Proposed Statement of Faith

We believe the Bible, the canon of scripture, is the Word of God. The Bible was given to humanity as a gracious gift of God’s special and authoritative self-revelation. All of the Bible’s original manuscripts were divinely inspired, having been written by individuals as the Holy Spirit carried them along. Because God is the ultimate Author of scripture, the Bible and its individual parts are free from error and are totally true and trustworthy. The central theme of scripture is redemption. It shows God’s saving purposes in Jesus Christ. God’s Word has supreme authority in all matters of faith and conduct. The scriptures alone are the infallible rule of faith for the church. A local church is disloyal to Christ if it strays from scripture in faith or conduct, because the church belongs to Him.

Main Text: 2 Peter 1:16-21

Other Key Texts: Psalm 19:7-11; Psalm 33:4-9; 2 Timothy 3:16-17

For Further Study: Kevin DeYoung, Taking God at His Word

“What Scripture says, God says; for, in a manner comparable only to the deeper mystery of the incarnation, the Bible is both fully human and fully divine.”- J.I. Packer

Sermon Transcript

Today, we begin a new teaching series – called This We Believe – which, Lord willing, will carry us until June.

Why are we spending three months studying Scripture in light of our proposed statement of faith?

During my junior high and high school years, I spent a week every summer in Lubbock, Texas, on the campus of Texas Tech University, participating in the Texas Tech Band & Orchestra Camp. [Pause.] I’ll just let you come up with your own joke about that. Okay?

At that time, I was a young and aspiring clarinetist, and I took that task pretty seriously. I was also pretty good at it.

The first thing that happened when you arrived at the camp was an audition. I would wait in a room with the 250 other young, aspiring clarinetists who attended the camp. One by one, they would call us in by number for a blind audition.

You’d walk into a room, where the judges would be seated – behind a screen, so that they could remain impartial. And you would perform a selection of a piece they had asked you to prepare. And then you’d leave, and someone else would come in.

Then, at the end of the day, the judges would post a list – a ranking, from the best player to the worst. And you would be assigned a spot in an ensemble, based on where you were on that list.

Entering my sophomore year of high school, I finished fifth overall in that audition. I was pleased. But I was motivated. The next year, I really thought I had a chance to finish first. And so I practiced hard. I auditioned well. And when they printed the audition results, my name was at the top. I tried not to act like it was a big deal to me. But it was.

The next morning, I arrived at the rehearsal hall for the best ensemble at the camp. An ensemble that was full of future professional musicians and music educators. And I went to sit in the chair reserved for the first clarinetist. My chair. And when I got there, this kid was sitting there. He looked like he was 11. He had a clarinet in his lap. He had a huge smile on his face. And he was wearing his official camp nametag which said: James Sharp, clarinet. In case you’ve missed the key detail thus far: That’s what my official camp nametag said, too.

I don’t know what the odds were of there being two James Sharps who both played the clarinet and who both attended the same summer music camp at the same time? But that’s what happened. And the problem was that it was obvious to everyone that I was the James Sharp who should be sitting in that chair.

I had been only a few chairs away the year before; James Sharp #2 had been playing recorder the year before. I was applying to music colleges; he was hoping to be tall enough to ride the rides at Six Flags. It was clear. But my poor young namesake really struggled to wrap his brain around this case of mistaken identity.

Mistaken identity. We live in a place and time where there is a lot of confusion around what a Christian is. I talk to people all the time who think that a Christian is a person who votes a certain way. I talk to other people who believe that a Christian is a person who cares about a certain set of social issues. I talk to people who believe that a Christian is a person who lives according to a certain moral code. And I talk still to other people who believe that being a Christian is something you are born into – by nature of your place of birth or your family of origin.

It is clear to me, and I hope it is to you, that each of these people suffers from a case of mistaken identity. They don’t have a firm grip on who a Christian is. And whenever that is true, they also don’t have a firm grip on who they are. That’s because the Bible teaches us that we can’t truly know ourselves until we know the God who created us and redeemed us through the blood of his Son.

In other words, sound doctrine is critical – to know who God is and to know who we are. Without sound doctrine, we will always be confused about those things. We will always be unclear – about our very identity. And – this is dangerous – we might mistake ourselves for someone we are not. Something we are not.

That is one of the reasons why our elders are proposing a new statement of faith for our church. And one of the reasons why we are spending the next three months or so considering that statement of faith together.

Today, we’re considering Article 1 of that statement – which tells us what Christians should believe about the Bible.

