Why is the Bible Important to Your Life?

 Transcript

00:00:03 Speaker 1

Well greetings friends, and welcome to the first episode of the Chaplains Chair podcast for 2024.

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And I want to take this opportunity first of all, to thank my faithful listeners since I started the podcast in 2022. And I started this podcast as a hobby, as an outlet, if you will, or way or express myself and speak to what I thought was some important issues to whatever audience signed on to listen this sometimes I have a lot of time to post content.

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And other times I didn't. This this past year had me very busy.

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I had a lot going on.

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But it was also influenced by the job that I had at the time, and it's sometimes unpredictable schedule.

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And I wish I.

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Had had the time to post more content. Truly, I do, because I really, really enjoy doing this. But since I started this podcast, I posted 26 episodes and those episodes have been streamed almost 1000.

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Times Now in 14 countries around the world, according to the Spotify tracking data.

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Well, I wasn't sure what to expect when I started, so I guess I could say that's not too bad. The Lord saw fit to to bless me with a job change this past year when with a more predictable schedule and allow us to study time necessary to put together a decent podcast. Certainly a more improved podcast, I hope.

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And in the coming year on.

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Making some commitments to myself and the listening audience to post more content and on hopefully a much more consistent basis. My New Year's resolution for the podcast is to post something once a week. We're into the third week of January now, so that didn't quite work out for me. But starting now, once a week and also aim to post some video podcast too.

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And want to play around with that a little bit and do some editing and get some practice before I go ahead and post these to Spotify and I'm not quite sure how all of.

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That works I.

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Don't know how many of those I'm going to do, I hope.

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To put them on my YouTube and my rumble channels.

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One of the things I like to do in the past is to script my podcast to ensure I I don't forget to add content I believe is crucially important and that honestly has been the reason I don't post more often than I do. It really takes an awful lot of time and sometimes I just didn't have it and other times I'm just really, really meticulous. I'm really hot on myself.

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And if it's not absolutely perfect, I really don't want to post it.

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But over the last few months I've been reviewing some other podcasts from other podcasts, other podcasts from various platforms, various various topics too, and I find that most of them are less than 30 minutes and the majority are are 15 to 20 minutes, or the length of what they say is the average commute to work. So I'm aiming to keep most of my podcasts in that time frame.

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In the coming year, can't promise that will be the case, but that's what I'm going to try to do.

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And I've also noticed that most of the podcasts didn't appear to me to be scripted. They were more of a conversation with an outline, with the host speaking mostly off the cuff like you'd expect from a conversation over coffee with a close friend. And I like to think I'm a pretty good conversationalist, so I'm aiming to present the material in my upcoming podcast. That way, I I think that would be a better way to introduce my audience to the important issues. I like to do.

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Plus of course I am going to leave room to adjust moving forward, but I think those are good goals for.

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The coming year, I.

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Do have some exciting material plan for the coming year, I hope. I hope you'll like it. In addition to leaving room to adjust to important events in the world around us, I want to teach the Bible, but more importantly than just teaching the Bible, I want to lay that teaching.

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Wherever possible, alongside the realities of the world around us today.

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We called that practical.

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Theology and Bible College and in seminary.

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You know we.

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Can teach theology all day long, but if we can't discover how it applies to your life, how it looks in real life and what it means to you, the study of it isn't going to amount to much. Really. I had a Bible college professor once said he who reads the newspaper knows what's going on in the world.

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He who reads the Bible knows why they're happening. Excuse me. Why they are happening now. I want to make the Bible relevant to you because it is relevant to you in more ways than you think. So I want you to join me for an exciting year of relevant conversation from the Chapel.

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And I want to start this year with Bible doctrine. The the fundamentals of the Christian faith, like who is God? Can I trust my Bible? What is God's view of man? What is sin? Why am I a sin? Or who is Jesus Christ? Why do we need Jesus Christ and many other topics? You know, we a lot of things we see on our news or TV or.

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Social media or whether or not.

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It's Hollywood, you know, they.

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Have these definitions of religion and Bible and theology and things like that, and and the definitions are typically not correct and we end up with a skewed view of God if we put our complete trust in what we see on TV or hear on the radio or see on social media in particular the TikTok videos drive be absolutely crazy. You know, you get it 10 seconds.

