We start a new Message Series today with the Word of God from the Word of God. Our key passage for this Message Series is 2 Timothy 3:16-17. Open your Bibles to 2 Timothy 3; this letter is the second letter sent to Timothy, a disciple of the Apostle Paul, then called as a Pastor. And so, what we read is God speaking through the Apostle Paul guiding Timothy in life and ministry. Read along with me 2 Timothy 3:1-5….
And so we read Timothy being warned of ungodly people. This letter was written about 2000 years ago! We read that all of those things listed in v1-5 will happen during terrible times in the last days. Take a look again at the list of ungodly activities…. Are any of those activities happening today? Aren’t all of those things listed happening today?
We are living in the last days according to God’s schedule and the instructions for Timothy is even more important for us today!
And so, read along with me now v13-17 of 2 Timothy 3….
And so we note that deception from the truth will continue to get worse; how much fake news are we be bombarded with? It seems everyday on the news or internet we are told fake news or halftruths! There will be lies after lies as we live our lives today; it is part of God’s plan. We are living in the last days; Jesus Christ will return to earth soon to judge the living and the dead! In the meantime while we wait for Jesus, God tells us a couple of things here in this passage for our lives.
Timothy was told to continue in what he has learned, especially what made him wise to salvation through faith in Jesus Christ! And so, we should also take an inventory of our faith which leads to salvation. What are the Basics of the Christian Faith??
1. There is a Holy God who created us!
2. God speaks through the Bible!
3. Every person has sinned against God and deserves eternal judgment and separation from God.
4. Jesus Christ is God but became a human being who never sinned to die on a cross for people’s sin.
5. Only by trust and belief in Jesus Christ can a person be forgiven of their sins and be able to go to heaven.
After the affirmation of salvation, Timothy was then reminded in v16-17 “All Scripture is ….. Let us note that Timothy was reminded in v15 of Old Testament Scriptures; and so, when God states All Scriptures is God-breathed, it means both Old and New Testament Scriptures!
For today, let us elaborate more of this statement “All Scripture is God-breathed!” Some English Translations states “All Scripture is inspired by God!” The original Greek Word was breathed out by God! And so, All Scripture is spoken by God, the Word of God! As I review Statement of Faith of many churches today, I find it sad that many never specifically state that the Bible is God’s actual words! Many churches today state that the Bible is inspired by God, which is open to many interpretations, like I can say I was inspired to write a song; and so many may think that writers of the Bible were just encouraged by God (inspired) rather than God actually speaking through the writers.
I shared something similar about 11 years ago, let us make sure that we believe the Bible is the spoken word by a Holy God. Everything we do must be based on the Bible and we should be able to give many reasons why the Bible is God’s Word.
Before I share my thoughts, if someone asks you why you believe the Bible is the Word of God, what would you tell them? Write down on you notes at least 3 answers….
1. Archaeology and History lines up with the Bible! More than 25000 sites (digs) have confirmed the Bible. The Smithsonian Department of Anthropology has this to say about the Bible. “Much of the Bible, in particular the historical books of the Old Testament, are as accurate historical documents as any that we have from antiquity and are in fact more accurate than many of the Egyptian, Mesopotamian, or Greek histories. These Biblical records can be and are used as are other ancient documents in archeological work.” The New Testament was accepted as historical records for 300 years! History and Archaeology will confirm the Bible, because the Bible is true, because it is the Word of God!
2. The Bible in our hands are writings so close to the original events that they are like news flashes in a newspaper! The earliest manuscripts of OT books go back to 200 BC and NT manuscripts back to 100-200 AD! How significant is this? The world accepts writings of historians like Aristotle, and Caesar. Existing Bible manuscripts are only 100-200 years after the actual events; Aristotle’s is 1400 years after the actual events! Caesar’s earliest manuscripts are 900 years after his death.
The world accepts writings with longer time spans from the actual events than the Bible!
