Something More Sure (Part 3)

Thanks for showing up as we continue our study of Kevin DeYoung’s book “Taking God at His word”. Today we continue to look at 2 Peter 1.16-21-

16 For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. 17 For when he received honour and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,” 18 we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain. 19 And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, 20 knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone's own interpretation. 21 For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

DeYoung makes three wonderful points from this biblical text. And as we shall see the Bible is nothing short of a “text” from Heaven!

First, the Scripture is the Word of God. It is important to realise that even the term Scripture means ‘that which has been written down’. So what we discover from our 2 Peter text is that “Holy Scripture is an objective reality outside of us” (DeYoung). Folks, this is really good news. Public opinion and even religions might change but God has gone on record, making it clear, what His will is yesterday, tomorrow and forever. This written record is the Bible and we can be very sure that God will never be sued for breach of contract!

“But wasn’t the Bible written by men? Hah! There you are, case closed; the Bible is manmade!!” Not so fast my friend…Enter point 2-

Secondly, the Word of God is no less divine because it is given through human instrumentality. What’s the point here? The point is this- God did use men but these men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit (v21 from above). In this manner the end product was kept 100% pure. A helpful illustration is Jesus. Who is he? God and man in one person. In a similar fashion the Bible can be said to be words from men, in that men wrote it all down, but ultimately the words flow, without compromise, from God. What is the Bible? A message from God through men in one book.

Third, the Bible is without error. Not much needs to be said about this statement as, surely as night follows day, if God is the author of the Scriptures then it MUST be without error of any kind.

Let me finish with a reflection from DeYoung-

“You do not another special revelation from God outside the Bible. You can listen to the voice of God every day. Christ still speaks, because the spirit has already spoken. If you want to hear from God, go to the book that records only what he has said. Immerse yourself in the Word of God. You will not find anything more sure (page 42).