Introductory Considerations
1. September is a time to roll up our sleeves and get down to work. Summer vacation time is over and hopefully we have been refreshed to again concentrate on the work that God has blessed us with.
2. Children to again go back to school and new church activity year begins. Today we have our SS Promotion Sunday, give awards for attendance and challenged to new year.
3. Do we look forward to growing in the Lord and learning more.
4. In all our activity and programs in the coming year, my hope and dream is that we may experience spiritual growth and renewal. The only way we can grow and be renewed is by the word of God.
5. How much time do you spend in the Word? How important is it to you? Do you hunger and thirst for what God wants to say to you?
6. Today, along with Paul, I hope to encourage all of us - young and old to continue to study and learn from God’s word .
Teaching
1. Paul has been imprisoned in Rome for a second time. He is in a cold dungeon, chained like a common criminal, and knows that his work is soon done and soon his life is over.
2. Even now he wants to encourage his son in the Lord and partner in the Gospel - Timothy. Yet in both letters he wants to encourage the churches as well - since the "you" at the end of each letter is plural.
3. Paul tells us to take note of what is going on in the world. We know what is going on but mark it, highlight to make sure you take it serious
4. Paul wrote these words nearly 2,000 years ago, yet he makes a very accurate description of life today.
5. The problem of today is one of love - the world is filled with lovers (filios not agape) of themselves, of money, of pleasure.
6. They are no longer lovers of the good and lovers of God (vs. 3)
7. Problem also in church.
a. Worldliness comes into church. We go through the motions or forms of being godly but they deny its power. Worldly people who invade church for own purposes.
i. Paul tells us we are to have nothing to do with them. (vs. 6)
ii. Be aware of false teachers. Examples of some TV evangelists.
iii. Be aware of congregations that deny salvation only through Christ.
iv. We need to know which teachers are false and which ones are not - not that any of us are perfect .
v. In vs. 13 Paul lets us know that things will go from bad to worse. Don’t trust in the world and its ways to get any better - it won’t. We get swept along with false and worldly thinking.
vi. We use reason, worldly rather than what God’s word says.
b. We compromise.
i. Paul says we will be persecuted - terrible times in verse 1 can be translated as perilous times. (see vs. 12)
ii. Seems like little persecution in North America for us - why? Either society is following God’s word or we accommodate ourselves to society?
iii. Are you persecuted for your faith? Do people ridicule or reject you because you attempt to live godly lives?
iv. Would we worship God if we could be killed for doing so? Would we give as much to church if tax break taken away? why would we not read Bible at lunch time?
8. What can we do to stop being deceived by evil men?
a. Paul tells us to continue in what we have learned, even those Scriptures we have known from infancy.
b. This brings us to the main focus this morning - why we should be moved to study Scripture.
i. To know truth so we will not be deceived.
ii. It makes us wise for salvation. (John 20:31)
iii. All Scripture is God breathed (v. 16)
iv. It is useful for teaching (about God, Jesus)
v. It is practical - rebuking, correcting, training in righteousness.
vi. Scripture enables us to be prepared for every good work.
9. Paul says in Rom 12:2 "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind." Commit ourselves to pray and study for the renewing of the mind of each one of
us and collectively as a church.
