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Chapter 3, 2 Timothy chapter
3. So we're not starting Leviticus
tonight. I need a bit more time in terms
of background and just figuring out how to consolidate some of
that material. So next Wednesday night we'll
have a hymn sing, so April 26th. In the sanctuary, we'll have
a hymn sing. We've done that before. And then, God willing,
the following Wednesday, which will be May 3rd, we'll start
Leviticus. So, if you've got friends and
family and neighbors and loved ones that can't, you know, think
of anything other than Leviticus, invite them to come on Wednesday
night, because we should be there for a little while. People in
the church today would say, Leviticus, what's that? It's interesting
that Naphtali said those brothers didn't have a clue about the
book of Judges. It's just interesting the way
things are that way. But anyway, so 2 Timothy 3, our
focus is on verses 16 and 17, the surpassing value of the word
of God. You've heard this material before.
I think it is encouraging though by way of review. and to remind
us why we come here on Wednesday night, because we're here to
study God's precious word. But I'll read it, read the chapter
as a whole, and then as I said, our focus is on verses 16 and
17. But know this, that in the last days perilous times will
come, for men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money,
boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful,
unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control,
brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of
pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness
but denying its power, and from such people turn away. For of
this sort are those who creep into households and make captives
of gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various
lusts, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge
of the truth. Now as Janus and Jambres resisted Moses, so do
these also resist the truth, men of corrupt minds, disapproved
concerning the faith, but they will progress no further, for
their folly will be manifest to all, as theirs also was. But you have carefully followed
my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, long-suffering,
love, perseverance, persecutions, afflictions, which happened to
me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra, what persecutions I endured. And out of them all the Lord
delivered me. Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ
Jesus will suffer persecution. But evil men and imposters will
grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. 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 and righteousness,
that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every
good work. Amen. Well, as we look at this particular
chapter, there's an obvious contrast. You see what Paul warns Timothy
against, and then you see what Paul demands or exhorts Timothy
to be about. So in chapter 3, verses 1 to
9, he describes the opposition. He describes those who are opposed
to the church. This isn't the pagan this isn't
the state, this isn't the commies, these are people that infiltrate
the church and that at least profess faith in Jesus. You see
that in verse 5, having a form of godliness but denying its
power, and from such people turn away. So they'd be in the midst
of the places where Timothy was, he was to avoid them. He then
gives a brief description of their tactics and methodology
in verses 6 to 9, but then in verse 10, again, that contrast.
He encourages Timothy, you have carefully followed my doctrine,
manner of life, purpose, faith, long-suffering love, perseverance.
So you have not gone down that track. Avoid those who have gone
down that track and continue to be faithful in following my
example. And then he highlights once again,
verse 13, evil men and imposters will grow worse and worse, deceiving
and being deceived. And so then he exhorts Timothy,
but you must continue in the things which you have learned
and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them.
And then he gives this great statement concerning the scriptures
in verse 15. And that from childhood you have
known the Holy Scripture. So he's talking specifically
here about the Old Testament. When we get to verse 16 and he
says, all scripture is given by inspiration of God, he means
primarily the Old Testament. Now there will be letters having
been written by this time and there were letters being circulated
within the churches. So we'll look at that data in
a moment. primary emphasis is on the scriptures of the Old
Testament and then those apostolic letters that had been circulating.
So 2 Timothy is the last letter that the Apostle Paul wrote,
probably around 64. So he had already written all
of his other letters, which were being circulated. The four gospel
records were already written. Some date John later on into
later than No, maybe in the mid-60s. They date Revelation late. My
own personal view is that all the New Testament documents were
completed prior to AD 70. But whatever the case, there
were letters written, Matthew, Mark, Luke for sure, so those
gospel records were being circulated, as was Acts. So Luke wrote the
Book of Acts and the Gospel of Luke. They circulated together,
those two documents. So when he says all scripture,
he means the Old Testament and then those extant letters that
had been making their way in the church. But back to verse
15, 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. Which is a very incredible statement.
