Do You Know the Scriptures and the Power of God?

Do you know the Scriptures and the power of God?

Matthew 22 records Jesus’ interaction with the Sadducees, who do not believe in the resurrection of the dead. These opponents speak of a woman who had been married successively to seven brothers, each of whom died, then ask: “In the resurrection … of the seven, whose wife will she be?” (Matthew 22:28) Through this story, they suppose they have shown the resurrection of the dead to be absurd: A woman can’t be married to seven men simultaneously, as she would be if they all were resurrected!

Jesus responds: “You are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God” (Matthew 22:29). He goes on to show that the Old Testament Scriptures teach the resurrection of the dead, and thus God has power over death.

Let’s consider Jesus’ statement more broadly: Why do we need to know both the Scriptures and the power of God?

Consider first those who know the Scriptures but not the power of God. That is, they have studied Scripture, they may have memorized much Scripture, they may know the original languages, they may be familiar with commentaries and grammar and the history of interpretation – but they do not know God’s power. They do not believe that He is sovereign, that He is a Redeemer, that He is the Judge.

The Sadducees were somewhat like that, as Jesus brings out Matthew 22:31. He says: “Have you not read what was said to you by God,” and then quotes Exodus 3:6, “I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” God originally spoke those words to Moses – but Jesus says God spoke them also “to you,” to the Sadducees.

The point: God spoke all Scripture to you! He spoke all Scripture to me! And unless we read the Scriptures that way, we do not know them – even if we can quote the entire Bible from memory.

So when you read Scripture:

  • If you primarily think, “That sheds light on the customs and beliefs of Jews two thousand years ago,” you haven’t heard Scripture correctly.
  • If you primarily think, “That’s a key statement in the historical development of worldwide religious thought,” you haven’t heard Scripture correctly.
  • Even if you primarily think, “Boy, my friend really needs to hear and apply that truth,” you haven’t heard Scripture correctly.

Now, all those statements may be true. But God speaks the words of Scripture to you! So hear them that way! Plead for insight into them. Conform your mind to them. Submit your actions to them.

Second, consider those who know the power of God but not the Scriptures. They may be impressed by the majesty of creation and ascribe that to a Creator. They may have prayed for the healing of a loved one – and it happened! They may witness natural disasters and believe that a god controls them.

Such knowledge, however, often results in thinking of God as a genie in the bottle (I rub the bottle, make my three wishes, and – voila! – I get what I want!), or as a random, dangerous force I need to bargain with and appease (“Here, I’ll offer you this worship and this contribution if you’ll refrain from harming me”).

Only from Scripture can we know of both God’s power and His redeeming love, of both His justice and His saving grace, of both the power of temptation and the greater power of His life-giving Spirit, of both the dangers of this present age and the security we have in Jesus, of both death as the last enemy and Jesus’ victory over death.

So, once again: Do you know the Scriptures and the power of God? Commit yourself to knowing both. Only in this way can we be “imitators of God, as beloved children, … walk[ing] in love” (Ephesians 5:1-2).

Responding to Disasters

Port-au-Prince, Haiti, is devastated. Thousands and thousands of buildings have collapsed. Tens of thousands are dead. Thousands more are injured and doomed to die, as hospitals too are destroyed and the needs outstrip the remaining medical care.

How can we respond to such a tragedy?

The Bible is our guide in all matters. In His Word, God tells us who He is, who we are, how He rules the world, and how we should respond to Him. He tells us what we could never learn on our own, what we would grope after and never find apart from His revelation.

So what guidance does the Bible give us?

First, we must weep with those who weep, mourn with those who mourn (Romans 12:15). Our Lord wept over the coming judgment on Jerusalem (Luke 19:41); He wept at the grave of His friend, even though He was about to raise him from the dead (John 11:35). Ultimately, all sorrow and pain in this world is the result of sin – God’s initial creation was very good (Genesis 1:31). So let us weep over sin and its impact.

Second, we must pray. God works through prayer to bring about His purposes at all times (2 Corinthians 1:11), and so He exhorts us to pray about all our needs (Philippians 4:6).

