behold the Bible!
02.25.2013
This open-air message was preached on the campus of Georgia Tech University in Atlanta on February 25, 2013. This stop was part of a larger preaching circuit of 15 college campuses across 5 southern states. Many heard the Word of God this particular day, including Muslims from Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Southern China. An Iranian Muslim conversed with us for a while following this preaching. He requested a Bible, and one was shipped to him.
Good afternoon students. My name is Jesse, and I'm from just up the road in North Carolina. We are standing here today in this free speech zone, and I know it's kind of far from everyone, and perhaps you cannot hear me. Nevertheless, I'd like to take a moment and share a message with you this day, a message from God’s Word, the Holy Bible. I'm not here to yell and scream. I’m not here to act like a clown. I’m not dressed in gaudy clothing with a whole bunch of banners and signs. I'm simply standing here with my Bible in my hand, and I'm hoping that as you pass by, you will hear some seed of truth from this Bible.
You see, the Bible is not just some manmade book. It's not like your science textbook. The Bible is the revelation of God, a special revelation of God, the Creator of heaven and earth. God Himself wrote it through men moved by the Holy Spirit. The Scriptures say:
“For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost” (II Peter 1:21).
I want to read a passage to you from the fourth chapter of Hebrews in the New Testament. It is a claim made by the Word of God concerning the Word of God, a claim that no other religious book claims for itself. Some manmade religious books assert to be from God or gods, but they are full of contradictions and full of prophecies that never came true. But, the Bible makes a claim about itself right here in Hebrews 4:12-13, a claim that I dare say it goes on to back up:
“For the word of God is quick, and powerful …”
My friends, that means living and powerful. It’s a LIVING word.
“… and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”
My friends, God's word can discern your thoughts and your intentions. God's law speaks to your thoughts and your intentions. Our Creator doesn't just look upon the outside, He judges the thoughts and the intents of the heart. Where do you stand before Him when your deepest, darkest secrets are revealed? Elsewhere, the Bible says,
“Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man” (Ecclesiastes 12:13).
Why?
Because “God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil” (Ecclesiastes 12:14).
It goes on to say here in Hebrews 12:13:
“Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.”
[Preacher: What’s this?
Heckler: It's my information.
Preacher: I'm not taking people's information.
Heckler: Sir, sir, no, sir. This is not about, it’s about talking personally not publicly.
Preacher: Well, I’m talking publicly.
Heckler: You're talking publicly? But, I'd like to have a personal conversation.
Preacher: Well, you'll talk personally to my friend over there. I'm preaching right now, and you are interrupting me. That is kind of rude.
Heckler: Wait, wait, wait! I'm not interrupting anyone. I’d like to have a personal conversation with you.
Preacher: Well, when I'm done preaching, I'll be happy to speak with you personally. For now, you can speak with my friend. You know, when your teacher is speaking in class, you don't just go up and interrupt him.
Heckler: What's that? I’d like to have a personal conversation with you, and I just don’t understand why you won’t be sensitive to my feelings and stop to speak with me.
Preacher: I like to preach, and you are not being sensitive to my feelings, sir. Shame on you. You need to repent. I know you want to just mock the Bible. I know exactly what you are up to.]
The Bible is described in this passage as a person. It is referred to with the personal pronoun. Indeed, it is more than just a book. Now, I know many of you would mock the Scriptures and say they are just “written by men” and contradict themselves and contradict “science.” These things simply aren't true. There are no contradictions or errors in the Scriptures.
There may be something apparent when it is ripped out of its context, but when you dive into the text and read it, interpreting it in its proper context, Scripture with Scripture, everything is progressively unfolded—one progressive theme, one truth without contradiction and without compromise. Real observable science is not in conflict with the Bible. In fact, the Holy Word of God made scientific statements long before man-made science “discovered” scientific truth. For example, the Old Testament speaks of the benefits of running water to protect from disease long before our European forefathers in the Middle Ages “discovered” that disease was spread through the use of stale and standing water in times of war and sickness.
The Bible is one book, my friends. It's not just a collection of random writings. It's not just a study in randomness, as can be said of the Quran and some of these other writings that say one thing on one page and then completely contradict themselves on another. God's Word, the Bible, is one book; and it bears distinct marks which attest to this unity.