As we approach that, I need make an important distinction for all of us. We are not, in this series, studying our statement of faith. I’ve been choosing my words carefully. We are considering our statement of faith. We are studying the Bible. Our statement of faith has merit and authority only insofar as it accurately reflects the authority of the Bible.

Think about the relationship between the sun and the moon. The moon produces no light of its own; it reflects the light of the sun. If the sun were to disappear, the moon would not shine. In the same way, our statement of faith reflects the light – the authority – of God’s Word. It does not produce light on its own.

So, all through this series, we’ll be studying God’s Word, while considering the statement of faith. That’s why – finally – we can look together at 2 Peter 1:16-21. Let me read this passage for us. Then we’ll consider together what it teaches us about the Word of God.

Sometimes, when it is quiet, I realize just how many voices I have in my life. Voices that are competing for my ear, for my attention. You probably have many voices calling out for your attention, too. The voices of family members, friends, classmates, co-workers, bosses, teachers, and even pastors. We should add to that list the voices we hear on television, talk radio, podcasts, social media streams, books, newspapers, and movies. The list really goes on and on.

This is one of the challenges of life in 2024. We carry devices in our pockets that give almost everyone we know, and a billion people we don’t know, access to us all of the time. Everyone has our ear, all the time. The noise level in our lives is loud and constant.

As a Christian, how do you make sure that you are making room for the voice that matters most? How can you ensure that you are listening for and hearing the voice of God? With all of these other voices speaking into our lives and rattling around in our minds, how do we make sure that God’s voice gets through?

We do know that not all voices are equal, don’t we? We don’t tune into every voice with the same kind of interest or intensity. If you are sitting at your desk at work and your cell phone rings – but you see that it is a strange number from an area code you don’t recognize, you know to ignore that call. However, if your desk phone rings and the caller ID tells you that your boss is on the other line, you drop everything to pick that up and listen to that voice, right?

Or if you are driving in your car while listening to talk radio, you might from time to time space out a bit and not really pay attention to what people are saying. But if it is the radio broadcast of the fourth quarter of a close playoff game, you are probably hanging on every word and tuning out all other voices, right?

Some voices are more important to us than others. But how do we make sure that we are listening for the voice that matters most? How do we make sure that we are hearing the voice of God?

One of the keys to listening to God is understanding how God speaks to us.

Most Christians would love to hear a clear, decisive, personal word from God. When you are facing a tough decision, or experiencing a challenging trial of some kind, it is tempting to think: If only I could hear from God and know what he wants me to do! We find ourselves longing for some spectacular moment, when we hear God’s voice in a dream or in a storm or in the secret, innermost places in our hearts. We think: If God would just appear to me and speak to me like he did to Moses or Mary or Paul...

Perhaps God will speak to you like that at some point in your life.

But he has promised to speak to you every time you open and read from his Word.

The pages of the Bible contain the voice of God, spoken by God through his Spirit and for his people. You can be certain that every time you open this book you will hear God speaking to you!

While many of us know and believe that, we often treat the voice of God in Scripture more like a phone call from the telemarketer than a direct message from our King. We are bored by God’s voice. Or indifferent to it. Our attitude is casual and complacent. We don’t hang on every word. We don’t order our lives around it.

Because that is true, I want to point us to a few things in our passage this morning.

The apostle Peter wrote the letter of 2 Peter to remind his readers of the virtues of a godly life. In verses 12-15, he tells them that he wants them to pursue godly living even after he is gone. Then, beginning in verse 16, he explains why this is so important.

The key to understanding this passage is to understand the two comparisons that Peter makes here. First, he suggests that eyewitness testimony is more certain than myth. Eyewitness testimony is more certain than myth.

Look with me again at verse 16.

Peter says that he – and the other apostles – have made known the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Even though he was born as a helpless infant in a manger in Bethlehem. Even though he confined himself to the frail limits of humanity. Even though he lived in an obscure, backwater town that was mocked and judged by the sophisticated elites of his day. Jesus came – in power and glory.

He healed sick people. He raised people from the dead. He calmed storms and fed masses

and cast out demons. Jesus came in power. Peter and the other apostles have made known

his coming. They have made known his power.

They have made known his power and glory because they saw it. In fact, they saw the clearest revelation of Jesus’ power and glory – on the Mount of Transfiguration. That’s what Peter is referencing in verses 17-18.

There was one moment in his life when Jesus pulled back the curtain and revealed his power and glory most fully. It was on the Mount of Transfiguration, when Peter and James and John witnessed the unveiled and unfiltered splendor of Jesus Christ. You can read about this in Mark 9 or Matthew 17.

