CONTINUE IN THE TRUTH
(2 Timothy 3:16-17)
Where do we as Christians find solace? In other words, where do we find the greatest comfort and peace and refuge, living in a fallen world where truth is no longer truth?
Micah 5:4-5 – “And He shall stand and shepherd His flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord His God. And they shall dwell secure, for now He shall be great to the ends of the earth. And He shall be their peace.”
This scripture speaks of the coming Messiah, and if we look to Jesus Christ for our security and peace, we will find that He is the fulfillment of this prophecy. In the storms of life, which can encompass many unforeseen paths, including faltering faith, He shepherds us into His strength and becomes the realization of our peace and solace through His teachings, example, and ultimately, His sacrifice on the cross.
In today’s world, the truth has become relative. There is no singular truth. No absolutes. In today’s world, everyone should live their own personal truth based on personal preference, or live truth based on a consensus of a group of people’s beliefs which include a set of falsehoods.
John 18:37 – “Then Pilate said to Him, “So you are a King?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a King. For this purpose, I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to my voice. Pilate said to Him, “What is truth?”
John 14:6 - Jesus says, “I am the way, the TRUTH, and the life.”
Jesus is saying that He is the only path to a relationship with God the Father, the embodiment of truth, and the source of eternal life.
The stark reality is that Pilate was looking directly at the Origin of all Truth when he asked the question… “What is Truth?”
The Greek word for “truth” is Aletheia, which refers to “divine revelation” and is related to a word that literally means “what can’t be hidden.” Truth is not hidden or obscured. It is always open and available for all to see.
As Christians, we have received our greatest gift from God…
Romans 6:23 – “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
And because of the precious undeserved gift of grace, forgiveness, and a relationship with God through Jesus Christ’simputed righteousness, Christians receive by the power of the Holy Spirit, a new reality of what “Truth” is, which is a critical aspect of our faith and of our sanctification. No longer a worldly truth, but a biblical truth which is absolute and eternal and not subject to cultural shifts or societal trends.
After the Westminster Shorter Catechism established that the chief end of man is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever, it asks a follow-up question…
What rule hath God given to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy Him?
The answer – The Word of God, which is contained in Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, is the only rule to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy Him.
Remembering that Faith is central to how anyone receives the validity or value of God’s inspired Word because as it states in…
1 Cor. 2:14 – “The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.”
That leads us to our scripture passage for today and it is found in2 Timothy. Keep in mind that the author, Paul, was once again in a Roman prison as part of Emperor Nero’s persecution of Christians, and Paul knew that he was facing imminent execution.
2 Timothy 3:16-17 – “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”
Some interpretations say, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God.”
In 1521 Martin Luther was called before the Catholic church council, thinking he was being given an opportunity to explain and debate his views, but instead when he arrived, he discovered he was on trial. All his writings were spread out on a table and at the end of the proceedings, when the church court demanded he recant his written and spoken words from the previous 4 years, his response was succinct. “Unless I am convinced by the testimony of the Scriptures or by clear reason (for I do not trust either in the pope or in councils alone, since it is well known that they have often erred and contradicted themselves), I am bound by the Scriptures I have quoted and my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and will not recant anything, since it is neither safe nor right to go against my conscience. May God help me. Amen.”
It was during this period of the Protestant Reformation in the 16thcentury that the term “Sola Scriptura,” meaning “by Scripture alone,” originated as one of the “Five Solas” of the Protestant Reformation. “Scripture Alone; Christ Alone; Faith Alone; Grace Alone; Glory to God Alone!” They signify that each principle is the only or primary means by which God achieves a specific aspect of salvation.
Luther was saying that the Word of God is supreme and has the highest authority in the church. “It is written” means exclusively transcribed, and not hearsay. It signifies an appeal to divine authority. Nothing is infallible except Scripture, and…
Scripture alone functions as the rule of faith in Christianity.Meaning that it cannot be wrong or misleading.
Scripture alone functions as Truth. Without error because God Himself is truth.
Scripture alone is absolutely sufficient in itself. Everything necessary for salvation and living a Christian life.
God’s declaration in Scripture is that Scripture alone, is the final authority in all matters of faith and morals. All other sources of authority must be judged by the Bible.
Psalm 119:160 – “The sum of your word is truth, and every one of your righteous rules endures forever.”
Selected quotes regarding the Word of God:
A.W. Tozer – “The Bible is not an end in itself, but a means to bring men to an intimate and satisfying knowledge of God, that they may enter into Him, that they may delight in His Presence, may taste and know the inner sweetness of the very God Himself in the core and center of their hearts.”
