Luke 29: 27--31 He answered, "Then I beg you , father, send Lazarus to my father's house, for I have five brothers. Let him warn them so that they will not also come to this place of torment." Abraham replied, "They have Moses and the Prophets: let them listen to them." "No, father Abraham," he said, "but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent." He said to him, "If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead." --NIV
In the name of the God of Abraham, amen.
In the days before Moses there was no written word from God. The knowledge of God and salvation was passed on orally. Oh, there were certain memory helps like the signs of the Zodiac, but the written word (of God) did not exist yet. Beginning with Moses, God had more and more of the knowledge about himself written down for us. Now today, we have only the written word to rely on. Anything else is, at the very least, suspicious.
But how many of us have not looked for knowledge about God in other places. Have we not often wished for some sort of a sign thinking, "If only I could see a sign then I would really believe?" How many people listen for the voice of an angel? And what about those who look to their horoscope for revelation of the future? Still others look inside of themselves for truth and knowledge about God.
But God reminds us that we have Moses and the prophets, in other words, the written word as our only sure source of knowledge about God and salvation. If we do not believe what He tells us in His holy word, nothing else will be of any use to us either.
So it stands that because of our sinful nature, we are headed for a terrible place. But God has given us the knowledge of salvation in His written word, and we do not need to end up in that place. In His word God tells us that by trusting in the promise that Jesus died to pay for all of our sins, we are adopted as children of God. As children of God we are citizens of heaven. May you trust the written word of God, and not look for another source of information about salvation. May God's holy word keep you in the True Faith. Amen.
Prayer:
Dear heavenly Father, in Your unparalleled wisdom You wrote down all that we need to know in order to be saved. Grant us hearts that trust the promises You give us in Your written word. Keep us from being led away from You by looking to other people and things for knowledge about You and our salvation. We ask this in our Savior Jesus' name so that we may honor and glorify You forever, amen.