Sermon Text: Various Passages

Below is a sermon manuscript from May 25, 2025. Watch the sermon here.

Introduction

I recently came across a video from years ago that asked couples on the street how well they knew each other, everything in between. It was both comical and sad to see how little they knew. But one stood out. A man was asked, “What’s your wife’s favorite food?” He responded, “Wow, that’s a hard one.” She quickly said, “No, it’s not.” He then took a stab, “Sushi.” She said no, “it’s pizza.” He justifies himself by saying, “It changes every day.” She then pulls up her sleeve and says, “I do have a tattoo of it.” I was waiting for the Sports Center C’mon man. That was a huge fail. If your wife loves a certain food so much that she tattoos it on herself, it seems like you should know that! 

When it comes to understanding God and what he expects of us, sometimes we think it is more spiritual to say, “well that’s beyond me.” How can I know the mind of God! Sounds smart right? Well, not if God has said, it’s right there in the book I gave you. Not knowing these things is not a sign of spiritual height but of neglect and complacency in the relationship. 

God Isn’t Hiding Himself From Us

The idea of Scripture’s clarity brings a lot of confusion. Part of this is because of the term itself. The concept of Scripture’s clarity has a specific intent that is often overlooked due how and when its emphasis in certain contexts. Perhaps this is why it’s not explicitly laidtostatement of faith. But it is discussed in the exposition of our statement of faith. Here is how it’s worded there:

We believe that the gospel is God’s good news, and to be good news it must be intelligible. The very notion of the gospel requires the possibility of communication. This undergirds the Reformers’ insistence on the doctrine of the perspicuity or clarity of Scripture. God has good news to communicate with his people, and the Bible communicates this “message of truth” (Eph. 1:13; Col. 1:5) in a way that his people can understand. Therefore, though there is some that is not clear, we believe God’s saving message of the gospel recorded in the Bible can be grasped by believers.^[1]

Listen once again to a passage that has been one that we have referenced throughout this series, 2 Timothy 3:14-17

¹⁴ But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it ¹⁵ and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. ¹⁶ All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, ¹⁷ that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

From childhood Timothy was acquainted with the sacred writings. Where did this faith come from? Who passed it along. Well the specific refence in this book, was 2 Timothy 1:5 where Paul says that the faith was first in his mother and grandmother. This is the most probable referent in this passage. They taught him and he learned, this gave him confidence as a young leader in the church. This was following the teaching of the Old Testament. Look what we read in the context of the famous “shema” meaning “hear” of Deuteronomy 6. 

⁴ “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. ⁵ You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. ⁶ And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. ⁷ You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. ^8[2]

There is an expectation that God’s people could understand his word enough to pass it along. They are teaching their children both about who God is and what God expects.

Psalm 119:130 says,

The unfolding of your words gives light; 

it imparts understanding to the simple.^[3]

We see something similar in Psalm 19:7-8.

In our sin, we hide from God, but God’s Word brings Him near to us

Adam and Eve, after they sinned, hid themselves from God. Their sin was an obstacle to being near God and in his presence. But what happened? God asked a question? He asked “where are you?” The question was not difficult, it was not necessarily confusing. It was a question but also an invitation. God’s Word spoken to sinful Adam and Eve invited a response. God is both all-knowing and, being Spirit, is everywhere at all times. God did not ask the question because he lacked information but because they lacked relationship. 

In a similar way, God’s word today brings relationship. We see in the book of Romans that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of Christ. And then we see that “how are they supposed to hear unless someone comes to them.” As the Gospel message goes out, in the Word of God, sinners are invited into relationship with God. This doesn’t mean that every person will respond in faith. Naturally, we don’t want to acknowledge our sin. Salvation is always a miracle and one that we should pray for in the lives of others.

The main things are the plain things

This doctrine was a key part of the reformation. During the time there was an emphasis on the teaching office of the church to the detriment of the average lay person. Luther and other reformers were zealous to get Bibles in the hands of the average person but the church was afraid that this would lead to a multitude of heresies. Luther responded that it likely would but that the main things of Scripture were so evident that anyone could grasp them. 

