"Doctrine Matters:
The Bible - Our Guidebook for Life"
November 4, 2007
Pastor Phil Stevenson
Sermon Title: Doctrine Matters: The Bible—Our Guidebook for Life
Text: 2 Kings 22-23
Whidbey Island Evangelical Free Church, 874 Plantation Drive, Greenbank, WA 98253, 360-678-4612, office, Pastor Phil Stevenson
Introduction:
I’d like to introduce you to a man that I am confident saved my life and the lives of my wife and 3 oldest children probably several times on a December afternoon 2 years ago. This man’s name was Tembo. And it was of our own choosing that we entrusted our lives to him. I wish I had a picture of him that I could show you. If I did you would have a little more empathy why we would entrust our lives into the hands of someone we had just briefly met. Tembo exuded confidence and strength. He was probably 6’1” or 6’3” with broad shoulders and smile just as broad. He was all muscles and as our Zambezi River whitewater rafting guide he had a commanding presence. You could tell he knew what he was doing.
The first thing he did was to tell us that we must follow his orders at all times doing exactly what he told us. We would be traversing several class 5 rapids and if we did not follow his instructions we could be in for big trouble. He showed us how to paddle when he yelled paddle and where to hang on for dear life when he yelled everyone down. Once we got into the boat and started down the river, his first command was to jump overboard. I think he wanted to show us how warm the water was and then he yelled, “Everybody in!” We swam to the boat and tried to heave ourselves back in. Each of us tried multiple times but it was hopeless. “Here’s how it works. If I tell you get into the boat, you come over grab hold of the security rope and you hang on. I’ll get you into the boat.” And with a single hand Tembo grabbed each of us by the back of lifejacket and lifted systematically lifted each of us into the boat. I remember looking at Lisa and seeing the look in her eye that said, “I like this guy. He can pick us up with one hand and throw us around. I think we’ll be safe.”
Before we knew it we were facing our first rapids, the Terminator. Each section of the rapids has a name. After the Terminator came the Ugly Sisters, then the Washing Machine, the Gnashing Jaws of Death, and so on. Our favorite was Oblivion. After the initial charge down and the immediate ascension of the front tip, the rapids rip you around so that the back end of the boat, where Tembo stood on his platform, was racing toward a tall wall of solid rock. “Paddle, Paddle, Paddle,” he yelled. And so we with our short little plastic and aluminum paddles paddled while he with his 16 foot wooden oars strained against the river. I think it was just for effect and to make us think that we were actually making something happen. Needless to say we had been to oblivion and back.
When the river was calm, Tembo would let us float beside the boat or even swim freestyle. On one occasion he had given us permission to jump in. We were happily soaking in the experience, when Tembo urgently called, “Everybody in the boat. Now, everybody in!” We all swam to our spots and with great speed Tembo lifted us each back into our spots. Tembo’s face told us to do our jobs with out any questions. We still had Double Trouble and the Last Straw to overcome, and Tembo didn’t let up or allow the excitement to die. After the last rapid we were nearing our destination, just gliding through the calm water and enjoying the incredible scenery around us when I asked, “Hey Tembo, can you tell us what was going on back there? You were pretty serious about us getting back into the boat. What was the deal?” “Well I’ve been doing this for a lot of years, and I haven’t lost one person to a crocodile. I wasn’t about to let today be my first.”
We were so thankful to have Tembo for our guide. In fact it was all because of our guide that we had the freedom to be risky and enjoy the exhilaration of being let loose on one of the wildest rivers in the world, all because of our guide.
Life is like the Zambezi River. It’s filled with class 5 and class 6 rapids. It’s filled with crocodiles and water snakes. And if you think that you can traverse this life without a guide who knows the river and who knows the dangers, you’re as crazy to think that you could raft the Zambezi without Tembo. Fortunately, God has done even more than what we had on the Zambezi. Not only has He left us a guide in His Holy Spirit but He’s also given us a guidebook to help equip us with everything we need for life and godliness.
Our denomination wants us to have the same kind of confidence in life that we had on then Zambezi River. This is why it makes the statement that it makes regarding the Bible. Turn to the back of your sermon notes and you will find the proposed revised statement regarding the Bible.
“We believe that God has spoken in the Scriptures both Old and New Testament through the words of human authors. As the verbally inspired Word of God, the Bible is without error in the original writings, (This means that we believe that “the Holy Spirit guided the writers of Scripture such that even the choice of their words conformed to God’s purpose and intention.”-Comments to the Statement of Faith Revision pdf, p. 4. Therefore, it is the inerrant word of God. It’s not just a book that contains the word of God but is the inspired and inerrant Word of God.) …the complete revelation of His will for salvation (In this book is contained the special revelation that guides a person beyond the general revelation to salvation in Jesus Christ.), and it is the ultimate authority by which every realm of human knowledge and endeavor should be judged. (Since it is the Word of God who is sovereign in power and limitless in knowledge,) Therefore, it is to be believed in all that it teaches, obeyed in all that it requires, and trusted in all that it promises.”