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Somebody from somebody that clearly doesn't study the word of God and he's passed off as an.

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Expert because you know, a million people viewed.

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So these podcasts, I hope will cover literally thousands of Bible verses and and centuries of teaching. I I want to pull.

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My years of study.

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Into you the the audience, to strengthen your belief in God, strengthen your faith in Christ, and strengthen your testimony in a world that mocks you for all of it.

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So question Are you ready to get going? And if the answer is good, let's go. I'm going to start with a couple of verses today and we're going to build.

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On that for a.

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Little bit and till we move on to the next topic, which I'll introduce at the end of this podcast, we're going to.

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In first Samuel chapter 12 verse 24 and as always I read from the King James Bible and read these verses followed by second Timothy 316 and 17. So the first single 12/24 it says only fear the Lord and serve him in truth with all your heart.

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For, consider how.

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Great things he had done for you.

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And second Timothy 316 and 17 says all Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction and righteousness that the Man of God may be perfect.

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Smoothly furnished unto all good works. Now we're going to get to the word truly here in just a second. But what I want to point out is this verse. Second Timothy 316 tells us three things. Excuse me. Four things about the benefit of of studying the word God. The first one is that it. It teaches doctrine. What's doctrine? Doctrine is the great truths about God doctrine.

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Which is the great truths about God? How about the word reproof not what reproof corrects us of wrong living? You know a lot.

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Of us, we go about every.

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Day and we live our lives and we measure.

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What we do?

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And right and wrong by the wrong standard.

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And the standard, as it says in this verse, is in the scriptures. So the scriptures can convict us of wrong living, and then the next thing it says is correction. Well, that shows us the right living the 1st.

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Thing the Bible does is.

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Say hey, look, this is not right. And hey, this is right, you need to correct the way that.

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You're living wrong.

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And correct it with doing right and then we move on to instruction and righteousness which provides the details for equipping us for.

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Every good work.

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Which is what it says.

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If we look at the the definition of the word instruction instruction in righteousness, OK, instruction defined the art of teaching or informing the understanding of and that of which what it was before ignorant information, precepts, conveying knowledge. This is all from Websters not to give direction or command mandate.

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The Minister or his example received instructions from the sovereign to demand a categorical answer. Well, that's what instruction is meant to do. So the Bible is meant to teach us the great truths about God to correct us.

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Of the wrong.

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Living to.

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Show us right living and to instruct us didactically systematically to be equipped for every good work.

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Everybody with me on that.

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Now the word through it says the word of God throughly furnishes us to every good work. We're truly adverb. It means completely, fully. If you want to be a perfectly fully equipped Christian, understanding how to live and get along in your world, how to relate to God, how to communicate with.

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God the Bible.

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Says you get that from the scriptures. Let's not make any mistake.

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OK.

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Never mind what people out there tell you about.

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The Bible get.

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Into later on, probably much later on about some of the criticism about why the Bible is not reliable. Oh, it's been translated 1000 different times in in, in all of the other weak arguments they put forth to to give you a reason not to believe it. I'm going to address a quite a bit of that as.

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As we move through, well, why is doctrinal study important? Why?

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Why should we?

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Why should we do this? Why should we study doctrine? Well, you know, one of the best ways to understand the Bible is to let the Bible explain itself. You probably hear me flip some pages here as I go through, and I and I look at some, some, some different verses here. But.

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Importance to doctoral study.

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What? Well, because of its relation, first of all to salvation. If we look at second Timothy 3.

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Verse 15. The apostle Paul says to Timothy and that from a child thou hast known the Holy Scriptures, comma here is the important piece which are able to make you wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus, the study of the will of God.

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Is related to salvation and knowing salvation, how it applies to you, et cetera.

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How about this next one here in Ephesians 4, Chapter 11. What else does the Bible.

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Do for us.

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Ephesians 411 says Paul, writing to the church at Ephesus. He said he gave.

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Some meaning God.

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Gave some to the church's apostles and some prophets and some evangelists and some pastors and teachers.

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These are all people that serve the church.

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So the study of doctrine has a relationship to our service in the church.

