Sound Doctrine For Unsound Times

Sound Doctrine for Unsound Times

2 Timothy 3:14–4:5 NKJV

But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

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 complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom: Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

By the time Paul wrote this final letter to Timothy, his life in this world was in extreme peril. He was about to be executed for his Christian faith and writes to Timothy, his son in the faith, and reminds him that this same peril was coming to him as well as all Christian believers in the Roman Empire. This isn’t to say that times were not perilous for Paul and many Christians before this time, as we can read from Scripture. This was written either just before or after the fire in Rome which Nero blamed on the Christians. Many Christians would suffer death in hideous ways. The writer of Hebrews also alludes that the persecution they were suffering was about to escalate to bloodshed (Hebrews 12:4 “You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin.” )

Paul, Peter, and many of the leaders of the church had died or were about to die. Only the Apostle John would be spared for a season to provide continuity between the first and second generation of leadership as the last apostolic and personal witness to Jesus’ life and mission. 2 Timothy acts as a sort of last will and testament of a ministry he is bequeathing to Timothy. This puts special importance on these words. there were many occasions during the ministry of Paul and Timothy in which other important issues within the churches were dealt with. Some of these more day to day issues have been bequeathed to us so that we might have a guide for the normal conduct of church business. They are important for this reason. Even here, Paul reminds Timothy that all-Scripture is God-breathed and useful for doctrine. But as we come to the last chapter of Paul’s last epistle, we are reminded of this.

In an earlier sermon, we saw the importance of tradition, how it has a good purpose when rightly used. Not all traditions handed down were good ones. The problem with groups like the Pharisees was not that tradition itself is bad but that they used their human traditions to nullify the word and will of God. We learned of the good traditions which had been passed down to Timothy such as the love for the Scripture and a genuine faith which was demonstrated in the examples of Timothy’s mother and grandmother. He had also been mentored in the ministry by Paul for over two decades. These things would prepare Timothy well for the times to come.

Paul gives special instruction that Timothy preach sound doctrine and give special attention to it. This solid doctrine is based upon Scripture which is more than inspired. It is God-breathed. If we go back to Creation, we read that God breathed life into the flesh of Adam which He had created. Adam became a living soul, created in the image of God. Jesus reminds us that His words are Spirit and life (John 6:63). By the Word, God breathes life into our lives. This is why they are profitable to us. We have no life without the Word of God. As Adam’s flesh existed before God breathed into him. We existed in the flesh. But we only come alive in the true sense when God breathes His word into us.

There are four things that Paul mentions are the profit of studying the Scripture. These are doctrine, reproof, correction, and training in righteousness. Please note that doctrine appears first in the list. We also read the following in the Book of Acts:

Acts 2:42 NKJV

And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.