John 20:30-31, Romans 1:16-17

The Bible is the absolute standard in our life of faith. If we are away from the Bible, we transgress and distance ourselves from God. We have never met Adam, the first forefather of mankind, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, or Joseph in person. We know them through the Bible. How can we not read the Bible, while we claim that we believe in Jesus? We need to read the Bible every day. Wherever we go, we must have the Bible with us. Not reading the Bible is a sin. If we do not read the Bible and do not pray through the Bible, then we are not Christians. Since we get to know Jesus only through the Bible, how can we know and believe Him without reading the Bible?

Since the fall of Adam until now, so many impostors, thieves, and tyrants have tried to destroy the Bible. The North Korean Communists, too, have committed unspeakable evil acts in attempt to get rid of the Bible. Through such afflictions and contempt the Bible came into our hands today. That is why we receive God’s grace whenever we read the Bible. We can never say that we haven’t received His grace because we receive His grace whenever we read the Bible.



People who say that the Old Testament is needless

The Bible consists of 66 books, which together comprise one book. From the very first book of Genesis to the last book of Revelations, all these books consistently run through the plan and fulfillment of redemption, with Jesus Christ at its center. The Bible is the quintessence of God’s special revelation. It has no impurities mixed in it. The Bible consists of the Old Testament and New Testament. However, some theologians claim that we don’t need the Old Testament in modern day. They make absurd statements such as the Old Testament is no longer authoritative or useful, and therefore we can remove it as if cutting it out with a knife. Some preachers say that people of the 21st century will not come to church if the Old Testament is preached.

But, that’s not true. The Old Testament is the word of living God and the truth that never changes.
Without the Old Testament, how could we know the history of the creation of the universe or how sin permeated into mankind?
It is said, “Then what advantage has the Jew? Or what is the benefit of circumcision? Great in every respect.
First of all, that they were entrusted with the oracles of God. What then? If some did not believe, their unbelief will not nullify the faithfulness of God, will it? May it never be! Rather, let God be found true, though every man be found a liar, as it is written, ‘That you may be justified in your words, and prevail when you are judged’” (Romans 3:1-4). This means that God entrusted His words to the Jews.
If they didn’t need the Old Testament, why would God say that He entrusted His words to them? The Old Testament is the Word that God spoke to our forefathers (Hebrews 1:1). The scriptures that people of Berea received with great eagerness and examined daily was the Old Testament (Acts 17:11). When Jesus came to this world, He quoted from the verses in the Old Testament. Jesus regarded the Old Testament of great importance.

“Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill.
For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished” (Matthew 5:17-18).

Without the Old Testament, there is no other way through which we can know Jesus. This is because the Old Testament testifies Jesus. Abandoning the Old Testament is abandoning Jesus (Luke 24:44, 24:25-27). Everything from how Jesus was betrayed to even how He died on the cross are all prophesied in the Old Testament.

“You search the scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me” (John 5:39).

Whenever Jesus quoted from the Old Testament, He said “It is written” (Matthew 4:4, 7, 10). To those who forgot the writings of the Old Testament, He rebuked severely by saying, “Have you not read what was spoken to you by God” (Matthew 22:32, Mark 12:11, 12:26). Because the religious leaders, priests, scribes, Pharisees and elders in Jesus’ time thought man’s teachings were more important, they did not understand the Old Testament accurately. Jesus corrected their misunderstandings about the Old Testament (Matthew 22:23-33).

The purpose why God gave us the Bible is to make us believe
without seeing.

Thomas who liked to believe with a man’s reasoning and wisdom said, “Unless I see in His hands the imprint of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.” Finally Jesus came to Thomas in presence of all the disciples and said, “Reach here with your finger, and see My hands; and reach here your hand and put it into My side” (John 20:24-29).
Then, Thomas utterly confessed his faith: “My Lord and my God!”
When He heard this, Jesus said, “Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed.”

We have not seen Jesus in person, either. But through the Bible we have heard about Jesus, and through the Bible we have touched the cross. So, please believe that all of us who believe without seeing are truly blessed. After witnessing the incident of Thomas, Apostle John wrote: “These have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name”(John 20:31).

This is the very purpose why God wrote the Bible. Because God felt pity toward men, who are full of doubts and act smart before Him and are thus condemned to death on the final judgment day, He wanted to give us the faith through the Bible. The faith only comes from hearing the words of Jesus (Galatians 3:5, Romans 10:17). There is no other way. And that is why one who reads the words of the Bible and heed the things that are written in it is blessed (Revelations 1:3). Through the Bible we get to know God, and learn that God sent His Son Jesus who is without sin to save us from our sins. Therefore, the very moment of we believe in Jesus we are pronounced “righteous” (Romans 4:3).



We must resolve our sins through the Bible.

If we don’t resolve our sins through the Bible, nothing will work for us. If we have sins, we perish.
That is God’s law (Jobs 4:7). We must repent our sins. When we believe in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth and repent, our sins will be cleansed and heaven will come near. We must get rid of our sins with the sword of His Words (Hebrew 4:12). God’s word is living. It is active. That is the reason why people who received the Word go out to do God’s Work. They spread God’s Word to the ones who do not know Him. Even if they are beaten, go hungry, or lose their lives, they spread the Word with the unwavering determination and the spirit of martyrdom. They cannot sit still. Those who do not do the work of God are so because they have not received the Word nor understood it: “For the word of God pierces as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Hebrew 4:12).

