Thanksgiving to God for the Scripture

The opening section presents the main theme of the sermon: Scripture is the living Word of God and an essential foundation of Christian faith. Through the Bible, God reveals the origin of creation, the nature of sin, and His plan of salvation for humanity. Faith divorced from Scripture's teaching is groundless and erroneous faith. Jesus Christ and the apostles have affirmed the eternal importance of God's Word, demonstrating that while heaven and earth pass away, God's Word remains forever.

The second section develops the history of Vietnamese Scripture translation from the 16th century to the present. The Catholic Church took 379 years to translate the entire Bible, but only 15 years after Protestantism arrived in Vietnam in 1911 was the complete Bible translated and published in 1926 through the efforts of pastors William C. Cadman, Grace Hazenberg Cadman, J.D. Olsen, and scholar Phan Khoi. The 1926 translation is considered an outstanding work, reflecting Protestantism's commitment that Scripture should be widely distributed to everyone, not exclusively for clergy. Subsequent translations in 1948, 1995, 2002, and 2010 all reflect continuing efforts to provide Vietnamese believers with accurate and accessible Scripture.

The third section presents Scripture's development from original manuscripts to modern translations. Archaeologists discovered ancient scrolls at the Dead Sea, proving Scripture's high accuracy over more than 1000 years of copying. The New Testament now exists in nearly 25,000 manuscript copies from various languages, demonstrating high reliability. The Bible was written by over 40 different authors, living on three continents, speaking three different languages, over 1500 years, yet all converge on one theme: God's plan of salvation through Jesus Christ. This miraculous unity is clear evidence of the Holy Spirit's inspiration.

The fourth section applies the message to contemporary Christian living. We believe Scripture's content is God's Word, not any particular printing or translation, though some translations are more faithful and accurate than others. Scripture's primary purpose is to help humanity know, understand, and believe in Jesus Christ and God's plan of salvation, not to achieve life transformation as an ultimate goal. Life change is a natural result when believers read, study, meditate on, and obey God's Word. The Holy Spirit uses Scripture through various forms—personal quiet times, Bible study groups, pastoral sermons, theological education, and sharing among brothers and sisters in Christ—to teach and transform believers.