OVERCOMING a HOSTILE ENVIRONMENT-IV—2Timothy 3:10-17
A—IMITATION of APOSTLES-I-III(3:10-14)
B—KNOWLEDGE of SCRIPTURES(3:15-17)
Need:
Knowledge of the Word of God can help us to Overcome a Hostile Environment.
B— KNOWLEDGE of SCRIPTURES(3:15-17)
Understanding the WRITTEN WORD(3:15-17)
Timothy’s knowledge of the Scriptures was pivotal/formative to his overcoming a hostile environment.
Knowledge of the Scriptures is pivotal to our overcoming a hostile environment.
How is the knowledge of the Scriptures pivotal to our overcoming a hostile environment?
Pivotal to our overcoming a hostile environment is Adherence to Authority’s.....
Previously we found:
A hostile environment is overcome by Adherence to Authority’s…
A.—IMITATION of APOSTLES-I-III(3:10-14)
1. TEACHING / Doctrine(:10a)
2. PATTERN/Manner/Mentor(:10b)
3. PURPOSE(:10c)
4. TRUST(:10d)
5. PATIENCE(:10e)
6. LOVE(:10f)
7. CONTINUANCE(:10g)
8. DANGER / Pain / Suffering(:11a-b)
9. DELIVERANCE(:11c)
10. DESIRE/Standard(:12-13)
11. PACKAGE/Way(:14)
B— KNOWLEDGE of SCRIPTURES(3:15-17)
1—A hostile environment is overcome by Adherence to Authority’s…
REVELATION /Authority(:15a)
Explanation:(:15)
:15—“& 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.”
“From childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures”
“Known”—eidw—To see(perceive); To know.
Timothy’s “Scriptures” were the OT Scriptures.
The NT Canon was in process of becoming standardized & solidified. Prior to Timothy’s birth?
2Tim. 1:5—“.....I call to remembrance the genuine faith that is in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois & your mother Eunice, & I am persuaded is in you also.”
Penned thru the Holy Spirit as heeded by the Apostles. He guided the writing & the consequent incorporation into the NT Canon of Scripture.
If the word you ‘hear’ personally thru the Spirit, does not measure up to the written word of God, then the word you ‘heard’ is not of God! God will not contradict Himself! Yes God can change His mind, but He will never go against His nature or existing revelation.
Much of what we ‘hear’ spoken to us is actually our ‘want-to’ speaking rather than the Spirit. & We call what we hear, the ‘voice of the Holy Spirit,’ to convince others & ourselves of its authenticity & to keep ourselves in the driver’s seat rather than admit the absence of God’s voice in the matter at hand & our insecurity with portions of His word.
We so desperately want to have God move in & use us, that we can invent situations to which He compels us.
Argumentation:
Lk. 16:19-31—Parable of the Rich man & Lazarus—““There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple & fine linen & fared sumptuously every day. “But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate, “desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover the dogs came & licked his sores. “So it was that the beggar died, & was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died & was buried. “And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes & saw Abraham afar off, & Lazarus in his bosom. “Then he cried & said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, & send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water & cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.’ “But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, & likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted & you are tormented. ‘And besides all this, between us & you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.’ “Then he said, ‘I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father’s house, ‘for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.’ “Abraham said to him, ‘They have Moses & the prophets; let them hear them.’ “And he said, ‘No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ “But he said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses & the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.’””
2Pet. 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 & 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.”
Mat. 13:44-46—““Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found & hid; & for joy over it he goes & sells all that he has & buys that field. “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, “who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went & sold all that he had & bought it.”
Illustration:
Treasure map/The REVELATION of the Treasure’s location/Everyone else scatters blindly to find it/
Treasure seekers/The Whydah sank off Cape Cod, MA in a storm 1717/Undersea explorer Barry Clifford pored over timely ancient papers/1984, The Whydah is the only solidly-identified pirate shipwreck ever discovered/Maps & papers were the REVELATION needed
Application:
?You Adhere to Authority’s REVELATION?
?You overcome the Hostile Environment created by ungodliness?
2—A hostile environment is overcome by Adherence to Authority’s…
WISDOM(:15b)
Explanation:(:15b)
:15—“& 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.”
“Wise/Wisdom”—sofizw—To make wise, teach; To become wise, to have understanding.
Gen. 3:1-7—“Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?” And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; “but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’” Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. “For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, & you will be like God, knowing good & evil.” So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, & a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit & ate. She also gave to her husband with her, & he ate. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, & they knew that they were naked; & they sewed fig leaves together & made themselves coverings.”
