“For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day. But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel;” (Acts 2:15–16, AV)
In 1983, the Lord saved me while I was reading a Bible placed by the Gideons in a Minneapolis hotel room. While I believed the Bible to be true, that God existed, and that Jesus was a real historical figure, it never meant much to me personally. Yet I was trying to figure things out regarding my wife’s conversion and I figured the answers must have been in the Bible. However, when I began reading, I discovered that there was much more to be learned in reading the Scriptures than I ever imagined. The Scriptures dealt with the issues of life.
I always thought like a lot of people today that the Bible was an old book and out of date for today. I was mistaken. After studying it now for decades, I have come to the conclusion that the Bible contains every bit of knowledge that we need to understand every aspect of life.
In this passage, we see Peter’s first and great sermon given in Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost. It is a good model sermon for us preachers to examine. The Scripture states that Peter stood up with the eleven, indicating their solidarity in the message that Peter gave. In the sermon, he begins by answering the spectator’s thoughts concerning their observations of the disciples speaking in foreign languages that the did not formerly know. To do this, he quotes the prophecy of Joel regarding the last days. (The next devotional will cover more on the last days.) The point I want to focus on here is that Peter used Scripture to explain the pertinent events of the moment. The Bible has the answers.
God’s word contains insight for every aspect of our lives. We just need to read it, study it, and live by it. Too many today have departed from the Bible as the sole rule of faith and practice. Many today are preaching, “Here is what I think,” instead of “Thus saith the Lord.” Many pulpits around our nation are too filled with human wisdom exhorting people to follow the cultural norms of the day and things based upon human reasoning.
We are not called to stand firmly aligned with the surrounding culture. We are called to stand firm in the faith which is perfectly and sufficiently revealed in God’s word. It is this faith that is to transform us and cause us to live as aliens in this world system. Yes, we will be considered weird by those who are so immersed in this system. We will even be considered weird by those in churches that are pandering to the world system. This can even divide families and friends. Yet, we must stand on the infallibility and sufficiency of God’s word in every area of life. Without it we have nothing to stand upon. To soften any part of the Bible is to stand contrary to God Almighty.
Renewing the Heart 