Resolutions 2
resolutions: the bible
Jason Procopio
Last week we began a new series called “Resolutions”. In this series we’re looking at what we often call the “spiritual disciplines”. Simply put, the spiritual disciplines are those practices—like reading the Bible and prayer—which God gives us to help us grow in him.
Last Sunday we talked about one thing: that the main reason we don’t better practice the spiritual disciplines is not that we don’t know how to do it, but that we don’t want to. At the end of the day, the main reason why we don’t practice the spiritual disciplines is because of our hardness of heart. This hardness of heart is naturally in all of us, and God gives us the spiritual disciplines to fight against it.
There’s no particular order in which these things happen in our lives, but the most basic element of the spiritual disciplines is the reading of God’s Word.
Now, there are a couple of things I need to say right off the bat. First of all, I know how difficult reading the Bible can be. It’s a big book; it’s an old book; a lot of it is archaic; it’s difficult to understand. And all of us, at some point, have tried to read the Bible and been discouraged because we read for several minutes, and we understand the individual words, but somehow the point gets lost. So if that’s your experience, don’t worry—we all know what that’s like.
Secondly, I know that the logic purists among us will probably be frustrated by what I’m going to do today. We’re going to be looking at the Bible to see why we should read the Bible, which I know is a circular argument. I just want to be clear right away that I’m okay with that.
We believe, and the church has maintained for almost two thousand years, that the Bible—these 66 books of the Old and New Testament—are the Word that God communicated to us through the prophets and apostles, and that they are the highest authority for our lives and our relationship with God.
There are logical arguments we can give in favor of the Bible as the Word of God (some of which we talk about in the members’ class), but ultimately logical arguments aren’t going to convince anyone—not completely. The only thing that’s going to do that is the testimony of the Holy Spirit, that causes us to see the face of God in the Holy Scriptures—to read these words, and hear these testimonies, and to hear God’s voice in them.
Now there are many Christians here for whom this has happened—in whom the Holy Spirit has done this convincing work—who are absolutely convinced that the Bible is the Word of God, and that they should be reading it…but who, for one reason or another, have a hard time desiring to do so. So it makes complete sense to go to the Bible to help us awaken that desire: if the Holy Spirit who inspired these words can’t make us want to read Scripture, then I certainly won’t be able to.
So I want to do two things today. I want to briefly look at two texts, to talk about what the Bible is, and then we’ll spend the rest of our time in one single text together, to look at what the Bible gives.
The Bible: God’s Word to Us (2 Timothy 3.16-17, Matthew 6.9)
The first passage we need to see is the classic one—the first one many of you probably thought of. We find it in 2 Timothy chapter 3. In this chapter Paul is writing to Timothy, to encourage him to stay the course in the face of false teaching. He tells him, basically, the same thing he said to the Ephesians in last week’s text: You know how you learned Christ. You’ve seen my example, you’ve seen the example of your mother and your grandmother; you know where to go for the truth.
And in v. 16-17 of 2 Timothy 3, he gives this summary statement:
16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
So he says that all Scripture—that is, the writings of the Old Testament and the writings of the New—are inspired by God. A kind of divine dictation happens, by which the Holy Spirit inspired human authors to say exactly what he wanted them to say, while still maintaining their own style and personality (that’s why John’s letters feel so different from Paul’s).
There are three massive truths which we find here. The first is that God is a God who speaks to his people. He doesn’t leave us in the dark. He doesn’t make us guess. He tells us who he is, he tells us who we are, he tells us how he created us, what he expects of us and what he promises to give us. We don’t have to feel our way through our Christian lives—God tells us what to do.
Which leads to the second thing: that truth is fixed. It does not change depending on the situation, or the period of life we’re in, or how we might be feeling. There are a lot of things the Bible doesn’t tell us, but what the Bible does tell us, is the truth, and it is not conditional or malleable. The idea of there being such a thing as “your truth” or “my truth” makes no sense—logically or biblically.
I know that’s not a popular thing to say these days, but imagine what the world would be like if truth wasn’t fixed. Some of you may have seen Doctor Strange, or the new Spider-Man movie, where Doctor Strange does his finger-spin thing and sends streets and buildings flying and twisting every which way. Could you imagine what it would be like to try to follow a GPS in such a place? If nothing is fixed, the world is impossible to navigate.
But God fixes truth for us, because he is truth. Some things are open for interpretation, but there is a large number of things—that God is the Creator and that we are sinners and that God had a plan for this world and that he sent his Son as the lynchpin for that plan and calls us to respond to his Son with faith and repentance—that are not up for debate. Which means we can finally know where we need to go, and how to get there.