Through the Old Testament you can come to saving faith in our
Lord Jesus Christ. I don't think everybody that's
ever professed faith in Jesus has absolutely believed that
the Old Testament is sufficient to present Christ to a sinner
such that that sinner can be saved, but that's what Paul says. And that's what Jesus says, for
in them you think you may have everlasting life, eternal life,
and these are they which testify of me. And so having referred
to the Holy Scriptures, now he gives us this wonderful statement
in verses 16 and 17 concerning the surpassing value of the Word
of God. So I want to look first at the
identity of Scripture, secondly the authority of Scripture, and
then thirdly the utility of Scripture. And first, notice the identity. So he says all Scripture, or
we could translate it every Scripture, whatever Scripture we have is
what he's speaking about. So the Old Testament, as I said,
is primarily in view. You see a lot of New Testament
endorsement of the Old Testament. So it's not necessary, I think,
to go through all the passages, but we have, say, for instance,
in Luke 24, so beginning from Moses and the prophets, the Lord
Jesus taught all things concerning himself from those particular
passages. Every time you have in the New
Testament, it is written, and there is an Old Testament reference. You see that the New Testament
authors receive the Old Testament as the God-breathed Word. As
Jews, those having come out of Old Covenant religion, they would
have already esteemed, they would have already revered, and they
would have already respected and received the Old Testament
as the authoritative Word of God. So when he says all Scripture
is given by inspiration of God, again I think everybody agrees
in terms of the Old Testament, but we need to as well establish
that he's speaking about the New Testament. And there's three
things we ought to appreciate about the New Testament scripture.
They were written by apostles, or apostolic men. If they weren't
written specifically by apostles, in the case of Luke and Mark,
they were directly under apostles. So Luke had a relationship with
the apostle Paul, and Mark had a relationship with the apostle
Peter. So when we say that they're apostolic writings, that means
that the apostles were responsible for them, even if it were the
case that a non-apostle had written them. But the apostles' role
in the Church was, in fact, unique. When we look at, say, for instance,
Ephesians chapter 4, as we've been moving through there, on
our Sunday night services, Christ gave gifts to the church. And
the first in that list is apostles. The apostles were on par with
the prophets of the Old Testament. They were the men that said,
thus saith the Lord. One theologian, a man by the
name of Herman Ritterbos, said, for the communication and transmission
of what was seen and heard in the fullness of time, Christ
established a formal authority structure to be the source and
standard for all future preaching of the gospel. From the beginning
of his public ministry, we see Jesus' intent on sharing his
own power with others so that this authority would take visible,
tangible shape for the foundation and extension of the church on
earth. In fact, you can turn back to
the book of Ephesians to chapter 2 in particular. Chapter 2 at
verse 20, having been built on the foundation of the apostles
and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone.
So when we come to the documents of the New Testament, I think
there's an approach to the Bible as a whole that is somewhat like
the Koran. It's just a bunch of random things
sort of thrown together and bound together in one place. But that's
not the case with the scriptures. The scriptures have one author.
The divine author is God. Now, he used about 40 different
men to pen the actual words. But as we go on in this passage,
those words were God-breathed. They're given by inspiration.
So when we talk about divine authorship of Holy Scripture,
we recognize that it's God. God gave us this Word. He used
human instruments, but the human instruments recorded the Word
that He would have for us. That's why it makes perfectly
good sense to understand that all of the Bible helps us understand
all the rest of the Bible. The best interpreter of Scripture
is the Scripture itself. Where the Holy Spirit speaks
in one place, we can compare in other places, and it helps
to shine the light upon the various texts of Scripture. So the Apostles
had a unique role within the context of the Church. You see
that in Matthew chapter 10, Jesus selected the 12 Apostles, He
gave them authority, He gave them power, and He gave them
a commission. And then as time progressed, they wrote letters,
and they circulated those letters among the churches. So the apostles
had a particular role, and the apostles had a consciousness
concerning the scripture itself. When we read, for instance, the
apostle Paul, he understood that he was writing the word of God.
He understood that what he was penning was, in fact, authoritative
in the churches. If you turn back to 1 Corinthians,
chapter 7, 1 Corinthians chapter 7, just a few passages in this
regard. 1 Corinthians chapter 7, specifically
at verse 12. He says, but to the rest, I,
not the Lord, say, if any brother has a wife who does not believe
and she is willing to live with him, let him not divorce her.