Third, we must do what we can to help those in need (Luke 12:33). In so doing, we honor God (Proverbs 14:31), who has compassion on the poor and needy (Psalm 72:13). Now, in such situations we can do more harm than good – our attempts to help can hurt, as we noted earlier. So let us give to organizations that are cognizant of these dangers, who are working with local institutions, considering both the urgent relief needs and the longer term rehabilitation and development needs. Some suggestions (among many possibilities): Food for the Hungry, Child Hope International, and Water Missions International.

Fourth, we must take note of Jesus’ warning to those around Him as they considered a local tragedy:

“Those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem?  No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” Luke 13:4-5

Some people evidently were explaining the fall of the tower as God’s judgment on those eighteen people, saying that they deserved to die, and others (like themselves) did not. Jesus says, “Don’t think that way – but take the occasion of these deaths to examine yourself!” God’s judgment will come on all who do not repent (Romans 2:4-5) – and it will be much more terrible than the fall of the tower of Siloam, much more terrible than the Haiti earthquake, much more terrible than the Aceh tsunami (Revelation 6:15-17).

Fifth, we must remind ourselves of the Gospel. No one is righteous, not even one (Romans 3:10-12). We all deserve God’s condemnation, His wrath (Ephesians 2:1-3). Yet God sent His Son to live the perfect life that we should have lived, loving God with all His heart, soul, mind, and strength every minute of every day, loving His neighbor as Himself (Hebrews 4:15; Matthew 22:36-40); He sent Him to the cross to suffer and die, taking on Himself the penalty we deserve (2 Corinthians 5:21); and He raised Him from the dead, showing that the penalty was sufficient (Acts 2:24). We who believe in Him (John 1:12), valuing Him above all else (Matthew 13:44), receive the benefits of this death, and are united with Him for all eternity (Romans 6:4-5, 23).

Finally, we can rejoice that God is sovereign over all affairs of men. He is the Almighty One, who not only knows the number of hairs on my head (Matthew 10:30), but watches over and superintends all the events of my life, and of all the lives of those who are united in His Son (Psalm 1:6). So we can pray with the psalmist, “When my spirit faints within me, you know my way!” (Psalm 142:3). May our hurting brothers and sisters in Haiti know this truth, and lean on our Rock and our Refuge (Psalm 61:2-3).

May we, by His grace, be as He is in this world (1 John 4:17) – and thus, knowing our sinfulness, knowing our weakness, serve humbly as conduits of His mercy, His compassion, and His Word to the downtrodden and the needy.

Thrusting Aside the Word of God

(This sermon on Acts 13:13-52 was preached February 22, 2009. The audio is available here.)

What is the Bible? What do you think of it? How do you approach it?

Many want nothing to do with it. They might respond to such questions by saying, “The Bible – that’s old and out of date. It’s not relevant for today. If I’m going to read something hundreds of pages long, I want it to be fresh, new, written for this time period, and informed by all the recent advances in knowledge. Why should I spend time looking at that old book?”

Others might see historical or sociological value in the Bible: “Oh, yes, the Bible is an interesting record of a number of the spiritual encounters of great men and (a very few) great women. Perhaps some of those encounters have a basis in a supernatural being intervening in this world. In addition, the Bible has been esteemed by millions of people over the years; it has had a major influence on this country’s history and literature. Indeed, we can’t understand the US today without understanding the Bible. So, yes, I read it, I have studied it – as history, as an important core document of several religious traditions.”

Yet others might say more: They value the Bible for personal spiritual benefits: “Yes, the Bible has had a profound influence on me. Jesus is an amazing figure, as are Moses, Elijah, Daniel, David, and others. Jesus surely was a great teacher who was closely in touch with God. He is my example; I try to live like him. There is much we must learn from the Bible. But today, we can’t even know what the Bible originally said. The church may well have massaged the text to make it say what it wanted. And, in any event, the Bible is a pre-scientific account of origins and human psychology. We’ve learned so many things that make the Bible’s worldview archaic and obsolete. So, yes, it’s very interesting, impressive, and helpful – but today we must pick and choose what topics, what passages still make sense.”

Do those attitudes sound familiar to you? Do you yourself agree with one of them?

Consider the difference between those three attitudes toward the Bible and the psalmist’s attitude, expressed in Psalm 119:169-174: (more…)