Think on These Things
September 2000
3. The Sufficiency of God's Word
[We
thank Kenneth E. Thomas for providing the source material for the three
“Word” articles in this issue via Mars-list on the Internet.]
“In
the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (Jn.
1:1). So powerful is God’s word
that it is personified as God Himself. “And
the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of
the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth” (Jn. 1:14).
It was through this powerful Word that all things were made.
While in the bible the “word of God” is not always used allegorically
to represent God, it is always powerful: “For the word of God is living and
powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword..." (Heb. 4:12).
God's word is never outdated, nor is it a "dead letter" as many
false religious sources have stated. It
is always modern and up to date and fills every need of the human race.
It has within it "all things that pertain to life and
godliness..." (2 Pet. 1:3). God's
word is as powerful as it was when originally written.
It will accomplish every purpose for which it was written even today. "So shall my word be, that goeth out of My mouth: it
shall not return unto Me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and
it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it" (Isaiah 55:11).
The word of God remains as powerful as ever.
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The goal of this page is to promote morality and justice in our society (Prov. 14:23).
Inheritance
confiscation. Christians are to pay
their taxes, “render unto Caesar” (Mt. 22:21) and obey those who have the
rule over them (Rom. 13) even if they are unrighteous (provided it does not
violate God’s will). The
government of Rome at the time that Paul wrote was as corrupt as they come. That said, let us recognize the individual responsibilities
that we have in our society to advocate that which is just, and to promote that
which is good for all men (Gal. 6:10). One
way that we do this is by voting. We
have reached the point where votes are being purchased with tax money.
That is, a majority of the population has the capability to vote
themselves money out of the US treasury that is obtained by force (taxed) from
those who rightfully earned it. This
is because a very large proportion do not perceive that they pay any federal
taxes at all (even though indirectly they do).
The
recent veto of the inheritance tax relief is a good example. Suppose a man spends his life building a family business
that, on the books, is worth $2 million. In
order to pass this company down to his children, they would have to come up with
several hundred thousand dollars in cash to pay the taxes.
But most company assets cannot be liquidated without destroying the
company since the value of most companies is not in cash.
The result is that by the time the kids get done with the lawyers and the
IRS, they might not have any inheritance at all, and their company will be taken
over by opportunists.
But
who cares? After all, this family
are those “rich folks” that most love to hate.
The vast majority could care less — they will gladly vote for any tax
increase as long as others pay it. But
what will this country be when all of the small companies disappear because of
such disincentives? The answer is:
exactly what some (rich politicians) want — a society totally dependent on the
government for everything. While we
might not like it, the rich are essential to our economy, and it is unjust to
confiscate what they have rightfully and legally earned.
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God
knows His creation and has so designed His word to appeal to the "honest
and good hearted" among men, these being those whom the Lord seeks to
worship
By
the spoken word, our Lord Jesus and His apostles did any miracle necessary to
convince men of the deity of Jesus, and to confirm His word.
The dead were raised to life, (Jn. 11:43; Acts 9:40); the lame walked,
(Mt. 9:6-7; Acts 3:6-8); the blind could see (Acts 9:28-30).
Our Savior multiplied the loaves and fishes (John 6:5-14).
The winds and the sea were subject to His spoken word (Mark 4:35-41).
Those
things that were first spoken were written by the inspired apostles and
prophets. The written word of God
that we now have has no less power than that word that was spoken.
The written word has power to:
1.
Give life to men. "The words that I speak unto you they are spirit, and ...
life" (Jn. 6:63).
2.
Create faith in God and in the Son of God.
"So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of
God" (Romans 10:17). "...these
things are written, that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of
God; and that believing you might have life through His name" (Jn.
20:30-31).
3.
Instructs us regarding salvation. "And that from a babe thou hast known the
holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise unto salvation through faith
... in Christ Jesus" (2 Tim. 3:15).
4.
Saves men's souls. "Of His own will He begat us with the word of truth,
that we should be a kind of first-fruits ... and receive with meekness the
engrafted word, which is able to save your souls (James 1:18f).
Today
men do not need some abstract operation of the Holy Spirit separate and apart
from the powerful word of Christ. Men need not expect some "better felt
than told" experience, some "sensation" or a "wee small
voice speaking" to them. All men need today is the power found in the word,
the gospel (Rom. 1:16)
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“An experience is worth 1000
scriptures.”
but
the Apostle Paul stated (Rom. 1:16) ...
“For I am not ashamed or the
gospel, for it is the
power of God unto salvation to
everyone ...”
For
the gospel to save however it must be taught, believed, and obeyed (Mt. 28:18-
20; Mk. 16:15-16; Lk. 24:45-49). The
Great Commission in action is seen in the following cases of conversion to
Christ:
Jews on Pentecost — Acts 2:22-38, 40-41, 47
Samaritans — Acts 8:12
Simon — Acts 8:13
Ethiopian Eunuch — Acts 8:26-39
Saul of Tarsus — Acts 9:1-6; 22:16; Acts 26
Cornelius — Acts 11:14; 10:1-4, 47-48
Lydia — Acts 16:14-15
Philippian Jailer — Acts 16:25-33
Corinthians — Acts 18:8
All
those thus saved by obeying from the heart a form of Christ's death, burial and
resurrection (Rom. 6:3-6, 16-18), were united in the one body of Christ, His
blood-bought church; and by these same acts of obedience became citizens of
Christ's kingdom by virtue of this "new birth of the water and of the
Spirit" (Jn. 3:3-5; Col. 1:13-14; Eph. 2:13-16; Heb. 12:22, 28).
Jesus is the author of eternal salvation only to such as obey Him (Heb.
5:9; Mt. 7:21-28). Have you been saved by this powerful word?
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