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Join Wayne Burger each week as he explores various topics and scriptures and challenges listeners to meditate on God's Word more deeply.
The Bible is the most-read book in the world.
It's also the best-selling book, with about 100 million copies sold each year, 20 million of them in the United States. Ironically, although one of the 10 commandments is, they shall not steal. The Bible is the most stolen book in the world.
People steal them from hotels, hospitals, bookstores, and other places. How ironic. I had a friend as a missionary in Africa who was going to some place to preach.
He had his bible tied on the back of his motorcycle. He went in a store to get something. When he came out, someone had stolen his Bible.
The word Bible comes from a Greek word, "biblion", which is used in the Bible several times, but never translated Bible. It's always translated "book." So the word Bible doesn't really tell us much about the Bible, but there are numerous metaphors found in the Scriptures which tell us about this great book.
I want us to look at some of the terms used to describe this great book. Some of them are familiar, but all of them have a different little shade of meaning that might help us to appreciate it even more. The first one we're going to look at is found in a couple of passage.
We're going to look first at Luke 11, 28. And there, Jesus said, on the contrary, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it. So the first phrase we're going to look at is the word of God.
He says blessed are those who observe that. Just listening to the word of God is not sufficient. We must also observe it or carry it out.
It is called the word of God in contrast to the word of man. Men wrote it down, but God was the one who was speaking. It is not the word of man.
It is the word of God. Some have said, well, that's just Paul's opinion. No, all was the writer.
God was the author. James was the writer. God was the author.
And so it is the word of God as opposed to the word of man. Peter uses this phrase to describe a great event. He said in 1 Peter 1 verse 23, well, you have been born again, not of seed, which is perishable, but imperishable.
That is, through the living and enduring word of God. Notice what he said, it is the living word of God. It's the enduring word of God.
It has endured the test of time. Unfortunately, through past histories and sometimes even written history and some parts of the world, people have tried to destroy the word of God. They've outlawed the Bible.
They have tried to get rid of it so that people cannot read it, but God's word is still here. There's an old story about how firm and enduring the word of God is about an anvil. As a man was watching a blacksmith hammer out some metal on this anvil, and he said, sir, how many anvils have you worn out? He said, sir, anvils don't wear out, the hammer wears out.
And so it is with the word of God. It is that anvil of the word of God. It's not going to disappear.
It's going to be enduring. Notice in this context in 1 Peter 1 and verse 23, for you have been born again, not of seed, which is perishable, but imperishable. That is through the living and enduring word of God.
Notice the idea of being born again. That's a common phrase among Christians. Are you a born again Christian? In reality, no one is a Christian except those were born again.
You cannot be a Christian without being born again. Jesus talked about Nicodemus and told him that he must be born again. But notice what Peter said here.
It's related to the word of God, for you have been born again, not of seed, which is perishable, but imperishable. That is through the living and enduring word of God. How precious it is that we can be born again by the word of God.
We've lived corrupt lives, sin in our lives, guilt on our minds, but the word of God enables us to be born again, become a child of God. How wonderful that thought is. So that's one phrase that is found in scriptures to identify this book that we hold in our hand.
It is called the word of God. It is also called the word of Christ. In Colossians 3, we find in verse 15, let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts to which indeed you were called in one body and be thankful.
Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you with all wisdom, teaching it, admonishing one another with Psalms and hymns with spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your heart to God. Notice in that context, it is called the word of Christ, the word of Christ. Christ, of course, means the anointed one.
He is the anointed prophet of God. God sent him as the apostle. An apostle is one sent and he's called the apostle of God in Hebrews 3, 1, and his word is spoken of as the word of Christ because Christ has set up his kingdom on this earth.
He is the authority for that church. It is his word that governs the church. The Hebrew writer helped us see the importance of that idea.
And Hebrews 1, 1 through 3. It says there, God, after he spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in his Son whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom also he made the world. And he is the radiance of his glory and the exact representation of his nature and upholds all things by the word of his power. When he had made purification of sins, he sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high, having become as much better than the angels as he has inherited a more excellent name than they.
