How Do I Know the Bible is For Me? (Part 2)

© 2024 by C. O. Bishop

Romans 7:13; Romans 8:2 and many others…

Introduction:

Last week we began looking at the internal evidence that some of the Bible is directed to us, personally, and ALL of it is for us, given for our learning and edification. (“Edification” means to “build up,” or to strengthen.  The word “edifice” is still sometimes used to mean “a building.” And, in 1^st Corinthians 3:9, God says “…ye (plural) are God’s building.” So, He wants to “build us up” and strengthen us. And all of His Word is given for that purpose.

2^nd Timothy 3:16, 17 reminds us that “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness; that the man of God may be perfect, (complete) thoroughly furnished unto all good works.”

Last week we looked at commands and promises given to individuals in the historical narratives of the Old Testament, and we saw how some of them could be applied as being for us to live by. But God gave others, only for examples from which we can learn the principles of God’s righteousness.

In 1^st Corinthians 10:11, Paul says, “Now all these things happened unto them for examples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.”

Who is it For?

You remember that Daniel (in Daniel 12:8, 9) was told that the prophecy he had just received was not for him but rather for the people of the end times. The Apostle Paul saw that the church is increasingly part of that “end times” fulfillment. Today we eagerly look to see that “end times” fulfillment of Daniel’s Prophecy, as it is happening. But, we also need to look eagerly to see and obey the admonitions of the Old Testament scriptures that Paul points out.

David spoke to that effect, as well, in Psalm 119:9-11, 105, 130. “⁹Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed thereto according to thy word. ¹⁰With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from they commandments. ¹¹Thy Word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.”

“¹⁰⁵ Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.”

“¹³⁰ The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding to the simple.”

This is how we learn to walk with God: by feeding on His Word. (And it is all food! If you are hungry, Eat!)

What About the “Personal” Books?

In the books of Ruth, Esther, and Job, we see corroboration of the historical books, as well as “inside information” about some of the events in those histories.

The events in the Book of Ruth all occurred during the history of the Book of Judges. But it tells us some “inside information” regarding the Genealogy of Christ, and, in doing so, it paints a clear picture of the coming Kinsman-Redeemer. We could see that Boaz was a picture of Jesus, our Redeemer. We could also see that Ruth, the Moabite woman, was a picture of the Church. She was a gentile woman. She came from a tribe God had cursed (the Moabites,) but God “grafted her into” the genealogy of Christ, as one of his human ancestors!

The events in the Book of Esther happened during the Babylonian captivity: This book links the Jews in Exile to their Redeemer, showing that He had not forgotten them. When the enemy moved to destroy them, God intervened. (Incidentally, this book is also the origin of the Feast of Purim, which commemorates that delivery, and is still celebrated today by Orthodox Jews.)

The events in the Book of Job probably transpired about the same time Abraham was alive, though we can’t attach a definite date. But it tells us a good deal of “inside information” about our relationship with God, the limitations of Satan’s authority, and a few details about the Creation, as well as hints about the angelic host. And we see a prophecy, (Job 19:25–27) reaching far into the future, to the second coming of Christ, after the Great Resurrection!

Again: it is all food! If you are hungry, EAT!

What About the “Meditations and Wisdom” Portions?

What Should We Do With Them?

The Psalms and Proverbs hold Eternal Wisdom. So do the Song of Solomon and Ecclesiastes. Some parts are more easily applicable than others, but all of them are there for us to read, to memorize, upon which we are encouraged to meditate, and always, by which we are to profit!

We just quoted a portion of Psalm 119. That chapter is 176 verses long, and all but four verses refer in some way directly to the profitability and necessity of the Word of God! David used many other terms other than “word” to make clear the multifaceted nature of God’s Word:

“Precepts, commandments, statutes, testimonies, law, ways, judgments, words, truth, and ordinances.” All these are used to describe His Word. And, the four verses that do not directly refer to His Word all speak of His faithfulness and judgment, or (in one verse) His eternal Name.

Wisdom is Practical

In the Proverbs, we find God’s Wisdom, in practical application. Proverbs chapter two says that if we want the wisdom of God, we must pursue it through His Word and ask for it in Prayer.

In Ecclesiastes, we hear the echo of God’s Wisdom coming through a man (Solomon) who had engaged in much folly. At the end of his life, he recognized the total waste of time and energy it all had been. He counseled that the reader should drop the nonsense and focus on the Lord.

The Song of Solomon describes a love relationship between a bride and her beloved, the King. In the time when it was written, it spoke of the king (Solomon) and his betrothed (The Shulamite girl.) But, the ultimate fulfillment is in the relationship between Christ (the King of Kings) and the Church (The Bride of Christ.)

It is all food for your soul, and if you feed upon it, you will grow!

But, What About The Law?

In Exodus 19:5, God told Israel that they were to be “a peculiar people” unto Him. (We would say, “special.”) The concept is that God gave His covenant (and His Law) to Israel alone. The Law was “iron-clad” to Israel, but it had zero bearing on the heathen nations around them. (By the way, the word “Gentile” means “heathen.”) The Law revealed the depravity of the entire human race, including Israel. But God gave it to Israel, and Israel alone.

If someone from another nation desired to become part of Israel, they had to submit to God’s Law for Israel. They could “do business” with Israel without becoming a Jewish Proselyte. They could even worship the God of Israel without becoming a proselyte. But they could not “attach themselves” to the Nation of Israel without embracing the Law.

