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The Five Solas (2017): Sola Scriptura · Providence Baptist Church - Sermons

0:00
Well, I most always say, take out your copy of God's Word and turn to.
0:05
Just hang on to your copy of God's Word for a moment, and I promise I will tell you where to turn and get there.
0:10
I have felt in the past when I've given some longer introductions that you're staring at the text going,
0:17
when in the world is he going to get to the text?
0:20
There is a text, and we will get to it this morning, I promise, but I want you just to settle in for a moment
0:25
as I give you some bit of an introduction to what we intend to do this Sunday and then the next four Sundays.
0:32
As mentioned previously in our service, we are going to work through the five solas of the Reformation.
0:42
And if you're already a bit confused, a sola is Latin for only.
0:49
And so the five solas are sola scriptura, or scripture alone,
0:55
and that is that the Bible is God's final authority to man.
1:01
Sola gratia, which is to say grace alone, we are saved by God's grace alone.
1:09
Sola fide, through faith alone.
1:14
Solas Christus, in Jesus Christ alone.
1:19
And soli Deo Gloria, to the glory of God alone.
1:22
And the Christian life is to be lived to the glory of God.
1:26
And so these are the five solas.
1:28
The Reformers loved the word sola.
1:32
Because remember that they were speaking to Christian contexts, right?
1:36
People who, even more than in our day, believed that they were of the Christian faith
1:41
simply because they were citizens of the country in which they lived.
1:47
They assumed that they were Christians.
1:50
And so they're speaking to a people who would have said,
1:53
yeah, yes, scripture.
1:54
And sure, grace and faith.
1:57
And yes, Christ.
1:58
And of course, the glory of God.
2:01
The Reformers said time and time again,
2:04
no, the scripture alone.
2:07
Grace alone.
2:09
Faith alone.
2:10
In Christ alone.
2:11
To the glory of God.
2:13
Alone.
2:15
And these, the structure that we're going to be talking about,
2:19
sola scriptura, sola gratia, sola fide, sola Christus, sola Deo Gloria,
2:23
was not systematized by the Reformers.
2:25
And that's the thing that you ought to know.
2:27
So as we talk about the Reformers kind of holding these things up as banners
2:31
over the Reformation,
2:34
it wasn't systematic until much, much later.
2:36
But you pick up these themes in so much of their writing,
2:41
these various alones that they stood for and supported.
2:47
This morning, I want to spend a little bit of time,
2:49
as I mentioned, on an introduction.
2:51
And then we're going to briefly consider the doctrine of sola scriptura.
2:57
But before we begin,
2:58
I just want to be clear about a few things for this morning
3:02
and in the coming month.
3:03
The Protestant Reformation was not the beginning of Christianity.
3:11
God has had a people that he has sovereignly preserved from the fall
3:17
by a promise.
3:20
And that promise was fulfilled in Christ.
3:23
He has had a people from the very beginning.
3:27
It didn't begin with the Protestant Reformation,
3:29
as sometimes we can mistakenly be misunderstood.
3:33
The truth of God had not been lost to the world
3:38
and then rediscovered by an Augustinian monk
3:42
by the name of Martin Luther in the 16th century.
3:45
It wasn't completely lost.
3:46
It wasn't gone all together.
3:49
The truth of God had been preserved by God,
3:53
although largely lost to the Western world,
3:56
to European Christianity,
3:58
buried in a Latin translation
4:01
and by Roman Catholic tradition
4:04
and papal infallibility,
4:07
which at very best obscured the truth
4:11
and at very worst and most often replaced it.
4:16
God had long been working amongst his people in Europe
4:20
to ignite the purifying flame of the Protestant Reformation.
4:25
A very popular analogy goes that God has been stacking the kindling for centuries
4:33
and that he used Martin Luther's writings as a spark
4:38
to ignite the fire that burned so brightly across Europe
4:42
to purify the church.
4:45
Faithful men, known and unknown,
4:49
were used of God.
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I'm so thankful for writing and distribution
4:55
that began in this same time
4:56
so we can know so many of these men.
4:59
But it's important to know also
5:00
that there are many unknown men
5:03
used by God to bring about reform in the church.
5:07
Men like John Wycliffe,
5:08
who in the 14th century,
5:10
much before,
5:12
defied Rome and translated the Bible
5:14
from Latin into English
5:16
and the kindling began to stack up.
5:20
So we don't want to see,
5:22
while the Reformation was a great turn
5:25
in Western Christianity,
5:27
it's a very significant thing to consider.
5:30
It's been a work of God all the way through.
5:32
He threads every single bit of it.
5:37
You have heard and will hear a bunch
5:40
about the Reformation in the past couple of months.
5:43
We've been reading the Reformation ABCs
5:45
to the children in the coming month.
5:47
But I want to be clear
5:48
that we do not worship the Reformers.
5:53
They were all fallible men.
5:56
And boy, did some of them err.
5:57
As much as they got right,
5:59
they got much wrong.
6:01
And we don't believe every single thing
6:04
that the Reformers believed.
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But as I've said,
6:07
they were men used of God.
6:11
Our history,
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our church's history,
6:13
traces through the redemptive history
6:15
of the Bible,
6:17
by the way of the church
6:18
that we see in the book of Acts,
6:20
through the Reformers,
6:22
and then through the Puritans,
6:24
to today.
6:26
The events of the Reformation
6:28
were significant,
6:30
and we would not exist
6:32
as a people for God's possession
6:34
if not for them.
6:37
Now, I am not saying
6:38
that God could not have established
6:40
a church in the Americas
6:41
without the Reformation.
6:42
But I am saying
6:44
that God chose
6:45
to start a church
6:46
in the Americas
6:47
with the Reformation.
6:49
And so as such,
6:50
we should want to know
6:51
our history, right?
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Much of our history.
6:55
This is our family
6:57
that we're considering
6:58
as we look back
6:59
to the lives
7:00
of some of these men.
7:02
So we should want to know it.
7:03
And we should also want
7:04
to know our history
7:05
because those
7:05
who don't know their history
7:06
are doomed
7:07
to repeat its mistakes.
7:09
We do not want to be known
7:12
as a church
7:14
for what we are against.
7:18
However,
7:19
sometimes to be clear
7:20
about what you are for,
7:22
I believe you must state
7:24
what you are against.
7:26
You must clarify,
7:27
not that,
7:29
but this.
7:32
The Protestant Reformation
7:33
began as an attempt
7:35
to bring correction
7:36
to the Roman Catholic Church.
7:39
Martin Luther did not intend
7:40
to vacate the church.
7:42
In fact,
7:42
he was excommunicated.
7:44
He was kicked out
7:44
of the church,
7:45
but he wanted to see
7:47
the church correct
7:48
its teaching.
7:50
But upon Rome's rejection
7:51
of the plain teaching
7:52
of Scripture,
7:54
the Reformers abandoned Rome.
7:58
We are Protestants,
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and we are Protestants
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in that we will protest
8:05
any teaching,
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not just Roman Catholic teaching,
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but any teaching
8:11
against justification
8:13
by grace alone,
8:14
through faith alone,
8:16
in Jesus Christ alone.
8:18
And there is much teaching
8:20
out there in this way.
8:22
There is much teaching
8:23
in the name of Jesus Christ
8:26
that would suggest to people
8:28
that they must earn their way
8:30
into God's favor.
8:31
And beloved,
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we can only stand confidently
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before God,
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be justified before Him
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because of what Christ
8:40
has accomplished
8:41
on our behalf,
8:42
because of His perfect life
8:45
and perfect death.