Now, in terms of the particular language that he uses, but to
the rest, I, not the Lord, he's not suggesting that what he describes
in this particular context is less authoritative. It is as
authoritative, it's in the letter that he pens under the inspiration
of the Holy Spirit. The reason why he says, I command,
not the Lord, because the Lord in his earthly ministry didn't
deal with the issue of mixed marriages, and that's what he's
dealing with in this particular context. So he's writing, as
an authoritative representative of Jesus Christ, a letter that
binds the people of God to obedience. As well, look at 1 Corinthians
chapter 14. 1 Corinthians chapter 14, specifically at verses 37
and 38. He says, If anyone thinks himself
to be a prophet or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the
things which I write to you are the commandments of the Lord.
But if anyone is ignorant, let him be ignorant. And then over
in 1 John 1, we have John's testimony that he's an eyewitness, an eyewitness
of the glory of Jesus Christ, and he's writing from that vantage
point. In 1 John 1, that which was from
the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with
our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled,
concerning the word of life, the life was manifested, and
we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you, that eternal
life, which was with the Father, and was manifested to us. That
which we have seen and heard, we declare to you, that you also
may have fellowship with us. And truly, our fellowship is
with the Father, and with His Son, Jesus Christ, and these
things we write to you, that your joy may be full. This is
the message which we have heard from him and declared to you
that God is light and in him is no darkness at all. So the
apostles had consciousness concerning scripture. And again, this is
just a few passages. There's a lot. We're going to
look at a few more as we move along. But consider this testimony
from Justin Martyr. He was one of the early church
fathers. He lived in AD 100 to AD 165. So if John the Apostle
did make it to the 90s, he was dead by the time of Justin Martyr.
So Justin Martyr writing at that early age says, for the apostles
in the memoirs composed by them, which are called Gospels, have
thus delivered unto us what was enjoined upon them. You'll sort
of get this report from outside of Christianity, and sometimes
from fringe Christianity, that, you know, there was all these
letters that were written by the early fathers, and why weren't
they considered scripture? Well, those early fathers didn't
see themselves as writing scripture. Those early fathers did not see
themselves on par with the apostles. And intriguingly, with Justin
Martyr, he knows that two of them were not written by apostles.
He knows that Mark and Luke were not apostles, but they were apostolic
men. They were under the authority
of the apostles. Irenaeus lived in 8130 to 202. He says, we have learned from
none others the plan of our salvation than from those through whom
the gospel has come down to us, which they did at one time proclaim
in public and at a later period by the will of God handed down
to us in the scriptures to be the ground and pillar of our
faith. So when you look at the data in the early church fathers,
it is not the case that they thought they were on par with
the apostles. They understood all too well
that there was a demarcation between the apostolic era and
these church fathers. And they revered those texts,
they received those texts, and they respected those texts, and
they treated them as scripture, as the authoritative word of
God Most High. It wasn't the case that there
was this great debate, and it was finally settled in the 300s,
and all that sort of thing. No, it was pretty early on, especially
with Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, and then the Pauline epistles. There was not a lot of debate,
and not a lot of difference of opinion. There were the odd heretics,
there were men that did question the various books, or some of
the books. There was a man in the second century by the name
of Marcion, and Marcion liked Paul's epistles, but he wanted
to change a few of them, and the only gospel record that he
accepted was Luke. Well, Marcion was a heretic.
He was outside of orthodoxy. The orthodox men, by and large,
received the apostolic documents and writings. And while some
of them were disputed later on, it was nevertheless the case
that early on, this 27-book canon of the New Testament not forced
itself upon the Church, but definitely evidenced itself as the Word
of God. You'll often hear times of people
saying about the canon or the rule of Scripture that the Church
decided what was inscripturated. No, the Church discovered or
the church recognized what was Scripture. And there's rationale
for that. If you're interested, I would
suggest come to the Confession Study in the next couple of weeks.
