Slowly but surely, the church, though carrying the Bible more, is caring for the Bible less. Though affirming the Bible with the lips, there is less and less confirming it in lives. Though the church claims much for the Bible, the Bible does not seem to claim much of us. Bound to it, but bored with it seems to be the attitude of many in the church today.

A child came home from church one Sunday and told his parents that the pastor had announced that a Re-Bible" meeting would begin the next Sunday. Upon investigation, the parents discovered that the minister had said, "Next Sunday we will begin our annual ‘Revival'." Though the child had mispronounced the word revival, it is true that the church does need to have a "RE-BIBLE " meeting.
This morning I want us to take a fresh look at an old book, the Bible Let’s look at the

I. The CLAIM which the Word of God BOASTS (1:22-25)
    1.The Word of God LIVES "liveth"

       A. God's word is living. It has life in it, and hence communicates life. 

           (Heb.4:12)

       B. The Bible is not a dead book; it is a quickening book.

    2. The Word of God LASTS "abideth for ever......endureth for ever"

        A. It will last because the Bible is incorruptible

           1. Has no decay in it. Will not be destroyed from the inside.

       B. It will last because the Bible is indestructible 

          1. Neither can man destroy if from without. Story is told of a visitor who

              toured a blacksmith's shop. After viewing the discarded hammers and

              only seeing one huge anvil the visitor inquired, "How often to you replace

               the anvil?" With a smile the owner replied, "Never! It is the anvil that

               wears the hammers out." So it is with the Word of God. The hammers

               of persecution, ridicule, higher criticism, liberalism, and atheism have

               for centuries pounded out their vicious blows upon the divine anvil, but

               to no use. There the hammers lie, in rusting piles, while the mighty

               anvil the Word of God stands unbroken, unshaken, and uncrippled.

          C. It will last because the Bible is indispensable Cannot do without it.

              1. Provides church's message "the gospel"

              2. Prescribes church's method "is preached" If preaching will not do the

                 work of God , nothing else will. (ICort.1:21)

              3. Produces Christians and church's members

II. The CHANGE which the Word of God BRINGS (1:23) (2:1-3)

     The Bible changes lives. It alters destines. It comes into communities of

     unrighteousness as a regenerative force. According to ancient proverb, "

      The Bible has an amazing ability to change corrupted humanity.

    1. It gives birth (Jh.3:3) (II Cort. 5:17)

       A. The gospel preached and lodged in the heart is "the power of God to

           salvation."  

       B. The Word of God is the mighty instrument the Holy spirit uses to bring

            light and life to men in darkness and death.

      C. The Bible is completely true, constantly true, convincingly true, and

           convertingly true and nothing can compare with its purity and power.

    2. It gives growth (I Peter 2:2)

        A. Word of God is needed to conceive and to complete.

        B. Word of God is needed for salvation and for sustenance.

        C. We must not be content to extol the nature of the Word of God, explore

            the necessity of the Word of God, we must also extract the nourishment

            form the Word of God.

           God's Word is the perfect food for the soul of the saint.

       E. When we observe the weakness in the church today, it is because of a

            lack of Vitamin "B" - the Bible.

       F. Arrested growth and development of the Christian can be traced to a

           deficient diet. The Bible is the sole fool for the soul.

III. The CHANCE which the Word of God BEGS (2:2)
     The Word of God wants from us two things:

    1. It desires our hearing (Romans 10:17) 

        A. Hear it because of its nature

        B. Hear it because of its necessity (Matthew 4:4) 

    2. It demands our heeding (James 1:21-25)

        A. There is a danger of casual observance

           1. To listen to the Word of God is not enough.

            2. To hear the Word of God is not enough, it must be heeded.

            3. To hear only is to be deceived. 

        B. There is the development of careful observance

            1. The duty of looking attentively

                a. God does not reveal the deep things of the Bible to the casual

                    Christian who drops in for a chat.
            2. The delight of living accordingly

                 a. Blessing comes with obedience. (Psalm 1).

William Bradford, the governor of the Plymouth Colony of pilgrims, insisted, "Those who believe in the Holy Scriptures are bound to observe its teachings. Those who do not are to be bound by its consequences."

To make the value of obedience just as practical as possible, let's play "Let's pretend." Let's pretend that you work for me. In fact, you are my executive assistant in a company that is growing rapidly. I'm the owner and I'm interested in expanding overseas. To pull this off, I make plans to travel abroad and stay there until the new branch office gets established. I make all the arrangements to take my family in the move to Europe for six to eight months, and I leave you in charge of the busy stateside organization. I tell you that I will write you regularly and give you direction and instructions.

I leave and you stay. Months pass. A flow of letters are mailed from Europe and received by you at the national headquarters. I spell out all my expectations. Finally, I return. Soon after my arrival I drive down to the office. I am stunned! Grass and weeds have grown up high. A few windows along the street are broken. I walk into the receptionist's room and she is doing her nails, chewing gum, and listening to her favorite disco station. I look around and notice the waste baskets are overflowing, the carpet hasn't been vacuumed for weeks, and nobody seems concerned that the owner has returned. I ask about your whereabouts and someone in the crowded lounge area points down the hall and yells, "I think he's down there." Disturbed, I move in that direction and bump into you as you are finishing a chess game with our sales manager. I ask you to step into my office (which has been temporarily turned into a television room for watching afternoon soap operas).

"What in the world is going on, man?"

"What do ya' mean, Chuck?"

"Well, look at this place! Didn't you get any of my letters?"

"Letters? Oh, yeah -- sure, got every one of them. As a matter of fact, Chuck, we have had letter study every Friday night since you left. We have even divided all the personnel into small groups and discussed many of the things you wrote. Some of those things were really interesting. You'll be pleased to know that a few of us have actually committed to memory some of your sentences and paragraphs. One or two memorized an entire letter or two! Great stuff in those letters!"

"Okay, okay -- you got my letters, you studied them and meditated on them, discussed and even memorized them. But what did you do about them?"

"Do? Uh -- we didn't do anything about them."