Built on the Bible

“But the word of the Lord remains forever.”

1 Peter 1:25a

Last time, we looked at ourselves and our sinful condition. As we saw, we as humans don’t last forever. We are like the grass; we wither and fall away. While this doesn’t sound like a good deal, we can realize that we do have hope. Hopefully, you got the hint from the passage today. But let’s take a second to sit back and think. What if Peter didn’t write verse 25? What if the only thing he told us is that “all flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass” (1 Peter 1:24)? Fortunately, we have stability in the Word of God.

True Stability

First, we’ll look at the Bible itself. What is this true stability we have in the Bible? We’ll look at the unchanging nature of God’s Word first. God’s Word can never change. What you find in your NIV Bible, people have been finding in their KJV Bible, their Latin Bible, and their Hebrew Bibles for two millennia. While how the Bible is worded (i.e. “Thou shalt” vs. “you will”) changes, the meaning of the text doesn’t, and it hasn’t changed ever.

Second, as we look at the true stability of the Bible, we will look at the reliability of the Bible. Often, we will rely on things in this world to give us what we satisfaction. We rely on diet plans to make us feel good about our bodies. We rely on TV programs to keep us entertained. Yet all of these will eventually wither away. However, we know that, as Jesus said, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst” (John 6:35). We never have to worry about not having our needs met because God said He’d meet them (Matthew 6:25-34).

A Stable Gospel in an Unstable World

Another aspect of God’s Word is how sharply contrasted it is with the world that we live in. We live in a society that is dominated by Postmodernism, which teaches that we find meaning in ourselves, not in an external authority. While most people wouldn’t say that they believe in Postmodernism, their attitudes say otherwise. We look inwardly to see what is right and wrong. Another mistake we make is equating moral judgments with opinions. We say, “Sex outside of marriage is wrong. That’s my opinion on the matter.” If that’s our attitude towards right and wrong, it’s no wonder our society increasingly rejects biblical ethics!

We live in a world that is fueled by passions rather than truth. However, that isn’t the gospel we believe in. Our gospel is rooted in Jesus Christ, who “is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). We live in a world that is constantly changing, yet we have life in a God who has never changed. Instead of building our life on our circumstances, we build on life on Jesus Christ, who in turn helps us rejoice in Him in any and every circumstance.

A Historical Gospel

I have one additional note that I want to make before we wrap up. As we understand that the Bible is completely reliable and unchanging, we also need to see that it endures forever. And because it endures forever, we need to see that it has a history and story that grows forever. There is so much value to be had in studying the history of the Bible, and what it has done in people’s lives!

Let’s start with the easiest example: ourselves. You know your own experience with the Bible better than anyone else’s! Reflect on what God has done through His word in your life. Another way we look at biblical history is rejoice and worship God for how He has kept the Bible intact. How crazy is it, that despite persecution and more than 3,000 years passing, we have all of God’s Word! We can also be encouraged by others who have been strengthened as they trusted and obeyed God’s Holy Word.

To conclude, we find true stability in the unchanging, reliable Bible. We find stability in this Bible despite living in an unstable culture. And finally, we enjoy and praise God for the rich history that we find the Bible made in our own lives and in the lives of all God’s people.

Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. May not copy or download more than 500 consecutive verses of the ESV Bible or more than one half of any book of the ESV Bible.