Christian Education and Discipleship

A Burning Question

Transcript: AI Transcript

Professor: John Weaver

Subject: Education and Discipleship

Genre: Sermon

Dictation Name:

Date: 2024-09-29

Synopsis: Pastor John Weaver addresses the question of why many people read the Bible yet remain unchanged or unconverted. He argues that the Bible is not a charm; its power is only realized when the Word is mixed with faith and applied through the Holy Spirit. The letter of Scripture alone brings condemnation, but the Spirit gives life. Believers must seek understanding and transformation from the Holy Spirit, not merely read the text.

[John Weaver] All right, let's open our Bibles today to the book of Romans, chapter one in verse 16. That is the verse I'm going to be using. I'll be expounding another passage, but I think you'll see why I'm using this verse to begin with. Notice the book of Romans, chapter one and verse 16. The Apostle Paul makes a very unashamedly plain statement. He says, For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

[John Weaver] Years ago, I was listening to a radio program where Ravi Zacharias was speaking. In fact, he was holding a question and answer service At one of the universities, I think that university was Yale, but Robbie's been dead for several years now. But I never will forget one of the questions that was asked. Of course, Robbie was a, I think, a leading thinker and a biblical proponent at that particular time. But one student there at the university asked him concerning the power of the gospel, or more specifically, the power of the Word of God. And the question arose around the fact that this young man could not grasp how many people could just simply read the Bible and be uninfluenced and unchanged, or people could read the Bible and never be converted. And so, therefore, he was questioning, actually, not just the power of the gospel, but also the power of the Word of God.

[John Weaver] Now, Robby gave several good illustrations, and he also made the statement, there are plenty of things in the Bible that we're not completely sure of, and that God, the judge of all the earth, is going to do what is right. I had to in listening to the program, but the program was not over. So I don't know whether or not he actually got around to answering the question or not. But the question has been asked of me and in times past. And I was thinking about this question this week.

[John Weaver] And so I decided I would give a biblical answer to it. In fact, I gave a similar answer. In that series of four messages years ago, Why can't we just all get along? Explaining the differences of opinions from reading the same scripture or the same Bible. So let me just make a statement to begin with and then I'm going to challenge you and I hope improve the answer from the word of God. Well, I believe that each individual should read the Bible, saved and unsaved alike. Simply reading the Bible is not going to save anyone. And simply reading the Bible is not going to make anyone simply a more spiritual or more holy. Now, the reason I'm saying that is the Bible is not a lucky rabbit's foot. The Bible is not a charm. Moreover, an individual can have what you and I would call a great mind and a great intellect, and he could read the Scripture over and over to be able to quote long portions of Scripture. But quoting the Bible does not save anyone.

[John Weaver] Quoting the Bible does not make anyone spiritual. I must point out the fact that in Matthew chapter 4, even Satan quoted the Bible. Clearly, he is not saved, and certainly he was not spiritual in the sense of being right with God. So does the fact that many read the Bible and remain unconverted, or many read the Bible and remain unchanged and uninfluenced, does that prove or demonstrate the powerlessness of the Bible?

[John Weaver] And the answer is, of course not. When someone wishes to lose weight, and he reads diets on a daily basis, does that prove that the diets are worthless and ineffective just simply because he's reading those diets and not losing weight? We don't lose weight by reading diets, you have to apply the truth of the diet. And then of course, you would probably lose weight. But just simply reading the Bible does not necessarily prove that someone is spiritual, and neither does it prove that someone is going to be converted. In fact, there are many people who've read the Bible just try to disprove the Bible as well.

[John Weaver] Now, if you look in your Bibles very quickly before I quote Romans 1 again, but if you will turn to the book of Hebrews chapter 4, the point I'm trying to make here is very plain. Reading the Bible, will not profit you unless it is mixed with faith and unless it is applied to your life. So notice, if you would, in the book of Hebrews chapter four, what the word of God says concerning all of these people who not only came out of Egypt, but saw the great works of God. The Bible says in Hebrews chapter four, verse one, let us therefore fear lest a promise being left of us of entering into his rest.

[John Weaver] any of you should seem to come short of. Now look carefully at verse two. For unto us was the gospel preached as well as unto them. But the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it. So it doesn't matter if it's a reading the scripture or hearing the scripture taught. It must be mixed with faith.

[John Weaver] Now, when the apostle Paul in Romans chapter one in verse 16 makes the statement, I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation. And of course, everyone knows that the Greek word there is the word dunamis. And that is the word from which we get dynamite. So he said, the gospel is indeed the dynamite of God. And the word dunamis in the Greek is a source of many English words, dynamics, dynamo, anything that is expressive of inherent power. Now, a stick of dynamite may have inherent power in it. But unless there is a fuse to ignite it, or some way to set it off, the power will never ever be displayed.

[John Weaver] And incidentally, I'll just throw this in for free. When I was a boy, you used to go down to the hardware store and buy sticks of dynamite. You can't do that today. But we use them to blow stumps. And I started helping my father blow stumps when I was seven years old. And so I remember those sticks of dynamite quite well, and how well they blew those stumps out the field. But the dynamite is indeed dynamite.

[John Weaver] It has power, it has a explosive power. but it has to be ignited as well. So just as one may casually read about diets every day and read diets every day and never lose weight, so one can read the Bible every day and still not be converted and still not be what you and I would call spiritual and holy and godly. Our Lord said it like this to the Pharisees in John 8 in verse 24.

[John Weaver] I said unto you, therefore, that you shall die in your sins. For if you believe not that I am he, you shall die in your sins. And so reading is not the same as believing. Hearing is not the same as believing. So one of the greatest problems that we have in our day and time, in Christendom especially, is that of ignorance. And I'm talking specifically about biblical ignorance. There was a time when practically everyone read the Bible, saved and unsaved alike. Although the unsaved never were saved in the sense that you and I would talk about being saved.

[John Weaver] They would be decent people, they'd be moral people. But they would read the Bible for the principles therein. And I've heard even when I was a young boy, these talking about trying to live by the old book, whether they were saved or not. They they acknowledge the fact that the Bible was full of wisdom and morality as well. In fact, many of us remember that in the beginning of our country. There were books that taught The Bible based upon what you and I would call the ABCs.

[John Weaver] For instance, the New England Primer was one of them. In fact, a lot of children back in colonial days learned the ABCs like this. all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. B. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. C. Children obey your parents. D. Depart from evil and do that which is good. And just go right on down until they learned all the ABCs.

[John Weaver] But at the same time, they were learning Bible verses as well. Now, Massachusetts actually led the way in teaching the word of God when it passed the Old Deleterious Satan Act in 1647. Because here the law was demanding that everyone read the Bible and everyone be taught to read the Bible. And of course, that's why it was called the Old Deluder Satan Act. So they were going to make sure that everyone understood the scripture. Thus, the early, and I'm going to use this term very general, the early public schools. Well, the schools where all those children went in the 1600s and early 1700s. were schools where they learned to read by reading the Bible. And they were taught the principles from the Word of God.

[John Weaver] Now, in the 19th century, the primary books were the McGuffey Readers. And the McGuffey Readers were not only moral, but they were based upon the Bible as well. So it's amazing today when you consider the history of the Bible and how the Bible was read, It's amazing when you consider the history of it that today very few people really read the Bible. And even fewer really and truly study the word of God as well. There was a time when Christians actually devoured the word of God.

[John Weaver] They took it upon themselves to view the scripture exactly the way the prophets did. You know what Jeremiah said? Jeremiah said this in Jeremiah 15 in verse 16. Thy words were found and I did eat them. And thy word was unto me the joy and the rejoicing of my heart. For I am called by thy name, O Lord God of hosts. So he said, Thy word was found and I did eat them. They were the joy and the rejoicing of my heart.

[John Weaver] I want you to turn, if you would, to the book of Psalms and look in Psalm 19. And I want to begin reading there in verse seven. And again, I want you to see what David says. And from Psalm 19, we'll go to Psalm 119. But notice if you would, Psalm 19, beginning there with verse seven, David is talking about the law of the Lord. He said, The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul. The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart. The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever. The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. Now watch verse 10.

[John Weaver] More to be desired of they than gold, yea, than much fine gold. Sweeter also than honey in the honeycomb. More over by them as thy servant warned, in the keeping of them there is great reward. Now note he said, more to be desired of they than gold, yea, much more than fine gold. And then he said, sweeter than honey in the honeycomb. I'm sure that each one of us would be delighted to find a treasure chest full of gold.

[John Weaver] Well, the word of God, he says, is far more precious than that. Then he said in verse 11, move over by them as I serve at war. And here's an amazing statement. And in keeping with them, there is great reward.

[John Weaver] Now, sometime back, many years back, I met a man who was extremely wealthy. He was an unsaved man. And he told me very pointedly and up front that although he had a great deal of money that he tithed. And I think everyone should tithe. I believe that is a biblical fact because a tithe is nothing less than God's tax on the use of his earth. And the unsaved use it just exactly the way the saved do. So, I mean, everybody is obligated to pay God's tax. But when I asked him, knowing that he was unsaved, when I asked him why he tithed, he said, because I have learned that God blesses me when I thought that amazing. I thought, wow, that's what he said. And in keeping with them, there's great rewards.

[John Weaver] He was he was tithing for the wrong reason. He was not tithing for God's honor and glory. He was not tithing out of obedience to God. He was tithing just so that God would bless him. Evidently he did because he's an extremely wealthy man. So if you look in your Bibles to Psalm 119 and look if you would please at verse 103 Look again what David said Psalm 119 verses 103 David says how sweet are thy words into my taste? Yea sweeter than honey to my mouth So he talks about the sweetness of the Word of God sweeter than honey Now, if you will turn right on over to First Peter, chapter two, I want you to look, if you would, please, at verses one through three. First Peter, chapter two. Beginning there in verse one, he says, Wherefore laying aside all malice and all guile and hypocrisies and endings and evil speakings as newborn babes desire the sincere milk of the word that you may grow thereby.

[John Weaver] If so be that you have tasted that the Lord is gracious." Now note if you would, he said, as newborn babes desire the sincere milk of the word that you may grow thereby. There's never been a baby that was born alive that did not want its mother's breast milk. Why? Because that is the nourishment, that is the sustenance, that is exactly what he needs. And God is telling us that if we are babes in Christ, that we need the milk of his word. And just like a young child craves and hungers for milk. So likewise, we as God's children should hunger and crave the milk of his word. I get so tickled sometimes watching Alice when we have to feed a young calf. We have a bucket where we make up the milk. And when the mother's not feeding the calf, we go out there and you do not have to coax that calf once he tastes that milk. I mean, the calf comes and he just craves it.

[John Weaver] That's all there is to it. And that's exactly what God is saying.

[John Weaver] Now, if a baby is born and never, ever desires milk, something is wrong with that child. And there's something wrong with a professing Christian that says they're saved and yet they never, ever desire the Word of God. So, I want to just show you the absolute necessity and the importance of the Word of God. And I'm going to tell you that the emphasis upon the Word of God cannot be overestimated, neither can it be overemphasized, because we have been commanded to read, we've been commanded to study the Word of God. Now, milk is absolutely necessary for growth. Milk is absolutely necessary for life. You cannot progress to meet as a baby unless you've been raised on milk.

[John Weaver] It's what it amounts to. No mother is going to take a 10 ounce steak and set before a three month old baby. The baby could not eat it, even if she chewed it and gummed it and put it in the child's mouth. Probably the child could not even digest it. So there has to be milk before you can get to the meat. I want you to turn back in your Bibles to the book of Hebrews, chapter five.

[John Weaver] And let me just show you where we are in our biblical ignorance today. This is why in most churches, you're always having feuds and fights and you're always having people get upset and people don't understand and people get angry. People get mad. In fact, I just heard this week this past week of a local church that had split, and because of unbiblical, ungodly activity. But look at what the scripture says.

[John Weaver] Hebrews chapter five, and let's begin reading there with verse 11. The apostle says, of whom we have many things to say, talking about Jesus Christ, and hard to be uttered, look at this, seeing you're dull of hearing. For when the time you ought to be teachers, When you should be mature, you have need that one teach you again, which be the first principles of the oracles of God. And it becomes such as have need of milk and not of strong meat. For everyone that useth milk is unskillful in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But strong meat belongeth to them that are full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised and discern both good and evil. The author of the book of Hebrews is telling us, here's the reason some Christians never can stomach milk meat is because they never grow up. They never get off the milk and milk is necessary. But milk is not that which sustains us all of our lives. It's the meat of the word.

[John Weaver] And consequently, we have so many people right there are just absolutely, totally ignorant of the word of God. Now, let me just tell you, as important as the Word of God is in our lives. Just simply reading it will not change us. Just simply reading it will not make us more holy and more godly. Any more than just reading a book on physics would make us an engineer or an architect. We could read a book on medicine, but that would not necessarily make us a doctor.

[John Weaver] That is the same thing, I want you to listen to this, it's the same thing when we come to the singing of the hymns in church. Do you realize that when most people sing, they sing out of rote memory? They never ever think about the words that they're singing. I get tickled a lot of times in listening to people and watching people. And I've been in Armenian churches where they're singing you chosen seed of Israel's ransom from the fall. How can you sing that and not think about the doctrine of election? You know, I was preaching in South Carolina years ago and I got to the church building early and here was a lady inside who was supposed to be singing the special that night and she was practicing her special.

[John Weaver] And she did have a beautiful voice. There's no two ways about that. But she was singing that song. I found him. I found him, you know, and I listened for a few minutes and finally she stopped. I said, you know, you're singing that beautifully. I said, the only there's only one problem wrong. One problem with that is wrong. She said, what is that? I said, you didn't find him. He found you.

[John Weaver] And the scripture says that he seeks and saves that which was lost. You didn't find him. She said, oh, in that case, then he found me and she started singing about that. And that's how she sang it that night. So I'm just simply saying, when you think about all of this, you think about, wow, what am I saying? What am I hearing? What am I saying?

[John Weaver] Now, I want to show you two passages. The first one is Psalm 47. I want you to turn there and then we're going to go to first Corinthians. But I want you to look in Psalm 47. And I want you to know what the Apostle Paul, not the Apostle Paul, David, what David says in this psalm, Psalm 47, at Paul on the line in First Corinthians. So look in Psalm 47, if you would, please. This is a psalm of jubilation. This is a psalm of praise. This is a psalm that would get you excited. OK, so look at it in Psalm 47.

[John Weaver] clap your hands on you people shout unto God with a voice of triumph now already that's emotional clap your hands on you people shout unto God with a voice of triumph for the Lord most high is terrible he is a great king over all the earth watch it He shall subdue the people under us and the nations under our feet He shall choose our inheritance for us the excellency of Jacob whom he loved God is going up with a shout the Lord with the sound of a trumpet. Ah Look at this sing praises to God sing praises sing praises to our King sing praises now look at verse 7 for God is the king of all the earth sing you praises Does it stop there No two more words, with understanding. So we're to understand why we are praising God. We're to understand what we are praising him about. So we're going to be singing praises. It is to be with understanding. Now, if you look in First Corinthians chapter 14 and verse 15, now we can get to the Apostle Paul.

