The Bible’s Inerrancy • 10.20.24
The Bible’s Inerrancy
Responding rightly to the truth about Scripture
- Begins with recognizing God’s truthfulness
- As God’s Word, Scripture is inerrant
- I must believe, obey, and hope in God’s inerrant word
Good morning church family! (Introduce self + welcome guests + share about communion)
Dismiss 4th + 5th graders
Ushers + Bibles
Today we are ¾ of the way through our sermon series on The Word of God. I hope you have been blessed by the content of the last two weeks. If you happened to miss out on either one of those sermons, I would encourage you to go online and listen to them. These concepts build upon and support one another. In the day we live in, where the authority, inspiration, and sufficiency of Scripture are regularly undermined and pushed against, it is so important for us to reaffirm these truths. Because God has all authority and has communicated that authority in His Word, we must submit to it! In it He has given us all that we need for life and godliness, through our knowledge of Him. These are life-changing truths!
These truths have certainly changed my life. I still remember my days as a college student at Purdue when I began attending a church that believed and taught these beautiful truths about God’s Word. I had never heard preaching like that before. I had never seen God’s Word applied to specific situations such that people were able to overcome temptation and sin. It was so life-giving to hear that God’s Word has answers for my struggles and that I didn’t have to stay stuck in my sin! That was the beginning of God doing an incredible work of sanctification in my life. And I remain forever grateful for it. And now, in God’s great mercy, I have the privilege of teaching it to you. What a humbling privilege! Today, we are studying The Bible’s Inerrancy.
When we say the Bible’s inerrancy, what that means is the Bible is incapable of being wrong (COED); free from error (MW).
In his book, Can I Trust the Bible?, Pastor and Theologian RC Sproul said:
The issue is crucial. It is via the Scriptures that the church historically has claimed to understand matters of faith and life, from God’s creation of all things from nothing to the significance of the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ to the ultimate consummation of all things toward which history is moving. If the Bible is unreliable in what it teaches about these things, the church is left to speculate and has nothing of value to speak to the world. Can I Trust the Bible? by RC Sproul (Whole Series – “Crucial Questions” free on Kindle!!)
Did you hear what is on the table regarding this issue? “If the Bible is unreliable in what it teaches… the church is left to speculate and has nothing of value to speak to the world.” Our faith and practice are founded upon the truthfulness or inerrancy of the Bible, which as we’re about to see, is founded upon the truthfulness of God.
As I mentioned in the first sermon in this series, it is not our intent to provide a full-fledged defense of the reality of God in this series. We will get to study the nature and character of God in more depth in our December series Let God Reign.
For this series, we are starting from the position of belief that there is a God who has made all things. It is the only logically consistent position for the intelligent design we see in our world. Our aim this morning is…
Responding rightly to the truth about Scripture
In doing this, we begin with God’s character. In this case, our study today…
- Begins with recognizing God’s truthfulness
Truthfulness – He is the true God, and all his knowledge and words are both true and the final standard of truth
This is Theologian Wayne Grudem’s definition for truthfulness. I don’t know about you, but anytime someone uses the word (or a synonym) to define it, it seems a bit circular so let’s define true. True is what corresponds to fact or reality. Let’s plug that back into our definition.
Truthfulness – He is the God that corresponds to reality, and all his knowledge and words are both factual and the final standard of reality.
Now that is a powerful statement! Yahweh, our God, is the one who is real and whose words are right and factual and determine what is real! It’s not that some outside source confirmed God’s truthfulness; what we are saying is that God in Himself is true/He is what is real. He defines what is true/real. No one else. This is the testimony of God found in both the Old and New Testaments.
Let’s look at God’s famous revelation of himself to Moses on Mount Sinai:
Exodus 34:6 (ESV)
6 The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, (Heb. Emet)
The word faithfulness is the Hebrew word emet which means true/truth/faithful/reliable. God is revealing himself as the God of truth or faithfulness. These English words are often used interchangeably depending on the context.
Or how about God’s revelation of himself through the Prophet Jeremiah. In chapter 10, he reveals his character in comparison to the idols of their day.
Jeremiah 10:10 (ESV)
10 But the Lord is the true (Heb. Emet) God;
he is the living God and the everlasting King.