Plenty of evidence exists to support this kind of a commitment to the Bible. I know of no other book that can make the claims that it makes. This is a book that has been written by over 40 different authors from every walk of life. There were kings and peasants, philosophers, fishermen, poets, statesmen, scholars, a tax collector, doctor, shepherds, a military general. Over a period of at least 1500 years none of these writers contradicted the other in controversial subject matters. Historically accurate, archeologically attested, prophetically precise, internally consistent, and thematically unified, the Bible stands alone in its influence over the course of human history. Millions of peoples’ lives have been transformed by the power of this word. As our memory verse for this week claims: “The Word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” (Heb. 4:12)
Even though this and much more evidence exists to support the supremacy of God’s Word over any other written word, ultimately it is the work of the Holy Spirit in a person’s life that will convince them of the authoritative nature of the Bible. It’s living out the last sentence of the statement of faith: to be believed in all that it teaches, obeyed in all that it requires, and trusted in all that it promises; living out this affirmation is what will guide you through the river of life. This book along with the ever present work of the Holy Spirit in your life will show you the way to avoid the crocs of life while also experiencing the exhilaration of riding the class 5 rapids in life. But the Bible must be embraced and understood from this doctrinal position. To water down such a statement will leave you vulnerable and susceptible to dangerous waters.
With what time remains let’s look at a person from the Bible who exemplified the why and the how of elevating God’s word to this level of commitment. The person is King Josiah and the example of his life is found in 2 Kings 22-23. Turn with me and I want to show you a few examples of why and how God’s word should be elevated in our lives to this status of always being believed, obeyed, and trusted.
Here’s the setting Josiah has been king for 18 years in Jerusalem. Having been described as one of those rare kings in Jewish history who did what was right in the eyes of the Lord and walked in all the way of David his Father, Josiah commissioned a renovation of the temple. While the temple is being restored, “Hilkiah the priest finds the Book of the Law in the house of the Lord.” (That’s 22:8) “And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, and he read it. Read 22:9-17. There’s the first reason why the Bible should be believed, obeyed, and trusted.
2 Reasons why the Bible should be believed, obeyed, and trusted.
1. To Avoid God’s Wrath. God’s word is clear that not obeying His Words leads to idolatry which will lead to disaster. Therefore my wrath will be kindled against this place and it will not be quenched. Josiah understood immediately that the predicament he was in was a result of the failure to obey God’s word. Notice the present tense of the verb in verse 13. “For great is the wrath of the Lord that is kindled against us.” Why? “because our fathers have not obeyed the words of this book, to do according to all that is written concerning us.”
It’s as if the light goes on for Josiah. The problem is that our fathers have forsaken the Word of the Lord and what we are experiencing now is just what the Book of the Law said would happen. I’m sure that Duet. 30 was still ringing in his ears. (30:15ff) “See I have set before you today life and good, death and evil….”
From the beginning God’s word has said idolatry leads to destruction. This message is consistent throughout the Book. Disbelief always leads to judgment. It was true in the Garden of Eden. It will be true and the judgment seat. Believe what it teaches. Obey what it requires. Trust what it promises and you will avoid the wrath of God.
Josiah’s example shows us another reason. We will…
2. To Experience God’s compassion personally. Look at 22:18. Read 22:18-20. When Josiah heard the words of the Book of the Law, his heart was penitent and humbled. God always rewards those who respond in this way with grace. Again this is a consistent theme throughout the Scriptures. “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” (James 4:8) “For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.” (Ps. 51:16-17) Because of this heart attitude of submission and trust, Josiah was granted compassion from the Lord.
For us this compassion comes through various benefits. The greatest expression of God’s compassion is our salvation. Saving faith comes through hearing God speak to our hearts through His word. Rom. 10:17 says that faith comes through hearing the word of Christ. And it is in God’s word that Jesus Christ is revealed as our savior. “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” This is the compassion of God to make that known to us.
It’s the compassion of God to give us spiritual nourishment through His Word. Jesus said Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. Psalm 1 says meditating on the Law of the Lord day and night makes you like a prosperous tree that will yield fruit in its season. One of the benefits of God’s compassion is that you Thrive Spiritually. God’s word corrects, instructs, rebukes, and trains all who will learn from it so that we become thoroughly equipped to do the works God has for us to do. All these benefits are an expression of God’s compassion.
I know when I was hanging on the side of the raft struggling to get into the boat, I greatly appreciated Tembo’s compassion on me. I’m sure if I had disobeyed his commands and made no efforts to climb into the boat, he would not have been very compassionate toward me. Instead I think he may have left me to my own struggles or even to fend for myself against the crocodiles. That would not have been a pretty sight. It’s the same in life. Our response to God’s word puts us in a place to receive God’s compassion and grace personally.
