(The following is post 4 of 5 on Five Personal Benefits of God's Word)
What people desperately need most is deliverance. The Bible speaks about us as needing to be rescued and moved to a position of safety. That is what deliverance means. The Word of God is capable of delivering people!
People who are not in a relationship with Jesus Christ need to be delivered from their sinful state. Sin has separated people from God, and without His intervention they would be hopelessly lost, destined for a life of destruction and an eternal, conscious punishment in a real place called hell. What they need is to be rescued! We know from reading the Bible that salvation is secured by the blood of Jesus Christ alone. Without the shedding of Jesus's blood, there would be no forgiveness of sin. The Word of God is the means by which people are made wise unto salvation. Paul wrote about this to Timothy when he said:
“You, however, continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus." (2 Tim. 3:14-15).
By this statement, we know that Timothy was taught the scriptures as a child... and it is those very scriptures that lead a person to their rescue. The scriptures move people to positions of safety, spiritually speaking.
Not only do unbelievers need to be delivered, but Christians need to be rescued as well. Rescued from the barrage of attacks from the enemy; rescued from fear, and doubt, and anxieties; rescued from discouragement and disappointments. Even Christians, in their forgiven state, do not live on mountain tops all the time. Believers must sometimes walk through valleys in their lives, dealing with personal struggles and various trials and temptations. Yes, we know that Christians have been delivered by God through Jesus Christ already, in that they have been saved from the punishment of their sin, and they have been cleansed of the resulting stain and guilt. But the Christian life is hard. David knew that. David was a man after God's own heart, and yet he still cried out for deliverance. He makes a plea for rescue in Psalm 119:170 when he cries out, 'Let my supplication come before you, deliver me according to Your Word'. The means of rescue here for David was nothing less than the Word of God.
God’s Word is a source of much encouragement. As Acts 20:32 tells us, the word of God’s grace is ‘able to build you up’! A steady diet of scripture builds in us the ability to resist temptation. It builds in us the ability to stand up under trials. It builds in us confidence and courage in the face of doubt and fear. We are commanded in the scriptures ‘to be anxious for nothing’ (Phil 4:8). The scripture is strong to deliver, because it is the very Word proceeding from the mouth of God.
God’s Word can have serious lasting effects on us. But we must receive it humbly by faith, understand the sobering responsibility we have to conform to it’s demands, and then be delightfully willing to live in obedience.
Response:
Do you feel closer to the Lord when your Bible disciplines are consistent? How is your relationship with the Lord when you don’t spend much time in the Word?
Do you believe that the Word of God has the power to deliver people from their sin? If we believe that, what reasons do we have as to why we do not share scripture with one another more often?
Write a brief prayer, asking God to use His Word to bring you to a position of safety and security by delivering you from the sins that cause you to be defeated.
Memory Verse:
Let my supplication come before you, deliver me according to Your Word. - Psalm 119:170