 We are in our class outline for essentials class. We have been covering See if I can remember the full outline We we cover the doctrine of the word of God in a couple weeks Then we cover the doctrine of God in a couple weeks then we go over the doctrine of creation man Jesus Christ We cover his person and his work then we look at salvation in three separate weeks and we also cover the doctrine of the church in and So in the cycle we're back at the doctrine of the word the introductory part last week we spoke about the authority of the word of God and The canonicity of the Bible so today we're going to focus on the essentials of characteristics of the word of God that it has clarity that it's The necessity of it and the sufficiency of it Okay So let's go ahead and we'll we'll cover the clarity Brian do you know you don't have an outline yet dr. Carl Would you read us the definition about the clarity of scripture from Grudum's systematic theology? okay, so the Bible the old the old Terminology for clarity of the scripture is a perspicuity scripture But since most people don't know what perspicuity means. It's not very clear anymore So in order to be clear about the the doctrine of the clarity of scripture We will use the Bible is clear The Bible is clear and the definition talks about how it's it's written such a way that we can understand it We can understand it. It's not for the church hierarchy. It's not for For a seminary student. It's not just for For a particular group of people who have received a particular revelation But it's for everybody to be able to read it and everybody can understand it Isn't that a blessing That God communicates into us in a in a way that we can understand think about how smart God is and Then about you know, how how much we know Have you ever met anybody who loves to communicate and show off their vocabulary Just by the way they they talk Or somebody who writes a book that's so complicated that their audience can't understand it and Then they they somehow they can they can think well, this just shows off my intelligence by not being able to communicate Know the most the intelligent being that can be conceived Is the one who communicates with clarity Simplicity so that a child can hear the story and read the story and understand That is a great blessing that the Bible has for us Okay, so let's think about the objection then to the doctrine of the clarity of Scripture. What is the opposite? What is the opposite and what is and how does it come up? How does it? What does it look like? For example Somebody could say When you should read them a scripture. Well, that's just your interpretation you've heard that before Okay, think about how that is contradicting This doctrine of the clarity of the scripture. How well, how does it do that? Talk with me think that let's think this through How does it when somebody who says well, that's just your interpretation? Sergio so the actual meaning of it the meaning of the Bible is up to personal flavor You know Neapolitan Bible you like strawberry somebody else like vanilla somebody else likes chocolate You know, it's a strawberry is as good as chocolate. It's all in the same container. You can If that's what you will how you want to interpret, you know I remember I was preaching at Crane's juice before and I was quoting a scripture I can't remember what scripture was quoting. I'm quoting the scripture And that's the lady goes by that that's your interpretation, you know, and all I was doing was quoting the scripture That the point is that that is the attack on the clarity of the scripture To say that somehow It's all up to interpretation What do you what do you say when go ahead Jesse? Yes, so it so Jesse is giving us the solution, you know This is the the concluding application for the clarity of the scripture that Jesse jumped ahead to But I'll no no, I'll emphasize it now and then we'll touch again at the end is that the the Solution for the clarity of the scripture when it's objected is to say, okay, well then what what does it say? What does it say to force them to see that? Apply the the doctrine of clarity of scripture to say, okay, then if you don't think it's my interpretation What does it say and the scripture is so clear That They are forced to understand what God's communicating and When you make them say, okay, what does it say? Sometimes they'll try and change it, but this the scriptures clear and you can point out the details of the text, okay? So if somebody Begins to say about okay, this is it's only your interpretation It's that attack on the doctrine of the clarity of the scripture Let's go ahead and we'll look at some of these texts and when we look at these texts I'm gonna look for the answer to be written down the answer. I'm writing for us. How does that show the clarity of the scripture, okay? So how do these particular scriptures show the clarity or support the doctrine of it? Let's take mr. Feliciano Would you read? Matthew 12 3 if you're following along on the internet at home in the cry room then We're gonna have class participation. So when I read this Scriptures you need to read it at home or you need to read it again the cry room in order to follow along because people will be speaking here without a mic Okay, so Matthew 12 Three we'll see maybe three to seven. Okay, brother. So in here Jesus is speaking How does this verse show that the scriptures clear? Keith Okay, so he just asked him. Have you read it? Have you not read? Now he will the point he's driving home is oh That this is so clear you should know this You should know this by now because the Bible is clear It's not what the Bible's fault that you're thinking this way. It's whose fault Yeah so it You see how Jesus knows that the Bible is clear Jesus knows the Bible is clear and we have more examples of that in in Matthew 15 19 22 So you can write down there that Jesus holds people responsible To obey that shows