First Reading: Ecclesiastes 5:10-20
10He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income; this also is vanity. 11When goods increase, they increase who eat them, and what advantage has their owner but to see them with his eyes? 12Sweet is the sleep of a laborer, whether he eats little or much, but the full stomach of the rich will not let him sleep. 13There is a grievous evil that I have seen under the sun: riches were kept by their owner to his hurt, 14and those riches were lost in a bad venture. And he is father of a son, but he has nothing in his hand. 15As he came from his mother’s womb he shall go again, naked as he came, and shall take nothing for his toil that he may carry away in his hand. 16This also is a grievous evil: just as he came, so shall he go, and what gain is there to him who toils for the wind? 17Moreover, all his days he eats in darkness in much vexation and sickness and anger. 18Behold, what I have seen to be good and fitting is to eat and drink and find enjoyment in all the toil with which one toils under the sun the few days of his life that God has given him, for this is his lot. 19Everyone also to whom God has given wealth and possessions and power to enjoy them, and to accept his lot and rejoice in his toil — this is the gift of God. 20For he will not much remember the days of his life because God keeps him occupied with joy in his heart.
Psalm 119:9-16
9How shall a young man cleanse his way? By keeping to your words. 10With my whole heart I seek you; let me not stray from your commandments. 11I treasure your promise in my heart, that I may not sin against you. 12Blessed are you, O Lord; instruct me in your statutes. 13With my lips will I recite all the judgments of your mouth. 14I have taken greater delight in the way of your decrees than in all manner of riches. 15I will meditate on your commandments and give attention to your ways. 16My delight is in your statutes; I will not forget your word.
Second Reading: Hebrews 4:1-16
1Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us fear lest any of you should seem to have failed to reach it. 2For good news came to us just as to them, but the message they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united by faith with those who listened. 3For we who have believed enter that rest, as he has said, “As I swore in my wrath, ‘They shall not enter my rest,’” although his works were finished from the foundation of the world. 4For he has somewhere spoken of the seventh day in this way: “And God rested on the seventh day from all his works.” 5And again in this passage he said, “They shall not enter my rest.” 6Since therefore it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly received the good news failed to enter because of disobedience, 7again he appoints a certain day, “Today,” saying through David so long afterward, in the words already quoted, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.” 8For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken of another day later on. 9So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, 10for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his. 11Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience. 12For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 13And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account. 14Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
Gospel: Mark 10:23-31
23Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” 24And the disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said to them again, “Children, how difficult it is to enter the kingdom of God! 25It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” 26And they were exceedingly astonished, and said to him, “Then who can be saved?” 27Jesus looked at them and said, “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.” 28Peter began to say to him, “See, we have left everything and followed you.” 29Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, 30who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life. 31But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”
The Sword of the Lord
Let me describe a written document and see if you can guess the book: This book contains the mind of God, the state of man, the way of salvation, the doom of sinners, and the happiness of believers. Its doctrines are holy, its precepts are binding, its histories are true, and its decisions are immutable. Read it to be wise, believe it to be saved, and practice it to be holy. It contains light to direct you, food to support you, and comfort to cheer you. It’s the traveler’s map, the pilgrim’s staff, the pilot’s compass, the soldier’s sword, and the Christian’s charter. Here paradise is restored, heaven opened, and the gates of hell disclosed.
Jesus, God’s Son, is this book’s grand object, our good its design, and the might and glory of God its beginning and end. It should fill our memory, rule our heart, and guide our feet. It should be studied carefully, frequently, and prayerfully. It is a resource of wealth, a paradise of glory, and a river of pleasure. It is given you in life, will be opened in judgment, and be remembered forever. It involves the highest responsibility, will reward the greatest labor, and will condemn all who trifle with its sacred contents. There’s only one book in this world that fits that description. It’s the book we read from each Sunday and is known all over the world as?, the Bible.
Various metaphors have been used to describe God’s word. Jesus said God’s word is like a seed that grows. The prophet Isaiah said God’s word is like a hammer that breaks, and a fire that burns. But here we’re told the Bible is like a sword that cuts. Ephesians 6:17 says, “take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” The Bible is a sword, the sword of the Lord. Our Hebrews reading tells us about the wonder, the wisdom, and the work of this, the greatest of all books. We’re told in no uncertain terms what the Bible is, what the Bible does, and why the Bible is unlike any other book that has ever been written.