8:48
And so we protest
8:49
any teaching that's
8:51
in opposition to that
8:51
because we love mankind
8:54
and we want mankind
8:55
to come to saving faith
8:57
in Jesus Christ.
8:58
all other teaching
9:00
besides the gospel,
9:01
the pure gospel,
9:02
right?
9:03
Justification by faith alone,
9:05
by grace alone,
9:06
through faith alone,
9:06
and Christ alone
9:08
is damning.
9:09
It's dangerous
9:10
for people.
9:12
And so we must
9:13
defend
9:14
the truth.
9:17
And so the Reformation
9:18
has a great deal
9:18
of bearing
9:19
for our lives
9:21
today.
9:22
It means something
9:23
for us,
9:23
and we ought to take
9:24
some time
9:25
to understand it
9:26
and to study it.
9:27
And I want to try
9:28
to do something
9:29
multimedia,
9:30
so Harold,
9:31
wink, wink,
9:32
nod, nod,
9:32
back there.
9:34
We don't tend
9:35
to do things
9:35
like this very often
9:36
for the potential
9:38
failure of technology,
9:40
but Harold's going
9:41
to try to play
9:41
a video for you
9:42
that was played at,
9:43
the video was played
9:44
at a conference
9:45
that happens
9:46
every two years.
9:47
I would love
9:48
for you all
9:48
to get to go
9:49
to one of them
9:49
called Together
9:50
for the Gospel.
9:52
And I don't recall,
9:53
2016, I think,
9:55
maybe,
9:56
anyway,
9:56
it doesn't really matter.
9:57
But this is a video
9:58
of a man named
9:59
Martin Lloyd-Jones
10:00
speaking on the
10:02
450th anniversary,
10:04
so 50 years ago,
10:05
about the significance
10:06
of the Protestant
10:07
Reformation.
10:09
And just to give you
10:09
a quick story
10:11
about Lloyd-Jones,
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many people call him
10:13
the doctor,
10:14
he was a physician
10:14
before he was a pastor,
10:16
and the first church
10:17
that he was hired
10:19
to pastor
10:19
was very well known
10:21
for its dramas.
10:23
In fact,
10:24
they would often
10:25
not have preaching
10:26
on Sunday morning,
10:27
but would instead
10:28
have plays.
10:29
And the pulpit
10:30
on the stage
10:31
was movable,
10:32
and there's nothing
10:32
wrong with having
10:32
a movable pulpit,
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but it was movable
10:36
so that they could
10:37
put on these plays.
10:39
And on his
10:39
very first Sunday
10:41
when he got up,
10:42
opened God's Word,
10:43
he first
10:45
announced that he
10:46
was disbanding
10:47
the dramatee,
10:48
and then physically,
10:50
in reality,
10:51
took a handful
10:51
of nails
10:52
and a hammer
10:53
and nailed
10:54
the pulpit
10:55
down to the stage.
10:57
He said,
10:58
the Word of God
11:00
will be central
11:01
in the life
11:01
of the church.
11:02
So this is
11:02
Martin Lloyd-Jones,
11:04
20th century
11:04
English pastor
11:06
in this video,
11:07
so take a look.
11:07
Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones
11:17
will now address us.
11:19
At a time like this,
11:26
with the world
11:27
as it is,
11:28
and with this
11:29
multiplicity of problems
11:31
that are pressing
11:31
in upon us
11:32
on all sides,
11:34
why turn back
11:36
and consider
11:37
what happened
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400 years ago?
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Now, as I understand it,
11:43
there are two main
11:44
objections
11:44
to the doing
11:46
of what we are meant
11:47
to do this evening.
11:48
The first is
11:49
a general objection
11:51
to looking back,
11:53
a feeling
11:54
that the past
11:55
has nothing
11:56
to teach us,
11:58
that after all,
11:59
we are the people
11:59
of the 20th century.
12:01
We are the people
12:02
who have split the atom.
12:04
We are the people
12:05
who are encompassing
12:06
all knowledge.
12:07
We are the people
12:08
who have advanced
12:09
to such giddy heights
12:11
that our forefathers
12:13
could not even
12:13
have imagined them.
12:16
Why should we
12:17
of old people
12:18
look back,
12:20
and especially
12:21
look back
12:22
for 400 years?
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That's one objection.
12:28
The other is,
12:29
the Reformation
12:30
was a tragedy.
12:33
We are told that
12:33
what we should be
12:35
considering today
12:36
is unity,
12:38
and that if we
12:39
spend our time
12:40
in considering
12:41
a kind of disruption
12:42
in the church,
12:43
or a division
12:44
such as took place
12:46
400 years ago,
12:48
we are doing
12:48
something that is sinful.
12:51
And there is,
12:52
alas,
12:52
an increasing
12:53
body of opinion
12:54
in Protestant circles,
12:56
which openly
12:58
and unashamedly
12:59
is saying
13:00
that the Protestant
13:02
Reformation
13:02
was a tragedy,
13:05
and that it is
13:06
our business
13:06
to forget it
13:07
as soon as we can,
13:09
and to do
13:09
everything possible
13:10
to heal the breach
13:11
so that we
13:13
should be back
13:13
again,
13:14
one with the
13:15
church at home,
13:17
and there should
13:17
be one great
13:18
world church.
13:20
I have a feeling
13:24
that you've come
13:25
together to
13:25
demonstrate,
13:26
that you've come
13:27
together to make
13:28
a declaration,
13:30
and that is
13:31
that unlike so
13:33
many others
13:34
at this present
13:34
time,
13:35
you're not ashamed
13:36
of the Protestant
13:37
Reformation.
13:42
The greatest need
13:44
of this country
13:44
tonight and of
13:45
the whole world
13:46
is to recapture
13:48
that principle
13:49
that fired the
13:50
men at the
13:51
time of the
13:51
Protestant
13:52
Reformation.
13:53
What was it
13:54
about?
13:56
Justification
13:57
by faith.
14:08
How does a man
14:09
stand just
14:10
before God?
14:20
God
14:28
I got a head
14:28
start there.
14:29
You wouldn't
14:29
think I've
14:29
watched the
14:30
video 20
14:30
times this
14:31
week.
14:36
Any teaching
14:36
of the gospel
14:37
of Jesus Christ
14:38
that doesn't
14:39
teach that we
14:39
come to Christ
14:40
by faith alone
14:42
is an
14:42
anti-gospel.
14:45
And any
14:45
uniting and
14:46
joining with
14:47
people without
14:49
the truth
14:50
is not
14:50
unity at
14:51
all.
14:52
Any expression
14:52
of love
14:53
without the
14:53
truth is
14:54
not love
14:55
at all.
14:57
And beloved,
14:58
this history
14:58
repeats itself
14:59
and you're
15:00
going to hear
15:00
across this
15:01
next month
15:01
many people
15:02
make cries
15:03
for what's
15:04
called ecumenicalism,
15:05
us coming
15:05
back together
15:06
for the sake
15:07
of unity
15:07
and the sake
15:08
of peace.
15:09
And those
15:09
are words
15:10
that I also
15:11
love but
15:12
not devoid
15:14
of the
15:14
truth.
15:16
It's good
15:17
for people
15:18
that we
15:19
proclaim boldly
15:19
the gospel
15:20
of Jesus
15:21
Christ,
15:21
justification
15:22
by grace
15:23
alone
15:23
through faith
15:23
alone,
15:24
in Christ
15:25
alone.
15:26
And so we
15:27
must learn
15:28
from the
15:30
past.
15:30
We must
15:31
arm ourselves
15:33
so that we
15:34
can understand
15:35
the world
15:35
in which we
15:35
live,
15:36
that we
15:36
might speak
15:37
clearly
15:37
into it.
