Hebrews 4:12-13
It is by the Word of God, specifically by the preaching of the Word, the preaching of the Gospel, that God saves his elect and instructs, directs, and comforts his saints. It is “the power of God unto salvation” to all who believe (Rom. 1:16-17; 10:17; 1 Cor. 1:21-23; James 1:18; 1 Pet. 23-25). It is trough the ministry of the Word that the Lord God gives consolation and hope to his people and perfects his church (Rom. 15:4; Eph. 4:11-16).
Divinely
Ordained Instrumentality
I realize that there are many who object to the fact that this Book declares plainly that God saves sinners only by the preaching of the gospel. They tell us that such doctrine limits God's sovereignty. But the teachings of Scripture in these, and many other passages, are crystal clear. – God has sovereignly ordained the salvation of his elect; and he has sovereignly ordained the means by which he will save them. He chose us “unto salvation through the sanctification (regenerating grace and effectual call) of the Spirit and belief of the truth” (2 Thess. 2:13). That puts the matter beyond dispute. It is not a debatable issue.
If God has purposed something, he has purposed all the means necessary for its accomplishment. Why does the farmer till his ground and sow his seed? He knows he cannot cause seed to vegetate and grow. But he also knows that if God gives the increase, it will be through the instrumentality of these means, and that it is only in the use of these means that he can hope to receive the increase.
We know that the means used (gospel preachers) to effect the salvation of God's elect are, in themselves, utterly powerless unless God makes their labors effectual by the power of his Spirit. What encouragement was there for the prophet Ezekiel to prophesy to the dry bones except this -- God had determined in connection with his preaching to give them life. What encouragement do we have to preach the gospel of Christ to those who are dead in trespasses and sins except this: -- God has determined to give efficacy to the Word of His grace.
God has a chosen people in this world; and, as the gospel is the appointed means for effecting the salvation of his chosen, he will send it to those whom he has purposed to save. God had much people in Corinth. Therefore, he sent Paul there to preach the gospel. And by the Word preached, chosen, redeemed sinners were born again and granted faith in Christ.
A
Matter of Great Importance
This is a matter of tremendous importance. God saves his people by the Word of the Gospel. Yes, it is the gospel preached, "By which ye are saved.” (1 Cor. 15:3; Eph. 1:13). It is the naked, unadorned Word of God, plainly preached, by which Satan is conquered, dead sinners are brought to life, and our thoughts and imaginations are brought into captivity to Christ. The Book of God, and the Book of God alone, is our weapon of warfare (2 Cor. 10:3-5).
Let us never be so foolishly unbelieving that we try to make the Word of God relevant. The fact of its existence makes it relevant! It is utter unbelief, which compels preachers, churches, and religious people to try, by varying methods, to make the gospel effectual. It is God the Holy Spirit alone who makes the gospel effectual. Our responsibility, our only responsibility, our enormous responsibility, is to make the gospel known in the generation in which we live. “The power of God unto salvation” is not religious programming, religious entertainment, religious activity, or learned methods of evangelism. It is the gospel itself which “is the power of God unto salvation.” Let us then be found faithful in preaching it, for Christ’s sake.
The
Design of the Word
Hebrews 4:13 shows us that the Word of God is designed to strip us naked
before God. -- “Neither is there any creature that is not
manifest in his sight: but all things [are] naked and opened unto the eyes of
him with whom we have to do.”
Christ, our Lord, is the omniscient God. Nothing is hidden from him. By his Word, he strips us naked, and lays us open, exposing the thoughts and intents of the heart. Believers, like Peter even in the teeth of his terrible sin, find great comfort in the fact that, he who is our Lord and Savior knows all things. Unbelieving religious hypocrites tremble at the thought of Christ’s absolute omniscience.
Let us ever reverence the Bible as the Word of God. Let us ever come to the Scriptures for quickening for our own souls. This is our souls’ bread. Here we find waters of life for the refreshing of our souls. Here are green pastures in which Christ’s sheep may both feed and lay down. It is by taking heed to the Word of God that we cleanse our ways. It is by hiding God’s Word in our hearts that we check the evil that is in us by nature.
If we truly reverence the Bible as the Word of God, the Bible alone must determine both our faith and our practice. Let others say what they will about the matter, that man, that church, that denomination has a true, absolutely orthodox creed, whose only creed is the Word of God.
Let us
reverence the Bible as the Word of God by praying continually that God will
make his Word effectual wherever it is faithfully preached (2 Thess. 3:1).