“Salvation”—swthria—Deliverance, preservation, safety, salvation; Salvation as the present possession of all true Christians; Future salvation, the sum of benefits & blessings which the Christians, redeemed from all earthly ills, will enjoy after the visible return of Christ from heaven in the consummated & eternal kingdom of God.
“Faith”—pistiv—Conviction of the truth of anything, belief; in the NT of a conviction or belief respecting man’s relationship to God & divine things, generally with the included idea of trust & holy fervor born of faith & joined with it.
Argumentation:
Able to Make You Wise:
Mat. 22:23-33—“The same day the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Him & asked Him, saying: “Teacher, Moses said that if a man dies, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife & raise up offspring for his brother. “Now there were with us seven brothers. The first died after he had married, & having no offspring, left his wife to his brother. “Likewise the second also, & the third, even to the seventh. “Last of all the woman died also. “Therefore, in the resurrection, whose wife of the seven will she be? For they all had her.” Jesus answered & said to them, “You are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God. “For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels of God in heaven. “But concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God, saying, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, & the God of Jacob’? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.” And when the multitudes heard this, they were astonished at His teaching.”
Prov. 1:1-7—“The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel: To know wisdom & instruction, To perceive the words of understanding, To receive the instruction of wisdom, Justice, judgment, & equity; To give prudence to the simple, To the young man knowledge & discretion-- A wise man will hear & increase learning, And a man of understanding will attain wise counsel, To understand a proverb & an enigma, The words of the wise & their riddles. The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, But fools despise wisdom & instruction.”
Rom. 15:4—“For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience & comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.”
Acts 17:1-3—“Now when they had passed through Amphipolis & Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. Then Paul, as his custom was, went in to them, & for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining & demonstrating that the Christ had to suffer & rise again from the dead, & saying, “This Jesus whom I preach to you is the Christ.””
Jn. 5:39-40—““You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; & these are they which testify of Me. But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.”
Salvation thru Faith:
Acts 10:38-43—““Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through this Man is preached to you the forgiveness of sins; & by Him everyone who believes is justified from all things from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses. Him God raised up on the third day, & showed Him openly, not to all the people, but to witnesses chosen before by God, even to us who ate & drank with Him after He arose from the dead. And He commanded us to preach to the people, & to testify that it is He who was ordained by God to be Judge of the living & the dead. To Him all the prophets witness that, through His name, whoever believes in Him will receive remission of sins.””
1Jn. 5:10-12—“He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself; he who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed the testimony that God has given of His Son. And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, & this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.”
Rom. 3:21-26 “But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law & the Prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all & on all who believe. For there is no difference; for all have sinned & fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just & the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.”
Gal. 3:26-28—“For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”
Eph. 2:4-9—“But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), & raised us up together, & made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, & that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”
Php. 3:8-9—“Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, & count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ & be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith;”
1Pet. 1:3-5—“Blessed be the God & Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible & undefiled & that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”
Illustration:
My salvation after having read the Bible/Gave me WISDOM “for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus”/Once I was saved, I was prepared to enter churches & measure their teaching by the WISDOM given me in the word/False teachers could have easily mislead me into thinking ‘health & wealth’ were the purpose of the word/But my experience in the word of God protected me/WISDOM “for salvation thru faith which is in Christ Jesus”
Application:
?You Adhere to Authority’s WISDOM?
?You overcome the Hostile Environment created by ungodliness?
3—A hostile environment is overcome by Adherence to Authority’s…
BREATH/Inspiration(:16a)
Explanation:(:16a)
:16—“All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, & is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,”
“Inspired/Inspiration/God-breathed”—yeopneustov—Inspired by God. Literally: ‘God-breathed.’ From—yeov— ‘God’ & —pnew— To blow or breathe.
Argumentation:
The Word of God:
Ps. 19:7-10—“The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul; The testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple; The statutes 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 judgments of the LORD are true & righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, Yea, than much fine gold; Sweeter also than honey & the honeycomb.”
Heb 4:12-13—“For the word of God is living & powerful, & sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul & spirit, & of joints & marrow, & is a discerner of the thoughts & intents of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked & open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.”
2Pet. 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 & 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.”
Eph. 4:11-17—“And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, & some pastors & teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith & of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to & fro & carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head--Christ-- from whom the whole body, joined & knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love. This I say, therefore, & testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind,”
—These are teaching, speaking, revelation duties.