At his wrath the earth quakes,
and the nations cannot endure his indignation.
Unlike the idols who were made of wood and silver/gold, Yahweh is alive and everlasting. He is the true God who rules over all. In the book of Jeremiah, He proves Himself as the True God by bringing to pass what He had promised years earlier – that the Babylonians would carry Judah away into exile. God also foretells through Jeremiah that He would rescue and redeem a faithful remnant of Judah out of Babylon too. This also came to pass and is a fact of world history! Only the True God who speaks the truth can determine the rise and fall of nations like this.
This character quality of God is also affirmed in the New Testament. During his public ministry, Jesus said:
John 14:6 (ESV)
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
Jesus is making an exclusive truth claim here. He is the only way to God and He is the truth. He corresponds to reality. Jesus is helping his disciples understand that he is God and that he speaks the truth. At the very beginning of John’s Gospel, he described Jesus in this language:
John 1:14 (ESV)
14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Both the Father and Son are the True God, full of truth. But consider how Jesus speaks of God the Holy Spirit, the third member of the Trinity:
John 16:13 (ESV)
13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.
He is the Spirit of truth who guides them into all the truth! The Scripture testifies clearly to the truthfulness of God.
Listen to how Jesus later speaks of God the Father in his prayer with his disciples:
John 17:3 (ESV)
3 And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.
Jesus spoke of the Father as the ONLY TRUE God. This is His character. He is the God of truth. The God who really is. The Great I AM – as Jack pointed out last week. Jesus’ ministry and testimony enables us to know this about God. The Apostle John testified to this:
1 John 5:20 (ESV)
20 And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.
Because of the finished work of Jesus Christ, we are able to know him who is true and be “in him who is true”. This is a powerful statement about the union we have with God through Jesus Christ. Sinners like us can be united to our Holy, True God through faith in Jesus!
What I hope you take away from this survey of Scripture is that God is true and the source of truth. Because he is true, that means that all He says is true and reliable. He always does what he promises to do, and we can depend on him. King David testified to this reality upon God making a covenant with him:
2 Samuel 7:28 (ESV)
28 And now, O Lord God, you are God, and your words are true, and you have promised this good thing to your servant.
In fact, the Scriptures tell us that as the God of truth, God cannot lie.
Numbers 23:19 (ESV)
19 God is not man, that he should lie,
or a son of man, that he should change his mind.
Has he said, and will he not do it?
Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?
Titus 1:1–3 (ESV)
Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the sake of the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth, which accords with godliness, 2 in hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began 3 and at the proper time manifested in his word through the preaching with which I have been entrusted by the command of God our Savior;
Hebrews 6:18 (ESV)
18 so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us.
God is not like us. He never lies. He cannot lie. To lie would go against His character. He is the God of truth. What He says is true and what He promises, He fulfills. There is great hope in this reality! He is the God who keeps his promises, including the promise to rescue and redeem sinners like us.
Let me tie this into the focus of our study for today. Because God is the source of truth and cannot lie, this also means that the Bible, as God’s Word, must be truthful and without error. We know the Bible to be inerrant because its origin is in the True God. If you’re paying attention, this is why understanding the doctrine of inspiration is also essential. Knowing that the Bible are God’s words helps us trust that all they say are true.
This is the testimony of the Psalmist in Psalm 119:
Psalm 119:86 (ESV)
All your commandments are sure;
they persecute me with falsehood; help me!
Psalm 119:89–90 (ESV)
89 Forever, O Lord, your word
is firmly fixed in the heavens.
90 Your faithfulness endures to all generations;
you have established the earth, and it stands fast.
Psalm 119:137–144 (ESV)
137 Righteous are you, O Lord,
and right are your rules.
138 You have appointed your testimonies in righteousness
and in all faithfulness.
139 My zeal consumes me,
because my foes forget your words.
140 Your promise is well tried,
and your servant loves it.
141 I am small and despised,
yet I do not forget your precepts.
142 Your righteousness is righteous forever,
and your law is true.
143 Trouble and anguish have found me out,
but your commandments are my delight.
144 Your testimonies are righteous forever;
give me understanding that I may live.
Psalm 119:160 (ESV)
160 The sum of your word is truth,
and every one of your righteous rules endures forever.
