THINGS MOST SURELY BELIEVED AMONG US
11) We Believe The Word of God Is Profitable
Text: Luke 1:1
Forasmuch as many have taken in hand - to set forth in order a declaration…
of those things which are most surely believed among us.
Brethren as Children of God – it’s important for us to know what we believe.
What is it that constitutes our faith?
So far in this series of lessons - we have established our faith in two things.
1) We Believe In God...and
2) We Believe In God’s Word.
Of course, this is not just some vague notion or idea for us,
Because we believe very specific things about God, and about His Word,
As shown and revealed to us through the Bible.
Turn with me now to 2 Timothy 3:16-17
INTRODUCTION
16 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 perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.
Some great verses here – detailing some really great truths about what we Believe.
Now over the next three weeks…
We’re going to study from this text – and discover 3 fundamental things,
Which make the Bible…of greater spiritual worth and value to our lives
Than anything else this world has to offer.
In the weeks to come, we will learn three important lessons
Regarding the treasure we have in God’s Word.
Lesson Recap
Last week, we talked about how we believe that the Bible is God Inspired
As Paul directly puts it - All Scripture is given by inspiration of God.
Remember however the term inspiration in the Greek
Speaks of far more than just an “urge” or a “feeling” as some might suppose.
In fact, literally it is translated in the Greek to mean: “to breath” or “to blow”.
Now this might seem a little odd at first,
But when I speak – I breath...
I draw breath in and I blow breath out.
This is common practice for anyone who speaks.
And on one level – knowing that the Bible is in fact - God’s Word,
And understanding that this is in fact – Him speaking to us,
It’s easy to see how this translation fits:
All Scripture is given by inspiration of God,
Or put another way – “all Scripture is God Breathed”.
Every Word has come from His mouth - Amen!
Brethren - this is what we believe!
Of course, on a deeper spiritual level...
We also took note last week of how this Greek term inspiration...
Also points us towards the ready presence and involvement of the Holy Spirit...
In how God’s Word was written and recorded.
You see, the Bible reveals to us how the Lord readily used and worked through Godly men,
Men who were influenced by the leadership of the Holy Spirit in their lives,
And used by God to deliver His Word to the people, and record it for future generations.
Remember what the Scriptures declare. 2 Peter 1:21:
21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.
The Greek term Holy Ghost that is expressed here in the NT is pneúma ...
In the Old Testament Hebrew the equivalent word is Nephesh
And in both instances, the terms refers to Breath, and to the Soul or Spirit
Now remember - All Scripture is given by inspiration of God - It is God Breathed,
And as we have already learnt – God is a Spirit - John 4:24.
And the Holy Spirit is revealed to us as being a distinct part of God’s Triune Nature.
And we can see through the Scriptures...
The diverse role and function of the Holy Spirit in many different areas,
Including the “inspiration” or way it worked through Godly men to record God’s Word.
Brethren we believe the Bible is God’s Word - and that it is God inspired!
And what’s more, we believe that The Lord worked through Godly Men
Who through the direct inspiration, and prompting of the Holy Spirit,
Wrote down and recorded the Scriptures according to God’s greater plan and purpose for mankind.
Brethren this is what we Believe!
So that was last week’s lesson...
This week we are going to build upon the understanding of how God’s Word is Inspired,
To also learn how God’s Word is Profitable.
GOD’S WORD IS PROFITABLE
Now in the business world, if we talk about something as being “profitable”
The general idea and understanding is that it makes money.
The expectation is that after all your efforts and any other investments made
You will be rewarded favourably by a financial return.
For example, “Facebook” – a business most of us have probably heard of,
Announced a revenue of 86.6 Billion US dollars at the end of 2020
That’s a lot of money…
And most of the time this is purely how we understand profit – it’s all dollars and cents.
However, in the Greek language that’s not what the term Profitable means.
In fact, in the Greek it doesn’t have any kind of financial meaning at all.
Instead, it simply means: “to be useful”.
It carries with it the idea…
Of something that is both “helpful” and “advantageous”…
when applied and put to good use.
Here Paul tells us that Scripture is useful.
Paul says: “The Bible can be both helpful and advantageous when applied to our lives.”
Now I don’t know about you…
But I have always found that the more I use the Bible…
The more useful it becomes in my everyday life.
But there is a lot of debate out in the world today
About whether there is any “functional use” for the Bible at all.
Some people say that’s it’s a great story,
But that’s its far too old-fashioned…
And completely out of touch with needs, culture and society of our day.
In other words – the Bible was good in past applications…
But now no longer serves a purpose and has become largely obsolete.
Brethren - I want to make something very clear to you all - right now,
The Bible is as relevant for people today,
As it was all the way back in the time of Christ.
Look again at verse number 16. What does it say?
All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable…
Then Paul goes on to actually list 4 things God’s Word is “useful” for:
1) for doctrine, 2) for reproof, 3) for correction, and 4) for instruction in righteousness:
You can’t tell me that the Bible isn’t useful…
Because here’s four quick ways it can be.
