Hebrews 4:12-13 For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.
2 Timothy 3:15-16 And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness
What is Paul telling us about the Word of God in the fourth chapter of the book of Hebrews?  The Word is “living and powerfulâ€.  Saying that the Word of God is living means it applied back then and it still applies now in a powerful way and brings you into life because life without Jesus is darkness, destruction, and death.  The Word is powerful because it gives us power by giving us power over fear, power over hopelessness, power over the enemy of our soul. Paul goes further and describes the Word of God like a sword that can cut down deep and it makes me think of a surgeon’s scalpel when he declares that it cuts deep into the “division of soul and spiritâ€. If you have ever seen a surgery the scalpel is extremely sharp. The surgeon does not have to apply a bunch of pressure and they do not have to do a whole lot of chopping. The surgeon just has to be careful to position the scalpel in the correct place and cut… and the scalpel does all the work. As a pastor I just have use the scripture that God has given me and rightfully divide it and apply it correctly. I don’t have to bang you over the head with it, I don’t have to force feed it, and I don’t even have to break a sweat…the scripture does all the work as the Lord works on your heart. There is no hiding from the Word of God as it reveals things to us that we may or may not want to be revealed. “Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: for the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.†(James 1:19-20) That scripture revealed to me how much time I wasted fighting with people. I wasn’t doing God’s work when I was fighting everybody. It hurt and it revealed something to me that I didn’t want to see at first. But I’m better for it today. I’m more like Jesus today. The Word of God will explain things to us that we wondered. It will make clear things to us that we were in the dark about. The Word is not simply a bunch of good suggestions.  It doesn’t say that “maybe you shouldn’t lie†it says, “Thou shalt not lie†and it says, “Lying lips are an abomination.†The Word of God is not simply a great story. Yes David killed Goliath and that is a wonderful story but it’s not in the Bible just entertain you. “David said (to King Saul) moreover, The Lord that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine…†(1 Samuel 17:37) That is to let you know that if God did it before He can do it again if you just have faith. “Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied.†(1 Samuel 17:45) And the Word of God says David ran towards Goliath. That is more than just a good story that is in the Bible to teach you that you do not have to be scared of anybody if you have God on your side. You don’t have to be scared of the Judge, you don’t have to be scared of your enemy, you don’t have to be scared of your girlfriend. And contrary to popular belief the Word of God is not even just a bunch of do’s and don’ts. A Jewish man asked me once, “Why can’t you just follow all of the good teachings of the Bible and live better…why do I have to believe in Jesus?â€Â It is not a book of do’s and don’ts. “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten son…†(John 3:16) God’s love is not a “do†and it’s not a “don’t†and He loves you whether you “do†or you “don’t†do his “do’s†and “don’tsâ€. The Word of God is living, it is dynamic, it is God speaking to us, and it is life-changing. God’s word will reveal who we are and also who we are not by penetrating the core of our moral and spiritual life. It discerns what truly resides inside of us and whether it is for God or against God, for the flesh or for the Spirit, and simply whether it is good or evil. So when we hear the Word of God we must let it correct us, rebuke us, chasten us, teach us, shape us, and guide us. Furthermore, as verse 13 tells us, there is nothing that is hidden from God. With God there are no secret places or secret or secret thoughts. God is omniscient (all-knowing) and omnipresent (ever-present) and omnipotent (all-powerful). And even though God knows everything about us. He knows your good thoughts and He knows your evil thoughts. He knows what you did and what you were planning to do. Even though He knows He still loves you.  But because He loves us he corrects us. And Timothy goes onto tell us that scripture will make you wise and its purpose is to lead you to salvation. Salvation comes through the Savior who is Jesus Christ and that is who the holy scriptures point to as they “reproof, correct, and instruct in righteousness.â€Â So let these scriptures do surgery on your spirit.  It might hurt a little at first, it might hurt a lot, but you will come out better and wiser and more like Jesus Christ.