Do you hear the Psalmist’s connections between the character of God and His words? Because God is truthful/faithful/enduring forever, so too is His Word true/faithful/enduring forever. What God declares stands and comes to pass, as we have seen throughout history.
- This has been proven true with the prophecies we’ve studied in Isaiah this year
- Of the Assyrians coming up to the doors of Jerusalem but then being miraculously defeated by an angel of the Lord.
- Of the extension of King Hezekiah’s life, but later deportation of Judah into the hands of the Babylonians
- Of the Immanuel child – fulfilled in the birth of Jesus of Nazareth ~700 years later
- For Good Friday & Easter this year we heard from Isaiah 53 of the foretelling of the Suffering Servant who would suffer and die for his people’s sins – so that many could be counted righteous
- We know this was fulfilled by Jesus at the Cross
(Image from AIG) This graphic reveals just a few of the many fulfilled prophecies found in God’s Word with a specific emphasis on the Messiah.
- The prophecy in Micah about the Messiah being born in Bethlehem, again written hundreds of years before Jesus was born in… Bethlehem.
- The prophecy that the Messiah would come riding on a donkey in Zechariah, fulfilled hundreds of years later by Jesus as he came into Jerusalem.
- Not to mention the prophecies in Daniel that foretold the rise and fall of entire empires accurately! From Babylon to Medo-Persia to Greece to Rome.
- Daniel even foretold the rise to power of Alexander the Great, followed by the final division of his empire to his four generals!
These prophecies and many more like them were foretold long in advance before they ever happened. And then they came to pass, just as it was foretold. In their book I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be An Atheist, authors Frank Turek and Norm Geisler provide evidence from within the pages of Scripture of the prophecies about the Messiah which are perfectly fulfilled in the life and ministry of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. They summarize it this way:
Question: Who, in all the history of the world,
- is from the seed of a woman; (Gen. 3:15)
- from the seed of Abraham; (Gen. 12:3,7)
- from the tribe of Judah; (Gen. 49:10)
- from the line of David; (Jer. 23:5-6)
- was both God and man; (Isa. 9:6)
- was born in Bethlehem; (Mic. 5:2)
- was preceded by a messenger, and visited the Jerusalem temple before it was destroyed in A.D. 70; (Mal. 3:1)
- died in A.D. 33; (Dan. 9:26)
- rose from the dead (Isa. 53:11)?
Jesus Christ of Nazareth is the only possible candidate. Only he hits the bull’s-eye. Of course, the case is strengthened further when you consider the other aspects of Isaiah 53. Jesus meets all of those criteria as well.
Geisler, Norman L.; Turek, Frank. I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist (p. 336). Crossway. Kindle Edition.
Here’s my point – every single one of these fulfilled prophecies affirms and supports the truthfulness of God and His Word. Which leads us to our second truth to help us in responding rightly to the truth about Scripture.…
- As God’s Word, Scripture is inerrant
Inerrant – incapable of being wrong (COED); free from error (MW).
This is not a word that is used in Scripture of itself but is the belief that we arrive at from a study of God’s character and Word. It is the necessary conclusion of what God has revealed about Himself and His Word. I’ve already sought to make the case for you in the many fulfilled prophecies we find in the Word. So now, let’s turn our attention to the ways this truth plays out in our daily lives.
Because God’s word is true and incapable of being wrong, it points us to the true way of salvation. Let’s consider what it reveals to us about this. Perhaps the most succinct explanation is found in Romans 3:
Romans 3:23–26 (ESV)
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. 26 It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
In this passage we are told the truth about our human nature outside of faith in Jesus Christ… we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. This is a stunning indictment of humanity. Earlier in Romans 3:10-11, we are told “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God.” This is our spiritual state upon entering this world. We are rebels against a Holy God and deserving of divine judgment.
Thankfully, as we heard in Romans 3:24-26, this is not the end of the matter. God knew that we were going to sin, and He made a way for sinners to be redeemed and reconciled (at peace) with Him. As you hear in verse 24, this is a gift of grace (freely given, not earned) and it comes through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus – the One whom God sent to pay for our sins.
