Sunday, March 3, 2013

For Without Faith - Part 2

Temple Baptist Church - 3-3-2013
 
Hebrews 11:6
 
Introduction:
A. “Without faith it is impossible to please Him!” This statement is clear, is it not? If faith is essential to salvation, sanctification, service, and the pleasing of our Lord, then it is imperative that faith have an immovable foundation. If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do!
1. The foundation of our faith cannot be found in man for man is fallible. There is not a just man in all the earth that doeth good and sinneth not! Any two Bible scholars cannot agree on every point. Pastors differ, evangelists differ, churches differ, schools and seminaries differ, and brothers differ; therefore, the foundation of our faith cannot rest upon the foundations of men.
2. The foundation of our faith cannot be found in personal preference. Men may want to serve God and live for Him with all of their hearts, but—unfortunately—will do what they want much of the time. You and I have preferences, right or wrong.
3. The foundation of our faith must be found in God’s Word! “So then faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God!”
B. Therefore, we must conclude that faith’s foundation must be based upon the supernatural, not upon the natural.
1. I am a King James Bible believer and I believe that everyone here knows that by now, so when I say “Bible,” you will understand what I mean. There are no other reliable translations! They may contain truth to some measure but either: 1) one Bible is correct and all others incorrect or 2) they are all incorrect for they all disagree with each other to one extent or another. ONE IS CORRECT and I am preaching out of it this morning.
2. This is the most amazing Book that has ever been recorded in the English language! I have read history books, biographies, autobiographies, fiction, religious books such as the Book of Mormon, writings of Charles Taze Russell, parts of the Quran, etc. and have never found any to be either competitive or equal to the one that I hold in my hand!
1) The King James Bible remains one of the most widely read versions in the English speaking world.
2) The King James Bible is the most printed book in the history of the world.
3) The King James Bible is the most important publication in history.
4) The King James Bible is certainly the work of divine preservation. Its editorial staff was the greatest of any book ever produced. Fifty-four leading theologians and scholars spent years investing their lives in this translation effort.
5) King James Bible is unsurpassed in its linguistic beauty, breadth of information, purity of truth, and longevity of shelf life.
6) The King James Bible was the Bible of America’s Founding Fathers.
The early Congress of the USA had a definite commitment to the King James Bible. In Sept. 1782 Congress passed a resolution commending the first printing of the Bible in the USA.
7) The King James Bible was the Bible of the 1st and 2nd Great Awakening Revivals.
8) The King James Bible was the Bible used in the modern missionary movement.
9) The King James Bible makes more of Jesus, for He is God, than any translation ever made. The rest take away from His deity and add words that would make Him less than He is.
C. The Unity of the Book - The Bible is a Book authored by some 40 human writers and compiled over 1,600 years -- yet it has an incredible doctrinal and structural unity! There is one theme; and no conflict! No other piece of literature, sacred or secular, has anything approaching this. Not one mistake or contradiction by any of those whom God used to write this wonderful book.
“The Book of God, Not of Men!”
The Holy Bible must have been
Inspired of God and not of men.
I could not, if I would, believe
That good men wrote it to deceive;
And bad men could not, if they would,
And surely would not, if they could,
Proceed to write a book so good.
And certainly no crazy
Could e’er conceive its wondrous plan.
And pray, what other kinds of men
Than do these three groups comprehend?
Hence it must be that God inspired
The Word which souls of prophets fired.
D. The Bible declares itself to be inerrant, infallible, perfect, inspired, and preserved. I believe that. Not because I have been taught to believe (though I have) but because the Bible declares itself to be so. Let God be true and every man a liar when they disagree with the Bible. The Bible is correct! Let me brag on this Book for a few minutes.
1. Its scientifically correct. Although the Bible does not claim to be a book of science, it is correct wherever it addresses scientific matters. It has never had to be revised to harmonize with established scientific facts!!! (And NEVER will!)
a) "Every-day" Scientific Facts -- such as Human anatomy, Botany, Geography and Astronomy are always correct in the Bible and were stated long before scientists “discovered” them.
b) The Importance Of The Blood - Leviticus 17:11 For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul. (As late as the 18th Century, doctors still treated certain sicknesses with bloodletting.)
c) The Earth’s Position In Space - Job 26:7 He stretcheth out the north over the empty place, and hangeth the earth upon nothing. (Not on a turtle’s back or held up by Hercules!)
d) The Existence Of Jet Streams - Ecclesiastes 1:6 The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto the north; it whirleth about continually, and the wind returneth again according to his circuits.
e) The Fact That Air Has Weight - Job 28:25 To make the weight for the winds; and he weigheth the waters by measure.
f) The Hydrologic Cycle - Ecclesiastes 1:6-7 The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto the north; it whirleth about continually, and the wind returneth again according to his circuits. (7) All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full; unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither they return again.
g) The Fact That The Earth Was Round - Isaiah 40:22 It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in:
Ecclesiastes 1:5 The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place where he arose.
