Yesterday we began a new sermon series entitled 'Rhythms of Grace.' In this new series, we are focusing on the grace-driven rhythms of the Christian life, such as scripture, prayer, community, mission, service, generosity, and rest. 

The first sermon in our series was about scripture. I want to ask you this question: Have you ever not read a book someone has given you?

I recently heard a story about a man who received a book from his son on how to stop smoking. This man received the book with a disgruntled attitude, yet he took it from his son in order to respond as a good father. Each day, he would walk by that book with resentment, often swearing at it as he passed by. Then one day, he received news from his doctor that he had the first stage of emphysema. Of course, this changed his outlook on smoking, and he finally picked up the book his son had given him. He clearly remembers reading a chapter about all the negatives of smoking. It was a long chapter. Then, there was a chapter on the positives of smoking. He turned the page, and the page was empty. This book transformed his life.

My hope is that the Bible, the Scriptures, becomes the most impactful book in our everyday lives. That we realize this book was given to us to transform our lives, our communities, and, most of all, our hearts.

Maybe you are someone who has never picked up a Bible, or perhaps you swear at it as you pass by. Maybe you’ve never even heard of it—though that’s probably unlikely, but still possible. What if what you are searching for is found in the Scriptures?

Here are a few reason why scripture transforms our lives. 

The Revelation of Scripture

How do you know someone? Someone needs to speak to us, use words, for us to truly know who they are. 

There was a man who kept walking by my house on the main road. I didn’t like the way he looked, walked, carried himself. I said to my family, I see this guy all the time and I don’t like him. My daughter said, “Dad, that my friends Dad!” He is a good guy. I realized I had just judged him without really knowing him. 

It is the same with scripture, many times we may think we know who God is, and even make judgments that are not good, but when God speaks, we understand better His greatness and steadfast love. We begin to know who He is, because He reveals it to all who want to know Him. 

What a wonderful proposal of Christianity! God wants to speak to us through the scriptures. 

Our passage actually teaches us today that “All scripture is Breathed out by God.” (verse 16)

This means that God the Holy Spirit inspired, spoke through human instruments to give us the Bible we have today. God used there personalities, there situations, and their lives to divinely write down words that are directly from God. 

2 Peter 1:21- For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. 

Maybe the best way we can think about this, is like someone playing an instrument. For those who don’t know, I know how to play the saxophone at the basic level. I can play a mean, “Amazing Grace.” When you hear those notes, you don’t give credit to the instrument, you attribute the music to the one who is breathing air into that instrument to produce the notes. It is the same with scripture. God breathed, men wrote. 

One of the most important things to understand about scripture is that it is a coherent magnificent story, that is being told over millennia, written by over 40 authors, each with different authors from pauper like personalities to princes, though different time periods, over different genres, that all tell the same type of story.

What type of story is told through the Bible? It is a story of redemption. 

One of the most helpful revelations that Scripture gives is a revelation of ourselves. 

The Revelation of ourselves 

John Calvin has a very helpful statement on wisdom, and I believe it helps us understand some of the purpose of scriptures, and it reads like this… “Nearly all wisdom we possess, that is to say, true and sound wisdom, consists of two parts, the knowledge of God and the knowledge of self. “ And these two are inseparable. 

If scripture is giving us the knowledge of God and telling the story of God, it is of course going to give us knowledge of ourselves. Scripture is revelation of what is in the the human heart, it shows us the heart of humanity. Now, this revelation is a complex revelation, on one hand, it shows us the human heart chooses wrong many times, on the other hand it reveals that some human hearts want redemption from those wrongs committed. Yet, if you read the Bible, you will constantly be confronted with the wickedness of man, and even through continue failings of those who worship God. 

The questions becomes, “Is humanity good at their core”? 

According to Jean Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778) , humans are naturally and innately good, and it is civilization that turns man into a “beast.” Consequently, Rousseau argued that modern man should seek to restore the conditions of our lost Eden and live a more natural, rather than technological, life.

What do you believe? Is humanity good at the core, it is only a person’s environment that makes them do bad things? 

Here is Jesus answer to is man good at his core… Matthew 15:10-20- And he called the people to him and said to them, “Hear and understand: 11 it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person.” 12 Then the disciples came and said to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?” 13 He answered, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be rooted up. 14 Let them alone; they are blind guides. And if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.” 15 But Peter said to him, “Explain the parable to us.” 16 And he said, “Are you also still without understanding? 17 Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled?18 But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. 19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. 20 These are what defile a person. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone.”

Maybe this illustration might help some of us answer the question is humanity good. If someone gave you a drink your favorite drink, a mountain dew, a Shirley temple, or a gatorade, and they pour in a shot of gasoline, would you still consider that drink good, would you still drink it? 