[John Weaver] 1st Corinthians chapter 14 and verse 15. Look what the apostle said. What is it then? I will pray with the spirit and I will pray with understanding also. I will sing with the spirit and I will sing with understanding also. So the apostle says it doesn't matter whether you're praying or whether you're singing. Understanding has to be involved. So let me say this again, it's not just reading your Bible that counts, it's understanding the principles and the truth that's being expressed in the Bible. So the question has to arise, where in the world do we receive or acquire understanding? We acquire understanding from God himself. Proverbs 2 in verse 6, the Bible says, for the Lord giveth wisdom, out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding. The apostle Paul told Timothy in 2 Timothy chapter 2 in verse 7, consider what I say, and the Lord give thee understanding in all things.

[John Weaver] Now, you're going to understand why I gave you all of this introduction. I want you to turn in your Bibles to 2nd Corinthians chapter 3, and I want you to look at a very difficult passage in one sense of the word. 2nd Corinthians chapter 3, we'll come back to the beginning of it, but right now, look at verses 5 and 6. 2nd Corinthians chapter 3, verses 5 and 6.

[John Weaver] The apostle Paul says, not that we are sufficient of ourselves, So he's talking about himself as a minister, as a preacher, as long as, as well as those who were with him and those of us who are alive today. He says, not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything as of ourselves, but our sufficiency is of God. So our sufficiency is of God, not of man, who has also made us able ministers of the New Testament.

[John Weaver] Now, look at this, not of the letter, but of the Spirit. For the letter killeth, but the Spirit giveth life."

[John Weaver] Now, the Apostle says we are not sufficient in and of ourselves for this ministry. And then he says God has made us able ministers out of the Old Testament but the New Testament For the letter kills, but the Spirit giveth life. Now, let me tell you what the Apostle Paul is not doing. He is not pitting the Old Testament against the New Testament, nor the New Testament against the Old Testament. He is not saying that the Old Testament is to be thrown away. It's over. It's done. He's not saying that whatsoever.

[John Weaver] I'm going to prove that to you just momentarily. But note what he is saying. He is saying that what is more important than the letter is the spirit. You remember what our Lord said in John chapter six and verse 63, our Lord said, it is the spirit that quickeneth. The flesh profiteth nothing. The words I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life. Now, look back at verse six. who also have made us able, ministers of the New Testament, not of the letter, but of the Spirit. And then he says for the letter, kill it, but the Spirit give it life. Hang on. He's going to make a comparison and a distinction for you.

[John Weaver] He says in verse seven, but if the ministration of death written and engraven in stones was glorious, So that the children of Israel could not steadfastly behold the face of Moses, for the glory of his countenance, which glory was to be done away with. Hang on. Look what he called the law written in tables of stone. He called it the ministration of death. And he says that glory that Moses had was to be done away with. Now. Look in verse eight. How shall the ministration of the Spirit be rather or more glorious?

[John Weaver] Now, let me say this. I don't want to forget this. Look in verse seven. He said, But if the ministration of death written in engravings and stones was glorious so that the children of Israel could not steadfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance, which glory was to be done away with. The law was not to be done away with, the glory of it was to be done away with. Moreover, the way of writing the law was to be done away with.

[John Weaver] It's no longer on tables of stone. When you read the book of Hebrews, he's now written his law in our hearts and on our minds. The law is not written in tables of stone, but it's written in the flesh with tables of our heart. For instance, let's go back to the beginning. 2nd Corinthians chapter 3. Look at what the Apostle said. Do we begin again to commend ourselves or need we as some others epistles of commendation to you or letters of commendation from you? You are our epistle written in our hearts known and read of all men. Look at this. For as much as you are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the spirit of the living God, not in tables of stone, but in flesh and tables of the heart. So even the apostle Paul is giving us right here this distinction. So he's going to talk about the letter and he's going to talk about the spirit as well. So note, if you would, in verse seven, that written letter was called the ministration of death.

[John Weaver] In verse eight, the spirit is called the ministration of the spirit. Now, if you look in verse nine, he said, where the ministration of condemnation be glory, much more does the ministration of righteousness exceeding glory. So now we've got this comparison again. And now he's talking about the letter being the ministration of condemnation. And it was glorious. But now we have this of the Spirit and the ministration of righteousness. It's going to exceed in glory. Clearly now there's a contrast the Apostle is making between the ministry of condemnation and the ministry of righteousness, or the ministry of death and the ministry of life, or if you want to say it, the letter and the spirit. And so as I said before, I'm going to repeat again, the Apostle is not saying the Old Testament has done away with, that's not what he's saying at all. So why then does he call the written law the letter of the law? Why does he call it a ministration of condemnation and a ministration of death? And the answer is because the law, as well as the letter of the word of God, shows us our duties, our faults, our failures, our responsibilities, our sins, our rebellions, as well as our guilt and our condemnation in not accomplishing those duties and not accomplishing those responsibilities.

[John Weaver] Neither does it give us the strength or the power to accomplish those things. The only thing the letter can do is to condemn because it gives us a sense of our failure and a sense of our guilt. So hold second Corinthians, but turn right over, if you would, to the book of Galatians, chapter three. Galatians, chapter three, and look, if you would, please, at verses 10 through 12. Galatians three, verse 10.

[John Weaver] For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse. For it is written, cursed is everyone that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident, for the just shall live by faith. And the law is not of faith, but the man that doeth them shall live in them. In other words, if you're going to live under the law, you must keep the law personally, perfectly and perpetually, which no one has done.

[John Weaver] or is capable of doing. If you're going to live under the law, then, of course, you're responsible to keep the whole thing. You cannot. And so it is a curse for us. It is a condemnation for us. And what the law does, it shows us our sins and our wickedness. No man can be saved by the law. That is evident. If you'll skip down to verse 21, the apostle says it like this. Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid that is perish the thought. Don't even think that. Don't even say that. Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid. For if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law. If there had been a law given that could have given life, then Jesus Christ would not have needed to have suffered, bled and died. But there is no law that can do that. So it is the Holy Spirit that gives life. The gospel is the letter of life.

[John Weaver] It shows the way of life, but it is the Holy Spirit of God who lights the fuse of that dynamite and makes it effectual in our lives. So the word of God in the hands of the Holy Spirit is that which is made effectual in our lives.

[John Weaver] Now, I want to give you two quotes. The first one is by John Gill. And the second is from Adam Clark. Now, Adam Clark's quote is a little bit long, but it's very important that you pay attention to it. I want you to listen, first of all, to John Gill. It's just a short paragraph. He says this. The law is the letter, not merely because it is written in letters, for so likewise is the gospel. but because it is a mere letter hereby showing what is to be done or avoided without any efficacy or power in it, or communicating any to enable persons to obey its command, to give life to its observers, or either to sanctify or justify any who are under it or the works of it. It is a mere letter as observed by an unregenerate man who only regards the externals of it.

[John Weaver] being unacquainted with its spirituality. The gospel is the spirit. It contains spiritual things and not things merely natural, moral and civil, as does the law, but spiritual blessings and promises. It penetrates into the spirit and soul of man and comes from and is attended with the spirit of God. And that's a good quote. But I want you to listen now to what Adam Clark says, and he gives, I think, a fuller explanation with some good illustrations.

[John Weaver] I will go ahead and tell you this. There'd be a word or two that I would probably change. But I think as a whole, he really hits the nail on the head. Listen carefully. Not of the letter, but of the spirit. The apostle does not mean here, as some have imagined, that he states himself to be a minister of the New Testament in opposition to the Old, and that it is the Old Testament that kills and the New that gives life, but that the New Testament gives the proper meaning of the Old Testament. For the Old Covenant had its letter and its spirit, its literal and its spiritual meaning.

[John Weaver] The law was founded on the very supposition of the Gospel. and all of its sacrifices, tithes, and ceremonies refer to the gospel. The Jews rested in the letter, which not only afforded no means of life, but killed by condemning every transgressor to death. They did not look at the spirit, did not endeavor to find out the spiritual meaning, and therefore they rejected Christ, who was the end of the law for justification, and so for the redemption from death to everyone that believes, The new covenant said all these spiritual things at once before their eyes and showed them the end, object and design of the law. And thus the apostles who preached it were the ministers of that spirit, which gives life. Now listen to this. Every institution has its letter as well as its spirit. And every word must refer to something of which it is the sign or the significator. The gospel has both its letter and its spirit. And multitudes of professing Christians, by resting in the letter, receive not the life which it is calculated to impart.

[John Weaver] Water in baptism is the letter that points out the purification of the soul. They who rest in the letter are without the purification, and dying in that state, they die eternally. Bread and wine in the sacrament, I would say the ordinance of the Lord's Supper, are the letter. The atoning efficacy of the death of Jesus and the grace communicated by this to the soul of the believer are the spirit. Multitudes rest in this letter, Simply receiving these symbols without reference to the Atonement or to their guilt and thus lose the benefit of the Atonement and the salvation of their souls now listen to what he says next the whole Christian life is comprehended by our Lord under the letter and then he Quotes the two words that our Lord speaks when our Lord said follow me And listen what he says Does not anyone see that a man taking up this letter only and following Christ through Judea, Galilee, Samaria, the city, the temple, the villages, the Sicos, the mountains, would lose his own life?

[John Weaver] Why? Because the words follow me. Refer to the spirit that is we are to obey him. We are to submit to him. We're to live from him We he is our Lord. He is our master and he goes on to say multitudes of Christians follow only the letter of and not the Spirit. Now, like I said, I may disagree with a few words in there, but I think he hits the nail on the head as to where we are today because there are so many church members, so many professing Christians that are resting in the letter and not in the Spirit.

[John Weaver] So, here's the truth in our day and time. We have kept the letter of the gospel. But we've lost the spirit of the gospel. We've lost the dynamite. We've lost the power of the gospel. We depend upon our expositions and our exegesis rather than the power of God. Let me say this another way. I do not care how great a preacher a man is. Man is incapable of providing the power. Sermons are incapable of providing the power. Illustrations are incapable of providing the power. Oratory is incapable of providing the power. The only power that can make everything real to us is that of the Holy Spirit of God. He is the one that ignites the dynamite of the gospel in our lives. He is the one that ignites the dynamite of the Word of God in our lives. And without him, all we have is the letter.

[John Weaver] Now, let me show you. So I want you to turn in your Bibles to First Thessalonians, Chapter two, First Thessalonians, Chapter two. And look, if you would please, at verse 13. This is a tremendous, tremendous verse. First Thessalonians, Chapter two. Look in verse 13. The Apostle Paul says it like this. For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because when you receive the word of God which you heard of us, you received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe. So the apostle is thanking God for the Thessalonians. He said, because when you receive the word of God, which you heard of us, you received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God. So when they heard the apostle Paul preach, they didn't say, well, that's just what Paul thinks. That's just what Paul believes. No, no, no. They realized that when Paul was expounding, explaining and applying the word of God, that was God speaking, that was God's word.

[John Weaver] Paul was not saying, I think, or in my opinion, he was expounding the word of God. And they received it as it is in truth the word of God. And then he said, which effectually worketh also in you that believe. Now the word effectually, worketh, is a little Greek word, intergao. It is actually where we get our English word energy and energize from. It means to make effectual. It means to energize. It means to display activity. It means to be operative. So it was the Holy Spirit of God that made the word of God effectual in their lives.

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to go back in your Bibles to second Corinthians chapter three. I want to try to tie this together for you and show you exactly what I'm trying to get across. So let's begin reading with verse 12 2nd Corinthians chapter 3 verse 12. Look what the Apostle says seeing that we have such hope we use great plainness of speech and not as Moses which put a veil over his face that the children of Israel should not steadfastly look to the end of that which is abolished But their minds were blinded, for until this day remaineth the same veil untaken away in the reading of the Old Testament. Which veil is done away in Christ? For even unto this day when Moses is read, the veil is upon their heart. Nevertheless, when it shall turn to the Lord, the veil shall be taken away. Now the Lord is that spirit, and where the spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord are changed into the same image from glory to glory even as by the Spirit of God.

[John Weaver] Now, in this passage, the Apostle Paul is talking about the veil that is upon the minds and the hearts of the people who just went with the letter. He said, even when Moses is red, the veil is still upon their minds. They're blind. They can't see, they can't perceive, they can't understand. So. What is the answer? Well, the answer is there needs to be a divine energy, there needs to be a divine stick of dynamite placed.

[John Weaver] And how in the world does that happen? Well, look in verse 17.

[John Weaver] Now, the Lord is that spirit. And where the spirit of the Lord is, there's liberty. In other words, no man has the liberty to turn from himself and his sins unto Jesus Christ apart from the Holy Spirit. It's the Holy Spirit who gives liberty. It's the Holy Spirit who regenerates. It's the Holy Spirit who convicts. It's the Holy Spirit who converts. Wait a minute, I'm going to show you something else.

[John Weaver] He says, look at verse 16. Nevertheless, when it shall turn to the Lord, the veil shall be taken away. How in the world can the mind, how in the world can the heart turn to the Lord when it is blind? And the answer is Now the Lord is that spirit, and where the spirit of the Lord is, there's liberty. In other words, he opens our blinded eyes, he frees our stubborn wills, and he enables us to come savingly to Jesus Christ.

[John Weaver] Now, hang on, that's not all. That is true in salvation. But now we are saved by the grace of God. We read the scripture. But here's my question. What kind of effect has simply the reading of the scripture had upon your life? Because the word without the spirit is nothing but a letter.

[John Weaver] Now, look in verse 18. Here is how we must read the scripture. But we all with open face beholding as in a glass, in this instance it be the Bible, the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the spirit of the Lord. So as we read our Bibles, as we study our Bibles, it's not just, I'm reading my Bible, I remember years ago, when I was a boy, you went to Sunday school, man, you had to fill out that little form. Did you read your Bible this week? Check it.

[John Weaver] Were you a prayer meeting? Check it. They couldn't care less whether or not you learned anything. Did you read it just so you could check? Yes, I read my Bible. The point I'm trying to make is this. It's not the reading. that is important as much as the understanding and the application of it. You've heard me say this, I'd rather read and understand five verses than read five chapters and not understand a thing that I've read. So when we read our Bibles, It must be that we're reading them, the blessed Holy Spirit of God, open my eyes, show me, teach me, illuminate me, enlighten me, change me from glory to glory into the image of our Lord Jesus Christ. It's God's will that we be conformed to his son.

[John Weaver] That's what he said in Romans chapter eight. That's the whole end of everything. So I'm afraid many Christians have gone through and made reading their Bible like they do sing their hymns. They just sing them and never think about the verses and never think about the words. And we read our Bibles and never think about what we've read. How many times have you read your Bible and then all of a sudden you catch yourself and you say, what did I just read? Oh, what was in that chapter? And your mind had been somewhere else, and yet you were reading your Bible. So the point I'm trying to make is, the Bible is not a lucky rabbit's foot. It's not a charm. It is a letter.

