Text: Hebrews 4:12
God’s Eternal Word and Bible Apps (Full Sermon Manuscript)
Introduction:
Why did someone want to get rid of the Bible? Because for some, it is a mere collection of literary works. They treat the Bible the same as history books, literature, or even like a tragic novel. Sadly, today, our society even in Christian circles approaches the Bible in an MTD manner. MTD means Moralistic Therapeutic Deism. Christian Smith explained (cited by Dr. Pete Phillips):
- A God exists who created and orders the world and watches over human life on earth.
- God wants people to be good, nice, and fair to each other, as taught in the Bible and by most world religions.
- The central goal of life is to be happy and to feel good about oneself.
- God does not need to be particularly involved in one’s life except when God is needed to resolve a problem.
- Good people get to heaven when they die.
Main Idea:
In our passage today, it simply contends that “the Word of God then acts as God himself, so that one’s innermost thoughts and intentions are exposed. This happens constantly in Christians’ lives.” The Bible when read ought to be something that moves, drives, and makes a person experience this transforming power of God.
A true Christian will—by him or herself—read the Bible even without being reminded by any of the Elders or pastor of the church. The Word of God is part of the daily spiritual diet of Christians.
General (or Natural) Revelation:
Wayne Grudem summarizes, “General revelation comes through observing nature, through seeing God’s directing influence in history, and through an inner sense of God’s existence and his laws that he has placed inside every person.”
- Psalm 19:1-8; The creation, or nature, declares God’s glory.
- Romans 1:20, “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.”
As Special Revelation
Michael Bird defines, “Revelation is the self-presentation of the triune God, who through the Holy Spirit communicates saving truth about himself and draws humanity into a community in fellowship with his Son, so that they might know him, experience his mercy, and enjoy him forever.”
- The Inspired Word of God.
- Infallible, Inerrancy, and Authority of the Word of God
- Eternality of God’s Word
Bible Apps:
YouVersion is on track to reach 500,000,000 app installs soon. When the App Store launched in 2008, YouVersion was one of the first 200 free apps available. That first weekend, 83,000 people installed the Bible on their devices. But now, a community that started with 83,000 downloads in one weekend has nearly reached half a billion. (Official Website)
Conclusion:
Both before and now, and even in the following future, the Word of God remains. The method on how we read and access the Bible changes throughout time, but one thing will remain, that in the midst of this fast-changing culture, God’s Word is still and will be the same.
The main takeaway is not how you will be able to read the Bible either through your hard-bound King James 1611 version or the latest iPhone 13, but it is how you desire, feel the joy and excitement every time you will be reading it. Be reminded that it is not mere inspirational quotes, nor something magical that will let you forget of your problem. It is the very word of God.
Ptr. John Paul Arceno
UCBC New Jersey
January 23, 2022
This section is an excerpt only; download the full manuscript here.