BIBLE-POWER
God’s Holy Spirit creates
His people by His Word. We can create a
people by other means, and this is the great temptation of churches. We can create a people around a certain
ethnicity. We can create a people
around a fully-graded choir program. We
can find people who will get excited about a building project or a
denominational identity. We can create
a people around a series of care groups, where each feels loved and cared
for. We can create a people around a
community service project. We can
create a people around social opportunities for young mothers or Caribbean
cruises for singles. We can create a people
around men’s groups. We can even create
a people around the personality of a preacher.
And God can surely use all of these things. But in the final analysis the people of God, the church of God,
can only be created around the Word of God.
Asked about his accomplishments
as a Reformer, Martin Luther said, “I simply taught, preached, wrote God’s
Word: otherwise I did nothing… The Word
did it all.” The Word of God brings
life.
Nine Marks of a Healthy Church, Crossway, 2000, p. 36
A layman who has the
Scripture is more than Pope or council without it.
An honest man with an open
Bible and a pad and pencil is sure to find out what is wrong with him very
quickly.
Quoted by Curtis C. Thomas, Practical Wisdom for Pastors,
Crossway Books, 2001, p. 50.
The amazing thing is that
everyone who reads the Bible has the same joyful thing to say about it. In
every land, in every language, it is the same tale: where that Book is read,
not with the eyes only, but with the mind and heart, the life is changed.
Sorrowful people are comforted, sinful people are transformed, peoples who were
in the dark walk in the light. Is it not wonderful to think that this Book,
which is such a mighty power if it gets a chance to work in an honest heart, is
in our hands today?
Thou Givest...They Gather, Christian Literature Crusade, p.
7.
In opposition…to all the
suggestions of the devil, the sole, simple, and sufficient answer is the word
of God. This puts to flight all the
powers of darkness. The Christian finds
this to be true in his individual experience.
It dissipates his doubts; it drives away his fears; it delivers him from
the power of Satan.
A Commentary on the Epistle to the Ephesians, Baker Book
House, 1980, p. 389.
As we prayerfully expose
ourselves to the Scriptures, we begin to understand what God’s will is
regarding our conduct and character.
And then as the Holy Spirit applies His word to specific areas of our
lives, and as we are obedient to His promptings, we begin to develop
Bible-based convictions. Our values
begin to change so that God’s standard becomes our delight and our desire.
The Practice of Godliness, NavPress, 1996, p. 124. Used by
permission of NavPress – www.navpress.com.
All rights reserved.