God Has Spoken, Part 4

If you got your Bible, turn me to the book of Hebrews. Hebrews chapter 1. We've been in Hebrews chapter 1 for a couple of weeks. We'll be here for a few more. Hebrews 1, 1 and 2. 59 years ago this month, I was born into this world. 45 years ago on this day, I was born again and was received into the kingdom of God. It was March 19, 1972. It was a Sunday on that day. It was after church, after a series of messages, hearing the word of the Lord preached. I came home and was convinced I was not saved, that I needed to be born again, that I never repented of my sin.

At the age of 14 on that Sunday afternoon, a day a lot like today, it was very sunny and bright. I knelt down in my parents' bedroom and confessed my sin and realized I needed to follow Christ as Lord and Savior. And I was born again. Never forget that day. It's almost as if it was yesterday. And I praise the Lord for his convicting work in my life. It came about as a result of a series of sermons that the pastor of our church was preaching. He was preaching on hell and the consequences of eternal damnation and how God has called us to repent and to believe in him.

And one of the key passages was Luke chapter 16. In Luke chapter 16 you have the story of the rich man and Lazarus. We have gone through Luke 16 on several occasions over the years in depth when we went through the gospel of Luke. But he was in Luke's gospel talking about the rich man and Lazarus and talking about the torment that Lazarus faced. And asked Abraham that if he would send Lazarus back to, yes, send Lazarus back, the rich man faced the torment, but send Lazarus back to dip the tip of his finger in water to cool his tongue.

There was a great gulf, a great chasm between the two. And so the rich man said to Abraham these words. He said, I beg you father that you send into my father's house five brothers in order that he may warn them so they will not also come to this place of torment. But Abraham said, they have Moses and the prophets, let them hear them. But he said, no father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent. But he said to them, if they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.

That statement forever changed my life in the way I looked at scripture. For when the pastor was preaching that some 45 years ago, I realized the power, the penetrating power of the word of God. Miracles don't save, only the message saves. Miracles may fascinate the crowd, but only the message can forgive the crowd. The miracles might bedazzle the crowd, but only the message can cause the crowd to be truly born again. And so Abraham would tell the rich man, oh they have the law of the prophets, they have Moses, they have everything they need in writing.

If they don't believe what has already been written, they will not believe though one be raised from the dead. There is no miracle that will convince the unbeliever of the saving grace of Christ. It is the word of God. Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by a word concerning the Christ, Romans 10.17. James 1.18 tells us that we're born again by the word of truth. 1 Peter 1.23 tells us that it's the living word of God, the abiding living word of God that causes us to be born again. That's why our radio program is called Living Word Radio, because it's through the power of the word of God that causes people to be born again.

That's why Paul said in Romans 1.16, for I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God unto salvation, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

It's the power of God which the gospel truly portrays and conveys. So we need to understand the power of the written word. So it was that sermon on those weeks that led me to realize I was not saved, I needed to be saved, and it was the power of the word of God. Because the word of God truly converts the soul. And so from that I began to grow. I was 14 when I gave my life to Christ and I began to grow. And I began to grow in conviction over the power of the word of God. I was raised in a godly family, I was raised in a church that believed in the power of God's word, and it began to formulate my thinking concerning the word of God.

As it did, I began to realize that not only does God's word save and God's word sanctify and God's word secure, but God's word is the only thing that satisfies. Nothing else does. But I came to the conviction that the sufficient word of God is simply absolutely true. Understanding that I believe the Bible is the only book ever written by God to reveal himself. I wonder if you believe that. I believe that the Bible is the only authoritative and absolutely reliable source of revelation from God with regard to the origin of man as well as his dilemma, his salvation, and his destiny.

Do you believe that? I believe the Bible is the single measuring rod and the only moral and spiritual standard for man. Nothing else. Just the Bible. I believe the Bible is true in every detail, even to the very words in the original manuscripts. I believe the Bible is totally believable in that God wrote every single word. I believe the Bible is the source of all knowledge about God and apart from the Bible, there is no other written revelation. I wonder if you believe that. There is nothing that man can learn from human reason, philosophy, or experience unless God reveals himself.