[John Weaver] And it has to be energized by the Holy Spirit of God in order for us to understand it. Now, let me make some applications. The first one is this. The gospel has not lost its power. We have lost the power of the gospel. The gospel is the dynamite of God. We have depended upon anything and everything to make it effectual except the Holy Spirit. Most churches today are nothing more than entertainment centers, social clubs, recreational buildings, and preachers are trying anything and everything to get people to attend and to stay there. Except the power of God. I'm just simply pointing out the fact when God works in a man's heart, he doesn't need anything else. So the gospel isn't lost its power. We have lost the power because of our sins, because of our disobedience and because of our lack of trust in the Holy Spirit of God.

[John Weaver] Now, I do want you to turn in your Bibles, if you would, for the next application to the book of John, chapter 16, John, chapter 16. Look if you would, beginning there with verse 12, John 16 and verse 12. When we read our Bibles, when we study our Bibles, we must seek understanding from the Holy Spirit alone. Look if you would, in John 16 and verse 12, our Lord said it like this.

[John Weaver] I've yet many things to say unto you, but you cannot bear them now. How be it when he, the spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth, for he shall not speak of himself. But whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak, and he will show you things to come. He shall glorify me, for he shall receive of mine and shall show it unto you. What? The Holy Spirit will guide you into all truth. He is the spirit of truth.

[John Weaver] He takes the Lord Jesus and shows them unto us. Now, let me try to answer this burning question one more time. How is it that so many people can read their Bibles and be unaffected, unchanged, uninfluenced? Well, the answer is because what they're doing is they're reading the letter without the Spirit. There are many things in the Bible that we do not understand. If I am reading a book, and the author has a paragraph in there that I just, I don't know how to understand that paragraph. I don't really know what he means.

[John Weaver] It could be interpreted this way, it could be interpreted several different ways. How am I going to find out what the author meant when he wrote that paragraph or that page or that chapter? Well, the easiest thing to do is the talk to the author. So I don't understand this. What did you mean when you wrote this? And the author can usually pretty much explain it. May I ask you who wrote the Bible? You said men wrote it, but the Holy Spirit inspired it. He's the author of it. He is the one that can explain it. He's the one that can interpret it. He's the one that can enlighten us to understand. So the point I'm trying to make is so many people read their Bible without seeking the ministry of the Holy Spirit. Preachers preach without seeking the power of the Holy Spirit.

[John Weaver] We're trusting in everything and anything but God. Now, there's one other answer. And I want you to turn in your Bibles to Matthew chapter 13 to see it and I'm going to tell you this other answer Actually Deserves another message But here it is look in Matthew chapter 13 beginning there with verse 10 because our Lord has been speaking in parables Matthew 13 in verse 10 and his disciples came and said in him Why speakest thou unto them in parables? Why are you doing this, Lord? Look at verse 11.

[John Weaver] He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. For whosoever hath, to him shall be given. and he shall have more abundance. But whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that which he hath. Therefore speak I to them in parables, because they seeing see not, and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah, which saith, By hearing you shall hear, and you shall not understand. and seeing you shall see and shall not perceive. For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their eyes are dull of hearing, their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest at any time they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart and should be converted, and I should heal them. But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear.

[John Weaver] Have you ever learned to be thankful for the truth that God has allowed you to see? You may not understand all truth, but if our God has sovereignly showed you truth, you may rejoice in that because God does not give his truth to everyone Neither does He give the truth in the same amount or at the same time. So here's the burning question. Why is it we can read our scriptures and never change? And the answer is because we're reading the letter and not asking the Holy Spirit to change us from glory to glory.

[John Weaver] and to make us more and more conformed to the Lord Jesus Christ. Only the Holy Spirit of God can make the Word of God effectual in our lives. That is true of the unsaved, that is true of the saved. And Paul said, we want to be able ministers of the New Testament. That is ministers of the Spirit, preaching the letter, but preaching the letter in power under the anointing of God, the unction of the Holy Spirit as it's called in scripture. Let's read with understanding. Let's sing with understanding. And let's pray with understanding. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to thee this day. We thank you for your word. We thank you for your truth. Lord, we thank you for the ministry of the Holy Spirit.

[John Weaver] And Lord, we do have to confess and acknowledge so many times we've ignored him. We've ignored his influence, we've ignored his ministry, his impact, his teaching. And we've tried to accomplish things on our own. And we always stumble and fall and fail when we do that. And Lord, our churches are in great need today. Your people are in great need today. I pray that you'd awaken us. And help us, Lord, to not be content with just reading, but understanding what we read. Help us not be content with just singing, but understanding what we are singing. Help us not be content with just saying prayers, but understanding what we're praying. Give us your grace and give us your mercy, we pray.

[John Weaver] In the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord, whose name we ask, amen. ♪ ♪ you

A Burning Question

John Weaver | YouTube

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	YouTube
Media ID	SFriW1RqiAY
Subject	Education and Discipleship
Course	Christian Education and Discipleship
Genre	Sermon
Date	2024-09-29
Dictation Name
Book	Book 073: Christian Education and Discipleship — Chapter 11
Source Timed Segments	77

Formatted Transcript

Introduction: The Power of the Gospel

Weaver introduces Romans 1:16 and recounts a question posed to Ravi Zacharias about why reading the Bible does not always change people.

All right, let's open our Bibles today to the book of Romans, chapter 1 and verse 16. That is the verse I'm going to be using. I'll be expounding another passage, but I think you'll see why I'm using this verse to begin with. Notice the book of Romans, chapter 1 and verse 16. The Apostle Paul makes a very unashamedly plain statement. He says,

Scripture Reading — Romans 1:16

"For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth, to the Jew first and also to the Greek."

Years ago, I was listening to a radio program where Ravi Zacharias was speaking. In fact, he was holding a question and answer service at one of the universities. I think that university was Yale, but Ravi's been dead for several years now. But I never will forget one of the questions that was asked. Of course, Ravi was, I think, a leading thinker and a biblical proponent at that particular time. But one student there at the university asked him concerning the power of the gospel, or more specifically, the power of the Word of God. And the question arose around the fact that this young man could not grasp how many people could just simply read the Bible and be uninfluenced and unchanged, or people could read the Bible and never be converted. And so, therefore, he was questioning, actually, not just the power of the gospel, but also the power of the Word of God.

Now, Ravi gave several good illustrations, and he also made the statement, "There are plenty of things in the Bible that we're not completely sure of, and that God, the judge of all the earth, is going to do what is right." I had to leave in listening to the program, but the program was not over. So I don't know whether or not he actually got around to answering the question or not. But the question has been asked of me in times past. And I was thinking about this question this week.

Reading Alone Is Insufficient

Reading the Bible does not automatically save or sanctify; it must be mixed with faith, as Hebrews 4:2 teaches.

And so I decided I would give a biblical answer to it. In fact, I gave a similar answer in that series of four messages years ago, "Why Can't We Just All Get Along?" explaining the differences of opinions from reading the same scripture or the same Bible. So let me just make a statement to begin with, and then I'm going to challenge you and I hope improve the answer from the Word of God. Well, I believe that each individual should read the Bible, saved and unsaved alike. Simply reading the Bible is not going to save anyone. And simply reading the Bible is not going to make anyone simply a more spiritual or more holy. Now, the reason I'm saying that is the Bible is not a lucky rabbit's foot. The Bible is not a charm. Moreover, an individual can have what you and I would call a great mind and a great intellect, and he could read the Scripture over and over to be able to quote long portions of Scripture. But quoting the Bible does not save anyone.

Quoting the Bible does not make anyone spiritual. I must point out the fact that in Matthew chapter 4, even Satan quoted the Bible. Clearly, he is not saved, and certainly he was not spiritual in the sense of being right with God. So does the fact that many read the Bible and remain unconverted, or many read the Bible and remain unchanged and uninfluenced, does that prove or demonstrate the powerlessness of the Bible? And the answer is, of course not. When someone wishes to lose weight, and he reads diets on a daily basis, does that prove that the diets are worthless and ineffective just simply because he's reading those diets and not losing weight? We don't lose weight by reading diets; you have to apply the truth of the diet. And then, of course, you would probably lose weight. But just simply reading the Bible does not necessarily prove that someone is spiritual, and neither does it prove that someone is going to be converted. In fact, there are many people who've read the Bible just to try to disprove the Bible as well.

Now, if you look in your Bibles very quickly before I quote Romans 1 again, but if you will turn to the book of Hebrews chapter 4, the point I'm trying to make here is very plain. Reading the Bible will not profit you unless it is mixed with faith and unless it is applied to your life. So notice, if you would, in the book of Hebrews chapter 4, what the Word of God says concerning all of these people who not only came out of Egypt, but saw the great works of God. The Bible says in Hebrews chapter 4, verse 1,

Scripture Reading — Hebrews 4:1-2

"Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it."

Now look carefully at verse 2. "For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it." So it doesn't matter if it's reading the Scripture or hearing the Scripture taught. It must be mixed with faith.

The Dynamite of God Needs a Fuse

The gospel is God's power (dunamis), but like dynamite, it requires ignition—faith and the Holy Spirit—to be effective.

Now, when the Apostle Paul in Romans chapter 1 and verse 16 makes the statement, "I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation"—and of course, everyone knows that the Greek word there is the word dunamis. And that is the word from which we get dynamite. So he said, the gospel is indeed the dynamite of God. And the word dunamis in the Greek is a source of many English words: dynamics, dynamo, anything that is expressive of inherent power. Now, a stick of dynamite may have inherent power in it. But unless there is a fuse to ignite it, or some way to set it off, the power will never ever be displayed. And incidentally, I'll just throw this in for free. When I was a boy, you used to go down to the hardware store and buy sticks of dynamite. You can't do that today. But we used them to blow stumps. And I started helping my father blow stumps when I was seven years old. And so I remember those sticks of dynamite quite well, and how well they blew those stumps out of the field. But the dynamite is indeed dynamite.

It has power, it has explosive power. But it has to be ignited as well. So just as one may casually read about diets every day and read diets every day and never lose weight, so one can read the Bible every day and still not be converted and still not be what you and I would call spiritual and holy and godly. Our Lord said it like this to the Pharisees in John 8 and verse 24.

Scripture Reading — John 8:24

"I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins."

And so reading is not the same as believing. Hearing is not the same as believing. So one of the greatest problems that we have in our day and time, in Christendom especially, is that of ignorance. And I'm talking specifically about biblical ignorance. There was a time when practically everyone read the Bible, saved and unsaved alike. Although the unsaved never were saved in the sense that you and I would talk about being saved.

Biblical Illiteracy and the Need for Understanding

Historical examples show the Bible was once central to education, but today biblical ignorance is rampant. True understanding comes from God.

Scripture Reading — John 8:24

"I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins."

They would be decent people, they'd be moral people. But they would read the Bible for the principles therein. And I've heard even when I was a young boy, these talking about trying to live by the old Book, whether they were saved or not. They acknowledged the fact that the Bible was full of wisdom and morality as well. In fact, many of us remember that in the beginning of our country, there were books that taught the Bible based upon what you and I would call the ABCs. For instance, the New England Primer was one of them. In fact, a lot of children back in colonial days learned the ABCs like this: "A—All have sinned and come short of the glory of God. B—Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. C—Children obey your parents. D—Depart from evil and do that which is good." And just go right on down until they learned all the ABCs.

But at the same time, they were learning Bible verses as well. Now, Massachusetts actually led the way in teaching the Word of God when it passed the Old Deluder Satan Act in 1647. Because here the law was demanding that everyone read the Bible and everyone be taught to read the Bible. And of course, that's why it was called the Old Deluder Satan Act. So they were going to make sure that everyone understood the Scripture. Thus, the early—and I'm going to use this term very general—the early public schools. Well, the schools where all those children went in the 1600s and early 1700s were schools where they learned to read by reading the Bible. And they were taught the principles from the Word of God.

Now, in the 19th century, the primary books were the McGuffey Readers. And the McGuffey Readers were not only moral, but they were based upon the Bible as well. So it's amazing today when you consider the history of the Bible and how the Bible was read. It's amazing when you consider the history of it that today very few people really read the Bible. And even fewer really and truly study the Word of God as well. There was a time when Christians actually devoured the Word of God. They took it upon themselves to view the Scripture exactly the way the prophets did. You know what Jeremiah said? Jeremiah said this in Jeremiah 15 and verse 16:

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 15:16

"Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O LORD God of hosts."

So he said,

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 15:16

"Thy word was found and I did eat them. They were the joy and the rejoicing of my heart."

I want you to turn, if you would, to the book of Psalms and look in Psalm 19. And I want to begin reading there in verse 7. And again, I want you to see what David says. And from Psalm 19, we'll go to Psalm 119. But notice if you would, Psalm 19, beginning there with verse 7. David is talking about the law of the Lord. He said,

Scripture Reading — Psalm 19:7-11

"The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether."

Now watch verse 10.

Desiring the Word as Nourishment

Believers should crave Scripture like a baby craves milk, but many remain on milk and never mature to handle meat.

Scripture Reading — Psalm 19:7-11

"The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether."

Now watch verse 10.

"More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. Moreover by them is thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward." Now note he said, "More to be desired are they than gold, yea, much more than fine gold." And then he said, "Sweeter than honey and the honeycomb." I'm sure that each one of us would be delighted to find a treasure chest full of gold. Well, the Word of God, he says, is far more precious than that. Then he said in verse 11, "Moreover by them is thy servant warned." And here's an amazing statement: "And in keeping of them there is great reward."

Now, sometime back, many years back, I met a man who was extremely wealthy. He was an unsaved man. And he told me very pointedly and up front that although he had a great deal of money, that he tithed. And I think everyone should tithe. I believe that is a biblical fact because a tithe is nothing less than God's tax on the use of His earth. And the unsaved use it just exactly the way the saved do. So, I mean, everybody is obligated to pay God's tax. But when I asked him, knowing that he was unsaved, when I asked him why he tithed, he said, "Because I have learned that God blesses me when I tithe." I thought that was amazing. I thought, wow, that's what he said. "And in keeping of them there is great reward."

He was tithing for the wrong reason. He was not tithing for God's honor and glory. He was not tithing out of obedience to God. He was tithing just so that God would bless him. Evidently He did, because he's an extremely wealthy man. So if you look in your Bibles to Psalm 119 and look, if you would please, at verse 103. Look again what David said. Psalm 119 verse 103:

Scripture Reading — Psalm 119:103

"How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!"

So he talks about the sweetness of the Word of God, sweeter than honey. Now, if you will turn right on over to 1 Peter, chapter 2, I want you to look, if you would, please, at verses 1 through 3. 1 Peter, chapter 2. Beginning there in verse 1, he says, "Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings, as newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby."

"If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious." Now note if you would, he said, "As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby." There's never been a baby that was born alive that did not want its mother's breast milk. Why? Because that is the nourishment, that is the sustenance, that is exactly what he needs. And God is telling us that if we are babes in Christ, that we need the milk of His Word. And just like a young child craves and hungers for milk, so likewise, we as God's children should hunger and crave the milk of His Word. I get so tickled sometimes watching Alice when we have to feed a young calf. We have a bucket where we make up the milk. And when the mother's not feeding the calf, we go out there and you do not have to coax that calf once he tastes that milk. I mean, the calf comes and he just craves it.

