God has given us a resource to learn about Him and His salvation. This daily devotional looks at a variety of aspects what God’s Words means.
Nuggets
- God’s Word, while it shows us what sin is, does not lead to sin.
- God’s Word — a.k.a. His laws and commandments — cannot be added to, deleted, or changed in any way.
- God’s Word is applicable to all and in all situations.
- God’s Word tells us everything we need to know.
- God’s Word gives us God’s #1 priority — to bring us salvation.
I am going to do something different for this devotion. I am having a fuzzy-in-the-brain day.
I am going to take one of my draft files and, instead of try to make Point A lead into Point B, I am just going to write my thoughts. Hopefully, they won’t seem too disjointed.
God’s Word Is Pure
“The words of the Lord are pure words, like silver refined in an earthen furnace, purified seven times” (Ps. 12: 6 CSB)
God’s Word, while it shows us what sin is, does not lead to sin.
Dale felt that mankind would never be able to doubt the purity of God’s Word. Salvation is the result of faith.
- Faith is the conviction that the doctrines revealed in God’s Word are true, even if we do not understand all aspects of them, a belief which impacts our lives.
- Salvation is the gift of life through the deliverance from evil and the consequences of sins to replace them with good and eternal life.
- The consequences of sin are spiritual death and physical separation from God.
- Spiritual death is the spiritual separation from God that occurred as a consequence of Adam and Eve’s original sin. The spiritually alive are those who have ABCDed, so they are no longer separated from God.
- Eternal life is the promise of living eternally – even if we have died in this life – because we have admitted our sins, believed Jesus as Savior and Redeemer, and confessed God as Sovereign Lord.
Once we have been converted, then we encounter the difficulties and sacrifices. We already have the salvation, so that is where the doubt begins.
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We can’t pick and choose which parts of Scripture we think are pure and which are not. All of God’s Word is pure. Wood wrote, “The statement applies to every word of God – his declarations, revelations, precepts, promises, and threatenings.”
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We have to remember what the definition of pure is. Pure means not being sinful or having the stain of sin.
Because the Holy Spirit guided the men to write the Scriptures, it has a high authority. He did not shy away from portraying mankind as we are —immoral and sinful.
True disciples who study the Scriptures practice the spiritual graces.
Scriptures have been verified by Josephus and others.
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The truth is tested by the evil in the world. The contradictions of non-believers and false professors has been shown to be wrong.
Some have interpreted Scriptures for their own ill gain.
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Worldview people think that Scriptures haven’t been tried and proven. They are wrong. “Your word is completely pure, and your servant loves it” (Ps. 119: 140 CSB)
Every time there was prophecy given, God’s Word is tried and proven. When the prophecy is fulfilled, it is proven.
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God’s Word Is Unchangeable
“The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple” (Ps. 19: 7 ESV)
God’s Word — a.k.a. His laws and commandments — cannot be added to, deleted, or changed in any way.
When we think of something being refined, we think it is us. Dale interpreted this as pointing to the unchanging and absolute nature of God’s Word. The best part is that Scriptures tell us about God Himself.
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Instead of doubting, we can be thankful that we can trust God’s Word to be true and unchangeable. This gives disciples a freedom from insecurity.
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Some worldview people think that Scriptures need to evolve. What they are really saying is that they want it changed so that some things that God has identified as sin are no longer categorized that way.
Hoge wrote, “The system of doctrine and duty which the Bible contains is a fixed final system, not a progressive one, and one introductory to a higher, and the Bible will never become obsolete, and will never be supplemented by any other revelation. … A time, it is said, must come when the theological will be too narrow in its range for the demands of the race, and too dogmatic in its tone for the more liberal, general, comprehensive religion of the future.”
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We know this is true because Jesus said it was true. “For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished” (Mt. 5: 18 NIV).
What God has declared a sin is always going to stay a sin. Sins are actions by humans that disobey God and break one of His reasonable, holy, and righteous laws and commandments, goes against a purpose He has for us, or follows Satan’s promptings.
