God's Truth About God's Word — Russell Kelfer

The lesson you're about to hear is designed to help you in your spiritual pilgrimage. We pray that this will be a blessing in your life. Our teacher is Russell Kelfer of the Into His Likeness radio broadcast.

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We pray God's richest blessing may be yours as he continues to live his life in you.

Satan's Lie About the Authority of God's Word

We resume our study this morning of Satan's lies and God's truth and the double-mindedness that plagues Christians who believe these lies. We've been studying one of the major areas of Satan's attack, his lies about authority.

And if we are to be totally honest, it is the supreme lie from which all of his other lies spring. It is his lie about the authority of the Word of God. Satan's real message, you recall, is that man is his own authority.

By authority we mean any person, organization, or government which has the right and the capacity to exercise power and control over a life. By the Word of God we mean the completed canon of Scripture from Genesis to Revelation, the written mind of God to man.

And the Scripture says of itself, it is in itself all man will ever need. It's all you will ever need. It's all you'll ever need to know about yourself. It'll tell you about the nature of man, the needs of man, and even the names of man.

It'll tell you all you ever need to know about God. It'll tell you about the omniscience of God, the omnipresence of God. It'll tell you about the omnipotence of God. It'll tell you about the sovereignty of God.

It'll tell you about the perfect love of God. It'll tell you about the perfect truth of God. The Word of God will tell you all you ever need to know about God. The Word of God will tell you all you ever need to know about sin.

You don't need to experience sin to learn what sin is. The Word of God will tell you about the origin of sin, about the depravity of sin, the universality of sin, the deceitfulness of sin, the gravity of sin, the wages of sin, and eventually the solution to sin.

The Word of God tells you everything you ever need to know about Satan. It tells you about his origin, his fall, his works, his character, his tactics, the defenses to counteract him, and the end that's in store for him.

All you ever need to know about Satan is told in the Word of God. All you ever need to know about heaven is found in the Word of God. Where it is, what it is, what it looks like, who will be there, who won't be there, what will happen, and who will reign.

You can learn about the streets. You can learn about the mansions. You can learn about the wedding. Everything you ever need to know about heaven you can learn from the Word of God. Everything you ever need to know about hell you can learn from the Word of God.

You can learn about the certainty of it. You can learn about the purpose of it. You can learn about the intensity of it. You can learn about the duration of it. You can learn who will be there and who won't be there.

All you ever need to know about hell you can find in the Word of God. All you ever need to know about the past you can find in the Word of God. The origin of the angels, the fall of the angels, the fall of Satan, the origin of man, man's fall, God's plan to redeem man, God's plan for Israel, God's plan for the Church, all you ever need to know about the past you can find it in the Word of God.

All you need to know about the present you can find in the Word of God. You can find about recession, depression, national problems, personal problems, everything you ever need to know about the present, you can find it in the Word of God.

Everything you ever need to know about the future, you can find in the Word of God. You can tell how the nations will end their history, how man will end his history. You can find out about the tribulation.

You can find out about Armageddon. You can find out about all the eternity yet to come. It's all in the book. Everything you ever need to know about the future, you can find in the Word of God. Everything you need to know about your mind, emotion, and will, how your mind works, how God's mind works, how your emotions work, how God's emotions work, how your will works, how God's choices work.

Everything you ever need to know about mind, emotion, and will, you can learn in the Word of God. In other words, all you ever need to know, God in eternity past knew you needed to know, and so he recorded it for you for all eternity, and he called it the Word of God.

Seven Convictions About Scripture

This morning our objective is to examine seven basic truths about the Scripture, which, if understood, make this lie of Satan's to be the most unbelievable yet. But unbelievable or not, this lie has permeated even the Church of Jesus Christ in the twentieth century in an unbelievable way.

Many of our seminaries, publications, organizations, churches represent this book to be less, much less than it really is. Satan's lie is that the Word of God is not infallible. Satan's lie is that the Word of God is not immutable.

God's truth is that it is both, and much, much more. What is the Word of God? This morning I'm going to give you seven things that the Word of God is. The Word of God is perfect. It contains no error.

The Word of God is permanent. It has not, and it will not, and it cannot change. The Word of God is precious. It is to be cherished by God's people above all of life's possessions. The Word of God is personal.

It is a divine love letter with specific instructions just for you. The Word of God is practical. It has an answer for every question you will ever ask. The Word of God is powerful. It actually contains life and imparts actual power to implement change.

And lastly, because the Word of God is these things, it must be preeminent in the life of the Christian. It must be the controlling, dominating factor in your life. As such, it needs to be the number one priority around which you shape your life, the Word of God.