15:40
On your
15:40
bulletin
15:41
today,
15:41
the historical
15:41
quote,
15:42
Martin Luther
15:43
said,
15:43
the time
15:44
for silence
15:45
is past
15:46
and the
15:47
time to
15:47
speak
15:47
has come.
15:50
So let's
15:51
talk a bit
15:51
about Martin
15:52
Luther,
15:53
and we
15:53
are almost
15:53
to the
15:54
text,
15:54
I promise.
15:56
And this
15:57
event that
15:57
we're working
15:58
toward,
15:58
the 500th
15:59
anniversary
16:00
of October
16:01
31st,
16:02
1517.
16:04
Now,
16:04
as I
16:05
mentioned
16:05
previously
16:06
in bit,
16:07
it'd be a
16:07
little unfair
16:08
to say this
16:08
is when
16:08
the
16:09
reformation
16:10
really began.
16:10
In fact,
16:11
we could
16:11
probably more
16:12
accurately say
16:13
it began
16:13
in the
16:14
following year,
16:15
so maybe
16:15
we'll also
16:16
celebrate it
16:17
next year.
16:19
Martin Luther
16:20
did not
16:21
originally set
16:22
out to be
16:22
a monk.
16:22
His original
16:23
intention was
16:24
to be a
16:25
lawyer,
16:26
but in
16:26
the process
16:27
of his
16:27
life,
16:28
he was
16:28
deeply
16:29
troubled
16:29
by the
16:30
status of
16:30
his soul.
16:31
He was
16:31
asking this
16:32
question,
16:33
what makes
16:34
me right
16:35
before God?
16:37
and he
16:37
was not
16:37
finding it
16:38
in the
16:39
religion
16:39
of the
16:39
day,
16:40
although he
16:40
was
16:40
working
16:41
and
16:41
working
16:42
and
16:42
working
16:43
to be
16:44
found
16:44
right
16:45
before God.
16:47
The story
16:47
goes that one
16:48
evening in a
16:48
very intense
16:49
lightning storm,
16:50
lightning striking
16:51
all about him,
16:52
that he
16:53
cried out,
16:54
rather ironically,
16:55
not directly to
16:56
God,
16:57
but through
16:57
the saint,
16:58
Anne,
16:59
that if he
17:00
would just be
17:01
spared from the
17:01
storm,
17:02
that he would
17:02
become a
17:04
monk.
17:04
So he
17:06
lived,
17:07
and he
17:07
became an
17:08
Augustinian
17:09
monk by the
17:10
great providence
17:11
of God.
17:12
But as a
17:13
monk,
17:13
still working
17:14
and laboring,
17:15
he was still
17:15
very troubled
17:17
by the state
17:18
of his soul,
17:19
and in order
17:19
to put his
17:21
mind to rest,
17:23
they put him
17:23
to work
17:24
translating the
17:25
Bible.
17:26
It's a bit
17:27
of a mistake
17:27
on their
17:28
part.
17:30
They put him
17:31
to the task
17:31
of translating
17:33
the book of
17:34
Romans.
17:34
And in
17:36
Romans 1,
17:37
verse 17,
17:38
he came
17:39
across this
17:40
phrase,
17:41
the righteous
17:42
shall live
17:44
by faith.
17:46
And by the
17:47
illumination of
17:48
the Spirit,
17:48
he came to
17:48
understand,
17:50
and it was
17:50
not by works
17:51
that we are
17:52
righteous before
17:52
God,
17:53
but because
17:54
of faith.
17:56
And the
17:56
Christian life
17:57
was meant to
17:57
be a life
17:58
of repentance,
18:00
which was
18:00
counter to
18:01
Roman Catholic
18:01
teaching,
18:02
and still
18:03
is.
18:04
They teach
18:05
that life
18:05
is to
18:06
be a life
18:06
of penance,
18:08
doing your
18:09
work to
18:10
fill the
18:10
hole,
18:11
the vacuum
18:11
that you've
18:11
created by
18:12
your rebellion
18:12
against God.
18:14
But the
18:14
righteous
18:15
shall live
18:16
by faith.
18:19
So in
18:20
that day,
18:21
the Roman
18:21
church was
18:22
trying to
18:23
raise money
18:23
to build
18:24
St. Peter's
18:25
Basilica,
18:25
which exists.
18:26
You can find
18:26
pictures of it
18:27
online and
18:27
even visit it
18:29
in Rome.
18:30
And so
18:30
because of
18:30
the great
18:31
cost of
18:31
building such
18:32
a building,
18:33
they perpetuated
18:34
a practice
18:35
that had been
18:35
going on for
18:36
quite some
18:36
years of
18:37
the selling
18:37
of indulgences.
18:39
You may hear
18:40
the name
18:40
Tetzel from
18:41
time to
18:41
time,
18:41
a man who
18:42
went around
18:42
selling
18:42
indulgences.
18:43
And what
18:43
indulgences were
18:44
were little
18:45
bits of
18:45
paper that
18:46
supposedly
18:47
bought you
18:48
and or your
18:49
loved ones
18:49
time out of
18:51
purgatory.
18:53
Unbiblical
18:53
teaching,
18:54
but nonetheless,
18:55
the church of
18:55
Rome taught
18:56
that there was
18:57
this interstitial
18:58
period of
18:59
time where
18:59
you continued
19:00
to pay the
19:00
penance until
19:01
the penance
19:01
was paid
19:01
off before
19:03
you could
19:03
go to
19:04
heaven.
19:04
And they
19:04
sold indulgences
19:05
in order to
19:06
raise money
19:08
for the church
19:08
and were
19:09
being quite
19:09
successful at
19:11
it.
19:12
On October
19:12
31st,
19:13
1517,
19:15
Luther nailed
19:16
a document,
19:17
and this was
19:17
an entirely
19:18
appropriate thing
19:19
to do in
19:19
the day.
19:20
The church
19:21
building's door
19:22
was like a
19:22
bulletin board,
19:23
so please
19:24
don't put
19:24
anything on
19:25
our door.
19:26
He nailed
19:28
a document
19:28
entitled
19:29
what we
19:30
know as
19:30
the 95
19:31
Theses,
19:32
which were
19:33
95 reasons
19:36
that the
19:37
selling of
19:38
indulgences
19:38
was unbiblical.
19:40
95 reasons.
19:43
And this
19:43
was the
19:43
Wittenberg,
19:44
you heard
19:45
Judah saying,
19:46
spelled with a
19:46
W, but it's
19:47
German,
19:49
the Wittenberg
19:49
church door.
19:52
Now some
19:52
time passed,
19:53
the end of
19:54
February,
19:55
beginning of
19:56
March of the
19:57
following year,
19:58
the 95
19:59
Theses were
20:00
translated into
20:00
German,
20:01
without Luther's
20:03
permission,
20:04
I will add,
20:05
by a printer.
20:07
We don't know
20:07
why the printer
20:08
did it,
20:08
we don't
20:08
actually know
20:09
specifically who
20:09
the printer
20:10
was,
20:10
but either for
20:11
financial gain
20:11
or maybe his
20:12
zeal for the
20:13
word of God,
20:14
he got a copy
20:15
of it,
20:15
he translated
20:16
it into
20:16
German,
20:17
printed it,
20:18
and distributed
20:18
it widely
20:20
around Germany.
20:21
So this
20:22
intention of
20:23
Luther's to
20:24
address the
20:25
issue with the
20:25
church of Rome
20:26
became a
20:27
national issue.
20:29
The common
20:30
people began to
20:31
have the word of
20:31
God in their
20:32
hands,
20:33
not just in
20:34
Latin.