Naaman the Syrian, in 2^nd Kings 5, is a prime example. He chose to worship the God of Israel but never became a Jewish Proselyte. God healed him of his leprosy “by Grace, through faith.” (Sound familiar?) God’s Grace moved him to faith in the God of Israel, but he remained a Syrian! He asked for, and took a mule-load of Israel’s soil, to make an altar at home: He said he would now worship only the God of Israel. And through Elisha, God pronounced His blessing on his choice.

Then What Value Does the Law Hold for Us, Today?

That question comes up repeatedly, today: The “road to understanding the answer” has two “ditches.” (Most roads have two “ditches.” The idea is to “stay between the ditches!”)

“Ditch 1:”

One “ditch” to avoid, is the idea that the Law has no bearing on our lives today. That is simply not true! It has great value, as Romans 7:13 points out. Paul says God gave the Law “to show the exceeding sinfulness of sin!” We can learn the principles of the Righteousness of God by reading the Law and meditating upon the underlying concepts.

“Ditch 2”

Trying to“achieve the righteousness of God” through our human efforts at obedience is the other “ditch” to avoid. 2^nd Corinthians 5:21 tells us that God made Jesus (who knew no sin) to BE sin, for us “…that we might be made the Righteousness of God, in Him!”

“Staying between the Ditches”

God has to do it! You cannot “achieve” the righteousness of God. Romans 10:3 says (regarding the Jews) that in “…going about to establish their own righteousness, they have not submitted themselves to the Righteousness of God.” This righteousness is not based on works at all! It is God’s gift, through Jesus Christ. God has to declare you “righteous.”

Galatians 2:19-21 says “I, through the Law, am dead to the Law that I might live unto God. I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. I do not frustrate the Grace of God: for if righteousness come by the Law, then Christ is dead in vain.”

The Law cannot produce Righteousness: it never could! Even the Jews who placed their trust in the God of Israel were declared righteous by God because of their faith…not their ability to keep His Law. In Genesis 15:6, we read thatAbram “believed God,” and God credited it to him as righteousness. Romans 4:1-4 reiterates this concept, reminding us that this is the only way anyone has ever been declared righteous by God.

Peter confirmed this truth in Acts 15:7-11. He said that the Jews had never been able to keep God’s Law! He showed that it was unreasonable, unjust, and unkind for the Jewish believers to try to burden the Gentile believers with the Law when they couldn’t keep it themselves!

The Law Still Stands!

But the Law still stands as a principle of holiness. Jesus upgraded the Law of Moses; First by pointing out that all sin begins in the heart. He gave examples, showing that the sin in the heart was just as condemned as the outward expression of the same sin.

Then, He taught that anyone who “loved God with all his heart,” and who “loved his neighbor as himself,” fulfilled the whole Law. (Mark 12:28-34) He confirmed that the Agapé Love encompassed all the Old Law…in principle.

Finally, He gave a new commandment: John 13:34, 35 “A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.”

Therefore, when Galatians 6:2 commands “…so fulfill the law of Christ,” It specifically refers to the practical outworking of that Agapé Love: reaching out to help another brother or sister.

What About The Law of Sin and Death?

When Romans 8:2 says we are set free from the Law of Sin and Death, it looks back to the only law Adam faced: “…in the day that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die.” (Genesis 2:17)

But ALL of the Mosaic Law connected “sin” to “death:” either YOU died, as a guilty sinner, or, in most cases, it was possible for a blood sacrifice to take your place in death. Ezekiel 18:4 encapsulates this connection, saying “…the soul that sinneth, it shall die.”

So, Romans 8:2 says, “…the Law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. I am no longer under that law! Why? Because Jesus fulfilled the righteous demands of that Law by His death in my place, at the Cross. His blood met the Law’s demand for a blood sacrifice. And God’s Old Testament Law, the “Mosaic Law,” now sees me as dead: it has nothing more to say to me! (The Law does not talk to dead people!”

The Law is still God’s Word, and it is eternally valuable to convict my stubborn heart and to remind me that I cannot live up to God’s standards in my own strength or ability. Jesus confirmed this in John 15:5,  saying “…Apart from Me ye can do nothing.”

Philippians 2:13 also confirms this: “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure.” Yes, the Law is still FOR me…but it has never been TO me!

What About the Prophets?

God shows that they are all for us, as a general rule…but not all “to” us.

Daniel heard the prophecy God gave, but he complained that he couldn’t understand it. And God told him (Daniel 12:8-13) “Write it down, close the book, and run along! It isn’t to you, but rather to the people of the end times!” So,God gave some parts that are “not directed to us.” But the whole Bible is “for” us.

Isaiah ministered to Judah alone. But the book of Isaiah directs some messages to specific Gentile nations. Also, he announced a “sign” in Isaiah 7:14 and spelled out the Virgin Birth! And in Isaiah 9:6, 7 we see part of the mystery of the Trinity spelled out for us! (“The Son shall be called the Everlasting Father!” Do I understand that? Nope! I don’t!)

In Micah 5:2, it says the Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem! Furthermore, scholars tell us that there are roughly 300+ other prophecies specifically concerning the life and times of Jesus the Messiah. And all of them had to be fulfilled in that one life: That One Person!

Please do take the time to feed heavily on God’s Word: It’s all Food! If you are hungry, eat! Next week, we will consider all of the New Testament.

Lord Jesus, Open our eyes to the divisions in Your Word that YOU ordained. Help us to be “workmen that need not be ashamed.” Help us to “rightly divide” Your Word, and faithfully to proclaim Your Name to others.