Peter and James and John joined Jesus upon that holy mountain. They saw his face transfigured. He was robed in white and radiant in light. His holiness and glory and beauty beamed from his face.

Peter is saying: I am sure this happened. Because I was there. I was an eyewitness of his majesty. No one pulled the wool over my eyes and tricked me with a cleverly devised myth. No one sold us a lie. This wasn’t fake news. We were eyewitnesses – to the Majesty and glory of Jesus, revealed on that holy mountain.

I hope you can hear the point that Peter is emphasizing – repeatedly. We were there. We saw it – the cloud of glory, the radiant face of Christ – all of it! We heard the Father’s voice declare: This is my beloved Son. We heard this very voice because we were in his very presence. We were eyewitnesses of his Majesty.

The point Peter is making here is that his words can be trusted. They can be trusted because they amount to eyewitness testimony. And eyewitness testimony is more certain than myth. That’s the first comparison. Now let’s look at the second.

Put your eyes on verse 19. Peter writes: And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed... (1:19a). Now, that term “the prophetic word” is about to be repeated three times in various forms in these verses. Peter is using the word “prophecy” not to refer to visions of the future, but to Holy Scripture. He’s talking about the Bible when he says that.

So: We have the prophetic word [Scripture] more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place... (1:19a). Pay attention to Scripture. That’s Peter’s command here. The way you would pay attention to a lamp shining in a dark place: Let its light guide you. Let it give direction to your steps. Pay attention to Scripture. For how long? Until Jesus returns. Verse 19: until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts (1:19b). Until the future day of Jesus’ return dawns, and until you see Jesus face to face and his glory rises in your hearts like the sun rises in the morning, keep paying attention to Scripture.

Now, in verses 20-21, Peter says some incredibly significant things about Scripture. I won’t spend long on these, but these things provide a foundation for many of the statements in Article 1 of our proposed statement of faith.

Peter crams into these two verses the doctrine of Scripture’s inspiration, the doctrine of Scripture’s inerrancy – that means it is completely without error, and the doctrine of Scripture’s authority.

Scripture is inspired. The Bible conveys God’s words, spoken by God through human authors. Taken together, the Bible is not only God’s words – it is God’s Word. It is his voice proclaiming and revealing truth to us. Peter says: no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation in verse 20. And in verse 21: men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

In other words, God is speaking to us through the Bible. That is what we mean when we say that Scripture is inspired.

Scripture is also inerrant. That means it is flawless and perfect and infallible. There are no mistakes in it. Whatever God intended to communicate here, he has communicated perfectly. Without mistake. Without error.

That is true because God is perfect and he does not misspeak. He doesn’t get tongue-tied or stumble over his words. No press secretary ever needs to retract what he said or clarify his remarks. Because God is flawless, his word is flawless. Scripture is inerrant.

Scripture is also our authority. Peter says that we should know this first of all. Because Scripture is of first importance. We don’t judge Scripture. Scripture judges us. We don’t evaluate Scripture. Scripture evaluates us.

If there is something in Scripture that we don’t like, we aren’t to take it out and pretend it isn’t there. If something in Scripture makes us uncomfortable, then we must change our understanding or our lives to get in line with the light of what Scripture says.

All of that is packed into these verses, and we could spend a lot of time talking about each of those things. But we still need to note the comparison here.

We already noted the first comparison: eyewitness testimony is more certain than myth. But I told you there were two. What is the second?

In verses 16-18, Peter said: We saw the Transfiguration. We were eyewitnesses of his majesty. You – the church – can believe what we’ve told you about the power and coming of Jesus because our sure eyewitness testimony confirms it.

But look carefully again at verse 19. Peter writes: We have the prophetic word more fully confirmed (1:19a). Other translations say something like we have the prophetic word that is something more sure. More sure than what? More fully confirmed than what? Those are comparative statements. What are they being compared to? To Peter’s eyewitness testimony of the Transfiguration.

Peter is saying: Yes, you can trust my eyewitness testimony of the Transfiguration. But do you know what is even better than that? Do you know what is even more sure than that? It is your Bible. If we think about it, that is a stunning statement.

If you could make a list of the most spectacular experiences that anyone has in the Bible, what would be on the short list of experiences that you’d like to see for yourself? If you could choose anything, if you could go back in time and see something with your own eyes, what would it be?

Imagine what it would have been like, on the very first Christmas Eve, to see the skies above Bethlehem fill with the angelic hosts singing glory to God in the highest.

Or imagine being in the boat when Jesus calmed the storm with a word. He rebukes the wind and the waves and immediately this great, eerie calm comes over the sea.