It is these main things, knowledge that we are sinners and that God has provided salvation in Christ that is plain in Scripture. The Westminster Confession of Faith and London Baptist Confession of Faith, and Savoy Declaration all put it this way,

All things in Scripture are not alike plain in themselves, nor alike clear unto all: yet those things which are necessary to be known, believed, and observed for salvation are so clearly propounded, and opened in some place of Scripture or other, that not only the learned, but the unlearned, in a due use of the ordinary means, may attain unto a sufficient understanding of them.^[4]

We might simplify and say that the main things are the plain things and the plain things are the main things. God has not hid the path to salvation only for a select few but it is clear in the pages of Scripture. Think about some of the most memorized and precious verses.

¹⁶ “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷ For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. ¹⁸ Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.^[5]

Or Romans 10:9

 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.^[6]

Faith seeking understanding

We said already in this series that Scripture is redemptive in a broad sense and not a narrow sense. By this, we meant that we should be careful to limit the Scriptures and what is authoritative for us. But that does not mean that we need to understand all of it to be saved. We can understand sufficiently to bring us to saving faith in Jesus Christ. And from there, by God’s grace, we can continue to learn and grow.

A large part of the Christian life is faith seeking understanding. We have what we need, but we continue to grow deeper in our understanding. We are not content to stay where we are, but have a love for God and desire to know him more fully as he has revealed himself to us. Therefore, the Bible is both clear enough for a person to approach and understand the basics of salvation and profound enough to spend a lifetime learning about and growing in their understanding. 

The Scripture is sufficiently clear for each person to be obedient and live out their gifts and callings before him. 

God Isn’t Hiding What He Expects of Us

Another part of this doctrine is to recognize that each of us can understand Scripture according to our present duty to understand it. 

Deuteronomy 30:11-14

¹¹ “For this commandment that I command you today is not too hard for you, neither is it far off. ¹² It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will ascend to heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ ¹³ Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ ¹⁴ But the word is very near you. It is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can do it.

God’s is a good communicator

Part of this doctrine of clarity is associated with the wisdom of God. God is incomprehensible, and his magnitude cannot be contained in human language. This is something that is true. But if we are not careful, this truth can undermine our understanding of Scripture. Just because God is bigger than our understanding doesn’t mean we cannot understand him. One way that this is expressed is that we can know God truly, even if we cannot know him fully. Because we are limited, we cannot fully wrap our minds around the infinite God. But because God is infinite in his wisdom, he can communicate effectively with limited people like us. 

As it says in the passage in Deuteronomy, the command is not too hard; it is not far off. It is not in heaven. It is not beyond reach. Interestingly, this is in reference to God’s commands for us. Not only can we know them, but we can walk in them. This doesn’t mean we will do this perfectly. It also doesn’t mean that it can earn us salvation. This passage comes after God has rescued the people from Egypt. In light of what God has done for them, now they can walk in obedience. The same is true for us. In light of what God has done in providing Christ and saving us from our sins, we can live in obedience. Again, not perfectly, but in a way that pleases God.

Our sin can obscure the plain teaching of God’s Word

But we do still struggle with sin in this life. And our sin can obscure God’s word. This is true for those who have never trusted in Jesus Christ. If we are still in our sin, Scripture is clear that darkness hates the light. We avoid the truth. We suppress the truth in unrighteousness as we read in Romans 1. This is true of God’s revelation of himself in creation and in the Word of God. God’s Word both reveals rebellion and transforms our hearts as the Holy Spirit convicts us of sin, and we trust in the forgiveness found in Jesus Christ.

But even those who have come to saving faith in Jesus Christ can still obscure the teaching of Scripture with their sin. 