20:36
This is a great
20:37
trouble of the
20:37
day.
20:38
The Roman
20:38
church held the
20:40
scripture in
20:40
Latin,
20:41
they taught it in
20:42
Latin when they
20:43
taught it at all,
20:44
so it would be
20:45
read in Latin,
20:45
and then the
20:46
priest would give
20:47
explanation of
20:48
it.
20:49
It's quite a
20:50
convenience to be
20:51
able to say
20:52
whatever it is
20:53
you want to
20:54
say.
20:55
And so it
20:56
was a big
20:56
affront to
20:57
this type of
20:59
teaching,
20:59
this type of
21:00
use of the
21:02
scripture.
21:03
He was
21:04
excommunicated,
21:05
years have
21:05
gone on,
21:06
he's been
21:06
teaching,
21:07
he's been
21:07
writing,
21:08
writing widely.
21:10
In January
21:11
of 1521,
21:14
and then in
21:15
April of
21:16
1521,
21:17
he was
21:18
summoned to
21:19
what is known
21:19
as the
21:20
Diet of
21:21
Worms,
21:22
which unfortunately
21:23
looks like
21:23
Diet of
21:25
Worms.
21:26
In English,
21:28
it's the
21:28
Diet of
21:29
Worms,
21:31
where he was
21:31
summoned essentially
21:32
to recant of
21:33
the things that
21:34
he had taught
21:34
and wrote.
21:36
The Church of
21:36
Rome was
21:37
hoping to
21:37
bring about
21:38
peace.
21:40
He did this
21:40
in front of
21:41
the Roman
21:42
emperor of
21:43
the time,
21:44
so it's not
21:44
a small deal.
21:47
We often
21:48
see Luther
21:48
as this
21:49
amazingly
21:51
bold,
21:53
brash
21:53
individual,
21:54
and he
21:54
was very
21:54
brash at
21:55
times,
21:56
but he
21:57
was sick
21:58
vomiting the
21:59
night before,
22:00
having to
22:00
stand before
22:01
this council
22:01
and to
22:02
defend what
22:03
he had
22:03
written.
22:04
He was a
22:05
weak man,
22:06
but made
22:06
strong in
22:08
Christ.
22:09
The two
22:10
questions that
22:10
were asked
22:10
of him,
22:11
did he
22:11
acknowledge
22:12
the authorship
22:13
of books
22:14
that had
22:14
been brought
22:15
to the
22:16
Diet and
22:17
that bore
22:17
his name,
22:18
a stack of
22:18
them that he
22:19
had written,
22:19
against the
22:21
Roman church,
22:22
and would
22:23
he stand
22:23
by them
22:24
or retract
22:25
anything in
22:27
them?
22:27
And Luther
22:28
asked,
22:28
this is April
22:29
17th,
22:29
Luther asked
22:30
for 24
22:31
hours to
22:32
consider his
22:33
response.
22:35
So on
22:36
April 18th
22:37
of 1521,
22:39
he said
22:40
this,
22:40
this was
22:41
his defense,
22:44
unless I'm
22:45
convinced by
22:46
the testimony
22:47
of scripture
22:48
or by
22:49
clear reason,
22:50
for I
22:51
trust neither
22:52
pope nor
22:52
counsel alone,
22:53
since it is
22:54
well known that
22:54
they have often
22:55
erred and
22:56
contradicted
22:56
themselves,
22:58
I am bound
22:59
by the
22:59
scriptures I
23:00
have cited,
23:01
for my
23:01
conscience is
23:02
captive to
23:03
the word of
23:03
God.
23:04
I cannot
23:05
and will
23:06
not recant
23:07
anything,
23:08
since to
23:08
act against
23:09
one's conscience
23:09
is neither
23:10
safe nor
23:11
right.
23:12
I cannot
23:13
do otherwise,
23:14
here I
23:14
stand,
23:15
may God
23:16
help me.
23:18
And so
23:19
he's
23:19
dismissed
23:20
from the
23:20
diet,
23:22
thankfully he's
23:23
encouraged to
23:24
get out of
23:25
town as
23:26
they're
23:27
arriving at
23:28
his
23:28
sentence.
23:30
He had
23:30
already been
23:31
declared a
23:32
heretic,
23:32
now he's
23:33
declared a
23:34
traitor to
23:35
the state
23:35
and sentenced
23:37
to death.
23:38
But he
23:38
staged a
23:39
supposed
23:40
kidnapping
23:40
on his
23:41
route home,
23:42
rescued him
23:44
away,
23:44
he's put
23:45
up in
23:45
a German
23:46
castle where
23:48
he spends
23:48
some months
23:49
translating the
23:50
New Testament,
23:51
the entire
23:51
New Testament
23:51
into German,
23:53
which is a
23:54
rather phenomenal
23:55
feat that he
23:56
accomplished.
23:57
And the
23:57
word of God
23:58
continued to
23:59
go forth
24:01
in Germany.
24:03
So we're
24:03
looking this
24:04
morning at
24:05
Sola
24:06
Scriptura.
24:07
So please
24:08
turn with me
24:08
in a copy
24:09
of God's
24:09
word,
24:10
breathe a
24:10
big sigh
24:11
of relief,
24:11
2 Timothy
24:14
chapter 3.
24:34
Our text
24:35
for today
24:35
is 2 Timothy
24:36
chapter 3
24:36
verse 14
24:37
through
24:39
chapter 4
24:40
verse 4.
24:44
Before I
24:45
read it for
24:45
our benefit,
24:46
let me remind
24:46
you,
24:47
beloved,
24:48
this is
24:48
God's
24:49
word to
24:50
us.
24:51
It was
24:51
written for
24:52
his glory
24:52
and our
24:53
good,
24:55
and we
24:55
would all
24:55
do well
24:55
to listen
24:56
to it
24:56
in order
24:57
to believe
24:57
its promises
24:58
and obey
24:59
its commands.
25:01
2 Timothy
25:02
3,
25:02
beginning
25:03
in verse
25:03
14 and
25:03
following.
25:04
But as
25:06
for you,
25:07
continue in
25:08
what you
25:08
have learned
25:09
and have
25:09
firmly
25:10
believed,
25:11
knowing from
25:11
whom you
25:12
learned it,
25:12
and how from
25:13
childhood you
25:14
have been
25:14
acquainted with
25:15
the sacred
25:15
writings which
25:16
are able to
25:17
make you wise
25:17
for salvation
25:18
through faith
25:19
in Jesus
25:20
Christ.
25:21
All
25:21
scripture is
25:22
breathed out
25:23
by God
25:23
and profitable
25:24
for teaching,
25:25
for reproof,
25:26
for correction,
25:27
and for training
25:28
in righteousness,
25:29
that the man
25:30
of God may be
25:30
complete,
25:31
equipped for
25:32
every good
25:33
work.
25:34
I charge
25:35
you in the
25:35
presence of
25:36
God and
25:36
of Christ
25:37
Jesus,
25:37
who is to
25:38
judge the
25:38
living and
25:39
the dead,
25:40
and by his
25:40
appearing and
25:41
his kingdom,
25:42
preach the
25:43
word.
25:44
Be ready in
25:44
season and
25:45
out of season.
25:46
Reprove,
25:48
rebuke,
25:48
and exhort
25:49
with complete
25:50
patience and
25:51
teaching.
25:52
For the time
25:52
is coming when
25:53
people will not
25:53
endure sound
25:54
teaching,
25:55
but having
25:55
itching ears,
25:56
they will
25:57
accumulate for
25:57
themselves teachers
25:58
to suit their
25:59
own passions,
26:01
and will turn
26:01
away from
26:02
listening to the
26:03
truth.
