Introduction
“Out of the night that covers me, Black as the Pit from pole to pole, I thank whatever gods may be For my unconquerable soul. In the fell clutch of circumstance, I have not winced nor cried aloud. Under the bludgeonings of chance, My head is bloody, but unbowed. Beyond this place of wrath and tears, Looms but the Horror of the shade, And yet the menace of the years, Finds, and shall find, me unafraid. It matters not how strait the gate, How charged with punishments the scroll, I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul.”
Those are the famous words from William Ernest Henley’s poem, Invictus. Henley was born in 1849 and died in 1903. Apparently, death has a way of reminding us all, that we are not the masters of our fate nor the captains of our soul.
Henley died just like everyone else and upon breathing his last and meeting his Maker he had to come to terms, real quick, with just how small he was and how little authority he actually had.
This is the ignorant state of natural man. We come into this world hell-bent on asserting our own authority. One may call this, not only a gross overestimation of abilities but also nature. As evidenced in a child’s first words…which usually arrive in this order: momma, dadda…and NO. The child, now one and a half, wants to let you know that with their vast knowledge and experience of world, not only will they no longer be taking orders from you, but now they will be giving them.
Though it’s sinful and ridiculous, we can’t help but think it’s just a little cute coming from a one-year old. But imagine how utterly absurd and ridiculous it is for a man to assert his authority before the Almighty, Triune God Scripture…Considerably more absurd and troubling than a two-year asserting “Me-Do”…assuring you of their competence all the while having a load of dooky in their shorts.
Man was made in the image of the Almighty…to behold glory, to reflect glory and to transcribe glory over creation. He was made to be a glory multiplier as long as he walked with God…listening, loving and resting upon His every word.
Man was made to reflect glory which can only happen when glory is being beheld…when man turned from God and listened to another authority and thus, asserted his own, by seeking to be as God…that is, seeking to be the ultimate determinative authority in creation…by judging between God’s word and the serpents…Man tried to place himself on God’s throne – by asserting that he would be the master of his fate and the captain of his soul.
Man became like Narcissus falling in love with his own reflection…God is the Author of life, and He is the standard of truth, beauty and goodness and where the word of the Lord is there is order and peace…When man turned his back on God trusting in his devices he brought confusion, disorder, chaos and ultimately death into the world.
“What sort of freak then is man! How novel, how monstrous, how chaotic, how paradoxical, how prodigious! Judge of all things, feeble earthworm, repository of truth, sink of doubt and error, glory and refuse of the universe!” Blaise Pascal
Man’s nature is now corrupted, fallen, rebellious and sinful…he trusts in his own devices, his own mind, and his own word instead of God’s authoritative word…Because of this, everything that natural man builds is in opposition to God…and everything that he builds for his own glory will come crumbling down like Babel or will be stored up for the saints.
Therefore, the word of God is a constant reminder to natural man that God is there and the He is not silent…It is a constant reminder that man is not the master of his fate nor the captain of his soul…It is a constant reminder that he is not God.
The most troublesome words in the Bible don’t come in the book of Revelation regarding the rapture (or lack thereof)…or the millennial reign of Christ…nor do they come from the book of Leviticus regarding the “holiness code” or from the words of Paul regarding the role of women in the church (namely, that they are not permitted to have authority over a man).
The most controversial…the most troublesome words in the Bible are the very first ones, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” And the repeated refrain, “And God said” “And God said” “And God said” is a constant reminder that He created all things by the word of His power.
God created all things by the word of His power. He sustains all things by the word of His
power. He is restoring all things through the word of His power & He will judge all things by the word of His power.
Those who belong to Jesus, who’s hearts have been circumcised, and who’s eyes, ears, minds have been opened through the power of the Holy Spirit, and who’s lives have been purchased by the blood of the incarnate Word, the Lord Jesus, love the word of God. They desire it more than newborn babes desire their mother’s milk…to them, it is sweeter than honey and more to be desired than gold…and all the riches and rubies of this world.
Joel Beeke asks, “Why do God’s children love the Word so much?” They love it because their regenerated hearts discover that this Book is like no other. The Bible is to them the book. Since the Bible is the written Word of God, it has certain properties that set it apart as holy and sacred, superior to any merely human document.”