The third thing is this: in the hands of the Holy Spirit, the Bible gives us what we need to grow. That’s the goal of the Christian life, we saw last week; and God gave the Scriptures to teach us, to reprove us, to correct us, to train us in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. If you have the Word of God, you don’t need to go looking for supplementary words elsewhere. If you have the Word of God, you don’t need the opinion of a man to augment it. To grow in your faith, you don’t need YouTube, you don’t need blogs, you don’t need podcasts, you need the Holy Spirit, illuminating the Scripture that he inspired.
So that’s what Paul lays out for Timothy: this book is breathed out by God, and all of it is useful—so if you stay here, you’ll have all you need to be complete.
That should be enough. I should be able to end this message right now, because it should be enough to convince all of us to go out and faithfully read the Word.
But it's not enough for most of us, is it? We’re still not convinced, at least not totally. Many of us know this passage well, can even quote it from memory…and still think, Yeah, but I don’t want to.
I know that sounds blasphemous, but I’ll tell you why I find it reasonable. The goal of the Christian life is to grow in Christ, to grow in spiritual maturity (as we saw last week). That’s a goal—that’s the desired outcome of our Christian lives.
But simply focusing on a goal isn’t usually enough to get us there, because we aren’t mainly goal-oriented creatures; we are relational creatures. That’s why it’s easier to keep up a New Year’s resolution to regularly exercise if you don’t do it alone. If you only focus on the goal, you might keep at it, but it’ll be a slog; if your focus is a relationship, you’re much more likely to persevere.
Now, God had to give us the goal, so we’d know in which direction to point. But he doesn’t stop there. He doesn’t just give us a goal and say, “Go there.” Instead, he gives us a relationship, and says, “Let’s walk together.”
So the question is, What relationship has he established with us? Not that of a tyrant ruler with his subjects, or a cruel master with his slaves, but that of a Father with his children.
Remember Matthew 6? What is the first way Jesus taught us to see God? the first thing he taught us to pray?
Pray then like this:
“Our Father in heaven...”
We talk about God as our Father so often that we tend to take it for granted, but it changes everything.
I’ve always had a very good relationship with my dad, mainly because our relationship wasn’t merely practical. Yes, he taught me how to change a tire, how to drill a hole and put an anchor in a wall, how to cut drywall, how to use a glue gun—things that, he said, men should know how to do. But he didn’t just teach me those things.
He also laughed with me. He encouraged me. He told me stories. He sang with me, and he sang for me (my dad sings a lot). He enjoyed me, and he showed me that he enjoyed me.
All that to say, a good paternal relationship is never simply practical. There are other aspects to it that seem to be of no real, immediate benefit, but which actually make the relationship what it is. Our goal as parents is not just to show the kids how to walk where they need to go, but to walk with them, and sometimes even carry them, so that they enjoy the walk, because they’re walking with someone they love.
Friends, this is how God addresses us in his Word, when we place ourselves before him regularly, daily, habitually—just like, when I was a child, I talked to my dad absolutely every day; and those days when he was out of town, I felt his absence. God’s Words are not purely practical; they are relational. In other words, they give us benefits we didn’t ask for, which don’t always seem to be immediately useful, but which are precious because they are God, walking with us and carrying us and sometimes even picking us up and spinning us around, just for the joy of the time we have together.
The best place we see all of these aspects of God’s Word, in my opinion, is found in Psalm 119, so that’s where we’ll go after the break.
The Bible: God’s Blessings for Us (Psalm 119)
I’ve preached on Psalm 119 before, and it’s always a challenge: it’s the longest chapter in the Bible, for one—at 176 verses, it’s longer than several books we find in the Bible, and would take about twenty-five minutes to read from beginning to end. (Don’t worry, we won’t read the whole thing.) There’s also a lot of beauty here we just can’t see, unless we’re reading from a Hebrew Bible. Psalm 119 is an acrostic poem—that is, it follows a specific pattern. There are 22 stanzas of 8 verses each; as you move through the stanzas, each verse in each consecutive stanza begins with the same corresponding letter of the Hebrew alphabet (which contains 22 letters). So beyond its content, it’s just a marvel of creativity and intelligence.
But that’s not why we’re looking at it. We’re here because Psalm 119 is a love letter to the Word of God—or, as we find it most often in this psalm, the law or the precepts or the commandments or the testimonies of God. To put it simply, the psalmist spends 176 verses rejoicing in the simple reality of hearing the Father’s voice.
