The Word of God has a
transforming power. We see this again
and again in history and in our own experience.
Consider these claims:
“For I am not ashamed of
the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who
believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.”
“And do not be conformed to
this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove
what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” (Romans 1:16; 12:2 NKJV)
So, we find a life
radically changed by the initial action of the Spirit of God through the Word
of God—the power of the Gospel—and how that life continues to be transformed
into Christlikeness as the mind is renewed through the truth, reoriented to the
will of God expressed in the Word of God.
Scripture brings THE
TRANSFORMING IMPACT ON SOULS. James writes, “Therefore lay aside all filthiness
and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which
is able to save your souls.” (1:21)
A man was confronted by a
skeptic, “Surely, you don’t believe that story about Jesus turning water into
wine.” “Oh, yes, because in my life, He
has turned wine into bread!” How many
have been delivered from alcohol, addiction, adultery, atheism, anger, and such
through the power of the Gospel!
The Bible also yields THE TRANSFORMING
INFLUENCE ON SOCIETY. We often marvel at
the miracle of Jonah being swallowed by a whale and surviving three days to
tell about it. There is a story in the
book harder to swallow. I believe it,
but it is incredible! That is the
account found in chapter three of a vile and violent pagan people—an entire
city turned to God.
“Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah the
second time, saying, “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and preach to it
the message that I tell you.” So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to
the word of the LORD. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, a three-day
journey in extent. And Jonah began to enter the city on the first day’s walk.
Then he cried out and said, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!”
So the people of Nineveh believed God, proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth,
from the greatest to the least of them. Then word came to the king of Nineveh;
and he arose from his throne and laid aside his robe, covered himself with
sackcloth and sat in ashes. And he caused it to be proclaimed and published
throughout Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, Let
neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything; do not let them eat, or
drink water. But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily
to God; yes, let every one turn from his evil way and from the violence that is
in his hands. Who can tell if God will turn and relent, and turn away from His
fierce anger, so that we may not perish? Then God saw their works, that they
turned from their evil way; and God relented from the disaster that He had said
He would bring upon them, and He did not do it.” (Jonah 3:1-10)
Amazing!
My heart prays, “God, do it again in Washington, DC and let the
spiritual awakening sweep across the land and globe!
Think about the impact the Word has had on
our world.
It is woven throughout the fabric of our
literature. The writings of Shakespeare,
Dickens, Doestoevsky, Tolkien, and if you want a modern, popular writer: John Grisham,
whose works are filled with Biblical themes and allusions. Marilynne Robinson wrote in the NY Times:
“The Bible is the model for and subject of more art and thought than those of
us who live within its influence, consciously or unconsciously, will ever
know.”
It is the
foundation of our laws. The Scripture’s
influence on English Law is undeniable.
Daniel Webster said in 1820, “ Let us not forget the religious character
of our origin. Our fathers were brought hither by their high veneration for the
Christian religion. They journeyed by its light, and labored in its hope. They
sought to incorporate its principles with the elements of their society, and to
diffuse its influence through all their institutions, civil, political, or
literary.”
The Word of God
has elevated life wherever it has been proclaimed. Its message gave impetus to the establishment
of hospitals, orphanages, and schools.
You might be surprised to know that Harvard, Yale, and Princeton were
begun to propagate the Gospel by training preachers. Great social reforms like abolition and the Protestant
work ethic—all have been uplifting for society—and each of these grounded on
the Bible.
Our world has never been the same because of
the Word and its marvelous power!
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