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It also has relation to our service and Christian living and we already covered that in the verse, but I'm going to read it again. Second Timothy 316. It says the apostle Paul writing.

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Two Timothy 2 Timothy 316. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for approved for correction, for instruction and righteousness. So it tells us how to live as a Christian.

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What are some of the limitations of doctrinal study? What what effects our study?

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Of doctrine, what are some of the things we have to consider? Well, the first thing you have to consider is the finiteness of man's mind. There were certain things that man is not going to be able to understand on his own. He needs the will of God and the and the help of the word of God to do that were also affected by sin. Sin darkens our understanding. It says that in the Book of Romans Chapter 3 and also.

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The scripture doesn't speak to every single issue. There are some things that the scripture is silent about. I had a Bible college professor one time who said listen, where the scripture is silent. You also be silent. Don't.

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Make up things on the.

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Here the Bible says what it means. It means what it says and it doesn't say what it doesn't say. So don't put into place is where it doesn't say something. What you think it should say? That's a lot of the problem with misinterpretation of the Bible today and how we get a lot of a lot of our doctrines wrong. How we get a lot of our.

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Our our social culture.

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Wrong. You know things that we accept that, that, that the that the Bible has condemned. We put things into the Bible that aren't there because we want to be able to accept things that the Bible does not speak to. What are some of the advantages then of doctrinal study?

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Well, the first thing it's going to do, it's going to save us from what one of my Bible college professors called theological food poisoning, he said. It's going to prevent you from being theologically food poisoned. If we look in first Timothy Chapter 4, we'll look specifically at verses 13 to 16. It says Paul writing to Timothy.

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Will I come give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine neglect, not the gift that is in thee, which was given you by prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery?

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Key point here. Meditate upon those things. Give thyself holy to them that thy profiting may appear to all take you unto yourself, and unto the doctrine. Continue in them. For in doing this thou shalt both save thyself as its connection to salvation again, and then that hear thee. There's its connection to those that hear.

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So studying doctrine.

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Is going to save us from theological food poison.

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Well, it's going to.

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Help settle us too, Paul writes again to the Ephesians. He wrote a lot of letters to churches, but Netbeans, chapter 4, verse 14. Paul writes of doctrine.

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That will be henceforth or excuse me, that we henceforth be no more children tossed to and fro and caring about with every wind of doctrine, by the slight of men and the cunning craftiness whereby they lie in wait to deceive. Now here's a very important thing in this verse.

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You know, Paul says. You know, study doctrine and be careful that you're not tossed to and fro and carried about by every wind of doctrine. Don't let various doctrine that doesn't come.

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From the Bible, blow you.

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In all kinds of different directions, we look at the vacillating standards of morality and save the last 100 years, we get a sense of what Paul was talking about. And he goes on, he says. This this.

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Every wind of doctrine is by the slight of men and cunning and craftiness, and they lie in wait to the sea. There are people that are out there that make this doctrine up.

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Because they want to deceive people and some of that would be to accept some of the things in our society that we would consider sinful, that the Bible says or sinful, I'll I'll use. Abortion is probably the best prime example of that.

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It also helps to equate us with the details of God's eternal plan. Yes, God does have a plan. We're not, you know, supposed to get.

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Up every day.

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And and walk through life and not really understand who we are and why we're.

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There, you know, God has given us details.

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Of his eternal plan.

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We read in Romans 11 verse 25, Paul writes.

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I would not, brethren, that you should.

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Be ignorant of this mystery.

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Unless you should be washing your own conceits.

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OK, so Paul has a plan he wants to or Paul says God has a plan. He wants to unfold and he wants to explain to you.

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If we go all the way through through verse 30 and I invite you to read Romans 1125 through 30, we see that that God lays out this plan and how to know his mind and to know what it is. And we have to get into the word of God and study the doctrine to do that.

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Second Timothy, two chapter. Excuse me. Second Timothy, Chapter 2, verse 15.

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This is a good verse two it says study to show yourself approved unto God. A Workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. We go when we study doctrine, so we can rightly divide the word of truth that helps us strengthen us, strengthen us, to understand the plan of God. That's why we need to study. And we got a bunch of verses here.

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That shows how.

