The Jewish Final Solution to the World's Problem - Information Origins Part 3

[0:00] thankful. We are so thankful for this book. While we do not seek to master it, we do seek to study it and learn from it.

[0:13] And we have no illusions about ever mastering this book. But we do want to be mastered by it and by its truth, because in no other source do we see the incarnation of a loving God walking among us, dying for us, forgiving us, justifying us, providing us with eternal life.

[0:48] We don't see that in any other source, nothing that this world has to offer, because the Bible really is a book such as man would not write if he could, and he could not write if he would.

[1:09] It is your book. It is our blessing, our most precious possession on the planet. It is the message between these pages.

[1:22] And you graciously designed to give it to us. We want to be responsible for our use of it, our proclamation of it, and our obedience to it.

[1:36] More than anything else, that is what we want. Thank you for giving us this revelation. Let us express our gratitude to you by people who seek to be mastered by it.

[1:51] In Christ's wonderful name. Amen. You are dismissed. Please remember your handouts on the way out if you didn't get one last week.

[2:02] Have a great day. All Scripture is given by the very breath of God and is profitable. It is advantageous for doctrine, for reproof, for instruction, for correction in righteousness, that the man of God may be mature, fully developed, throughly furnished unto every good work.

[2:23] And that passage that concludes, it's one of my favorite passages in all of Scripture, and I'm just going to share it with you as I conclude this, because Paul is writing this farewell letter to young Timothy.

[2:36] He knows, as he is in this Mamertine prison, he knows he will not be released. He is scheduled for execution. And when a man knows he is going to die on the morrow, he can write some pretty, weighty, important words as a last farewell letter.

[2:56] And his charge to young Timothy is, all Scripture is inspired by God, profitable for teaching, reproof, for correction, for straining in righteousness, that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.

[3:13] And here we've got one of the worst chapter divisions in the whole Bible. Forget it. Paul didn't break it here. He continued to write. And he's giving this advice to young Timothy.

[3:26] This is deathbed advice. And you do well to listen to what a man says when he's on his deathbed, because he knows he must measure his words and his time. He's limited.

[3:38] This is no time to dilly-dally around with minutia. This is the time to communicate really important stuff. And that's what he's doing. And the chapter division breaks the continuity, equipped for every good word.

[3:54] And what we are saying, and what Paul is saying, is because this is true, because the Bible is breathed of God, he says, I solemnly charge you, in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom, preach the word.

[4:16] Wow. Boy, if that won't put some backbone in any preacher, I don't know what will. Preach the word. Because nothing else can get the job done.

[4:29] Preach the word. It is given by inspiration of God, and it is profitable. Therefore, preach the word. Bottom line is, preach the word. In season, out of season, exhort, reprieve, all longsuffering and doctrine, for the time is going to come when they will not tolerate the word.

[4:48] Maybe we have come to that place in this nation today. A nation that was founded on the biblical principles believed by and set forth by our founding fathers.

[5:06] And this book, this book, is unwelcome in many of our venues throughout our nation.

[5:20] It is not wanted, not appreciated, not tolerated. So, Timothy, while you can, and where you can, and when you can, preach the word.

[5:43] Because the time is going to come when you won't be able to. Something for Americans to think about seriously, is it not?

[5:55] Well, this is our third and final source of information. Remember, if anybody can think of a fourth one, please clue me in, because I've been trying to for the last 40 years and haven't come up with it.

[6:12] There are only three possible places where you can get information. One is from other human beings. Another is from fallen or unfallen angels, deceptive information.

[6:25] And the third, which we endorse and insist is the only one really worthy of our belief and following, and that is the word of God. And if we don't have this, look at what we are left to.

[6:42] Fallen men and fallen angels. We desperately need something to offset that. And that's what this precious old book does.

[6:55] The entrance of thy word gives light. Nothing else does. Father, we are truly a source. We have for information and that drives us back to the Bible.

[7:09] And it is referred to that passage in 2 Timothy that we quoted earlier that you read with me about Scripture being inspired of God. And the word, the word inspired in the Greek is theonoustos, and it means literally God breathed.

[7:26] Or the word neustos, it begins with a P, as does our word pneumonia. And we know that it's pneumatic and it has to do with air or wind.

[7:38] And the meaning is that the Scriptures are given by inspiration of God. That means God breathed. Means the Scriptures constitute God's air, God's breath.

[7:54] And I want you to think of this in terms of when you speak and when I am speaking right now, even as I am speaking, I am unconsciously breathing in and out.

[8:08] and in my words that I express to you, they are words articulated as I breathe out. That's the way we got the word of God.