26:04
And wander
26:05
off into
26:06
myths.
26:08
Our outline for
26:09
this morning is
26:10
as follows.
26:11
Three points.
26:12
Number one,
26:13
the scripture
26:14
alone is God's
26:16
final authority.
26:18
The scripture
26:19
alone is God's
26:20
final authority.
26:22
Number two,
26:24
the scripture
26:25
alone is God's
26:26
final authority
26:27
for justification.
26:29
sanctification.
26:31
And number
26:32
three,
26:33
the scripture
26:33
alone is God's
26:34
final authority
26:35
for sanctification.
26:39
Number one,
26:41
we'll take the
26:42
text a bit out
26:43
of order.
26:43
The scripture
26:43
alone is God's
26:44
final authority.
26:46
First, we must
26:47
establish that,
26:48
and we see that
26:49
in chapter four,
26:50
verses one
26:51
through four,
26:52
in this way.
26:53
And I find this
26:55
to be so
26:56
phenomenal.
26:58
In verse three,
26:59
Paul writes to
27:00
Timothy,
27:01
there's going to
27:01
be a time,
27:02
and this was the
27:03
time that Timothy
27:04
himself experienced,
27:05
and we still
27:06
experience this time
27:08
today.
27:09
People are not
27:10
going to endure
27:12
sound teaching.
27:13
There will be
27:13
sound teaching,
27:14
but they won't
27:15
even want to hear
27:16
it.
27:16
And because they
27:18
don't want to
27:18
endure the sound
27:19
teaching,
27:20
they're going
27:21
to accumulate,
27:22
which is a
27:23
strong word.
27:24
Many teachers
27:25
are going to
27:26
accumulate for
27:26
themselves teachers
27:28
to suit their
27:29
own passions.
27:30
They're not going
27:31
to want to hear
27:31
what the word of
27:32
God has to say.
27:33
They're going to
27:33
want to hear what
27:34
they already want
27:36
to hear.
27:38
They're going to
27:38
gather teachers
27:39
around them.
27:40
We're going to
27:41
allow them to go
27:42
on living exactly
27:43
the way they are,
27:46
and they'll turn
27:47
away from listening
27:48
to the truth,
27:49
and they'll wander
27:49
off into myths.
27:51
And the point
27:52
there is pointless
27:53
teaching, right?
27:54
Teaching that has
27:55
no value at all
27:57
for living.
27:59
And what is
28:00
Paul's instruction
28:01
to that?
28:02
I just find this
28:02
so incredibly
28:04
encouraging as a
28:05
pastor.
28:07
This time is
28:08
coming, right?
28:09
And I experience
28:09
it day to day.
28:11
What does he say?
28:13
He says,
28:13
preach the word.
28:15
Verse 2.
28:16
He says,
28:17
preach the word.
28:18
And we're meant
28:19
to be using the
28:19
word in various
28:20
ways.
28:21
Reproving,
28:22
rebuking,
28:23
exhorting all
28:24
different aspects
28:25
of the way in
28:25
which we apply
28:26
the word of God
28:27
to people's life,
28:28
and we're supposed
28:29
to be doing it
28:30
with complete
28:31
patience.
28:34
Man, that floors
28:35
me.
28:36
Like, I so,
28:37
I want to flip
28:37
tables over so
28:38
bad sometimes.
28:40
And Paul here
28:40
instructs Timothy
28:41
to just keep
28:43
preaching the truth.
28:45
Why?
28:46
Because it's
28:47
God's final
28:47
authority.
28:49
Because God
28:49
has spoken
28:50
by his word.
28:52
It's powerful.
28:54
It is right
28:54
to start our
28:55
study with
28:56
sola scriptura
28:57
because a
28:58
proper understanding
28:59
of scripture
29:00
is the beginning
29:00
of our ability
29:02
to understand
29:03
any of the
29:04
other
29:04
solas.
29:06
The doctrine
29:07
of sola scriptura
29:08
is known as
29:09
the formal
29:11
principle,
29:12
and the others
29:12
follow
29:13
from it.
29:16
When the
29:16
Supreme Court
29:17
is trying
29:18
a difficult
29:18
case,
29:19
they look
29:21
at other
29:21
legal decisions
29:22
and laws
29:23
to see what
29:24
unites them.
29:26
They're looking
29:26
at a difficult
29:27
matter that
29:28
needs to be
29:28
settled.
29:29
They look
29:30
out there.
29:30
What decisions
29:31
have been made
29:32
before?
29:33
What else
29:34
is laws
29:36
that are passed
29:36
state to state?
29:38
What is it
29:38
that's similar
29:39
amongst them
29:40
that unites
29:41
them?
29:42
Or, we could
29:43
say,
29:43
norms them.
29:46
They look
29:46
to consensus
29:48
amongst these
29:49
legal decisions
29:50
and laws
29:50
as an appeal
29:52
to an authority
29:53
greater than
29:54
themselves.
29:54
The Supreme
29:55
Court will
29:55
write decisions
29:56
and they're
29:57
always appealing
29:58
to something
29:58
else.
29:59
The consensus
30:00
of other
30:00
decisions,
30:02
other laws,
30:03
and this is
30:04
what's called
30:04
norming.
30:06
So, Martin
30:07
Luther pulled
30:08
in his legal
30:09
training when
30:10
referring to
30:11
scripture as
30:12
the, catch
30:13
this, norm
30:14
of norms
30:15
that cannot
30:17
be normed.
30:19
The norm
30:21
of norms
30:21
that cannot
30:22
be normed.
30:23
The authority
30:24
that has
30:25
no other
30:26
authority,
30:28
or in the
30:29
Latin, because
30:29
it's fun to
30:30
say, norma
30:31
normus
30:32
non normata.
30:33
You can
30:35
remember that,
30:35
I think.
30:36
Norma
30:37
normus
30:37
non normata.
30:40
That is
30:41
to say,
30:42
we believe
30:43
in sola
30:43
scriptura,
30:45
is to say
30:46
that we
30:46
believe that
30:47
the Bible
30:48
is God's
30:49
final authority.
30:51
Now,
30:52
that can
30:53
be misunderstood.
30:56
To say
30:57
that the
30:57
scripture is
30:58
the final
30:58
authority
30:59
is not
31:00
to be
31:01
misunderstood,
31:01
understood that
31:02
the scripture
31:03
is the
31:04
only authority.
31:07
And let me
31:07
explain before
31:08
you get mad at
31:08
me about that
31:09
statement.
31:11
There are many
31:12
people who will
31:13
misunderstand sola
31:14
scriptura to
31:14
mean that all
31:15
they need is
31:16
themselves and
31:17
the Bible.
31:18
And we have
31:19
gotten many
31:20
erroneous
31:21
Christian teaching
31:22
from a
31:23
misunderstanding of
31:24
what sola
31:24
scriptura means.
31:26
People who
31:26
will go off and
31:27
just reinterpret
31:28
it to mean
31:28
whatever they
31:29
want it to
31:30
mean.
31:31
A lot of
31:31
people's
31:32
hesitation to
31:32
even understand
31:33
the Bible to
31:34
be God's
31:34
authoritative
31:35
word is that
31:37
they've heard
31:37
so many
31:39
different
31:39
understandings of
31:41
the scripture.
31:42
That's why we
31:43
don't have Bible
31:44
studies where we
31:45
say, what does
31:46
this text mean
31:47
to you?
31:48
The text means
31:50
one thing.
31:51
How do we
31:52
apply it in
31:52
our living?
31:54
So we don't
31:55
mean that when
31:56
we say sola
31:58
scriptura.