And that’s what I’d like to do for the rest of our time. I’m not going to give a lot of commentary; I just want to give us the opportunity to see the effect hearing our Father’s voice has on us, if we take the time to hear him well.
I’ve grouped the verses (kind of) thematically, so I’ll be skipping around a lot; and I won’t be putting them on the screen. I’ll put the list up here and on the church’s website, so you can come back to it later if you want.
But for now, let’s just listen to the blessings of the Word of our Father.
First of all, his word brings joy, delight, pleasure.
V. 1: :
Blessed are those whose way is blameless,
who walk in the law of the Lord!
V. 111:
111 Your testimonies are my heritage forever,
for they are the joy of my heart.
V. 162:
162 I rejoice at your word
like one who finds great spoil.
V. 14 and 16:
14 In the way of your testimonies I delight
as much as in all riches…
16 I will delight in your statutes;
I will not forget your word.
V. 103:
103 How sweet are your words to my taste,
sweeter than honey to my mouth!
V. 127:
127 Therefore I love your commandments
above gold, above fine gold.
V. 129:
129 Your testimonies are wonderful;
therefore my soul keeps them.
V. 143:
143 Trouble and anguish have found me out,
but your commandments are my delight.
V. 163:
163 I hate and abhor falsehood,
but I love your law.
V. 174:
174 I long for your salvation, O Lord,
and your law is my delight.
Next: the Word of our Father removes shame and guilt.
V. 6:
6 …I shall not be put to shame,
having my eyes fixed on all your commandments.
V. 39:
39 Turn away the reproach that I dread,
for your rules are good.
The Word of our Father makes us pure, makes us holy.
V. 9:
9 How can a young man keep his way pure?
By guarding it according to your word.
V. 11:
11 I have stored up your word in my heart,
that I might not sin against you.
V. 102:
102 I do not turn aside from your rules,
for you have taught me.
The Word of our Father transforms our desires.
V. 36:
36 Incline my heart to your testimonies,
and not to selfish gain!
The Word of our Father gives us strength, gives us confidence in the face of ridicule, helps us to persevere.
V. 28:
28 My soul melts away for sorrow;
strengthen me according to your word!
V. 41-42:
41 Let your steadfast love come to me, O Lord,
your salvation according to your promise;
42 then shall I have an answer for him who taunts me,
for I trust in your word.
V. 92-93:
92 If your law had not been my delight,
I would have perished in my affliction.
93 I will never forget your precepts,
for by them you have given me life.
Which leads us to the next: the Word of our Father gives us life.
V. 37:
37 Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things;
and give me life in your ways.
V. 93:
93 I will never forget your precepts,
for by them you have given me life.
V. 156:
156 Great is your mercy, O Lord;
give me life according to your rules.
The Word of our Father (and we’ve seen this several times over the last few weeks) gives us stability and peace.
V. 45:
45 and I shall walk in a wide place,
for I have sought your precepts.
V. 165:
165 Great peace have those who love your law;
nothing can make them stumble.
The Word of our Father gives us comfort.
V. 50:
50 This is my comfort in my affliction,
that your promise gives me life.
V. 52:
52 When I think of your rules from of old,
I take comfort, O Lord.
The Word of the Lord gives us something worth worshiping, something worth singing about.
V. 54:
54 Your statutes have been my songs
in the house of my sojourning.
V. 62:
62 At midnight I rise to praise you,
because of your righteous rules.
V. 171:
171 My lips will pour forth praise,
for you teach me your statutes.
The Word of our Father gives us direction.
V. 67:
67 Before I was afflicted I went astray,
but now I keep your word.
V. 105:
105 Your word is a lamp to my feet
and a light to my path.
V. 130:
130 The unfolding of your words gives light;
it imparts understanding to the simple.
The Word of our Father gives us assurance—not in ourselves, but assurance in him.
V. 74-75:
74 Those who fear you shall see me and rejoice,
because I have hoped in your word.
75 I know, O Lord, that your rules are righteous,
and that in faithfulness you have afflicted me.
V. 89:
89 Forever, O Lord, your word
is firmly fixed in the heavens.
V. 140:
140 Your promise is well tried,
and your servant loves it.
V. 152 (and here we see the psalmist’s testimony that God’s Word has proven itself through the time he has spent reading it):
152 Long have I known from your testimonies
that you have founded them forever.
V. 160:
160 The sum of your word is truth,
and every one of your righteous rules endures forever.