John Webster says it this way,

The act of interpretation repeats the basic motif of Christian existence, which is being drawn out of the darkness of sin and turned to the light of the gospel. Holy Scripture is clear; but because its matter is that to which we must be reconciled, readers can only discern its clarity if their darkness is illuminated … Interpretation of the clear Word of God is therefore not first of all an act of clarification but the event of being clarified. Reading, therefore, always includes a humbling of the reader, the breaking of the will in which there is acted out the struggle to detach our apprehension of the text from the idolatrous schemas which we inevitably take to it, and by which we seek to command or suppress it or render it convenient to us^[7].

One practical way for us to understand this and apply this personally is two ways. First, ask ourselves “how am I trying to avoid what God is clearly trying to teach me.” It is true that we might be wrestling with a text because we don’t fully understand it. But there are also times when we are wrestling because we do understand it and our remaining sin doesn’t like it. We are trying to get around it. Be sensitive to this as you read and study God’s Word. Related to this is discernment with Bible teachers. When teachers avoid certain moral teachings the approach is typically chaotic. In other words, there are a variety of paths around the clear teaching of the passage that don’t align. 

The Bible’s Clarity isn’t opposed to training

The Bible’s clarity means that we can gain a sufficient understanding of salvation and obedience in Scripture. But that does not mean that study helps, teachers, insights from church history, Biblical scholars, etc., are not important.

Have you ever gone deep into a particular field of study to realize, on the other side, that you felt like you knew even less than before? The Bible can be like that as well. The more you learn and know the more you realize how little you know. But this should not shake our confidence. The Christian faith is more than an intellectual pursuit; it’s a life spent with God. Our understanding of the Scriptures should never be mere knowledge. Instead, it is hearing from God through His Word, knowing him more fully, understanding not only His commands but how they are related to His character and nature. Like a child of godly parents who grows to more and more appreciate the instruction of their parents as they get older, as we grow in the Word and in our relationship with God, our love multiplies.

We are trained by the Spirit

It is true that people can know Scripture better than others without formal training. In fact, there are many scholars of Scripture who have a robust understanding of the words, grammar, historical background, canonical themes, and theology of Scripture who do not know Jesus Christ personally as their Lord and Savior. They understand that Jesus came to save sinners and the apostles believed he rose from the dead, but they do not see the beauty in that or how it relates to them personally, like a six-year-old who has just trusted in Jesus Christ. This is the opposite, maybe, of the example from the introduction of the husband who knows his wife personally but fails to study and know her well. In this case, it’s someone who knows a lot of the details but doesn’t personally know. 

As we sit with Scripture, the Holy Spirit trains our affections and directs our hearts. What is folly for some is the power of God for others. As we grow in our relationship with God, his commands become more precious, our knowledge of Him is sweeter, and it gives us assurance in the turmoil of life. Two people can dedicate their lives to knowing Scripture more, one merely academic and one immensely personal. 

Reading Scripture for the Christian should never be merely about information download. It’s an invitation to know God better, to hear his voice, and to realign our will with His. This is the reason that someone can be a Biblical scholar for their whole life but never touch the level of depth and Biblical wisdom of the elementary Sunday School teacher with no formal training.

We are trained through community

This is not to discount formal training. In fact, those who are trained by the Spirit are typically aware of their own shortcomings and want to learn from others. We do faith in community. We learn through community in both the traditions of our community and the teachers within the community of faith.

Example of the Ethiopian Eunuch

The account of the Ethiopian eunuch helpfully illustrates this point. In Acts 6, we see Philip directed by the angel of the Lord to take the road from Jerusalem to Gaza coming into contact with a court official who is reading Isaiah 53. Philip asks if he understands what he is reading and the Eunuch responds “How can I unless someone guides me” Acts 8:30-31. Philip then explained how that scripture told the good news about Jesus.

³⁰ So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” ³¹ And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. ³² Now the passage of the Scripture that he was reading was this: 

            “Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter 

and like a lamb before its shearer is silent, 

so he opens not his mouth. 

      ³³     In his humiliation justice was denied him. 

Who can describe his generation? 

            For his life is taken away from the earth.” 