31:58
It's not the
31:59
only authority.
32:01
It's just the
32:01
supreme.
32:02
It's the
32:03
final.
32:04
It's the
32:04
governing
32:05
authority.
32:06
Right?
32:06
It's the
32:07
norm of norms
32:07
that cannot
32:08
be normed.
32:11
The Bible
32:11
should not
32:13
be read
32:13
quote unquote
32:14
alone.
32:17
Martin Luther
32:18
said this,
32:20
the scripture's
32:20
authority is
32:22
not a
32:22
naked
32:23
authority.
32:24
And that
32:25
is to say,
32:26
we should
32:27
also look
32:28
to, in
32:29
helping us
32:30
understand what
32:30
the scripture
32:31
means, things
32:33
like church
32:34
history.
32:35
It's helpful
32:36
for us to go
32:36
back and look,
32:37
what has the
32:38
church historically
32:39
believed to be
32:40
true about the
32:41
scripture?
32:42
If you find
32:42
yourself coming
32:43
to an
32:43
understanding of
32:44
the Bible that
32:44
no one else in
32:45
the history of
32:46
the church has
32:46
understood to be
32:46
true of the
32:47
Bible, you
32:48
might need to
32:49
rethink that
32:50
position on the
32:51
scripture.
32:51
And, beloved,
32:53
this happens
32:53
all the time.
32:56
So we look
32:57
to church
32:57
history, and
32:58
there's a lot
32:58
of messes in
32:59
church history
32:59
too, and
33:00
there's a lot
33:00
of condemned
33:01
heresies in
33:02
history as
33:03
well, but it
33:03
can be a
33:04
help to us
33:05
in that.
33:06
We look to
33:06
creeds and
33:08
confessions,
33:09
things that help
33:10
us gather
33:11
together and
33:11
to unify what
33:13
the church has
33:13
believed the
33:14
scripture teaches
33:15
about particular
33:16
topics.
33:18
We look to
33:19
the teaching
33:19
of leaders,
33:21
church leaders.
33:24
You know,
33:24
once upon a
33:24
time, the
33:25
position of
33:25
pastor was
33:26
a reverenced
33:26
position.
33:28
You know that?
33:29
In our day
33:30
now, sometimes
33:30
I feel a little
33:31
ashamed when I
33:32
tell people I'm
33:32
a pastor because
33:33
some of the
33:33
jokers out
33:34
there, right,
33:36
they just get
33:36
up and
33:37
entertain and
33:38
say nothing
33:39
of any value
33:40
whatsoever.
33:42
When a
33:43
pastor rightly
33:45
comes up and
33:46
opens up the
33:46
word of God,
33:47
he speaks with
33:48
authority, not
33:50
a new
33:51
revelation, but
33:53
because he
33:53
speaks of the
33:55
word of God,
33:56
right?
33:57
Preaching is
33:58
authoritative
33:58
because proper
33:59
preaching is
34:00
Bible preaching.
34:02
It tells you
34:02
what the text
34:03
means and
34:05
gives it
34:05
application for
34:06
your living.
34:09
The writer of
34:09
Hebrews,
34:10
chapter 13,
34:11
verse 7,
34:11
says,
34:12
remember your
34:13
leaders,
34:13
those who spoke
34:14
to you the
34:14
word of God.
34:16
Consider the
34:17
outcome of the
34:17
way of life
34:18
and imitate
34:19
their faith.
34:22
So we have
34:22
at our disposal
34:23
all of these
34:23
tools,
34:25
but the
34:27
scripture is
34:28
the final
34:29
authority.
34:30
If you're a
34:31
member of
34:31
Christ Family
34:32
Church,
34:32
Dahlonega,
34:33
or have been
34:34
to a CFC
34:35
101 and not
34:36
become a member
34:36
yet, you've
34:38
heard me talk
34:39
about our
34:39
statement of
34:40
faith as a
34:40
church.
34:41
We have
34:41
statement of
34:42
faith that's
34:43
got 18
34:43
articles,
34:44
clarifying
34:45
statements about
34:45
what we believe
34:46
the Bible
34:47
teaches about
34:47
these various
34:49
topics.
34:50
I'm always
34:50
so careful
34:52
to say that
34:54
the statement
34:54
of faith is
34:55
not authoritative,
34:57
but is only
34:59
in that it's
35:00
consistent with
35:00
the scripture,
35:01
right?
35:01
So we can be
35:02
shown that we
35:03
have erred with
35:04
the Bible and
35:05
plain logic
35:06
because the
35:07
scripture is
35:08
the final
35:09
authority.
35:10
The scriptures
35:11
are the only
35:12
inerrant
35:13
revelation of
35:14
God to man,
35:16
and it is
35:16
a closed
35:17
canon.
35:19
So we see
35:20
in our text
35:21
today the
35:23
remedy for
35:25
people who
35:25
will be
35:27
carried off
35:28
by myth,
35:30
preach the
35:31
truth,
35:31
the final
35:32
authority,
35:33
right?
35:34
Prove,
35:35
reprove,
35:36
rebuke,
35:37
exhort with
35:37
complete patience
35:39
and with
35:40
teaching.
35:42
So the
35:42
scripture alone
35:43
is God's
35:43
final authority.
35:45
And that
35:45
means something
35:46
for us,
35:46
right?
35:46
There's
35:47
something at
35:47
stake when
35:48
we say
35:48
that.
35:50
So number
35:50
two,
35:50
the scripture
35:51
alone is
35:51
God's final
35:52
authority for
35:53
justification.
35:56
Justification is
35:57
a legal term.
35:58
It has to do
35:59
with our
35:59
standing before
36:00
God,
36:01
right?
36:02
Will we
36:02
stand before
36:03
God condemned
36:05
or forgiven?
36:07
Right?
36:07
If we are
36:08
justified,
36:08
we are forgiven
36:09
when we stand
36:10
before God.
36:10
Our record of
36:11
wrong has been
36:12
dismissed.
36:14
So the
36:14
scripture alone
36:15
is God's
36:15
final authority
36:16
for justification.
36:20
Back up to the
36:21
top of the
36:21
text,
36:22
verses 14
36:22
and 15
36:23
of chapter
36:25
3.
36:28
Paul encourages
36:29
Timothy to
36:30
continue in what
36:31
he has learned
36:31
and firmly
36:32
believed,
36:34
knowing from
36:35
whom he
36:35
learned it.
36:35
He learned it
36:36
from Paul,
36:36
an apostle,
36:37
right?
36:37
Who is presently
36:39
in the process
36:39
of writing the
36:40
scripture.
36:41
He's writing a
36:41
letter to him
36:42
now that has
36:42
been canonized.
36:43
It's part of
36:44
our scripture,
36:45
2 Timothy.
36:47
And how
36:49
from your
36:49
childhood you
36:50
have been
36:50
acquainted with
36:52
the sacred
36:52
writings.
36:53
It's almost
36:53
like Paul
36:53
says both
36:54
the New
36:55
Testament and
36:55
the Old
36:55
Testament.
36:56
Remember
36:56
these things
36:58
which are
36:59
what?
36:59
Which are
37:00
able to
37:01
make you
37:01
wise for
37:02
salvation
37:03
through faith
37:04
in Jesus
37:05
Christ.
37:06
It's the
37:06
word of God
37:07
itself that
37:08
the spirit
37:08
of God
37:09
uses to
37:10
bring about
37:11
our faith.
37:12
So it's
37:13
God's
37:13
final authority
37:14
for justification.
37:17
So beloved,
37:18
as we go out
37:18
into the
37:19
world,
37:19
desiring to
37:20
see people
37:21
come to
37:21
faith in
37:22
Christ,
37:22
it is the
37:22
message of
37:23
Christ that
37:24
we carry.