From its very beginning, the Bible gives testimony to ONE GOD, not many gods, not one God in the Old Testament, not another in the New Testament. It testifies of ONE God, not a demigod, but one God, the Maker of heaven and earth, the Creator of all things. It is He of whom it is written, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). It is He of whom it is written at the end: “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last” (Revelation 22:13).
Whenever God speaks or acts in His Word, He is the same and always consistent with Himself.
[How are you today, sir? I’m just talking a little bit about the Lord today. If you would like a gospel message, it’s free for you.]
Whatever God speaks or acts in His Word, my friends, He is consistent with Himself and with all revelation concerning Him. He is not distant, unknowable, and inconsistent like Allah of the Quran who cannot be known, who says one thing in one sura and then changes His mind and says something else in another sura.
The Bible not only gives testimony of ONE GOD, it forms ONE CONTINUOUS STORY, not a collection of random myths and tales, but one continuous narrative: the story of humanity in relation to its Maker, the history of humanity in relation to God. Every page of the Scriptures speaks to this story in one form or another.
Another mark of the Bible's unity and its supernatural quality is that it HAZARDS the most unlikely predictions concerning the future, and when centuries have brought about the appointed time, it records their fulfillment. My friends, the Bible is full of detailed and very specific prophecies, ordered at the mouths of God's prophets by the Holy Spirit, hundreds, sometimes thousands of years before such unlikely events occur. Then, as the time goes by and God gives revelation, additional revelation down through the centuries, the Bible records the fulfillment of these unlikely predictions in such a way that there could have been no coincidence or man-made collusion.
In the Book of Isaiah, the prophet comes to Hezekiah, the King of Judah, who had been boasting of his wealth and his treasures to visiting ambassadors from Babylon. This was in the days of the mighty empire of Assyria and long before Babylon was anything more than a vassal province. Isaiah says to the King:
“Behold, the days come, that all that is in thine house, and that which thy fathers have laid up in store unto this day, shall be carried into Babylon: nothing shall be left, saith the LORD. And of thy sons that shall issue from thee, which thou shalt beget, shall they take away; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon” (II Kings 20:17-18).
At the time, Babylon had no power or influence to effect such a thing, and there was no indication whatsoever that she ever could. Yet, it happened 150 years later. Just as it was predicted, so it was fulfilled.
People's names in the Scriptures, my friends, are recorded long before their birth. The Bible makes an unlikely prophecy, also in the Book of Isaiah, concerning Cyrus the Persian who would give the Jews permission to return to their homeland and rebuild their temple. His name is revealed 200 years before his birth (Isaiah 44:28), even before Babylon was a mighty kingdom, the mighty kingdom that the Persians would overthrow in 538 BC.
Forty-eight details are prophesied about Jesus the Messiah in the Old Testament long before His birth, specific details that seemed quite unlikely, so unlikely that when they were fulfilled, the people of Jesus' day who knew the Scriptures just couldn't believe them. It was written in the Prophet Micah about 700 years before Christ that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem, an obscure village on the outskirts of Jerusalem. From Bethlehem would come this Messiah, this anointed One of Israel (Micah 5:2). Jesus was born in Bethlehem, my friends. The star gave testimony over the place of His birth. The angels appeared and gave glory in the presence of the nearby shepherds. All was fulfilled exactly as it was written centuries before.
In the Prophet Zechariah, about half a century before the birth of Christ, Messiah is spoken of as One who would be valued by His countrymen for only thirty pieces of silver. And so it happened. Judas Iscariot, one of Jesus’ original twelve disciples, betrayed the Son of Man to the religious leaders in Jerusalem for thirty pieces of silver (Matthew 26:15), just as it was written, the specific and unlikely details.
In the 22nd Psalm, it is written of Messiah that He would be pierced in His hands and His feet. David the sweet Psalmist of Israel wrote such a thing a millennia before Christ was born and 250 years before the Romans even invented crucifixion as a form of punishment for the common criminal.
So my friends, detailed prophecy time and time and time again recorded in the Scriptures and subsequently fulfilled in history is a mighty testimony to the supernatural origin of the Bible. Again, it was written of Christ that He would be born of a virgin, more than 700 years before His birth:
“Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14).
