You can listen to all of the audio messages that were preached at the West Cannon Baptist Church Bible Conference by clicking here. We at RHB strongly recommend listening to the message that Dr. Steve Lawson did on The Preacher’s Invincible Sword. You can read our “live blog post” of this message below.
Dr. Steven J. Lawson is the senior pastor of Christ Fellowship Baptist Church in Mobile, Alabama. He serves on the board of directors of The Master’s College and Seminary and the ministerial board for Reformed Theological Seminary and teaches with Dr. John MacArthur at the Expositor’s Institute. In addition to his pulpit ministry, Dr. Lawson has written 14 books, including Famine in the Land: A Passionate Call to Expository Preaching, Foundations of Grace: A Long Line of Godly Men (vol. 1), and The Expository Genius of John Calvin. He and his wife, Anne, have four children. You can purchase some of Dr. Lawson’s books at Reformation Heritage Books clicking at the above links.
Text: Hebrews 14:12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. 13 Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do. 14 Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.
Introduction: Dr. Lawson started off by explaining what exactly the Bible is. From there he made it clear how the world was shaken by the Reformation, Puritans, and the Great Awakening’s preaching of the Word of God. It is clear that in every reformation and revival the preaching of the Word of God was the main medium God used. Then Dr. Lawson brought attention to the importance of this book of Hebrews in chapter one that it is the “power of God.” He then showed this from not only chapter one of Hebrews, but three, five, and in twelve as well. Dr. Lawson told his audience that they were going to get 7 marks that night on the Bible.
1. The Bible is a Divine Book- “Word of God”. The Bible is a divine book written by men, but spoken by an Author, God.
2. The Bible is a Living Book- “living” The Bible is a book that is alive and speaks to people as much today as when it was first written down.
3. The Bible is a Powerful Book- “active” The Bible is a book that has energy and supernatural power that is ready to explode in the lives of people.
4. The Bible is a Razor Sharp Book- “sharper than any two edged sword” Every book, chapter, verse, word, jot and titel can cut and wound the soul of any man. It convicts; there is nothing that wounds the hearts worse than this sword.
5. The Bible is a Piercing Book- “piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit” Meaning that the Bible can dig deeper than anything else to get into the depths and innermost parts of the heart to heal and restore the individual.
6. The Bible is a Judging Book- “and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do” Meaning that the Bible is able to critique the individual and judge man’s soul by comparing the life of the person to that which the Word commands for the believer.
7. The Bible is a Saving Book- “For” in the beginning of verse 12. This word here in front of all that is said in verses 12 to 14, shows us that the Bible gives us a Gospel invitation so that the people will leave behind their past life and follow the Word of God. This “for” is to invite people to see the Gospel and to announce that the Word of God was enough and is enough to break all of mankind from their past, no matter what it was.
Concluding thoughts are that man should not harden their hearts to that which they have heard from the preaching of the Scriptures. The effects of the Word of God are what changes man’s hearts and gives their souls hope. Man must know it, read, learn it, fight for it, and see it, preaching it in the full power of the Holy Spirit, which has the power to save others. For there is nothing more powerful than the Word of God in the hands of men.