That's all there is to it. And that's exactly what God is saying. Now, if a baby is born and never, ever desires milk, something is wrong with that child. And there's something wrong with a professing Christian that says they're saved and yet they never, ever desire the Word of God. So, I want to just show you the absolute necessity and the importance of the Word of God. And I'm going to tell you that the emphasis upon the Word of God cannot be overestimated, neither can it be overemphasized, because we have been commanded to read, we've been commanded to study the Word of God. Now, milk is absolutely necessary for growth. Milk is absolutely necessary for life. You cannot progress to meat as a baby unless you've been raised on milk.

It's what it amounts to. No mother is going to take a 10-ounce steak and set it before a three-month-old baby. The baby could not eat it, even if she chewed it and gummed it and put it in the child's mouth. Probably the child could not even digest it. So there has to be milk before you can get to the meat. I want you to turn back in your Bibles to the book of Hebrews, chapter 5. And let me just show you where we are in our biblical ignorance today. This is why in most churches, you're always having feuds and fights and you're always having people get upset and people don't understand and people get angry. People get mad. In fact, I just heard this week, this past week, of a local church that had split, and because of unbiblical, ungodly activity. But look at what the Scripture says.

Hebrews chapter 5, and let's begin reading there with verse 11. The apostle says,

Scripture Reading — Hebrews 5:11-14

"Of whom we have many things to say, and hard to be uttered, seeing ye are dull of hearing. For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil."

The author of the book of Hebrews is telling us, here's the reason some Christians never can stomach meat: it's because they never grow up. They never get off the milk. And milk is necessary. But milk is not that which sustains us all of our lives. It's the meat of the Word.

The Letter Kills, the Spirit Gives Life

In 2 Corinthians 3, Paul contrasts the letter (law) which condemns, with the Spirit who gives life. The law shows sin but cannot save.

And consequently, we have so many people right there that are just absolutely, totally ignorant of the Word of God. Now, let me just tell you, as important as the Word of God is in our lives, just simply reading it will not change us. Just simply reading it will not make us more holy and more godly. Any more than just reading a book on physics would make us an engineer or an architect. We could read a book on medicine, but that would not necessarily make us a doctor. That is the same thing. I want you to listen to this: it's the same thing when we come to the singing of the hymns in church. Do you realize that when most people sing, they sing out of rote memory? They never ever think about the words that they're singing. I get tickled a lot of times in listening to people and watching people. And I've been in Armenian churches where they're singing, "Ye chosen seed of Israel's ransom from the fall." How can you sing that and not think about the doctrine of election? You know, I was preaching in South Carolina years ago and I got to the church building early and here was a lady inside who was supposed to be singing the special that night and she was practicing her special.

And she did have a beautiful voice. There's no two ways about that. But she was singing that song, "I found Him, I found Him," you know, and I listened for a few minutes and finally she stopped. I said, "You know, you're singing that beautifully." I said, "The only—there's only one problem with that." She said, "What is that?" I said, "You didn't find Him. He found you." And the Scripture says that He seeks and saves that which was lost. You didn't find Him. She said, "Oh, in that case, then He found me," and she started singing about that. And that's how she sang it that night. So I'm just simply saying, when you think about all of this, you think about, wow, what am I saying? What am I hearing? What am I saying?

Now, I want to show you two passages. The first one is Psalm 47. I want you to turn there and then we're going to go to 1 Corinthians. But I want you to look in Psalm 47. And I want you to know what the Apostle Paul—not the Apostle Paul, David—what David says in this psalm. Psalm 47, and Paul on the line in 1 Corinthians. So look in Psalm 47, if you would, please. This is a psalm of jubilation. This is a psalm of praise. This is a psalm that would get you excited. OK, so look at it in Psalm 47.

"O clap your hands, all ye people; shout unto God with the voice of triumph." Now already that's emotional. "Clap your hands, all ye people; shout unto God with the voice of triumph. For the LORD most high is terrible; he is a great King over all the earth." Watch it. "He shall subdue the people under us, and the nations under our feet. He shall choose our inheritance for us, the excellency of Jacob whom he loved. Selah. God is gone up with a shout, the LORD with the sound of a trumpet. Sing praises to God, sing praises: sing praises unto our King, sing praises." Now look at verse 7: "For God is the King of all the earth: sing ye praises with understanding." Does it stop there? No, two more words: "with understanding." So we're to understand why we are praising God. We're to understand what we are praising Him about. So we're going to be singing praises. It is to be with understanding. Now, if you look in 1 Corinthians chapter 14 and verse 15, now we can get to the Apostle Paul.

1 Corinthians chapter 14 and verse 15. Look what the apostle said.

Scripture Reading — 1 Corinthians 14:15

"What is it then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also: I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also."

So the apostle says it doesn't matter whether you're praying or whether you're singing. Understanding has to be involved. So let me say this again: it's not just reading your Bible that counts, it's understanding the principles and the truth that's being expressed in the Bible. So the question has to arise, where in the world do we receive or acquire understanding? We acquire understanding from God Himself. Proverbs 2 and verse 6, the Bible says, "For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding." The Apostle Paul told Timothy in 2 Timothy chapter 2 and verse 7, "Consider what I say; and the Lord give thee understanding in all things."

Now, you're going to understand why I gave you all of this introduction. I want you to turn in your Bibles to 2 Corinthians chapter 3, and I want you to look at a very difficult passage in one sense of the word. 2 Corinthians chapter 3, we'll come back to the beginning of it, but right now, look at verses 5 and 6. 2 Corinthians chapter 3, verses 5 and 6. The Apostle Paul says, "Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God." So he's talking about himself as a minister, as a preacher, as well as those who were with him and those of us who are alive today. He says, "Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God." So our sufficiency is of God, not of man, "who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament."

Now, look at this: "not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life." Now, the Apostle says we are not sufficient in and of ourselves for this ministry. And then he says God has made us able ministers, not of the Old Testament but the New Testament. "For the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life." Now, let me tell you what the Apostle Paul is not doing. He is not pitting the Old Testament against the New Testament, nor the New Testament against the Old Testament. He is not saying that the Old Testament is to be thrown away. It's over. It's done. He's not saying that whatsoever.

I'm going to prove that to you just momentarily. But note what he is saying. He is saying that what is more important than the letter is the spirit. You remember what our Lord said in John chapter 6 and verse 63? Our Lord said, "It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life." Now, look back at verse 6: "who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life." Hang on. He's going to make a comparison and a distinction for you. He says in verse 7, "But if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not stedfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away:" Hang on. Look what he called the law written in tables of stone. He called it the ministration of death. And he says that glory that Moses had was to be done away with. Now look in verse 8: "How shall not the ministration of the spirit be rather glorious?"

Now, let me say this. I don't want to forget this. Look in verse 7. He said,

Scripture Reading — 2 Corinthians 3:1-18

"But if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not stedfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away:"

The law was not to be done away with; the glory of it was to be done away with. Moreover, the way of writing the law was to be done away with. It's no longer on tables of stone. When you read the book of Hebrews, He's now written His law in our hearts and on our minds. The law is not written in tables of stone, but it's written in the fleshly tables of our heart. For instance, let's go back to the beginning. 2 Corinthians chapter 3. Look at what the Apostle said.

Scripture Reading — 2 Corinthians 3:1-18

"Do we begin again to commend ourselves? or need we, as some others, epistles of commendation to you, or letters of commendation from you? Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men: forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart."

So even the Apostle Paul is giving us right here this distinction. So he's going to talk about the letter and he's going to talk about the spirit as well. So note, if you would, in verse 7, that written letter was called the ministration of death.

In verse 8, the spirit is called the ministration of the spirit. Now, if you look in verse 9, he said, "For if the ministration of condemnation be glory, much more doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory." So now we've got this comparison again. And now he's talking about the letter being the ministration of condemnation. And it was glorious. But now we have this of the Spirit and the ministration of righteousness. It's going to exceed in glory. Clearly now there's a contrast the Apostle is making between the ministry of condemnation and the ministry of righteousness, or the ministry of death and the ministry of life, or if you want to say it, the letter and the spirit. And so as I said before, I'm going to repeat again, the Apostle is not saying the Old Testament is done away with. That's not what he's saying at all. So why then does he call the written law the letter of the law? Why does he call it a ministration of condemnation and a ministration of death? And the answer is because the law, as well as the letter of the Word of God, shows us our duties, our faults, our failures, our responsibilities, our sins, our rebellions, as well as our guilt and our condemnation in not accomplishing those duties and not accomplishing those responsibilities.

Scripture Reading — 2 Corinthians 3:1-18

Neither does it give us the strength or the power to accomplish those things. The only thing the letter can do is to condemn because it gives us a sense of our failure and a sense of our guilt. So hold 2 Corinthians, but turn right over, if you would, to the book of Galatians, chapter 3. Galatians, chapter 3, and look, if you would, please, at verses 10 through 12. Galatians 3, verse 10. "For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith. And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them." In other words, if you're going to live under the law, you must keep the law personally, perfectly, and perpetually, which no one has done.

or is capable of doing. If you're going to live under the law, then, of course, you're responsible to keep the whole thing. You cannot. And so it is a curse for us. It is a condemnation for us. And what the law does, it shows us our sins and our wickedness. No man can be saved by the law. That is evident. If you'll skip down to verse 21, the apostle says it like this: "Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law." If there had been a law given that could have given life, then Jesus Christ would not have needed to have suffered, bled, and died. But there is no law that can do that. So it is the Holy Spirit that gives life. The gospel is the letter of life.

The Holy Spirit Makes the Word Effectual

The Word of God works effectually in those who believe (1 Thessalonians 2:13). The Spirit removes the veil of blindness and transforms believers.

It shows the way of life, but it is the Holy Spirit of God who lights the fuse of that dynamite and makes it effectual in our lives. So the Word of God in the hands of the Holy Spirit is that which is made effectual in our lives. Now, I want to give you two quotes. The first one is by John Gill. And the second is from Adam Clarke. Now, Adam Clarke's quote is a little bit long, but it's very important that you pay attention to it. I want you to listen, first of all, to John Gill. It's just a short paragraph. He says this: "The law is the letter, not merely because it is written in letters, for so likewise is the gospel, but because it is a mere letter hereby showing what is to be done or avoided without any efficacy or power in it, or communicating any to enable persons to obey its command, to give life to its observers, or either to sanctify or justify any who are under it or the works of it. It is a mere letter as observed by an unregenerate man who only regards the externals of it."

"Being unacquainted with its spirituality. The gospel is the spirit. It contains spiritual things and not things merely natural, moral, and civil, as does the law, but spiritual blessings and promises. It penetrates into the spirit and soul of man and comes from and is attended with the spirit of God." And that's a good quote. But I want you to listen now to what Adam Clarke says, and he gives, I think, a fuller explanation with some good illustrations. I will go ahead and tell you this. There'd be a word or two that I would probably change. But I think as a whole, he really hits the nail on the head. Listen carefully. "Not of the letter, but of the spirit. The apostle does not mean here, as some have imagined, that he states himself to be a minister of the New Testament in opposition to the Old, and that it is the Old Testament that kills and the New that gives life, but that the New Testament gives the proper meaning of the Old Testament. For the Old Covenant had its letter and its spirit, its literal and its spiritual meaning."

"The law was founded on the very supposition of the Gospel. And all of its sacrifices, tithes, and ceremonies refer to the Gospel. The Jews rested in the letter, which not only afforded no means of life, but killed by condemning every transgressor to death. They did not look at the spirit, did not endeavor to find out the spiritual meaning, and therefore they rejected Christ, who was the end of the law for justification, and so for the redemption from death to everyone that believes. The new covenant set all these spiritual things at once before their eyes and showed them the end, object, and design of the law. And thus the apostles who preached it were the ministers of that spirit, which gives life." Now listen to this. "Every institution has its letter as well as its spirit. And every word must refer to something of which it is the sign or the significator. The gospel has both its letter and its spirit. And multitudes of professing Christians, by resting in the letter, receive not the life which it is calculated to impart."

"Water in baptism is the letter that points out the purification of the soul. They who rest in the letter are without the purification, and dying in that state, they die eternally. Bread and wine in the sacrament—I would say the ordinance of the Lord's Supper—are the letter. The atoning efficacy of the death of Jesus and the grace communicated by this to the soul of the believer are the spirit. Multitudes rest in this letter, simply receiving these symbols without reference to the Atonement or to their guilt, and thus lose the benefit of the Atonement and the salvation of their souls." Now listen to what he says next. "The whole Christian life is comprehended by our Lord under the letter," and then he quotes the two words that our Lord speaks when our Lord said, "Follow me." And listen what he says: "Does not anyone see that a man taking up this letter only and following Christ through Judea, Galilee, Samaria, the city, the temple, the villages, the synagogues, the mountains, would lose his own life?"

Why? Because the words "follow me" refer to the spirit; that is, we are to obey Him. We are to submit to Him. We're to live from Him. He is our Lord. He is our Master. And he goes on to say, "Multitudes of Christians follow only the letter and not the Spirit." Now, like I said, I may disagree with a few words in there, but I think he hits the nail on the head as to where we are today because there are so many church members, so many professing Christians that are resting in the letter and not in the Spirit.

So, here's the truth in our day and time. We have kept the letter of the gospel. But we've lost the spirit of the gospel. We've lost the dynamite. We've lost the power of the gospel. We depend upon our expositions and our exegesis rather than the power of God. Let me say this another way. I do not care how great a preacher a man is. Man is incapable of providing the power. Sermons are incapable of providing the power. Illustrations are incapable of providing the power. Oratory is incapable of providing the power. The only power that can make everything real to us is that of the Holy Spirit of God. He is the one that ignites the dynamite of the gospel in our lives. He is the one that ignites the dynamite of the Word of God in our lives. And without Him, all we have is the letter.

Now, let me show you. So I want you to turn in your Bibles to 1 Thessalonians, chapter 2. 1 Thessalonians, chapter 2. And look, if you would please, at verse 13. This is a tremendous, tremendous verse. 1 Thessalonians, chapter 2. Look in verse 13. The Apostle Paul says it like this: "For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe." So the apostle is thanking God for the Thessalonians. He said, "Because when you received the word of God, which you heard of us, you received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God." So when they heard the Apostle Paul preach, they didn't say, "Well, that's just what Paul thinks. That's just what Paul believes." No, no, no. They realized that when Paul was expounding, explaining, and applying the Word of God, that was God speaking, that was God's Word.

Paul was not saying, "I think," or "in my opinion," he was expounding the Word of God. And they received it as it is in truth the Word of God. And then he said, "which effectually worketh also in you that believe." Now the word "effectually worketh" is a little Greek word, energeo. It is actually where we get our English word energy and energize from. It means to make effectual. It means to energize. It means to display activity. It means to be operative. So it was the Holy Spirit of God that made the Word of God effectual in their lives.