Or imagine seeing Jesus walking on water. Or feeding the five thousand. Or imagine seeing the risen and resurrected Jesus walking around in the flesh. I think witnessing any of those events would make you quite sure that Jesus is who he claimed to be.

But don’t you think, of all those events, that the Transfiguration would be near the top of your list? Might this not be the thing you’d most like to go back and see?

Peter and James and John saw Jesus so clearly, they perceived his glory so accurately, that his face glowed and his clothes were blinding white. Then, when they saw him like that, they wanted to build houses and stay there forever. It was so awesome – so incredible – that these men who saw many of those other things wanted to stay right there. Forever.

I think the Transfiguration might be the most incredible event we could ever hope to see – until Christ returns. If we saw it, I think each of us would say: I have no more doubts. I don’t need to see or experience anything else. That’s enough for me. I’m good. I’m sure.

And what does Peter then say about witnessing the Transfiguration? He says that Scripture is more certain. He says the prophetic word is more sure. More stable. If he had to pick between seeing Christ in his glory on the holy mountain or seeing Christ in his glory in Scripture, he’d choose Scripture. What an incredible statement.

Does that sound like your attitude toward God’s Word? When you think about the voices that are in your head, or the voices that are in your life, do you live like the voice of God – as revealed by his inspired, inerrant, and authoritative Word – is the most sure voice?

Or are you listening more closely to yourself? Your desires? Your instincts? Do you trust more fully your experiences? Your intuition? Do you follow your heart? Or do you pay attention to the prophetic word – like a lamp shining in a dark place that illuminates everything else in your life?

That’s the thing about a lamp. You don’t stare at a lamp. In a dark room, you don’t fix your eyes on the lamp. You let the lamp illuminate everything else. So, paying attention to the lamp doesn’t mean staring at the lamp. It means staring at everything else in the light of the lamp.

That’s what we are to do with God’s Word. It is to illuminate everything in our lives. Not just the religious part of our lives.

We are to shine God’s Word on our relationships like a lamp. On our careers like a lamp. On the decisions we make about how we spend money. On the decisions we make about where to live and how to use our free time. We are to shine God’s Word on the decisions we make about youth sports and 401ks and gym memberships and friendships and family reunions. On everything.

The world is a dark place, and we can only see in this dark place rightly and clearly if we

are shining God’s Word on everything that we do!

Early in the story of The Lord of the Rings, the elf queen Galadriel gifts to Frodo – the ring bearer – a small crystal vial that contains the light of a star. In the broad daylight, the rays of light from this star emanate only faintly. Only dimly. But Galadriel says to Frodo, “It will shine still brighter when night is about you. May it be a light to you in dark places, when all other lights go out.”

Much later in the story, Frodo and Sam face incredible trials. They walk into places of deep darkness. And Galadriel’s vial, the light of this star, becomes the only thing that can save them. It shines brightly when all other lights go out. And the forces of darkness and evil recoil from it. Evil creatures despair because of the light that shines from this crystal vial. Its power, which is concealed until it is needed most, triumphs over darkness.

Church: We, too, live in an age that is shrouded by darkness. This present age will not last forever. It will pass away. The Day of our Lord’s return will dawn and the Morning Star will rise in our hearts. But in the meantime, the Lord has given us the light of a star.

We can hold it in our hands. We can wield it – in moments of desperation and trial, and in the ordinary moments of everyday life.

We can shine its light – we must shine its light – on every circumstance. Every trial. Every relationship. Every opportunity. Every decision. Every moment. We must be people who aspire to walk a path illuminated by the Word. To live lives illuminated by the Word.

One contemporary Bible teacher put the matter this way: “We are a people of the Book. We know God through the Book. We meet Christ in the Book. We see the cross in the Book. Our faith and love are kindled by the glorious truths of the Book. We have tasted the divine majesty of the Word and are persuaded that the Book is God's inspired and infallible written revelation. Therefore, what the Book teaches matters...

“There is no salvation from sin and guilt and condemnation and hell apart from faith in Jesus Christ...And there is no other authority besides the Scriptures to show you who Christ is and to give you his Word. So don't leave the Bible, children. Don't leave the Bible, young people. Don't neglect the Bible, dads and moms. Don't ignore the Bible, single people. Under God, the ‘sacred writings,’ the Scriptures, are the greatest treasure in the world. They alone make us wise unto salvation through Christ. O don't neglect this Book!”

As we begin to prepare our hearts for the Lord’s Supper this morning, let us pray that God would form us as people who pay attention to his inspired, inerrant, and authoritative Word – as to a lamp shining in a dark place.