Walter Scott, a British novelist and poet, was dying when he said to his secretary, “Bring me the Book.” His secretary looked at the thousands of books in his library and said, “Dr. Scott, which book?” He said, “The Book, the Bible – the only Book for a dying man.” Amen! But not only is the Bible the only book needed by a dying man, it is the only book absolutely needed by living men as well. We live in an age, though, in which man has multiplied his religious creeds in an attempt to add to his knowledge only to divide himself from God and subtract himself from the book of life. While there are religious works that can be of benefit (reference books, special topic books, commentaries, etc.) when any work is either set on an equal plain or exalted above the Bible then far too much attention is taken away from the one Book that can save our souls and given to other books who in comparison have no more eternal value than the paper on which they are printed. Last year I preached the following sermon to highlight just what the Bible was intended to do and what it will do if we will place our trust in it as the inspired and inerrant word of God!
Title: The Bible: Its All That We Need
Text: 2 Timothy 3:16-17
Main Point: The Bible is the most popular book to have ever been printed in the world. It has been translated into over 2,000 different languages. About 90% of American households have at least one copy of the Bible. In a single year over 500 million Bible are known to have been distributed; and throughout history tens of billions have been. Skeptics are expected to doubt the Bible’s validity and sufficiency, but it amazes us to hear of those who out of one side of the mouth admit reliance on the Bible while out of the other side delineate it to the level of a common book. The Bible, though, makes the adamant claim of inspiration and all-sufficiency, which allows us to know that the Bible is all that we need. That is an awful broad statement, though, so we might specify three particular areas in which the Bible is all-sufficient in our lives:
Discussion Points:
- The Bible is all we Need to Strengthen Us – Growth is a fundamental necessity with us all. We need it both physically and spiritually to survive (1 Peter 2:1-2). And when that growth does not occur we become like those Christians condemned in Hebrews 5:11-14. Peter said that we must grow in grace and in the knowledge of Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:18). Such is possible through study of (2 Timothy 2:15) and allegiance to the scriptures (2 Timothy 3:14-15). Such strength must be obtained and can only be obtained by the avenue of the Bible.
- The Bible is all we Need to Save Us – Romans 1:16 – God has made the Bible His avenue of providing saving knowledge to all those obedient – but how? The Bible contains the sum total of truth (John 17:17). It is that truth that sanctifies us and can set us free (John 8:32). When the word is engrafted into our lives it will save us (James 1:21). Its ability to save is evidence of and evident by its living and active nature (Hebrews 4:12). In Acts 8:26ff the eunuch was saved by hearing, receiving, and obeying the gospel message. It we are going to be saved it will be according to the same standard message – gospel truth and nothing else.
- The Bible is all we Need to Secure Us – In Philippians 4:7 Paul spoke of a peace that passeth all understanding – by what means is this possible? In Mark 4:35-41 we read the account in which Jesus rebuked the storm and caused it to cease with these words “peace be still” (vs. 39). That peace was made possible by the power of God’s own word. Such peace can be obtained in our lives only by God’s own word. Thus the Bible secures us by its provision of peace as well as its provision of proper direction (2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:3-8).
When it comes to those things we need the most there is no work or opinion of man that can possible add one iota to the power already contained in the gospel message. If we will look to it and it alone we will be perfectly complete in Christ. The Bible – its all that we need!