The Incorruptible Seed Introduction: A. Christians are pilgrims in this world; our lives are a perpetual journey toward our true home in heaven. 1. To guide us on the journey, God has given us His word. 2. Many people go through life never honestly consulting this book. 3. Many Christians go through life ignorant of much of its content. 4. Effortless access to the word of God has devalued it in the eyes of the world, and they starve to death in a room full of food. 5. Made life too easy; made Christianity too convenient. “Stalled ox.” 6. Amos 8:11 - "Behold, the days are coming," says the Lord GOD, "That I will send a famine on the land, Not a famine of bread, Nor a thirst for water, But of hearing the words of the LORD. 7. Hosea 4:6 – “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being priest for Me; Because you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children.” B. Simple scriptural logic: 1. Romans 1:16 – The gospel is God’s power in salvation 2. Romans 10:17 – The word of God is the means by which we obtain access to this power by faith. 3. Therefore, the incorruptible word of God is our power! C. 1Peter 1:3-5 – By means of the incorruptible word, we have acquired a home in heaven preserved until the judgment. 1. What other force in the universe has the capacity to do that? D. 1Peter 1:6-9 – By means of the incorruptible word we have gained faith that sustains us through every trial that would rob us of our joy, salvation, and eternal home? 1. What other force can do that? E. 1Peter 1:10-12 1. The ancient heroes of faith gave their all for a glimpse of what so many take for granted. Angels did not have the privilege that you now enjoy. F. Examine the characteristics of the incorruptible seed in 1Peter that make it unique among all written works. I. IT IS DIVINE IN ORIGIN A. Was given by God Himself 1. 2Peter 1:12, 15, 16, 19-21, 3:1-2 2. 2Tim. 3:14-17; John 16:13 B. Was designed to be understood by all men. 1. James 1:25; 1Cor. 1:17-25 – God entrusted the communication of the most powerful, important message this world will ever hear to be done through the plain preaching of the world. This implies that God is convinced that His message is easy enough to be accurately and clearly transmitted by speaking the written word. 2. Eph. 3:3-4; 1John 5:13, 19-20 C. Was designed to be understood alike. 1. 1Cor. 1:10 – God requires nothing of man that man cannot do. 2. Matt. 11:25 – What complicates understanding? 3. There exists a body of truth on any given Bible matter. That body of truth is called "the faith" (Jude 3). There is a means whereby I apprehend that body of truth. That means is described as "my faith." My faith, based upon the faith, can be strong or weak, depending on my stage of growth and willingness to study. However, the faith is not modified by the strength or weakness of my faith; it remains constant. Therefore, my faith must measure up to the faith. II. IT IS ETERNAL A. 1Peter 1:23-25 – It Lives and Abides Forever B. God word is indestructible – Matt. 24:35 1. History bears out the fact that despite man's efforts to do away with it, the Bible continues to endure and proliferate. a. The efforts of Diocletian 1) In 303 A.D. he proclaimed an edict requiring Christians and the scriptures to be destroyed 2) Within 25 years, the succeeding emperor ordered that 50 copies be made and distributed at government expense. b. The claims of Voltaire, the French atheist (who died in 1778) 1) He boasted that within 100 hundred years of his lifetime, Christianity would be swept from the earth. 2) But only fifty years after his death, his own printing press and house were being used by the Geneva Bible Society to print Bibles. 2. 1Peter 1:24-25 – It will last forever. C. No book in history has been more carefully, accurately, and completely preserved with its original message intact and untainted. 1. No other book in history has ever had the universal distribution as the Bible has enjoyed. 2. No other book in history has ever had the impact on the world secularly and religiously as the Bible. 3. No other book has the power to guide us from this physical world of death and decay to a realm of eternal life and joy. III. IT GIVES AND SUSTAINS LIFE A. By it one is born again. 1. There is a law of science known as the Law of Biogenesis which states that life begets life. Francesco Redi disproved spontaneous generation. 2. Likewise, spiritual life cannot be generated by a book of dead myths and folk tales. a. It is the "incorruptible" seed which "lives and abides forever" 1 Peter 1:23 b. It is "living and powerful" – Heb. 4:12 c. As Jesus said: "The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life" - John 6:63. 3. When one believes the Word of God and obeys it, he is truly born again - James 1:18. B. By it one purifies his soul. 1. Notice carefully: "Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth" - 1 Peter 1:22 2. By obeying the truth, our souls are purified - John 17:17. 3. The truth is the gospel, which when believed and obeyed, results in the remission of sins by the blood of Christ. 4. Faith through the gospel is so powerful that when acted on, transforms a sinner into a saint. What other force can do this? a. How much money does it take to buy you out of one sin? b. Political power, influence, military might, weaponry, friends, education, possessions? c. No force but faith through the incorruptible seed that moves one to obedience. C. By it one is preserved growing until the end. 1. 1Peter 2:2; Heb. 5:12-14, 3:13 IV. WILL THE INCORRUPTIBLE SEED RETAIN THESE CHARACTERISTICS IF MINGLED WITH THE DOCTRINES AND FASHIONS OF MEN? A. Gal. 1:6-10 – What constitutes preaching another gospel? 1. Anything added or taken away from the word. a. Creeds, catechisms, etc. 2. Any over or under emphasis of a Bible principle. a. Positivism, Deity of Jesus heresy 3. Any scruple of conscience bound as doctrine. a. Military participation, head covering, etc. 4. Any ignorance taught as truth. a. Personal indwelling, communion in an upper room, etc. 5. Any loosing of a doctrine. a. Foundation of fellowship (Harrell); accepting multiple conflicting views on MDR B. What relationship can one maintain with those who advocate any mixture of error with the incorruptible seed? 1. Eph. 5:11; 2John 9-11 Conclusion: A. Embrace, believe, and obey the incorruptible seed, for it alone can save. B. 1Cor. 15:1-4 C. WWII British children given a piece of bread to help them through the night. 1. The word of God is our bread of life that sustains us through this dark world of sin.