I want to challenge you today to resolve in 2021 to build your life on God’s word. It is the only foundation suitable for your spiritual life to be built upon. Remember the words of Jesus in Matthew 7:24-27?

24 "Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. 26 And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it."

What I want to do is help you by piling reason upon reason why you should, by the grace of God, build your life on the word of God. I want to strip away all excuses that you may have that it is not a worthwhile endeavor. It is. It most certainly is. So here we go. There is no better place to go than this text. Psalm 19:7-10 gives us perhaps the most comprehensive summation of the sufficiency and power of scripture. There is so much in these four power-packed verses, and I want to draw your attention to “ten reasons to build your life upon the word of God.” So much more could be said about each point (an entire sermon). This morning, we are going to do a flyover at 10,000 feet, and I’m trusting the Spirit to take and apply it to you as needed… 

Reason #1: The word of God is complete

Verse 7 says, “the law of the Lord is perfect…” There it is. The law of the Lord is perfect. Now we often think of perfect as that which is without error, without fault, without inconsistency, and so forth. And of course, the bible is all of that. It is without error. But the word perfect actually means more than simply without error. It means complete, whole, blameless. Perhaps a word that would best describe what is meant here is comprehensive. The scriptures are comprehensive. Comprehensive for what? Comprehensive to know who God is, what he is like, who we are, and what we need to be saved and live a life that is pleasing to God. 

It may not contain everything you are curious about. Deuteronomy 29:29 says, “the secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.” What is revealed in scripture is for us and our children and is comprehensive for us that we may do what pleases the Lord. In 2 Timothy 3:16-17 says that the perfect word of God equips us for every good work:

All scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may competent, equipped for every good work.

Do you want to know God? Do you want to live for him? The word of God is comprehensive for that so build your life on it. 

Reason #2: The Word of God is powerful to transform your soul

Verse 7 again says, “The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul.” Reviving the soul. Your translation may say converting or restoring. ESV says reviving. What’s the point? The word of God does a powerful, life-giving work in your soul. It transforms you! First, it is through the word of God that you are saved. The Holy Spirit takes the word of the gospel and gives life according to it. And as Christians, born again, the Spirit of truth takes the truth of the word of God and sanctifies us through and through. That was the prayer of Christ in John 17, “sanctify them in the truth, your word is truth.” And it is the inner person that is sanctified. There may be side-benefits to your physical body in making better decisions, the industrial strength power of the word of God is aimed like a laser at the soul. It is the soul that is transformed, so that our inner person is made more and more like our Lord. 

Do you want to experience personal revival in 2021? Then immerse yourself in the word of God. Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you. I am more and more convinced than ever that to be filled with the Spirit is so intertwined with being filled with his word and vice versa. It cannot be any other way. Jesus said, “The words that I speak to you are spirit and they are life” (John 6:63). The Psalmist says, “Give me life according to your word.” (Psalm 119:25). The word of God is powerful to transform your soul, so build your life on it!

Reason #3: The word of God is reliable

Verse 7 says, “The testimony of the Lord is sure…” God’s word is sure. It is trustworthy. It is reliable. You can completely trust that what the bible says is true - either the historicity of it, the prophecies that have been and will be fulfilled, the wisdom principles, and the doctrines. God is not a man that he should lie, nor change his mind. He does not speak idle words. All of it is completely reliable; totally trustworthy. Peter, when speaking about his experience of being with Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration amazingly says the following, 

And we have the prophetic word (scriptures), more fully confirmed to which you will do well to pay attention to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. (2 Peter 1:19)

The word of God is more fully confirmed, in Peter’s mind, than the experience he had beholding the resplendent glory of Christ. I think Charles Spurgeon helps us understand how this could be when he said, 

Longing as I do for a sure foundation, where shall I look? We have a more sure word of testimony, a rock of truth upon which we rest, for our infallible standard lies in, “It is written.”

It is written. God has spoken and it is written for us. The word of God is reliable, so let’s build our lives on it.

Reason #4: The Word of God makes us wise

Verse 7: “The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple...” Making the simple wise. It gives wisdom for life. Wisdom is more than just obtaining biblical information. It is knowing and applying the word of God to life - all of life. The word of God makes the simple person wise. The simple person or the simpleton is a gullible person, someone who is easily fooled and lacks discernment. The word simple actually means “open minded”. Have you ever heard someone brag about how open minded they are? That’s often the biggest problem with some - they are so open minded they never close on solid truth! Christians need to know how to be close-minded in the right sort of way. Of course it is good to be open minded in a certain sense. We want to be teachable; we want to have our minds open when we come to God’s truth, because we want to be corrected if needed. But to be open minded about everything or even everything in the realm of spiritual things can lead (and will inevitably) lead to disaster. At the very least it will keep some in a state of perpetual gullibility and foolishness.  

How do we know what to keep out and what to let in? Well, Psalm 1 is the manual for that. Listen to what verses 1-2 say:

How blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, not stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.

And what is the fruit of meditation on God’s truth? Wisdom for life. Psalm 1:3 says, “He is like a tree… planted, yields fruit, his leaf does not wither, and he prospers in all he does.” The word of God makes you wise, so build your life on it.

