The Indestructible!

PS. 12:6-7; 33:11; 100:5

                                                                                   

On numerous occasions, Satan has attempted to remove the Bible from the face of the earth. There have been brazen decrees by godless individuals, religious groups, and atheistic governments endeavoring to ban, burn, and banish the Word of God.  Throughout history scornful critics have done their best to discredit and nullify the Scriptures. Yet, the Bible has endured!

This is important because in the final analysis, the same Bible claiming to be perfectly inspired also claims to be providentially preserved. Our Lord inspired the Scriptures, that is He moved certain individuals to write down His revelations, truths, and words for the benefit of His people. What these penmen wrote is the very perfect mind of Almighty God and it was free of any errors in its recording and teachings. God also promised repeatedly that He would guard the Scriptures in their purity and perpetuity. God Himself would ensure the Scriptures survive on earth for our continual usage. Our faith in this is not based on common sense (though it is sensible to believe that if God gave a perfect Bible He would preserve that very Bible); our faith is based on the promises of the God that cannot lie.

Today we will discover that the perfectly inspired Word of God has also been completely preserved for all generations. We will also endeavor to set forth God’s clear testimony and express will regarding the continuation/endurance of the pure Word of God.  In doing this, we will establish the biblical teaching of an indestructible Bible and boldly declare that God has keep his promise to play the role of Preserver of his holy book. I believe it is vital for each Christian to come to the conclusion that we do have a complete and perfect Bible today.

       

This teaching that God has preserved his Word pure through the ages is a clear biblical statement. The same God that perfectly inspired the Scriptures has promised to perfectly preserve the Scriptures—not merely its teachings, but its very words. If inspiration was perfect but preservation is only general, this entire issue is foolish. To argue for an inspired Bible which no longer exists is empty and meaningless. Except we have a divinely preserve Bible we have nothing at all! The whole doctrine of inspiration becomes totally meaningless if we fail to grasp the doctrine of preservation. Let’s take a closer look at the associated issues.

LESSON:

I. THE MODERN ISSUES REGARDING THE DOCTRINE OF PRESERVATION.

Ps. 12:6-7, The words of the Lord are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. Thou shalt keep them, O Lord, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever.

Ps. 33:11, The counsel of the Lord standeth for ever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations.

   A.  MANY BELIEVE IN INSPIRATION BUT NOT PRESERVATION.

Many evangelical and even fundamental men write volumes defining and defending what the Bible says about its own inspiration, but they are strangely silent on what the same Bible says about preservation. They take the position of faith in regard to inspiration but retreat to the position of skepticism in regard to preservation. Many have struggled and failed to believe God on this point.  Yet, the scriptures are extremely clear about this matter of God preserving His Word.

Ps. 100:5, For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.

Ps. 111:7-8, The works of his hands are verity and judgment; all his commandments are sure. They stand fast for ever and ever, and are done in truth and uprightness.

Jack Moorman, in his excellent manual “Forever Settled,” states the solution to this problem plainly: "A far better principle is given in Ro. 14:23--`Whatsoever is not of faith is sin.' If I cannot by faith take the Bible in my hand and say this is the preserved Word of God, then it is sin. If we do not approach the study of how we got our Bible from the standpoint of faith, then it is sin. If I cannot believe what God says about the preservation of His Word, then I cannot believe what He says about its inspiration either--all is sin."

   B.  MANY BELIEVE THAT WE NO LONGER HAVE A PRESERVED BIBLE TODAY.

Many Christians use the expression, "I believe in the divine, verbal, plenary, and inerrant inspiration of the original Scriptures," -a true statement, to be sure.

But, We DO NOT HAVE the original Scriptures in our possession, and likely never will! So, making such a statement without qualification can be rather convenient. Believing in the inspiration of the originals frees preachers, teachers, and professors to “correct” the Bible when it suits their purposes. (R. J. Sargent)

II. THE HISTORICAL TRIUMPH OF THE INDESTRUCTIBLE BIBLE.

Ps. 100:5, For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.

God, through the Psalmist, declares His truth will endure for the benefit of all generations. While this is a rather general declaration because the term “truth” is employed, it is vital that we understand that truth is couched in thoughts, terms, and even words.

Dr. H. L. Willmington, a conservative theologian, wrote,

The story is told of a visitor who toured a blacksmith shop. Viewing heaps of discarded hammers but only one huge anvil, he asked: “How often do you replace your anvil?” With a smile the owner replied, “Never! It is the anvil that wears out the hammers, you know!”So it is with the Word of God. The hammers of persecution, ridicule, higher criticism, liberalism, and atheism have for centuries pounded out their vicious blows upon the divine anvil, but all to no avail. There they lie, in rusting piles, while the mighty anvil of the Scriptures stands unbroken, unshaken, and unchipped.   

     A.  ITS INDESTRUCTIBILITY IN SPITE OF POLITICAL PERSECUTIONS (from the Roman Emperors).

In A.D. 303, Emperor Diocletian thought he had destroyed every hated Bible. After many tireless years of ruthless slaughter and destruction, he erected a column of victory over the embers of a burned Bible. The title on the column read: "Extinct is the Name of Christian." Twenty years later, the new Emperor Constantine offered a reward for any remaining Bibles. Within twenty-four hours no less than fifty copies were brought out of hiding and presented to the king.

     B.  ITS INDESTRUCTIBILITY IN SPITE OF RELIGIOUS PERSECUTIONS.

         1.  As Seen Through the Persecutions by Roman Catholic Popes.

Almost without exception, the early popes opposed the reading and translating of the Bible. In 1199, Pope Innocent III ordered the burning of all Bibles.

         2.  As Seen Through the Persecutions Leveled Against John Wycliffe and William Tyndale.

Of all the heroes in church history, no two other names are so closely associated with the Word of God as the names of Wycliffe and Tyndale. The very mention of these two men was no doubt sufficient to turn the devil livid with rage. It is therefore no surprise to read of the vicious attacks leveled against them.

    C.  ITS INDESTRUCTIBILITY IN SPITE OF PHILOSOPHICAL PERSECUTION.

Here several cases come to mind:

           1.  Voltaire.  He once said, "Another century and there will be not a Bible on the earth." The century is gone, and the circulation of the Bible is one of the marvels of the age. After he died, his old printing press and the very house where he lived was purchased by the Geneva Bible Society and made a depot for Bibles.

On December 24, 1933, the British Government bought the Codex Sinaiticus from the Russians for half a million dollars. On that same day, a first edition of Voltaire's work sold for eleven cents in Paris bookshops.

          2.  Thomas Paine. He once said, "I have gone through the Bible as a man would go through a forest with an axe to fell trees. I have cut down tree after tree; here they lie. They will never grow again." Tom Paine thought he had demolished the Bible, but since he crawled into a drunkard's grave in 1809, the Bible has leaped forward as never before.

          3.  Joseph Stalin. This bloody butcher took over all of Russia at the death of Lenin in the late twenties. From this point on until his death in the fifties, Stalin instituted a “ban the Bible” purge from the U.S.S.R. such as had never been witnessed before. This miserable man literally attempted to wipe the Word of God and the God of the Word from the Russian minds. Did he succeed? A recent poll taken in Russia shows that today more people than ever believe in God and his Word.

Today we have learned that the perfectly inspired Word of God has also been completely preserved for all generations. We have also set forth God’s clear testimony and express will regarding the continuation/ endurance of the pure Word of God.  We have established the biblical doctrine of Scripture preservation.  Resultantly, we have boldly declared that God is keeping his promise as “preserver” of his holy book. Every Christian then should come to the conclusion that we do have a complete and perfect Bible today.