God is Always with Us



Satan’s 4 Lies about the BibleJohn 8:42-47INTRODUCTION This passage of Scripture tells us all we need to know about the Devil’s intentions toward us and the eternal destiny of our souls. To sum it into a few words…..the Devil is a liar. He lies about God (“He’s not there, He doesn’t care”); he lies about Jesus (“He never lived or He’s still in the grave”); he lies about you (“you’re insignificant or YOU’RE in control of your life”). Perhaps most importantly, he lies about the Bible. It is our earthly “book of life” for our soul, and he wants us to disregard it for the pleasures he offers in this world in order to win us over to his domain for eternity. Today we will look at four of his lies and survey each one…..I. “The Bible is too big to bother with” A. Most Bibles are over 1,000 pages – which can be intimidating. It contains: 1. 66 books (double the number in most personal libraries). 2. 1,189 chapters (more than all the verses of all Beatles’ songs combined). 3. 31,102 verses (24,866 more than the Quran). 4. 773,746 words (more that the 717,020 in the 1st five Harry Potter books combined). B. Yet our Bibles are about the same size as most books, able to fit into a purse or backpack. 1. 34 of its’ books can be read in less than 45 minutes; 29 in under 20; 17 in under 12; and 5 in 5 minutes or less. C. Reading it can be started in the foundational chapters in Gen. 1-12 and the First 20 of 40 chapters in Exodus. D. Follow these with the story of Jesus’ life in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. E. The Acts of the Apostles will help to understand the creation of the church. F. With a sense of diligence, anyone will find that the Bible is NOT “too big to bother with”.II. “The Bible is too old to matter”. A. Too many people in today’s society pass judgment on the Bible as an outdated document with superstitious bias. 1. Atheists will say that it was produced by barbaric and superstitious people. a. The “only redeeming qualities” are those things that “civilized” people agree with. b. Some say it should have a disclaimer in the front saying that it is fiction. 2. Others see it as an old map, arguing that a book written ~3000 yrs. ago (O.T.) and ~2,000 yrs. ago (N.T.) cannot be relevant today. 3. Many have said over the centuries that it would disappear from public life due to its’ irrelevance. B. However, now in the 21st century, the Bible is still here while the “God is dead” movement and all its’ “naysayers” influences are small when compared to it. WHY???? Because it is STILL RELEVANT!!! C. Its’ continual freshness is evidence of its’ inspiration – Truth does not change! It reads the same today as it did yesterday and as it will tomorrow. D. The Bible is relevant because it WORKS. 1. Its’ message fills the void in every heart; its’ power changes lives. 2. In a world of anger, anxiety, discord, and disillusionment, the message is of: hope, peace, respect, and forgiveness. III. “The Bible is too big to enjoy”. A. After an old man finished a history book, he disliked it so much that he taped a note to it saying, “In case of famine eat this book, it’s full of baloney. In case of flood stand on it, it’s dry”. 1. Some see the Bible like that – a boring list of names, a dry “laundry list” of church rules, and a bunch of “thou shalt nots”. 2. To the contrary it has: biography, narrative, letters, poetry, history, and prophecy. IV. “The Bible is too confusing to care”. A. Looked at as a whole, it can feel like a massive puzzle, not knowing where to start, causing some to fail to “launch” and others to soon “crash”. B. God is not a source of confusion - 1Cor 14:33 ESV For God is not a God of confusion but of peace. As in all the churches of the saints, 1. It is not hard to understand; it was not written for the educated elite, but the common people. 2. It was written on an elementary school level as evidenced by children in Bible class. C. The overall message is simple. The Bible has one…… 1. Villain: Satan. He comes early (Gen. 3), and often (Matt. 4, 1 Pet. 5:8), and late (Rev. 20). 2. Problem: sin. It starts with Adam and Eve and is on every page. 3. Hero: the Savior Jesus Christ. He is in 89 chapters in the Gospels; The whole Bible is about Him; He is coming (O.T.); He is here (Matt.-John); He is coming back (Acts-Rev.). 4. Purpose: salvation. The Bible is not just for learning or living, it is for SAVING.CONCLUSION Do not believe Satan’s lies about the Bible. His goal is to keep you away from it – unimpressed, uninformed, and unconverted. Someone once said, “The safest road to hell is the gradual one – the gently slope, soft under the feet, without milestones, without signposts.” Don’t be fooled by Satan’s deceptive words. Remember……….John 8:44bf ESV He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. ................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download