What you are hearing is that redemption is possible! You do not have to stay dead in your sin and fear the judgment of God. Jesus has done a great work of redemption through his death, burial, and resurrection in our place. Verse 25 uses the big word “propitiation” to describe what he did. This means that Jesus not only took the wrath meant for us, but he also satisfied that wrath. There is no wrath left for those who are in Christ!
But a response to Jesus’ finished work is necessary – notice in verse 25 it says, “to be received by faith”. This is the way of salvation – believe in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins and salvation of your soul! When a sinful man/woman/boy/girl does this, the promise is that they will be “justified” which means declared righteous/innocent. If your faith is in Jesus, then God looks at you through the finished work of His Son and sees a person who is clothed with Christ’s righteousness. This is the true gospel and any other teachings that contradict it or require “works” to be saved are false!
What an incredible hope! Are you thankful for the truth of the Gospel? This is the only way of salvation! As we heard Jesus say earlier:
John 14:6 (ESV)
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
Paul rehearses this glorious truth in Ephesians 1:13-14:
Ephesians 1:13–14 (ESV)
13 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.
As the truth, God’s Word makes us wise unto salvation through faith in Jesus and gives us the hope of eternal life. When you are saved, you are sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of your eternal inheritance. Hallelujah, thank you, Jesus! We ought to rejoice in this marvelous truth this morning! *pause*
Not only is the inerrant Word able to make us wise unto salvation, it is also able to grow us in holiness. As Jesus was praying with his disciples after the Last Supper, he prayed:
John 17:17 (ESV)
17 Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.
Sanctify means to make holy. Jesus’ prayer and expectation was that the Father would make these disciples holy through the truth of His Word! This is very much what Paul prioritized in his writings:
Titus 1:1 (ESV)
Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the sake of the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth, which accords with godliness,
Paul is a servant of God for the sake of the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth! This truth accords with godliness – it is able to make them wise unto godliness. This is why it is so important to be men and women of the Word! You need to know what God says so you can live the way God calls you to live and think the way God calls you to think and desire the things God calls you to desire. He will change you through His Word!
This is also why it is important for local churches and pastors to teach the Word rather than put on a show every week. The Word is what God’s people need. The Word is what the unbelieving world needs. When sound doctrine is taught from the pulpit the lost will be saved and the sheep will be fed! It is sickening to see how many charlatans are in the pulpit, preaching their culturally relevant messages, making disciples not of Jesus but of the world. As the Psalmist says about the Word:
Psalm 19:10–11 (ESV)
10 More to be desired are they than gold,
even much fine gold;
sweeter also than honey
and drippings of the honeycomb.
11 Moreover, by them is your servant warned;
in keeping them there is great reward.
I hope you come to church saying, “GIVE ME THE WORD!” Who cares how Indiana Jones or Star Wars has redemptive themes that we can draw upon?! Those are works of fiction! “GIVE ME THE WORD OF TRUTH THAT FEEDS MY SOUL.” Why in the world would you want to be entertained at church when holiness is on the line?! “GIVE ME THE WORD! I WANT TO KNOW MY GOD.”
Do we truly understand what is at stake here?! HEAVEN AND HELL! Shame on those who masquerade as pastors and deceive the masses.
Thank God that, as the truth, His Word confronts lies/false teaching/ungodly ways of life. This was the case back in the 1st century, when Paul wrote to Timothy, and it is still true today. I want to read an extended passage from 1 Timothy to you now. Go ahead and turn there as this one is too long to put on the screen. When you get there, I want you to pay attention to the flow of this passage. Notice how it addresses both truth and error.
2 Timothy 3:1–4:5 (ESV)
But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. 2 For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, 4 treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people. 6 For among them are those who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions, 7 always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth. 8 Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, men corrupted in mind and disqualified regarding the faith. 9 But they will not get very far, for their folly will be plain to all, as was that of those two men.
10 You, however, have followed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness, 11 my persecutions and sufferings that happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, and at Lystra—which persecutions I endured; yet from them all the Lord rescued me. 12 Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, 13 while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. 14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it 15 and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
I 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: 2 preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. 3 For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, 4 and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. 5 As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.