that it's clear Okay, let's go with Philippians one one Ben, would you read that one? No, I would you take the psalms? those two verses from the Psalms and Then Robinson would you take Deuteronomy 6 Let's begin to look at some of these. Okay, so first Philippians one one Okay, so in this text How does it support that the the scripture is clear that's right? So it's it's for all the saints. It's not for just a hierarchy. It's not for the elite. It's not for the highly educated for anybody in church The same is with first Corinthians one two. Okay, so this supports the clarity of scripture because the scripture is for everyone Okay, Psalm 19 and and Psalm 1 19 Let's turn it. Okay, so Psalm 1 19 7 About the law of the Lord is perfect for the soul and the testimony making wise and simple. Okay, and then Psalm 119 Okay, so what's the the same theme in there? Okay? so What's the application then for the clarity of scripture? Yes, there was a word of the word of God brings light not darkness rightly understood and The beauty of the word of God is that it takes someone who's simple and then makes them wise It doesn't say that the simple would be us be confused by the word of God, but instead the word of God is a light to you Okay, so the word of God is we're held responsible. It shows that the message is clear You can't be held responsible for something. That's not clear the The word of God is for all the saints the word of God is specifically for the simple the word of God is for in Deuteronomy 6 Robinson okay, so who is who receives the word of God here in Deuteronomy 6 So children Okay, so let's think about the the clarity the message right you're in L. You're in kindergarten class a b c d e f g and Little kid little Johnny rises his hand. That's just your interpretation of the alphabet No, that doesn't happen because of the Simplicity and the clarity The word of God is clear The main things are the plain things and the plain things are the main things. That's true. That's right Now let's Let's think now the the remain two verses are more towards Okay, the complexity of the Bible Now it's true that the main things with the Bible are clear But there are some things that are very hard to understand What are some of the hard things to understand? Brian saying in eschatology. It can be complicated. What else Sergio? the Trinity Trinity is greater than we can understand What else? Covenants, yeah, come understanding how all the covenants work together can be complicated Okay, something else Yeah, how does the sovereignty of God and responsibility man work out? That could blow your mind right? Okay, so then what are the some of the simple things the gospel. Yeah It's a blessing a child can understand it and be saved What else the response turning from sin is not complicated Faith in Christ is not complicated. We make it complicated Dorian Yeah, sit being sinful right down to the are very core Richie what I'm sorry Yeah, that God made the world in six days and seven day he rested Okay, now let's think about some of those simple things. They should be simple Some people make them very complex Six days seven, maybe it's a literary device That actually is representative of something that is a millions and billions of years It seems pretty clear when you read it, you know, if you read it in in our class right in the Kindergarten through fifth grade class They won't have any problem understanding That God made the world in six days, but somehow we do so what are some of the things now? What we're getting into now with the clarity of scriptures. Why is the Bible not clear in some in some things? when it should be Like I Would say it's our sin our sin Clouds your understanding of the Bible The more sin you have The harder it is to understand the Bible the We are born in sin. It's not just something that we do with something. We are So because of that, we've never known a time when there are some things in the Bible that are hard to understand They're easy to understand. It's always been complicated and That comes from ignorance We just don't know we should have known some things But we haven't because of our sin It's like if you sin you don't come to church And you don't hear the sermon on the background a book of James and then later on when we would need to know the background of The book of James and you haven't come that ignorance has led it so that you understand the Bible less And it makes it harder to follow the Lord Right, so we all struggle with varying degrees of ignorance We all struggle with varying degrees of sin and Those things make it so the Bible is harder to understand. Let's look at some of that with John 7 17 Linda would you read John 7 17? Okay, so what's the knowing here in this verse contingent upon? Yeah, a willing heart a willing heart Jesus is it isn't that encouraging? You know when you when you talk to somebody who has that That Refusal to understand or apply the word of God That like for it often with an atheist the atheists will put up those intellectual arguments, right? Well, I never I haven't seen enough evidence. So because of it. It's all an intellectual thing to me I haven't seen enough evidence and But the Bible is very clear about is that that's not a intellectual problem. It's a moral problem So God saying about the clarity of the scripture clarity of his teaching That we struggle with it not because it's an an intellectual issue, but because it's a primarily a moral issue There are things like right now There are there are passages of the scripture that if you were suddenly thrown that passage of scripture in that verse and You were told, you know in front of the class tells what it means stand up tells what it means You'd be like, um, I don't know I'm not quite sure. Is this the Millennial Kingdom. Is this the the The eternal state is this a prophecy that's fulfilled with Babylon or Syria is this talking about the virgin birth or is this