Now, I want you to go back in your Bibles to 2 Corinthians chapter 3. I want to try to tie this together for you and show you exactly what I'm trying to get across. So let's begin reading with verse 12. 2 Corinthians chapter 3 verse 12. Look what the Apostle says:

Scripture Reading — 2 Corinthians 3:1-18

"Seeing then that we have such hope, we use great plainness of speech: and not as Moses, which put a vail over his face, that the children of Israel could not stedfastly look to the end of that which is abolished: but their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same vail untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which vail is done away in Christ. But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the vail is upon their heart. Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the vail shall be taken away. Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord."

Now, in this passage, the Apostle Paul is talking about the veil that is upon the minds and the hearts of the people who just went with the letter. He said, even when Moses is read, the veil is still upon their minds. They're blind. They can't see, they can't perceive, they can't understand. So what is the answer? Well, the answer is there needs to be a divine energy, there needs to be a divine stick of dynamite placed. And how in the world does that happen? Well, look in verse 17.

"Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty." In other words, no man has the liberty to turn from himself and his sins unto Jesus Christ apart from the Holy Spirit. It's the Holy Spirit who gives liberty. It's the Holy Spirit who regenerates. It's the Holy Spirit who convicts. It's the Holy Spirit who converts. Wait a minute, I'm going to show you something else. He says, look at verse 16: "Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the vail shall be taken away." How in the world can the mind, how in the world can the heart turn to the Lord when it is blind? And the answer is, "Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty." In other words, He opens our blinded eyes, He frees our stubborn wills, and He enables us to come savingly to Jesus Christ.

Now, hang on, that's not all. That is true in salvation. But now we are saved by the grace of God. We read the Scripture. But here's my question. What kind of effect has simply the reading of the Scripture had upon your life? Because the Word without the Spirit is nothing but a letter.

Applications: Seeking the Spirit's Power

The gospel has not lost its power; we have lost it by neglecting the Holy Spirit. We must read, sing, and pray with understanding, relying on the Spirit.

Now, look in verse 18. Here is how we must read the Scripture. "But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord." So as we read our Bibles, as we study our Bibles, it's not just, "I'm reading my Bible." I remember years ago, when I was a boy, you went to Sunday school, man, you had to fill out that little form. "Did you read your Bible this week?" Check it. "Were you at prayer meeting?" Check it. They couldn't care less whether or not you learned anything. Did you read it just so you could check? "Yes, I read my Bible." The point I'm trying to make is this: it's not the reading that is important as much as the understanding and the application of it. You've heard me say this: I'd rather read and understand five verses than read five chapters and not understand a thing that I've read. So when we read our Bibles, it must be that we're reading them, "the blessed Holy Spirit of God, open my eyes, show me, teach me, illuminate me, enlighten me, change me from glory to glory into the image of our Lord Jesus Christ." It's God's will that we be conformed to His Son.

That's what He said in Romans chapter 8. That's the whole end of everything. So I'm afraid many Christians have gone through and made reading their Bible like they do singing their hymns. They just sing them and never think about the verses and never think about the words. And we read our Bibles and never think about what we've read. How many times have you read your Bible and then all of a sudden you catch yourself and you say, "What did I just read? Oh, what was in that chapter?" And your mind had been somewhere else, and yet you were reading your Bible. So the point I'm trying to make is, the Bible is not a lucky rabbit's foot. It's not a charm. It is a letter.

And it has to be energized by the Holy Spirit of God in order for us to understand it. Now, let me make some applications. The first one is this: the gospel has not lost its power. We have lost the power of the gospel. The gospel is the dynamite of God. We have depended upon anything and everything to make it effectual except the Holy Spirit. Most churches today are nothing more than entertainment centers, social clubs, recreational buildings, and preachers are trying anything and everything to get people to attend and to stay there. Except the power of God. I'm just simply pointing out the fact: when God works in a man's heart, he doesn't need anything else. So the gospel hasn't lost its power. We have lost the power because of our sins, because of our disobedience, and because of our lack of trust in the Holy Spirit of God.

Now, I do want you to turn in your Bibles, if you would, for the next application to the book of John, chapter 16. John, chapter 16. Look if you would, beginning there with verse 12. John 16 and verse 12. When we read our Bibles, when we study our Bibles, we must seek understanding from the Holy Spirit alone. Look if you would, in John 16 and verse 12, our Lord said it like this.

Scripture Reading — John 16:12-14

"I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you."

What? The Holy Spirit will guide you into all truth. He is the Spirit of truth.

He takes the Lord Jesus and shows them unto us. Now, let me try to answer this burning question one more time. How is it that so many people can read their Bibles and be unaffected, unchanged, uninfluenced? Well, the answer is because what they're doing is they're reading the letter without the Spirit. There are many things in the Bible that we do not understand. If I am reading a book, and the author has a paragraph in there that I just—I don't know how to understand that paragraph. I don't really know what he means.

It could be interpreted this way, it could be interpreted several different ways. How am I going to find out what the author meant when he wrote that paragraph or that page or that chapter? Well, the easiest thing to do is to talk to the author. "So I don't understand this. What did you mean when you wrote this?" And the author can usually pretty much explain it. May I ask you who wrote the Bible? You said men wrote it, but the Holy Spirit inspired it. He's the author of it. He is the one that can explain it. He's the one that can interpret it. He's the one that can enlighten us to understand. So the point I'm trying to make is so many people read their Bible without seeking the ministry of the Holy Spirit. Preachers preach without seeking the power of the Holy Spirit.

We're trusting in everything and anything but God. Now, there's one other answer. And I want you to turn in your Bibles to Matthew chapter 13 to see it, and I'm going to tell you this other answer actually deserves another message. But here it is. Look in Matthew chapter 13 beginning there with verse 10, because our Lord has been speaking in parables. Matthew 13 and verse 10:

Scripture Reading — Matthew 13:10-16

"And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?"

Why are you doing this, Lord? Look at verse 11.

"He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath. Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive: for this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear."

Have you ever learned to be thankful for the truth that God has allowed you to see? You may not understand all truth, but if our God has sovereignly showed you truth, you may rejoice in that because God does not give His truth to everyone. Neither does He give the truth in the same amount or at the same time. So here's the burning question. Why is it we can read our Scriptures and never change? And the answer is because we're reading the letter and not asking the Holy Spirit to change us from glory to glory. and to make us more and more conformed to the Lord Jesus Christ. Only the Holy Spirit of God can make the Word of God effectual in our lives. That is true of the unsaved, that is true of the saved. And Paul said, we want to be able ministers of the New Testament. That is ministers of the Spirit, preaching the letter, but preaching the letter in power under the anointing of God, the unction of the Holy Spirit as it's called in Scripture. Let's read with understanding. Let's sing with understanding. And let's pray with understanding. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to Thee this day. We thank You for Your Word. We thank You for Your truth. Lord, we thank You for the ministry of the Holy Spirit.

And Lord, we do have to confess and acknowledge so many times we've ignored Him. We've ignored His influence, we've ignored His ministry, His impact, His teaching. And we've tried to accomplish things on our own. And we always stumble and fall and fail when we do that. And Lord, our churches are in great need today. Your people are in great need today. I pray that You'd awaken us. And help us, Lord, to not be content with just reading, but understanding what we read. Help us not be content with just singing, but understanding what we are singing. Help us not be content with just saying prayers, but understanding what we're praying. Give us Your grace and give us Your mercy, we pray.

In the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord, whose name we ask, amen.

Study Guide

Major Themes

Insufficiency of Mere Reading

Summary: Simply reading the Bible does not guarantee salvation or spiritual growth; it must be accompanied by faith and application.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'Simply reading the Bible is not going to save anyone. And simply reading the Bible is not going to make anyone simply a more spiritual or more holy.'

The Gospel as Dynamite Requiring Ignition

Summary: The gospel is God's power (dunamis), but like dynamite, it needs the fuse of faith and the Holy Spirit to become effective.

Evidence: Weaver explains, 'A stick of dynamite may have inherent power in it. But unless there is a fuse to ignite it, or some way to set it off, the power will never ever be displayed.'

Letter vs. Spirit

Summary: The letter of the law condemns and kills, but the Spirit gives life. The Old Testament law is not abolished, but its glory is surpassed by the Spirit's ministry.

Evidence: Weaver cites 2 Corinthians 3:6: 'for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.'

Necessity of the Holy Spirit for Understanding

Summary: Only the Holy Spirit can illuminate Scripture, remove spiritual blindness, and transform believers into Christ's image.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'It's the Holy Spirit who gives liberty. It's the Holy Spirit who regenerates. It's the Holy Spirit who convicts. It's the Holy Spirit who converts.'

Spiritual Immaturity and Biblical Ignorance

Summary: Many Christians remain on milk, unable to digest meat, leading to division and lack of discernment.

Evidence: Weaver references Hebrews 5:12-14, noting that some 'are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.'

The Gospel's Power Is Unchanged, but Neglected

Summary: The gospel has not lost its power; the church has lost it by relying on entertainment and human methods instead of the Holy Spirit.

Evidence: Weaver declares, 'The gospel has not lost its power. We have lost the power of the gospel.'

Key Arguments

Faith Activates the Word

Summary: The Word preached or read profits nothing unless mixed with faith, as seen in Hebrews 4:2.

Evidence: Weaver quotes Hebrews 4:2: 'the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.'

The Law Condemns, the Spirit Justifies

Summary: The law is a ministration of death and condemnation because it reveals sin but cannot provide righteousness; only the Spirit can.

Evidence: Weaver explains, 'The only thing the letter can do is to condemn because it gives us a sense of our failure and a sense of our guilt.'

The Veil Is Removed by the Spirit

Summary: Spiritual blindness is removed only when one turns to the Lord, who is the Spirit, granting liberty and understanding.

Evidence: Weaver cites 2 Corinthians 3:16-17: 'Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the vail shall be taken away. Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.'

Transformation Comes by the Spirit Through the Word

Summary: As believers behold the glory of the Lord in Scripture, the Spirit transforms them into Christ's image.

Evidence: Weaver quotes 2 Corinthians 3:18: 'But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.'

Understanding Requires the Author's Help

Summary: Just as one would ask an author to explain a difficult passage, believers must ask the Holy Spirit, the Bible's author, for understanding.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'He's the author of it. He is the one that can explain it. He's the one that can interpret it.'

Sovereign Revelation of Truth

Summary: God sovereignly grants understanding to some and not others, as Jesus taught in Matthew 13:11.

Evidence: Weaver reads Matthew 13:11: 'Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.'

Scripture References

Romans 1:16

Context: Weaver opens with this verse to establish the gospel as the power of God unto salvation.

Matthew 4

Context: Satan quoted Scripture, showing that quoting the Bible does not make one spiritual or saved.

Hebrews 4:1-2

Context: The Word preached did not profit those who lacked faith, illustrating the need for faith.

John 8:24

Context: Jesus said belief is necessary to avoid dying in sins; reading is not the same as believing.

Jeremiah 15:16

Context: Jeremiah ate God's words, finding joy; believers should devour Scripture.

Psalm 19:7-11

Context: The law is perfect, converting the soul; God's Word is more desirable than gold and brings reward.

Psalm 119:103

Context: God's words are sweeter than honey, emphasizing the delight in Scripture.

1 Peter 2:1-3

Context: Newborn babes desire the sincere milk of the Word to grow; believers should crave Scripture.

Hebrews 5:11-14

Context: Some Christians remain on milk and are unskillful in the word, needing to mature to meat.

Psalm 47:1-7

Context: We are to sing praises with understanding, not just emotional expression.

1 Corinthians 14:15

Context: Paul says to pray and sing with the spirit and with understanding.

Proverbs 2:6

Context: The Lord gives wisdom, knowledge, and understanding.

2 Timothy 2:7

Context: Paul tells Timothy the Lord will give understanding in all things.

2 Corinthians 3:1-18

Context: Extensive exposition on the letter vs. spirit, the veil, and transformation by the Spirit.

John 6:63

Context: Jesus said the Spirit gives life; the flesh profits nothing.

Galatians 3:10-12, 21

Context: The law brings a curse; no one is justified by the law; if a law could give life, righteousness would be by the law.

1 Thessalonians 2:13

Context: The Word of God effectually works in those who believe, showing the Spirit's energizing work.

Romans 8

Context: God's will is that believers be conformed to the image of His Son.

John 16:12-14

Context: The Spirit of truth will guide believers into all truth and glorify Christ.

Matthew 13:10-16

Context: Jesus explains why He speaks in parables: some are given to know mysteries, others are not; their hearts are dull.

Historical References

Ravi Zacharias Q&A at Yale University

Context: Weaver recalls a radio program where Ravi Zacharias was asked about the power of the Bible, noting the student's question about unchanged readers.

New England Primer

Context: Colonial children learned the alphabet using Bible verses, such as 'A—All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.'

Old Deluder Satan Act (1647)

Context: Massachusetts passed this law to ensure everyone learned to read the Bible, leading to early public schools.

McGuffey Readers

Context: In the 19th century, these readers were based on the Bible and used for moral education.

John Gill (1697-1771)

Context: Weaver quotes Gill's commentary on 2 Corinthians 3:6, explaining the law as a mere letter without efficacy.

Adam Clarke (1762-1832)

Context: Weaver quotes Clarke's commentary on 2 Corinthians 3:6, emphasizing the letter and spirit in both testaments and Christian practices.

Important Quotes

For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

Significance: Foundational verse establishing the gospel as God's power, which Weaver uses to frame the entire message.

Simply reading the Bible is not going to save anyone. And simply reading the Bible is not going to make anyone simply a more spiritual or more holy.

Significance: Core thesis that reading alone is insufficient without faith and the Spirit's work.

For the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.

Significance: Key verse from 2 Corinthians 3:6 that contrasts the condemning letter of the law with the life-giving Spirit.

The gospel has not lost its power. We have lost the power of the gospel.

Significance: Application that the problem is not with the gospel but with believers' neglect of the Holy Spirit.

But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.

Significance: 2 Corinthians 3:18, showing that transformation comes through beholding Christ in Scripture by the Spirit.

Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.

Significance: 2 Corinthians 3:17, emphasizing that the Spirit alone grants freedom from spiritual blindness.

For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.

Significance: Hebrews 4:2, illustrating that the Word must be combined with faith to be effective.

As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby.

Significance: 1 Peter 2:2, calling believers to crave Scripture for spiritual growth.

Discussion Questions

Why does simply reading the Bible not guarantee spiritual growth or conversion?

Context: Weaver argues that reading must be mixed with faith and the Spirit's illumination.

What does it mean that the gospel is the 'dynamite of God,' and what is the 'fuse' that ignites it?

Context: Weaver uses the dynamite analogy to explain that the gospel's power requires the Holy Spirit's activation.

How does the contrast between the letter and the Spirit in 2 Corinthians 3 apply to our Bible reading today?

Context: Weaver explains that the letter condemns, but the Spirit gives life and understanding.

In what ways might we be 'resting in the letter' rather than seeking the Spirit's work in our lives?

Context: Weaver warns against treating Bible reading as a ritual without seeking transformation.

Why is it dangerous to remain on the 'milk' of the Word and not progress to 'meat'?

Context: Weaver references Hebrews 5 to show that immaturity leads to division and lack of discernment.

