2 Timothy 3:16-17
What’s Your Standard?
Introduction
If you know the pledge to the Bible, say it with me.
“I pledge allegiance to the Bible, God’s holy word, I will make it a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my paths. I will hide its words in my heart, that I might not sin against God.”
The diligent Bible student will recognize in that pledge two verses from the longest psalm in the Bible, Psalm 119, verses 11 & 105. When the psalmist said, “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path,” he was doing more than giving us a good phrase to stick in a pledge and quote off with little thought for what they might mean. He was making a statement about life and how it ought to be lived by the child of God. There are 176 verses in Psalm 119, and if you’ll check them out, you’ll find that all of them with the exception of one or two refer in some way or another to the Word of God. It is truly a Psalm of praise for God’s Word!
It’s been said that George Muller, who was known for his strong faith, confided, "The first 3 years after conversion, I neglected the Word of God. Since I began to search it diligently, the blessing has been wonderful. I have read the Bible through one hundred times and always with increasing delight!" John Bunyan, who wrote Pilgrim’s Progress, testified, "Read the Bible, and read it again, and do not despair of help to understand something of the will and mind of God, though you think they are fast locked up from you. Neither trouble yourself, though you may not have commentaries and expositions; pray and read, and read and pray; for a little from God is better than a great deal from man."1
There’s great truth in what these two men have said. The Bible is the greatest book ever written! Sadly though, for most of us, it is one of the least read books we own. In fact, in most homes the phone book and the TV Guide are used more frequently than the Word of God. Many, and some of you no doubt, would say that you don’t get much out of the Bible. It’s hard to understand. It doesn’t make sense. In the days when preachers weren’t paid but rather took home whatever was collected in the offering, a circuit-riding preacher entered a church building with his young son, and dropped a coin into the offering box in the back. Not many came that Sunday, and those who did didn’t seem too excited about what was said. After the service, the preacher and son walked to the back, and he emptied the box. Out fell one coin. The young boy said, "Dad, if you’d have put more in, you’d have gotten more out!" The same is true with our study of God’s Word. We’ll only get out of it what we’re willing to put in to it.
We’re suffering an epidemic in our nation and in our churches today of people who claim to be saved but fail to recognize the authority of God’s Word for their lives. In two national surveys conducted by Barna Research, one among adults and one among teenagers, people were asked if they believe that there are moral absolutes that are unchanging or that moral truth is relative to the circumstances. By a 3-to-1 margin adults said truth is always relative to the person and their situation. The perspective was even more lopsided among teenagers, 83% of whom said moral truth depends on the circumstances, and only 6% of whom said moral truth is absolute.2
That means that things like lying, living together, stealing, murder, abortion, hatred, and all sorts of other things that the Bible condemns are all right for most people so long as they think it to be so. The Bible has taken a back seat to some other standards. I like a conversation I read about that involved Abraham Lincoln.
Once, when a stubborn disputer seemed unconvinced, Lincoln said, "Well, let’s see how many legs has a cow?" "Four, of course," came the reply disgustedly.
"That’s right," agreed Lincoln. "Now suppose you call the cow’s tail a leg; how many legs would the cow have?" "Why, five, of course," was the confident reply. "Now, that’s where you’re wrong," said Lincoln. "Calling a cow’s tail a leg doesn’t make it a leg."3
You can call sin what you want to call it, renaming it doesn’t change the fact that it is sin. But we’re not necessarily just talking about sin this morning. Remember the psalmist said, “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” God’s Word certainly points out for us what sin is and names it clearly, but God’s Word also helps us to make right decisions about life in general and teaches us how to live lives that are pleasing to the One who created us and died to save us that we might have a relationship with Him. The problem is that there are so many accepted standards in our world today for making decisions and for deciding what is right and wrong that it is up to you to decide what standards you are going to follow. Some try to follow varying sets of standards, using the Bible for some decisions and other standards for other decisions.
Joshua told the people near the end of his life, “Now therefore fear the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and in truth; and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the river, and in Egypt, and serve ye the Lord. And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the river, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
There are some gods today that need to be recognized and displaced in our lives that we’re going to call standards for living. I want to share with you three standards today after which you and I can pattern our lives. These are three standards that are in the world today, they always have been, and always will be. You’ll struggle with them daily, and you’ll find yourselves having to choose between them in different situations, but you’ll find just as I am finding that the more you get into the Word of God the easier it is to make the right choice.