We're going to be in Chapter 1, and I hope to deal a bit with
canon or canonicity, because that's a very important topic. How do we know that the New Testament
is what we're supposed to have? several years ago and probably
it'll come back, you know, the lost book or the gospel of Thomas
or the gospel of whoever, all these competitors, all these
documents that are outside of the canon of scripture that some
today suggest should be within scripture. Well, there's a criteria
that was utilized to determine those books or to recognize those
books that were in fact in the canon. It's a very fascinating
study. But as well, it's a very simple study. It's not like the
book of God fell out of heaven and it was just there and all
these people discovered it. It was a very organic process.
The Apostles were installed or ordained by Christ, they went
out and preached, they went out and taught, they wrote down these
things, they started sending these letters around the churches.
The Apostle Paul, same sort of thing. When he's in his jail
cell, what's he doing? He's not sort of just marking
the the wall or lamenting his woes, but he's writing scripture.
We call those the prison epistles. He writes Ephesians, he writes
Philippians, he writes Colossians, he writes Philemon when he's
in his first imprisonment. He's writing the Word of God,
and he's conscious of the fact that he is writing the Word of
God. So when it comes to the Apostle Paul, turn to 1 Thessalonians
5. Let's confine ourselves specifically
to his epistles at this point. Again, this applies to all of
the apostles. We see it very obviously in Paul's
treatment. Notice that Paul insisted in
1 Thessalonians 5 at verse 27. Paul insisted that his letters
be read in the churches. 1 Thessalonians 5.27, I charge
you by the Lord that this epistle be read to all the holy brethren. Which is a big deal, right? What was read in the synagogue? What was read in the early church?
It was the word of God. And then turn over to Colossians.
Colossians chapter 4. Paul insisted that his letters
be exchanged among the churches. Notice in Colossians 4 at verse
16, when this epistle is read among you, see that it is read
also in the church of the Laodiceans, and that you likewise read the
epistle from Laodicea. Again, this is one of the marks
of canonicity, circulation of the letters. It's not the case
that there was just this one little group of churches that
got this one little document and they became this one little
Christian church. No, there was this circulation
of the New Testament documents throughout the churches and they
saw collectively what God had done in terms of these men. Paul
insisted that his letters be obeyed. We already saw that in
1 Corinthians 14 at verse 37, but turn to 2 Thessalonians chapter
2. 2 Thessalonians chapter 2, specifically at verse 1. 2 Thessalonians
2 at verse 15. Therefore, brethren, stand fast
and hold the traditions which you were taught, whether by word
or our epistle. Stand fast and hold the traditions
which you were taught, whether by word or our epistle. In other
words, obey. And then 3.14. 3.14. If anyone
does not obey our word in this epistle, note that person and
do not keep company with him that he may be ashamed. Now,
if you read through the New Testament, and you read through what you
can glean in terms of the life and ministry of the Apostle Paul,
he doesn't come across as an egocentric guy. He doesn't come
across as a sort of megalomaniac. He doesn't come across as this
proud, arrogant wretch. No, he celebrates men preaching
the truth even if they're doing it out of spite for him. He says
that in Philippians chapter 1. So for a man that is humble,
a man that is godly, a man that is lowly, a man that is self-effacing,
for him to demand that people obey his letters And to demand
that if somebody in a church does not obey his letters, then
they should be disciplined or dealt with by the church indicates
that he understands something about the nature of his writing. And then in 1 Corinthians chapter
2, he knows specifically that his words are given by the Spirit.
1 Corinthians chapter 2, specifically at verse 12. Now we have received
not the spirit of the world, but the spirit who is from God,
that we might know the things that have been freely given to
us by God. These things we also speak, not
in words which man's wisdom teaches, but which the Holy Spirit teaches,
comparing spiritual things with spiritual. And then turn over
to the book of 2 Peter. 2 Peter, just to sort of round
out this study concerning Paul and his epistles, we'll get it
from another party, even Peter the Apostle. Notice what Peter
says in 2 Peter chapter 3, specifically at verses 14 to 16. 2 Peter 3,
14, Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent
to be found by him in peace, without spot and blameless, and
consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation, as
also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given
to him, has written to you. Now, our primary focus is on
the next verse, but incidentally, this is one of the arguments
for Pauline authorship of the book of Hebrews. Because Peter
is writing to Jewish believers. And so he says, as also our beloved
brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written
to you. Who's that? Hebrew believers,
Jewish believers. But then notice his statement
in verse 16. as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of
these things, in which are some things hard to understand." There's
a doctrine called the perspicuity of scripture, which means it's
clarity. And under perspicuity of scripture,
it means that those things necessary for our understanding of who
God is and the way of salvation by grace through faith in Jesus
is clear. It's absolutely crystal clear.