How can we practically seek the Holy Spirit's help when reading or studying the Bible?

Context: Weaver encourages praying for understanding and illumination, treating the Spirit as the Author.

What does it mean to sing, pray, and read 'with understanding'?

Context: Weaver cites Psalm 47:7 and 1 Corinthians 14:15 to emphasize engaging the mind in worship.

How does the sovereignty of God in revealing truth (Matthew 13) affect our gratitude and humility?

Context: Weaver notes that understanding is a gift, and we should be thankful for what God has shown us.

Applications

Seek the Spirit's Illumination in Bible Reading

Summary: When reading Scripture, pray for the Holy Spirit to open your eyes and give understanding, not just read the words.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'It's not the reading that is important as much as the understanding and the application of it.'

Mix the Word with Faith

Summary: Approach the Bible with active faith, believing and applying its truths, not merely as an intellectual exercise.

Evidence: Weaver cites Hebrews 4:2: 'the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith.'

Desire the Word as Spiritual Nourishment

Summary: Cultivate a hunger for Scripture like a baby craves milk, recognizing it as essential for growth.

Evidence: Weaver references 1 Peter 2:2: 'As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word.'

Move from Milk to Meat

Summary: Strive to mature in understanding, moving beyond elementary teachings to deeper truths, exercising discernment.

Evidence: Weaver warns from Hebrews 5 that some remain babes, unable to handle strong meat.

Engage Mindfully in Worship

Summary: Sing, pray, and read with conscious understanding, not out of rote memory or empty ritual.

Evidence: Weaver points to Psalm 47:7 and 1 Corinthians 14:15, emphasizing 'with understanding.'

Depend on the Spirit, Not Human Methods

Summary: In personal devotion and church ministry, rely on the Holy Spirit's power rather than entertainment or human strategies.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'The gospel has not lost its power. We have lost the power of the gospel.'

Be Thankful for Revealed Truth

Summary: Recognize that understanding Scripture is a sovereign gift; be grateful for what God has shown you.

Evidence: Weaver asks, 'Have you ever learned to be thankful for the truth that God has allowed you to see?'

Apply the Word for Transformation

Summary: Allow the Spirit to use Scripture to conform you to Christ's image, not just inform your mind.

Evidence: Weaver quotes 2 Corinthians 3:18: 'are changed into the same image from glory to glory.'

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T22:49:25Z

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T14:10:48Z

Clean Transcript

A Burning Question

Clean readable transcript. This view follows the Commentary.net cleaned segment text while preserving timestamps for audio follow-along.

