Scripture
Jeffery Anselmi / General
Core 52 / Inspiration of the Bible / 2 Timothy 3:16–17
It is time that we look back to the Scriptures.
INTRODUCTION
- As kids, we learn a lot from songs and sayings.
- We learned our ABCs.
- We learned that, yes, Jesus loves me.
- There are now two generations of children who learned to pick up after themselves from Barney the Dinosaur.
- Clean up, clean up. Everybody everywhere. Clean up, clean up, everybody do your share.
- Some of the songs and nursery rhymes we were taught as children are downright creepy.
- “Ring around the rosy pocket full of posies. Ashes, ashes, we all fall down.”
- One theory says that this song was originally about people dying in the black plague.
- Well, that is encouraging.
- Hey, everybody, join hands.
- Let’s sing.
- “Rockabye baby, in the treetop. When the wind blows, the cradle will rock.
- If the bough breaks, the cradle will fall, and down will come baby, cradle and all.”
- What kind of sick, twisted parent puts their baby in a tree top?
- Someone needs to be arrested. (Dan Raymond- Core 52, Sermon 50)
- As Paul seeks to encourage his young protege, Timothy, Paul encourages him to anchor himself to what he has learned in his youth from his mother and grandmother to help him combat and be prepared for the difficult times coming ahead.
2 Timothy 3:14–15 (NET 2nd ed.)
14 You, however, must continue in the things you have learned and are confident about. You know who taught you
15 and how from infancy you have known the holy writings, which are able to give you wisdom for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.
- Why does Paul bring up the fact that Timothy was taught from the Holy Writings, the Scriptures, from infancy?
- Why point this out to Timothy?
- Paul has just finished telling Timothy that the times they live in are difficult and will likely get worse.
- People will become more selfish, arrogant, greedier, more brutal, and less interested in God and his ways.
- They will pretend to be godly but instead do what they want, led by their own desires (2 Timothy 3:1–9).
- Paul tells Timothy that he is different.
- Timothy has watched Paul's life, faith, love, and struggles.
- Timothy recognizes that a life of faith will be difficult, but God is good (vv. 10–13).
- Timothy is encouraged to look back at the Scriptures he was taught so he will have the strength to be a light shining in the dark world.
- Let’s see why Paul placed so much value on the Bible.
2 Timothy 3:16–17 (NET 2nd ed.)
16 Every scripture is inspired by God and useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,
17 that the person dedicated to God may be capable and equipped for every good work.
SERMON
We need to look back at the Scriptures because…
I. The Scriptures are inspired by God.
- When we open the Bible, what are we looking at?
- What are we reading?
- If we go into it thinking it is anything other than the inspired Word of God, it will not do much for us.
- Books are written from the mind of and by the hand of man.
- The Bible is unique in that it is inspired by God and written through the hand of man.
- In verse 16, Paul gives Timothy the first reason he should look back to God’s Word.
- In verse 16, we are told that EVERY SCRIPTURE is inspired by God.
- What does the word INSPIRED mean?
- Does it mean that the writers of the Bible pondered God and were moved to write, much like someone would look at a sunset and be inspired to paint it, or is there something more to it?
- The Scriptures are of divine origin.
- Inspired by God translates a term that occurs nowhere else in the New Testament.
- Its literal translation is “God-breathed,” which means that Scripture is produced by God’s breath (or spirit, which is also his power) and is, therefore, of divine origin.
Daniel C. Arichea and Howard Hatton, A Handbook on Paul’s Letters to Timothy and to Titus, UBS Handbook Series (New York: United Bible Societies, 1995), 235.
- All scriptures are inspired by God and are, therefore, absolutely trustworthy.
- The great prophecies of the New Testament have been and are being fulfilled.
- Every line of it has stood the test of centuries, shattered every attack of evil men, and yet stands enshrined in the hearts of millions as God’s saving word for lost men.
James B. Coffman, Commentary on 1 & 2 Thessalonians, 1 & 2 Timothy, Titus, and Philemon, Revised Edition., The James Burton Coffman Commentaries (A. C. U. Press, 1986), 2 Ti 3:16.
- ALL SCRIPTURE is the product of God’s breath or Spirit, the result of God’s action.
- Every word of the scriptures was breathed out by God and then written by man; then, God used to proclaim His message to humanity.
- However, the authors still incorporated their style and personality in the writing of the Bible.
Jeremiah 1:9 (NET 2nd ed.)
9 Then the LORD reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, “I will most assuredly give you the words you are to speak for me.
- God revealed His person and plan to certain people, and they wrote it down.
2 Peter 1:20–21 (NET 2nd ed.)
20 Above all, you do well if you recognize this: No prophecy of scripture ever comes about by the prophet’s own imagination,
21 for no prophecy was ever borne of human impulse; rather, men carried along by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.
- When you read some of the prophecies in the Old Testament and realize they were written many times hundreds of years before the events happened, testify to the validity of this thought.
- Imagine being able to predict an event like 911 1000 years before it happened or even 100 years.
- I am talking about predicting with clarity, not a bunch of ambiguous statements that could be turned to mean about anything.
- Prophecies concerning Jesus, over 700 years before He came, were made accurately by Isaiah.
- The Bible shows that it is the inspired Word of God in part by its continuity.
- The continuity of the Bible deals with the concept of the consistent message of the Bible.
- The Bible is not inconsistent and is not contradictory.
- In other words, as an example, God does not tell you to love your enemy and later hate them.
- If one author wrote a book, it would be easy to maintain a united message, or even if a small group of writers gathered together to write a book, it would not be too difficult to maintain continuity throughout the book.