James Boice – “The Bible is something more than a body of revealed truths, a collection of books verbally inspired by God. It is also the living voice of God. The living God speaks through its pages. Therefore, it is not to be valued as a sacred object to be placed on a shelf and neglected, but as holy ground, where people’s hearts and minds may come into vital contact with the living, gracious, and disturbing God. For a proper perspective on Scripture and for a valid understanding of revelation, there must be constant interworking of these factors; an infallible and authoritative Word, the activity of the Holy Spirit in interpreting and applying that Word, and a receptive human heart. No true knowledge of God takes place without these elements.”
Charles Spurgeon – “The Word of God is like a lion. You don’t have to defend it. Just let it loose, and it will defend itself.”
In 2 Timothy Paul says that All Scripture is “God-breathed.” The Greek term “Theopneustos” literally means “God-inspired” or “Breathed out by God.”
The God who created the Heavens and the Earth and who is eternal, who has no beginning and no end.
The God who sent Jesus Christ, His Son, to be our Savior
The God who indwells His people through the Holy Spirit
And the God for whom every one of us will stand before in judgment one day has spoken to humanity through His word and He desires that we know Him!
God-breathed implies that each word in the Bible originated from the heart of God, written by men who were inspired by the Holy Spirit to write down exactly what God wanted to communicate to us, which is totally different from an individualscreative impulse or general sense of guidance.
As Peter said in 2 Peter 1:20-21 – “For no prophesy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Spirit.”
So, what Peter emphasizes is that the writers of Scripture were inspired. God carried them so to speak. He influenced their minds so that God’s word is spoken truly by the prophets.
Sometimes God told the writers the exact words to say as He did with Jeremiah.
Jeremiah 1:9 – Then the LORD put out His hand and touched my mouth. And the LORD said to me, “Behold, I have put my words in your mouth.”
But more often He used their minds, vocabularies, and experiences to produce His own perfect infallible, inerrant Word.
John MacArthur – “It is important to note that inspiration applies only to the original autographs of Scripture, not the Bible writers; there are no inspired Scripture writers; only inspired Scripture. So identified is God with His Word that when Scripture speaks, God Speaks”
All scripture is breathed out by God. Meaning what the scriptures say God says—whether the OT or NT, the Psalms, the Gospels, the Letters, or Revelation. All of it is God breathed.
AW Tozer – “Nothing less than a whole bible can make a whole Christian.”
It is an understatement to say that we live by the Word of God, and in fact we cannot live without it. As the world proceeds from bad to worse, we are to continue in the sacred writings of God. This is what the Lord Jesus Christ said in the wilderness when being tempted by the devil. He said…
Matthew 4:4 – “It is written: ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’
I read a commentary where a pastor said that “I threw the Bible down next to me, just like I’ve done numerous times in my life. The Afghan man, who daily risks his life for the gospel, gently picked up my Bible, kissed it, and delicately set it back down. From that moment, reverence took on a whole new meaning.”
When we hold this book, we are holding something that is set apart because it contains the truths that God wants us to live by. Truths that will transform us.
It is more important than any human wisdom that we can consider. It is more important than what I think or what you think or what our culture or government thinks. It has a place of authority and lordship above any worldly thinking because it is the standard of truth and is truth itself.
Jesus said in John 17:17 – “Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.”
In that Scripture, Jesus communicates two important facts: God’s word is truth, and it is by that truth that God sanctifies us or sets us apart for holy service to Himself.
Listen to David…
Psalm 33:6 – “By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, and by the breath of His mouth all their host.
Creation came into being—the heavens, the host of heaven by the breath of the LORD.
The same God that spoke creation into existence is the author of the Bible and it should be approached by all Christians with wonder, reverence, and awe.
John 14:33-34 – Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father’s who sent me.”
We are also given a warning in His word. In the very last commandment of the Bible God resolutely tells us not to add to nor take away from His Word.
Revelation 22:18-19 – “For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book: If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of this book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the Book of Life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.”
Psalm 1 says that a man who meditates on God’s Law Day and night is like a tree planted by streams of water. Its roots go deep, which makes it strong and healthy. It does not wither butprospers.
Transformation means a change or renewing of our minds, an inward change that will manifest itself with outward actions.
As Christians I can with surety say that not If we falter in our faith, but when we falter in our faith, we must allow the word of God to have its way with us.
We must not only listen to the Word; we must also let it transform our lives
Hebrews 4:12 – “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”
Paul continues in -
2 Timothy 3:16 - “all scripture is profitable for teaching (or profitable for doctrine), for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.”
Teaching and Reproof—have to do with Biblical Doctrine.
Only when we allow God’s word to guide our lives… for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness… can we be sanctified. His Word is the only thing that can transform our spirit, soul, and body.