talking about When people return from the valley in captivity is this symbolic or is this and then you struggle with it, right? There are but then if you're at hand in other verses You're like right off the bat I made it in six days the world in six days. Okay. What the point is is But if I come to you ten years from now Ten years from now and then I can do that verse that you struggled with You could be like this is what it is immediately God is going to help grow you Christian and He helps sanctify you and then that sanctification process you get to understand more of the word of God Sanctification is a beautiful thing, you know you when you're like a kid and you're like You measure yourself against the the door frame and you kind of like make a little mark Oh, you're growing you're growing growing growing and then but you when you look in the mirror It doesn't seem like you're growing, but then to the parents look that you're growing like weed The the sanctification works in a similar way You look at it and you stretch and you think I want to be more holy now And I wish I could watch it grow visibly in the mirror But it happens slowly but surely for the Christian so I'm trying to encourage you to say that Your understanding of the clarity of Scripture will grow. You'll will grow and I've known Josh for a decade and I could say I've seen his understanding of the word of God grow and grow and grow and grow and So that it's eat maybe it's easier for me to see and maybe even for Josh Then the blessing of that that God has with that when sanctification Okay, so another solution is we also need teachers Ephesians 4 Ephesians 4 not right there. You can just write that down. God gives us teachers So it's one of the ways we can go about understanding the Bible better we do need teachers Okay, what if I said the objection to the doctrine of the clarity of Scripture? I said You can make the Bible say whatever you want it to say The Scripture the Bible you can just make it say whatever you wanted to say that's an attack on the clarity of the Scripture What's the answer to that? Keith Okay context Okay, so if you Keith is bring out interpretive principle context so in Interpreting the Bible rightly Will be the answer to those who twist the Bible The Bible you doesn't say whatever you want it to say Understood rightly you can twist it, but that's not the message of the message of the Bible anymore The Bible interpreted rightly will say what God wants it to say not what you want it to say Okay, so you you see When someone is attacking the clarity of the Scripture you understand that it's for children Jesus says he applies it. You're responsible to understand it and obey it. It's for the simple It is for all the saints It's because of our own sin. We don't understand it. Well and God has given us teachers That help us with that understanding. He's given you people who are farther along in growth They can help you grow and help you understand the Bible better that All of these things help answer the objection that Well, that's just your interpretation. The Bible is not clear. Who couldn't know But back to Jesse's point the most helpful thing to do When somebody questions that like you read a scripture and they say well, that's your interpretation Is to turn it back and have them apply The doctrine and say okay, then what does it say? And if you know that scripture then you can direct them away from a false interpretation And true by just pointing out the text That's really the key is that you're applying all these assets to them. You're you're applying that it's for them You're applying it that it's the responsible to read it and obey you're applying it by making them Give the correct interpretation. Okay, josh, that's right so so showing the inconsistency In worldview and interpretation that they don't do the same with a magazine with a paper with a book as the way they interpret the Bible We don't want our own Messages to be twisted and changed So author we own 10 okay, so When we look at um Why do we misunderstand the Bible is because of the the hardness of our own hearts our own pride our own greed our own lack of faith Our own failure to pray and study Very often we don't understand the Bible because we're not dependent upon God as we read it Very often where we fail just to read it And that's why we don't know it We read it and we don't have we don't believe it. We lack faith and what God has written Sometimes time will make the difference In understanding the scripture Um, sometimes we need to learn more about the science in art of interpretation Sometimes we need to not make affirmations with the Bible silent In other words, we want the Bible to speak in a way that God hasn't spoken Okay, so the since the scripture is clear Let's think about the next point about the necessity of it the necessity of the scripture and Jerome, would you read the the definition about the necessity of scripture? Okay, so the Bible is needed for salvation And for sanctification the Bible is needed for you to know God And it's needed to know him in a growing way You need to know him for salvation and for sanctification. The Bible is absolutely necessary Okay, so if I have Um, the objection That there if I say this there is a wideness to God's mercy God wouldn't condemn people to hell just for having not having heard about him. How do you respond? Tom, okay, so you go to hell for sin for sin Um, and I would take that and say well I never um, I'm the good native in in Africa Um, maybe maybe I shouldn't do you shouldn't use Africa with Tom. I'm the good native in Indonesia Some place where he hasn't been So everybody likes the point of the good natives in Africa. I think So Um, I haven't heard about that. I'm a sinner and I haven't heard that Um about Christ. Why should I be condemned to go to hell? For just not hearing, okay Can you summarize that? Okay Maybe you could read the scriptures 1 18 and