It isn’t going to evolve and change.
Glossary
The goal of the God’s laws and commandments is not to make this life easier, as Hoge said. It is to show us God’s character.
God Himself is unchanging. Therefore, His laws and commandments aren’t going to change.
God’s Word Is Universal
God’s Word is applicable to all and in all situations.
Hoge wrote, “While the Bible is fixed and will never be supplemented, the principles contained in it are admissible of universal and of endless application, and for that reason the Bible will never need to be supplemented.”
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We can look at this two ways.
- “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance” (II Pet. 3: 9 ESV).
- “For God does not show favoritism” (Rom. 2: 11 NIV).
Salvation is available to all who will accept God’s gift. He shows no favorites by saying denying anyone because of age, gender, race, ethnicity — any reason.
Some worldview people may think God does show favoritism to His people. They feel that they should be given all blessings because they are created by God.
Doesn’t work that way. God has reserved some blessings for those who are His children.
We are only God’s children when we admit we are separated from God because we are sinners, believe Jesus came as our Savior and a redeemer to pay the price for those sons, confess God as our Sovereign God, and demonstrate our commitment by submitting to Him.
Glossary
If you have not admitted that your relationship is not right with God,
have not asked Jesus to be your Lord and Savior,
and have not confessed your sins,
please read through the Plan of Salvation and prayerfully consider what God is asking you to do.
We make the choice to follow God or not. So, we decide whether we will get the blessings or not.
God’s Word Is Instructional
God’s Word tells us everything we need to know.
When instructing the writers of the books of the Bible what to write, the Holy Spirit did not give them a complete roadmap of how and why God did what He did. God wasn’t interested in our knowing the minutiae.
Instead, it shows us Who God is. It shows us how to be like Him. Wilson wrote, “It contains all our duty and all our consolation; all that is necessary to make us happy and holy.”
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Yes, everything is in the Bible. That is because the laws and commandments aren’t a checklist. It is a character list.
If our character is right, we can make decisions based on our character.
God’s Word Brings Salvation
God’s Word gives us God’s #1 priority — to bring us salvation.
The purpose of Scriptures is to present the Plan of Salvation. Forrest wrote, “Its study will confer as much credit on our intellect as on our piety.” Its practical wisdom shows us the path to eternal life.
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God’s Word speaks to our hearts and, through the Holy Spirit, convicts us to turn away from our sin and turn to God. It shows us what sin is and how to live a life imitating God.
There is only one way to salvation. That is through believing in Jesus Christ as our Savior and Redeemer.
To read a related devotion, click the button below.
The invitation to salvation is in the pages of God’s Word. These days, anyone with access to the internet has access to God’s Word.
We gain many things reading God’s Word. Sturgeon wrote that we gain relief, pardon, rest, security, strength, holiness, and harmony because it bring access to God.
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What did we just say in What Affections Are We Talking About? The Bible will never be a dead book in a library cemetery. It will be a living, breathing document that prophecies the future — until that prophecy is fulfilled.
To read a related devotion, click the button below.
Dale wrote that it is our duty to obey God’s laws and commandments. Though doing that we receive grace. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God” (Eph. 2: 8 ESV).
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How Do We Apply This?
How do we apply this? We read our Bibles, meditate on it and pray about it.
Searching for and Seeking God
Hearing His Word (Rom. 10: 17).
Reading His Word (Rev. 1: 3).
Praying to Him (Heb. 4: 16).
Studying His Word (Ac. 17: 11).
Meditating on His Word (Ps. 1: 1-2).
Memorizing His Word (Ps. 119: 11).
God wants us to accept His salvation. He wants us to believe His Word and live by the laws and commandments within its pages.
Father God. Thank You giving your Word to men who could write it down for all to read. Use the words we read to change our hearts and minds to be more like You. Amen.
What do you think?
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