- Many see the Bible as one book versus a collection of "books."
- The Bible was written over about 1500 years. (Josh McDowell)
- The Bible was written by more than 40 authors from every walk of life, from kings to shepherds and everything in between.
- The Bible was written in different places and at various times.
- The Bible was written on three continents: Asia, Africa, and Europe.
- The Bible was written in three languages: the Old Testament was predominately written in Hebrew, and the New Testament was predominately written in Greek.
- The other fantastic thing about the Bible is it is written in a wide variety of literary styles, like poetry, historical narratives, songs, romance, law, biography, autobiographical, prophecy, parables, satire, and many other forms.
- The Bible has survived through persecution, criticism, and time.
- How do you get a book that has defied the odds and is still with us?
- It did not happen by accident because the Bible is the Inspired Word of God!
2 Timothy 3:16–17 (NET 2nd ed.)
16 Every scripture is inspired by God and useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,
17 that the person dedicated to God may be capable and equipped for every good work.
We need to look back at the Scriptures because…
II. The Scriptures are useful.
- Verse 16 lists the many uses the Bible offers.
- When you think about it, since it is the inspired Word of God, it should be very useful!
- Timothy is encouraged to look back to the Scriptures because he will need something that is of great use to him, especially since he has such an enormous task at hand.
- People read several self-help books, books on leadership, books on understanding the psychology of others, and many other books because they are looking for an edge or some help with life.
- I think this is great; we should always look to improve ourselves.
- Why not go to the most useful book written by the creator of all things?
- I have a toolbox full of tools and equipment, and each item in my toolbox makes various jobs easier for me to do.
- Useful means promoting or enhancing well-being.
- The word also denotes something as being beneficial or helpful.
- We are told the Bible is useful for teaching.
- Teaching is not so much about whether I will be a good teacher; instead, it speaks of what I need to teach.
- These are the basic truths and doctrines of Christianity.
- You need to know these things to live the life God calls you to live.
- Every discipline has its basic principles that guide everything.
- Geometry has its theorems.
- Science has its scientific laws.
- Law has its legal norms formed by rules and principles.
- Scripture contains every truth you need to know to live a spiritually full life and to fulfill the purpose for which God made you.
- We see the Bible is useful for reproof.
- The word reproof means to convict to show someone.
- It is rebuking to convict of misbehavior or false doctrine.
- The word is used in the context of confronting those who are in sin.
- The Word of God can convict us to change, to turn away from false teachings.
Hebrews 4:12–13 (NET 2nd ed.)
12 For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any double-edged sword, piercing even to the point of dividing soul from spirit, and joints from marrow; it is able to judge the desires and thoughts of the heart.
13 And no creature is hidden from God, but everything is naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must render an account.
- The Bible is useful in the area of correction.
- Correction is used in the context of confronting those who are in sin.
- The Word of God can convict us to change, to turn away from false teachings.
- Reproof convicts a person; correction gets them back on the right path.
- The word correction means to help people straighten out their errors.
- Correction is restoring something to its original and proper condition.
- The Bible is also useful for training people in righteousness.
- The Bible gives you the training or discipline you need to be able to please God.
- All the instruction you need to be restored to the path of righteousness.
- Let’s take a final run at our passage, focusing on verse 17.
2 Timothy 3:16–17 (NET 2nd ed.)
16 Every scripture is inspired by God and useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,
17 that the person dedicated to God may be capable and equipped for every good work.
We need to look back at the Scriptures because…
III. The Scriptures can equip you for a successful life here and beyond.
- Following the bible will help equip you for this life and prepare you for eternity.
- Time in the Bible, studying the Bible, is meant to equip us “for every good work” (v. 17).
- The Bible was not written to answer every specific human question.
- The Bible doesn’t provide concrete solutions for every unique problem that might come our way..
- To illustrate this, let's consider a degree in a particular field of study.
- A degree in a particular field of study will not provide you with specific solutions to every unique problem you will face during your career.
- The degree in your field of study will provide you with general tools and resources that can help guide you along the way.
- Parenting is another example.
- You can’t prepare your children for every problem they will face.
- You can train them in righteousness and help equip them with the godly character they will need to maturely handle the various difficulties life will inevitably throw at them.
- This is what Scripture does and what Scripture was intended to do.
- Reliance on God’s word will prepare us to do what we are called.
- The Bible does show us the way of God and the way of righteousness and the way to eternal life, providing us with the tools, or “armor,” that we need to walk through life in the light of God (Ephesians 6:10–17).
- Verse 17 tells us we will be capable; this means we will be complete and proficient in everything we are called to do.
- We will also be equipped to do every good work!
- We will have everything we need to take on the world's challenges.
- We will have all the equipment we need to be able to carry out the mission God has given to each one of us.
- We will be able to meet all the demands of righteousness!
- The only way we will be capable and equipped is by spending time in the Word so we can become more Christ-like.
CONCLUSION
- We need to remember that God has not left us in the dark; we do not have to wonder what He wants us to do with our lives.
- Do you want to be prepared for the challenges of this life and be ready for the life to come?
- When we understand that the Bible is the inspired Word of God that is useful and can equip us for life, we will come to it differently.
- We read it not for the sake of winning Bible trivia, but rather, we read it with more of a sense of urgency.
- If I gave you a manual on how to prepare, pack, and use a parachute today, many of us would read it, or we would not read it with much of a sense of urgency.
- How about if you are on a plane that is going to go down, and you need a parachute to survive?
- Would you see and read the manual in a different light, with a different sense of urgency?
- We are called to look back at God’s Word!