Jesus was born of a virgin. The Angel Gabriel came to the virgin Mary in the village of Nazareth, and he told her that she was highly favored among women and would give birth to the Son of God, just as it had been recorded.
Not only is the Bible ONE BOOK, my friends, it bears witness to ONE GOD. It forms ONE CONTINUOUS STORY. It HAZARDS the most unlikely predictions concerning the future. And then, when history brings about the appointed time, the Bible records the fulfillment of it’s own prophecy.
The Bible is also a progressive UNFOLDING of truth. Nothing is revealed all at once. It’s much like the crops of the field: first the blade, then the ear, and then the corn. Without even the remote possibility of collusion, and often with centuries in between, one writer of the Scriptures will take up an earlier revelation, add to it, lay down the pen, and in due time, another man moved by the Holy Spirit, and another, and another adds details until the whole is complete, a progressive unfolding of truth that does not contradict itself. It’s special revelation as God intended men to have it when He intended men to have it; and this tapestry forms one complete whole from Genesis 1:1 to Revelation 22:21.
From beginning to end, my friends, the Bible gives testimony of ONE REDEMPTION, the redemption of sinful man by a holy and righteous God. ’Tis a redemption first prophesied in the Garden of Eden, in the very beginning, and then brought to fulfillment in eternity with the rule and reign of Jesus Christ, the Anointed Messiah.
From beginning to end, and quite unlike the religious writings of man, the Bible has ONE GREAT THEME: the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ, the person and work of God’s Messiah. You see, even in the book of Genesis, Jesus Christ would be the One to come and crush the head of the serpent. In the Book of Exodus, Jesus Christ is like that Passover lamb who covers the sins of those that believe. The Law of God, the Torah, points to Messiah, the embodiment of all that is true and holy and the Law’s ultimate fulfillment. Jesus Christ makes His appearance throughout the Old Testament as prophecies are uttered and miracles are done, pointing to the birth of Messiah. He is born; He lives a perfect life; He performs miracles to prove His identity as the Son of God; and then, He raises up from the dead, something no prophet or no author of manmade religion has ever been able to do. Messiah builds up His Church. He empowers them to take the Gospel throughout the world. And then, He comes again to set up His kingdom, a literal physical kingdom to rule and reign in righteousness and to put down all wickedness and sin from beginning to end. My friends, this is the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ the Messiah—one great theme unfolded throughout the entire Bible.
A true unanswerable proof concerning the divine inspiration of the Bible is that its human writers, around forty-four in number and writing across 20 centuries, separated by great distance and time … some of them lowly shepherds, some of them mighty kings, some priests in God's temple, some of them farmers, some fruit pickers, some of them just a bunch of cussing sailors, and yet all inspired by the Holy Spirit … have produced a perfect harmony of doctrine in progressive unfolding, something that cannot be said for a single other religious writing of man.
This cannot be said for the writings of Buddha. There are so many claimed writings of Buddha, and they compose thousands upon thousands of scrolls in monasteries spread across the world. They are all random sayings, certainly not any progressive unfolding of truth without contradiction. The Quran from the very first sura to the last contradicts itself time and time again. The Book of Mormon is the writing of one man, a man who peeped in hats, a charlatan who performed magic tricks and then claimed to receive some special message from God. That is not the Bible, not even remotely so.
God spoke to us in His Word, not through one man, but through forty-four authors separated by great distance and time so that there could be no possibility of coincidence ot random collusion. And in doing so, the Holy Spirit gives us a progressive unfolding of truth, revelation, the story of redemption, the hope for mankind, and the judgment of the world. Thus it can truly be said:
“For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12).
I'd say it is the Textbook of textbooks, and the final exam is the judgment seat of God.
[God bless you, sir. Are you ready? Have you studied the most important Textbook of all time, or have you just thrown it aside? Have you decided in your mind that it's nothing but a fairy tale, never having cracked the cover to see for yourself? Do you only know how to to swallow—hook, line, and sinker—what you've been fed? Have you lost the ability to think critically? I would encourage you, my friend, to seek out of the Book of the Lord and read. I chose to sit down one day many years ago and see what God had to say in His Word. It changed my life. He changed my life.]
