By DR. ROY THOMPSON
Founder and Longtime
Pastor of Cleveland Baptist Church (Ohio), Now in Evangelism
“For ever, O LORD,
thy word is settled in heaven.”—Ps. 119:89.
“For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth
pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be
fulfilled.”—Matt. 5:18.
“But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.”—I Pet. 1:25.
Dr. Bob Jones, Sr., who was
one of a vanishing breed of preachers, had a well-known phrase, “What the Bible
says is so.” It’s a plain saying, but it packs a lot of power.
It seems today that attacks
on the Word of God are coming from every direction. Even within our own ranks
(fundamentalism), there are tremendous debates on the Word of God.
I have never been ashamed to
be called a fundamentalist, but the term has been misused and attributed to
some groups to which I wish it were not attributed. The term has a great
meaning historically, though, so I don’t shy away from it.
Within the fundamentalist
community today, however, there is great misunderstanding on exactly what is
our viewpoint of the Bible. Thirty years ago it was enough to say, “I believe
in the verbal, plenary inspiration of the Scriptures in the original language.”
Nobody had a problem with that. Today, though, that’s not enough to say. I
believe that a sound, sensible position is that we have had a Bible in the
English language for well over three hundred years. God gave us this Bible. I
have complete confidence that the King James Version is the Word of God in our
mother tongue, so I don’t need any other translations.
We do not need to argue and
debate this issue constantly. Too many Bible college students today are spending
all their time learning about the Bible. It’s fine to know some facts about the
Bible, but it’s much more important to know the Bible. We need to get back to
studying, memorizing and preaching the Word of God.
I want to take that short
clause, “What the Bible says is so,” and use it as the theme of this message.
1.
What the Bible says is
so, in spite of the fact that it is denied by infidels. (Dr. B.R. Lakin tabbed
them “in-fer-hells.”) Many infidels are brilliant as far as intelligence and
accumulation of facts are concerned. But these people do not believe that God
gave us a Bible in any respect—not in the original languages, not in the
English language, not at all.
These infidels are constantly
attacking the Word of God. (They launched a crusade recently to remove from all
public school textbooks any reference to God or the Bible or Christianity.)
Their denial of the Word of God, though, does not dilute its power.
Imagine a man is facing you
with a loaded 38-caliber revolver. As he cocks the hammer, you mock him and
say, “That gun doesn’t have any power. That gun can’t hurt me.” You’d be a fool
to talk like that. You’d be no more of a fool, though, than the man who denies
the power of the Word of God.
What the Bible says is so—in
spite of the denial of the infidels.
2.
What the Bible says is
so, in spite of the fact that it is doubted by skeptics. Skeptics are a bit
different than infidels. The skeptic says, “I just don’t know.” He puts a
question mark on everything. The question mark of the skeptic is often more
successful than the outright denial of the infidel in getting people away from
God. The approach is more subtle.
When the Devil first
approached Eve, he didn’t outright deny what God had said but put a question
mark on it: “Hath God said…?” He wanted Eve to ask herself the question, “Is
that what God meant?”
When the Bible is clear on
something, don’t search for a “deep” meaning. I know there are some difficult
passages in the Bible (prophetic statements, for instance); but when something
is clearly understandable, take it at face value. Don’t put a question mark on
it. If you question everything you read in the Bible, it will have no effect on
your life. It will hold no persuasive power over your decisions.
Today’s skeptics say, “The Bible
was written in an unscientific age. It certainly has some good moral teachings,
but as far as having any value as a book of science or psychology, it’s very
outdated.” They want you to ask yourself, “Is it really for today? Is it really
for me?” But what the Bible says is so—in spite of the doubts of the skeptics.
3.
What the Bible says is
so, in spite of the fact that it is perverted by false teachers. This is
another area where the Devil creeps in.
