UNCOMMON Book Part 1

Uncommon Book: Immerse

 Introduction:  Who has a bible with them…maybe paper or click it on your phone…wave it at me…if you have a bible or a bible app.

We are in groups as a Church walking through the New Testament together…Immerse…where we are Immersing Ourselves into Scripture.

The bible is said to be the Best-Selling Book of all time; But that actually doesn’t do the statistics justice.  The bible is actually the best-selling book every year for the past 100 years.  It is estimated to have sold over 5-Billion copies…not counting the ones that have been given away or pirated.

Transition:  But we as Christ-followers don’t see the bible as just another book on the literary market…we know it to be the Authoritative, Inspired Word of God.

I refer to it as the Last Will and Testament of God to Humanity.

So, What Makes this book so Uncommon and would cause me to want to Immerse myself into it.

Jordan Peterson a Phycologist and Sociologist said recently on a Podcast:  “It isn’t that the Bible is true. It’s that the Bible is the precondition for the manifestation of truth, which makes it way more true than just true. It’s a whole different kind of truth. And I think this is not only literally the case. Factually, I think it can’t be any other way. It’s the only way we can solve the problem of perception.”

But we who love the bible, who study the bible don’t just read and study for truth…we study to know the heart and mind of God…He is where all truth comes from!

2 Peter 3:15-17, 15 And count the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, 16 as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters. There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures. ESV

  • Without a doubt, we are living in this day and time…
  • According to Gallup research in 2022…”The majority of Christians (58%) say the Bible is the inspired word of God but not everything in it is to be taken literally, while 25% say it should be interpreted literally and 16% say it is an ancient book of fables.”
  • What Peter wrote in his second Epistle is Where people are twisting the scripture, distorting it…or not even recognizing it as the Word of God…but rather just a book inspired by the manipulative, evil intentions of men.

2 Tim 3:16-17, 16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. NKJV

  1. Given by inspiration of God.
  2. Greek = God breathed
  3. Latin = divinely inspired
  4. German = given in by God
  5. Swedish = given out by God
  6. Danish = in-blown by God

2 Peter 1:20-21, 20 knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. 21 For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. ESV (Moved is a noun meaning: [propelled] by the Holy Spirit)

Hebrew 1:1 – 2, 1 God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, 2 has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; NKJV

  1. The Bible is actually a Collection of Books…
    1. 66 books in total, making one library.
    2. There is:
      1. Guidelines for life in this library
      2. Psychology, Sociology, and Geology in this library
  • There is a full study of Humanities in this library
  1. There is science in this book…Plato, 250 years before Jesus said the Earth was spherical, yet 550 years before him…Isaiah Prophesied. Even Job, the first book ever written told us the earth was round.
  1. But this library isn’t about any of those things…It is God’s message to us, telling us about Himself.
  • God Inspired over 40 people to write 66 books over the span of 1500 years and in 3 languages…
    1. The Karahn – written in one language.
    2. Book of Mormon – written in one language
    3. Book of Hindu – written in one language
    4. The Bible was written in 3 languages:
      1. Hebrew
      2. Aramaic
  • Greek
  1. This makes the bible a very uncommon and unique book…
  1. The Authors all came from different backgrounds, socio-economic backgrounds, educational backgrounds, and professional backgrounds…
    1. Some I would not have used to write…such as Amos, a Shepherd…
  2. Graphic of the 66 Books laid out…

Transition:  The bible is Uncommon and Unique in its context…

  • It tells us how we can have Eternal Life
  • Gives us the security of knowing our sins can be forgiven.
  • Gives a blueprint of how to live and navigate life, God’s way on planet Earth.
  • 27% of the Bible is Prophecy…of which 300 of those prophecies were fulfilled by Jesus himself…and the odds of that happening are astronomical.

Quotes:

  • Theodore Roosevelt said: “A Thorough knowledge of the Bible is worth more than a college education.”
  • Billy Graham said: “If you are ignorant of God’s word, you’ll always be ignorant of God’s Will.”
  • H. Spurgeon was known to have said: “A bible that is falling apart usually belongs to someone who isn’t.”

 

For Us; Not to Us

There is the need to understand the bible was written to us, but it was written for us…

1 Cor 10:11-12, 11 Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come. ESV

Rom 15:4-5, 4 For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. ESV

  • Old Testament Scholar John Walton put it this way: “The Bible is 100% inspired by God, and we can have confidence that every word in the original documents of the Bible is exactly what God wanted to say.  We believe the Bible is for all people at all times and places to read and gain wisdom from.
    • But the bible wasn’t written in our language as I have noted the 3 languages that make up the original documents.
    • It wasn’t written with our contemporary culture, assumptions, and values in mind.
  • Then and There, Applied to the Here and Now…
  • We don’t change it for the here and now…we APPLY it to the Here and Now…
  • Presentism – uncritical adherence to present-day attitudes, especially the tendency to interpret past events in terms of modern values and concepts

2 Tim 3:16-17, 16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. NKJV

  • Here is the interesting truth…the only part of the bible they had, that Paul is referring to, was the Old Testament…
  • So, when studying the Word of God…you have to understand the scripture in its context…
    • What is Context?
      • Within the Passage
      • It’s historical context.
      • Cultural Context
      • What was it written to…and why then is it for me?
      • What maybe did the original language say…I’ll address that straight forward next week when I address Stranger Things.
    • Laws of God
      • Theologian Thomas Aquinas explained that there are three types of biblical laws:
      • Gal 3:24-25, 24 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. 25 But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster. KJV
  • So, Paul is letting us know that the Law of God…was the schoolmaster that tutored us to repentance…Faith in Christ.
  • Let me put it this way…you’re driving down the road…you look into your rearview mirror and realize I broke a law…not sure which one…but I did something wrong because the Law is flashing their lights behind me.
    • Ceremonial Law:This type of law related to Israel’s worship. (Lev 1:1-13) The laws pointed forward to Jesus Christ and were no longer necessary after Jesus’ death and resurrection. Though we are no longer bound to them, the principles behind the ceremonial laws, to worship and love God, still apply.

      Civil Law: This law dictated Israel’s daily living (Deut 24:10-11); but modern society and culture are so radically different that some of these guidelines cannot be followed specifically. The principles behind the commands are to guide our conduct.

      Moral Law: The moral laws are direct commands of God. A good example is the Ten Commandments (Ex 20:1-17). The moral laws reveal the nature and will of God, and still apply to us today. We do not obey this moral law as a way to obtain salvation, but to live in ways pleasing to God. (segments from, “Life Application Study Bible”)

      The Old Testament Law is where God reveals His nature, His will/lifestyle for humanity, His moral laws, and guidelines for living. But we cannot go to Heaven by keeping that, Law; we must be born again and trust in Jesus.

THE BIBLE TODAY:

Transition:  Where are we today…

Page 44 out of the book on the screen…with an Arrow over a particular portion.

This is where we need to be living and working from…

Next week I’m going to be covering Stranger Things in the Bible….

Closing

  • John 5:39-40, 39 You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, 40 yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life. ESV
  • Paul in his writings reiterated this when he said: “Ever learning but never coming to the knowledge of the truth…”
  • 2 Peter 3:15-17, 15 And count the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, 16 as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters. There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures. ESV
  • All Scripture ultimately points to Salvation through Jesus Christ…
  • Luther said this: “The Bible is the cradle where Jesus has been laid.”

I believe we should study…No one loves studying the depths and nuances of Scripture…The Mysteries and Secrets as I do…but Ultimately…this book is About Jesus and Us knowing Him.

 

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