God's Word

My dad was one of those guys that never got rid of clothes. He would keep things that moths no longer desired. And truth be told I have a few things of his to this day. Somewhere I even have a few of his old ties that are so wide you could use them for a sail on a sailboat. He was one of those people that said it will eventually come back in style and I won’t have to buy anything new because I will have the original.

You know style says something about us, - Culture says something about us, - Uniforms say something about us, even Costumes say something about us. But let me share a fact with you, Styles change – Cultures change – Uniforms change and Costumes change.

But God’s Word never changes!

(slide 2&3) So, grab your Bible and open it to Isaiah 40:8 that is Isaiah 40:8, and once you find it stick your finger there and then turn over to 2nd Timothy 3:16-17. That’s 2nd Timothy 3:16-17. Once we finish reading from 2nd Timothy we will flip back to Isaiah. Now as we read this from 2nd Timothy, we need to be reminded that Paul is writing this letter to Timothy from Prison in Rome. Paul writes: All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Now look back at Isaiah where the prophet writes: The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever.”

One of the reasons I wanted to use two pieces of scripture this morning is to remind you that the Old Testament still has meaning to you and I in our Christian Walk.

So, let’s start with the first piece of scripture we read this morning. Again, this is Paul's letter to his young protegee Timothy. We learn something right off the bat from just that piece of information. You see Paul was concerned with his disciple.

By the time Paul wrote his second letter to Timothy, the young pastor had been ministering to the church at Ephesus for four years, and it had been almost that long since he had received his first letter from Paul.

Timothy had been a faithful servant to Paul since he had left home with the apostle more than a ten years earlier. Since then, Timothy had ministered alongside Paul during his second and third missionary journeys, in places such as Troas, Philippi, and Corinth.

Timothy was not unfamiliar to the Ephesians when he settled in Ephesus to minister, having served there alongside Paul for a period of close to three years on Paul’s third missionary journey. Paul wrote again to this young leader in the church at Ephesus to provide him encouragement and support in the face of difficulties and trials.

(slide 4) So, mature Christian let me ask, who are you pouring into. You have so much to offer them, and they need to know it. You see this morning we are talking about God’s Word, and you have the wonderful opportunity to share it with your children, grandchildren and the young people here at East Columbia. When our young people see that the Word is important to you, it will become important to them.

This second letter to Timothy offers a picture of Paul at the end of his ministry, just before his death. Certain personal details in the letter reveal a man putting his affairs in order and preparing for the inevitable.

Even as we age, we can still share that God’s Word is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,

This piece of scripture is actually one of the most important and frequently quoted statements in the entire Bible: " The "All Scripture" in this case most specifically referred to the Old Testament, since the full New Testament did not yet exist.

At the time Paul wrote these words, books such as the Gospel of John and Revelation had not yet been written. However, this principle would still apply to all Scripture given by God, including the 27 books of the New Testament. New Testament writers recognized Scripture even as it was written

As such, this written Scripture is perfect. Because all Scripture is perfect, it is "profitable" for many areas of life. Paul lists four areas in this verse.

(slide 5) First, Scripture is profitable for teaching. It is to be used to instruct people to know God better. One of the reasons we have Sunday School.

(slide 6) Second, Scripture is profitable for reproof or rebuke, the idea of exposing or pointing out sin. Not judging it but pointing it out.