The title for this morning's lesson is The Word of God, The Word of God, The Word of God. You say, why do you say it three times? I say it three times for three reasons. Number one, to emphasize its complete authority.

The Word of God is perfect authority over man, perfect authority over Satan, and perfect authority over all of the spiritual world, both good and evil. Secondly, to emphasize the fact that it speaks of the three sides of God's personality.

The Word of God must be taught by the Spirit of God. But the Spirit of God always reveals, he says, only the Son of God. And the Son of God, he says, whenever He is spoken of, always exalts the Father.

The Word of God, the Word of God, the Word of God. It must be taught by the Spirit who reveals the Son who glorifies the Father. The Word, the Word, the Word. And thirdly, because it has three levels of meaning to Christians.

First of all, there is truth. The Word of God is man's only source of truth. Now what truth is, it is the Word of God as it comes from God. But it is as man's only source of truth, it can be man's only source of knowledge.

Such knowledge is truth, that is, as it is received in the mind of a Christian. And as man's only source of knowledge, the Word of God then becomes man's only source of wisdom. Wisdom is knowledge as it is expressed in the life of a Christian.

An illustration, very quickly. The Scripture says a lie is an abomination to the Lord. It is a sin to lie. That's truth. But it remains truth until it comes into the mind of a Christian when the Christian realizes it is a sin for me to tell a lie.

That's knowledge. But knowledge puffeth up. And knowledge in and of itself will not accomplish anything unless it becomes wisdom. And so the Christian, confronted with an opportunity either to tell the truth or to lie, turns to the Word of God for his authority and says, I stop lying.

That's wisdom. And so you see, the Word of God is truth. The Word of God is knowledge. The Word of God is wisdom. The Word of God. The Word of God. The Word of God. Now for our seven basic convictions about the Word.

The Perfection and Sufficiency of Scripture

First of all, do you have a conviction, personally? Now remember, a conviction is something you would die for before compromising. Do you have a conviction that the Word of God is perfect? By perfect I mean that it is without error.

That it is without contradiction. That it is totally complete. 2 Timothy 3 .16, a verse that is so familiar to many of, and the Weiss translation goes like this, every scripture is God-breathed and is profitable for teaching, for conviction, for improvement, for training with respect to righteousness, in order that the man of God may be complete, fitted for every good work.

The Word of God. Psalm 19 .7, God's laws are perfect. They protect us, they make us wise, and they give us light. The Word of God. Proverbs 30, verse 6, every word of God proves itself to be true. Do not add to his words, lest he rebuke you, and you be found to be a liar.

Psalm 119 .16 in the Berkeley translation says, thy word altogether is truth. Every one of thy righteous ordinances has everlasting vitality. Deuteronomy 4 .2, ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, and you shall not diminish out from it.

The Word of God. Practically speaking, what does that mean? It means that God has said everything he wants to say. It means that he has said it clearly and correctly. It means he has given each of us his spirit to interpret it, but it is finished.

It is without error and without need for change. Therefore, whoever says God's word requires an additional revelation is a heretic. Therefore, whoever says God's word is accurate, but this portion is a heretic.

The Permanence and Immutability of Scripture

God has said it all, God has recorded it all, and he has done it perfectly. You say, is anything in this life perfect? Yes, three things. The Word of God, the Word of God, the Word of God. Secondly, do you have as firm a conviction that the Word of God is permanent?

Not only is it complete, not only is it accurate, it cannot change. An interesting study sometime, take the two places in Exodus or the two places in Deuteronomy where God gave Moses the law. This was the first time God gave man the written word.

And Moses wrote the word down, and he came down from the mountain, and Satan got in the way, and Moses kind of lost his cool, and he threw down the tablets of stone, and he broke the Word of God. So God called him back up to the mountain, we read in chapter 34 of Exodus, and he said, let's go through this again, Moses.

And he gave it to him again, and guess what? He got it right. He translated it perfectly. That's what it means, the Word cannot be broken. It emanates from the heart of God. It has been recorded by the Spirit of God without margin for error in the interpretation.

Second Peter 1 .20 says, no prophecy of the Scripture is of any private interpretation, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. Do you believe that? The Word of God, it is not only perfect, it is permanent.

Isaiah 40, verse 8, the grass withers, the flower fades. We know that, but what helps? The Word of God abides, stands forever. Mark 13 .31, Jesus said, heaven and earth will pass away, but my word shall not pass away.