“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16
“For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.” Hebrews 4:12-13
Because of this, we don’t read God’s word, God’s word essentially reads us. Which means there are only, ultimately, two responses to it: submission and joy or rebellion and fear…covenant keeping or covenant breaking. Which means anything that the saint wants to do in the world, of substance and value, is going to be driven by the powerful, living and active word of God.
Godly Troublemaking is going to be rooted in and founded upon the Word of God, and when it is rightly divided and proclaimed without equivocation and apology it will be troublesome to the unregenerate: it will either be the fragrance of life unto life through repentance and faith in the incarnate Word or the fragrance of death unto death.
Therefore, we thought it would be advantageous to remind the saints of some of the attributes of Scripture to, sure up, the foundations and to sharpen our swords making them ready for battle. With the hopes of encouraging you to bring the Word of God into any and every situation of life, to destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and to take every thought captive to obey Christ.
Until the Word of God shines brightly and richly through the church and is transcribed over every area of life, there will be no clarity in the confusion, no light in the darkness, no order in the chaos, and no life springing forth from a dead world.
The Word of God
In a recent “State of Theology” survey done by Ligonier Ministries, it was discovered that 53% of US adults believe the Bible is a book that has helpful accounts of ancient myths, but is not literally true… up from 41% in 2014.
We have to ask ourselves as we look around at our country and the church (you pick which one is the dog and which one is the tail at this point), we have to ask ourselves, have things improved? As we mock, malign and marginalize the Word of God and abandon its authority has that brought more order and peace or just the opposite and What alternative authorities have arisen in its place?
“Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him. Do not add to his words, lest he rebuke you and you be found a liar.” Proverbs 30:5-6.
The word of God is the authoritative standard that holds every other institution and sphere in check enabling it to function properly. So let me ask, do you trust the government? Do you trust the health care industry…Big Pharma? Do you trust Big Eva? Do you trust the Po-lice? Do you trust our intelligence agencies? Do you trust the education industry? What about our legal system? What about Big Tech? That’s what I thought!
The Word of God is not only an anchor, it’s a light shinning in the darkness…As Peter says,
“And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone's own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” 2 Peter 1:19-21
When this is abandoned, man is left to his own devices…left with darkness, depravity, disorder and every vile practice…which sounds errily familiar. So where do we begin…we begin where every child on the playground begins…with a handful of simple questions, like, “who made you the boss of me,” or a variant thereof, “Who says” …that is, we begin with authority.
God’s word is authoritative. The reason the Bible is authoritative is because of its divine
origin…namely, God. As the 1689 Confession states,
“The authority of the Holy Scriptures obligates belief in them. This authority does not depend on the testimony of any person or church but on God the author alone, who is truth itself. Therefore, the Scriptures are to be received because they are the Word of God.” 1:4
As Cornelius Van Til said,
“The Bible is authoritative on everything of which it speaks. Moreover, it speaks of everything.”
Therefore the infallible rule for interpreting, not only Scripture, but all of life is scripture. Now, one may protest, “that is circular”…to which we would respond, YEP. Every ultimate authority, by virtue of its ultimacy must be self-attesting. That is, once its ultimacy is determined you can’t appeal to anything higher than it without discrediting its ultimacy.
To abandon the authority of the Word of God leaves you with the authority of man, which is to say, that it leaves you with either anarchy or tyranny, both of which are slavery. Therefore, when the word of God is spoken, it’s the TRUMP card rebuking all alternative authorities. The saint should never be afraid of saying, “thus saith the Lord” …not to lord it over anyone, but because it is the only authority that stands over everyone including the one making the declaration.
God’s Word is Clear. Again, the 1689 Confession states,
“Some things in Scripture are clearer than others, and some people understand the teachings more clearly than others. However, the things that must be known, believed, and obeyed for salvation are so clearly set forth and explained in one part of Scripture or another that both the educated and uneducated may achieve a sufficient understanding of them by properly using ordinary measures.” 1:7
It is true that there are some things that are hard to understand…One would expect that to be the case given that its God’s word…Because of this, it is so deep, broad, vast, and wide that even the most learned of men can study it their entire lives and not plumb its depths. And yet, it shoreline is shallow enough for the young and ignorant to wade in and enjoy.
And let’s just be honest with ourselves…it’s not the things that are hard to understand that people have a problem with…it’s the things that are crystal clear. God is holy. Man is a rebel who has sinned against Him. The only way for man to be made right with God is through faith and repentance in Jesus…pretty clear, right? How about this one, Jesus is Lord. How about this one, I do not permit a woman to have authority of a man. How about this one, the sexually immoral and idolater will not inherit the kingdom of God. How about this one, homosexuality is an abomination to God.