The Word overthrows all of our sins. The Word and Holy Spirit recreate our entire character, our spirit and body. Thus only with the Word we can find true happiness. Without the Word, husband, wife, sons and daughters can never be our true happiness. However, once we receive the Word in our hearts, our husband, wife, sons and daughters will then begin to look wonderful and elegant. Sons and daughters become blessings, fruits of life, and joy. Without the Word, nothing in the world is valuable. Only the Bible can teach us about God’s existence, history, creation, sovereignty, providence, redemption, judgment, salvation, and eternal life. The Bible is the mirror to see them all.

Just as we wash our faces and look at ourselves into the mirror every morning, we can see ourselves through the Bible. Those who do not read the Bible are not sane. I am 86 years old, but I read the Bible till three to four in the morning and prepare sermons with the health God granted me. For more than 40 years, I have been living a life of reading the Bible over three hours and praying over two hours every day. Because I believe that we die if we do not read the Bible, I have been able to keep the practice without skipping a day.
We must receive the gift of the Holy Spirit and the grace of prayer through the Bible. The Bible has the gold mine with unlimited and abundant mineral veins hidden inside. It is the bonanza! We need to read it over and over again.

The Bible is a book through which we learn about the eternal life.

“These have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name” (John 20:31).
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16).
“And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).

Our permanent home is the kingdom of God. Our staple food is the Word of God. The souls of mankind once died because of Adam’s fall, but they regained a new life by believing the resurrection of Jesus. There is nothing more important and amazing than this. Even if you possess the whole world, it is meaningless if your soul is not saved (Matthew 16:26, Mark 8:36).
If we were without sins, then we would be immortal. We were made to eat from the fruit of life every day. There were the tree of life and the tree of knowledge of good and evil in the middle of Garden of Eden. God said that the person who eats from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil would surely die, but it was not so with the tree of life. The tree of life yields its fruit every month (Revelation 22:2).
We must eat from the tree of life every day and every hour. The food for our body only fills our stomach but the fruit of the tree of life gives us wisdom, knowledge, and understanding every minute and hour so we can see God’s will in us.
In this way, we are made to live with God eternally. We need to read and believe the Bible every day.
Jesus is the Bread of Life (John 6:48). Jesus said, “If anyone keeps My word he will never see death” (John 8:51).

The one and only Son of Man, Jesus took all the sins of mankind and died a tragic death on the cross. He died because of our sin and instead He gave us the eternal life (Romans 8:3-4). If a person sends a bag of rice to you when your household has perished and goes hungry, then you will never forget his favor.
How much more grateful should we be then, when Jesus Christ saved our souls, which were destined to death forever? That is the reason why we must read the Bible.
Only when we drive out what is inside us, we can read the Bible. And the pride of this life and uncertain riches (1 Timothy 6:17) will all disappear. However, there is no sorrow in the rich given by God (Proverbs 10:22). The money not granted by God only brings fights and worries. But when we read the Bible, God grants us the riches with no worries.

Only the Bible!

This year marks the 505th anniversary of the Religious Reform. During the Middle Age, as priests did not properly teach the Bible for over 1,000 years, people’s souls were wandering in the darkness. On October 31, 1517 AD, a young Roman Catholic priest Martin Luther was climbing up on his knees high stairwell when something like a lightning passed through his head: “We are saved not by works but only by faith”(Romans 1:16-17). From this point on, Luther staged the religious reform movement by calling out “Let’s return to the Bible,” under the motto of “Only the Bible, only faith, only grace”
because he realized that we can have faith only through the Bible. Jesus commanded, “Until I come, give attention to the public reading of scripture, to exhortation and teaching” (1Timothy 4:13). In the Common Translation Version, it says “Make effort in teaching.” In Modern Bible, it is translated as “Please read the Bible diligently and encourage one another.” To give attention means “to stick” and “to think.” In Greek, the word means “to pay attention,” “to concentrate,” “to think carefully,” or “to keep focusing actively.”



The Bible is a book that testifies Jesus, the administration of mystery hidden for many ages and generations (Colossians 1:26, Romans 16:25-26, Colossians 2:2, Ephesians 1:9).
That is why we must only believe in the Bible. The Bible does not have any blemish or flaws.
It is infallible. The divine authority of the Bible is in itself. The Bible interprets itself. Therefore, the faith of reformists cries out “only the Bible.” We should preach only with the Bible. We can preach correctly only when we experience the power of the Holy Spirit and pray through the Bible.
Nothing can be done without the Bible. When we read the Bible, the work of the Holy Spirit will certainly take place. The Bible is a revelation about Jesus Christ, who is our only object of worship. Only Jesus Christ is the precept of our reformation. The only way that our family can be reformed and happy is to return to the Bible. I pray in the name of the Lord that God grants us the faith to believe only the Word and to live the life of eating and drinking only by the Word.
No matter what others say, we must believe in the Word of God only. The Bible is our salvation. It takes care of us. Whether you sleep or awake, drink or eat, I bless you in the name of the Lord that you cherish the Bible only at any cost.

December 2, 2012, Lord’s Day 2nd Service Sermon