1) DOCTRINE
Firstly, we are told that Scripture is Profitable for Doctrine.
That term Doctrine simply means “Teaching”.
We all understand that sometimes we have need of teaching – right?
There are some things that we need to learn and be taught...
Because it is beneficial and advantageous for our lives.
The Bible is a book of Teaching...
It’s doctrine reveals things to us about the Lord, ourselves, and about spiritual things.
Jesus actually spent all of His time teaching - didn’t He.
He taught in the Temple (John 8:2), He taught in the synagogues (Mat 13:54),
He taught in towns and villages (Luke 4:31)…
*In fact Jesus taught in all kinds of places – as Mark 2:13 records saying:
13 And He went forth again by the sea side; and all the multitude resorted unto Him, and He taught them.
*Matthew 5:1-2 adds to this saying:
1 And seeing the multitudes, He went up into a mountain: and when He was set, His disciples came unto Him:
2 And He opened His mouth, and taught them, saying,
From the mountains to the seaside, and everywhere in between – Jesus was busy teaching.
And whenever we pick up the Bible – do you know what we find?
We find a record of the very things He taught.
And as far as teachers go – Jesus is by far the best.
*Notice what Matthew 7:28-29 says about this:
28 And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at His doctrine:
29 For He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.
You see, there was a noteable difference with the things that Jesus taught,
As opposed to those things taught by other men..
*Matthew 13:54
54 And when He was come into His own country, He taught them in their synagogue, insomuch that they were astonished, and said, Whence hath this man this wisdom, and these mighty works?
How great were Jesus teachings – well so great the people were astonished by them!
Truth is, No one has ever influenced more people,
Inspired more change…
And taught more fundamental truths about life and living - than Jesus Christ.
No one has ever challenged mankind more
To be the best we can be - than Him.
And the thing is - we all have need of His teachings – don’t we.
And guys, make no mistake – we have His teachings right here.
This is God’s Word and His message to Mankind...
And it is Profitable for our Lives.
This is what we Believe!
2) REPROOF
All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for…
Well firstly doctrine or... “teaching”,
And then secondly for Reproof.
That term Reproof actually speaks of “rebuking someone”
Or of “pointing out a fault”.
It also carries with it the idea of instilling “heart felt conviction”
Or the conscious recognition that one’s actions have been wrong.
Whenever my Mother “rebuked” me – I knew what I had done wrong.
This is the whole idea here.
God’s Word is useful to us…
Because it tells us when we are wrong,
It shows me all my faults….and convicts me of all my sin”
In fact, Paul declared in Romans 7:7
…I had not known sin, but by The Law: for I had not known lust, except The Law had said, Thou shalt not covet.
Of course “The Law” spoken of there – is “God’s Holy Law” recorded for us in the Scriptures.
Paul said the only reason I can see and understand my own sin…
And the only way I have been able to recognise my own shortcomings as a man,
Is because the Word of God has revealed them to me.
It has convicted my heart and shown me that I have been wrong.
Let’s all see another example of this in the Word of God.
Lets see how God’s Word can “reprove”.
Turn with me to John Chapter 8 – keep your finger here in 2 Timothy though
Because we will come right back.
Lets pick up our reading in verse number 1:
1 Jesus went unto the mount of Olives.
2 And early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people came unto Him; and He sat down and taught them.
So again we see Jesus teaching here…God’s Word is Profitable!
3 And the Scribes and Pharisees brought unto Him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst,
4 They say unto Him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act.
5 Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou?
6 This they said, tempting Him, that they might have to accuse Him.
Now let’s just pause here for a moment to really get an understanding of what’s going on.
These men come to Jesus spouting off about the Law…
And they say – “Moses declared anyone found guilty breaking the Law of God
Should be killed…but what do you say Jesus?”
And they did all this to test Jesus so that they could later accuse Him,
Bearing in mind, they were willing to sacrifice a women’s life to set Jesus up in this way,
So that tells you exactly what kind of people we’re dealing with here.
This reveals to us their heart and motivation.
However, notice how Jesus responds at the back end of verse 6:
But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not.
7 So when they continued asking him, [they just weren’t going to leave this alone]
He lifted up Himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you,
let him first cast a stone at her.
8 And again He stooped down, and wrote on the ground.
You see, the Scribes and the Pharisees had forgotten what the law of God
Was actually all about?
It was about revealing to mankind – that we are all in fact sinners,
And that every single one of us has tress-passed in some way
Against God’s Holy Law - and consequently we ourselves are worthy of death.
*James 2:10: For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point,
He is guilty of all.
To which Romans 3:23 tell us:
For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
Jesus then, in His own way and with His own Words…
Simply reminded these men of the fact that they were sinners too.
And that just like this women – they were in need of redemption.
Jesus said: “Let he among you who is perfect…
And who has never broken any aspect of God’s holy law,
Be the first to condemn this women to death.”
In affect what Jesus did was reprove them.
