Dear Church,
The Lord has blessed us with an abundance of access to His word. Yesterday I was reading the history of the Bible in English from William Tyndale to the Present and I was reminded of how precious it is that we have the word of God in our own language.
John Foxe wrote that on October 6th William Tyndale "was brought forth to the place of execution, was there tied to the stake, and they strangled first by the hangmen, and afterwards with consumed... crying thus at the stake with a fervent zeal and a loud voice: "Lord open the King of England's eyes."
A year later, in answer to the cry of the Lord's servant, Tyndale's translation completed by Miles Coverdale was published as "Matthew's Bible" under a license issued by England's King Henry VIII.
Tyndale would be amazed at the variety of translations today, and I would imagine he would be both delighted at the opportunities and disturbed by how little we think of that most precious of books that he died translated.
A high view of Scripture may easily be affirmed. It takes little to say "I believe the Bible is the divinely inspired, inerrant, sufficient, and complete word of God." The real test is this: "do your actions and choices reflect a high view of the Bible, the word of God? Does your life bear witness that you are a man or woman of the word?"
Talk is cheap, but the life that reflects a commitment to God and His revelation to us (the Bible) is a precious witness to the power and love of God.
Proverbs 30:5-6 reminds us,
"Every word of God is pure; He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him. Do not add to His words, Lest he reprove you, and you be found a liar."
These words remind us of the purity and the sufficiency of the Scriptures, as contained in the Bible. These are precious truths to hold onto in a world that despises the authority of God and hates his word.
Most of the world rejects God's word and chooses to live by other mantras. But some take the word of God and 'add to' them. These people would like you to think they've improved on the Bible. They have something the Bible doesn't have or at least some new insight into the Bible that you don't have, some new insight that you can't find in the Bible without their great wisdom. But the warning not to "add to His words" is not only unheeded by those who write new books claiming revelation from God. We too ignore this warning when we 1- turn everywhere but God's word for direction in life. E.G. Dave Ramsey, Jordan Peterson, Tucker Carlson, your therapist, and even your favorite Bible teacher may be brilliant and insightful and helpful. BUT they are not going to give you better advice than you can find in the Bible and none of them is a shield that cannot be broken. Yet when we turn more to __________ (insert your go-to source for help) than God's word we demonstrate that we are not satisfied with God's word, we want something more than God Himself.
2- live as though our problems are too big for God, when we think "It's hopeless, No one can help me in _________" (fill in seemingly impossible situation). When we tell ourselves such things and leave these thoughts unchecked we are denying that God has spoken words of life, words that can help us even in the darkest situation. There is help for the most helpless and the most vile of people. God truly is a protective shield to those who trust him. No matter how messed up and mixed up our life is, He is able to help us for He was "in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin" (Hebrews 4:15). This God, the word took on flesh and He reveals himself to us in the pages of His word, as our refuge, our only hope, the one who gives us everything we need.
Grace & Peace,
Matt
Matthew Deneault Pastor at Christ Community Fellowship "Making Christ known in our Community"
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