"The Scriptures...Testify Of Me"

John 5:39

All the inspired books of the Old and New Testaments which make up the Bible testify of Christ. How I wish men would learn this fact! The Bible is a HIMBOOK. It is all about HIM. Every part of the Inspired Volume speaks of Christ, only of Christ, always of Christ. Christ is the message of the Book of God. His blood is the scarlet cord that runs through every page and binds them all together. His glory is the Light that shines upon every text. His Person and work is the Key which opens up the Treasure Chest of the Divine Record. "Some people complain that they do not understand the Bible. And the reason is very simple. They do not use the Key. To them the Bible is like the hieroglyphics in Egypt. It is a mystery, just because they do not know and employ the Key" (J.C. Ryle). And the Key is Christ.

The whole message of the Bible is the Lord Jesus Christ, our Redeemer, from beginning to end. The Old Testament says, "Christ the Redeemer is coming." The four Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles say, "Christ the Redeemer has come." The Epistles and the Book of Revelation say, "Christ the Redeemer is coming again." These are not just pretty words and sentimental phrases. This is exactly what God tells us in his Word (Luke 24:27, 44-47; John 1:45; Acts 3:22-24; 13:29).

I want to be perfectly clear, so that no one can possibly misunderstand my meaning. Christ is the whole counsel of God. To preach Christ crucified is to preach the whole counsel of God. And to preach the whole counsel of God is to preach Christ crucified (Acts 20:27; I Cor. 2:2). Any sermon that does not have for its motive, its substance, and its conclusion the glory of Christ, the work of Christ, and faith in the Person of Christ ought never to have been preached. The Bible is like that alabaster box which the woman broke, containing precious spikenard. It is the preacher's job to bring the Alabaster box into the assembly of the saints, break it open, and fill the room with the precious fragrance of Christ crucified. Blessed is the man who knows this. And blessed are the people who hear that man!

Don Fortner