Now listen to this, historians and librarians rank the New Testament as #1 in manuscript evidence. What’s rank #2? The Iliad by Homer ranks #2 with 643 surviving manuscripts. The New Testament has 24000 surviving manuscripts to support itself! The Koran, the Book of Mormons, or any other religious writings doesn’t even come close to the Bible! The Bible is believable because they are reliable writings very close in time to the actual events and are supported by many other manuscripts compared to no other! The Bible is the Word of God!
3. Prophecies are fulfilled or being fulfilled exactly as written! The Bible, although put in writing by man, is from God. You see, the OT writers did not dare to write anything of their own predictions. The OT writers knew that if what they wrote does not come true, they would be instantly killed! That was the law of the land! This is almost like, but not as severe, as a politician losing his office because he lied. Wouldn’t that be a good rule to have today!
The prophecies of Jesus Christ alone were written in the Bible 500-1000 years before they happened! There are over 400 prophecies of Jesus Christ first coming! The accuracy of the prophecies fulfilled about Christ in detail, can only be done by God!
4. In spite of 40 different authors and a span of 1600 years, the Bible doesn’t contradict itself! Why do we only have 66 books in the Bible? None of the 66 books contradict because God wrote each one of them and chose only those 66 books! This is why, the Bible states, “do not add anything to what’s already written by God!”
God wants us to study and learn the best we can what God is saying from the Bible NOT interpret it for our own liking! God always knows best and man’s wisdom is foolishness to God!
5. True Science will eventually catch up to the Bible! Science is based on the ideas of human beings who do not know everything and who often make mistakes. Science textbooks change from time to time as people discover new evidence and realize that they were wrong about certain things. Science is based on man’s theories which can be wrong! People used to think that it was scientifically correct to believe that the earth was flat! Isaiah 40:22 and Job 26:10 speak of a round earth! Man’s science may not always be right but sooner or later it will catch up to what the Bible says because the Bible is written by God! But sadly, People can choose to believe whatever they want to believe! Some people today still believe that the earth is flat! Many Christians are also guilty of believing their own way rather than God’s; an example is a belief that Philippians 4:13 is a superpower verse!
6. God wrote the Bible so people can change for good! The Bible not only changes individuals but also changes communities! Wherever the Bible goes there is higher education, schools, organizations, governments, hospitals and other caring institutions, and so on an so on……. If you believe the Bible, it will change you and your community for the better! God loves people and He gave written instructions on how to live the right way! The Bible is spoken by a Good Holy God and so the Bible is always good and will result good in people!
And lastly but most importantly,
7. God wrote the Bible to reveal Himself! Are personal testimonies in court? – Absolutely! God testifies about Himself in the Bible! If an all-knowing God exists and He does, shouldn’t He destroy what is falsely said about Him if the Bible is not true? God has been protecting the Bible through the ages because it is His words!
God superintended the writers of Scripture that they wrote what God wanted them to write, disclosing the exact truth He wanted conveyed. And ever since the writings of God, there have been many attempts to disprove the Bible as the Word of God and no one has succeeded!
Man cannot fight God or His Word the Bible! Are you still fighting God and what God states in the Bible?
If someone tells you they don’t believe that the Bible is the Word of God, challenge them to disprove it? If they seriously take the challenge, they will become Christians because they will learn that the Bible is the Word of God and it tells us of a Holy, Loving God, who provides forgiveness of sins and eternal life through Jesus Christ! The Bible provides spiritual food for the hungry, lamp to guide the lost, joy and delight to the heart, will renew the mind, more precious than gold, sharper than a two-edged sword, it is truth and righteousness! The Bible is sufficient for all our needs because the Bible is from a loving Holy God!
Let us close with these thoughts as we put together much of what we have been learning: God is Holy and Almighty! God is a God of love! God is a God of Creation! God is a God of Relationships! And so, even though we are sinners, God loves us, God desires to bless us, God desires to walk with us, and God desires to talk with us! How are we responding to this Holy Almighty God, starting with the Bible?