But there is some difficulty in the scripture. Just because
we know justification by grace through faith alone, doesn't
necessarily mean our eschatology is airtight. So there's some
things that are tough to understand. And so Peter acknowledges that.
As also in all his epistles, speaking of these things, in
which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and
unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also
the rest of the scriptures. So he equates Paul's epistles
with the rest of the scriptures. That if you distort them or you
twist them, you do so to your own destruction. As well, turn
to 1 Timothy chapter 5. 1 Timothy chapter 5. Again, just establishing that
what we have in the New Testament wasn't some hippies that kind
of got inspired and wrote some poems and sort of threw it all
together in a book and here we have it now and we call it the
Word of God. No, they were conscious that what they were doing was,
in fact, unique. They were conscious that what
they were doing was, in fact, from God. Notice in 1 Timothy
5, specifically at verse 17, to begin, Now, as Paul often
does, he goes to the Scripture to confirm, affirm, and corroborate
the particular exhortation that he gives. So in verse 18 he goes to the
scripture. For the scripture says, you shall not muzzle an
ox while it treads out the grain, and the laborer is worthy of
his wages. Now he quotes from Deuteronomy
and he quotes from Luke 10 under the heading of scripture. So
just as Deuteronomy is binding upon the people of God, so is
Luke's gospel binding on the people of God. The scripture
says you shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain
and the laborer is worthy of his wages. And then one final
passage in 2 Peter chapter 1. 2 Peter chapter 1. When I say 1
finally, I mean in our study tonight. Again, there's lots
more texts in scripture that indicate that they knew what
they were doing. 2 Peter chapter 1, verses 19
to 21, a familiar passage. And so we have the prophetic
word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that
shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning
star rises in your hearts. So we have the reality that Paul's
letters were written according to the wisdom given to him, The letters were written in the
category of divinely inspired scripture, and they carry eternal
consequence. To distort them, or to disagree
with them, or to disobey them brings you into the place of
chastisement or perhaps judgment. So the unique role of the apostles
within the context of the local church, or in the first century
church, he understood that all scripture is given by inspiration
of God. Certainly Genesis to Malachi,
but certainly these apostolic documents that were being written,
again, by the time he writes 2 Timothy, many of them had been
completed, many of them had been circulating among the churches,
they had been received and the people of God were being edified.
So when we go back to 2 Timothy 3.16, we see all scripture. That's the identity. Then comes
the authority. Notice it says, is given by inspiration
of God. And the word here is literally,
literally God breathed. God breathed. It's breathed out
by God Most High. And when it comes to the doctrine
of inspiration, it's not like a poet who goes up on Mount Sham
and gets inspired and writes a lovely poem about the beauty
that he witnesses. That's not what inspiration means
when we talk about it in terms of apostolic ministry and writing
letters to the churches. Inspiration means that God breathed
through them. So whatever Paul wrote, whatever
John wrote, whatever James wrote, whatever Peter wrote, whatever
Isaiah writes, whatever Moses writes, those are God's words. But it doesn't violate Moses,
or Jeremiah, or John, or James, or Peter. It's an intriguing
thing. We refer to it as the doctrine of organic inspiration.
So God leaves the men intact. They write in their own style.