Home Bible studies enjoy
great popularity today, and I’m not one of those preachers who get upset about
them. I’d rather somebody have a Bible study than a poker game. But please be
careful not to allow anybody to teach something false at your Bible study. If
you’re going to get into something “deep,” first consult with the pastor or a
mature Christian. In other words, don’t try to do calculus if you haven’t had
simple algebra.
If you’re going to have a
Bible study, don’t use twenty-five reference books and concordances. Open your
Bible and pray, “Holy Spirit, teach us. Don’t let us misunderstand something.”
Don’t make your Bible study a book study or a study of someone’s cassette tape
ministry.
If you’re saved, you ought to
know false teaching when you hear it. An unsaved man can easily be duped and
deceived, but a Christian should have more discernment. If you believe that
your church is a Bible-believing church, be leery of anyone who teaches
something contrary to what your church teaches. I’m certainly not claiming that
our church is infallible, but I believe that this is a sensible guideline.
All kinds of people are
quoting the Bible today. Cults are on the rise as never before. There are as
many new cults as there are Bibles. (It’s interesting to note that they have
risen together.)
The Jehovah’s Witnesses used
the King James Version for years, but they tired of being “ torn apart” with
their own Bible. So now they have their own version, the New World translation.
And their scholars were very careful to change that passage in John 1 that was
so devastating to them. Instead of “and the Word was God,” their version reads,
“…and the Word was a god.” They now have their own religion, their own Bible,
their own Christ. Their Christ is almost God, but not quite. He is a god, he is
even a mighty god, but he is not Almighty God.
Let me stress, however, that
you can also pervert the Word of God while quoting the King James Version. The
Christian Scientists are a most perverted sect, but their reading rooms always
have a KJV Bible. When Satan came to Jesus and quoted the Bible, he quoted the
right translation. And how did Jesus answer him? He quoted the Word of God
right back to him. The only authoritative way to answer a perversion of the
Scriptures is with the Scriptures.
We are to handle the Word
properly. So many folks say, “I like this verse—because it suits my case.” They
have a convenient theology. Some of the most effective, most dangerous false
teaching is that which contains a margin of truth but enough error to water it
down and deceive.
Take a doctrine called
Calvinism, for instance. The term comes from a man’s name, John Calvin, an
outstanding Reformer and Bible teacher. Though I believe he has been sorely
misrepresented, from his teachings comes a doctrine referred to as
hyper-Calvinism. Some of the truths he taught have been taken to the extreme. A
hyper-Calvinist will come to a particular portion of the Scripture and say, “I
know that says ‘all’ there, but it really doesn’t mean ‘all.’ ” If God said it,
He meant it, because what the Bible says is so—in spite of the perversions by
false teachers.
4.
What the Bible says is
so, in spite of the fact that it is defiled by modernists.
If we go back a number of
years, we will find that the main Protestant denominations and the Baptists
basically believe d the same thing about the Word of God. Though there were
differences on baptism and church polity, these denominations could work
together to conduct citywide revival meetings because they believed that man
was sinful, that salvation came by grace and that the Bible was God’s inspired
Word.
When one twerp would dare
voice any kind of a modernistic viewpoint, he was cast out. But he gradually wormed his way in— through the seminary. It
all begins in the seminary.
Young people go there to get
their training, and they sit under the teaching of “book professors,” men who
have never had any contact with the real world. They have confined themselves
within these monasteries of the Protestant and Baptist faiths. They don’t go
soul winning; they don’t know what it is to build a church; they don’t know how
to weep over the dying; they have never counseled a broken heart. All they know
is what they have read in a book.
When one of these respected,
personable, popular professors comes up with a new idea and starts teaching
something way out in “left field,” nobody challenges him because he’s such a
nice guy.
Then a new teacher joins the
staff, and this nice guy gets hold of him and influences his thinking. Now two
of them are teaching this offbeat material.
It takes only a generation or
two for the entire seminary to go bad. Then every graduate of that school comes
into the church with those perverted ideas. Soon the whole church is destroyed.