The Standard of Popular Opinion
The standard of popular opinion says that it’s all right to do what you want to do because everybody else is doing it. Wear what you want to wear, watch what you want to watch, do what you want to do. After all, why should you be different from everyone else? Our televisions broadcast these standards right into our living rooms daily and we don’t even know it. Believers are filling their minds with shows like Fear Factor; Big Brother; Beg, Borrow & Deal; Dog Eat Dog; Love Cruise and so on. What’s so wrong with programs like these? On the surface, they seem harmless and entertaining, but below the surface Satan is doing a masterful job of teaching us and our children that they can and should be willing to do or try anything and nothing is too outlandish if enough people are willing to go along with it.
The standard of popular opinion preaches to the believer “just go with the flow.” It preaches the doctrines of tolerance and peace and let’s all get along for the sake of getting along. The standard of popular opinion tells you not to spend too much time thinking or reasoning or using that brain of yours, just do it! Popular opinion says that what I believe shouldn’t get in the way of getting along, and it says that I need to fall in line with the mainstream and get with the program – and so do you.
The Standard of Feeling and Emotion
Perhaps no other standard is so strong as the standard of feeling and emotion. It is this standard that leads a person to say something like,
· “I know the Bible says this and that, but I feel…”
· “I would have gone to church, but I didn’t feel like it.”
· “I don’t feel like calling that person.”
In just the last couple of months, people, saved people, have said things like this. I asked a man recently why he was living with a girl. He said, “Brother Kevin, it just feels right.” I asked another lady why she wasn’t willing to forgive someone. Her response? She didn’t feel like it. Why are people getting divorces? They don’t feel in love. They’ve lost that emotion. You watch and listen to the things you say and the things other say to you and see how often you hear the word “feel.”
It was the standard of feeling that led King David to stay at home when he should have been at war. It was the god of strong emotion that led him to have an affair with his neighbor’s wife. It was the god of feeling that led Achan to steal what God had forbidden. It was the god of emotion that led an angry and worked up crowd to put Jesus on the cross.
Living according to feeling rather than God’s commandment is a fundamental hindrance to godliness. It is a clever strategy of Satan to tempt you to think that you cannot do what God requires because you do not feel like doing it, or that you must do what you feel like doing and cannot help yourselves.4
We must make daily decisions to be obedient to God rather than to our feelings. For instance, the man or woman who says, I guess there is nothing left to our marriage – no love – no feeling – nothing, is coping out by surrendering to the god of feeling. He is living according to a wrong standard. Listen to me, how you feel is irrelevant; doing what God says is what matters. In this case, God says in His Word that we are to love one another, love our spouses, and it is commanded. Love is not a feeling first; it is a command that we are to obey. If you can’t obey the command to love your wife like Jesus loved the church and gave His life for it, if you can’t lay down your life for your wife, then try a lower level of love. Jesus told us to love our neighbors as ourselves. If you can’t love your wife that way then Jesus said to love your enemies. No matter what you say about your feelings, you are commanded to love. You can’t get around it. If you’ll learn to obey, the feelings will follow.
That is just one example – there are many. We must determine to live according to the Bible rather than the standard of feelings and emotion.
The Standard of God’s Word
2 Timothy 3:16-17 says,
“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.”
The New Living Translation says it this way,
“All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It straightens us out and teaches us to do what is right. It is God’s way of preparing us in every way, fully equipped for every good thing God wants us to do.”
According to the Apostle Paul, as led by the Holy Spirit, the Bible was given by God to man. The King James Version uses the word "inspired," which means, "God-breathed." Everybody uses the word "inspired" these days and it doesn’t mean anything. I was inspired to write a book, or write a song or ride a bike or walk along. Everybody and their dog are inspired to do or be something, and that’s not at all what God did with the Scriptures. 2 Peter 1:21 says,
"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 Spirit."
God directed men to write the words of Scripture and allowed those holy men to write in their own style, with their own personalities His message. "All Scripture and nothing less was inspired by God." And according to what Paul wrote, it is useful for at least four things.
For Doctrine
The Bible was given to teach us. It teaches us what is good and right and what is wrong and evil. It teaches us how to have a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. It teaches us what we are and what we can be. It teaches us of God’s love and how He gave His life for us. It teaches us that those who have repented of their sin and have trusted Christ in salvation have heaven as their home, and those who haven’t are condemned to hell already. The Bible teaches us about who God is, what a real church is, what our purpose in life is. It teaches us what offends God and what pleases Him, and so much more. The Bible is good for doctrine.