My friends, the Bible is that two-edged sword. Read it and live. Read it to be wise. Believe it to be safe. Practice it to be holy. You see, this same Word of God, this quick and living Word of God that can change …
[That cross around your neck means nothing. It means nothing. It's just a religious symbol, a trinket without power.]
This same quick and powerful vWord of God that can change your life, it will also judge the very thoughts and intentions of every man. Jesus the Messiah, when He walked this earth, said:
“And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world. He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day” (John 12:47-48).
If you mock the Word of God today in life, it will mock you in your death. If you scold and reproach the Word of God today in life, it will scold and reproach you in eternity. But, if you'll humble yourself before the Lord, draw nigh unto Him through His Word; the Bible says God will draw nigh unto you. He resists the proud, but gives abundant grace to the humble. If you'll humble yourself before the Lord, He will lift you up; and He will change your life as He did mine.
I'm not speaking today of religion or religious topics. I'm not speaking of man-made righteousness or offering up some good advice. I'm speaking of eternal truth, recorded down through the centuries, inspired by the Holy Spirit, preserved by God. The Bible has more ancient manuscript evidence than any other piece of literature in the history of mankind. In fact, concerning the second, number two on the list, you can count the manuscript evidence on your fingers and toes. Thousands and thousands of biblical manuscripts, some dating long before the birth of Christ, give testimony that the book I hold in my hand today is indeed the Book that God gave by the the Holy Spirit to His prophets and preserved for us today. It’s supernatural testimony. It’s supernatural revelation. It is living, and it is powerful.
Aside from the Bible, my friends, you KNOW there is a God. You don't need this Book to tell you that. The problem is manifest all around us. The problem is revealed to all in Creation. Nature, the trees, the mountains, the water, the complexities of the animal kingdom and of the human body … these things bear testimony, self-evident truth that there is indeed a Creator God, a designer, an uncaused cause. It doesn't take much common sense to conclude that dirt plus time plus water DOES NOT equal complex living creatures. The existence of God the Almighty Creator is self-evident truth.
It is also self-evident truth, my friends, that all is not well between the Creator and His creatures. We can look around and see the corruptions and the wickedness and the problems, the trials, the tribulations, the sufferings of this life, the same things that Buddha saw and sought to escape … endless suffering, the pinnacle of which is death. All die, ten out of ten die. Live strong, die anyway. Death is the inevitable sure end of all men, a clear testimony shouting all is not well between the Creator and His creation. There is a BIG PROBLEM. You don't need a Bible to tell you that.
That problem is PERSONAL. It manifests itself even here today when someone offers you good news and you shake your head and keep walking. It is the personal problem of your conscience, given to you by God. You can hear the voice of your conscience every day. You know it's wrong to lie and to steal. You know it's wrong to lust, to covet, to hate. We know all such things are wrong because our conscience bears witness. Yet, we do them anyway; and our conscience condemns us. Your conscience is a warning bell from God that the problem is personal, that you are GUILTY. That is precisely why the Scriptures say:
“For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves: Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another” (Romans 2:14-15).
So friends, these general truths, this problem between the Creator and His creation, these self-evident truths are there for all to see. And yet, this general revelation cannot save. It doesn’t solve the problem. It simply and rightly condemns. Thus God gave mankind SPECIAL REVELATION, the Bible. It is the solution to the PROBLEM of general revelation. It offers redemption from the verdict of creation, the curse of sin, and the condemnation of our conscience. That redemption is for you, if you will but hear it and receive it. Religion is something to be earned. The message of the Bible is a gift to be received. If you will not receive it, if you persist to mock and scoff it, sadly, this same Word of God that can give you life will give you death.
For it is written: “There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God” (Romans 3:10-11).
[God bless you guys today.]
It reads in the Book of Ecclesiastes, “For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not” (Ecclesiastes 7:20).
Moreover, “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23).
Again, “the soul that sinneth, it shall die” (Ezekiel 18:4).
People may hear the Word of God and keep walking, but you can only walk so far. Your path will ultimately lead you before your Maker. Eventually, you will stand before Him in judgment. And you’ll make all sorts of excuses as to why you didn't know, or as to why you were a good person, or as to why your goodness is just as good as His. And He shall say, “I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity” (Matthew 7:23). No excuse will stand.