And in Matthew 5 .18, he said, verily I say unto you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise past until the law be fulfilled. You see, time is an ally to the Word of God.

Given a little time, the philosophies and the religions of this world will erode, change, or evaporate. But given time, every word of God proves true. Given time, time amplifies the Word of God. Time magnifies the Word of God.

Time glorifies the Word of God. As time passes, the more prophecy is revealed to be true. As time passes, the more principles prove to be reliable. As time passes, the more testimonies confirm the message.

Time is the enemy of the world. It decays. It runs scared. It changes its mind. But time is a friend of the Word. It becomes a rock, a fortress, an impregnable defense. Given time, God will vindicate His plan.

Given time, God will finalize His reign. Given time, God will establish His kingdom. Given time, God will exalt His King. He said He was coming, and He did. He kept His word to the day. He says He's coming again, and He will.

Time has vindicated this book, and every day that passes will do it more. We live in a world that seems to be changing every year, every day, every hour. Satan says nothing written aforetime can be relevant for today.

It must change with human experience. But that's a lie. God is in this book, and God is. He lives in eternity, unhindered by time. Before Abraham was, I am, Jesus said. And if God is eternal, His word as well is unhindered by time.

Time is a parenthesis allowed by God to give man a frame of reference. But God is, and His word is as timeless as He is. Now, be honest with yourself. The character of man never changes. The character of God never changes.

The character of Satan never changes. Neither will man's needs and God's provisions and Satan's lies will never change. There are three things in life that do not change. Now, you know what they are by now, don't you?

The Preciousness of God's Word

The word of God. The word of God. The word of God. The third conviction you and I must have to contradict the lies of the devil is that the word of God is precious. Psalm 138, verses 1 and 2 says, Lord, with all my heart I thank you.

I will sing your praises before the armies of angels in heaven. I face your temple as I worship, giving thanks to you for all your lovingkindness and faithfulness. For your promises, your word are backed by the honor of your name.

He said, I just sing about them. Isaiah 55, 10 and 11, as the rain comes down and the snow from heaven and returns not thither, but watereth the earth and maketh it bring forth and bud so that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater.

So shall my word be that goeth forth unto thee. It shall not return unto me void. Every seed has a purpose. Psalm 19, 10, God's laws are more desirable than gold. They are sweeter than honey dripping from a honeycomb.

Now, ask yourself, do you reverence the word of God? Is it as precious to you as pure gold? Is it as sweet to your taste as fresh honey? Do you ever just sing with joy because you have this book? Does it ever dawn on you that one day, apart from what is engraved in your heart, it could be taken away from you and in this generation?

Is it to you a treasured letter from the lover of your soul? Or is it like the Sunday newspaper, stepped on in the car, thrown in the trunk, tossed about like a disposable rag? If your children's respect for it were based on your awe of it, how would they do?

Or do we possess so many translations, so many commentaries, so many versions that we no longer rise at its reading, no longer bow at its power, no longer stand spellbound at its contents? God's word is all God has to say.

The Personal Ministry of Scripture

God's word is everything God has to say. How precious that makes the word of God. The fourth conviction Satan does not want you to have about the scripture is that it is personal. Now, by personal, I mean that while all scripture has meaning to all men, each scripture has special meaning to each man as God's spirit chooses to use it to speak to him.

How many times have you read in the scripture, the word of the Lord came unto me, the word of the Lord came unto Moses, the word of the Lord came unto Joshua? Now, how does the word of the Lord come to you today?

It's in this book. For he has told us this is his final word. It's everything he has to say. And God in eternity past, knowing the specific needs of your heart this morning, has purposed, if you ask him, to speak directly to the need of your heart from the word.

Now, I can read a passage of scripture this morning, such as we've read, and it'll speak to all of you, but each of you uniquely. Its message won't change because truth cannot change, but the application and appropriation of that message will be as personal as the hairs of your head, which God has numbered.

That's why the scripture admonishes us to pray, open thou mine eyes that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law. Do you pray that prayer when you get together with the Lord in the morning to spend time with him?

Did you pray that prayer on your way to church this morning? Let's stop right now and just pray that prayer. Father, open our eyes that we may behold wondrous things out of thy law. Speak to each of us individually as you speak to all of us collectively.

We pray in Jesus name. You see, nothing else in life is as personal as the word of God. God has collected all of our tears in a bottle. He says the hairs of our head are numbered. It says when he awakes in Psalm 139, when we awake, he's still thinking of us.

The Practical Authority of Scripture

He delights to show us personally what he wants to do. The word of God, the word of God, the word of God. Fifthly, and as important as any conviction we can have, we must understand that the word of God is practical.