Jn. 1:1, 14—“In the beginning was the Word, & the Word was with God, & the Word was God.”....“And the Word became flesh & dwelt among us, & we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace & truth.”
Heb. 1:1-2—“God, who at various times & in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds;”
Illustration:
Wireless communication/Amazing/Can hear the very voice....their intonations characterizations of the person who speaks to you/& vice-versa!/BREATH-Inspiration is communicated
POWs forced to down the US over the radio or letter or video/BREATH-Inspiration reveals the true meaning
Application:
?You Adhere to Authority’s BREATH?
?You overcome the Hostile Environment created by ungodliness?
4—A hostile environment is overcome by Adherence to Authority’s…
PROFIT(:16b-17)
Explanation:(:16b-17) Benefit
:16—“All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, & is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,”
“Profitable/Useful”—wfelimov—Helpful or serviceable, i.e., advantageous. Profitable. From —ofelov—Advantage, profit.
“For Doctrine”
“Doctrine/Teaching”—didaskalia—Teaching, instruction; Teaching—That which is taught, doctrine—Teachings, precepts.
“For Reproof”
“Reproof/Rebuking”—elegcov—A proof, that by which a thing is proved or tested; Conviction.
“For Correction”
“Correction/correcting”—epanorywsiv—Restoration to an upright or right state; Correction, improvement of life or character.
“For Instruction in Righteousness”
“Instruction/Training”—paideia—the whole training & education of children (which relates to the cultivation of mind & morals, & employs for this purpose now commands & admonitions, now reproof & punishment) It also includes the training & care of the body; Whatever in adults also cultivates the soul, esp. by correcting mistakes & curbing passions.
“Righteousness”—dikaiosunh—In a broad sense: state of him who is as he ought to be, righteousness, the condition acceptable to God; In a narrower sense, justice or the virtue which gives each his due
:17—“that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
“The Man of God”—Who is he?—In this context, the pastor(Timothy)....By extension, anyone compelled of the Holy Spirit.
“Complete/Perfect/Adequate”—artiov—Fitted; Complete, perfect. Having a special aptitude for given uses. Strong—Fresh, i.e. (by implication) Complete:-- Perfect. Used 1X.
“Equipped/Furnished”—exartizw—To finish out; To equip fully; To complete, finish—Furnish perfectly—Finish, accomplish
“Good”—agayov—Of good constitution or nature; Useful, salutary; Good, pleasant, agreeable, joyful, happy; Excellent, distinguished; Upright, honorable.
“Work”—ergon—Business, employment, that which any one is occupied—That which one undertakes to do, enterprise, undertaking; Any product whatever, any thing accomplished by hand, art, industry, or mind; An act, deed, thing done: the idea of working is emphasised in opp. to that which is less than work.
Mat. 5:16—“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works & glorify your Father in heaven.”
Eph. 2:10—“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”
Col. 1:9-10—“For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, & to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom & spiritual understanding; that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work & increasing in the knowledge of God;”
Tit. 2:14—[our Savior Jesus Christ]“who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed & purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.”
Heb. 10:24-25—“And let us consider one another in order to stir up love & good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, & so much the more as you see the Day approaching.”
1Pet. 2:11-12—“Beloved, I beg you as sojourners & pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul, having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation.”
Argumentation:
2Cor. 9:8—“And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.”
Mk. 8:34-38—“When He had called the people to Himself, with His disciples also, He said to them, “Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, & take up his cross, & follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake & the gospel’s will save it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, & loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? For whoever is ashamed of Me & My words in this adulterous & sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.””
Illustration:
Fireman/Have every possible protective device & training needed to rescue people & protect themselves in the process/Their equipment is profitable-beneficial to them/PROFIT
Likewise God’s word is profitable for you:
Eph. 6:11-18—“Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh & blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, & having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, & having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, & the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer & supplication in the Spirit....”
Application:
?You Adhere to Authority’s PROFIT?
?You overcome the Hostile Environment created by ungodliness?
CONCLUSION:
Action:
A hostile environment is overcome by Adherence to Authority’s…
1—REVELATION /Authority(:15a)
2—WISDOM(:15b)
3—BREATH/Inspiration(:16a)
4—PROFIT(:16b-17)
Presented 05/16/2010pm to:
Needmore Baptist Church
1620 Mt. Vernon Rd.
Woodlesf, NC 27054