All right, let's open our Bibles today to the book of Romans, chapter 1 and verse 16. That is the verse I'm going to be using. I'll be expounding another passage, but I think you'll see why I'm using this verse to begin with. Notice the book of Romans, chapter 1 and verse 16. The Apostle Paul makes a very unashamedly plain statement. He says, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth, to the Jew first and also to the Greek."
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Years ago, I was listening to a radio program where Ravi Zacharias was speaking. In fact, he was holding a question and answer service at one of the universities. I think that university was Yale, but Ravi's been dead for several years now. But I never will forget one of the questions that was asked. Of course, Ravi was, I think, a leading thinker and a biblical proponent at that particular time. But one student there at the university asked him concerning the power of the gospel, or more specifically, the power of the Word of God. And the question arose around the fact that this young man could not grasp how many people could just simply read the Bible and be uninfluenced and unchanged, or people could read the Bible and never be converted. And so, therefore, he was questioning, actually, not just the power of the gospel, but also the power of the Word of God.
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Now, Ravi gave several good illustrations, and he also made the statement, "There are plenty of things in the Bible that we're not completely sure of, and that God, the judge of all the earth, is going to do what is right." I had to leave in listening to the program, but the program was not over. So I don't know whether or not he actually got around to answering the question or not. But the question has been asked of me in times past. And I was thinking about this question this week.
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And so I decided I would give a biblical answer to it. In fact, I gave a similar answer in that series of four messages years ago, "Why Can't We Just All Get Along?" explaining the differences of opinions from reading the same scripture or the same Bible. So let me just make a statement to begin with, and then I'm going to challenge you and I hope improve the answer from the Word of God. Well, I believe that each individual should read the Bible, saved and unsaved alike. Simply reading the Bible is not going to save anyone. And simply reading the Bible is not going to make anyone simply a more spiritual or more holy. Now, the reason I'm saying that is the Bible is not a lucky rabbit's foot. The Bible is not a charm. Moreover, an individual can have what you and I would call a great mind and a great intellect, and he could read the Scripture over and over to be able to quote long portions of Scripture. But quoting the Bible does not save anyone.
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Quoting the Bible does not make anyone spiritual. I must point out the fact that in Matthew chapter 4, even Satan quoted the Bible. Clearly, he is not saved, and certainly he was not spiritual in the sense of being right with God. So does the fact that many read the Bible and remain unconverted, or many read the Bible and remain unchanged and uninfluenced, does that prove or demonstrate the powerlessness of the Bible?
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And the answer is, of course not. When someone wishes to lose weight, and he reads diets on a daily basis, does that prove that the diets are worthless and ineffective just simply because he's reading those diets and not losing weight? We don't lose weight by reading diets; you have to apply the truth of the diet. And then, of course, you would probably lose weight. But just simply reading the Bible does not necessarily prove that someone is spiritual, and neither does it prove that someone is going to be converted. In fact, there are many people who've read the Bible just to try to disprove the Bible as well.
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Now, if you look in your Bibles very quickly before I quote Romans 1 again, but if you will turn to the book of Hebrews chapter 4, the point I'm trying to make here is very plain. Reading the Bible will not profit you unless it is mixed with faith and unless it is applied to your life. So notice, if you would, in the book of Hebrews chapter 4, what the Word of God says concerning all of these people who not only came out of Egypt, but saw the great works of God. The Bible says in Hebrews chapter 4, verse 1, "Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it."
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Now look carefully at verse 2. "For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it." So it doesn't matter if it's reading the Scripture or hearing the Scripture taught. It must be mixed with faith.
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Now, when the Apostle Paul in Romans chapter 1 and verse 16 makes the statement, "I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation"—and of course, everyone knows that the Greek word there is the word dunamis. And that is the word from which we get dynamite. So he said, the gospel is indeed the dynamite of God. And the word dunamis in the Greek is a source of many English words: dynamics, dynamo, anything that is expressive of inherent power. Now, a stick of dynamite may have inherent power in it. But unless there is a fuse to ignite it, or some way to set it off, the power will never ever be displayed.
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And incidentally, I'll just throw this in for free. When I was a boy, you used to go down to the hardware store and buy sticks of dynamite. You can't do that today. But we used them to blow stumps. And I started helping my father blow stumps when I was seven years old. And so I remember those sticks of dynamite quite well, and how well they blew those stumps out of the field. But the dynamite is indeed dynamite.
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It has power, it has explosive power. But it has to be ignited as well. So just as one may casually read about diets every day and read diets every day and never lose weight, so one can read the Bible every day and still not be converted and still not be what you and I would call spiritual and holy and godly. Our Lord said it like this to the Pharisees in John 8 and verse 24.
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"I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins." And so reading is not the same as believing. Hearing is not the same as believing. So one of the greatest problems that we have in our day and time, in Christendom especially, is that of ignorance. And I'm talking specifically about biblical ignorance. There was a time when practically everyone read the Bible, saved and unsaved alike. Although the unsaved never were saved in the sense that you and I would talk about being saved.
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They would be decent people, they'd be moral people. But they would read the Bible for the principles therein. And I've heard even when I was a young boy, these talking about trying to live by the old Book, whether they were saved or not. They acknowledged the fact that the Bible was full of wisdom and morality as well. In fact, many of us remember that in the beginning of our country, there were books that taught the Bible based upon what you and I would call the ABCs.
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For instance, the New England Primer was one of them. In fact, a lot of children back in colonial days learned the ABCs like this: "A—All have sinned and come short of the glory of God. B—Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. C—Children obey your parents. D—Depart from evil and do that which is good." And just go right on down until they learned all the ABCs.
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But at the same time, they were learning Bible verses as well. Now, Massachusetts actually led the way in teaching the Word of God when it passed the Old Deluder Satan Act in 1647. Because here the law was demanding that everyone read the Bible and everyone be taught to read the Bible. And of course, that's why it was called the Old Deluder Satan Act. So they were going to make sure that everyone understood the Scripture. Thus, the early—and I'm going to use this term very general—the early public schools. Well, the schools where all those children went in the 1600s and early 1700s were schools where they learned to read by reading the Bible. And they were taught the principles from the Word of God.
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Now, in the 19th century, the primary books were the McGuffey Readers. And the McGuffey Readers were not only moral, but they were based upon the Bible as well. So it's amazing today when you consider the history of the Bible and how the Bible was read. It's amazing when you consider the history of it that today very few people really read the Bible. And even fewer really and truly study the Word of God as well. There was a time when Christians actually devoured the Word of God.
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They took it upon themselves to view the Scripture exactly the way the prophets did. You know what Jeremiah said? Jeremiah said this in Jeremiah 15 and verse 16: "Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O LORD God of hosts." So he said, "Thy word was found and I did eat them. They were the joy and the rejoicing of my heart."
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I want you to turn, if you would, to the book of Psalms and look in Psalm 19. And I want to begin reading there in verse 7. And again, I want you to see what David says. And from Psalm 19, we'll go to Psalm 119. But notice if you would, Psalm 19, beginning there with verse 7. David is talking about the law of the Lord. He said, "The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether." Now watch verse 10.
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"More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. Moreover by them is thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward." Now note he said, "More to be desired are they than gold, yea, much more than fine gold." And then he said, "Sweeter than honey and the honeycomb." I'm sure that each one of us would be delighted to find a treasure chest full of gold.
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Well, the Word of God, he says, is far more precious than that. Then he said in verse 11, "Moreover by them is thy servant warned." And here's an amazing statement: "And in keeping of them there is great reward."
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Now, sometime back, many years back, I met a man who was extremely wealthy. He was an unsaved man. And he told me very pointedly and up front that although he had a great deal of money, that he tithed. And I think everyone should tithe. I believe that is a biblical fact because a tithe is nothing less than God's tax on the use of His earth. And the unsaved use it just exactly the way the saved do. So, I mean, everybody is obligated to pay God's tax. But when I asked him, knowing that he was unsaved, when I asked him why he tithed, he said, "Because I have learned that God blesses me when I tithe." I thought that was amazing. I thought, wow, that's what he said. "And in keeping of them there is great reward."
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He was tithing for the wrong reason. He was not tithing for God's honor and glory. He was not tithing out of obedience to God. He was tithing just so that God would bless him. Evidently He did, because he's an extremely wealthy man. So if you look in your Bibles to Psalm 119 and look, if you would please, at verse 103. Look again what David said. Psalm 119 verse 103: "How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!" So he talks about the sweetness of the Word of God, sweeter than honey. Now, if you will turn right on over to 1 Peter, chapter 2, I want you to look, if you would, please, at verses 1 through 3. 1 Peter, chapter 2. Beginning there in verse 1, he says, "Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings, as newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby."
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"If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious." Now note if you would, he said, "As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby." There's never been a baby that was born alive that did not want its mother's breast milk. Why? Because that is the nourishment, that is the sustenance, that is exactly what he needs. And God is telling us that if we are babes in Christ, that we need the milk of His Word. And just like a young child craves and hungers for milk, so likewise, we as God's children should hunger and crave the milk of His Word. I get so tickled sometimes watching Alice when we have to feed a young calf. We have a bucket where we make up the milk. And when the mother's not feeding the calf, we go out there and you do not have to coax that calf once he tastes that milk. I mean, the calf comes and he just craves it.
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That's all there is to it. And that's exactly what God is saying.
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Now, if a baby is born and never, ever desires milk, something is wrong with that child. And there's something wrong with a professing Christian that says they're saved and yet they never, ever desire the Word of God. So, I want to just show you the absolute necessity and the importance of the Word of God. And I'm going to tell you that the emphasis upon the Word of God cannot be overestimated, neither can it be overemphasized, because we have been commanded to read, we've been commanded to study the Word of God. Now, milk is absolutely necessary for growth. Milk is absolutely necessary for life. You cannot progress to meat as a baby unless you've been raised on milk.
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It's what it amounts to. No mother is going to take a 10-ounce steak and set it before a three-month-old baby. The baby could not eat it, even if she chewed it and gummed it and put it in the child's mouth. Probably the child could not even digest it. So there has to be milk before you can get to the meat. I want you to turn back in your Bibles to the book of Hebrews, chapter 5.
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And let me just show you where we are in our biblical ignorance today. This is why in most churches, you're always having feuds and fights and you're always having people get upset and people don't understand and people get angry. People get mad. In fact, I just heard this week, this past week, of a local church that had split, and because of unbiblical, ungodly activity. But look at what the Scripture says.
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Hebrews chapter 5, and let's begin reading there with verse 11. The apostle says, "Of whom we have many things to say, and hard to be uttered, seeing ye are dull of hearing. For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil." The author of the book of Hebrews is telling us, here's the reason some Christians never can stomach meat: it's because they never grow up. They never get off the milk. And milk is necessary. But milk is not that which sustains us all of our lives. It's the meat of the Word.
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And consequently, we have so many people right there that are just absolutely, totally ignorant of the Word of God. Now, let me just tell you, as important as the Word of God is in our lives, just simply reading it will not change us. Just simply reading it will not make us more holy and more godly. Any more than just reading a book on physics would make us an engineer or an architect. We could read a book on medicine, but that would not necessarily make us a doctor.
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That is the same thing. I want you to listen to this: it's the same thing when we come to the singing of the hymns in church. Do you realize that when most people sing, they sing out of rote memory? They never ever think about the words that they're singing. I get tickled a lot of times in listening to people and watching people. And I've been in Armenian churches where they're singing, "Ye chosen seed of Israel's ransom from the fall." How can you sing that and not think about the doctrine of election? You know, I was preaching in South Carolina years ago and I got to the church building early and here was a lady inside who was supposed to be singing the special that night and she was practicing her special.
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And she did have a beautiful voice. There's no two ways about that. But she was singing that song, "I found Him, I found Him," you know, and I listened for a few minutes and finally she stopped. I said, "You know, you're singing that beautifully." I said, "The only—there's only one problem with that." She said, "What is that?" I said, "You didn't find Him. He found you."
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And the Scripture says that He seeks and saves that which was lost. You didn't find Him. She said, "Oh, in that case, then He found me," and she started singing about that. And that's how she sang it that night. So I'm just simply saying, when you think about all of this, you think about, wow, what am I saying? What am I hearing? What am I saying?
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Now, I want to show you two passages. The first one is Psalm 47. I want you to turn there and then we're going to go to 1 Corinthians. But I want you to look in Psalm 47. And I want you to know what the Apostle Paul—not the Apostle Paul, David—what David says in this psalm. Psalm 47, and Paul on the line in 1 Corinthians. So look in Psalm 47, if you would, please. This is a psalm of jubilation. This is a psalm of praise. This is a psalm that would get you excited. OK, so look at it in Psalm 47.
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"O clap your hands, all ye people; shout unto God with the voice of triumph." Now already that's emotional. "Clap your hands, all ye people; shout unto God with the voice of triumph. For the LORD most high is terrible; he is a great King over all the earth." Watch it. "He shall subdue the people under us, and the nations under our feet. He shall choose our inheritance for us, the excellency of Jacob whom he loved. Selah. God is gone up with a shout, the LORD with the sound of a trumpet. Sing praises to God, sing praises: sing praises unto our King, sing praises." Now look at verse 7: "For God is the King of all the earth: sing ye praises with understanding." Does it stop there? No, two more words: "with understanding." So we're to understand why we are praising God. We're to understand what we are praising Him about. So we're going to be singing praises. It is to be with understanding. Now, if you look in 1 Corinthians chapter 14 and verse 15, now we can get to the Apostle Paul.
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1 Corinthians chapter 14 and verse 15. Look what the apostle said. "What is it then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also: I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also." So the apostle says it doesn't matter whether you're praying or whether you're singing. Understanding has to be involved. So let me say this again: it's not just reading your Bible that counts, it's understanding the principles and the truth that's being expressed in the Bible. So the question has to arise, where in the world do we receive or acquire understanding? We acquire understanding from God Himself. Proverbs 2 and verse 6, the Bible says, "For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding." The Apostle Paul told Timothy in 2 Timothy chapter 2 and verse 7, "Consider what I say; and the Lord give thee understanding in all things."
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Now, you're going to understand why I gave you all of this introduction. I want you to turn in your Bibles to 2 Corinthians chapter 3, and I want you to look at a very difficult passage in one sense of the word. 2 Corinthians chapter 3, we'll come back to the beginning of it, but right now, look at verses 5 and 6. 2 Corinthians chapter 3, verses 5 and 6.
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The Apostle Paul says, "Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God." So he's talking about himself as a minister, as a preacher, as well as those who were with him and those of us who are alive today. He says, "Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God." So our sufficiency is of God, not of man, "who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament."
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Now, look at this: "not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life."
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Now, the Apostle says we are not sufficient in and of ourselves for this ministry. And then he says God has made us able ministers, not of the Old Testament but the New Testament. "For the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life." Now, let me tell you what the Apostle Paul is not doing. He is not pitting the Old Testament against the New Testament, nor the New Testament against the Old Testament. He is not saying that the Old Testament is to be thrown away. It's over. It's done. He's not saying that whatsoever.
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I'm going to prove that to you just momentarily. But note what he is saying. He is saying that what is more important than the letter is the spirit. You remember what our Lord said in John chapter 6 and verse 63? Our Lord said, "It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life." Now, look back at verse 6: "who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life." Hang on. He's going to make a comparison and a distinction for you.
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He says in verse 7, "But if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not stedfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away:" Hang on. Look what he called the law written in tables of stone. He called it the ministration of death. And he says that glory that Moses had was to be done away with. Now look in verse 8: "How shall not the ministration of the spirit be rather glorious?"
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Now, let me say this. I don't want to forget this. Look in verse 7. He said, "But if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not stedfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away:" The law was not to be done away with; the glory of it was to be done away with. Moreover, the way of writing the law was to be done away with.
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It's no longer on tables of stone. When you read the book of Hebrews, He's now written His law in our hearts and on our minds. The law is not written in tables of stone, but it's written in the fleshly tables of our heart. For instance, let's go back to the beginning. 2 Corinthians chapter 3. Look at what the Apostle said. "Do we begin again to commend ourselves? or need we, as some others, epistles of commendation to you, or letters of commendation from you? Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men: forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart." So even the Apostle Paul is giving us right here this distinction. So he's going to talk about the letter and he's going to talk about the spirit as well. So note, if you would, in verse 7, that written letter was called the ministration of death.
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In verse 8, the spirit is called the ministration of the spirit. Now, if you look in verse 9, he said, "For if the ministration of condemnation be glory, much more doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory." So now we've got this comparison again. And now he's talking about the letter being the ministration of condemnation. And it was glorious. But now we have this of the Spirit and the ministration of righteousness. It's going to exceed in glory. Clearly now there's a contrast the Apostle is making between the ministry of condemnation and the ministry of righteousness, or the ministry of death and the ministry of life, or if you want to say it, the letter and the spirit. And so as I said before, I'm going to repeat again, the Apostle is not saying the Old Testament is done away with. That's not what he's saying at all. So why then does he call the written law the letter of the law? Why does he call it a ministration of condemnation and a ministration of death? And the answer is because the law, as well as the letter of the Word of God, shows us our duties, our faults, our failures, our responsibilities, our sins, our rebellions, as well as our guilt and our condemnation in not accomplishing those duties and not accomplishing those responsibilities.
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Neither does it give us the strength or the power to accomplish those things. The only thing the letter can do is to condemn because it gives us a sense of our failure and a sense of our guilt. So hold 2 Corinthians, but turn right over, if you would, to the book of Galatians, chapter 3. Galatians, chapter 3, and look, if you would, please, at verses 10 through 12. Galatians 3, verse 10.
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"For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith. And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them." In other words, if you're going to live under the law, you must keep the law personally, perfectly, and perpetually, which no one has done.
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or is capable of doing. If you're going to live under the law, then, of course, you're responsible to keep the whole thing. You cannot. And so it is a curse for us. It is a condemnation for us. And what the law does, it shows us our sins and our wickedness. No man can be saved by the law. That is evident. If you'll skip down to verse 21, the apostle says it like this: "Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law." If there had been a law given that could have given life, then Jesus Christ would not have needed to have suffered, bled, and died. But there is no law that can do that. So it is the Holy Spirit that gives life. The gospel is the letter of life.
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It shows the way of life, but it is the Holy Spirit of God who lights the fuse of that dynamite and makes it effectual in our lives. So the Word of God in the hands of the Holy Spirit is that which is made effectual in our lives.
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Now, I want to give you two quotes. The first one is by John Gill. And the second is from Adam Clarke. Now, Adam Clarke's quote is a little bit long, but it's very important that you pay attention to it. I want you to listen, first of all, to John Gill. It's just a short paragraph. He says this: "The law is the letter, not merely because it is written in letters, for so likewise is the gospel, but because it is a mere letter hereby showing what is to be done or avoided without any efficacy or power in it, or communicating any to enable persons to obey its command, to give life to its observers, or either to sanctify or justify any who are under it or the works of it. It is a mere letter as observed by an unregenerate man who only regards the externals of it."
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"Being unacquainted with its spirituality. The gospel is the spirit. It contains spiritual things and not things merely natural, moral, and civil, as does the law, but spiritual blessings and promises. It penetrates into the spirit and soul of man and comes from and is attended with the spirit of God." And that's a good quote. But I want you to listen now to what Adam Clarke says, and he gives, I think, a fuller explanation with some good illustrations.
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I will go ahead and tell you this. There'd be a word or two that I would probably change. But I think as a whole, he really hits the nail on the head. Listen carefully. "Not of the letter, but of the spirit. The apostle does not mean here, as some have imagined, that he states himself to be a minister of the New Testament in opposition to the Old, and that it is the Old Testament that kills and the New that gives life, but that the New Testament gives the proper meaning of the Old Testament. For the Old Covenant had its letter and its spirit, its literal and its spiritual meaning."
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"The law was founded on the very supposition of the Gospel. And all of its sacrifices, tithes, and ceremonies refer to the Gospel. The Jews rested in the letter, which not only afforded no means of life, but killed by condemning every transgressor to death. They did not look at the spirit, did not endeavor to find out the spiritual meaning, and therefore they rejected Christ, who was the end of the law for justification, and so for the redemption from death to everyone that believes. The new covenant set all these spiritual things at once before their eyes and showed them the end, object, and design of the law. And thus the apostles who preached it were the ministers of that spirit, which gives life." Now listen to this. "Every institution has its letter as well as its spirit. And every word must refer to something of which it is the sign or the significator. The gospel has both its letter and its spirit. And multitudes of professing Christians, by resting in the letter, receive not the life which it is calculated to impart."
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"Water in baptism is the letter that points out the purification of the soul. They who rest in the letter are without the purification, and dying in that state, they die eternally. Bread and wine in the sacrament—I would say the ordinance of the Lord's Supper—are the letter. The atoning efficacy of the death of Jesus and the grace communicated by this to the soul of the believer are the spirit. Multitudes rest in this letter, simply receiving these symbols without reference to the Atonement or to their guilt, and thus lose the benefit of the Atonement and the salvation of their souls." Now listen to what he says next. "The whole Christian life is comprehended by our Lord under the letter," and then he quotes the two words that our Lord speaks when our Lord said, "Follow me." And listen what he says: "Does not anyone see that a man taking up this letter only and following Christ through Judea, Galilee, Samaria, the city, the temple, the villages, the synagogues, the mountains, would lose his own life?"
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Why? Because the words "follow me" refer to the spirit; that is, we are to obey Him. We are to submit to Him. We're to live from Him. He is our Lord. He is our Master. And he goes on to say, "Multitudes of Christians follow only the letter and not the Spirit." Now, like I said, I may disagree with a few words in there, but I think he hits the nail on the head as to where we are today because there are so many church members, so many professing Christians that are resting in the letter and not in the Spirit.
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So, here's the truth in our day and time. We have kept the letter of the gospel. But we've lost the spirit of the gospel. We've lost the dynamite. We've lost the power of the gospel. We depend upon our expositions and our exegesis rather than the power of God. Let me say this another way. I do not care how great a preacher a man is. Man is incapable of providing the power. Sermons are incapable of providing the power. Illustrations are incapable of providing the power. Oratory is incapable of providing the power. The only power that can make everything real to us is that of the Holy Spirit of God. He is the one that ignites the dynamite of the gospel in our lives. He is the one that ignites the dynamite of the Word of God in our lives. And without Him, all we have is the letter.
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Now, let me show you. So I want you to turn in your Bibles to 1 Thessalonians, chapter 2. 1 Thessalonians, chapter 2. And look, if you would please, at verse 13. This is a tremendous, tremendous verse. 1 Thessalonians, chapter 2. Look in verse 13. The Apostle Paul says it like this: "For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe." So the apostle is thanking God for the Thessalonians. He said, "Because when you received the word of God, which you heard of us, you received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God." So when they heard the Apostle Paul preach, they didn't say, "Well, that's just what Paul thinks. That's just what Paul believes." No, no, no. They realized that when Paul was expounding, explaining, and applying the Word of God, that was God speaking, that was God's Word.
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Paul was not saying, "I think," or "in my opinion," he was expounding the Word of God. And they received it as it is in truth the Word of God. And then he said, "which effectually worketh also in you that believe." Now the word "effectually worketh" is a little Greek word, energeo. It is actually where we get our English word energy and energize from. It means to make effectual. It means to energize. It means to display activity. It means to be operative. So it was the Holy Spirit of God that made the Word of God effectual in their lives.
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Now, I want you to go back in your Bibles to 2 Corinthians chapter 3. I want to try to tie this together for you and show you exactly what I'm trying to get across. So let's begin reading with verse 12. 2 Corinthians chapter 3 verse 12. Look what the Apostle says: "Seeing then that we have such hope, we use great plainness of speech: and not as Moses, which put a vail over his face, that the children of Israel could not stedfastly look to the end of that which is abolished: but their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same vail untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which vail is done away in Christ. But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the vail is upon their heart. Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the vail shall be taken away. Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord."
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Now, in this passage, the Apostle Paul is talking about the veil that is upon the minds and the hearts of the people who just went with the letter. He said, even when Moses is read, the veil is still upon their minds. They're blind. They can't see, they can't perceive, they can't understand. So what is the answer? Well, the answer is there needs to be a divine energy, there needs to be a divine stick of dynamite placed.
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And how in the world does that happen? Well, look in verse 17.
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"Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty." In other words, no man has the liberty to turn from himself and his sins unto Jesus Christ apart from the Holy Spirit. It's the Holy Spirit who gives liberty. It's the Holy Spirit who regenerates. It's the Holy Spirit who convicts. It's the Holy Spirit who converts. Wait a minute, I'm going to show you something else.
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He says, look at verse 16: "Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the vail shall be taken away." How in the world can the mind, how in the world can the heart turn to the Lord when it is blind? And the answer is, "Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty." In other words, He opens our blinded eyes, He frees our stubborn wills, and He enables us to come savingly to Jesus Christ.
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Now, hang on, that's not all. That is true in salvation. But now we are saved by the grace of God. We read the Scripture. But here's my question. What kind of effect has simply the reading of the Scripture had upon your life? Because the Word without the Spirit is nothing but a letter.
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Now, look in verse 18. Here is how we must read the Scripture. "But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord." So as we read our Bibles, as we study our Bibles, it's not just, "I'm reading my Bible." I remember years ago, when I was a boy, you went to Sunday school, man, you had to fill out that little form. "Did you read your Bible this week?" Check it.
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"Were you at prayer meeting?" Check it. They couldn't care less whether or not you learned anything. Did you read it just so you could check? "Yes, I read my Bible." The point I'm trying to make is this: it's not the reading that is important as much as the understanding and the application of it. You've heard me say this: I'd rather read and understand five verses than read five chapters and not understand a thing that I've read. So when we read our Bibles, it must be that we're reading them, "the blessed Holy Spirit of God, open my eyes, show me, teach me, illuminate me, enlighten me, change me from glory to glory into the image of our Lord Jesus Christ." It's God's will that we be conformed to His Son.
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That's what He said in Romans chapter 8. That's the whole end of everything. So I'm afraid many Christians have gone through and made reading their Bible like they do singing their hymns. They just sing them and never think about the verses and never think about the words. And we read our Bibles and never think about what we've read. How many times have you read your Bible and then all of a sudden you catch yourself and you say, "What did I just read? Oh, what was in that chapter?" And your mind had been somewhere else, and yet you were reading your Bible. So the point I'm trying to make is, the Bible is not a lucky rabbit's foot. It's not a charm. It is a letter.
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And it has to be energized by the Holy Spirit of God in order for us to understand it. Now, let me make some applications. The first one is this: the gospel has not lost its power. We have lost the power of the gospel. The gospel is the dynamite of God. We have depended upon anything and everything to make it effectual except the Holy Spirit. Most churches today are nothing more than entertainment centers, social clubs, recreational buildings, and preachers are trying anything and everything to get people to attend and to stay there. Except the power of God. I'm just simply pointing out the fact: when God works in a man's heart, he doesn't need anything else. So the gospel hasn't lost its power. We have lost the power because of our sins, because of our disobedience, and because of our lack of trust in the Holy Spirit of God.
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Now, I do want you to turn in your Bibles, if you would, for the next application to the book of John, chapter 16. John, chapter 16. Look if you would, beginning there with verse 12. John 16 and verse 12. When we read our Bibles, when we study our Bibles, we must seek understanding from the Holy Spirit alone. Look if you would, in John 16 and verse 12, our Lord said it like this.
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"I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you." What? The Holy Spirit will guide you into all truth. He is the Spirit of truth.
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He takes the Lord Jesus and shows them unto us. Now, let me try to answer this burning question one more time. How is it that so many people can read their Bibles and be unaffected, unchanged, uninfluenced? Well, the answer is because what they're doing is they're reading the letter without the Spirit. There are many things in the Bible that we do not understand. If I am reading a book, and the author has a paragraph in there that I just—I don't know how to understand that paragraph. I don't really know what he means.
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It could be interpreted this way, it could be interpreted several different ways. How am I going to find out what the author meant when he wrote that paragraph or that page or that chapter? Well, the easiest thing to do is to talk to the author. "So I don't understand this. What did you mean when you wrote this?" And the author can usually pretty much explain it. May I ask you who wrote the Bible? You said men wrote it, but the Holy Spirit inspired it. He's the author of it. He is the one that can explain it. He's the one that can interpret it. He's the one that can enlighten us to understand. So the point I'm trying to make is so many people read their Bible without seeking the ministry of the Holy Spirit. Preachers preach without seeking the power of the Holy Spirit.
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We're trusting in everything and anything but God. Now, there's one other answer. And I want you to turn in your Bibles to Matthew chapter 13 to see it, and I'm going to tell you this other answer actually deserves another message. But here it is. Look in Matthew chapter 13 beginning there with verse 10, because our Lord has been speaking in parables. Matthew 13 and verse 10: "And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?" Why are you doing this, Lord? Look at verse 11.
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"He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath. Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive: for this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear."
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Have you ever learned to be thankful for the truth that God has allowed you to see? You may not understand all truth, but if our God has sovereignly showed you truth, you may rejoice in that because God does not give His truth to everyone. Neither does He give the truth in the same amount or at the same time. So here's the burning question. Why is it we can read our Scriptures and never change? And the answer is because we're reading the letter and not asking the Holy Spirit to change us from glory to glory.
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and to make us more and more conformed to the Lord Jesus Christ. Only the Holy Spirit of God can make the Word of God effectual in our lives. That is true of the unsaved, that is true of the saved. And Paul said, we want to be able ministers of the New Testament. That is ministers of the Spirit, preaching the letter, but preaching the letter in power under the anointing of God, the unction of the Holy Spirit as it's called in Scripture. Let's read with understanding. Let's sing with understanding. And let's pray with understanding. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to Thee this day. We thank You for Your Word. We thank You for Your truth. Lord, we thank You for the ministry of the Holy Spirit.
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And Lord, we do have to confess and acknowledge so many times we've ignored Him. We've ignored His influence, we've ignored His ministry, His impact, His teaching. And we've tried to accomplish things on our own. And we always stumble and fall and fail when we do that. And Lord, our churches are in great need today. Your people are in great need today. I pray that You'd awaken us. And help us, Lord, to not be content with just reading, but understanding what we read. Help us not be content with just singing, but understanding what we are singing. Help us not be content with just saying prayers, but understanding what we're praying. Give us Your grace and give us Your mercy, we pray.
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In the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord, whose name we ask, amen.
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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T22:49:25Z