[8:19] Holy men of God spake as God sustained them or bore them along, carried them along. And the word of God comes from the breath of God in the same way that your words and my words come from our breath.

[8:36] The Bible is breathed out of God. That's the meaning of inspiration. And it is an incredible thing. It is the Bible alone that accurately describes the human condition.

[8:50] The explanation behind why we are the way we are. And it sets forth the only remedy for man's way out of his confusion and lostness.

[9:02] And this, this is why we place so much emphasis on the Bible as our only source for faith and practice. I remember some years ago a very painful charge was leveled at yours truly and at the church in general.

[9:19] And it was something like this. Well, you and the people at Grace Bible Church, you worship the Bible. You're Bible worshipers.

[9:31] And I can't think of anything in my 40 plus years of ministry that cut me to the quick more than that. I saw it as a charge that was tremendously untrue.

[9:46] And the accusation was, is because we make such a big deal of the Bible. Well, if you don't make a big deal of the Bible, then you have to make a big deal of man.

[9:57] And do you realize that's why this world is in as much trouble as it is? We make such a big deal of man? We do make a big deal of the Bible.

[10:13] How can we not if it is what it claims to be? And if it isn't, then the Bible is wrong and Jesus Christ is wrong and you are all wrong and we are unjustified in our approach to the Scriptures.

[10:33] My contention is this. We do not in any way, shape, or form worship the Bible.

[10:44] But I'm convinced there is no such thing possible as true worship of the true God apart from the Bible.

[10:56] Now think of that. It is the revelation of the Scriptures that tell us who it is we are to worship and why.

[11:09] The Bible does not set itself forth as something to be worshipped, but it does set itself forth as something to be exalted and revered.

[11:23] And as you read through the Scriptures you will discover that God has exalted His Word throughout these pages. God exalts His Word and His name.

[11:37] And apart from an appreciation of the Bible and what it teaches, there is no way we could know who this God is that we worship or why we worship Him or how we worship Him or what pleases Him or what displeases Him.

[11:52] We are bound to this record. We have nothing else. And there is nothing else that we need. This is it. It's all incorporated in this book.

[12:04] This is what counts. The fleeting inventions that we get so caught up in are going to be on the trash heap in the next generation and we'll be in love with something else.

[12:16] But the things that the Bible addresses are ongoing and they ever speak to the condition of the human heart all through the centuries, through the millennia. Nothing has changed.

[12:27] That's why we regard the Bible as timeless. Timeless. The principles that it sets forth are of unending value and they apply across the board to every generation that has ever lived.

[12:44] And in this respect, the Bible, of course, will never be out of date. And because we accept this book, we as evangelical Christians look to the scriptures as our authority, we need to ask ourselves, well, what then is our response to it?

[13:05] And there are just three very brief ones and I'll just give them to you very succinctly. Responses that should be true of all believers for God having given us his word. The first one ought to be profound gratitude.

[13:18] A profound gratitude. And the best way that we can demonstrate our profound gratitude for having been given the word of God is to read it and to study it and to understand it and appreciate it and be guided by it.

[13:34] And if we believe that this is indeed coming from an infallible source, God himself, how can we not? How can we not do that? Secondly, we should render to it and what it requires of us?

[13:48] Complete obedience. After all, anything and everything that the Bible requires of us is always, always, always for your own good.

[14:03] And I know there isn't a parent who hasn't said that to their child multiple times in their upbringing. I'm only telling you this for your own good. And you know what often the response of the kid is yeah, yeah, sure, you know, and they very often don't believe it.

[14:19] But the truth of the matter is the parent knows that that is why they're telling them. It is for their own good. And this book is for our own good as well.

[14:30] Complete obedience is the least that we can render to the message that's in this book just because of the source from which it comes. And then, thirdly, enthusiastic proclamation.

[14:44] Who doesn't want to pass on a good story to somebody else? Well, my friends, this is the good story.

[14:55] There is no good story to top this good story. We were talking about this at the nine o'clock hour this morning at sometimes how difficult it is to communicate the gospel to those who are closest to you.

[15:09] It's easier to communicate the gospel and witness to a perfect stranger sometimes than it is those who are close relatives or those who know us very well. But if this message is worth anything, it's worth sharing.

[15:24] It's worth proclaiming. And this becomes the whole basis of evangelism. It's the whole basis of the missionary enterprise. And it flies in the face of political correctness and religious pluralism that would tell us that all religions are of equal value and worth and we should embrace all of them because they all lead to the same God.