verse 32 that are on the outline Just for brevity's sake if you agree versus 18 to 20 and then verse 32 Romans 1 18 to 20 Then also verse 32 Okay, so the scripture here is saying there's a condemnation. There's a wrath and It comes on comes on who the unrighteous I'm sorry. Alexander. I couldn't hear you. Yes all ungodliness Okay, so did somebody have to read the bible to um receive this wrath No, what and why? Okay, so Richie's bringing out verse 32 that conscience They know the righteous judgment of God knowing that they some those who practice such things are deserving of death Okay, and yet they still do the same, but then they approve those who practice them Okay, so it's our in our conscience Where we're born with these laws written on our hearts So because of that we're responsible What how else um Why else does the judgment come? Dorian, so Dorian has read Luke 12 47 to 48 and it shows how about whether if you Reject and disobey against more light you get greater judgment Than those who who rebel against less against no light, but they're still the rebellion is punished either way Okay, so The what's revealed of God to everyone who's ever been is that he's made the world And that you're responsible to respond to that revelation that he's made the world The things that he has made means you are responsible. You know that And what's written on your conscience? So you don't need the bible to be judged by God He's already revealed himself in creation So what do we need the bible about so in our objection about well, there's a whiteness to God's mercy You don't have to hear about God to be hear about christ to be saved Um Creation is enough to condemn Does the bible say you have to hear about christ in order to be saved? Okay prove that shatter Okay, let's go to Romans 10 go ahead read verses 13 to 17 for context's sake How do these verses show that you have to hear about? From the bible You're in the bible the only place you're going to hear the words of christ Okay, so with the series of rhetorical questions. Let's let's answer them How shall they call on him who did not believe to question mark? What's the answer? Okay, you can't call on him If you haven't believed okay, then what's the response? What's the quick answer to and how they believe in whom they're not heard? Okay, you can't You can't believe Okay, how will they hear Without a preacher? You can't you can't hear unless there's a preacher of what? No point is no No, it's possible Then um and how will they preach unless they're sent? Um faith comes by hearing hearing by the word of god Okay, so um give me another scripture Xavier first Peter First Peter 1 22 So how does this passage show that you must hear the necessity of the bible in order to be saved? So That's a very good passage, but thank you You want you want to write that down next to romans 10 in john 3 on your outline there John 3 16 Certainly shows for all um Shows that you must hear about christ and we're gonna be safe brion Okay, Ephesians 1 13 So how does that verse show that you the necessity of the bible to be saved? So you must hear the word tom acts 4 versus 10 to 12 So how does this first show the necessity of the word of god? That's right. It's only under his name. We can be safe one more than andy mark chapter 8 34 to 38 Same question andy. How does this first show the the necessity of the word of god? So the only place to hear of him the only place to hear of his words is in the bible Yes, there's not like a mysterious value that somehow if you read these words in this order Then it's like a magic formula You know hocus-cadabra pocus. Pocus pocus. Walu Walu Washington, you know bam Then conversion happens You know, it's the truths the meaning of the scripture that is communicated That brings conversion So yes, it's a good point that That's roman's 10 this point as well that it's a preacher That it's somebody who's a um Somebody who evangelizes somebody who talks about not preacher not not preacher like preacher here, right? That in the context in roman's 10 is not this kind of preacher It's somebody who's having a conversation with somebody speaking to them about the bible so Yeah, somebody sent they didn't come into an assembly That it works this way too, but it's primarily the The application is for for all of us as we go and speak to somebody okay so The in your outline of necessity roman's 10 john three Shows that it's absolutely necessary for salvation You must have the truths of the bible. You must have the bible communicated to you. It's necessary. It's necessary for eternal life We covered roman's one which talks about how it's It's not necessary for condemnation The bible is not necessary to be condemned It for first peter too and do around me 32 Let me ask you how would you respond if somebody said To you you ask somebody how are you doing spiritually? So well, I haven't been reading my bible But i'm doing good spiritually. How would you respond to that? Is that possible? Is that true? I haven't been reading my bible, but i'm doing good spiritually Ben Can you say that a little louder? So ben has quoted lord Jesus christ and matthew 4 4 That man shall not live by bread alone somebody somebody had a Yeah, so So britches brought out john 15 1 to 8 about the necessity to abide in him. That's a The abiding in him is a trust in reliance upon him And you can't do that in your in your own. You have to do that through the word of god brand Yes, so thank you, brother. That's a that's a good scripture the necessity of the spiritual battle having the word of god Okay, if you consider the you know the armor, right? If you say i'm not gonna have the um take a piece of the armor out I'm gonna go into war without the helmet of salvation Is your head important in a battle? Okay, what about your torso if you take off? righteousness If you take off the belt, you know everything is falling down, right? What if you take off the feet? If you