It says in the Scriptures:
“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness” (Romans 1:18).
To hold down or suppress the truth means to stick your fingers in your ears, spiritually speaking, and to just keep on walking. Nothing to see here!
It says:
“For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse” (Romans 1:20).
God has revealed Himself to us. We are without excuse. He has not only given us general revelation of Himself, but He has given a special revelation of His character and divine purpose, right here in the Bible, a book so easy for you to obtain and read for yourself here in America. Some of you smile and smirk and think it's all a joke. I thought that way once. But, the God of the Bible radically changed my life.
It is God who gets the last laugh, my friends. “He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh” (Psalm 2:4). The Lord laughs at those who mock Him, for God is not mocked. His Word is not mocked. It has proven itself true, time and time again. It is like a mighty lion. I don’t need to stand here and defend it. I don't have to argue for it. I need not attempt to prove its claims to you. The Bible is like a lion, caged up and hungry. Open that cage door, and set it loose. I dare you. It can tear the flesh and break the bones; it can divide asunder soul from spirit; it can more than defend itself.
Many here today would boast of their education, or in the knowledge they have retained, or perhaps their career, a 20th century American invention that cannot bring real happiness. Some would boast in manmade wisdom. But the Scriptures say, “But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the LORD” (Jeremiah 9:24) and “he that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord” (I Corinthians 1:31). My friends, I know some of you can't understand such things, for God uses the foolish things of this world to confound the wise. And I know some of you will just walk by, laughing and mocking. It's okay; I love you anyway. I know you cannot comprehend it because God uses foolish things to trip up the wisdom of this world. I will, however, tell you this:
Today’s preaching, this preaching concerning the Word of God and the Cross may be foolishness to those, like some of you, who are perishing; but if you pass by and have been saved by the Lord, you know that this Gospel is the power of God. You know it to be true and quick and powerful. I really don't care if many of you think I'm a fool. I AM a fool, and I echo the words of Paul the Apostle: “We are fools for Christ's sake” (I Corinthians 4:10). Who's fool are you? Are you a fool for the education system? Are you a fool for your professors? Are you a fool for a dead man’s religion? Are you a fool for your boss? He probably doesn't even care about you or your family; he simply sees you as he can use you. Are you a fool for the “American Dream,” a genuine nightmare? Are you a fool for the things of this world that will surely pass away? It is he that does the will of God who will abide forever. The will of God is to believe the Word of God, to take Him at His word. And that starts, my friend, by opening His Word and seeing what He has to say to you.
Maybe you are just not interested; that's fine. God is not a beggar. Your Maker is not a beggar. He doesn't need your allegiance to be glorified. He doesn't need your adoration and worship to be glorified. He is glorified in Himself, by Himself, and through Himself. The simple fact that He would even offer salvation is testimony of His great mercy and grace. But if that grace and that mercy is spurned, there is no escape from God's wrath and judgment. The LORD is a wrathful and vengeful God. He is a stronghold in the day of trouble to those that trust in Him, but a righteous Judge all the same. Our human goodness can never measure up to His righteousness, His perfect standard. If man's righteousness at its very best state were to be described in terms of the color white, man's righteousness would be white like the white wool of a sheep, like the wool of a clean ewe lamb. Put that ewe out there in some brown brush green grass, and it looks white; it looks pure. God's righteousness, however, isn't like the white wool of a sheep. His righteousness is like the freshly fallen snow. If you take that same white ewe lamb standing in the green grass and move her to a field of freshly fallen snow, that creature doesn’t look so white anymore. Such is man at his very best state when compared to God’s standard of goodness. Thus, it is written:
“Verily every man at his best state is altogether vanity” (Psalm 39:5).
That is why even the prophets say they sought forgiveness, for before God, even the best of men is but vain. Yet, unlike the gods of manmade religion, the Maker of heaven and earth, my friends, can make us clean, whiter than snow, something that the gods of man-made religion are unwilling and quite unable to do. God says in His Word:
“Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else. I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear” (Isaiah 45:22-23).