³⁴ And the eunuch said to Philip, “About whom, I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?” ³⁵ Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus.^[8]

Could the Eunuch have come to that conclusion himself with time? Perhaps. But it seems like the Eunuch was seeking to understand a passage in the Old Testament that spoke of this suffering servant to come but didn’t have all the information. Philip helped him with some of what he lacked. God has not left us alone. Not only has he given us His Word but he has given us the church, the community of faith, teachers, scholars, others to aid in our understanding when we lack information. The main things are plain and even some of the difficult aspects, we are not left alone but can walk with others. 

We see this throughout Scripture, the people understood the teaching of the law as it was explained to them in the Old Testament. One example is Nehemiah 8:8.

They read from the book, from the Law of God, clearly, and they gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading.

Ephesians 4:11-14,

¹¹ And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, ¹² to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, ¹³ until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, ¹⁴ so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes^[9]

As we consider being trained in the community. It might be helpful suggest thinking about the image we had last week. The historic creeds and the confessions of communities of faith can serve as guardrails for us as we approach Scripture. Again, they are not the ultimate authority, but they can be helpful guides. There is another image that is often used when we think of our topic this morning. Because the accusation can be leveled – well why are there so many disagreements if the Bible is clear. Remember the doctrine does not mean that it is equally clear in all parts, but that it is sufficiently clear for us in our present duties before the Lord. But in any case, this image may be helpful. 

For the EFCA, we are a bit like a family on my street who sets up lawn chairs in the middle of the street as their kids ride bikes or play in the street. 

This is the pattern for discipleship that Jesus gives to the church. 

¹⁸ And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹ Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”^[10]

Conclusion

William Tyndale (1494–1536) was often maligned and in danger for his efforts to translate the Bible into the common language of the people. On one occasion when in dispute with a “learned man,” he replied, “If God spare my life [before] many years I will cause a boy that driveth the plough shall know more of scripture than thou dost.” That’s confidence in the doctrine of the clarity of Scripture. And it cost Tyndale his life. He died by strangulation, and his corpse was burned in the city square. Fittingly, at the stake he cried out these last words with a loud voice: “Lord, open the King of England’s eyes.”⁸ Yes, Lord, open our eyes to see the power and privilege we have to read the Scriptures in a language we can understand. Open our eyes to behold wonderful things in your law. Open our eyes to see the truth you have clearly laid before us. God has made it plain—to all of us—if only we have the eyes to see.^[11]

The nearness of Scripture is analogous to God’s nearness to us in the person of Jesus Christ. God is not hiding himself from all who truly seek him. But the reality is that left on our own we are going our own way. What about you? Do you truly want to know God? Are you content to hide from him? Perhaps this morning, God’s Word is speaking to you, calling like it did with Adam in the garden. Perhaps it is bringing you out of the darkness and into the light. Come to him this morning. Respond to his call to you. He isn’t hiding from you, he’s inviting you into a relationship with him. Perhaps you have doubts or worries, bring those with you. He is able to bear them. Maybe you think “I don’t have what it takes.” That is the beauty of the gospel, it says “I am not enough but Jesus is enough for me. My sin made his death necessary but his death and resurrection makes my forgiveness sure.” 

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^[1] EFCA. Evangelical Convictions, 2nd Edition (p. 28).

^[2] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Dt 6:4–8.

^[3] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Ps 119:130.

^[4] John M. Frame, The Doctrine of the Word of God, A Theology of Lordship (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 2010), 202.

^[5] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Jn 3:16–18.

^[6] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Ro 10:9.

^[7] As quoted in Mark D. Thompson, A Clear and Present Word: The Clarity of Scripture, ed. D. A. Carson, vol. 21, New Studies in Biblical Theology (England; Downers Grove, IL: Apollos; InterVarsity Press, 2006), 141.

^[8] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Ac 8:30–35.

^[9] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Eph 4:11–14.

^[10] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Mt 28:18–20.

^[11] Kevin DeYoung, Taking God at His Word: Why the Bible Is Knowable, Necessary, and Enough, and What That Means for You and Me (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2014), 70.