This is important to remember… regeneration and justificationare a monergistic work of God and comes from a compound Greek word meaning “to work alone.” Monergism says that God does the work of salvation, and the elect are the beneficiaries of that work. Even the faith needed to receive God’s salvation is a gift from God. In the past, God granted us justification, a once-for-all, positional holiness in Christ.
In the present, God guides us to maturity, a practical, progressive holiness. Synergism comes from the Greek term meaning “work together with.” That is progressive or experiential sanctification. It is the effect of obedience to the Word of God in one’s life. It is the same as growing in the Lord or spiritual maturity. God started the work of making us like Christ, and He is continuing it—by the power of the Holy Spirit and with our participation by applying God’s word, in earnest, to our lives.
1 Thessalonians 5:23 – “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Without God’s word, without sound biblical doctrine, we would be stumbling around in the dark. There would be no growth or maturity in our faith. Paul is telling us that Scripture is an absolute necessity for our sanctification. This means doctrinal truth. Differentiating between what is true and what is false.
The Scriptures teach us how we are to live a life pleasing to God in the power of the Holy Spirit. They teach us who Christ is and what he has done to save sinners and reconcile them to the Father. They teach us what God’s plans are in the future andhow Christ will come again in His glory.
Doctrine is teaching or instruction imparted by an authoritative source.
We are to be careful about what we believe and present as truth.
1 Timothy 4:16 – “Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.”
If we were to identify biblical doctrines source, its object, and its ultimate end, then we would say that doctrine is teaching from God, about God, that directs us to the glory of God.
The triune God is the ultimate source when it comes to Christian doctrine. The God who knows and loves Himself in the perfect fellowship of the Trinity has graciously willed to make Himself known to us.
1 Corinthians 2:10-12 – “these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God.”
The primary object of doctrine is God and doctrine teaches us to see God as the one from whom and through whom and to whom all things exist, and doctrine directs our lives to God’s glory.
Romans 11:36 – “For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be glory forever. Amen.”
Biblical doctrine is that which incorporates the whole counsel of God and is aligned with the character of our unchanging God.
As Christians, do we have the attitude of the Psalmist in …
Psalm 119:72 – “The law of your mouth is better to me than thousands of gold and silver pieces.”
He is essentially saying that if I could have all the money to buy whatever I wanted, it wouldn’t compare to the treasure of your word!
Pastor Adams… solar power… more time to study God’s Word!
Do we have that attitude?
Scripture is profitable for doctrine because it helps keep us from false doctrine. False doctrine is any idea that adds to, takes away from, contradicts, or nullifies the doctrine given in God’s Word.
As followers of Christ, we have no excuse for remaining ignorant of theology because we have the whole counsel of God available to us—the Bible is complete! We have a responsibility to read, meditate, pray for guidance and wisdom, comprehend, and memorize scripture.
Ephesians 4:14 – “so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.”
Examples of False doctrine prevalent in our world today would be a sermon for another day but some examples are the Prosperity Gospel… teaches that faith is a direct path to personal wealth and success and that if you aren’t wealthy or healthy, your faith isn’t strong enough.
Universalism – all paths lead to heaven and that ultimately, everyone will be saved regardless of beliefs or actions.
New Revelation – claiming that God is still revealing new, scripture level truths today
Denial of the Trinity, Work-Based Salvation – Jesus’ sacrifice wasn’t enough. Our actions can earn us a place in heaven.
Name it and Claim it – God is like a genie who grants wishes if we believe hard enough.
Denial of Christs Humanity and of His return… And
Relativism – Truth is subjective and personal… dismissing the Bible’s claim to be the ultimate standard of truth.
The Bible gives stern warning to those who would teach false or incomplete doctrine because it is more compatible with man’s ideas.
1 Timothy 6:3-4 – “If anyone teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness, he is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing.”
Paul tells us in Galatians 1 that if anyone preaches a gospel other than the one that we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse!
Scripture is profitable for reproof…
The Greek word for reproof or rebuke is derived from the word “elegcho,” which can be translated as “to convict,” “to expose,” or “to bring to light.”
Scripture is profitable for reproof because it provides clear standards for right and wrong.
Scripture highlights the gravity of sin and it rebukes sinners by exposing wrongdoing with the purpose of correcting behavior and bringing us to repentance. The rebuking role of Scripture is as important as its role in encouragement and teaching us. We must be receptive to the Bible’s rebuke of our wrong actions and of its training in righteousness.
Got Questions – “Scripture is profitable for rebuking in that it forces us to see ourselves as we really are. The Bible is a mirror in which our own faults and flaws and failures are evident.”
The Word of God is comforting and nourishing, but it is also convicting.
While Teaching and Reproof have to do with Doctrine
Scripture is profitable for Correction and Training in Righteousness have to do with Conduct.