Paul, directed by God the Holy Spirit, writes about these days that are difficult. When people are selfish and sinful. When the men in authority deceive and take advantage of others with their lies and falsehood. He warns of the inevitable persecutions that will come if you choose to live for Christ, while those who are evil will continue their downward spiral from bad to worse. These are the days of Paul and Timothy. These are the days we live in still. Until Christ returns, this kind of behavior will be present.
But for Timothy, and for the faithful saints throughout history, we are to cling to the sacred writings, which make us wise for salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. We are to remember and hold as precious the fact that these Words are His Words. They have been given to us for our teaching, our reproof, our correction, and our training in righteousness. If we live by them, they will guide us into spiritual maturity.
The charge to Timothy and to all who desire to be God’s faithful is to preach the word. PREACH THE WORD. Not preach the movies. Not preach pop culture. Not preach your best life now. PREACH THE WORD. Reprove. Rebuke. Exhort. With complete patience and teaching. The teaching you hear from the pulpit, whether it is this one or any other, ought to be directly in line with the content and intended interpretation and application of the WORD. And it ought to confront you each week. It ought to cause your soul to sing. It ought to challenge you to be a better man or woman or son or daughter or employee or husband or wife. A better person. BECAUSE GOD IS NOT INTENDING TO LEAVE YOU WHERE YOU ARE AT. HE WANTS YOU TO BE COMPLETE, EQUIPPED FOR EVERY GOOD WORK.
And praise God that is who He is and what He intends! Can I get an amen? I don’t want to stay the same. I don’t want to stay stuck in my sin. I want to grow and change. I want to be more like Christ. I want the hope of heaven to be realized in my life more today than it was yesterday and more tomorrow than it is today! Do you? Be thankful when preaching challenges you to change. It’s for your eternal good. Be wary when preaching is full of feel-good statements and “You can do-its”.
3 For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, 4 and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.
Do not be this kind of person! Do not look for a pastor who tells you what you want to hear. Look for a pastor who tells you what God says in His Word. And who is himself submitted to the Word of God.
I don’t know about you, but I am so tired of hearing of pastors falling. Of churches and entire denominations departing from the clear teaching of Scripture. THIS IS NOT A GAME. ETERNITY IS ON THE LINE. I want to stand firm in the faith until the end, don’t you?! Then please join me in prayer right now on this matter. Right in the middle of the sermon.
Pray
God help us. We are weak and needy people. Thank you for the Savior. Help us never to depart from the truth of your Word. Please forgive us when we are tempted to doubt your goodness and truthfulness. Help us to believe and obey your Word, which is our standard of truth. Though our world and many others forsake the Word, may we be a people and a church who stands firmly upon it. Help us not to be hearers only, but doers as well. And please rescue those who are stuck in false churches with wolves masquerading as shepherds. And to you be the glory and the honor in all of it, Lord. Amen.
Again, in the wise words of Pastor RC Sproul,
Ultimately, we believe the Bible to be inerrant because it comes from God Himself. It is unthinkable to contemplate that God might be capable of error. Therefore, His Word cannot possibly contain errors. This is our faith—we can trust the Bible because we can trust God. (Can I Trust the Bible? By RC Sproul)
So, in our aim to respond rightly to the truth about Scripture, we have established that it…
- Begins with recognizing God’s truthfulness
- As God’s Word, Scripture is inerrant
And now we conclude with our right response…
- I must believe, obey, and hope in God’s inerrant word
I don’t normally include this many quotes in my sermons, but I thought this one from J.I. Packer so captured what I mean by this final takeaway:
Christians will tell you, if you ask them, that the Word of God has both convinced them of sin and assured them of forgiveness. Their consciences, like Luther’s, are captive to the Word of God, and they aspire, like the psalmist, to have their whole lives brought into line with it.
“Oh, that my ways were steadfast in obeying your decrees!” “Do not let me stray from your commands.” “Teach me your decrees. Let me understand the teaching of your precepts.” “Turn my heart toward your statutes.” “May my heart be blameless toward your decrees” (Ps 119:5, 10, 26-27, 36, 80). The promises are before them as they pray, and the precepts are before them as they go about their daily tasks.
Packer, J. I.. Knowing God (Knowing God Set) (p. 130). InterVarsity Press. Kindle Edition.