Would you like to know how to run your home? It's in the book. It'll tell you what to eat, how to build your house, how to keep your house, how to keep order, how to discipline your children. It's all in the word of God.

Would you like to know how to run your business? Guess what? It's in the word of God. It'll tell you about inventory. It'll tell you about notes payable. It'll tell you about get rich quick schemes. It'll tell you about record keeping.

It'll tell you about working hours. It'll tell you about loans. It'll tell you about co-signing notes. It'll tell you about usury. It'll tell you about high risk investments. It'll tell you about labor management relationships.

It'll tell you about sales methods, employee attitudes, partnerships, profit sharing. It's all in the book. Would you like to know about social activities and relationships? Guess what? It's in the book.

It'll tell you the kind of places you ought to go. It'll tell you the kind of things you ought to do. It'll tell you the kind of friends you ought to have. It'll tell you how to dress when you go there.

It'll tell your husband how to treat your wife. It'll tell your wives how to treat your husbands. It'll tell your parents how to treat your children, children how to treat your parents. It'll tell your brother how to treat your sister.

It'll tell your grandparents how to treat the grandchildren and vice versa. It'll tell you how to treat widows and orphans, how to deal with peer level friendships. It'll tell you how the older should treat the younger.

It's all in the book. How would you like to know about the church? It's in the book. The purpose of the church, the government of the church, the problems in the church, the management of the church, the leadership of the church, guess what?

It's in the word of God. How would you like to know about your ministry? It's in the word of God. It'll teach you about priorities, methods and even men. Listen, this book is an authority. It is an authority on animals, agriculture, astronomy and armies.

It is an authority on health, history and happiness. It is an authority on music, marksmanship and money. It'll tell you how to build, how to buy and how to behave. It is more relevant than today's newspaper.

The Living and Powerful Word

It is more comprehensive than the World Almanac. It is more personal than a private tutor. The word of God, the word of God, the word of God. The sixth conviction every Christian ought to have about the scriptures is that the word of God is powerful.

Hebrews 412, the word God speaks is living. It is filled with awesome power, like a dagger razor sharp on both sides. It can separate the joints from the marrow. It alone can set the spirit apart from the soul.

The word of God, you see, to the Christian, this book is not a book. It's a person. That person through this book transmits all the same power that raised up Jesus from the dead. It's God's medicine chest of power.

It's his antibiotic. It purifies the inner life of spiritual disease. It's his vitamins. It builds up the spirit to withstand difficulty. It's God's stimulant. It encourages and energizes the soul. It's God's tranquilizer.

It can settle you and give you peace. It's God's antiseptic. It can clean the wounds of life. The word of God. That's why truth becomes knowledge and then becomes wisdom because of the power that's in the word.

Now, the purpose of the word is change. That's why how much the word is your authority cannot be judged by how much you know, but by how much what you know has changed your life. You say, how can I tell if the word of God is changing my life?

Do I need a seminary degree? Do I need to accumulate certain information? Well, let's let the word tell us what the word does. And you test yourself. I'm going to give you a quiz this morning to test the word of God, the fruitfulness of the word of God in your life.

Testing the Word's Fruitfulness Through Christlike Life

Eight questions. Now, that's not many questions for this class, is it? Question number one, do you have a vision of Jesus? It's in the word of God. John 539, Jesus said, search the scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life and they are they which do what?

Testify of me. Luke 24, 27 on the Emmaus Road, Jesus said, in beginning at Moses and all of the prophets, he expounded unto them and all the scriptures, the things concerning himself. Verse 31, their eyes were opened and they knew him.

That's the purpose of the word of God. John 16, 13. How be it when he, the spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth. Why? He shall glorify me, Jesus said, the word of God. The more time you spend in the word of God, the more you allow it to become wisdom, the clearer your vision of the purpose person of Jesus Christ ought to be.

How real is he to you? How personal is he to you? When you pray, are you talking to a friend? Are you aware of his presence throughout the day? Is the price he paid for your sins so real that when you are tempted to sin, you shrink back?

That comes from the word of God. The second question is, is yours a life of joy? Contrary to popular, to a popular misconception, Christians who are filled with the word of God should not go around, are not the ones necessarily that go around with their chins on the ground.

You see, the word of God is the source of man's joy. And if knowledge is becoming wisdom in your life, you ought to be joyful. First John 1 .4 says, these things write we unto you that your joy may be full.