lose your feet, are you gonna be good in battle? Okay, what if you go without a shield? What if you go without a weapon without your sword? Into the spiritual battle client So the the question is about Um in before we had copies of the scripture, how does that operate with the necessity of the word of god? And the answer is Psalm one The answer is is deuteronomy 6 That they're going to be That what happens is the necessity of the oral Message in other words, um, it's heard at the times of certain times of reading Um And then those are repeated Um by the fathers by the mothers by meditating on the word of god So in other words, you would you would take the family together and you'd say let's go over the prop the story of jona Tonight we're going to talk about jona and the story and what happens So you're rehearsing the word of god with your children and it has to be a lot more memory work um part of our society is um You know in difficulty in understanding these things is the lack of memory work where we have to do now because Well, if I want to know i'll google it I don't have to remember anything Who remembers a phone number? What's your spouse's number if I went around and I asked some husbands What's your wife's phone number then there might be a little squirming Oh, yes You just remember the name right The name with the hearts around it, you know click click click it on your phone And it and it calls up. Okay. So the the point is but if you went 50 years from now 50 I'm sorry. It's 50 years in the past and you asked What was your what was your family's phone number you would remember? Why necessity necessity has laid it upon you Okay, so in in a society when you don't have a bible necessity lays upon you for the memorization of the word of god and the um There's much more care In that um, and there's much there's much greater proficiency In that in our day and age and you know, um in the millennial generation 2015 it may be hard to understand how we could do that But believe me if we didn't have any more phones. We didn't have any more bibles Um, you would listen to pastor rick sermons so much more intently Because you um, and you'll be because you're gonna have to repeat some of these things You'd be using memory hooks whenever you weigh and you would really grow in Memorization and repetition of the word of god by meditating on a day and night some one Hey, somebody else had their hand up shedwreck Yes, so um shedwrecks bring out the illiteracy rate and Um in the past or in different countries and that's still true today. There are many places where illiteracy rate like in Guatemala the literacy rate is really pretty bad. It's like close to 50 percent the numbers I was looking at That That's more in the countryside than in the city But it's still kind of very common place And so the point is and then that's why I said about oral tradition That oral tradition that you would be and that's why it's someone is meditating on it in literally their their phrase is talking to yourself You're repeating the words that you hear So if you're illiterate, you're you're listening skills become much greater Okay, okay, so to close for um the class Um It's necessary for your spiritual well-being. That's what first Peter 2 deuteronomy 32 deuteronomy 32 says Moses says it's your life He says at the end of the um sermon at the end of the book of deuteronomy. He says these words are your life You got to hold on to him like it is your life First um first timothy 2 first, sesilonians 4 are verses that show that it's necessary to know god's will If you want to know what god wants you to do no god's will you got to know the bible and the sufficiency of the word of god Is is covered in second timothy 3 14 to 17 about how god has given you all things that are needed For your spiritual growth and well-being the scripture contains all the words god intended for his people Listen listen now to this quote as if you were illiterate. Okay The scripture contains all the words intended for his people At each stage of redemptive history And everything we need for salvation for trusting him and for obeying him The scripture contains all these things that we need you um if Here with the sufficiency of the scripture you're tempted To go somewhere's when you have a problem besides the bible When you have a problem You're tempted to go to a friend you're tempted to go to a family member You're tempted to go for advice instead of seeking it in the word of god and seeking first the understanding in the word of god And then going to other counselors The bible is sufficient It's sufficient now and it's been sufficient in every age god has just the amount of revelation that he's wanted his people to know And god has said it and we find the answers So we need to discover The way god wants us to think in the bible we need to add nothing to the bible And there is nothing that we can add to the bible For our salvation or sanctification the bible is sufficient The legalists will be tempted to say that what the bible says is not enough in order for us to live rightly Let me add this extra That's that is an attack on the sufficiency of the bible Our everything we have is derived from the bible and the bible is sufficient. It's enough Okay, let's go ahead and pray Dear lord, thank you for your word It is our life It is our life help us to meditate on it day and night Help us to seek your will in it help us to trust it that it's sufficient Help us we thank you and give you praise for its clarity And we we also give you Thanks for its efficiency that you've given us a book that is possible to read all of it and It's it's all that we need To live for you to know you to serve you to grow Thank you so much for your perfect precious word Lord, we would rather have it than the winning lottery ticket. We would take a bible Over a thousand years of life We Love your law how we love your law. Lord. Thank you for it. Amen