37:25
And it
37:25
must be a
37:26
message that's
37:26
consistent with
37:27
what the
37:27
scripture teaches.
37:28
I will tell
37:29
you the most
37:30
beneficial way to
37:31
do that is to
37:31
teach the
37:32
Bible.
37:33
Right?
37:34
You can
37:34
certainly share
37:35
the gospel
37:35
without
37:36
specifically
37:37
referencing the
37:38
Bible,
37:38
but I will
37:39
tell you that
37:39
it's harder
37:40
to err if
37:40
you actually
37:41
open the
37:42
scripture to
37:42
people and
37:43
show them
37:44
where it
37:44
says it.
37:46
Romans chapter
37:46
10,
37:47
verse 14 and
37:48
following,
37:49
Paul writes,
37:50
how then will
37:50
they call on
37:51
him in whom
37:52
they have not
37:52
believed?
37:53
And how are
37:54
they to believe
37:54
in him in whom
37:55
they have never
37:56
heard?
37:57
Right?
37:57
Here's a
37:57
problem.
37:58
How do people
37:58
come to faith
37:59
in Christ if
37:59
they've not
38:00
heard of
38:01
Christ?
38:01
And how
38:02
are they to
38:02
hear without
38:03
someone preaching?
38:05
If that news
38:06
is not taken
38:07
to these
38:08
people,
38:09
how will
38:09
they believe?
38:11
And understand,
38:12
this is the
38:12
end of verse
38:13
14,
38:13
that the word
38:14
for preaching
38:15
is not talking
38:16
about what I'm
38:17
doing right now
38:17
necessarily.
38:18
It can include
38:19
what I'm doing
38:19
right now,
38:20
but it just
38:20
means the
38:21
sharing of
38:22
the good
38:22
news of
38:23
Jesus Christ.
38:25
Verse 15,
38:26
and how are
38:26
they to
38:27
preach?
38:27
Unless they
38:28
are sent,
38:29
as it is
38:30
written,
38:30
how beautiful
38:30
are the feet
38:31
of those who
38:31
preach the
38:32
good news.
38:33
But they
38:34
have not all
38:34
obeyed the
38:35
gospel,
38:35
for Isaiah
38:35
says,
38:36
Lord,
38:36
who has
38:36
believed what
38:37
he has
38:37
heard?
38:38
From us.
38:39
And then
38:39
verse 17
38:40
drives the
38:41
point so
38:42
well.
38:43
So,
38:44
faith comes
38:45
from hearing
38:46
and hearing
38:47
through the
38:49
word of
38:49
Christ.
38:51
This is why
38:52
on Sunday
38:53
morning,
38:54
the other
38:54
things we do
38:55
together,
38:56
we come
38:56
together and
38:57
we open
38:57
up God's
38:58
word.
38:59
And this
39:00
isn't the
39:00
only time
39:00
that we
39:01
do it.
39:01
If you
39:02
will pay
39:02
any attention
39:03
to the
39:03
songs that
39:04
we sing,
39:04
it's why
39:04
our songs
39:05
tend to
39:05
be
39:05
wordy,
39:06
they're
39:06
scripture
39:07
rich.
39:09
The
39:09
references
39:10
abound.
39:11
And the
39:11
more you
39:11
read your
39:12
Bible,
39:12
the more
39:12
you're
39:12
going to
39:12
see that
39:13
in the
39:14
songs that
39:15
we sing.
39:15
It's why
39:15
we should
39:16
rightly
39:16
pray the
39:17
word of
39:18
God.
39:19
It ought
39:19
to all
39:19
be
39:19
consistently
39:20
pointing
39:20
you to
39:21
the truth
39:22
of God,
39:23
God's
39:24
final
39:25
authority.
39:26
I have
39:27
nothing,
39:29
zero,
39:29
of any
39:30
value to
39:30
say to
39:32
see you
39:32
justified
39:33
or
39:33
sanctified
39:35
if it
39:35
doesn't
39:36
come from
39:36
God's
39:37
word.
39:39
This is
39:39
why on
39:39
Sunday
39:40
mornings I
39:40
try to
39:40
reference it
39:41
as much
39:41
as I
39:41
possibly
39:42
can
39:42
because I
39:43
don't know
39:43
what else
39:43
to say.
39:45
No good
39:46
stories to
39:47
tell you.
39:48
I just
39:48
have the
39:48
Bible.
39:49
I want
39:50
God to
39:50
work mightily
39:51
by it
39:52
in your
39:53
life.
39:54
Psalm
39:55
chapter
39:55
19.
39:56
Verse 7
39:57
through 11.
39:57
This is
39:57
from this
39:58
past week's
39:59
scripture
39:59
reading.
40:00
If you're
40:00
joining us
40:00
in that,
40:02
Psalm
40:02
says,
40:03
the law
40:03
of the
40:04
Lord is
40:04
perfect,
40:06
reviving
40:06
the soul.
40:08
The
40:08
testimony
40:08
of the
40:09
Lord is
40:09
sure,
40:10
making
40:10
wise
40:11
the
40:11
simple.
40:12
The
40:12
precepts
40:13
of the
40:13
Lord are
40:14
right,
40:14
rejoicing
40:15
the heart.
40:17
The
40:17
commandment
40:18
of the
40:18
Lord is
40:18
pure,
40:19
enlightening
40:19
the eyes.
40:21
The
40:21
fear of
40:22
the
40:22
Lord is
40:22
clean,
40:23
enduring
40:23
forever.
40:24
The
40:24
rules of
40:25
the
40:25
Lord are
40:25
true,
40:26
and
40:26
righteous
40:27
altogether.
40:28
More to be
40:29
desired are
40:30
they than
40:30
gold,
40:31
even much
40:31
fine gold,
40:33
sweeter also
40:33
than honey
40:34
and drippings
40:35
of the
40:36
honeycomb.
40:37
Moreover,
40:38
by them
40:39
is your
40:39
servant
40:40
warned.
40:40
In
40:41
keeping
40:41
them,
40:42
there is
40:42
great
40:43
reward.
40:43
God's
40:45
word.
40:46
And so,
40:47
as God's
40:47
people,
40:48
we need
40:49
to love
40:49
God's
40:50
word,
40:50
and we
40:50
need to
40:51
teach
40:51
God's
40:52
word as
40:53
far and
40:53
wide as
40:54
we possibly
40:54
can so
40:55
that people
40:56
can be
40:57
justified,
40:58
so that they
40:59
can respond
41:00
in faith to
41:02
the good
41:02
news.
41:04
People ask
41:05
me from
41:05
time to
41:06
time how
41:06
it is that
41:07
our church
41:07
sees so
41:08
many people
41:08
baptized and
41:09
continues to
41:10
grow,
41:11
and I
41:12
say,
41:13
well,
41:13
we just
41:14
do what
41:14
the scripture
41:15
has instructed
41:15
us to do
41:16
as we gather
41:16
together as
41:17
a church.
41:18
Just get
41:19
together and
41:19
we do the
41:20
things that
41:20
we see the
41:21
Bible teaching
41:21
us.
41:22
The reformers
41:22
called this
41:23
the regulative
41:24
principle.
41:26
If the
41:26
Bible implies
41:28
or expressly
41:29
commands us to
41:29
do something,
41:30
we should do
41:30
it,
41:31
and if it
41:31
doesn't,
41:32
then we
41:32
shouldn't do
41:33
it.
41:33
We should
41:34
stop trying
41:35
to out-innovate
41:36
the scripture.
