Calvary Road Baptist Church

“THE TIMELESS TRUTH OF SCRIPTURE” Part 1

Psalm 119.105

Psalm 119.105 declares, “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” We understand the Word of God to be the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testament. We further believe the Word of God this verse refers to to be the verbally and plenary inspired Word of God. The Scriptures are inerrant, infallible, and God-breathed, and therefore are the final authority for faith and life. The sixty-six books of the Old and New Testament are the complete and divine revelation of God to Man.

As to the character of God’s Word, the Lord Jesus Christ spoke to that issue in His high priestly intercessory prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane the night before His crucifixion. Praying not only for His disciples that night, but also for those who over the centuries would become His disciples, the Savior uttered these words to His heavenly Father, in John chapter 17:

 

14     I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.

15     I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.

16     They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.

17     Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.

 

You will notice that my Lord characterized the Word of God when praying to His heavenly Father as “thy word,” for the Word of God is in every sense of the word the possession, the property, and the proclamation of God Himself. However, that is not all the Lord Jesus said about the Bible. In addition to characterizing it as His Word, Jesus also declared “thy word is truth.” My friend, that is a statement of absolute and objective fact. God’s Word, the Holy Scriptures, is truth.

I want to briefly speak to you this morning about the timeless truth of scripture, by dealing with some universal and unchanging notions about truth and showing from that the timelessness of scriptural truth:

 

First, TRUTH IS NOT DEPENDENT UPON TIME

 

Allow me to take an extremely simple truth as an example of truth not being dependent upon time. None of you here has any problem with basic arithmetic, so consider one of the simplest truths known to man, that two plus two equals four.

Is there anyone in the room who would deny that two plus two equals four? Good. Two plus two equals four at present. However, a question arises that we must address: Does the truth that two plus two equals four depend upon time? That is to say, is two plus two equal to four very early in the morning, as well as late in the afternoon? Yes. Is two plus two not equal to four at some time depending upon the time? No. Two plus two is always, no matter the time, equal to four. Thus, it is a reality so obvious that no proof is needed that two plus two is equal to four, and that two plus two is always equal to four, independent of time.

Ask yourself this question: Why is two plus two equal to four independent of time? Two plus two is equal to four independent of time because two plus to equal four is truth, and truth is not dependent upon time. Two plus two does not vary with time, but is always equal to four. Why so? Because it is true that two plus two equals four, and what is true is always true, no matter the time. By the way, truth is always true, and truth is never dependent upon time, whether the truth be two plus two equals four or any other truth.

 

Next, TRUTH DOES NOT CHANGE WITH TIME

 

What say we use our simple arithmetic equation again? Two plus two equals four. We know two plus two equals four never changes over the time of day, being the same early in the morning, during the day, and late at night. As well, two plus two equals four is always the same geographically, with two plus two always being four, whether you are in Bolivia or Belize, England or Argentina, Russia or Romania. However, has two plus two always been equal to four over vast stretches of time? We certainly know that two plus two equals four on June 1, 2008, but was two plus two equal to four in Christ’s day, in Moses’ day, in Abraham’s day, or even in Adam’s day?

Of course, the answer to that question is also a resounding yes. Such is the nature of truth that what is true today was also true long ago, and what was true long ago will also be true in the distant future. Two plus two has always been equal to four, is equal to four now, and will always be equal to four. Though you may think this is far too simple a train of thought to be true, let me assure you that such is the character of truth. It is always true. As well, all truth is always true. There is no truth that is not always true. Therefore, we are not limited to understanding that only two plus two equals four is always true. All truth is always true. To state it another way, all truth is timeless. It is not dependent upon time and neither does it change over time.

 

Third, THE TRUTH OF SCRIPTURE IS TIMELESS TRUTH

 

We know that two plus to equals four is true. If two plus two is not equal to four, or if there is ever a situation in which two plus two does not equal four, now or in the future, or anywhere in the universe, then computers would never work, technology would not be possible, and we could only live primitive lives digging for roots and grubs. However, computers do work, technology is more than possible (it is a reality), and the only people on earth who subsist by digging for roots and grubs are those newly discovered Amazon basin tribesmen who have never seen the obvious-to-us truth that two plus two always equals four.

However, two plus two equals four is not the only timeless truth known to man. There are many other timeless truths upon which we depend, and not one of those timeless truths is dependent upon time or changes over time. However, there is one timeless truth that many people these days desperately want to no longer be true; the Bible.

Jesus declared, “thy word is truth,” when praying to His Father. Before He uttered those words to His heavenly Father, He declared these words to His apostles: “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” Therefore, Jesus first said that He was the truth, and then He truthfully declared that God’s Word is true.

Hold on a second! Truth never changes. Truth is not dependent upon time. Does this not pose a problem? Not really, for you see, Hebrews 13.8 declares, “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever,” and Psalm 119.89 tells us, “For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven,” with the Hebrew word translating “settled” having to do with being firmly fixed.[1]

So, you see, just as two plus two equals, has always equaled, and will always equal four, because two plus two equals four is a truth that is timeless, so the truth of scripture is timeless, because all real truth is timeless.

 

Do you have any idea what this means? It means the Bible was not just true 2,000 years ago, while no longer being true in our day. It means, you cannot say that what the Bible declared centuries ago is no longer valid in our day. My friends, truth simply does not work that way. As two plus two has always equaled four, as hydrogen and oxygen have always combined to form water, as gravity always pulls in proportion to the mass of the objects that attract and never pushes, so the Bible is always true, and Scriptural truth is timeless. This means that it always applies, is always true, and is ever real.

What are the implications of the timeless truth of scripture? There are several: The soul that sins shall still surely die. The wages of sin is still death. Our God is still a consuming fire who is angry with the wicked every day. As well, when the Lord Jesus Christ returns He will still in flaming fire take vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. And the unsaved will still be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power.

You might think to yourself, “But things are changing all the time. Surely, those things can’t still be true.” Keep in mind that although many things certainly do change, truth never changes. Therefore, while you see your whole world constantly changing, the truths that reality is founded on never have changed, and never will.

You will still pay for your sins. You will still die someday. A holy God will still hold you accountable. You will still stand in judgment on the last day. You will still suffer endless punishment should you die rejecting Jesus Christ.

However, that is not the only truth that bears on your eternal destiny. It is also true that Jesus saves sinners from their sins. It is true that He saves to the uttermost those who come to God by Him. It is true that He forgives and cleanses. And it is true that once you are His, He will never leave you nor forsake you.

Keep in mind that there really is a devil, who is the master of lies and has been a liar from the beginning. Everything he does is somehow connected to confusing and deceiving people into thinking true things that are actually false and thinking false things that are actually true.

It is a satanic lie that the Bible is not timeless true that is as applicable today as it has ever been. I have shown you with a very simple example that truth is not dependent upon time, and that truth does not change over time. Two plus two is and always has been (and will always be) equal to four. Why so? It is true.

For exactly the same reason, the Bible is as applicable now as it has ever been, and it will always be applicable, because it is true. God, Who cannot lie, wrote it and it is settled forever.

Therefore, waver no longer. Hesitate no longer. Obey the timeless truth of scripture and come to Christ.



[1] John Joseph Owens, Analytical Key to the Old Testament, Volume 3, (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1989), page 479.



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Pastor@CalvaryRoadBaptist.Church