h) That The Stars Were Innumerable - Jeremiah 33:22 As the host of heaven cannot be numbered, neither the sand of the sea measured: so will I multiply the seed of David my servant, and the Levites that minister unto me. (The universe may glitter with far more stars than even Carl Sagan imagined when he rhapsodized about billions upon billions. A new study suggests there are a mind-blowing 300 sextillion of them, or three times as many as scientists previously calculated. That is a 3 followed by 23 zeros. Or 3 trillion times 100 billion.)
i) That There Is An Empty Place Over The North - Job 26:7 He stretcheth out the north over the empty place, and hangeth the earth upon nothing. (The universe has a huge hole in it that dwarfs anything else of its kind. The discovery caught astronomers by surprise. It is not a black hole, which is a small sphere of densely packed matter. Rather, this one is mostly devoid of stars, gas and other normal matter, and it's also strangely empty of the mysterious "dark matter" that permeates the cosmos. Other space voids have been found before, but nothing on this scale. This "gap" is in the Northern Hemisphere, lying in the general direction of the constellation Bootes. This "hole in space" is a 300 million light year gap in the distribution of galaxies, has taken cosmologists by surprise, not because it exists, but because it is so big. Indeed, He stretches out the north over the empty place.)
j) That Man Could Be Put To Sleep In Order To Perform Surgery - Genesis 2:21 And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof;
k) The Fact That All Men Have The Same Blood - Acts 17:26 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; (Until recent times, it was believed there was significant differences in the blood of various human races. However statistical divisions of humanity based on different kinds of genetic data do not group people consistently into races. Blood is separated by type, not race.)
l) The List could go on but I think that the accuracy of the Bible in matters of space, medicine, and general health—prior to discovery by others—is conclusive that this is God’s Word.
2. It is prophetically correct. A major portion of the Bible was prophetic at the time of its writing, and much of this has already been fulfilled in the minutest detail! This is one of the strongest internal proofs of Inspiration. For example, over 300 prophecies about the birth, ministry, death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ have already been fulfilled. In the 24-hr period of the crucifixion, some 21 different prophecies were fulfilled. The odds of this being mere chances are staggering! The Bible alone predicts the future with 100 % accuracy! It has never been proven to be wrong. As the prophecies concerning the 1st coming of Christ have been 100 % accurate, those concerning the 2nd coming of Christ will also surely come to pass. You can read the newspaper headlines withing the prophecies of this bless old Book.
3. It is judicially correct. Our laws find their basis within this wonderful Book. If man will live by God’s law, he will do well. If man will judge by God’s law, society will do well.
4. It is archaeologically correct - This is perhaps the greatest of external proofs -- no archaeological discovery has ever contradicted the Word of God!
a) Topographical & Geographical—The hills, valleys, plains, deserts and mountains are all where the Bible says they are.
b) Ethnological—The family tree of the nations in Genesis 10, and the various migrations mentioned in the Bible have been verified. (Contrasted by the embarrassing situation with the Book of Mormon!) E.g., the ancestry of the Hebrews from Mesopotamia through Abraham has been verified. Excavations at Ur reveal it to be the idolatrous pagan city so stated in Joshua 24:2.
c) Chronological—All of the pertinent evidence uncovered has supported the record and order of Biblical events and the circumstances involved.
d) Historical—The collapse of the Jericho walls, the presence of Hebrews in Egypt, and a number of other startling archaeological discoveries have confirmed the historical trustworthiness of the Word of God.
E. It is imperative that we have God’s Word in order to have a God pleasing faith.
1. Our Salvation Depends Upon It. Romans 10:17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. (Without the Word of God, there can be no salvation. If it is not the Word of God, it cannot save.)
2. Our Sound Doctrine Demands It. Titus 1:9 Holding fast the faithful word as he hath been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers. (The “faithful word” is the only basis for “sound doctrine!” If the Word is not faithful, then we cannot be assured that our doctrine is sound!)
3. Our Christian Growth Requires It. Acts 20:32 And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified. (Without God’s Word, we could not grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is through the “milk” of God’s Word that spiritual babes grow and the “meat” of God’s Word that we become to full maturity. Churches are filled with spiritual babes because of the lack of biblical feeding by pastors who are called to “feed the flock of God.”)
4. Our Daily Guidance Necessitates It. Psalms 119:9 Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word. (God’s Word for spiritual cleansing.)
5. Our Exposing Of False Teachers Requires It. Romans 16:17 Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. (We are to mark and avoid false doctrine and false teachers. It always surprises me how many believers get upset when false teachers, false churches, etc. are exposed and yet the Bible commands the pastor to do so. If it is a snake, mark it so that everyone will know to avoid it. If the preacher, teacher, church, doctrine, or sinful brother is not marked the people of the church will be deceived and tainted.)
6. The Proof Of Our Love For God Is Manifested Through It. 1 John 5:2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments. (There is an old saying, “Don’t tell me you love me, show me that you love me!” “Oh, how I love Jesus” are cheap words without the actions and obedience of love manifested.)
Conclusion: Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

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