41:38
People ask
41:38
a lot how
41:39
we get so
41:39
many young
41:40
people to
41:41
come to
41:41
our church.
41:42
There's a
41:42
great panic,
41:44
particularly in
41:44
our denomination,
41:46
because a lot
41:47
of churches
41:47
average age
41:48
is 65 to
41:49
70,
41:50
and they're
41:51
dying,
41:52
literally.
41:53
The church
41:53
is dwindling
41:54
out as
41:55
people go
41:55
on to be
41:56
with the
41:56
Lord.
41:56
They go,
41:57
how do we
41:57
reach the
41:58
millennials?
41:59
And people
41:59
are starting
41:59
to look to
42:00
me as
42:01
the expert
42:02
or something
42:03
in that,
42:04
and I go,
42:05
we don't do
42:06
anything flashy.
42:07
We just
42:08
open up
42:09
God's
42:09
word.
42:10
Because
42:11
God's
42:12
people love
42:13
God's
42:14
word.
42:17
Thirdly,
42:19
the scripture
42:20
alone is
42:20
God's final
42:22
authority for
42:24
sanctification.
42:25
So we begin
42:26
by the power of
42:26
the spirit in
42:28
the word as
42:29
Christians,
42:30
and we're
42:30
brought along,
42:31
we're perfected,
42:32
we're moved
42:33
towards holiness
42:34
by the power of
42:36
the spirit and
42:36
the application
42:37
of God's
42:38
word.
42:39
If you have
42:39
a trouble
42:40
in this
42:41
world,
42:42
it's either
42:42
physical,
42:42
you should
42:43
go see a
42:43
doctor,
42:43
or it's
42:44
spiritual,
42:44
you should
42:45
go to the
42:45
scripture.
42:46
You should
42:46
have somebody
42:47
mentor you
42:48
in scripture.
42:48
You should
42:49
receive counseling
42:50
from the
42:51
scripture.
42:52
This is the
42:53
solution for
42:54
all of our
42:54
spiritual issues,
42:55
the Bible
42:56
and the
42:57
application of
42:57
the gospel
42:58
of Jesus
42:58
Christ found
43:00
in it.
43:00
verse 16
43:02
and 17.
43:03
All scripture
43:04
is breathed
43:06
out by God,
43:06
he's the
43:07
very source
43:07
of it,
43:08
and it's
43:09
profitable.
43:10
It's profitable
43:11
for teaching,
43:12
for reproof,
43:13
for correction,
43:14
and for training
43:14
in righteousness.
43:15
So it's a tool
43:15
that can be
43:16
picked up,
43:17
right,
43:17
and used,
43:18
employed in
43:19
these various
43:19
means to
43:21
bring about
43:22
righteousness.
43:24
Verse 17,
43:25
that the man
43:26
of God may
43:27
be complete
43:28
and equipped,
43:30
and here's
43:30
the key
43:30
word for
43:31
every good
43:34
work.
43:36
The scripture
43:37
is sufficient
43:39
as a guide
43:41
for all
43:42
holiness.
43:43
You don't
43:44
need to go
43:45
beyond it.
43:47
And you all
43:47
know that I'm
43:48
a big reader
43:48
and a big
43:49
promoter of
43:50
reading,
43:51
but only in
43:52
that those
43:52
books are
43:53
expressions of
43:54
what this
43:55
book teaches,
43:56
right,
43:57
helping us
43:57
to understand
43:58
it more
43:58
clearly.
43:59
What does
43:59
this book
44:01
teach us?
44:01
It is
44:02
sufficient
44:03
as the
44:04
guide and
44:05
rule for
44:06
holiness,
44:07
right?
44:07
We asked the
44:08
kids this
44:08
morning,
44:08
how do we
44:09
know how
44:09
to please
44:10
God?
44:11
The scripture.
44:12
He wrote
44:13
us a complete
44:13
book.
44:14
We need
44:15
nothing
44:15
beyond it,
44:16
and it is
44:17
the final
44:18
authority
44:20
for holy
44:21
living.
44:23
I love
44:23
this.
44:24
Martin
44:24
Luther said,
44:25
a simple
44:26
layman
44:27
religion,
44:28
armed with
44:28
the scripture,
44:29
is to be
44:30
believed above
44:31
a pope or
44:32
a council
44:32
without it.
44:36
And so you,
44:37
beloved,
44:37
have the
44:38
amazing ability
44:39
to know this
44:40
book and to
44:41
pick it up and
44:42
give it application
44:42
in your life by
44:43
the power of the
44:43
spirit and to
44:44
turn around and
44:45
to do that
44:46
for others.
44:48
The ministry of
44:49
the church,
44:50
what we are
44:51
meant to do
44:52
together is to
44:53
be a people
44:53
that minister
44:54
to the word
44:55
of God to
44:55
one another
44:56
and then to
44:57
the community
44:58
around us.
44:59
So we get
44:59
together in
45:00
order to
45:01
minister God's
45:02
word to one
45:02
another that we
45:03
might grow in
45:04
holiness and
45:05
then to turn
45:05
around and go
45:06
out to our
45:07
community and
45:08
to do the
45:08
same.
45:09
Find those
45:10
people who
45:11
are looking for
45:12
the truth.
45:13
When you speak
45:15
their ears perk
45:16
and they say
45:16
there's something
45:17
there, I want
45:17
to hear more.
45:18
The spirit
45:19
works in them
45:20
and draws them
45:20
to the truth
45:22
of Christ
45:23
found in the
45:24
scripture.
45:26
And so this
45:27
encapsulates
45:28
what we mean
45:29
when we talk
45:30
about scripture
45:30
alone.
45:31
Sola
45:32
scriptura.
45:33
God's final
45:34
authority is
45:35
final authority
45:35
for justification
45:36
is final
45:37
authority for
45:39
sanctification.
45:41
If you have
45:41
not experienced
45:42
the beauty of
45:43
the Bible,
45:44
please come
45:45
and read it
45:46
with us.
45:48
Open its pages
45:49
and see how
45:49
God works
45:50
by it.
45:52
If you get
45:53
nothing out of
45:55
Bible reading,
45:56
there is a
45:57
good chance,
45:58
not an
45:58
absolute chance,
45:59
but a good
46:00
chance that you
46:01
don't have the
46:01
spirit of Christ.
46:03
Repent and
46:04
believe.
46:06
Believe in the
46:06
gospel.
46:07
It's found in
46:07
its pages.
46:09
And so find
46:10
joy in doing.
46:12
In closing,
46:13
Martin Luther,
46:14
who wrote a
46:14
number of
46:15
hymns.
46:16
I don't know
46:17
if this poem
46:18
found its way
46:19
into hymn form
46:20
or not.
46:20
So here
46:22
it is a
46:23
poem,
46:23
possibly a hymn
46:24
I'm not aware
46:25
of.
46:26
He wrote this,
46:27
feelings come
46:28
and feelings
46:29
go,
46:30
and feelings
46:31
are deceiving.
46:33
My warrant
46:34
is the word
46:34
of God,
46:35
not else
46:36
is worth
46:37
believing.
46:38
Though all
46:39
my heart
46:39
should feel
46:40
condemned
46:40
for want
46:42
of some
46:42
sweet token,
46:44
there is one
46:45
greater than
46:46
my heart
46:46
whose word
46:47
cannot be
46:48
broken.
46:48
I'll trust
46:50
in God's
46:51
unchanging
46:52
word till
46:53
soul and
46:54
body sever.
46:56
For though
46:57
all things
46:58
shall pass
46:59
away,
47:00
his word
47:01
shall stand
47:02
forever.
47:03
Let's pray
47:03
together.