There you have it, the LORD says He can make you clean, but you have to want it. You must receive it. God provided the means to cleanse us from our sins, to make us righteous, and to give us life: the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Messiah of Israel. Just as it was recorded in the Scriptures, this supernatural Book, Almighty God stepped into space and time roughly 2,000 years ago, Jesus Christ of Nazareth … not just a man, not just a teacher, but Almighty God in human flesh, just as it was written. He was born of a virgin, born in Bethlehem, of the tribe of Judah, raised in Nazareth, One who performed miracles to prove his claims about Himself. He opened the eyes of the blind; he healed the sick; he raised the dead; there were eyewitness testimonies left and right; and it was all just as it had been written long before.
Some of you just pass by with a stupid look on your face, a countenance that communicates: "This is the stupidest thing I have ever heard.” I'm not surprised; that is how sinful hearts respond to the compassion and love of God. This is exactly what they did to Jesus Christ. Though He loved many, though He healed many, though He showed compassion upon the masses in fulfillment of prophecy, they crucified Him. They killed the Lord of glory.
But again, just as it was written this Book, Jesus Christ proved every claim He ever made about Himself to be true when, after being crucified as an offering for sin, He got up from the grave just as He said He would do multiple times to His disciples. He is a living Savior, not a dead prophet with a sealed tomb that can be visited to this day.
It was written in the Scriptures of the Messiah of God: His soul would not see corruption, that God would make His soul an offering for sin, and that He would be buried with the rich in death, but that He would rise again. Thus, Jesus Himself could proclaim with confidence to those who doubted: “I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live” (John 19:25). It is a spiritual birth, my friends, the most important type of birth. That which is natural passes away, but the spirit endures forever. The spirits of some will be given new bodies to endure forever under eternal damnation, separation from God in just and fiery judgment. The spirits of those who receive this free gift of salvation in Messiah shall be given new bodies and endure forever in the presence of God and His holy angels, in the presence of the Lord of glory. Though he were dead, yet shall he live.
My friends, this is the overriding theme of the Bible from beginning to end: the glory of Almighty God as manifested in redemption, the riches of God freely given to those who do not deserve it through the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the righteousness of Almighty God manifested in the judgment of the wicked who reject so great a salvation. Eternal salvation is for those who will repent and believe, the means by which God is glorified.
Jesus Christ is and will be glorified despite the rejections of men, despite the mockings of naysayers. Will you taste today and see that the Lord is good? Will you taste that honeycomb of His Word and find it sweet? Or, will you spurn it, reject it, mock it, foolishly claiming that you cannot believe in something you do not see. Friends, you believe in things you do not see every single day: historical figures, claims made in your textbooks, things you can't possibly test or observe with your own eyes. You will buy all that stuff hook, line, and sinker; and yet you assume that to believe the Bible is to do something different than you do every day. Make no mistake: without faith (faith is believing what you cannot see), it is impossible to please God. He that comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him (Hebrews 11:6).
The Bible has much to say about faith, something that we fail to comprehend in our comfort zones of today. Some of you think that the life you have built for yourself is rock solid, erected upon a foundation of stone. My friends, the things in this world will pass away. There is no security in the “American Dream. There is no security in the United States government. There is no security in education and science. Science changes its conclusions all the time. There is no security in manmade religion. There is no security in politicians, Republicans or Democrats. There is no real security in any of these things we blindly trust every day. But, there is tight security in the Lord. Some of you continue to laugh at all this, but God has the last laugh. He does laugh. It is written that He sits in the heavens and laughs at those who mock His plan and purpose. He holds them in derision who mock His Messiah. Read Psalm 2.
Look, I'm not talking about some manmade god. I'm certainly not talking about the Allah of the Quran or some lifeless deity that a guy fashioned in his own mind to serve his own lusts and pleasures. I am declaring the Maker of heaven and earth, Jehovah Elohim, God Almighty, and the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ.
It is written down in the Book of Acts:
“God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; Neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things; And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation” (Acts 17:24-26).
God doesn't need your worship, my friends. He doesn't need your adoration or your religious ritual. He gives to all life, breath, and all things. He has made all nations of men. The creature cannot overthrow God the Creator. Man cannot overthrow the plan and purpose of God for history and the ages. He may think he can.