God alone is a source of the knowledge about himself and he has chosen to reveal himself one way and that is through the Holy Scriptures. No other way and no other book. And so we have embarked on a study in the book of Hebrews. And at the very outset of the book, the author truly wants us to understand not just the sufficiency of Christ and the supremacy of Christ, but the sufficiency of his word and the supremacy of his word. So if you are going to believe what he is going to say about the Christ, you must believe that the words he gives you are the words of Christ.

So he tells us that God spoke in times past through the prophets to the fathers in many ways and in various forms. But in the last of the days in which God was speaking, he has spoken to us only through his son. He wants to make that very clear. And so while he briefly states it, we have spent some time coming to understand the fact that God is no longer communicating revelation. God is no longer giving visions and dreams to people so that they might have a further revelation of God himself. God has spoken and he speaks to us only through his word in conjunction with the spirit of God convicting us and showing us exactly what he has said.

So the author begins by helping us to understand that the word of God is complete. The word of God is sufficient. The word of God is reliable. The word of God contains all spiritual truth that pertains to life and godliness. Everything that you need, spiritually, morally, is in the word of God. It is the inspired word of God. Theopneustos, the God-breathed word. You hold in your hand the breath of God. You hold in your hand the very words of God. Very important to understand that. He breathed out these words.

How did he do that? Example, Exodus chapter 4 verse number 2. God says to Moses, go and I will be your mouth and teach you what you are to say.

God would speak through Moses. Jeremiah chapter 1. God says, all that I command you, you shall speak.

Behold, I have put my words in your mouth. That is exactly what God did. Ezekiel chapter 3. God told Ezekiel, son of man, go to the house of Israel. Take into your heart all my words which I shall speak to you and listen closely and speak to them. God has spoken. God has given us his word. God is no longer giving revelation to anyone. How do we know that? How do we understand that? How do we defend that? Against those who are Jehovah's Witnesses. Or those who are Mormons who believe they have another revelation.

How do you defend that against the Roman Catholic Church? Who takes the 14 books called the Apocrypha and make it a part of their canon of scripture. How do you defend that? To show them, it's not. God has spoken. God is no longer speaking. The revelation of God is complete. Revelation 22. The Lord said, I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book. If anyone adds to them, God shall add to him the plagues which are written in this book. And if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the tree of life and from the holy city which are written in this book.

Revelation 22, 18 and 19. Very important. Why? God makes a statement like that four other times in scripture. Once in Deuteronomy. Deuteronomy 4. Deuteronomy chapter 12. Can add or take away from the Pentateuch. The law of Moses. It also says in Proverbs chapter 30. Verse 6. Can add or take away from the poetical books. He also says in Jeremiah. Jeremiah chapter 26, verse number 2. Because you can't take or add to the prophetical books. And then he says it at the end of Revelation. The last book written in the New Testament.

Some 20 years after all the other books had been written. And yet he adds a caveat. And that is. If you add to the words of this book. I will add to you the plagues that are written in this book. So it's the only warning that he gives. That associates with it a penalty involved. As Genesis bridged the gap. Between us and eternity past. Revelation bridges the gap between us and eternity future. So Genesis and Revelation become the bookends. That help us understand eternity past. As well as eternity future.

And all things in between. And so therefore we come to understand. That when God gives this warning. In Revelation 22, 18 and 19. Before he gives that benediction at the end of the book of Revelation. He wants us to understand that it's over, it's done. And you cannot add to anything God has said. It's simply being you can't add to eternity. You can't. There's nothing to add to eternity. And because Revelation takes you into the eternal state. There's nothing to be added anymore. It is absolutely complete.

Since the book of Revelation was completed. No new written or verbal prophecy. Has ever been universally recognized. By Christians. As divine truth from God. As God would close the Old Testament. With the writings of Ezra and Nehemiah. And there were 400 silent years. Until the Lord spoke again to the prophet John the Baptist. That when the book of Revelation was complete again. God was absolutely completely silent. Never to speak again. Because everything he said. Has been recorded. And written down.

