"Truth, Not Mythology"
Text: 2 Peter 1:16-21
2-19-2023
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Do you have a favorite fictional story that you really enjoyed reading? You know, the kind where you’re totally absorbed in an imaginary world? My favorite book of this type is by J.R. Tolkien. He wrote the “The Hobbit” and the 3-book sequel called ALord of the Rings.@ What always fascinated me was how one man could dream up a whole 'nother world in his own mind. He describes this fantasyland called Middle Earth in such detail that it almost seems like a real place. It must have taken him a long time to fit all the pieces together so as to make the story so believable. Needless to say, Mr. Tolkien was not the first, nor will he be the last, to dream up such a clever story. Even before the printing press came along, there were mythological stories that were passed on by word of mouth from generation to generation. You have to admit, it=s a wonderful talent to be able to dream up such intriguing tales.
But what about this book, the Bible? Is it also just a collection of cleverly invented stories? Is it a book that takes the boring history of the world and jazzes it up with magical stories about angels, miracles, and a God up in heaven? Unfortunately, that’s the way some people look at the Bible. They scoff at it as an elaborate fairy tale. I once had a college professor in Omaha who adamantly insisted that the Bible is merely a well-constructed myth. You see, folks like us who actually believe that this is God's Word deserve to be laughed at and scorned. We’re looked at like gullible children who believe in Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny.
What's the reason for this angry disdain for God's Word? Simply put, it’s produced by the lack of trust that’s found within our sinful hearts. That distrust of God's Word began back in the Garden of Eden when Satan tempted Eve. When he asked her about eating the forbidden fruit, he planted his seeds of distrust saying, "Did God actually say, `You shall not eat from any tree in the garden'?" By doing so, he was questioning the reliability of God's Word. Suddenly, Eve began to doubt if God really meant what He said. Satan prodded her into believing that maybe God was holding out on her and Adam. He suggested that God was just telling them a clever story to keep them from becoming as powerful as Him. Eve fell for it and so did Adam. Their absolute trust in God's Word had been destroyed. And questioning the reliability of God's Word has been Satan's tactic ever since. He uses it over and over again because it works so well. When Moses went before Pharaoh, and said, "This is what the Lord God says" Pharaoh wouldn't believe it. Basically, he told Moses, "That's a really clever story, but you’re just making it up!"
Fast forward to the New Testament and there’s another fine example of this distrust of God's Word in Acts chapter 17. Paul goes to Athens and sees the multitude of temples dedicated to their false gods. And so, he shares with them the good news about the true God. Initially they were intrigued by his words. But they were only interested because their favorite pastime was to debate the latest, greatest, newfangled ideas. They thought Paul was just telling them a clever myth or fairy tale. When he insisted that these were God's word of life, many laughed and rejected what he had said.
The greatest rejection of all, though, happened when God sent His living Word, Jesus Christ, into the world. The Son of God took on human flesh to free us from the bondage of sin and death. He came to bear the sins of the world and to pay the price for our redemption by suffering and dying on the cross. He told everyone that this was God's plan of salvation for them. Some believed. However, many rejected Him because they thought He was just telling them a clever new story. Others thought He was a liar and blasphemer and sought to kill Him for it.
Sad to say, Satan is still very busy using the distrust of God’s Word as a tool to inhibit and destroy people’s faith. Starting back in the 1600’s there was a movement that formed among Biblical scholars called the “Higher Critical Method” of interpreting the Scriptures. They concluded that we simply can't trust what’s written in God's Word and only certain parts of it are believable. In their Aeducated opinion@ the Bible was just the product of some very skillful editing, sprinkled with clever myths. Even the resurrection of Jesus was explained away as a made-up story by His disciples. And people fell for this new “method.” But don’t you see how this totally eviscerates the Gospel and portrays the Bible as a fairy tale? And yet, there are major Christian denominations still today who utilize this method of interpreting Scripture.