Paul's style is not John's style. There's a difference between
Romans 6 and 1 John 1 in terms of writing and grammar and syntax
and structure and all that sort of thing. So he doesn't violate
those men in terms of, you know, they're all going to produce
the same sort of a product. James, for instance. I think
James has a lot of the ministry of the gospel record in his writing. There seems to be a lot of sort
of Proverbs, Matthew. There's just things in there
that are different than, again, say, how John writes or how Peter
writes. So God in His infinite wisdom
uses those men. He doesn't violate those men
or make those men something other, but through those men, those
men write the very word of God Almighty. It is the most beautiful
and excellent expression of God's ability and demonstration of
His power. So the word literally means God
breathed. And it doesn't mean that Paul
himself was inspired. So if Paul goes down to the local
market and he orders some meat, that's not inspiration. He's not inspired when he's sort
of walking through the Agora and he's looking at things. He's
inspired as he takes pen to paper and as he writes the letters
that God had intended for him to write. So it doesn't mean
they're inspired men the way that a poet is. It doesn't mean
they're inspired men that whatever they say is the word of God. No, it's whatever they write,
when they're writing the word of God, that's the word of God.
So there's some things, some qualifications to make sure that
we understand there. So, when it says that all scripture
is given by inspiration of God, this underscores, obviously,
the origin comes from God, and thus the authority. If it comes
from God, then it's definitely authoritative. Our confession
says in chapter 1, paragraph 4, the authority of scripture,
for which it ought to be believed, depends not upon the testimony
of any man or church. but holy upon God who is truth
itself, the author thereof, and therefore it is to be received
because it is the word of God." So it doesn't depend on what
the church said. The church recognized that. But
it was the fact that these letters bear the very mark of God upon
them that, again, not forced themselves upon the churches,
but certainly made it obvious that these were, in fact, documents
to be received by the churches that came from the apostles that
Jesus authorized, that Jesus appointed for that very task.
So when Jesus picks these 12 men, Jesus knows that He's training
them, that they're going to be the ones that go out and preach
after His ascension, and they're going to be the guys that write
these letters to the churches. And so He does this according
to His plan and purpose, so that they pen the Word of God Most
High, so that we're not left in this world on our own. We've
got the Old and we've got the New Testaments. All Scripture
is given by inspiration of God. So when you think about scripture,
we think about, say, the attributes of God. God is spirit, he's infinite,
he's eternal, unchangeable, he's being, wisdom, power, holiness,
justice, goodness, and truth. I think there's three attributes
of scripture that are very helpful for us to remember. First, inspired. And again, God-breed, given by
inspiration of God. Then, infallible. and then inerrant. So inerrant means that the Bible
doesn't lie. Infallible means that the Bible
cannot lie. Now, within the last, I'd say,
50, 60, 70 years, well, the last 100 years, there was a big debate
about inerrancy. Some would say, well, we don't
need to maintain inerrancy. It doesn't matter if there's
actually errors in the Bible, because it's the truth of the
words and whatever and the feelings and, you know, the existential
connection that we get. Well, no. It needs to be true. Who's the arbiter? If this is
not correct, then maybe Jesus' resurrection is not correct.
So inerrancy is something that the conservatives over the last
hundred years have battled hard for. Well, of course, people
look back at the confession and they say, well, it doesn't use
inerrant, but it uses infallible. If a document is infallible,
which means it cannot lie, then it's inerrant, meaning it does
not lie. The one contains the other. And
so the confessions, the 17th century confessions, call the
scriptures infallible. For our own modern use, we need
to also parse it down to inerrant. The scriptures are trustworthy
in all that they affirm concerning history, science, doctrine, ethics,
religious practice, or any other topic. That's a very necessary
emphasis in our day because inerrancy has been challenged over the
last hundred years. So inspired, infallible, inerrant. I think those are three good
I's for you to remember in terms of scripture. So that's the identity
of Scripture, that's the authority of Scripture. Then notice that
Paul speaks concerning the utility or usefulness of Scripture, or
profitability of Scripture. And he gives a general statement,
and then he gives a specific statement. Notice the general
statement. All scripture is given by inspiration
of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction,
and for instruction in righteousness. So there's your sort of general
utility with reference to the Word of God. And then the specific
utility is in verse 17, that the man of God may be complete,
thoroughly equipped for every good work. So it has particular
reference to the man that's in the trenches preaching and teaching
the Word of God. But in terms of general usefulness
with reference to the Bible, we see that it's profitable for
doctrine, reproof, correction, and for instruction in righteousness. Now just to parse this out a
little bit, in terms of doctrine, this was the focus of Timothy's
ministry. Look at 1 Timothy chapter 4.