A Burning Question

John Weaver | Freedom Ministries

Pastor John Weaver addresses the question of why many people read the Bible yet remain unchanged or unconverted. He argues that the Bible is not a charm; its power is only realized when the Word is mixed with faith and applied through the Holy Spirit. The letter of Scripture alone brings condemnation, but the Spirit gives life. Believers must seek understanding and transformation from the Holy Spirit, not merely read the text.

Introduction: The Power of the Gospel

Weaver introduces Romans 1:16 and recounts a question posed to Ravi Zacharias about why reading the Bible does not always change people.

Scripture Reading — Romans 1:16

"For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth, to the Jew first and also to the Greek."

Reading Alone Is Insufficient

Reading the Bible does not automatically save or sanctify; it must be mixed with faith, as Hebrews 4:2 teaches.

Scripture Reading — Hebrews 4:1-2

"Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it."

The Dynamite of God Needs a Fuse

The gospel is God's power (dunamis), but like dynamite, it requires ignition—faith and the Holy Spirit—to be effective.

Scripture Reading — John 8:24

"I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins."

Biblical Illiteracy and the Need for Understanding

Historical examples show the Bible was once central to education, but today biblical ignorance is rampant. True understanding comes from God.

Scripture Reading — John 8:24

"I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins."

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 15:16

"Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O LORD God of hosts."

So he said,

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 15:16

"Thy word was found and I did eat them. They were the joy and the rejoicing of my heart."

Scripture Reading — Psalm 19:7-11

"The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether."

Now watch verse 10.

Desiring the Word as Nourishment

Believers should crave Scripture like a baby craves milk, but many remain on milk and never mature to handle meat.

Scripture Reading — Psalm 19:7-11

"The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether."

Now watch verse 10.

Scripture Reading — Psalm 119:103

"How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!"

Hebrews chapter 5, and let's begin reading there with verse 11. The apostle says,

Scripture Reading — Hebrews 5:11-14

"Of whom we have many things to say, and hard to be uttered, seeing ye are dull of hearing. For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil."

The Letter Kills, the Spirit Gives Life

In 2 Corinthians 3, Paul contrasts the letter (law) which condemns, with the Spirit who gives life. The law shows sin but cannot save.

1 Corinthians chapter 14 and verse 15. Look what the apostle said.

Scripture Reading — 1 Corinthians 14:15

"What is it then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also: I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also."

Now, let me say this. I don't want to forget this. Look in verse 7. He said,

Scripture Reading — 2 Corinthians 3:1-18

"But if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not stedfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away:"

Scripture Reading — 2 Corinthians 3:1-18

"Do we begin again to commend ourselves? or need we, as some others, epistles of commendation to you, or letters of commendation from you? Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men: forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart."

Scripture Reading — 2 Corinthians 3:1-18

Neither does it give us the strength or the power to accomplish those things. The only thing the letter can do is to condemn because it gives us a sense of our failure and a sense of our guilt. So hold 2 Corinthians, but turn right over, if you would, to the book of Galatians, chapter 3. Galatians, chapter 3, and look, if you would, please, at verses 10 through 12. Galatians 3, verse 10. "For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith. And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them." In other words, if you're going to live under the law, you must keep the law personally, perfectly, and perpetually, which no one has done.

The Holy Spirit Makes the Word Effectual

The Word of God works effectually in those who believe (1 Thessalonians 2:13). The Spirit removes the veil of blindness and transforms believers.

Scripture Reading — 2 Corinthians 3:1-18

"Seeing then that we have such hope, we use great plainness of speech: and not as Moses, which put a vail over his face, that the children of Israel could not stedfastly look to the end of that which is abolished: but their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same vail untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which vail is done away in Christ. But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the vail is upon their heart. Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the vail shall be taken away. Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord."

Applications: Seeking the Spirit's Power

The gospel has not lost its power; we have lost it by neglecting the Holy Spirit. We must read, sing, and pray with understanding, relying on the Spirit.

Scripture Reading — John 16:12-14

"I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you."

What? The Holy Spirit will guide you into all truth. He is the Spirit of truth.

Scripture Reading — Matthew 13:10-16

"And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?"

Why are you doing this, Lord? Look at verse 11.

In the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord, whose name we ask, amen.

A Burning Question

John Weaver | YouTube

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	YouTube
Media ID	SFriW1RqiAY
Subject	Education and Discipleship
Course	Christian Education and Discipleship
Genre	Sermon
Date	2024-09-29
Dictation Name
Book	Book 073: Christian Education and Discipleship — Chapter 11
Source Timed Segments	77

Lecture Guide

Outline

Introduction: The Power of the Gospel: Weaver introduces Romans 1:16 and recounts a question posed to Ravi Zacharias about why reading the Bible does not always change people.
Reading Alone Is Insufficient: Reading the Bible does not automatically save or sanctify; it must be mixed with faith, as Hebrews 4:2 teaches.
The Dynamite of God Needs a Fuse: The gospel is God's power (dunamis), but like dynamite, it requires ignition—faith and the Holy Spirit—to be effective.
Biblical Illiteracy and the Need for Understanding: Historical examples show the Bible was once central to education, but today biblical ignorance is rampant. True understanding comes from God.
Desiring the Word as Nourishment: Believers should crave Scripture like a baby craves milk, but many remain on milk and never mature to handle meat.
The Letter Kills, the Spirit Gives Life: In 2 Corinthians 3, Paul contrasts the letter (law) which condemns, with the Spirit who gives life. The law shows sin but cannot save.
The Holy Spirit Makes the Word Effectual: The Word of God works effectually in those who believe (1 Thessalonians 2:13). The Spirit removes the veil of blindness and transforms believers.
Applications: Seeking the Spirit's Power: The gospel has not lost its power; we have lost it by neglecting the Holy Spirit. We must read, sing, and pray with understanding, relying on the Spirit.

Major Themes

Key Arguments

Faith Activates the Word

The Word preached or read profits nothing unless mixed with faith, as seen in Hebrews 4:2.

Weaver quotes Hebrews 4:2: 'the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.'

The Law Condemns, the Spirit Justifies

The law is a ministration of death and condemnation because it reveals sin but cannot provide righteousness; only the Spirit can.

Weaver explains, 'The only thing the letter can do is to condemn because it gives us a sense of our failure and a sense of our guilt.'

The Veil Is Removed by the Spirit

Spiritual blindness is removed only when one turns to the Lord, who is the Spirit, granting liberty and understanding.

Weaver cites 2 Corinthians 3:16-17: 'Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the vail shall be taken away. Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.'

Transformation Comes by the Spirit Through the Word

As believers behold the glory of the Lord in Scripture, the Spirit transforms them into Christ's image.

Weaver quotes 2 Corinthians 3:18: 'But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.'

Understanding Requires the Author's Help

Just as one would ask an author to explain a difficult passage, believers must ask the Holy Spirit, the Bible's author, for understanding.

Weaver says, 'He's the author of it. He is the one that can explain it. He's the one that can interpret it.'

Sovereign Revelation of Truth

God sovereignly grants understanding to some and not others, as Jesus taught in Matthew 13:11.

Weaver reads Matthew 13:11: 'Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.'

Scripture References

Romans 1:16: Weaver opens with this verse to establish the gospel as the power of God unto salvation.
Matthew 4: Satan quoted Scripture, showing that quoting the Bible does not make one spiritual or saved.
Hebrews 4:1-2: The Word preached did not profit those who lacked faith, illustrating the need for faith.
John 8:24: Jesus said belief is necessary to avoid dying in sins; reading is not the same as believing.
Jeremiah 15:16: Jeremiah ate God's words, finding joy; believers should devour Scripture.
Psalm 19:7-11: The law is perfect, converting the soul; God's Word is more desirable than gold and brings reward.
Psalm 119:103: God's words are sweeter than honey, emphasizing the delight in Scripture.
1 Peter 2:1-3: Newborn babes desire the sincere milk of the Word to grow; believers should crave Scripture.
Hebrews 5:11-14: Some Christians remain on milk and are unskillful in the word, needing to mature to meat.
Psalm 47:1-7: We are to sing praises with understanding, not just emotional expression.
1 Corinthians 14:15: Paul says to pray and sing with the spirit and with understanding.
Proverbs 2:6: The Lord gives wisdom, knowledge, and understanding.
2 Timothy 2:7: Paul tells Timothy the Lord will give understanding in all things.
2 Corinthians 3:1-18: Extensive exposition on the letter vs. spirit, the veil, and transformation by the Spirit.
John 6:63: Jesus said the Spirit gives life; the flesh profits nothing.
Galatians 3:10-12, 21: The law brings a curse; no one is justified by the law; if a law could give life, righteousness would be by the law.
1 Thessalonians 2:13: The Word of God effectually works in those who believe, showing the Spirit's energizing work.
Romans 8: God's will is that believers be conformed to the image of His Son.
John 16:12-14: The Spirit of truth will guide believers into all truth and glorify Christ.
Matthew 13:10-16: Jesus explains why He speaks in parables: some are given to know mysteries, others are not; their hearts are dull.

Historical References

Ravi Zacharias Q&A at Yale University: Weaver recalls a radio program where Ravi Zacharias was asked about the power of the Bible, noting the student's question about unchanged readers.
New England Primer: Colonial children learned the alphabet using Bible verses, such as 'A—All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.'
Old Deluder Satan Act (1647): Massachusetts passed this law to ensure everyone learned to read the Bible, leading to early public schools.
McGuffey Readers: In the 19th century, these readers were based on the Bible and used for moral education.
John Gill (1697-1771): Weaver quotes Gill's commentary on 2 Corinthians 3:6, explaining the law as a mere letter without efficacy.
Adam Clarke (1762-1832): Weaver quotes Clarke's commentary on 2 Corinthians 3:6, emphasizing the letter and spirit in both testaments and Christian practices.

Important Quotes

For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

Foundational verse establishing the gospel as God's power, which Weaver uses to frame the entire message.

Simply reading the Bible is not going to save anyone. And simply reading the Bible is not going to make anyone simply a more spiritual or more holy.

Core thesis that reading alone is insufficient without faith and the Spirit's work.

For the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.

Key verse from 2 Corinthians 3:6 that contrasts the condemning letter of the law with the life-giving Spirit.

The gospel has not lost its power. We have lost the power of the gospel.

Application that the problem is not with the gospel but with believers' neglect of the Holy Spirit.

But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.

2 Corinthians 3:18, showing that transformation comes through beholding Christ in Scripture by the Spirit.

Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.

2 Corinthians 3:17, emphasizing that the Spirit alone grants freedom from spiritual blindness.

For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.

Hebrews 4:2, illustrating that the Word must be combined with faith to be effective.

As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby.

1 Peter 2:2, calling believers to crave Scripture for spiritual growth.

Discussion Questions

[Question]

Why does simply reading the Bible not guarantee spiritual growth or conversion?

[Context]

Weaver argues that reading must be mixed with faith and the Spirit's illumination.

[Question]

What does it mean that the gospel is the 'dynamite of God,' and what is the 'fuse' that ignites it?

[Context]

Weaver uses the dynamite analogy to explain that the gospel's power requires the Holy Spirit's activation.

[Question]

How does the contrast between the letter and the Spirit in 2 Corinthians 3 apply to our Bible reading today?

[Context]

Weaver explains that the letter condemns, but the Spirit gives life and understanding.

[Question]

In what ways might we be 'resting in the letter' rather than seeking the Spirit's work in our lives?

[Context]

Weaver warns against treating Bible reading as a ritual without seeking transformation.

[Question]

Why is it dangerous to remain on the 'milk' of the Word and not progress to 'meat'?

[Context]

Weaver references Hebrews 5 to show that immaturity leads to division and lack of discernment.

[Question]

How can we practically seek the Holy Spirit's help when reading or studying the Bible?

[Context]

Weaver encourages praying for understanding and illumination, treating the Spirit as the Author.

[Question]

What does it mean to sing, pray, and read 'with understanding'?

[Context]

Weaver cites Psalm 47:7 and 1 Corinthians 14:15 to emphasize engaging the mind in worship.

[Question]

How does the sovereignty of God in revealing truth (Matthew 13) affect our gratitude and humility?

[Context]

Weaver notes that understanding is a gift, and we should be thankful for what God has shown us.

Applications

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