Sermon for 1/6/2001
2 Timothy 3:16
Introduction:
A. Whatever you do, be sure to read this year’s runaway bestseller. No, you don’t have to wait until December to learn which book will sell more copies than any other will in the year 2002. We already know which one it will be. It’s the same book that was #1 in 2000 and in 2001… and in 1990 and in 1995… and in every year over the past century. About 40 different people from a wide variety of places and occupations contributed to the writing of this book over a period of 1,600 years. Few of them knew any of the others. Many of them had little or no access to the writings of the rest. The work they produced contains 66 smaller books, 1,189 chapters, 31,173 verses and 807,361 words. And yet, the 1,200 pages of their work come together in a stunningly united whole. It’s as though one great mastermind was behind it all.
B. Within this book you will discover hundreds of specific predictions, except for those yet to be fulfilled. 100% of them have come true. So great is the scope of this book, so profound its message, that literally millions of additional books have been published in praise of it, or in careful analysis of its content. No other book can make that boast.
C. It is the most-read, most revered, most-quoted book of all time. It has inspired more songs, more paintings, more sculpture, more poems, more plays and more movies than any other has. No man or woman can be said to be truly educated until he or she has obtained a first-hand, working knowledge of its contents.
D. Over thousands of years, hundreds of millions of men, women and children have met together each week in-groups small, medium and large to pour over its meaning and to align their lives with its teachings. Many of them make it a point to spend a portion of each day mining its depths for additional treasure.
E. What is the title of this bestseller? Tease them with authors of contemporary books. No.
F. The Bible.
G. No other book could sustain that kind of interest could bear that kind of scrutiny- and leave its enraptured readers coming back for more. It has been translated into more languages than any other book, having been read, studied and memorized by people of every race, color, persuasion, personality and culture on the planet. Even now, the few isolated tribes that remain without a written language are working with translators to codify their verbal utterances one-by-one, so that they can soon hold in their hands a copy of this precious book in their own tongue.
H. How could mere human beings author a book of such perfection and power? The obvious conclusion is that they must have had help. One of its authors reveals that its every word is "God-breathed." Wow. That explains why this book is in a class by itself.
I. If you’ve never read it all the way through… or if you’ve never experienced it in one of its fresh, up-to-date translations, I encourage you to make this your #1 New Year’s resolution. With more than 6,000 styles and presentations to choose from, you shouldn’t have too much difficulty obtaining a copy that perfectly fits your budget and personality. If you do not already have one, we can provide you with one. My two personal favorites are the New King James Version and the New International Version.
WBTU:
A. Last week we started a series on the 3:16’s of the Bible.
B. Started with John 3:16.
C. This week we are talking about 2 Timothy 3:16.
D. Why? We don’t know a lot about the Bible. Help to increase our knowledge.
E. In my house T-shirts at the bottom of the drawer are like silverware on the bottom of the stack: unused. Taking from the top of the stack is a natural human response. Apparently some of the world’s best stuff lies unused on the bottom where people seldom go.
F. This year we are going where people seldom go. We are going to be challenged to explore beyond our comfort zones with the 3:16’s of the Bible.
G. This verse is well know but it is a good springboard to speak about how we need to study and read and memorize and know, become familiar with the Bible.
Thesis: Why should I get to know the Bible? Because it is full of three things from 2 Timothy 3:16.
For instances:
H. Inspiration.
A. God breathed. His words, His thoughts, His plans, etc.
B. God’s inspiration.
C. Full of supernatural words.
1. (2 Pet 1:21 NIV) For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
2. These words are from God.
3. Men are not perfect? Yes, but this is the beauty of the Bible. The very purpose of the Spirit’s supervision was to keep men who could err from doing so.
4. These are men’s words not God’s? God used the words that these men knew to communicate His truth.
D. Spiritual Words.
1. David said (2 Sam 23:2 NIV) "The Spirit of the LORD spoke through me; his word was on my tongue.
2. It is amazing that God has taken words like redeem or pardon or sanctification and has given them such spiritual meaning.