Read this book and you'll be filled with joy. Psalm 19, verse 8, the statutes of the Lord are right. They rejoice the heart. Jeremiah 15 .16, thy words were found and I did eat them. And thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of my soul.

A good indicator of the real relationship of your life to the word of God is the joy in your heart. Number three, can you make wise decisions or do you vacillate like the wind, wind of the sea that's driven and tossed in James chapter one?

Scripture says that the more of itself you get into your life, the more ability you have to make wise decisions. Psalm 119, 98 and 99 says this. Your words make me wiser than my enemies. They're always with me.

Memorize them. Secondly, it says I have deeper insight than my instructors because I meditate on my testimonies. And thirdly, it says I have a better grasp on truth than the aged because I have obeyed the truth.

I memorize it. I meditate on it and I obey it. So I'm wiser than my instructors. I'm wiser than my enemies. I'm even wiser than the aged. You have wisdom beyond your years. If you do, the reason is in this book, would you like to become wise like Solomon?

Here's the answer. It's in this book. Psalm 119, 130, the entrance of thy words giveth light. It gives understanding to the simple. That's us. Mark 12, 24, they were asking for answers and Jesus answered.

The trouble is you don't know the scriptures. So you don't know the power of God. The more you're in the word, the wiser your choices, the wiser your counsel. It takes time, but it happens. You can't rub it on the top of your head and become wise.

You can't put it on the top of your coffee table and become wise, but you can put it in your heart and work it into your life. And over a period of years, you will gain a wisdom that few people have the word of God.

Fourth thing is that if you're really in the word and have been there, you have power over Satan. Psalm 119, 9 and 11. How can even a young man cleanse his ways? But taking heed to the word of God, that word of I hid in my heart.

So I might not sin against the Romans 116. I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ because it is the power of God to everyone that believe in Psalm 17 for concerning the works of men. By the word of my lips, I have kept me from the past of the destroyer.

Ephesians 6, 17 stand against the wiles of the devil, taking the sword of the spirit, which is what the word of God. It is the offense, only offensive weapon you have when Satan attacks you, and it is the only offensive weapon Jesus used when Satan attacked him.

Number five, do you really know how to love? First, John 2, 5, whoso keepeth his word in him, the love of God is perfected. Good yardstick of your time in the word is not the depth of your theology, but the depth of your love.

Six, do you have peace amidst trial? Psalm 119, 165, great peace have they which love thy law and nothing shall offend them. Number seven, do you hate evil? Psalm 119, 104, through thy precepts I get understanding, therefore I hate every evil way because of the word.

The more you're in the word, the more you hate sin. And lastly, is your faith growing? Are you able to trust God for things you couldn't a year ago? Because Romans 10, 17 says that faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God.

The Preeminence of God's Word in Christian Life

These are the real tests of the fruitfulness of the word of God in your life. And these are things that impress God because they're things that God does. The seventh and final conviction about the word of God is the result of the sum total of the other six.

If God's word is perfect, if it is permanent, if it is precious, if it is personal, if it is practical, if it is powerful, then it ought to be preeminent in the life of a Christian. By preeminent, I mean, has it become your life?

You follow Jesus someday through the gospels and watch him use the Old Testament. For the scripture to become your life, I mean this. When you go to sleep at night, do you go to sleep meditating on the word of God to protect, to garrison about your mind from evil?

The word of God. It means when you rise up in the morning before the enemy has an opportunity to touch your mind, you begin to quote the word. This is the day that the Lord hath made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it.

You may not feel like it, but you by faith accept the fact that this is God's day and this is God's word. You begin to shower. That is the time to sing and to praise him. Nobody can hear you but God. Praise him with the word.

Wash me and I shall be whiter than snow. Now you are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. It is a good place to confess sin and be cleansed because you have a visual illustration, the word of God.

Men, as you shave, or women, as you put on your makeup and all this other stuff that you put on, look in the mirror and recite, Man looketh on the outward appearance, but God looketh on the heart. The word of God.

Isn't it great, too? As you eat, talk about the word. Review the word. As a family, I have esteemed the words of thy lips more than my necessary food. If there's not enough time for breakfast and time with God, if you have to choose between physical and spiritual food, don't fill your stomach.

Fill your heart. Memorize the word. The most important single thing a Christian can do for growth in the years to come. Do you realize if you only commit to memory five verses a week, that at the end of the next year you will have learned 260 verses?

Do you realize that at the end of five years you'll know 1360 verses? Do you realize at the end of 20 years you'll know 5200 verses? You will be a totally different person because of the word of God, and they can take this Bible away from you, and it may happen, but you'll have so much of it here.