Notice what the Hebrew writer said about Christ. He said in times past, God spoke to the fathers through the prophets in many different ways. But now then in these last days, we hear a lot about the last days today.
Usually the people are talking about the signs and the coming of Christ as soon and we're in the last days and if the world is going to come to an end, the phrase in the Bible last days simply refers to the Christian age which began in Acts 2. You see there was a patriarchal age where God dealt with the fathers, the recorded in Genesis 1 through Exodus 19. And then God gave the law of Moses, his law through Moses, to the Jewish people. And that lasted from Exodus 20 to Acts 1. But beginning in Acts 2 are the last days.
It means it's the last time in which man will live on this earth before the judgment day of Christ. And so there was the patriarchal age, the mosaic age, and now then the last days which are the Christian age. And notice what he said, God after he spoke long ago to fathers in the prophets, in many portions, in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in his son.
You see, the Bible is the way Jesus speaks to us today. It is the word of Christ that we have recorded. It's unfortunate that so many people think, well, God laid this burden on my heart, or God gave me this thought.
Or Jesus appeared to me and said, no friend, the word of Christ is found in the word of God. It is through this written page that God communicates through Christ His message. Another phrase that is found to describe this book we call the Bible is he is called the Lord, the word of the Lord.
Peter said in Acts 11, verse 16, and I remember that the Lord, the word of the Lord used to say the word of the Lord. The significance of that is the word Lord. The Lord means master.
You know, in the days in which slavery existed, the master was in charge. The servant had no rights. Whatever the master said was law.
The servant couldn't argue. The servant couldn't refuse. The servant had to obey.
Think about what that says here. When we think about the Bible, the New Testament particularly, when it talks about Jesus being the Lord of our life, we are His servants. We don't have the right to argue with Him.
We don't have right to say, I'm not going to do that. We don't have the right to decide what we will do and what we won't do. The church as a whole cannot change the word of Lord.
The church as a whole must submit to the word of Lord. Too many people today struggle with submission. And so therefore they struggle with Jesus Christ being Lord of their life.
He determines how we live. He determines what we do and the way we react. And so this book is called the word of the Lord.
He's our master. We need to treat it in that way. Paul encouraged the young man Timothy and 2 Timothy 2, 15 with these words.
Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth. So the Bible is called the word of God. The Bible is called the word of Christ.
The Bible is called the word of the Lord. But here it's called the word of truth, the truth. Our world is now denying that there is absolute truth.
The world today is saying nobody has truth. And whatever you believe is your truth, whatever I believe is my truth, and it doesn't matter if they even disagree, they're both right. That doesn't make much sense does it? But the real word of truth is the word of God.
It is the truth, absolute truth. Absolute truth is that it's always true. It doesn't matter the length of time.
It doesn't matter who's involved. It doesn't matter the circumstances being discussed. God's word is the word of truth.
It also is called in Acts 14, 3, and in Acts 20, 32, the word of His grace, the word of His grace, the word of grace. I commend you to God and the word of His grace. Grace is a great word.
Grace though is confused by a lot of people. Grace to many people as well. I just hope that God's grace will come to me.
And I just hope that whatever I live and however I do that when I get to judgment, God's grace will save me. I'm sorry, friend. Grace doesn't work like that.
Notice the text says, and speaking about the word of God, the word of Christ, that it's also called the word of His grace. The word of His grace means it is the book that tells us about His grace. It is interesting to note that in Titus 2, 11, he said, for the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldly lust, we should live soberly, righteously and godly in this present age.
Notice the language that's used there. For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. We're saved by grace.
Does that mean we're all going to be saved? No. Notice the next phrase of the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us. You see, grace comes through the word of His grace.
We read about God's grace. And when we're unless we're willing to follow the word of His grace, we're not going to receive the grace from God. And so we need to understand that grace is not some mysterious thing.
Grace is not something that we will get in the day of judgment. Grace is something that we receive when we obey the gospel of grace. When we submit to God's will, you see, grace is unmerited favor.
Grace means that we get something we do not deserve. Well, none of us deserve to be saved. We're sinners.