[15:46] That is nothing but patent nonsense. If that be true, you don't have a missionary enterprise and you have no basis for it.

[15:58] You have no evangelistic message and you have no right sharing that message with anyone because everyone is okay wherever they are with whatever they believe. And we, of course, reject that completely.

[16:11] We do have a message that is worthy of proclamation and we are responsible for sharing it. Man, man alone as a source of information is a mixture of truth and untruth.

[16:27] You can get some truth from people. But it is often commingled with error. And at times there is great difficulty in trying to divorce the two, the truth from the error.

[16:43] Satan, as a source of information, is wholly untruthful. He would not know how to go about telling the truth because he is a liar and the father of lies.

[16:55] He was a liar in the beginning. His game plan is deception. God as a source is the only depend on. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the spirit who is from God, that we might know, understand, appreciate the things freely given to us by God, which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom.

[17:27] wisdom. There is the human element again, being a source of information, but not a reliable one. Not taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words.

[17:44] But a natural man, a natural man is an unconverted man. He is a man in the same spiritual state with which he was born.

[17:57] The natural man does not accept the things of the spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot, he cannot understand them because they are spiritually appraised.

[18:14] And what this means is, the natural man does not have the spiritual equipment movement that is necessary to understand the word of God. It comes across as just foolishness to him.

[18:28] Moronic is the idea. You say, God created the heavens and the earth in seven days, if that isn't the dumbest thing I ever heard. That's foolish. I can't accept that.

[18:38] That's not scientific. Oh, that's the watchword. That's not scientific. And if you believe in a seven-day creation, evolution, you are simply functioning on faith alone.

[18:52] That is just belief. But evolution is science. And they would, of course, have you believe it. And by the way, let me ask you this. Is there anything more out of date than a science textbook that is 20 years old?

[19:09] Nothing I can think of. Why is that? It's because as much as we appreciate and admire science and benefit from scientific findings and discoveries.

[19:23] And it has enhanced our standard of living for all of us. It's a great thing. But science is always a work in process. It is always undergoing changes, developments, revisions, sometimes complete reversals, because science is an unfinished task.

[19:45] It simply means to know. And science is not complete and will not be complete until science knows everything.

[19:58] Well, now, how close are we? Probably not very. So science is always a work in progress. However, the word of God is settled in heaven.

[20:11] And while we do not find scientific things in the scriptures, I mean, you will look in vain to find lunar landings and computers and digital this or that, flat screen TVs, Lamborghinis, and all the rest of it.

[20:30] You won't find that in the Bible. And for some, that's reason enough to reject it as having nothing to say because it's so old and outmoded. No, wait, wait, wait, wait. The Bible does not attempt to address things.

[20:51] The Bible addresses people. The human condition. That's where the scriptures are coming from. And despite man's leaps and bounds in forward progress from the ox cart to where we are now, he himself has not changed one bit.

[21:16] Man is still man with his foibles and faults and skewed thinking and all the rest. Sure, we've learned a lot. We've even learned more efficient and scientific ways of destroying each other.

[21:32] Haven't we? You see, the Bible does not purport to attack or to attend all of these things that would be so impressive to people if it did, but it talks about the human condition.

[21:46] It talks about the needs of the human heart. It talks about human struggle and human failure. It talks about human redemption. It sets forth the plan and program of God and how man can be reconciled to God.

[21:59] Listen, these are the biggies. In the beginning, God created, oh, we can't have that. And then there are those of the theistic evolutionary position and they try to have it both ways.

[22:15] They say, well, we believe in evolution, but we believe God is responsible for it. Aha, it's almost like that gets everybody off the hook.

[22:26] Creation is true and evolution is true and we have a wonderful marriage between them. God created everything, but he used evolution to do it. That's called theistic evolution.

[22:40] And it requires of necessity, it requires an abdication of the plain, simple truth set forth in Genesis 1, which some insist on taking as poetry or an allegory or whatever, but we are of the opinion, that it is plain truth set forth in straightforward language intended to be understood and not tinkered with.

[23:11] So we take it at face value and the days of creation that were there are 24 hour literal days. It became the basis for the seven day week, which is still adhered to throughout the world.

[23:23] And we believe that this book is a book of revelation. information is not intended to conceal or to obfuscate or to confuse. It is intended to communicate vital information.

[23:36] And it is the only source that we can turn to that we regard as infallible, inerrant, etc. In 1 Corinthians, if you'll turn there for just a moment, there is another passage that I want to consider.

[23:52] It deals with the wisdom of God, the wisdom of man. 1 Corinthians 2. And let's begin reading with verse 9.