Correction comes for the Greek word for “straight,” meaning, scripture is profitable for straightening us out! God’s word is useful in a practical way in that when you are obedient to its guidance, its reproof, with sound biblical doctrine, we will begin the process of correction or straightening out.
So… when we are rightly taught by the Scriptures, we are first reproved, that is our errors are pointed out and we are then corrected, that is, we are turned around from any harmful way were going and pointed in the right way. Then… we
Continue Instruction in Righteousness…
In the original Greek, the word translated “Righteousness” here speaks of a moral standard, knowing right from wrong. Paul is telling us that scripture shines a light on what is wrong in our lives and teaches us how to correct those areas of wrong thinking or action.
We must remember that when we examine ourselves by the scripture, that we rely on the Holy Spirit to reveal its truth to us.
John 16:13 – “When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all the truth, for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak, and He will declare to you the things that are to come.”
Instruction in righteousness through the knowledge of God’s Word transforms from mere head knowledge to active application in our daily lives.
Hearers and doers of the Word with spiritual maturity being the ultimate outcome. We cannot expect to succeed in our walk of faith without immersing ourselves in His Word!
Paul continues… “That the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
As I mentioned previously, as Christians, during the synergistic process of sanctification, being set apart for God’s use… we have an active role, with the power of the Holy Spirit, to allow the Word of God to make us complete for the purposes of God.
That through the study and application of Scripture, we attain to spiritual wholeness and maturity, not perfection, but a developed character and faith.
The word equip means “fully furnished.’ The word of God makes us complete and equipped with the practical application of knowledge through scripture for every good work.
Recall - Ephesians 2:10 – “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”
John MacArthur states…” Good works cannot produce salvation but are subsequent and resultant God-empowered fruits and evidences of it. Like his salvation, a believer’s sanctification and good works were ordained before time began.”
This is critical… for a Christian to be complete and thoroughly equipped for every good work we need to heed the exhortation of Paul and Peter to stand firm in the Scriptures.
Paul encourages Timothy in 2 Timothy 3:14-15 – “You must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.”
A couple of months ago I shared a word from 2 Peter and if you recall, Peter exhorted us to grow in our faith.
2 Peter 1:5-8 - “But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindess and to brotherly kindness love. For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Listen to Peter’s exhortation, that truth always needs repetition because believers forget so easily.
2 Peter 1:12 – 15 – “For this reason I will not be negligent to remind you always of these things, though you know and are established in the present truth. Yes, I think it is right, as long as I am in this tent, just as our Lord Jesus Christ showed me. Moreover, I will be careful to ensure that you always have a reminder of these things after my decease.”
Peter was likely in his seventy’s when he wrote this letter from prison and anticipated dying soon. He wanted to make certain that after he died, God’s people would have a permanent reminder of the truth, thus he penned this inspired letter.
Let’s forward to what he said in 2 Peter 1:19-21 – “And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts; knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.”
The light that shines in a dark place is the lamp of revelation, the Word of God.
I started this message asking where do you find solace, comfort, peace, refuge, living in a fallen world where truth is no longer truth. I need to add to that question, where do you find strength, wisdom and knowledge, spiritual guidance (your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path). Where do you find how to live a life worthy of the Lord, pleasing Him in every way? Where to you find how to examine, reproof, correct yourself?
As Peter, Paul and as David says in Psalm 19, we find Truth in God’s word.
Psalm 19:7-11 – “The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple; the precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes; the fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; the rules of the LORD are true, and righteous altogether. Mor to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb.Moreover, by them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward.”
The bottom line… studying the word of God demonstrates our love towards God. When a Pharisee asks Jesus what the greatest commandment is, His response was to quote from Deuteronomy when He said, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This application of loving God in this way must include a dedication to the study of His word.
We have a choice to make God’s Word a priority and to take it deeply into our minds and hearts and then apply it to our lives allowing its transforming power to change our lives for our spiritual growth and maturity.
Recall Paul telling the church in Ephesians 6, how to stand against the evil that Christians face by putting on the whole armor of God, and he calls the Bible “the sword of the Sprit, which is the word of God. It is noteworthy that the Bible is the only offensive weapon that Paul lists among the armor of God. The belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, shoes of readiness, and the shield of faith are needed to defend against the attacks of satan, the word of God is the tool we use to counter-attack the schemes of the devil.
While we live in a world that is ever-changing, God does not change, and His word does not change. The Psalmist tells us to “Hide God’s Word in our hearts. It is important to note that we are not alone in trying to understand and apply God’s Word to our lives. God has filled us with His Spirit who speaks to us, leading and guiding us in all truth.
That we would be faithful in studying, meditating, memorizing and applying God’s word to our lives for our spiritual growth and for His glory.
Questions for Community Group –