We not only broke God's law, we broke His heart. And because of that, because He says the wages of sin is death, then we all died spiritually when we lived that life of sin. And we deserve to go to hell to be punished by the wrath of God.
But according to His grace, He saved us. That's the reason the great passage of Ephesus 2 is so wonderful and yet so often misunderstood. He said, for by grace you say through faith, and that, not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any mind should boast.
You see, He says, for the grace of God has appeared to all men. And we're not saved by our own works. He said, for by grace you say through faith, our faith comes when we trust what God has said when we believe the instruction He's given.
We have faith that God will do what He says He'll do. And so He says, for by grace you say through faith, and that, not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any mind should boast. You see, when we believe in God, we begin to trust Him.
And as we trust Him, we prove that we have faith about what we do. James said, faith without works is dead if we don't do something when we don't really have faith. And if we have faith, we can receive God's grace.
And when we receive God's grace, it's something we don't deserve, we don't earn it, and yet we are saved by grace through faith, and that, not by ourselves, we don't do it ourselves. And so as we think about this great book, we have a number of different terms that tell us something about this book. It is the Word of God as opposed to the Word of men.
It is the Word of Christ because He's the authority over the church today. It is the Word of the Lord, He's the master, we're the slave. It is the Word of truth, not opinion, not my view or you view, but God's view.
It is truth that will always be truth. And then it is the Word of grace that explains to us how we can receive the benefits God wants us to have. He would like for all of us to be saved, but all people are not going to be saved because they're not willing to obey the Word of truth or the Word of grace.
One more phrase that I want us to look at for a moment, and this is found in Philippians 2 and in verse 16. Well, let me back up and read verse 15, that might help us there. He says there, so that you will prove yourself to be blameless and innocent children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation among whom you appear as lights in the world, holding fast the Word of life.
We live in a very corrupt society. It seems that Satan is having his way. People are becoming more vile.
Language is becoming more corrupt. Scams are everywhere. Lying and cheating is a way of life for most folks.
We live in a crooked and perverse world, but the Bible is called the Word of life. It can tell us what true life is. It can give us the great spiritual life we need.
It is the only way to arrive at that heavenly shore where we can spend eternity with God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit. And so you see the word Bible doesn't really tell us too much about the book itself, but the metaphors throughout the book give us insight as to what that book is all about. It's about God's authority, Christ's authority, the Lord's authority, truth as opposed to opinion, about grace and about life itself.
Many years ago, someone wrote a great testimony about the Bible. I want to close by reading that. This book contains the mind of God, the state of man, the way of salvation, the doom of sinners, and the happiness of believers.
It's doctrines are holy. It's preceptor binding. Its histories are true and its decisions immutable.
Read it to be wise. Believe it to be safe and practice it to be holy. It contains light to direct you, food to support you, comfort to cheer you.
It's the traveler's map, the pilgrim staff, the pilot's compass, the soldier's sword, and the Christian's charter. Here, heaven is opened, and the gates of hell disclosed. Christ is its grand subject, our good its design, and the glory of God it's in.
It should fill the memory, rule the heart, and guide the feet. Read it slowly, frequently, prayerfully. It's a man of wealth, a paradise of glory, and a river of pleasure.
It's given you in life, will be open to the judgment, and will be remembered forever. It involves the highest responsibility, rewards the greatest labor, and condemns all who trifle with its holy content. This book is the Bible.
Thanks for joining us this week and spending time in God's Word. Special thanks to Mac Graham, John Kachelman, and Lightway Media for recording, producing, and making this podcast possible. If you're ever in the Littleton, New Hampshire area, we'd love to have you join us for worship and Bible study on Sunday afternoons at four at the Senior Center.
You're always welcome. For more information about this podcast, visit lightwaymedia.com slash meditating on the word and find a link there to email me to subscribe to my free weekly newsletter with more information you can use in your personal Bible study. Be sure to like, subscribe, and follow us on your favorite podcast app so that you never miss an episode.
And if today's message encourages you, share it with someone else, and consider leaving a review. It helps others find us soon. Until next week, keep meditating on the word.