2 Timothy 3:16-17 – What’s the Use?
The US standard railroad gauge – that’s the distance between rails – is 4 feet, 8-1/2 inches. Why such an odd number? Because that’s the way they built them in England, and American railroads were built by British expatriates – that is, people who used to live in Britain.
Well, why did the English use that particular gauge? Because the people who built the pre-railroad tramways used that gauge.
They in turn were locked into that gauge because the people who built tramways used the same standards and tools they had used for building wagons, which were on a gauge of 4 ft, 8-1/2 inches.
Why were wagons to that scale? Because with any other size, the wheels did not match the old wheel ruts on the roads.
So who built these old rutted roads?
The first long distance highways in Europe were built by Imperial Rome for the benefit of their legions. The roads have been used ever since. The ruts were first made by Roman war chariots. Four feet, 8-1/2 inches was the width a chariot needed to be to accommodate the two rear ends of war horses.
Maybe “that’s the way it’s always been” isn’t the good reason some people believe it is. (Clark Cothern, “Leadership”, Winter 1998) Today we begin a summer sermon series looking at The Why’s of our Worship – that is, why do we do what we do on Sunday mornings. Why is our worship service the way it is? Do we worship as we do for biblical reasons, or like the railway, for other reasons? Today we look at the use of the scriptures in our worship services.
You can find that we use scripture in several parts of the Sunday morning worship service. Sometimes it is used as a call to worship – a truth that tells us to place Him first in our lives. There is usually a responsive reading or a scripture reading sometime during the service. Sometimes I use scripture when I pray the pastoral prayer. And of course, the sermon is always based on the Bible. I’d like to think that someone who comes on a Sunday morning will get God’s opinion on things more than mine.
But why is the Bible used so much? Why do we have it so much in our services? What difference does the Bible make? Turn with me to 2 Timothy 3:16-17 for the answer.
First of all, the Bible is useful. There is a richness and value in the Bible that cannot be found in anything else.
Maybe you’ve heard the story of the parents who gave their son a Bible when their son left for his freshman year at Duke University. They assured him it would be a great help. Later, as he began sending them letters asking for money, they would write back telling him to read his Bible, citing chapter and verse. He would reply that he was reading the Bible—but he still needed money. When he came home for a semester break, his parents told him they knew he had not been reading his Bible. How? They had tucked $10 and $20 bills by the verses they had cited in their letters. (John T. Spach, in Reader’s Digest) So many of us lose out on riches that God wants to give us, simply because we do not live by the truths contained in the Bible. He promises us grace and strength for the challenges we face, but if we don’t know that, we lose out.
Someone once said: A Bible in the hand is worth two in the bookcase. And someone else said: A Bible stored in the mind is worth a dozen stored in the bottom of one’s trunk. You know, as people who say that we live by the Bible, we don’t know it very well. It’s funny and sad at the same time: the newest Harry Potter book sold millions of copies within a month, with kids all over the world reading an 800-page book about wizards and witches. And the kids finish these monstrous books in just days. Meanwhile, too many Christians can’t seem to read our Bible even once a year.
The Bible calls itself many things: a light, a fire, a hammer, a rock, a lamp, the double-edged sword of the Spirit, and a treasure map. It’s sweeter than honey, and more valuable than thousands of pieces of gold and silver. God’s words are the source of joy for the psalmist’s heart, as well as his source of strength. It’s a giver of peace and a keeper of purity. It will never fail, and it will endure when the rest of this world passes away. Above all, the words of God are all-important.
Yet we argue about particular interpretations of verses. We argue about translations and versions of the Bible. We get lost on these bunny trails that lead nowhere, and the message God has for us gets lost. We’re too busy fighting with others about His word, that we can’t see Him through His word.
Yet we are reminded that above all, the scripture is useful. The scripture is the very word of God. “Inspired by God” or “God-breathed” means that God inspired or breathed His words into the minds of people over the years. The different people used different words to convey God’s meaning. That is, Peter spoke simply as an unschooled fisherman would. Luke, as a doctor, often used medical terms to get God’s point across. The Psalms were written by musicians, so they have a poetic feel to them. God took different personalities and used them to speak to us. We believe that the Bible is God’s very words to a sinful humanity.