“The unfolding of your words gives light; it imparts understanding to the simple.” Psalm 119:130
We don’t need nuance (contra Big Eva), nor do we need silver tongued rhetoric, nor do we need heavy breathy emotional appeals. We need the word of God straight up.
God’s Word is necessary. It is only through the word of God that we come to know the way of salvation given exclusively through the Lord Jesus Christ…The grace of God declared in the Scriptures is not only necessary for our salvation, it is also necessary for our sanctification after we’ve received Christ. There is no other way to live a life pleasing to God other than through obedience to His word. Would that we all would say with the apostle Paul,
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.” Romans 1:16
The word of God is not only necessary to transform our individual lives into the image and likeness of God’s perfect Son in knowledge, righteousness and holiness…but it is also necessary to transform our corporate and public lives. Blessed are the feet of those who bring the good news – This runs all the way down and all the through…privately and publicly
Therefore, let any man who would compromise or corrupt the word of God, or apologize for it so that they can sit at the cool kids table, Be Damned.
God’s Word is Unified. Martin Luther hit the nail on the head when he said, “All of Holy
Scripture, from beginning to end, points solely to Christ as our source of grace and truth.” It is all about Jesus, from beginning to end. Christ is revealed in promises. Christ is revealed in types and shadows. Christ revealed in figures. Christ is revealed in systems.
Christ is the promised offspring. Christ is the Ark that delivers His family from the wrath of God. Christ is the father of the faithful. Christ is the prophet and redeemer of God’s people. Christ is our great high priest, Christ is every sacrificial offering, Christ is our scapegoat. Christ is the Lawgiver and standard of holiness. Christ brings God’s people into the promised land. Christ in the angel of the Lord. Christ is our judge and great king. Christ is the wisdom of God and doesn’t just speak God’s word He is the word. From start to finish, first to last it’s all about Jesus. He is the Lord.
God’s Word is Sufficient. Again, The 1689 1:1 says,
“The Holy Scriptures are the only sufficient, certain, and infallible standard of all saving knowledge, faith, and obedience.”
As Martin Luther said,
“The Word of God and no one else, not even an angel – should establish articles of faith.”
This is at the very heart of Sola Scriptura. This is to say that the Scriptures are entirely sufficient for all of life and practice. Is the Bible going to teach us to do geometry? No but the Bible gives us the standard that makes math possible…the same is true of all science and logic as well, namely order…without which we are simply left with a great big cosmic fart.
In his collected writings, in an essay entitled, “The Finality and Sufficiency of Scripture” John Murrey writes,
“If Scripture is the inscripturated revelation of the gospel and of God’s mind and will, if it is the only revelation of this character that we possess, then it is this revelation in all it’s fullness, richness, wisdom and power that must be applied to man in whatever religious, moral, mental situation he is to be found. It is because we have not esteemed and prized the perfection of Scripture and its finality, that we have resorted to other techniques, expedients, and methods of dealing with the dilemma that confronts us all if we are alive to the needs of this hour.”
Conclusion
This is certainly not an exhaustive list but, I trust a helpful one…and should certainly be
encouraging enough for you to kick-up a little dust and cause a little godly trouble, because to the unregenerate the word of God is not just light, but a spotlight shined directly into one’s eyes…it is not just salt but salt poured directly into an open wound. Which is to say, that they usually don’t say, Thank You.
This is important for us to keep in mind. No one reads the Bible as a neutral, objective observer. Everyone has a dog in the race. All men are either in Adam or in Christ…they’re either a covenant keeper or a covenant breaker…Which is to say, through the word of God, we either bring them closer to Christ, or cause some form of weeping, wailing, or gnashing of teeth…though that often comes with a pompous smile and a condescending disregard with something like, “that’s just your interpretation”
Nevertheless, the bible is the very word of God and sharing it is the most loving and troublesome thing we can do. It is also the most powerful and potent weapon we have at our disposal. It is also a great reminder, that if we are going to conquer the world for Christ it begins with saturating every sphere of our lives in the Scriptures. Therefore, prepare yourselves for battle and go out and get after it and give someone, a hearty and unapologetic, “thus saith Lord” today.
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