Everything that pertains to life. And Godliness. Again. How do we know that? Well just if you look at Hebrews chapter 1 verses 1 and 2.

It simply says that God in times past spoke this way. But in the last days in which God was speaking. He spoke this way. So there is the last time in which God spoke. And that was through his son Jesus Christ our Lord. But let me give you another verse.

It's called the one and done verse. One verse and you're done. One verse it's over. One verse you understand it. It's called the one and done verse. If you've got your Bible turn with me to the book of Jude.

Jude verse number 3. It's the book right before Revelation. Okay. Jude says these words in verse number 3. He says beloved. While I was making every effort to write to you about our common salvation. I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith. Which was once for all delivered to the saints. This is the one and done verse. One verse that tells you that the revelation of God is done. How do we know that? Well first of all he says.

I want you to fight. Contend. Wrestle. For the faith. The definite article is used there. Okay. It's not my faith. It's the faith. The summation of the body of truth given by the apostles. That is the faith. It is the objective faith. Galatians 1.23 it says. He who once persecuted us is now preaching the faith. The faith is the sum of that which Christians believed. First Timothy 4 verse number 1.

In latter times some will fall away from the faith. Again the sum total of what the Christians believed. So Jude says. I wanted to write to you about your salvation. But I felt a need to make sure you understand. That you need to fight for the truth. You need to fight for the faith. The faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. So you have this summation of truth. This body of truth. Listen carefully. That was delivered. Once. For all. Now.

Great grammar. Great theology. Bad grammar. Bad theology. You must understand the grammar. The once for all delivered faith. The word is hapax. Which refers to something done for all time. With lasting results never ever needing repeated. Ever. Nothing needs to be added to the faith. Because it was a once for all delivered faith. One author has done an extensive work on the book of Jude said this. The Christian faith is unchangeable. Which is not to say that men and women of every generation do not need to find it.

Experience it and live it. But it does mean that every new doctrine that arises. Even though its legitimacy may be plausibly asserted. Is a false doctrine. All claims to convey some additional revelation. To that which has been given by God. In his body of truth are false claims. And must be rejected. So you have a body of truth called the faith. That was delivered once. A never to be repeated event again. And it was delivered once for all. Now the word delivered. Or the word you can translate it handed down.

Is an aorist passive participle. Which again is very important to understanding the text. Because that in context indicates. That the act that has been completed in the past. Will have no continuing element added to it. Very important to understand that. So you have a faith. That was once for all delivered. Never needed to be repeated. Why? Because it was handed down by God. It was delivered by God. One time with no continuing residual effects. That means no further revelation needed to be given.

A very simple statement. A one and done verse. That says. That the body of truth that you and I have. Was delivered once. Never to be repeated again. And we are to defend that faith. We are to fight for that faith. We are to protect that faith. We are to make sure that we do all that we can. To make sure that no one disrupts that faith. That truth, that gospel. That's why Paul said if anyone preaches another gospel. That person must be accursed. But how do you know what the gospel is? Unless it's a once for all delivered faith.

Given to the saints. Very important to understand that. The Christian faith rests. On historic. Objective. Revelation. Scripture warns. That in the end times. False Christ and false prophets will arise. And will show great signs and wonders. So as to mislead if possible. Even the elect. Just because someone. Comes to you with signs and wonders. Or perceived. Signs and wonders. Doesn't mean that you believe what they say. That's why John says. In first John chapter four verse number one.

Beloved do not believe every spirit. But test the spirits. To see whether they are from God. Because many false prophets have gone out into the world. You are to test every spirit. Every person who comes to you and says. I have a dream. I have a revelation. God has spoken to me. God has said. You are to test them. And how do you test them? How can they possibly be tested? Unless there is a body of truth. That was once for all delivered. Never to be repeated. Never to be added to. That was given to us by God.

And that is called a measuring rod. That is called a standard. That is called a read. That is called the canon of scripture. It is a measuring rod. A standard by which we judge all things. And the standard consists of sixty six books. Thirty nine in the old. Twenty seven in the new. That's the canon of scripture. That's the measuring rod. That determines that the Christian faith is complete. So the question comes. How do you know the canon is closed? And how was that canon chosen? How were those sixty six books chosen?