We’ve seen great churches
fall that way. And we’re not so strong that it couldn’t happen to us someday if
we don’t stay straight in line with the Word of God.
I know what the Cleveland
Baptist Church was built upon. I’ve been here since Day One. It was built by
the prayers, tears, hard work and sacrificial giving of God’s people. Nobody on
the outside ever gave us a break. It makes my blood boil to think that fifty
years from now some heretic might stand up here and deny the virgin birth of
Jesus Christ. If that ever happens, I pray that God will resurrect me long
enough to come back and kick that guy off the platform out into the sixth
row—because what the Bible says is so, no matter how many modernists defile it.
Yes, what the Bible says is
so.
What the Bible says about
Heaven is so. At fifty years of age, I’m right at the point where I’m beginning
to think about Heaven quite a bit. I’ve already tired of burying my church
members and friends in the ministry.
I get excited thinking about
Heaven! I pity people who think that Heaven will be boring. We’re going to be
active there!
We’re going to reign with
Jesus for a thousand years. There will be a kingdom
on this earth like there’s never been before. Redeemed saints of God will rule
over this earth. As I understand it, the heavenly Jerusalem will hover over the
earth, and the redeemed will have access to both places.
Look at what man has built in
this country in two hundred years. Then think of God Almighty working on His
heavenly city for two thousand years. As far as I know, He’s still putting on
the finishing touches. Paul, who was privileged with a “sneak peek” into
Heaven, said its beauty is indescribable.
Yes, what the Bible says
about Heaven is so. It’s supreme beauty and bliss. And it’s the place where
God’s people go when they die.
On the other hand, what the
Bible says about Hell is so. If Heaven is real, then Hell is real. If Heaven is
literal, then Hell is literal. If Heaven’s streets are paved with pure gold,
then Hell’s streets are paved with coals of fire. Hell is just as awful as
Heaven is wonderful. What the Bible says about Hell is so.
What the Bible says about man
is so. All men are sinners and need to be saved. Your precious family, your
dearest friends, the greatest humanitarian who ever lived—all are sinners.
What the Bible says about
salvation is so. God’s salvation is free and for everybody. Here I want to
examine two parables which Jesus told.
Jesus told a story about a
king who instructed his servants to go out and invite some particular people to
a feast he was hosting. The three men who were invited each offered an excuse.
One said that he had bought
some oxen and had to prove them. That’s about as smart as buying a car without
knowing whether there’s an engine under the hood.
Another said that he had to
look at some land he had bought. That was certainly foolish.
Another said that he had a
wife and therefore couldn’t come. (I once heard a sermon on this parable
appropriately entitled “ Two Idiots and a Henpecked Husband.”)
When the servants returned
and told their master what had happened, he was angry and instructed them to go
out into the highways and hedges and to talk to the lame, halt, poor and blind.
They were to extend an invitation to every person they met.
The servants did as they were
commanded. When they came back, they said, “Lord, we have
done as you have bidden, and yet there is room.”
That parable has to mean
this: From the day that Adam sinned in the Garden of Eden, God provided
salvation through a sacrifice. To this day, “though millions have come, there’s
still room for one; yes, there’s room at the cross for you.” Calvary is never
crowded.
Jesus told another parable
about ten virgins. Five were wise; five were foolish. They were waiting for the
bridegroom to come. Five went out to buy oil. While they were gone, the
bridegroom came, the door was closed, and they were left outside. They knocked
and begged to be admitted, but the answer came, “Sorry, it’s too late. You
should have been prepared.”
I’ve heard many
interpretations of that parable, but it teaches one thing for sure: You don’t
have all the time in the world. You don’t know when you’re going to die or when
the Lord is coming back. You can lose two ways. God only gives you today. What
the Bible says is so. Without Christ, one is lost and on the road to Hell.
There’s plenty of room at the cross, but only a limited amount of time to
approach it.