Yesterday we began a new series on sola Scriptura. Part one brought us the story of Martin Luther and how he refused to renounce the Scriptures at the Diet of Worms and how the issue of the Bible alone ultimately proved to be the formal principle of the Reformation. Furthermore, it was shown how Christ is the single great theme of the Bible and unifies all the Scriptures, and as such, it would be proper to read the Bible as a whole. Today's portion continues from where we left off from the sermon delivered in Nigeria earlier this month as part of a conference on the truths of the Reformation. 

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Second, the Bible is authoritative for it sets forth the mind of God, who is the Supreme Ruler of the universe. An American statesman named Daniel Webster (January 18, 1782–October 24, 1852) believed, "If we abide by the principles taught in the Bible, our country will go on prospering and to prosper; but if we or our posterity neglect its instructions and authority, no man can tell how sudden a catastrophe may overwhelm us and bury all our glory and in profound obscurity."

I cannot speak for other nations but there was a day in America when the judgment of God fell upon our society in one great and severe stroke. What we are now witnessing with our economic crisis, high unemployment, slaughter of the unborn through abortion, and moral confusion can be traced in part to that precise day in America when the Bible and prayer were taken out of the classroom. The date: June 17, 1963, the day I turned nine years old. The place: the eastern district of the state of Pennsylvania. The decision of the Supreme Court of the Unites States ruled in favor of Mrs. Madalyn Murray (O’Hair) and her son, William J. Murray III, both professing atheists.

While professing respect for religion with their lips the Supreme Court ruled against God, against the Bible, and against prayer in the public schools. "The place of religion in our society is an exalted one, achieved through a long tradition of reliance on the home, the church and the inviolable citadel of the individual heart and mind. We have come to recognize through bitter experience that it is not within the power of government to invade that citadel, whether its purpose or effect be to aid or oppose, to advance or retard. In the relationship between man and religion, the State is firmly committed to a position of neutrality….It is so ordered."

By casting aside life’s ultimate authority, the nation drifted into war after war, fear of pandemic diseases, unsustainable debt, and gratuitous acts of murder. Daniel Webster was right. In 2008 sudden catastrophe overwhelmed us and may bury all of our glory and leave us in the dustbin of history in profound obscurity.

America is a beacon of light set high upon a hill to those who love and want freedom. But America can also serve as a warning to other nations including Nigeria. Do not reject the Bible. Be a nation of one Book. Submit to the sovereignty of God. Let the Bible be the rule by which all else is measured.

This is not easy to do for often there is a tremendous disconnect between the rhetoric of our religion and the reality of applying it on a daily basis. The apostle James recognized this and exhorted the church writing, "But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves" (James 1:22). Dr. Billy Graham is reported to have said that if a nation has trouble determining how long a yard is, it is because they have thrown away their ruler. And if a nation has trouble determining what is morally right and what it wrong it is because the nation has thrown away the moral measuring standard, the Bible. So let me ask, "Have you thrown away your moral standard? Is the Bible the rule by which you measure all else?"

Many years ago, 1896, Charles Sheldon wrote a novel in which a question was asked by individuals before they committed themselves to a course of action. The question was this. "What would Jesus do?" That is what we are after. What does the Bible tell us to do? What does the Bible tell us not to do? Do we measure our decisions by the teaching of Scripture?

Former President Ronald Reagan noted that, "Within the covers of one single book, the Bible, are all the answers to all the problems that face us today—if only we would read and believe." Men and women, let the Bible be the rule by which all else is measured and then let the Bible be the one guide for faith and practice.

to be continued...