Very important to understand. Because you have the old testament books. You have the new testament books. Right? So how do you know that the fourteen books called the Apocrypha written between 200 and 150 BC are not a part of the old testament canon? How do you talk to your Roman Catholic friends to show them that those books were never a part of the canon to begin with? Because the Catholic church says they are. So how do you defend that? We have to go back and see how the old testament canon was chosen.

How did Israel come up with those thirty nine books being inspired by God? God breathed words. Well, one is that they claim inspiration by God. They were inspired by God. Written by a prophet or someone with the gift of prophecy. Okay? A guy like Daniel. A guy like Ezra. Ezra, who was a scribe. Nehemiah, who was a cup bearer. But all of them, without exception, had prophetic gifts. And so they had to be inspired by God. They had to claim inspiration. And they had to be accepted, preserved, and read by God's people, the Israelites.

And that's how they came up with those thirty nine different books. Ezra, according to Jewish tradition, made certain scribes a part of the great synagogue after they had returned from Babylonian captivity. And those scribes would meticulously go through those thirty nine books to make sure that, number one, there was no error in history.

Number two, there was no error in geography. And number three, there was no error in theology. And that they all agreed. Okay? Very important. So, by the time the last book, Malachi, was written in 445 B.C., by 400 B.C., the canon was closed. And God was silent for 400 years. Until John the Baptist. Except for those fourteen different books, called the Apocrypha, written between 200 and 150 B.C. So how do you know that they are not to be a part of the thirty nine books of the Old Testament? Three reasons.

Number one, they were written after the close of the canon in 400 B.C. That's number one. So they lacked prophetic quality that stamped them as authentically inspired by God. Number two, the writers of those fourteen books did not ever claim inspiration.

In fact, some of them outright deny inspiration. Plus, those fourteen books are filled with historical, geographical, and theological errors. Therefore, they can't be inspired by God. They teach things such as suicide. They teach things such as praying for the dead. They teach things such as assassination and justifying assassination. All things that are contrary to the other thirty nine books in the Old Testament. So that's how you know that those Apocryphal writings are not a part of the Old Testament canon, the measuring rod, the standard by which we live our lives.

If it's contrary to the other thirty nine books, and it has moral issues that are questionable as compared to the other thirty nine books of the Old Testament, and they don't claim inspiration while the others did claim inspiration. In fact, they outright deny being inspired by God. How can you put them as a part of the measuring rod, the standard by which we are to live and govern our lives by? You can't. You just can't. And so when you come to the New Testament, how do you determine that those books are the inspired writings of God?

Well, number one, to be a part of the New Testament canon, your book had to be written by an apostle or someone closely associated with the apostle, right?

An apostle was one who had, number one, seen the resurrected Christ. Two, been commissioned by that resurrected Christ. And number three, was one who had miraculous signs and wonders associated with him to prove the authenticity of his message.

And so every writer of the New Testament was an apostle, except for Mark, who was an associate of Peter. Luke, who was an associate of Paul. Peter was Paul's personal physician. Jude and James, who were the half-brothers of Jesus. And the writer of Hebrews. And if he's Paul, he's an apostle. And so, for those books to be inspired, they had to be written by an apostle or someone closely associated with an apostle. And all those 27 books fall into that category. Number two, is that that content had to be centered around apostolic teaching.

That's why in Acts 2, it says that they were committed to prayer and to fellowship and to the apostles' doctrine or to the apostles' teaching. Because the apostles were the teachers. And what they taught was the truth, the word inspired by God. And in order for them to judge error that would come into the church, there had to be a standard by which they could judge the error of those false teachers who tried to creep into the church. And that standard was the measuring rod of the apostles' doctrine.

So you have books, these 27 books, taught by the apostles or written by the apostles or those closely associated with them. And if the early church accepted the content of the apostolic doctrine so much that they read it and they reread it and they formulated their whole worship around those books, those 27 books, the apostles' doctrine, the apostles' teaching. That's how you get those 27 books in the New Testament. So by AD 404, the Latin Vulgate version of the Bible was complete. The earliest known translation of the 66 books of the Bible.