And yet… many of us do not study it as we should. Here’s a pop quiz: Which of the following aren’t in the Bible? -Cleanliness is next to godliness - God helps those who help themselves - Confession is good for the soul - We are as prone to sin as sparks fly upward - Money is the root of all evil - Honesty is the best policy. Though these are all true, or partially true, none of them is in the Bible. We have learned to treat man’s opinions with as much respect as the Bible.
Well, what is the Bible useful for? Our passage today goes on to say that the scriptures are useful for teaching (profitable for doctrine, KJV), rebuking (reproof, KJV), correcting and training (instruction, KJV) in righteousness. That is, it is meant to teach the will of God, and to point out Jesus. It is meant to convince people of the truth. It is meant to correct wrong ideas of how God and man get along. And it is also meant to help us know how to live upright in a crooked world.
The Bible is meant to fill us with the knowledge of how to live for God in our faith, in our families, in our society. The Bible is useful in helping us see God’s plans for our lives. But it is more than knowledge. V17 goes on: v17. We have so many Bible studies at church, it’s as if we believe that knowledge of the Bible is what will save us. It’s not knowledge that saves us. It’s putting it into practice that God is interested in. DL Moody said: “The scriptures were not given for our information but our transformation.” The Bible is not meant to be a book of facts and trivia, but of life-change.
And perhaps that’s why we are not into it more than we are. We don’t like to be told what to do. We don’t like being told that our attitudes displease God. We don’t like being told that how we are feeling is wrong. We don’t like being told that the sins we cling to will one day eat us alive. Mark Twain, not exactly a die-hard Christian, wrote these words: “Most people are bothered by those passages of Scripture they do not understand, but the passages that bother me most are those I do understand.”
When was the last time you allowed yourself to be convicted of wrong attitudes, thoughts or actions by the Word of God? Well, like it or not, when God is speaking to you, you can’t shut Him up. Isaiah 55:10-11 say this: “As the rain and the snow come down from heaven,
and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” Folks, when God is speaking to you, you can ignore Him, but you can’t stop Him. His Word will keep cutting and cutting, hitting and digging. He loves you so much, and He wants you to be walking with Him. If you’re not, He will keep working on you.
But beware: Psalm 95, quoted in Hebrews, gives us a warning: "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts." If you continually resist God’s voice when He calls, He will let sin take its toll on you. You will become hard-hearted. You will find it hard to hear His voice. You will become bitter. Even as Christians, God will seem far away. And ultimately, the words of Ezekiel will come true for you: “The soul that sins will die.” The joy, the hope, the love, the peace, the feeling of being loved – all will die. And eventually, sin will take your very life as well. Ignoring God’s voice when it comes to sin is a dangerous habit with disastrous results.
God’s Word is not a small thing. It is living and active. And it wants to get into your life. No matter how many times you have been through it, let it go through you. Let God’s voice challenge you in your obedience. Let it teach you the way you should go. Let it show you errors and flaws in your life. Let it change your direction. Let it show you how to please God. I’ve heard it said that reading just 12 minutes a day will get you through the Bible in a year. Or, 3 chapters a day and 5 on Sunday will get you through the Bible in a year.
Perhaps, though, you need something slower with more study. That’s fine, as long as your motives are based on a desire to study and not laziness. How about a few verses a day through Ephesians or John? Let Galatians speak to your heart. Allow the depth of Romans remind you of how much you need Jesus.
Maybe you’re thinking, “But I’m so far behind.” For some of you, 10 minutes a day is more than you’re doing now. Some of you have lost the joy of serving God. Perhaps it leaked out when you stopped listening to what God had to say to you. Folks, God’s word is like salt in the back of your car in the winter. It’s a lot more useful when you take it out and apply it.
A circuit riding preacher entered one 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!”
We get more out of the Bible when we let it get into us. Today, even today, let the voice of God speak through the scriptures to your heart, to change your heart.
