again, for Your glory! In the strong name of Jesus Christ, we
pray. Amen.