These are 2 very important reasons to believe, obey, and trust the Word of God. As we do we will avoid the wrath of God and instead experience His compassion.
Let me conclude with some thoughts on how we elevate God’s word as believable, obeyable and trustworthy (My spell-checker says obeyable is not a word, but I’m going to use it anyway. You get what I mean.)
3 Ways to Elevate God’s Word in our Lives.
Look at what Josiah does first. He made a public commitment to believe, obey, and trust the word of the Lord. Read. 23:1-3. What a great example! First he reads it publicly and then he commits before all the people to walk after the Lord, to obey the Word of God and he trusts with all his heart and all his soul. This is the way each of us needs to elevate God’s Word in our lives. We need to…
1. Go Public with our commitment to God’s Word. God’s word needs to be our final authority in the way we live our lives Mon.-Sat. just as much as it is on Sunday. I’m not talking about being public about your commitment to God’s word just on Sundays. If what we say in our doctrine is true then God’s word should be informing every dimension of our lives. Elevating God’s Word in our lives is not compartmentalizing our lives into sacred and secular realms. All of life is sacred and the Bible is the ultimate authority by which every realm of human knowledge and endeavor should be judged. That means the Bible speaks to how you build airplanes or sell houses or teach children or wire houses or build septic systems or make furniture or grow vegetables or fix cars. It addresses how we speak to co-workers on the job and clerks in the stores and brothers and sisters in the bedroom. It guides us through all kinds of major decisions about who to marry and how to spend our money and in what job I can best serve God.
We need to be very public about our commitment to God’s Word. Don’t hesitate to say I don’t do this or that because God’s word tells me not to. Don’t hesitate to say I do this or that because God’s Word tells me to do this or that. Now that means you’re going to be like Josiah and read it. Reading, meditating, memorizing God’s word is the only way you’re going to be able to go public with it. Moving on, a second way to elevate God’s word in our lives…
2. Destroy Everything that Opposes God’s Word. Look at what Josiah does next. For the next 16 verses Josiah destroys the host of idols that had infiltrated the nation. I counted 18 acts of destruction instigated by Josiah. He tears down altars. He burns idols. He deposes priests and puts them to death. He beats the burnt idols to dust and casts the dust on the graves to desecrate the image. He removes horses dedicated to the sun. He tears down the houses of male prostitutes that were used in the religious rituals, and the list goes on and on. The destructive choices of past kings like Ahaz & Manasseh & Solomon & Jeroboam are all dealt with severely. His actions encompassed the farthest north to the farthest south of Judah in order to put Jerusalem back at the center of the nation’s worship. The impact of this description is really meant to demonstrate Josiah’s ruthless and comprehensive destruction of everything that stood in opposition to the Word of God.
Again, he’s a great example for us to consider how the idolatry of this world has infiltrated whatever domain we’re over. You and I need to be ruthless in destroying everything that opposes the Word of God in our lives. We need to be willing to stand for what is holy and pure in our homes and in our culture. If we don’t we will forfeit the blessings and incur the wrath of being given over to a wicked and depraved generation.
(William Carey )
Finally, let me say that like Josiah we can elevate the
Word of God in our lives by…
3. Embrace Salvation as proclaimed in God’s
Word. Once Josiah has destroyed the opposition
to God’s Word then he embraces and reestablishes the
Passover. Read 23:21. The Passover was the
celebration of God’s deliverance from the angel of
death, the bondage of slavery, and the inauguration of a
life of freedom with God leading the way. Just as
it was written Josiah embraced the provision that
God’s Word proclaimed.
Our lives can do the same. If Josiah were here among us today I am absolutely confident that he would say embrace the Lord Jesus Christ who became the Passover Lamb. This is the one who has fulfilled all that the Passover typified. And today we don’t celebrate Passover. We celebrate the Lord’s Supper. And what it signifies is the same: deliverance from the angel of death, deliverance from the bondage of slavery to sin, and the inauguration of a life of freedom with God leading the way.
Closing Challenge:
In a moment we are going to celebrate the Lord’s Supper. I want you to consider Josiah’s example and the authority of God’s word in your life. I want you to reflect with a humble and penitent heart about the ways in which you have treated the Word of God in your life. Have you first and foremost embraced the salvation through faith in Jesus Christ that is proclaimed by it? Or instead have you treasured the idols of this world instead. Perhaps you need to be as ruthless with your heart as Josiah was with the nation of Judah. Perhaps today is the time to destroy all that is hidden in your heart as an idol and is in opposition to the Word of God. My encouragement to you would be to make your participation in this communion a public expression of your commitment without reservation or hesitation to the Bible as God’s authoritative Word in your life: to believed in all it teaches, to be obeyed in all it requires, to be trusted in all it promises.
We are located at
3770 Highway 525
Greenbank, Washington
That is 2 miles south of Greenbank
and 6 miles north of Freeland by MAP.