Friends, it=s a great victory for Satan if he can get large church bodies to distrust God's Word. But it=s an even greater victory if he can get individuals to disregard it in their daily lives. How or when do we do that? Well, when you read God's Word and hear His commands do you pick and choose which of them you’re going to obey? Jesus told us to love even our enemies and to forgive those who hurt us. But are we selective with who we=re going to be kind to and who we’re going to forgive? How about this one: Do you neglect to read of your Bible or do you blow off the preaching of God’s Word and receiving the Sacrament here in worship? By doing this you’re treating God’s Word like a cleverly devised myth that you don’t really need to take seriously.
So how can we be sure that God's Word is reliable and can be trusted? We’re so inundated with fake news these days that we often don’t know what we can believe anymore. How much more so when it comes to this ancient book called the Bible? How can we know for sure that it wasn’t just a very elaborate and clever hoax? Well, even though I can give you a multitude of arguments, ultimately, I can never prove to you that the Bible is truly God's Word and can be trusted. But thankfully, I don't have to! That's the job of the Holy Spirit. He creates faith in our hearts and that’s what allows us to believe that all of God's Word is indeed true.
You see, God Himself verifies the reliability of His own Word. In the Epistle lesson, St. Peter makes this clear. In verses 20-21 he says: ANo prophecy of Scripture comes from someone's own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.@ In other words, it wasn't left up to the minds of skillful men to write about God's plan of salvation. The Holy Spirit directed their thoughts and their pens. That explains why all those prophecies of the Old Testament were so accurate and came true through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. It’s also why the rest of the Bible can be trusted because the Lord was the author who inspired all those other writers and gave them the content of what to write down. Based on this, Peter boldly defends the Scriptures against anyone who would claim that the Gospel is just a Acleverly devised myth.@ He was convinced of its reliability because He was an eyewitness to the fulfillment of God’s promises. He saw the power of God displayed by Jesus through His miracles. Along with James and John on the Mount of Transfiguration, he was privileged to see the glory of Jesus revealed as the Son of God. As Jesus was transfigured, God the Father spoke with power from heaven and verified what the disciples had seen with their eyes. He said: "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” Add it all together and Peter was convinced that he and the other disciples of Christ were not following just a good storyteller and nice guy. Their faith was confirmed in Jesus as the true, promised Savior, sent from God.
But you and I weren't on that mountain with the disciples as eyewitnesses. So how does God verify His Word in our lives? As with Peter, it=s by His power in and through the Word. It starts when we=re Baptized. On the outside, we may not see anything powerful happening. But in the soul of that person God’s Word in and with the water is working the power of forgiveness and creating faith. And the Holy Spirit continues to work with power in our lives as we grow in His grace. We grow as we hear God's Word preached and as we study it in Sunday School and Bible Classes. With that power working in our hearts, the Bible is no longer just a written book. For us, it’s God's own powerful, life-changing Word. And that powerful Word is also active in Holy Communion. This isn’t merely a reenactment of some ancient fellowship meal. By the powerful words of Christ, our Savior Himself comes to us in, with, and under the bread and wine. And with His holy presence He brings forgiveness and strength for our souls.
I think I shared this illustration before but it’s worth repeating. In one of the episodes of the old TV series called "Christy" there was a terrible fire at the church and school located in the Appalachian Mountains. The sister of the young Pastor discovers that their family Bible has been burnt beyond recognition and she was crying over it. The Pastor comforts her with this profound statement: "God's Word transcends the written page." How true that is! For those who believe, God's Word is not just ink on a page. It is alive and powerful! By the gift of faith, the Holy Spirit verifies for us that the Bible is not just a collection of cleverly devised myths. Rather, as St. Paul says in Romans 1: A I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.”
With that power of God in our lives, we can joyfully live in the confidence that all our sins are forgiven. Trusting in God’s powerful Word gives us that peace which the world cannot give and surpasses all understanding. And with that power working in our lives, we can joyfully lead others to our Savior who will reveal Himself in their lives with the power that changes sinners into children of God. Then, they too will be convinced that God=s Word is not just a cleverly devised myth, but that it=s the truth of our salvation through Jesus Christ. May God keep us faithful to His inspired, inerrant and saving Word, for His glory and our good. Amen.
Soli Deo Gloria!