If anyone were to ask what the Bible is, you could quickly turn to verse 12 of our Second Reading, it is “the word of God.” We know that it was divinely inspired, and even though the Bible was penned by 40 different writers, who wrote 66 different books over a period of 1600 years, it has only one author – GOD. Nowhere does the Bible ever claim to be the words of man, it claims to be the word of God. Someone once made this very astute observation about the Bible: I know man didn’t write this Book. A good man wouldn’t have written it because it claims to be from God, and a good man wouldn’t make a false claim. A bad man would not have written the Bible because it condemns his own evil, therefore, it must be written by God!
Over 310 times you’ll find in the Bible these phrases: “the word of God”, or “the word of the Lord.” In the Old Testament alone, phrases like “God said”, “God spoke”, and “the word of the Lord came” occur nearly 4000 times, 700 times in the first five books, 40 times in one chapter. Apparently, the phrase “the word of God” is God’s favorite term for his book. Thus, when the Bible speaks, it’s God voice.
For those who would dispute that the Bible is God’s holy word, they will subtly suggest that “the Bible contains the word of God”, or “it functions as the word of God”, or “it becomes the word of God in our existential experience.” The problem with all these suggestions is they are patently wrong. The Bible does not just contain the word of God, or just function as the word of God, or become the word of God as we observe it, it is the word of God. And because the Bible is the word of God, it is, therefore, inspired.
Paul writing to Timothy clearly states this fact: “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God” (II Timothy 3:16). Now if the Bible is inspired, then it must be inerrant, for God would never inspire error. If the Bible is inerrant, then it must be infallible, for God never lies nor does He make a mistake. Because God never changes, His word never changes, therefore it must be immutable. And there is only one book that could meet all four of these criteria, and that is the word of God. Now we must be careful and clear here.
There are scholars who will point to various parts of the Bible and claim that there are historical errors or grammatical errors, or that parts of the Bible are simply works of fiction. The problem isn’t the Bible itself, but it’s interpretation by sinful and fallible human beings. Anytime we find something that seems to be a mistake or implausible, the difficulty lies with us, not God’s word and we need to keep digging and studying. The Holy Spirit will reveal the truth to those who seek the truth. The official teaching of the NALC can be found in the Book of Concord.
The official teaching of the Lutheran Confessions on the Bible can be found in the Formula of Concord in the opening sections of the Epitome and Solid Declaration: “We believe, teach and confess that the only rule and guiding principle according to which all teachings and teachers are to be evaluated and judged are the prophetic and apostolic writings of the Old and New Testaments alone, as it is written, “Your word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path” (Ps. 119:105), and St. Paul wrote, “If an angel from heaven should proclaim to you something contrary…let that one be accursed!” (Gal. 1:8).
This is why we believe, teach and proclaim that the Bible is inspired by God. It therefore is inerrant and infallible, thus a trustworthy book. And because it is immutable, it is a timeless book. This is a book that was authored by God the Father, approved by God the Son, and activated by God the Holy Spirit. And because it is the word of God, the Bible possesses two characteristics you would expect from God’s word: it is Alive and it is Active.
Again, the writer of Hebrews tells us that “The word of God is living” (v.12). The Greek word for living is the word that gives us our word “zoology.” This book pulsates with life. If you cut it, it will bleed with the blood of Jesus. If you listen to it, it will tell you supernatural truths beyond all of the sages of all times. If you believe it, it will show you how to rid your soul of sin. It will fill your soul with joy, your spirit with life, your mind with truth, and your heart with wisdom. No other book ever written has life, and no other book ever written gives life.
Jesus said in John 6:63, “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.” The Bible is a living book because it is about a living Lord. When we open the pages of the Bible, Jesus will step right off the pages into your heart. As the hymnist so eloquently penned, He will ‘walk with you and talk with you, and tell you that you are his own’ (I Come to the Garden Alone, C. Austin Milles, 1913).
God breathed into man and man became a living soul. God breathed into this book and this book became a living book. The Greek word for inspired literally means “breathed out.” The same breath that gave life to man and the same breath or wind that the crowd heard on the Day of Pentecost, is the same breath that gives life to the Bible. God is not the God of the dead; He is the God of the living (Mark 12:27). Our Heavenly Father is the living God, and a living God gives us living words.
The participle, living, is in the present tense which denotes continuous action. In other words, literally translated it says, “the word of God is continuously and always living. Through the centuries the enemies of God have tried to kill the Bible, and at times they thought they had “buried” the Bible. But the Bible has a habit of coming back to life and outliving the pallbearers. “Despised and torn in pieces by infidels decried; The thunderbolts of hatred, the haughty cynics pride; All these have railed against it in this and other lands; Yet dynasties have fallen and still the Bible stands.” Despite being thousands of years old, it’s still the world’s all-time best selling and most widely distributed book. Between 1815 and 1975 over 2.5 billion copies were sold. The highest price ever paid for a printed book is $5.39 million for an Old Testament, a Gutenberg Bible that was hand copied in 1455. The Bible is alive and timeless. It breaths life into those who read it. Second, the writer of Hebrews says the Bible is active.