We all understand that there are good parts of us, the Bible will teach us this because we are made in the image of God, and have communicable attributes of God, such as the capacity to live, be kind, and even courageous. Yet, we are not only stained with sin, but corrupt at heart. 

If you read the full story of scripture you will see that man started in a perfect environment, yet man still did wrong. So the environment is not the primary problem. After the garden, you see a patten of man continually sinning, doing evil, not loving neighbor, and living in utter wickedness. 

Do you still see wickedness in the world today? If you do, Why do you think that is? Is it possible that we are the problem? 

Now, I understand some of us might have an answer to the problems in this world. Some might say, we are all jus the product of a unguided evolutionary process, and we are just highly evolved animals. If we are just highly evolved animals, it is no surprise when we act like animals. 

Others mights say, there is a higher power but how do we know what is good and evil? Who can even say what is evil? 

Others, might find yourself of religious systems, that teach that man is not only good but divine, like many easter mystical practices that have become main steams practices. 

Our belief about ourselves, begins with the stories we believe and tell ourselves. If we are just animals, we can act like them. If there might or might not be a god or gods, who can define evil? If we are inherently good, what is the need of a god or gods, we are god. 

The revelation that scripture gives us about ourselves, is that we are sinners who are unable to save ourselves or grow ourselves into maturity, and that humanity is in need of redemption, and special revelation. 

Special Revelation 

There are different kinds of revelation when it comes to knowing there is a God. Nature reveals that there is a God…

 Romans 1:20 – “For [God's] invisible attributes, that is, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen since the creation of the world, being understood through what he has made”.

Now, this  type of revelation… can not truly show us who God is, they might show us the possibility of there being a God, but they can’t give us a concrete explanation of exactly who God is.

The scriptures gives us the exact knowledge of who God is, they give us special revelation, meaning they show us what the whole story of scripture is about, what the meaning of the creation of everything is about, what the purpose of our lives is about… the whole bible, all of scripture, what is being revealed, is Jesus! 

We see Galatians 4:4

"But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons”. 

The whole premise, story, and point of the Bible is that God created the world, man fell into sin, God redeemed the world through His Son Jesus, and God will restore the world at His return, and those who have been adopted as sons and daughters of God, will exist in an eternal paradise in the presence of God, glorying God forever! It is a return to Eden, except now, evil is destroyed forever, and Jesus will rule the new heavens and the new earth. 

So how do we use these truths for our lives? 

1. Do you see yourself in the story of God? 

In the eighties movie the Never Ending Story, there was a boy who was reading and a story and realized that he was part of the story. Everyone is part of God's story, those who follow Christ, are on the right side of good and the advancement of the Kingdom of God. 

When you read the Bible, do you see Jesus as the main point of it?  

The opposite of that would be seeing the Bible written to make us the main point of it. The religious leaders of the day, saw themselves as the main point of scripture and Jesus responded by saying “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life” (John 5:39–40).

The scriptures are about Jesus, to know that, is to know God. 

2. Do you go to the scriptures to receive the benefits of it? 

All scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for TEACHING, for REPROOF (expression of blame or disapproval), for correction, and for training in righteousness.

Hearing sermons, reading scripture, listening to scripture is not primarily about behavior modification it is about getting to know God, and a result of getting to know God is your behavior changes.

Why does our behavior change when we know and love God? Our behavior follows our treasure. 

A persons choices are determined by their wants, what he admires, what he sees has beautiful. When our greatest want is God, we become godly. If our greatest want is something else, we will become like that.

(Teaching) When we love someone, we want to learn who they are, we even might say, “teach me more about you”.

(Reproof) When we loves someone, we do not want to grieve them or displease them. We actually learn how to treat them according to the disapproval. 

(Correction) When we love someone, who is in authority over us, we see correction as a gift, because they love us. 

(Training) When we love someone, we want to join them in there purposes, we want to be trained for good. 

Do you approach scripture with a willingness to be taught, reproved, corrected, and trained in righteousness?

3. What part are you playing in the story?

You see, everyone is part of the story, we just have decide what side we are on. 

Jesus says, “if you are not for me, you are against me.”

I don’t think you can even explain there story as primarily good verse evil. Maybe a better way is those who repent, and those who rebel. Those who are redeemed by God and those who reject God. Those who are sons and daughters of God and those who are sons and daughter of their own wickedness. 

God is revealing Himself, through His scriptures to you today? Do you believe God’s story? Do you believe that He is love? Do you believe that you are a sinner? Do you believe that there is redemption if you place your faith in Jesus? 

The revelation of scripture is a revelation of God’s story, is tell us the story of ourselves, that we need a savior, the special revelation told through the scriptures is that Jesus saves and redeems all who believe in Him. 

The most important rhythm of our life, is the rhythm of grace, to hear, read, and listen always to revelation given through the scriptures.