A man who lived in northern Michigan went for a walk in a very densely forested area. When darkness began to settle in, he decided it was time to head for home. He was familiar with hiking in the woods and felt he had a keen sense of direction, so he didn’t bother to look at his compass. After walking for a while he decided he’d better check it. He was surprised to see that the compass indicated he was going west-not east as he had thought. But he was so sure of his own sense of direction that he concluded there must be something wrong with the compass. He was about to throw it away in disgust when this thought came to him: My compass has never lied to me yet-maybe I should believe it. He chose to follow its direction and soon found his way out of the woods and back home.

God’s compass for us is the Bible, it is the perfect law of liberty and its instructions are always trustworthy. His words have never failed, his word is perfect and without error. There is only one who never lies to us, “God” and His word is perfect regardless of what critics say.

I Trusting the perfect law of liberty- Vv. 25a

1. In v. 25, James says “The man who looks intently into the perfect law…” This is a wonderful way to describe the Word of God. In the New Covenant, God reveals to us a law, but it is a law of liberty, written on our transformed hearts by the Spirit of God. What is the perfect law? -That Bible that you have right there in your hands. It’s perfect, because you can’t improve on it. You can’t make it any better than it already is. It’s as good as it can possibly be. It cannot be better. It is perfect. It’s called the perfect law of liberty.

2. The Word of God is “perfect” or inerrant. It would be life changing if people would believe the Bible. The world would be a remarkable different place if people would believe this love novel and instruction book for life that God gave us thousands of years ago to live by. Think about it, God/s word is inerrant, He makes no mistakes.

The world would be better off if we believed and practiced the truths of the Bible. Our nation was founded upon the Judea, Christian ethic and we became the greatest nation on earth. However, Satan has fostered a generation n of unbelievers and critics that last waste to the Bible and thereby God Himself. How do we know these truths to be self-evident? What book is undermine and slander more than any other? What God is blasphemed more than any other? The one true God and His declarations to humanity (the perfect law of liberty) are so we live with justice, morality, honesty and integrity.

Paul declared, “II Timothy 3:16 that all scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: The world over the last 100 years has attacked this book.

3. The Bible has been read by more people and published in more languages than any other book. There have been more copies produced of its entirety and more portions and selections than any other book in history. There is absolutely no book that reaches or even begins to compare to the circulation of the Scriptures. The first major book printed was the Latin Vulgate. It was printed on Gutenberg’s press and called the Gutenberg Bible back in 1445.

4. The American Bible Society and the Gideon’s International distribute millions of copies each year. For example, it’s estimated that around 100 million copies of the Bible are distributed annually, in various forms like print, audio, and digital. It is still the #1 best seller every year however, the Bible is not officially tracked as a “best-seller” every year in a conventional sense (like most popular novels or non-fiction), various organizations and publishers estimate that the Bible outsells any other book annually.

Wilbur Pickering states that about 50 years ago that the British and Foreign Bible Society in order to meet its demands, had to publish: “one copy every three seconds day and night; 22 copies every minute day and night; 1369 copies every hour day and night; 32,876 copies every day in the year.

5. The Bible is a divinely inspired book. It needs a divine interpreter because of this the ungodly do not comprehend the simple truths we enjoy. They don’t read it and declared it is wrong or you’ll hear the Bible is corrupt because it has been translated so many times it can’t be trusted.

Wilbur Pickering has stated that among the many hundreds of Greek manuscripts known to exist today, surely God would have preserved the original wording. After years of searching and comparing Greek New Testament manuscripts, he concluded that God used a certain line of transmission to preserve that wording. NO word of Scripture, NO word from God, not any was ever absolutely at any time made by an act of human will. The Bible is not the product of men it is a product of God to man.

6. The Dead Sea Scrolls are ancient manuscripts that were discovered between 1947 and 1956 in eleven caves near Khirbet Qumran, on the northwestern shores of the Dead Sea. They are approximately two thousand years old, dating from the third century BCE to the first century CE. The Dead Sea Scrolls contained ancient copies of biblical texts, many of which predate other known manuscripts by centuries. One of the most famous finds is a nearly complete manuscript of the Book of Isaiah (the Great Isaiah Scroll), which is dated to around 125 BCE.

The comparison of these manuscripts with later versions, such as the Masoretic Text (MT), revealed that: The text of the Hebrew Bible remained remarkably consistent over time, with few significant differences. Scholars have declared the scriptures have been transcribed whereby we have 99.9 % accuracy and no doctrinal discrepancy. We can trust the Masoretic Text and the Textus receptive manuscripts.

 Chat-gpt concludes it research stating, “Overall, the Dead Sea Scrolls confirmed that the Bible, especially the Old Testament, had been remarkably well-preserved over millennia. They also revealed the diverse religious landscape of ancient Judaism, offering context for the emergence of Christianity. While no major theological revisions of the Bible were made based on the scrolls, the findings expanded scholars’ understanding of biblical history, textual transmission, and the cultural background in which early Christian texts emerged.

You can trust the Bible and live by its’ precepts and it will…

II. Improve your Spiritual Appearance. Vv25b

1. Now our spiritual appearance will be improved in two areas when we apply its truths. It will improve our character. We will become more and more and more like the characteristics of our Lord. Not only is our character improved but also our conduct is improved. As we look into the mirror of the Word of God, we realize we’re not able to do it. But through the enabling power of the Holy Spirit we start to do that. “You read and the Spirit, this is something you are doing and it will harm you and the Word of God says not to do it.”

2. James state, following the mandates of scripture you will be blessed. In the Bible, being blessed is defined as a state of inner peace, joy, and happiness that is not affected by circumstances because of your relationship with Jesus. The Bible says that God will supply all needs and wants. Forgiveness and redemption are the blessings of all the redeemed. 

 III. We Must not Deceived ourselves in the Word.vv.26- 27

1. A religion that pleases the Lord reveals itself in at least three ways, proper speech, pleasing service and positive separation. Just in case you don’t know what life looks like when God transforms you, James points it out in vv. 26-27 (read). When you let God’s Word affect you and determine to do it, it will cause you to seek purity in your own life and it will drive you to find ways to help others, especially those who can’t help themselves.

2. You see, the more like Jesus you become, the less self-absorbed you will be. The more you listen to Him as if your life depends on it, the more you will be captivated by God and motivated by the needs of others to help.

Christians’ personal ethics can be terrible. Some use profanity, some being sexually loose and caring little for morality. We can get this way when we put to strong of an emphasis on humanitarian results and not spiritual results.

3. James used it here of someone who is religious, but is not really right with God, and this is evident because he does not bridle his tongue. This one’s religion is useless: Your walk with God is useless if it does not translate into the way you live and the way you treat others… Many are deceived in their own heart regarding the reality of their walk with God.

Conclusion:

God wants to change you but he won’t force His will on you, He wants you to want Him and receive His will because it is good for you. God loves you and he desires your submission because you love and trust Him. You need to apply His Word today to your life and trust Him for a better tomorrow and when we come once again to the crossroads of New Year we will have accomplish betters thing for ourselves, God and others.