Did Jesus Believe the Bible? - Peace Church, Loyal OK

Jesus said, "Peace I leave with you; My peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid."
John 14:27 NIV

Loyal, OK

Pastor Leon Seaton

Third in a Series on the Sermon on the Mount from Matthew

Did Jesus Believe in the Bible?

In one word, YES! He often quoted from the Old Testament – the only Bible He had. He said, “As it was in the days of Noah” and “The only sign you will have is that of Jonah.” He said, “My time has not yet come” when people asked Him to do certain things. However, when it was time to go to the cross He said, “All scriptures must be fulfilled.”

The real question is, “Do I – do you believe the Bible enough to act on it?”

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.

“Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.” -Jesus Christ, Matthew 5:17-20

I never cease to be amazed at what some people teach about the Bible! It is the Word of God and we need to study it and practice what it says – even when we do not understand it.

When I get to heaven I really do not want to explain to God why I just ignored parts of His Word.

I think my greatest fear is pastoring the “First Church of Compromise” instead of teaching what God says.

Last week I received one of the most amazing church newsletters I have ever seen. It was from a church back east. It was entitled “How to end wars forever.”

They thought that the world would be more peaceful if Christians would pray to Allah instead of God. “After all,” they said, “Allah is just another name for God.” Also, they wanted to stop using the initials BC (Before Christ) and AD which means Anno Domino, meaning the “year of our Lord.”

Instead they want us to use B.C.E. and CE instead. That way no one would be offended by using Christian references. BCE means “Before Common Era” and CE means “Common Era.”

While I can certainly understand why the atheists would want to do this, but people that claim to be Christians it – well, it just disappoints me! I have to wonder about principles and leadership.

Now, before I start ranting and raving, please let me share a poem I found on the Internet:

'The Door To Peace Opens Inward' by Bob Butler

I’ve lived in this house for forty years now,
Unable to experience what each room has to offer.
When I wanted to be happy, the door to laughter would not open
When I wanted to be rich, the door to success was shut too.
When I wanted to feel love, I’d knock, but no answer
So I was stuck in the room of self for a long time

Everyday I would venture out into the hall of hope
only to find these doors and many others still closed.
Then one day I ventured up the stairs of faith,
and came the door of Belief…
On the door was the following…
“When you seek happiness for yourself it will always elude you”
“When you seek Happiness for others, you will find it yourself”

“Pull”

So I pulled,
And lo & behold
The door opened!!

And the room was filled with Peace

I left that room a different Person,
No longer alone, nor scared
Downstairs I found a new life!
All the doors would now easily open to welcome me in.

For they too opened inward,
And all I had to do was stop Pushing for me,

And Pull

For my brothers and sisters of this world
who live in this house too!!! copyright © Bob Butler 2007

WWJD

Saturday’s Oklahoman had an article that stated that some believers hesitate to call themselves Christians because many Christians are seen as harsh and judgmental. They want to follow Jesus, but feel that the name “Christian” has been dragged in the mud. This is true in some situations.

After my wife read the story I asked her how our church should change. She responded, “We should just keep trucking.” (Evidently we passed that inspection with flying colors!)

One of my life-guiding principle is in the question, “What would Jesus do?” about a situation. Since Jesus is all-wise, all-knowing and all-loving we should seek to emulate him at all times.

In today’s text. Jesus was emphatic that God be honored in all that He said and did. He was also emphatic that heaven and earth would pass away before even a little change could be made in the written language of the Bible. This compares to not crossing a “t” or dotting an “i.”

Let’s set aside religious philosophy for a few minutes. Yes, we have “the old time religion that makes us love everybody.”

Yes, we are to love and pray for our enemies and those that despitefully use us.

But following God’s law does not mean that we have to be rude and angry.

A true follower of Jesus Christ will not change or ignore any of God's commandments.

We are not allowed to create an easier way to heaven. Jesus said that He was the only way and we are to take up our cross and follow Him.

Crosses are not pretty things! They stand for sacrifice and death!

No sinner can enjoy Christ's justifying righteousness, until he repents of his sin.

God’s mercy leads the believer to hate sin and deny our own personal glory so that God may be glorified in our lives.

The law of the Bible is our lifetime guideline, and we delight in obeying God. This is not to say our sinful nature will not rebel. We all know better than that!

Therefore, if we pretend to be Christ's disciple, yet we tell ourselves it is okay to disregard the teaching of Scripture, we are not true disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Christ's righteousness is imputed to us by faith alone and is needed by every one of us if we want to enter the kingdom of God.

2 Corinthians 5:21 states, “God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.”

Impute, Imputation (A theological term)

To put on someone else’s account the blessing, curse, or debt of someone else. Adam's sin is imputed to all people (Romans 5:12-21), therefore, we are all guilty before God. Our sins were put upon, imputed, to Jesus on the cross where He became sin on our behalf (2 Corinthians 5:21) and died with them (Isaiah 53:4-6). Therefore, our sins are forgiven. Understanding imputation is very important. Imputation is the means of our salvation. Our sins were put upon, imputed, to Jesus on the cross. Our sins were "given" to Jesus. When He died on the cross, our sins, in a sense, died with Him. The righteousness that was His through His perfect obedience to the Father in His complete obedience to the Law is imputed, given, to us. In short, our sins were given to Jesus. His righteousness was given to us. Technically speaking our sins were imputed to Jesus. His righteousness was imputed to us.

-Found at www.carm.org (Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry)

Therefore, 2 Corinthians 5:17 is true for each of us: “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”

“We who are Jews by birth and not 'Gentile sinners' know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified.

“If, while we seek to be justified in Christ, it becomes evident that we ourselves are sinners, does that mean that Christ promotes sin? Absolutely not! If I rebuild what I destroyed, I prove that I am a lawbreaker. For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God.

“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.

“I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!” -The Apostle Paul, Galatians 2:15-21

Keeping the law – or the Ten Commandments – will not save you. In the Old Testament we are taught you must be a rule keeper. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus raises the standard. Jesus taught us that we have to watch our thoughts and feelings!

In Matthew 5:18-30, Jesus preached:

“I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.

"You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.' But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, 'Raca, ' is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, 'You fool!' will be in danger of the fire of hell.

"Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you; leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.”

"Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still with him on the way, or he may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. I tell you the truth; you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.

"You have heard that it was said, 'Do not commit adultery.' But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.”

Did Jesus believe the scriptures? Absolutely! Dare we do any less!

Sunday, October 28, 2007