The Word of our Father gives us hope (and I’m just going to read one of many verses which say the same thing):
V. 43:
43 And take not the word of truth utterly out of my mouth,
for my hope is in your rules.
The Word of our Father gives us wisdom, knowledge and understanding.
V. 98:
98 Your commandment makes me wiser than my enemies,
for it is ever with me.
V. 53:
53 Hot indignation seizes me because of the wicked,
who forsake your law.
V. 66:
66 Teach me good judgment and knowledge,
for I believe in your commandments.
V. 99:
99 I have more understanding than all my teachers,
for your testimonies are my meditation.
(You see? You don’t need me.)
V. 100:
100 I understand more than the aged,
for I keep your precepts.
(We pray that our children might be wiser than we are—here we have hope for that.)
V. 104:
104 Through your precepts I get understanding;
therefore I hate every false way.
V. 130:
130 The unfolding of your words gives light;
it imparts understanding to the simple.
V. 144:
144 Your testimonies are righteous forever;
give me understanding that I may live.
V. 137:
137 Righteous are you, O Lord,
and right are your rules.
The Word of our Father gives us help and protection.
V. 114:
114 You are my hiding place and my shield;
I hope in your word.
V. 175-176:
175 Let my soul live and praise you,
and let your rules help me.
176 I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek your servant,
for I do not forget your commandments.
The Word of our Father fills us with wonder.
V. 18:
18 Open my eyes, that I may behold
wondrous things out of your law.
V. 161:
161 Princes persecute me without cause,
but my heart stands in awe of your words.
The Word of our Father convinces us that the law itself is its own good.
71 It is good for me that I was afflicted,
that I might learn your statutes.
72 The law of your mouth is better to me
than thousands of gold and silver pieces.
And the Word of our Father shows us that keeping his commands is its own good as well.
V. 56:
56 This blessing has fallen to me,
that I have kept your precepts.
And there are many, many more I know I missed.
Do you see? God’s Word is not a simple road map to get us to something better, just like being a father isn’t a purely utilitarian job. It’s not just about producing a result. Listening to God’s voice in God’s Word is itself a greater blessing than many of the things we usually want.
The thing is, many of us don’t realize that, because we won’t take the time to see it.
When I was a kid we were always in church, so I spent much of my childhood in crowds of people, usually milling around at a lunch or a wedding or standing around talking after service. I got used to hearing the noise of the crowd.
But no matter how loud the crowd was, I could, in an instant, hear my dad’s voice if he called out for me. My dad has a loud voice, but that wasn’t why I heard him—all parents called out for their kids at some point, and we’d ignore everyone else. I heard my dad because I had spent my entire life listening to him talk. Dad always talked to us. When we were reading before bed he’d come into our room and get on his knees beside the bed and just talk. About anything—about music or Star Wars or books or girls…
I knew his voice, because I had heard his voice for years.
And that’s why a lot of us get discouraged reading the Bible. We expect to get something out of it right away; we open the Bible for whatever this passage will bring us on this particular day. And then we read about ceremonial laws when you have mold in your tent, and we think that it didn’t bring us much of anything, so we put it down and don’t want to come back to it.
But that’s not how relationships work. Not every conversation you have with your family will be interesting; sometimes you’ll be bored. But you don’t talk to them to get something out of each individual conversation; you talk to them because you love them. You listen to them because they’re your family.
It’s no surprise, then, that the best chapter about God’s Word in the Bible is also the longest—almost as if the psalmist is showing us that this is going to take time. A solid relationship always does.
So we don’t read the Bible to get something out of it on this day (because we might not feel like we did). It’s like eating. We don’t eat healthy food mainly because it feels good (though it often does); we eat healthy food because we want to see our children grow up, because we want to hold our grandkids.
In the same way, we don’t read the Bible to get something out of it—although very often, we will. Very often God will simply invade our minds and hearts when we read his Word and give us exactly what we needed at that moment. But it won’t always happen that way. And that’s okay, because that’s not why we read it. We don’t read the Word of our Father for what he will bring us over the next ten minutes; we read the Word of our Father for the relationship we are building with him when we do. We read his Word for what the cumulative time spent with God will bring us over the next seventy years. Or eighty years. Or a hundred. And on through eternity.
God is not just focused on a goal; he wants to walk with us along the way, as we get there. He does this through his Word, which we read faithfully, regularly, daily—whether it’s several chapters or only a few verses. And he does this through prayer, during which we respond to what he tells us in his Word.
And we’ll talk about prayer next week.