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It equips us that the study of doctrine equips us let's go to Ephesians, Chapter 6, Ephesians Chapter 6, it says, and verses 10 through 17. I'm going to read all of these, Paul writes. Finally, my brother be strong in the Lord and the power.

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Of his might put.

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On the whole armor of God that you might be able to stand against the Wiles of.

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That will full and wrestle, not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that you might be able to withstand in that evil day, and having done all to stand, stand, therefore having your willing skirt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness.

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And your feet shod with the preparation of the Gospel of peace. Above all, take the shield of faith, wherewith you shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

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And here's a good one here in verse 17 it says take the.

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Helmet of salvation.

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And the sword of the spirit, which is the.

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Word of God.

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The sword of the spirit, the word of God, is the only offensive weapon in that list. You want to go ahead and you want to confront darkness and wickedness in high places. You want to confront the evils.

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Of the of your life, you will.

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Do that with the word of God.

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And then invite you to go back again and read second Timothy 313 to 17, which we began the podcast with that the Man of God may be thoroughly furnished unto all good works, that that's what the word of God does for him.

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But we need to take some attitudes to the studying of doctor. We need to be careful here because.

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We want to make sure that we.

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Don't get so.

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Arrogant and and confident in our knowledge that we think that we know what all that we can't be taught. I think one of the most dangerous things for somebody that studies the Bible a lot is to think that, oh, I've arrived. You can't possibly teach me anything and I know everything I need to know. And you need to be willing to allow the Bible to teach and correct you just like it.

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Says for in second Timothy 316, which we started with, we need to be able to be reproved, and we need to be able to be corrected. We need to be able to let the.

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Word of God do that so.

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Attitudes for studying doctrine, believed to be thoughtful. We need to make doctrines our convictions. We don't try to find doctrines that reinforce convictions. We have that may not be based on the word of God. We need to let the word of God settle what we believe and what our convictions are. And we need to be teachable. That's another one.

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To avoid these presuppositions we, my clinical pastoral education class, we call this embedded theology, which is you take a certain idea of what you think should be theologically.

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And you go coming through.

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The Bible to try to find only those verses that support.

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What you think you need to view the word of God in the aggregate? You need to take the entire book all at once, and you need to be able to get a a summary and an aggregate view of a certain position to arrive at your convictions.

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We we have to recognize there is a great difference between doctrine and dogma. Dogma can be ingrained in you. You might not even know why you believe it. So let the word of God teach.

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To you and the last thing we need to be is we need to be tolerant.

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We have to learn.

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To disagree agreeably, now there are certain things in the word of God. I believe that.

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We need to.

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Hold to these are the fundamentals of.

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The faith that.

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The Saints of old died for we're talking about things like the resurrection of Christ. We're talking about the second coming of Christ. We're talking about the atoning.

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Got them of.

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Of Christ, the existence of God, any number of those things, those need to be.

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We need to hold to I I don't know what is agreeable disagreement when it comes to. Well, I don't believe Jesus was the.

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Son of God.

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I don't know that we can agreeably disagree with that, and we might not win the argument. Maybe we need to be gracious in having the argument, but I don't know that there's this agreement there. But in most things, learn to disagree.

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Agreeably, and these would be things like.

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Well, what Bible version do you read? I I'm I have a conviction. I read the King James Bible. However, I would think if somebody said to me, well, what's what's the Bible you recommend? My first response would be, well, the.

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One that you.

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Read. But I would suggest that you read the King James. But that's a sermon for another day. But one of those, another one of those things is, you know, dress should women.

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Of long hair. Should women wear jewelry and makeup, any number of things that churches fight over, and some of them can be pretty, pretty trivial. So let's learn to let the word of God teach us, and let's learn to disagree agreeably. So.

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That's the introduction to.

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The study of Bible doctrine when we move on to the next lesson, the first thing we're going to start with is we're going to start with what we call theology proper. And that really is who is gone. Let's start with that. The Bible says in Genesis 11, in the beginning. God well, who's God in the next podcast, we're going to get into that. A lot of it. You're probably already going to know.

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Some of it you might.

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You might not know, but what I do want to do is invite you to the next podcast where we introduce who is God that's going to sign us off for today. I thank all of you for stopping by and I thank you for your support.