|
|
|
|
KWASIZABANTU MINISTERS’ CONFERENCE
6 MARCH 2001, 15:00
Rev
Danie Steyn The Authority of the Bible Isaiah
8:20 – “To the law and to the testimony! If
they don’t speak according to this word, they have no light of dawn”. Isaiah
9:2 – The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the
land of the shadow of death a light has dawned”. Is
it possible to live and to die on this earth without the authority of the Bible? Yes, millions hear, but go lost in unbelief. Your
unbelief does not do anything to the authority of the Bible, but it makes YOU vulnerable. In
Jeremiah we read how God’s Word was made like fire and the unbelievers like dry wood,
so that the fire could consume the wood. That
is the duty God gives to each preacher of the Gospel. A matter that lies heavily on my
heart is the fact that those who do not believe in God’s Word, will have to pay for
it in eternity. Yet in Jeremiah 6:14 we read of preachers who preach peace and safety when
there is no peace, “dressing the wound of the people as though it were not
serious”. They plaster with loose whitewash. But we have to proclaim as in Jer. 22:29
“Oh land, land, land, hear the Word of the Lord!” God’s
Word is inspired by the Holy Spirit. We read in 2 Pet 1:21 how the saints of God were
carried along by the Holy Spirit to speak as they did. In 2 Tim. 3:16 Paul also says that
the whole Scriptures are inspired by God. What
are we to do according to the Word of God? I
briefly want to use two examples 1) Firstly,
we know that circumcision is no longer meant for us. Rom. 2:29 says that the true Jews are
those whose hearts have been circumcised. In Galatians 5:2 Paul makes it clear that Christ
would be of no value to us if we had ourselves circumcised according to the letter. 2) Secondly,
there are no more earthly priests. In Hebrews we read how the High Priest, Jesus, offered
Himself once as a Sacrifice for us all. But
we face a very big problem – people don’t want to accept the fact that this Word
carries God’s authority. In a certain conference I spoke to the church council about
our need for `Fire from heaven’. One elder stood up and said: “Can’t we
continue in the way we’ve always been going?” That is the problem we face today. F.
Strauss said in 1837: “Use the Bible, but just remove the supernatural from it”.
Then the Bible would be like any other book – secular, and donkey feed –
useless. The
problem already existed in the time of Jesus, with the Sadducees and Pharisees who did not want to accept the written Word of God,
nor THE Word of God – Jesus. The
intellectuals of today seek for the truth in the light of present day wisdom and light. Let
me illustrate it with a scene involving a German clown. The whole stage was dark, except
for a lamppost shedding light in one corner. A man was diligently searching for something
in the lamppost’s light. A policeman who asked him about it, joined in the search
when he heard that he was looking for his keys. After some time the policeman asked: “Are you sure that you lost them here?”
“No”, he replied, “I lost them there in the dark, but since it’s too
dark there, I decided to look here in the light”. That
is the case with unbelieving theologians, philosophers and scientists. They search for the
truth in the existing light of this world. They don’t know, however, what it means to
be born again out of darkness into the light. I was also plucked out of darkness one night
50 years ago, and drawn into the wonderful light of Christ. My whole life was
revolutionised and till today I cannot keep quiet. In
Matthew 13:24-30 we read of false christs who sow weeds where the wheat has been sown.
This we find in our church magazines and newspapers -
unbelieving philosophers and theologians who sow confusion. The church suffers
because of it. Voltaire
said in his time that within 25 years there would be no sign of Christianity or the Bible.
He died and 40 years later his own home was used for the printing of Bibles and Christian
literature. Thus we see the power of God at work and receive full assurance about the
authority of the Word of God. The
worst is however, when Satan works through deceivers who don’t only remove the
authority from the Bible, but Christ Himself as well. They bring Him down to the level of
just another prophet, no more the Lord of lords and God. What
is the consequence of all this confusion and unbelief in our time? Homosexuality is spoken
well of in the church. Preachers are even prepared to marry them in church. Instead of
them seeing and confessing their abominable sin according to 1 John 1, the sin is written
off as a weakness – a birth defect. Nevertheless we have to hate the sin and stretch
forth our hand to rescue them from their sin, turning to Christ. Paul
says that God will hand over to their sin, those who refuse to listen to God. They can
then do just what they like, but the consequences of their sin they will carry. We read
about that in Genesis 19 – how God handed them over to their promiscuity and then
destroyed them with fire and brimstone. And
what solution is given to those who do not want to break with their sin? 1) Condoms 2) Cheap
pills and medicines -
instead of the Word of God Many
preachers are too scared to proclaim God’s Word in truth and to exercise church
discipline as prescribed in the Word of God. We
read how Peter declares that there is only one Name by which we can be saved –
“Jesus”. And Paul in 1 Tim. 2:5 says – “one mediator between God and
men, the man Christ Jesus”. Paul says that any other gospel is cursed. Let
us have a look at the state of affairs when there is no law. We read in 2 Kings 21-23 of
the godless king Manasseh who even sacrificed his own son to idols. The Book of the Law
had gone lost in the temple! But when the
good king Josiah started reigning, the Book of the Law was once again found in the temple,
and we see the wonderful change it brought about. If
the Bible does not explode like dynamite in our lives, it is not the Word of God in our
lives. The
Bible must be part of our life – then we will also be enjoying all the blessings and
privileges it brings. |
|
|
Last edited on: Tuesday April 03, 2007 E-mail us at: mail@ksb.org.za Return to KSB Home page |