By the words Christ’s spoke,
These men were able to see how they were out of line,
And were convicted of their own sin.
You see the Word of God is useful for Reproof.
Read with me verse 9:
9 And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.
10 When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee?
11 She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.
God’s Word is profitable - because it shows us when we are wrong
And it convicts us of our sins.
3) CORRECTION
Right – lets return to 2 Timothy 3:16
All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable…
Not just for doctrine...and not just for reproof... but also thirdly, …for Correction. Can you see that?
Now guys - this is what I love about God’s Word,
Because everything He has to say, is wonderfully balanced.
God’s Word doesn’t just point out all the things that are wrong with us.
It’s doesn’t just reveal to us our sins and our faults…Because it also helps us to correct them.
Now no one likes to be corrected…
But if we we’re never corrected – how would we ever get anything right?
And this is what makes the Bible so incredibly useful for our lives.
Can you imagine how frustrating it would be if all the Scriptures ever did
Was show us everything that was wrong...without showing us how to correct it.
Let me tell you, I have worked with people like that,
People who are “All care and no Responsibility”…
Who just seem to complain and criticise every little thing you do.
Now the thing about the Lord is - He’s not just capable of identifying a problem,
*But He then becomes a fundamental part of fixing it. Micah 6:8
8 He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?
Does God show us our faults in the Word – Sure…
But then He shows us how to fix them.
In fact, Micah says: “He has shown us what is Good…and exactly what is required”.
Does God convict us of our sin in His Word – Yes…
*But then He shows us how our sins can be forgiven. 1 John 1:9
9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Does God show us our need for a Saviour in the Bible - Absolutely…
*And then He provides us with His Son Jesus Christ. 1 Timothy 1:15
15 This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.
God’s Word has a wonderful power and ability to correct us.
The Word Correction itself used in our text means: “to set right again”.
And the picture here is of actually of “standing something up that has fallen over…
So that it can sit again in its right place”.
In other words, when we get it wrong – God shows us how to make it right.
When we got off track and fall flat on our faces – God is there in His Word
To stand us back on our feet and to place us
Back where we belong in right relationship with Him.
The Word of God Corrects us. Amen!
4) INSTRUCTION IN RIGHTEOUSNESS
Moving on, last point…All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable…
Finally, ...for instruction in righteousness.
The word Instruction here really speaks of the “education” and “training” of someone.
It outlines a formal “discipline” whereby one gains knowledge and understanding.
And here we are told that God’s Word…Provides “Instruction”...
Or rather training and education – in righteousness.
In other words, Scripture helps us to apply a focused discipline whereby
We are able to gain a knowledge and understanding of what God says is right.
And we all have need as sinners to be shown what is right by God.
But here’s the problem…
Gods Word and His instructions are only as good as our willingness to apply them.
God says in Hosea 4:6 -“My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because they have rejected knowledge,”
Interestingly, that term knowledge comes from a root word meaning: “to be instructed”.
So God says: “There are some people who have rejected my instruction
And now their lives are full of destruction and ruin…
Because they have no knowledge or understanding in what is right.
Doesn’t that sound like the world we live in today. Amen!
Have you ever wondered why there is so much wrong with the world today?
Have you ever questioned why so many people are hurting…
Why so many lives are broken and ruined?
God says – it’s because people refuse to take heed to my instructions
And to embrace that which is right in their lives.
Guys - If we refuse to hear the instruction in righteousness...
That God has left for us all in the Bible,
Then we will never know or understand His purpose and design for our lives.
We won’t know the right path to take as opposed to the wrong one.
*We just can’t afford to be like the people Zachariah spoke about in the OT. Zachariah 7:11
11 But they refused to hearken, and pulled away the shoulder, and stopped their ears, that they should not hear.
Guys God’s Word is far to valuable to our lives to ignore.
Mark my words – refusing to hear His instructions…
Will result in our lives falling into destruction.
On the flip side however…
Following the correct, safe, sound instruction that we find here
Will preserve and bless our lives – wont it.
The Bible is like a roadmap that keeps us on the right path
*It shows us the right way to go and it guides us out of harms way. Joshua 1:8
8 This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.
I can tell you this – in all the years I have read the Scriptures,
Not once have I been given bad instructions…
Or been led the wrong way by God.
Not once have I found applying His Word to my life detrimental.
After all, these are “instructions in righteousness”...
And this is something we all need because it is...
God’s directions to us for the right path in our lives.
CONCLUSION
Now let’s be honest with ourselves for a moment,
How useful is the Bible to us?
Because If God’s Word is truly “Profitable”…
Then we should all be getting enormous use out of it?
When we take the time to read the Bible…
And when we take the time to apply Scripture to our lives…
Something truly remarkable happens…
Because that’s when we begin to discover its true worth and value.
Paul declares: All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable [its useful, beneficial and advantageous] for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
Today we have seen a few of the ways God’s Word can Profits us.
In the weeks to come, we will see how the God’s Word Completes us
And how God’s Word Equips us.
please make sure to join us then.