Reason #5: The Word of God fuels joy in God 

Verse 8: “The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart…” The message of the bible aims at your joy! Listen to Psalm 119:162: “I rejoice at your word like one who finds great spoil.” That’s amazing! Now, you might say, “that’s not my experience.” Well, seek God for it! If you are God’s child, he wants his words to you to bring you great delight and joy! And I would also say, be diligent in your study of God’s word. Don’t open it one day, skim for 10 minutes and say it doesn’t give you joy. John Piper said, “raking will give you leaves, digging will yield diamonds.” Don’t be content raking on the surface in a superficial way. Dig, seek for diamonds!

Like the prophet Jeremiah when he said, “Your words were found and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart” (Jeremiah 15:16). It can be that for you. Whether you consider yourself a reader or not. God can change that. He can fill you with unimaginable joy. So diligently seek this God who is the fountain of joy… and seek him trusting the words of Jesus when he said, “These things I have spoken to you that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.” (John 15:11)

Reason #6: The Word of God helps us see clearly

Verse 8 says, “The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes…” The bible helps us see clearly. It helps us see God, ourselves, the world. It helps us see what sin is. It helps us to see through darkness that is all around us in the world. The word of God helps us see spiritual reality as it truly is. Of all the people on the face of the earth, Christians, armed with the word of God, ought to see the clearest. Not because we know everything, but because we have God’s revelation. This is our Father’s world and he has spoken to us about it. What has gone wrong and what he has done and will do to fix it. Some of the smartest people in terms of IQ are absolutely blind to this reality, because they reject God’s revelation. 

Psalm 119:105 says, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” Peter said the scriptures are like a lamp shining in a dark place. JC Ryle, a man who loved the word of God and was convinced that the church would become more and more like the world as they lost their grip of it said, “The Bible is the true lantern for a dark and cloudy time. Let us beware if traveling without its light.”

Letting the word of God get into us and shape us is like someone putting on glasses for whom everything was fuzzy. Charles Spurgeon commented about this verse, “Whether the eye be dim with sorrow or with sin, the Scripture is a skilful occulist (eye doctor), and makes the eye clear and bright.” The word of God helps us see clearly… and Oh how we need to see clearly!

Reason #7: The Word Of God will never fade

Verse 9 says, “The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever.” We look for something, anything that will endure. Everything in this world is defiled by sin and therefore temporary and fading away. The word of the Lord endures forever. Our lives are fading, like the grass, but God’s word will never fade. How important it is to put our trust not in our ability to keep ourselves alive through healthy eating, fitness programs. Our lives are vapors! Here today, and tomorrow gone! Is there anything more enduring we can hold onto? Yes, the word of God. And think about the relevance of God’s word in every age. Always green, always alive, always insightful. We fade away, but God’s word doesn’t. Isaiah 40:6-8 says, 

All flesh is like grass, and all its beauty is like the flower of the field. The grass withers and the flower fades when the breath of the Lord blows on it; surely the people are grass. The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.

When everything else gives way. When everything seems so shaky and transient, the word of our God will stand! It will endure. The word of the gospel will never fade. The word of God will never fade away. Build your life on it!

Reason #8: The Word Of God is absolute truth

Verse 9 says, “the rules of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.” God’s word is true. And it is not just true like many other things may be factually true. It is truth, divine truth. It is the standard of divine truth. When Jesus prayed for us he prayed that we would be sanctified in the truth and then he said, “Your word is truth.” God’s word is truth. And not just some of it or most of it, but all of it. Psalm 119:160 says, “the sum of your word is truth.”

We live in a world of lies, and the god of this world is called the father of lies. How do we combat the lies and deception all around us? Only one way. With the truth. With the truth of the word of God. How do we combat the massive proliferation of false teaching? With the word of God. JC Ryle said, “What is the best safeguard against false doctrine? – I answer in one word, ‘The Bible: the Bible regularly read, regularly prayed over, regularly studied”

Reason #9: The Word of God is more valuable than great riches

The richest man, the richest woman in the world is the one who possesses the word of God and truly understands what it is! Verse 10 says, “More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold…” Spurgeon says this verse describes how God’s divine revelation in the scriptures “enriches the soul to the highest degree.” David says the word of God is to be desired more than gold, and then he ups the ante by saying, even much fine gold. In fact, in the original: “gold… fine gold… much fine gold.” 

Think of how much time men spend seeking riches. Many want to be rich and spend their entire lives seeking it or trying to maintain it. For those who understand what God’s word is - truly is… What a treasure we have! What riches! Take all the gold in the whole world and it does not compare to the wealth we have in the word of God! If you have the word of God, you are the richest person on the planet! Cherish it. Dig and seek for its truth. Seek out the truth of it as though you were seeking for hidden treasure! Build your life on God’s word.

Reason #10: The Word of God is pleasant to the soul

Verse 10 goes on to say, “Sweeter also than honey, and drippings of the honeycomb.” The scene in The Jungle Book, when Baloo the bear longs for the luscious honey dripping from the honeycombs up the side of a cliff out of his reach. This is meant to be a picture of what the word of God is to the soul. It is delicious, sweet, and pleasant to the soul. Peter commands us to long for the pure spiritual milk of the word like a baby longs for his mother’s milk. And then he says this, “if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.” Have you tasted that the Lord is good? Have you? If you have, then long for the pleasant, sweet, delicious, nourishing word of God. It is how we grow in Christ. This is how we are planted in Jesus and grow up in him. 

Take up and read

The story of Augustine’s conversion.