[24:05] But just as it is written, things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, and which have not entered the heart of man, all that God has prepared for those who love him.

[24:21] Now, those of you who have been here for any length of time at all, know what I'm about to say regarding this passage. This has nothing to do with heaven. That's the way it's frequently interpreted.

[24:32] And yet, there is truth to be known in connection with that, because it is true that in heaven, God has prepared things for us that we haven't seen or heard or can't even imagine.

[24:48] And I'm convinced that when we get there, there are going to be a lot of wows, a lot of amazement, and a lot of surprises. No doubt about that, but that's not what the text is talking about.

[25:00] The text is talking about, well, let's read on, all that God has prepared for those who love him. And it's amazing what insight you get when you read the next verse.

[25:12] for to us God revealed them through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God.

[25:23] Now, all this is saying, is what we've already said, is that there is absolutely no way that you or I could ever know the incredible provisions that God has made for us apart from his revealing them to us.

[25:42] we would just be in a fog. We wouldn't have any way of knowing. But, God does not want us to be ignorant. That's why he gave us this information.

[25:54] He doesn't want us to be befuddled. He wants us to be knowledgeable, secure, stable, understanding. That's why we have the Word of God.

[26:06] Reading on, the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God, for who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him.

[26:20] This simply refers to the fact that every one of us has a little personal intersanctum. It's a private spot in our spirit to which no one else has access.

[26:38] God has done with them. You and you alone are cognizant of the thoughts you have, the ideas you have. No one else can invade your private turf in your spirit and see what's there.

[26:55] That's what he's saying. Even so, the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God. And what has the Spirit of God done with them? Read from divine revelation and passages like those that we just read.

[27:10] Apart from them, we are utterly clueless as to the issues of origins, purpose, and destiny.

[27:22] Only in the Scriptures do we find definition and explanation for what these things are. Origin and purpose and destiny.

[27:32] If it were not for the biblical revelation, you would have absolutely no idea where you came from, why you are here, what is your purpose, what is your destiny, or any other vital issues like that.

[27:53] There is simply no human explanation. Only in the Scriptures do we have that. And men who will not accept the record that God has given in his word, will contrive other explanations, and of course, that issues forth from what the Scriptures refer to as a foolish, darkened mind.

[28:17] Because man thinks with a warped intellect. And the Bible tells us why that is. It is because of the original fall of our parents, which they passed on to us just by being born, we are born of the same nature of the parents who generated us.

[28:38] And that goes all the way back to the original parents. They took upon themselves a fallenness, a moving away from the plan and program of God and the authority of God, and in doing so, they took another dimension of being upon themselves that God did not create in them.

[28:56] And that resulted in their physical death and in their spiritual death, and that death cycle is passed on to every succeeding generation. We cannot help but think with a skewed intellect.

[29:09] And this is the reason, among others, that God has given us his word, is to give us the straight scoop on reality, on being, on life, on everything, on values.

[29:20] We have a biblical presentation, we have God's point of view, as to how he sees everything, as opposed to man's point of view. And very often, most of the time, they are at loggerheads.

[29:36] And the word of God tells the unvarnished truth about man, and in some places, it's not very pretty, but it is truthful, and it also gives us the truth about God.

[29:51] Evolution, in whatever form it takes, is a predictable consequence when once man forfeits the authority of divine revelation.

[30:03] Because whenever you reject one authority, you will find another authority, even if it's yourself.

[30:15] You will find another, because nobody functions in a vacuum. Nobody operates out of nothing. any time you reject truth, there will be an error of some sort there to replace it.

[30:29] And this is the whole essence of truth and error. The rejection of truth opens the door for error. And the evolutionary hypothesis is simply one example of that error.

[30:42] When you look at the Bible and you simply, I just don't buy that, in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth, that isn't reasonable. What is a lot more reasonable is slime and goo to you.

[30:55] That's a lot more reasonable. Or earth was salted by aliens from another planet and that's how the human race became. So men come up with all kinds of weird, weird ideas simply because they reject the authority of the Bible.

[31:09] And we can break these down into atheistic evolutionists, which is what most of those of the scientific nature are, including not only Richard Dawkins, but some of the other sterling names that are mentioned throughout the world in the field of science.

[31:28] They are of the opinion that God simply isn't necessary. And that creation, or what we see as creation, was very capable of creating itself, of coming into being without the intervention of any other entity.

[31:48] it just, of course, they are at a loss to explain how, but their conclusion is, it must have been that way. It had to have been that way.

[31:59] Because if you don't go that way, you are thrust back upon anything. bottom low note how.