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Advent Productions

Benjamin Ng

Sola Scriptura, The Scripture Alone

Thank you Lord that we have this opportunity again to open your word.

And I pray that you please guide us, lead us, and as we look into the scripture, open our hearts and our minds.

Help us to see the truth that you have hidden in there for us, that we might search out these rich gems of treasure, and that Lord, you would help us to become students of your word this day.

Guide us, O Lord, we pray now, in Jesus' name.

Let's turn our Bibles to Hebrews chapter 4 and verse 12.

This is actually the scripture text for this week's lesson.

Hebrews chapter 4 and verse 12, the Bible says, For the word of God is quick and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit and of the joints and marrow and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." Friends this word sola scriptura has been the motto of the Reformers, has been the motto of the early pioneers that went about preaching the Word of God to the whole world.

Ellen White says that these men knew what it meant to search the Scriptures.

And friends, look, we have to come back to this point in our day today where we put the Word of God above everything.

The Catholic Church has mixed Scripture with tradition, and honestly it is more tradition than Scripture today.

And many churches even today hold tradition above scripture.

If it was not the case, they would be keeping Sabbath rather than Sunday, of which there is no scriptural basis.

But the Protestant faith was based upon this 1 motto, sola scriptura, the word alone.

And that ought to be the final authority of our faith.

That should be where we base our whole belief system.

This is where every argument should be settled.

And, you know, it seems easier said than done because if that was the case, then we wouldn't have internal conflicts within the church itself, even in our own Seventh-day Adventist church where we talk about issues such as women's ordination, you know.

But where does the Bible even come in in regards to things like that?

We'll look at that today and I'm just adding my little 5 cents worth right?

But look friends, the Bible must be our final authority in everything.

Let's turn our Bibles now to 1 Corinthians 4, verses 1-6.

1 Corinthians 4, I'm looking at verses 1-6.

Some of these texts I'm taking from the Sabbath school lesson and there's some very good information in there that I want to share with you today and there's some little extra things that I want to share as well.

But 1 Corinthians 4 verse 1, look at what the Bible says.

Let a man so account of us as of ministers of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.

So as ministers, we are stewards, we are His servants, we are the ones that should be serving Him and doing faithfully the work that God has told us to do.

But then verse 2, here moreover it is required in stewards that a man be found what?

But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged of you, or of man's judgment, yea, I judge not mine own self.

For I know nothing against myself, yet, sorry I just saw the video, Are you all still there?

I just want to make sure that everything is good there But with me it is very small thing.

Oh verse 4, for I know nothing against myself Yet am I not hereby justified But he that judges me is the Lord Wherefore judge nothing before the time until the Lord come, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and make manifest the counsels of the heart.

And then shall each man have his praise from God." You know what was happening in the Church of Corinth?

There was problems between, not Peter and Apollos and Paul, but the people were choosing sides.

People were choosing sides between, oh, I'm a follower of Paul.

Oh, no, no, no, I'm a follower of so-and-so and whoever converted them, I guess, that's where they became that follower.

So people are choosing sides and in some days even here you find people that like to quote other people, isn't it?

And we like to quote the famous speakers in our Adventist church all the way from our GC president down to the smallest of persons.

And this is where verse 6 then becomes really important in 1 Corinthians chapter 4.

Now, these things brethren I have in a figure transferred to myself and Apollos for your sakes, that in us you might learn not to go beyond the things which are written, that no 1 of you be puffed up for the 1 against the other.

Look, when it came to who you were choosing, Paulus and I, we are 1.

We have not gone beyond the things that have been written, Paul says.

And we don't have anything of what Apollos ever wrote, but we have much of what Paul said.

And of course, he was definitely called to be a prophet, but yet he says, Apollos and I, we're not divided.

And so friends, from Genesis all the way to Revelation, we can depend upon the Word of God.

And we ought to, for our final authority in everything.

We must never go beyond what is written in the Bible.

You know, I've heard so many people say, you know, somewhere in the Bible, I don't know where, but somewhere in the Bible it says this, and I remember reading it, and you know, Pastor Noah, I'm not lying, trust me, you know, this is really what I read.

But Friends, we ought to be careful when we quote the Bible.

It all began in the Garden of Eden when Eve misquoted God.

God only said, don't eat, and the day you eat thereof you will surely die, but if you touch it, she said, you will also die.

We ought to be careful that we don't go beyond what is actually written there.

Now look, it does not mean that you just read the Bible and the Bible alone.

There are tools that we can use to help us to understand certain texts and many texts.

Resources such as lexicons and dictionaries, which gives us meaning of names, concordances, and other books and other commentaries.

There's nothing wrong with reading that, except that it is meant to enhance our understanding of what the Bible is actually saying.

So we must make sure we don't add to what the Bible is saying and we don't take away from it what is written there already.

Revelation 22 verses 18 and 19, the very last chapter, the very last chapter.

I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book.

If any man shall add unto them, God shall add unto him, what?

The plagues that are written in this book.

And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the tree of life and out of the holy city which are written in this book." So, you know, we can localize that to the book of Revelation, But really it applies to the whole Bible.

Be careful, don't add to it the things that are not written there or else God says he'll add to you the plagues and be careful not to take out from it what is already there or else God will take out from us our names from the Book of Life.

So friends, we got to stick by every word.

And You know, I think that it's really important, friends.

I believe that every Christian, every Seventh-day Adventist should get a concordance.

Strong's concordance or Cruden's Concordance.

There are 2 versions of the Concordances out there.

Crudence was the 1 that many people, our pioneers, used and they went around with the Bible under 1 arm and the Crudence Concordance under the other arm and they went and preached the gospel to the whole world.

Friends, if you don't own a concordance yet, you need to buy 1.

Friends, this is where Sabbath school becomes important.

This is where the study of the Word of God becomes really important to us, to help us to understand.

Not that you can't understand at all, but friends, there are certain tools that God has given to us and blessed us with in this day and age.

And I wanna show you the importance of having a concordance and that you don't rely on people to give you interpretations and meanings and applications and understandings of the Bible.

Let's turn the Bibles to Daniel chapter 8 and verse 11.

I want to show you why you should buy a concordance.

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Sola Scriptura, The Scripture Alone

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