For Reproof
When Paul says that the Scriptures are profitable for reproof, he is saying that the Bible points out what is wrong in our lives. It shows us what we really are. It shows us what God sees when He looks upon us. Men do not reject the Bible because it contradicts itself, but because it contradicts them. It isn’t partial nor does it discriminate. It doesn’t care if you are rich or poor, black or white, somebody or nobody – it will plainly tell you what is wrong in your life.
For Correction
Not only does the Bible say what is wrong with you, it follows up by showing you how to make it right. It straightens us out. If the Bible says that a man shouldn’t steal, it also says that he ought to get a job and earn a decent and honest living. Don’t lie; be honest, and so forth. The Bible points out what is right and what is expected of you.
For Instruction in Righteousness
God’s desire is that you become more and more like Jesus. That ought to be your desire. If you are saved this morning and you don’t have a desire to be more like Christ then something is wrong and you need to check out your relationship with God. The Spirit of God in you wants you to be more like Him. The Bible shows us how to do that. It will instruct you in the ways of righteousness. It will lead the sorriest, most worthless, vile person to a life of love and joy and kindness and gentleness. It can change the hardest of hearts because it instructs the believer as it does.
When we turn to the standard of God’s Word and allow it to do its work of teaching and reproving and correcting and instructing, when we turn away from the other standards and turn to the one true standard for righteous, Christlike living, then we’ll find that it does two things. It matures us – perfects us – so that we can do what God created and saved us to do. Every one of us has a purpose in this life that has been orchestrated by God. He has gifted you and enabled you with talents and natural ability in ways that no other person has, and as you turn to the standard of the Bible, it will help you to grow to the place where God can accomplish His purposes for your life.
Conclusion
Do you know what a plumb bob, a level, and a square all have in common besides being tools of the carpenter’s trade? They are all standards. Each is a standard to which something else must conform. If I am trying to level something and it isn’t right, I don’t move or ignore the level, I must move the thing that is out of level. Every carpenter who is worth anything uses these tools, and I find it interesting that our Lord was a Jewish Carpenter. He knew what He was saying in Isaiah 28:17 when He said, “Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place.”
Why did He say that? The people of Israel had forsaken God. They had the standard of His Word in the law. It was very specific and clearly detailed. They could know exactly what was expected of them and they knew what God was and wasn’t pleased with. Yet In Isaiah 28 we find that the people had committed spiritual adultery. They had forsaken God and His ways. They had forgotten His Word and had chosen to live like they wanted to. They were living according to the standards of popular opinion and feeling and emotion; and now God was going to hold them up to the standard of His Word. "I will lay judgment to the line and righteousness to the plummet, or plumb bob."
God checked them out, and they were found to be wanting. I wonder today what our lives might look like if God were to put us to the line and plummet. I wonder how our lives might square up to the standard of His Word. What about your life? If God were to check you would you be found wanting?
You see, I think that we have deceived ourselves so that we are the masters of convincing ourselves that our lives are under control and that things are all right, but what standards are we using to make that assessment?
We have just finished our revival meeting, and as I study the Bible I find that nowhere in the Bible is there lasting revival where there is not high regard for the Word of God.
· The people of Israel saw the majesty of the Lord on the mountain with Moses and took an oath to honor God’s commands. God was feared and there was great worship in the camp, but Moses had barely got back up the mountain before they were making a golden calf to worship.
· The people renewed their commitment to the Lord after Joshua made his announcement that he and his family would chose God. They determined that God and His Word would be held in high esteem, but in the first chapter of Judges we find that Joshua was barely in the grave before the people turned their backs on God and His Words.
· It happened during David’s time. It happened in Solomon’s life. It happened during the life of Josiah and in many other places.
Where there is no lasting regard for God’s Word there will be no lasting revival. It may last a year; it may last a month or a couple of weeks or it may have ended for you when Brother Chappell went home, but I promise you that no period of spiritual renewal will continue without diligent and consistent study and application of the truths of God’s Word.
Joshua said, "And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve, you can base your life on the standards of this world, whether the standard of feeling or popular opinion or some other standards, but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” (my paraphrase)
1 www.sermonillustrations.com
2. www.barna.org
3. Bits and Pieces, July, 1991.
4. Adams, Jay. Competent to Counsel, Zondervan, Grand Rapids. 1973 p. 118
5. www.sermonillustrations.com
