2026_05_10 The Centrality of the Word of God

The bible is our only perfect rule for faith, doctrine, and conduct. It's authoritative. It teaches us what is true. It teaches us how to find salvation through Christ. It teaches us how to live. And because the bible is of such inestimable value, we must interpret it faithfully. Paul commands Timothy, do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, A worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. [00:36:45] (39 seconds)  #BibleIsAuthority

We need both the word and the spirit together in full unity. They cannot contradict each other because the holy spirit breathed the word. There's a maybe perhaps oversimplified but helpful little rhyme that says this, if you have the word without the spirit, you'll dry up. If you have the spirit without the word, you'll blow up. If you have the spirit and the word, you'll grow up. [00:39:36] (35 seconds)  #WordAndSpiritTogether

But that knife cuts both ways. As soon as we adopt a confession of faith beyond the bible as our standard, that confession then is in danger of becoming elevated above the word of God. See, this is what happened with the Augsburg confession back in the day when pietism emerged. A great confession overall, but it wasn't the bible. When I was in the reformed church in America, we had the Heidelberg catechism, a beautiful document. If you never read it, it's so devotional, so powerful, but it's not perfect. It's not the bible. [00:49:31] (40 seconds)  #ScriptureOverConfessions

Now, Christians focus on the scripture with little openness to the spirit's activity. The result of that is dead orthodoxy. The very thing that happened in the Lutheran church back in the fourteenth, fifteenth, sixteenth, seventeenth century that pietism was reacting against. They wanted a living faith. On the other hand, there are churches that focus on the work of the spirit, which is great, but they're not grounded in the word, and so they become imbalanced. [00:39:04] (32 seconds)  #BalancedFaith

The bible has to be our final authority to keep us on track. So what protects us? We are protected from error by our commitment to seeking the guidance of the holy spirit and by humbly interpreting the bible in the context of the wisdom of the church present and past. And that includes faithful pastors and scholars who have been gifted and called to teach. And faithful lay people that also have a scholarly gifting and teaching gifting. [00:50:31] (37 seconds)  #GuardedByScriptureAndSpirit

The bible is true, it's authoritative, it's powerful, we need to know it deeply, we need to study it, we need to understand it, we need to yield to it, submit to it, believe it, let it change our lives. So, as we continue, here's our our first point. I already made a few points, haven't I? So, our next first point. The bible, as our only perfect rule for faith, doctrine, and conduct, must be interpreted faithfully, charitably, and within the community of faith. [00:35:57] (41 seconds)  #FaithfulBiblicalInterpretation

While we must have rigor in our studies and ask what does the bible say and where is it written and challenge each other, we need to be gracious and non judging towards those who differ with us. If they are an error in their understanding of the bible with time and gracious conversation, they the holy spirit will guide them and correct them. And if they're right, your humble posture will help you learn and grow. [00:45:08] (33 seconds)  #GracefulTruthSeeking

Last week, we talked about the fact that the word of God in the bible refers to the written word, the scriptures, but also to the spoken word. Words spoken on the lips of the prophets, the apostles, the lord Jesus. And also, the word of God refers to a person, to Jesus himself who is the eternal word of God through whom the world was created. When God said, let there be light and there was light, that was Jesus himself, the word of God going forth. And through him, the world was created. [00:34:01] (36 seconds)  #JesusIsTheWord