“That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us” (Acts 17:27).
The Maker of heaven and earth is transcendent above His creation, and yet, He is imminent, involved in His creation. He is not far from you, if you will seek Him.
“For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring” (Acts 17:28).
Even sinful man recognizes that we are the offspring of God.
“Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man's device” (Acts 17:29).
See what man does! He makes gods out of images, out of creatures, out of men. We here in America, we don't bow down to idols of stone and wood and earth; but we certainly have our idols—the American dollar, your college professor, a sports figure, or humankind in general. God has winked at such foolishness, such ignorance, in times past.
“But now commandeth all men every where to repent” (Acts 17:30).
Why?
“Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead” (Acts 17:31).
That man is the Lord Jesus Christ. When Paul the Apostle preached this message, folks in the crowd mocked. It is the same today. Why is it when the GOOD NEWS of Jesus Christ is proclaimed, some will mock, some will laugh, some will spurn, others will smirk. And yet, God's arm remains outstretched, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. Notwithstanding, the day of the Lord, the day of His judgment written about here, it will come despite your mockings and despite your doubts. It will come as a thief in the night. The heavens shall be dissolved, and the earth will melt with fervent heat. Those that know the Lord, those who follow Him, those who believe upon Him, we look for a new heavens and a new earth wherein dwells true righteousness.
And my friends, that's good news for all men. The Bible is redemption for all men. God doesn't exist to destroy you, as do the gods of manmade religion. God is not willing that any should perish. He wants to grant unto you eternal life, but if you will not receive this gift … judgment, eternal death, and hell are a just reward, a righteous reward.
The fact that God would even give you His Word, that He would even warn you of His judgment is a testimony to His mercy. The gods of Disneyland religions: they don't warn, they do as they please. These devils do what they please, thinking only of themselves. But there is One who rules and reigns above the gods and devils of men.
“For all the gods of the nations are idols: but the LORD made the heavens” (Psalm 96:5).
The LORD sees all and knows all. He is merciful and kind and gracious. But, justice will be served, for He is a righteous judge. He cannot be bribed with money and influence. He cannot be bought off like the judges and politicians of our American society.
America’s Founding Fathers understood these things. They understood the importance of having society governed by God and His Word. In fact, James Madison, the one who penned the rough draft of the US Constitution, declared that our national security as a nation wasn't dependent upon military or our armies. America’s national security is dependent upon the people's ability to fear and believe and live the Word of God. Many would accuse Thomas Jefferson of being a deist. A deist would assent that there is perhaps some sort of a God, and perhaps He did create the world. But, like a watchmaker, He left it to move on to other things; He wound it up and left it to run on its own. That is deism by definition. It’s also agnosticism and Mormonism. Interestingly, you can read Jefferson’s own writings, his own words, inscribed upon stone in Washington, DC. He doesn’t speak of God as uninvolved in His present creation. On the Jefferson Memorial’s northwest wall down in the cherry grove, it is written: “Indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just, that his justice cannot sleep forever.” He feared for his country when men would forget that freedom, like salvation, is a gift of God, therefore lightly esteeming it.
My friends, your freedom is indeed a GIFT from God. Our nation has been blessed with freedom, a gift we did not deserve and a gift we have spurned. That is precisely why we will allow our liberties to be taken away bit by bit in the name of safety and security. Spurning freedom as God’s gift leads to imprisonment; it leads to bondage; it leads to tyranny. In the same way, if we spurn God's gift of salvation, it leads to eternal bondage. Thomas Jefferson would assuredly ask Americans today: "How could you forget that freedom is a gift of God?”
I would say ask you today, “How could you forget this great salvation declared in the Word of God?”
[Heckler hands Gospel tract back to preacher as he preaches.
Preacher: I’m sorry that you would give that back sir; it speaks of life from the dead.
Heckler: I’m going to hell.
Preacher: It doesn't have to be that way my friend.
Heckler: I sort of like it that way.
Preacher: Well, you speak very foolishly. Be ye saved my friend. It doesn't have to be that way.]
