A favorite preacher of mine, and I say that with the utmost appreciation and regard for all the men who spoke at the Bible conference this week (coming from places like North Carolina, California, Michigan, Florida, Arizona, Virginia, Kentucky, Wisconsin and Missouri) is David Reid, who was raised in Dayton, Ohio (where I currently live) and is head pastor of Columbus Bible Church in Columbus, Ohio. One thing we have in common is our love for Ohio State University and its football team.
The interesting thing about Reid, who has degrees from Yale and Duke, is he has spent his career as a lawyer and you can hear it in how he lays out his arguments and appeals to the audience.
In fitting with the theme of the conference celebrating the 250th anniversary of William Tyndale translating the New Testament into early modern English, Reid referenced Hebrews 4:12, as did many of the speakers:
[12] For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
Reid said, "Let me give you this example. Have you ever done something that you regret that you were ashamed of and then you were around someone who knew exactly what you did?
What did that produce in you? Discomfort, right? Guilt? What does the Word of God do? It discerns the "thoughts and intents of the heart."
Raise your hand if someone has said to you, "The Bible is full of contradictions." Now, most of the time when they say that they can't produce any. But what they'll do is find a list somewhere and say, "Well, I Kings says there's this many horses and, you know, Chronicles says there's this many," and so it's this big, alarming contradiction and "Woo-woo" panic.
Here's what happens. Upon faithful investigation, you realize all those "contradictions" are nothing of the sort. They don't actually contradict; they say different things and when you put the verses together you actually get a more accurate picture.
But here's the point I want to make. Did the Holy Spirit know before the world began that if the Holy Spirit wrote the verses those ways, men would claim it's a contradiction? The answer is "yes," because the Holy Spirit knows all things.
So, the Holy Spirit knew from the very beginning, "If I write it this way there's going to be a bunch of people who claim it's in error." So why didn't the Holy Spirit not do it that way to avoid the complaints?
Let me put it a different way. If I was writing the Scriptures, which of course I'm not, I would have a verse that says, "The Rapture is pre-tribulational." And then when you deal with nonsense, I'd just quote II Dave 3, "The Rapture is pre-tribulational."
II Dave has a verse, "The reason Paul baptized is . . . " There's a lot of things I wish there was a verse that specifically said something so that you could end some of these discussions, but there isn't.
Did the Holy Spirit know these discussions were going to come up? Had to have had. So why isn't there a verse that says the Rapture is pre-tribulation?
The answer is the Word of God is written with sufficient clarity for the believing and sufficient ambiguity for the unbelieving.
In other words, the Word of God discerns the thoughts and intents of the inner man of your heart, and if you want to come to the Scripture and find reasons to reject it, you can find them. It doesn't mean you're right--you're not right. But the Word of God is answering men according to the idols of their heart, just like Ezekiel 14 says.
Now that should make you somewhat fearful. It should make you realize, "When I'm approaching this Book, this is a sacred thing and I better be sure I approach it with the right heart attitude, or else I will find things that in my unbelieving heart I can use to justify my unbelief."
Hebrews 4: [13] Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.
You know from Genesis 3, how do people act where they're naked? Well, there's shame, avoidance, fear.
So, here's what happens. The Bible is the most published book on earth, but in many ways, for being as published as it is, it is little read. Why is it read little?
The reason why is that when you read the Word of God, it's quick, it's living, it discerns the thoughts and intents of your heart.
It lays naked and open your inner motivations--the things that we don't speak about among ourselves that we hide behind the mask, but you can't hide that from the Word of God.
The reason why people don't read this Book is this Book reads them. That's just the reality of it. So realize when you deal with the Word of God, you're dealing with this living, supernatural thing that is essentially indistinguishable from the Lord Jesus Christ Himself and, just as people have discomfort with the Lord, they have discomfort with the Word of His power.
I Thessalonians 2: [13] For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.
Men should receive the Word of God as the Word of God. It's fully authoritative and His Word works powerfully in those that believe.
Matthew 7: [28] And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine: [29] For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.
Mark 1: [21] And they went into Capernaum; and straightway on the sabbath day he entered into the synagogue, and taught. [22] And they were astonished at his doctrine: for he taught them as one that had authority, and not as the scribes.
What does it mean here about the Lord teaching as "one that had authority"? One aspect of that is Jesus Christ is God in the flesh, so He has the inherent authority as the Son of God.
I'm going to suggest to you He has something in addition to that. Jesus Christ believed the Old Testament and quoted it as it is without apology.
He says things like, "Ye do error not knowing the Scriptures." In other words, He says, "The reason you're in error is you don't know the Scriptures."
When He deals with Satan in Matthew 4 and Luke 4, how does He respond? "It is written." You'll notice one thing He never did is He never said, "A better rendering would be . . . " He never said, "The oldest and best manuscripts read . . . " He didn't say anything like that.
Now, this is my personal opinion and you can decide for yourself. Preaching that corrects the Word of God is wishy-washy and lifeless. It is the opposite of teaching "as one that had authority."
When you see people this week speak from the pulpit with authority, it is not their charisma. It's not their force of will; it is the absolute certitude of the authority we commonly possess.
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