And they were translated into modern English. Now, if you want to go into great detail about the canon of Scripture and how everything came together, there's a book written by F.F. Bruce called The Canon. It's quite lengthy, it's quite meticulous, and quite heady. So if you're into heady things, it's a great book to read. I would not recommend it for family devotions. But it's a great book if you want to know more about the canon of Scripture. I'm just giving you a brief overview to understand that Revelation is done.

It's completed. God is done speaking. God has spoken. In the last days in which God has spoken, He spoke to us through His Son. It's over. He has given us everything He wants us to know. So from the time of the apostles until the present, the Church has always believed that the Bible is complete. It is sufficient, inerrant, infallible, authoritative, and attempts to add to the Bible have always been rejected. For example. Oh, by the way, that's why the Reformers in 1517, 500 years ago, came up with that term, Sola Scriptura.

Because one of the reasons that the Reformers separated from Roman Catholicism was because of the Apocrypha. Those 14 books in between the Old Testament and New Testament. And so they believed in Scripture alone. They believed that those words of the Apocrypha were not Scripture. They were not God-breathed words. Simply because they denied inspiration. But the Council of Trent, in 1535, the Roman Catholic Church affirmed that those books should be a part of the canon, and therefore there's been a separation from Protestantism and Roman Catholicism ever since.

See that? Very important to understand that. There's a major difference between Roman Catholicism and Christianity. There's a major gap between the two. You need to understand that. So when the Bible, or when people in America talk about Christians, or when you go overseas and talk about Christians, they're including Catholicism in that. They should not. Because Christianity is completely different than Roman Catholicism. Completely different. But these people with visions and dreams, who come with new revelation, let me ask you this question.

What would distinguish them from a guy like Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon? Let me read to you the fifth article, the fifth article, I'm sorry, the seventh article of the Mormon faith.

It reads this. We believe, this is Mormon theology, we believe in the gift of tongues, prophecy, revelation, visions, healing, interpretation of tongues. What would separate that doctrine in Mormon theology from the charismatic movement today? Nothing. So much so that the Book of Alma, chapter 5, verse 45, says this. Do you not suppose that I know of these things myself? Behold, I testify unto you that I do know that these things whereof I have spoken are true. And how do you suppose that I know they are sure?

Behold, I say unto you, they are made known unto me by the Holy Spirit of God, and this is the spirit of revelation which is in me. That's the Book of Mormon. The Book of Mormon was an extra biblical revelation that Mormons claim is a revelation, another revelation from God. How do you know it's true? They also claim that the Doctrine of Covenants and the Pearl of Great Price are in par with Scripture. And yet, they have errors about the person of Christ, the work of Christ, the nature of Christ.

So what would separate those in Mormon theology who receive visions and dreams and believe in them to authenticate their Book of Mormon, their Pearl of Great Price, their Doctrine of Covenants, to authenticate them in front of people to show that we have another revelation from God as opposed to those who say today in the charismatic movement, I have dreams, God has spoken to me, I have received a revelation from God. You have to ask that question. Or, how would you answer Christian science? Because the Christian science journal, according to Mary Baker Eddy, is a direct revelation from God.

Because it is not a human philosophy, I quote this now, but a divine revelation, the divinity based reason and logic of Christian science necessarily separates it from all other systems. Mary Baker Eddy is called the revelator of truth for this age. And she says this, I should blush to write of science and health with key to the Scriptures as I have, were it of human origin, and were I, apart from God, its author. But as I was only a scribe echoing the harmonies of heaven in divine metaphysics, I cannot be super modest in my estimate of the Christian science textbook.

In other words, she claims that what she has received, she received from God. What makes her any different than Sarah Young who wrote Jesus Calling? Answer? Nothing. They're on the same plane. It's heresy. How about this? The Jehovah's Witnesses, for they believe that their magazine, The Watchtower, is on par with the Holy Scriptures. It's a revelation from God. The Watchtower is a magazine without equal on earth. This is not giving any credit to the magazine publishers, but is due to the great author of the Bible with its truths and prophecies and who now interprets its prophecies.