3. Many of them were terms of law and business.
E. Savior’s Words
1. Jesus is described as the Word. The final and ultimate Word from God.
2. Our Savior spoke when he was on the earth but He still speaks through the pages of this book.
3. All Scripture is God-breathed.
4. What is God communicating in our day? Same message as when this book was completed.
F. What is Scripture?
1. Is some of this Scripture?
2. Is most of this Scripture?
3. It is all Scripture, but is it all God-breathed?
4. Is this plus more Scripture?
5. Many people have many ideas to discredit the Bible. Add or take away from this book.
6. These books have stood the test of time. True, right and holy.
G. Hastings- People for two millennia have been refuting and overthrowing this book, and yet it stands today as solid as a rock. Its circulation increases, and it is more loved and cherished and read today than ever before. People make about as much impression on this book as a man with a tack hammer would on the Pyramids of Egypt. When a French ruler proposed the persecution of Christians in his realm, an old warrior said, "Sire, the Church of God is an anvil that has worn out many hammers." The hammers of infidels have been pecking away at this book for ages, but the hammers are worn out, and the anvil still endures. If this book had not been the book of God, men would have destroyed it long ago. Emperors and popes, kings and princes and rulers, scholars and intellectuals, have all tried their hand at it; they die and the book still lives.
II. Full of information.
A. And for doctrine, teaching about life.
B. Knowing right from wrong.
C. Knowing truth from error.
D. In our day, we determine truth by public opinion. If we did that throughout the ages, slavery, infanticide, prostitution, etc. would still be acceptable.
E. We have to base our lives on something.
F. If we do not have some base, we will be blown this way and that without any direction. If we stand for nothing, we will fall for anything.
G. Knowing reality from deception. What is real?
H. Knowing God’s Word from man’s word. Human wisdom fails.
1. God helps those who help themselves.
2. Each tub has to sit on its own bottom.
3. Cleaninless is next to godliness.
4. Familiarity breads contempt.
I. God’s Word is always right and never fails.
J. In the early morning, when the light just begins to break forth from the night, we can barely make out the form of large objects; when we do, we see little definition. Yet in less than an hour, the definition is there, and objects much smaller in size begin to take shape. Then in another hour or so, even the smallest of objects become clearly defined- soon the bright light of day will even reveal objects as small as dust particles floating in the air. So, too, the Word of God is progressive in its revelation. What seems unclear at first is soon visible with study. Continued study sheds more light on the subject, so much so that even the youngest are stunned by the detail revealed. Wonder of wonders, the light of revelation continues to grow with study.
III. Instruction.
A. Rebuking. 2 Timothy 4:2. If you want to rebuke someone, please use the Bible. Nothing else will work!
B. Correcting. (Psa 119:105 NIV) Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.
C. Upon human observation, many things seem level. Upon human observation, it seems that scales are right. How would you feel if your butcher were to have incorrect scales? Your butcher says, "Oh, who cares? So the inspector said that it was a pound off?" No, you would want it to be corrected. Many times in our lives we get a little off course when compared to the Word of God. When it is pointed out to us, we need to take steps to correct the problem.
D. Training. (Psa 119:9 NIV) How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word.
E. When I was at Kroger, needed training. Don’t know what to do? Go to the Bible and God will help you!
F. All of us need instruction. In many homes around Christmas, Dad waits until the last minute to assemble the gifts. In a sleepy stupor, Dad looks at the picture on the box and says that will be easy. Without reading the directions, he starts to put it together. He is done and uses the toy to make sure that it works properly. It doesn’t work at all. What happened? He didn’t read the directions. According to the picture he was right but according to the directions he was wrong. The pattern that he was using was not the full instructions. We often build our lives the same way. It is easy to model what we see in movies, TV, friends and family. But that is like looking at the picture on the box. It is not the real instructions. Our lives are built around the directions that we use to build them. The Word of God, the Bible, is the instruction guide for building our lives and when we see something other than the Bible we may get something that almost looks the same but lacks the completeness that was intended.
G. Just like the toy assembly project that looked good from the outside but failed to function as it was designed, many of us have failed lives because we do not use the full instruction of the Bible.
Conclusion:
A. This year, join me and let’s look to the Bible for our instruction. Turn aside from the temptation to just figure things out for yourself or follow some worldly pattern. Don’t settle for something less.
B. Make sure this year that you build and rebuild your life according to the full instructions!
C. In Timothy, Jesus is the mediator between God and man. Without Jesus we have no one in heaven to plead our case. We are under wrath because of our sins.
D. Plan of salvation.