The word of God is both active and “powerful.” The Greek word energes gives us our English word “energy.” It’s a word that literally means “activity that produces results.” It comes from two Greek words: the word en, which means “at”, and the word ergo, which means “work.” So together it literally means “at work.” The word of God is always at work in those who hear it and study it. The power of the Bible is almost indescribable, yet it is also undeniable.
Think for just a moment of how powerful, energizing, and activating God’s word really is. There was a time when there was no universe. Then God spoke and instantly stars began to twinkle, suns began to shine, the waves began to roll, planets began to spin on their axis and rotate in their orbits. Or consider the miracles of Jesus. All He had to do was speak and diseases were cured, storms were quieted, and dead men came back to life. When Stephen preached the word of God, the Bible says that, “When they heard these things they were cut to the heart” (Acts 7:54). The Bible also has the power to convert.
We all know we’re saved by grace through faith. Romans 10:17 says, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” It has cleansing power. Jesus said in John 15:3, “You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.” It has conquering power. The Bible tells us that when Jesus returns and faces the devil, all of his demons, and the armies of this world, He’s only going to have one weapon. In Revelations 19:15 we read, “Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations.” That sword is the sword of the Lord, the word of God.
The Bible here is compared to a sword. This sword is used by the Holy Spirit to accomplish four objectives: first, it explores the soul. The word is “sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow” (v.12). Our Great Physician is like a skilled surgeon with a sharp scalpel. The smallest cutting devices ever made are glass micropipette tubes used in intercellular work on living cells. These glass knives are sixty-five times thinner than the human hair. Yet, the word of God still cuts finer and deeper. The word of God can divide soul and spirit.
The spirit is the deepest part of a human, this is what separates us from plants and animals. Plants have a body, animals have a body and mind, but only humankind has a body, a mind, and a spirit; and the word of God can penetrate to the deepest level and divide that mind from that spirit. It can show us instantaneously that we may be emotionally and intellectually alive in our mind, but totally dead in our spirit. The word of God has the ability to exam the spirit.
God’s word can “discern the thoughts and intents of the heart” (v. 12). In other words, this book can not only tell you what you do, it can tell you why you do it. The Bible cannot only get under your skin, it can get into our heart. The word discern here is the Greek word kritikos, which gives us our English word “critic.” The Bible is a critic. It also has the power to expose the sinner.
Starting in verse 13 we read, “And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.” God penetrates our hearts with His word and lays us open before His eyes. The word “open” literally means “put a knife to the throat.” This word was used of criminals who were being led to trial or execution, and often a soldier would hold the point of a dagger under the criminal’s chin to force him to hold his head high so he would have to look into the gaze of the judge instead of dropping his head. Likewise, the Bible is a sword that causes us to look God square in the eyes and face the reality of who and what we really are. Thankfully the Bible also has the power to expel sin.
There’s one gigantic difference between a spiritual sword and a physical sword. A physical sword cuts living people to make them dead; but this spiritual sword cuts dead people to make them live. God’s word is not only able to divide and discern, it’s also able to deliver. There isn’t a heart so hard that the sword of the Spirit cannot pierce and penetrate that heart and bring that heart to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. George Whitfield, the great Eighteenth-Century evangelist, was hounded by a group of detractors who called themselves the “Hellfire Club.” They mocked him, they laughed at him, they derided his work, they made fun of his preaching.
On one occasion, one of their ring leaders, a young man named Thorpe, was mimicking Whitfield, making fun of him. He was actually delivering one of his sermons with brilliant accuracy, perfectly imitating his tone and his facial expressions. The whole bunch were laughing, having a wonderful time. Then all of a sudden, a strange thing happened. As this young man, Thorpe, was preaching Whitfield’s sermon, his lips began to quiver, his eyes began to water, the color drained right out of his face; his friends didn’t know what was going on. They thought he was getting sick. But, in reality, he was getting well. All of a sudden, Thorp sat down on the ground and cried out to God and asked Jesus to save him. Thorpe went on to become a prominent Christian leader in the city of Bristol.
The sword of the Lord is indeed sharp, living, and powerful. It can cut the sin out of our heart. It can cut for you the Bread of life. But it is a two-edged sword. It can cut you and kill you, or it can cut you and heal you. The Bible is the word of God that reveals for us God’s Word, Jesus Christ who said, I came that they might have life and have it abundantly (John 10:10b).
Amen
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