1 Timothy chapter 4, specifically at verse 6. If you instruct the brethren
in these things, you will be a good minister of Jesus Christ,
nourished in the words of faith and of the good doctrine which
you have carefully followed." Notice in 4.13, "'Til I come,
give attention to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine." Now
that's in the context of public worship. So when it comes to
public worship, read the Bible, exhort from the Bible, and teach
the doctrine of the Bible. Notice in 2 Timothy 2.2, 2 Timothy
2.2, this is a ministry and a duty of the church of the Lord Jesus
Christ. The things that you have heard from me among many witnesses,
commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others
also. So the church is to find faithful men within her ranks
and teach them, commit them to them so that they may teach others
also. So doctrine is primary. Notice in 2 Timothy 2, 14-16,
So shun this, but devote yourself to that, and understand that it's
the Word of God that the people of God ultimately need to hear. Notice in 225, in humility, correcting
those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them
repentance so that they may know the truth. And then in 4.2, last
statement in terms of a command that Paul gives to the church. He gives Timothy some specific
commands in verses 9 and following, but the last corporate command
of the apostle Paul is 2 Timothy 4.2. Preach the word, be ready
in season and out of season, convince, rebuke, exhort with
all longsuffering and teaching. So, with reference to doctrine,
this was to be the focus of Timothy's ministry. And I love John Murray's
statement concerning doctrine. He says, doctrine concerns the
whole range of thought respecting God, the world, man, man's paramount
interests, his destiny. If doctrine is to us cold, dead,
and lifeless, then there are only two alternatives. Either
our doctrine is not of Scripture, or we ourselves are cold and
lifeless. We do nothing properly without
thought, and we think nothing aright except as we think the
truth of Him who is the King Eternal, Immortal, Invisible,
the only God. Lack of biblical doctrine is
lack of interest in God and His will for us, and this is godlessness."
I think that's a powerful statement. Now, many of you, several of
you, some of you, I don't know what the actual demographics
are, come out of a reformed background, but those in the non-reformed
world would have heard, doctrine divides. Why do we need doctrine? It's not that big of a deal.
Just let's love Jesus. In the broader evangelical and
less than stellar evangelicalism, there's this emphasis on loving
Jesus and loving one another, but we don't want all that dry,
dusty doctrine. Well, how do you navigate when
the apostle says it's profitable for doctrine? It's an absolute
must that the church is indoctrinated by the word of God so that we
can think God's thoughts after him. But he goes on, it's profitable
for doctrine and then he says for reproof. Now the scripture
is profitable to reproof or rebuke wrong behavior in the people
of God. And we shouldn't shy away from this. This is one of
the purposes for it. You know, we say, oh, I don't
want to read the Bible because I feel bad after. Well, I mean,
I don't know what to tell you. Maybe just repent and then you'll
feel good, right? Or I don't want to go to that
church because all we ever hear is how bad we are. That's not
good. It shouldn't only ever be how
bad we are, but we do need to hear about sin. And so the scripture
is profitable to rebuke or reprove wrong behavior in the people
of God. But glance over to Titus 1 as
well. The scripture is profitable to
expose the errors of false teachers. Notice in Titus 1.9, holding
fast the faithful word as he has been taught that he may be
able by sound doctrine both to exhort and convict those who
contradict. So there is a reproving nature
or a reproving point to the scriptures, and it's profitable for that.
And so there's this emphasis, we receive doctrine, we learn
the teaching of Holy Scripture, there's also this reproof that
comes as well. When we learn And when we're
shown and when it's demonstrated to us in the Scripture, whether
we're reading it by ourselves, or somebody else is reading it
to us, or we're sitting under preaching, that's a good thing.