In other words, the Watchtower magazine is on par with the historic truth of God's Holy Word. And Jehovah's Witnesses completely disagree with the divine nature of the Son of God. They have a whole system of religion based on works. So again, I ask you this question. What is the difference between those who believe in Jehovah's Witness and the Watchtower as a revelation from God? Or Christian Science and Mary Baker Eddy receiving a revelation from God? Or Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon receiving a revelation from God?

And those of the charismatic movement who receive revelations from God? You've got to ask yourself that question. Because they all fall in the same plane. And then you have Herbert W. Armstrong in the Worldwide Church of God whose Plain Truth magazine and radio television program called the World of Truth is all about what his wife received. His wife received a revelation from God that caused him to form the Worldwide Church of God. And Reverend Sung Young Moon who is now dead along with Mary Baker Eddy and they all, by the way, know the truth now.

They didn't when they were here, but they know now. According to the Reverend Sung Young Moon if his truth contradicts the Bible then the Bible is wrong. You see, my friends, you have to ask the hard questions. Just don't listen to people say God told me. God spoke to me. I had a vision. A revelation. You've got to put those people in the category of Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses, Christian Science, Reverend Sung Young Moon, the Worldwide Church of God and Herbert W. Armstrong. You've got to put them in the category of for lack of a better term, wackos.

Because, come on, either God's Word is complete or it's not. You can't have both. It's either a closed system or an open system. God is done giving revelation or He's not. And if He's not done giving revelation then somehow we've got to put together all these visions and dreams that people have of God and somehow put them down on paper and make them a 67th book or a 68th book of the Bible so we know what the standard is. But how do you judge those people? Unless you've been given a standard. You read a measuring stick.

And that is the holy inspired Word of God. You see, all of it, all of it is in search for something more. Something other than the sufficiency of Scripture. Scripture is not sufficient enough therefore I must have something more. And as you search for something more it always is a dead end road. And a dead end road always leads to destruction. And that destruction is always death and damnation. Always. And so you must have the truth of God's Word. And so because God's Word is true and we believe it to be true we must believe everything it says.

We must believe it. We must have a reception of that truth. It's like Peter said, Lord, where else are we going to go? When everybody left Christ and walked away Peter says, where else are we going to go? Christ says, are you guys going to go away too?

Peter says in John 6, where else are we going to go? You have the words of eternal life. You have the right words. The eternal words. Where else can we possibly go? You need to believe what Jesus says.

And you need to examine everything that the Word of God says. We need to study to show ourselves a prudent to God workman that needeth not to be ashamed rightly dividing the Word of Truth. There needs to be an examination not only of the Word of God but anybody who comes to you and says something about that Word. Or gives you another revelation or another vision. You always examine them in light of what God's Word says. There always needs to be an exaltation of the truth of God's Word for we exalt His Word even as His very name and Job said in Job 23 verse number 12 He desires them more than any riches or any money.

There needs to be an adoration of that truth. Oh how I love thy law. It is my meditation all the day long. There must be a confirmation to that truth. Our lives must conform to the truth of God's Word because it's sufficient. It's true. It's complete. Not to be conformed to this world or be transformed by the renewing of our minds that we approve what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. We must seek to protect the truth. Fight for the truth. Defend the truth. We must be so well versed in the truth that whoever comes along with another word another prophecy another vision another dream we can defend the faith that was once for all delivered handed down to the saints.

And we truly must be proclaimers of this Word. Preaching this Word. Teaching this Word. Helping others to know that this is the source of eternal life. This is the key to understanding Christianity. This is the key to knowing Christ Himself who has revealed Himself completely and thoroughly without contradiction on the pages of Scripture. We believe what the Bible says because we believe in the authoritative sufficient inerrant infallible Word of the Living God.

Let me pray with you. Father we thank you for today and a chance to be in your Word. Our prayer Lord is that you would solidify our faith that we be strong in the Lord in the power of His might. In Jesus name we pray all these things. Amen.