HotSermons
educate equip enable
The Scriptures are the cornerstone of the Christian faith. In fact, the Scriptures should be the final arbiter of our faith, our doctrine, and our conduct, because they are the holy, Spirit-inspired Word of God.
Without the Scriptures, Christians are left to their own opinions as to what God wants.
Mat 26:56 "But all this was done that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled." Then all the disciples forsook Him and fled.
Jesus included the writings of the prophets in the Scriptures.
Luke 24:27 And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.
Luke considered Moses (the first five books of the Bible) to be part of Scripture.
2 Pet 3:15-16 and consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you, (16) as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures.
Peter included the writings of Paul in the Scriptures.
2 Pet 1:20-21 knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, (21) for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.
Scripture is inspired by the Holy Spirit, but God used holy men from all walks of life to write under His guidance.
2 Tim 3:15-17 and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. (16) All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, (17) that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.
From these verses, we can see that Scripture can make you wise for salvation.
As we've already seen, Scripture is inspired by God Himself.
Scripture can be used for doctrine (teaching), reproof, correction, and instruction in righteousness.
It is through the Scriptures that men and women of God become complete and equipped for the good works that God has called them to do.
Acts 17:2 Then Paul, as his custom was, went in to them, and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures,
The Scriptures can be used to reason and understand the ways of God.
Acts 17:11 These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.
The people in Thessalonica did not just accept Paul's word when he preached; instead, the searched the Scriptures to see if what he was saying was true.
Christians should never just accept a preacher's interpretation of Scripture without checking it out.
To do this is not a lack of trust; rather, God calls it "fair-minded" when you check the Scriptures.
Naturally, this is done with humility, and is different from nit-picking your way through everything the preacher says just because you have an argumentative spirit!
2 Pet 3:15-16 and consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you, (16) as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures.
Scripture is not always easy to understand, but has to be searched out.
Given the vast gap between our intelligence and God's intelligence, it's a miracle of grace that we can comprehend any of His writings at all.
If you like these Topical Bible Studies, don't forget to check out our Expository Bible Studies too.