As long as there remains breath in your body, my friends, you can be saved from even the most wicked of sins. Beware, however, God is not a beggar. He is a great King who rules over the whole world. He will not beg you to come to Him. He offers you salvation freely; He commands you to repent and believe the Gospel. But, every decision we make has consequences, some of them temporary, some of them eternal. The most foolish decision you could make today is to put your fingers in your ears and ignore your Maker when He is speaking to you. Hell and eternal judgment are real. That is why men fear death. Even the most ardent and boastful of atheists, when faced with death, imminent death, are fearful. Just go look up the last recorded words of some of these famous men who boasted in their knowledge and in their agnosticism—their last words, the last thing they spoke here on earth. You will find that fear caught up with them. Apart from the Lord, it catches up with us all.
There is an escape, however. There is an escape from God's judgment, and His name is Jesus Christ. I know some of you think it is all a joke. You smirk, laugh, pass by, and mock. That’s fine. I, too, used to mock the Lord; I used to mock His truth; and I don't understand why God saw fit to save me. Yet, He did. He changed my life and gave me a desire to share this Good News with you, not to come out here and scream at you and pretend to know your heart. I don't know your heart, but God does. I can only declare unto you His truth, warn you of His judgment, assure you that there is hope in Jesus Christ … not the gods of men, but the God of creation. I can only speak to you the truth.
There is indeed absolute truth. Some of you would vehemently claim otherwise. You would make an absolute claim that there is no absolute truth and thereby contradict yourself. There is absolute truth, and absolute truth is self-evident. We may throw such truth in the streets here in America, as Israel of old once did. Good may be deemed evil in our society, and evil may be deemed good. Truth may be trampled upon in America’s gutters, but God reigns supreme. As Jesus Christ said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6).
Your manmade gods cannot save you. Muhammad is a dead prophet. Buddha is a dead man who would turn over in his grave if he knew that people worshiped him as a god today. All you have to do is read his own words. He spoke of the Creator as being someone who could not be approached unless the Creator decided to reveal himself. This He did in the person in work of Jesus Christ. There is a way that seems right unto a man, but the end thereof is the way of death. There is a broad road that leads to destruction. Wide is the gate, broad is the path, as Jesus preached, that leads to destruction; and many there be that follow this path. Strait is the gate and narrow is the way that leads to life. There are few who find it, VERY FEW.
You might ask, why? It is because men love their sin. They love themselves, and their pride, and their arrogance, and their fornication, and their homosexual perversion. They love the oppression of the poor and the persecution of the righteous. They justify the wicked and trample the virtuous. Such is the nature of man: rebellion against God in every culture and every nation, even in those nations where God has revealed Himself and blessed the people. Thus, those in America today who reject Him are all the more deserving of His wrath ad damnation. Some would say “God bless America!” No, no, no … GOD SAVE THE UNITED STATES. Our nation deserves His justice and His wrath. God is not an American. He is not even a Republican. He is a mighty KING who reigns over the whole world. Just because you live in America doesn't make you any better than anyone else. It doesn't make you any better or any more deserving in God's eyes than anyone else. Jesus said:
“For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more” (Luke 12:48).
The fact that you are here, that you get to study here, that you get to taste of the freedom and the blessings of this society and to sip of its affluence … that means you are all the more responsible for what you do with God's truth. Indeed, to whom much is given, much will be required.
Humble yourselves today, my friends. Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and don't dare lean upon your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths. The Bible warns against being wise in your own eyes. Fear the Lord. Fear God and depart from evil.
Thank you for listening today. I'm just a humble servant. Again, I did not come here to curse you, nor to point a finger at you and condemn you. Our sin already condemns us. If we reject the good news of the Gospel, we are already condemned; and your conscience bears witness to this every day. I simply stand here as a testimony that God can take a wicked man out of a wicked world, change him, put him back into a wicked world and use him, empower him to do what is right and bring glory to Him.
My friends, if God can do that for me, He can do that for you. If you would like a Gospel tract or a Bible, they are FREE. Thank you again. May the Lord bless you and keep you. May He make His face to shine upon you and be gracious unto you. May the Lord of heaven look down and grant you peace today, His peace. Jesus didn't say it like manmade prophets: “Be like me, and I can show you peace or help you find peace.” Jesus taught that He was peace.
“Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you” (John 14:27).
Behold the Bible, my friends. Behold the Word of God. Amen.