(Main Points Slide) This is the heart of a Christian. Is this your desire? – “GIVE ME YOUR WORD!” It is our source of truth and the lamp to our feet. By it we are convicted and by it we are changed. By it we are assured of our forgiveness and confident in our salvation.
As God’s inerrant word, the Scriptures are the truth we need for life and godliness, and they speak with God’s authority to change our life. Your necessary response is to believe in the Word for salvation. Obey it for sanctification. And hope in their teachings as you endure the trials and tribulations of this present life.
The Bible is full of examples of God’s people being confronted for failing to obey the truth. It is on nearly every page. So don’t believe the lie that it isn’t relevant for you. The struggles we face today are quite similar to the struggles the early church or the people of Israel faced. We are still prone to selfishness, worship of things other than the One, True God, and we are still living in a world broken by sin and suffering, just as they were. The Bible is incredibly relevant for you. Pick it up and read it. Daily. Put effort into understanding what it says. Then do it. Allow it to change you.
Maybe for you, it is opening your eyes to salvation in Jesus Christ. If you are here and you’re wrestling with what you believe, pick up a Bible and begin reading in the Gospel of John. You’re welcome to take one of the Bibles we have here. Keep it as a gift from us to you.
For others, pray that God would open your eyes to specific areas you need to change. Or specific truths to rejoice in. The Scriptures give us wise counsel on how to live righteously and many reasons to have hope. *pause*
I’ll close with this…
What the trustworthy God has promised, He will accomplish.
Isaiah 46:8–11 (ESV)
8 “Remember this and stand firm,
recall it to mind, you transgressors,
9 remember the former things of old;
for I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and there is none like me,
10 declaring the end from the beginning
and from ancient times things not yet done,
saying, ‘My counsel shall stand,
and I will accomplish all my purpose,’
11 calling a bird of prey from the east,
the man of my counsel from a far country.
I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass;
I have purposed, and I will do it.
Communion
We are going to close out our services today by worshiping the Lord through the celebration of communion or the Lord’s table.
Communion is an opportunity for Christians to remember all that the Lord has done for us through his death, burial, and resurrection. This is an opportunity for Christians to remember that we have embraced the promised hope of Christ for the forgiveness of our sins and salvation of our souls!
We will celebrate by partaking of both the bread and the cup as a symbol and reminder of Jesus’ body broken in our place and his blood shed for the forgiveness of our sins. Communion is an opportunity to remember how great a price was paid so that we could be saved from our sin. It is a sobering, yet joyful celebration for Christians. Sobering that the Son of God would give himself for us as a ransom. Joyful that he did, and the result is a living hope that cannot be taken from us! Jesus is victorious; therefore, we have the hope of heaven with Him!
At this time, I’d like to invite the ushers forward with the elements.
Before we pass them, I want to share the biblical requirements for joining in this celebration.
This celebration was given by Jesus to his followers. We invite anyone who has trusted in Jesus Christ alone for salvation to join us in this celebration today. If your faith is not in Jesus Christ alone, then we would encourage you to let the elements pass by you and simply consider what you’ve heard so far during the service this morning and reflect on what is keeping you from trusting him for the forgiveness of your sins and salvation of your soul.
The second requirement we see in Scripture is a call to examine ourselves. This is the idea of making sure that you’ve confessed any known sins and sought to turn away from it. It would not be wise to partake of the table if you have sin in your life for which you are not repentant. Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 11 that taking the table while living in sin is eating and drinking judgment on yourself. I would ask you not to do that, for your sake and the sake of God’s glory. Instead, I would encourage you to use this time to confess that sin and make a plan to address it right away. If you know you need to be reconciled to someone else in this church, please take care of that during this time. The table is time to protect the unity of the church.
The ushers are going to pass the elements now as we have a time of silent reflection and prayer to prepare for the table. Please use this time to reflect on all that we’ve talked about today and to prepare yourself to take communion by confessing and repenting of any known sin. After the elements have been passed, I’ll lead us in prayer and taking communion together.
Ushers pass elements
Silent prayer. Corporate prayer.
1 Corinthians 11:23–26 (ESV)
23 For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”
Take bread.
25 In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
Take cup
Hallelujah, thank you, Jesus!