It's not a bad thing. We should want to be reproved
and rebuked. And then comes correction. So
we've got this utility. It teaches us, it reproves us,
and then as well, it corrects us. It doesn't leave us bleeding
and battered and bruised, but it provides the remedy, and it
provides the way of recourse, and it provides the way of redress. And so that's a blessed thing.
The scripture is profitable in setting persons on the right
track with reference to belief and conduct. It not only exposes
heresy and ungodly conduct, but it also prescribes the right
path. And if you're thinking biblically, and you're thinking
properly, this passage of scripture ought to be foundational when
it comes to church life. I mean, if you're going to pick
a church where they've got the best entertainment, and they've
got the best coffee, and they've got a great latte, and they've
just got such upbeat music, and it's so positive. Okay, but can
the guy preach? When all is said and done, it's
all Scripture is given by inspiration of God. All Scripture is profitable
for doctrine, for reproof, for correction. And then notice,
for instruction in righteousness, the Scripture is profitable for
instructing God's children in the way that they should go.
In fact, Psalm 119.9, how can a young man cleanse his way?
By taking heed according to your word. If we do not appropriate
the Word of God and use it in the manner that God specifies,
we're not going to be healthy, vital people of God. If we're
not getting the doctrine, if we're not experiencing the reproof,
if we're not receiving the correction, if we're not being instructed
in righteousness, guess what? We're going to be stagnant. We're
going to be, you know, non-mobile. We're going to just be spinning
our wheels. If you turn to the book of Hebrews,
Hebrews chapter 5. Hebrews chapter 5. He describes
sort of sluggishness, and we need to appreciate that he's
not describing this in a positive way. So notice in Hebrews 5 at
verse 12, he says, For though by this time you ought to be
teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles
of the oracles of God. And you have come to need milk
and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only
of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a
babe. But solid food belongs to those who are of full age,
that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised
to discern both good and evil. He's not commending them for
this. He's not saying that this is
a good thing. He's reproving them. He's saying
that you should be further along now. You should have made some
gains. There should have been some movement
forward in terms of progress in the Christian faith. It's
sort of like an exercise program. It's like anything we set our
minds to. We start off in mathematics with
with 2 plus 2, and that's great for when we're, I don't know,
how old are you when you learn 2 plus 2? Probably pretty young. Very young. What, 5? 3? 2? 1?
I don't know. It's been a long time since I
had kids that age. When do they know 2 plus 2? But
if they're 22 and that's all they're knowing, You're probably
going to say, look man, get up off the couch, stop playing Nintendo,
and learn some more. You've become stagnant. That's not a good thing. So the
author of Hebrews, Paul the Apostle, exhorting these people, you're
stagnant. If you're back in 2 Timothy 3,
jump back up in the context to verse 6. Notice, for of this
sort are those who creep into households and make captives
of gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various
lusts. Look at this next phrase, always
learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.
I've met those people in my life. Not here, I'm not saying, you
know, outing anybody in our church, but you meet these people that
they've been Christians for 20, 30, 40 years. They still don't
know basic Bible truth. They don't know basic doctrinal
truth. They couldn't define for you
justification. And I'm not looking for Westminster
Shorter Catechism number 33, but something in the ballpark,
something that resembles the doctrine. I know that this was
big with Ligonier. I don't know if it's still something
they do, but they used to go to these Christian conferences,
and they'd stand outside, ask the Christians basic questions,
and they wouldn't get anywhere near a decent answer. Now these are people that are
going to conferences and coming out of conferences that you would
expect are probably the people that invest a little more time
and perhaps money and effort and whatever in sort of appropriating
the Christian faith. You've got a handful of guys
out there from Sproul's group saying, hey, what's justification?
Again, that's not, this isn't the, you know, splitting the
atom in terms of theology. That's not, are you supralapsarian
or infralapsarian? Can you explain, you know, the
intricacies of an amillennial eschatol? We're not talking about
that. How's a man saved? So when we come to passages like
these that tell us how important the Bible is, I think that a
necessary or logical implication of that shows us how important
the Bible ought to be in the life of the church. If the Bible
is foundational in terms of faith and practice, then the Bible
needs to be foundational in terms of a particular church. And so
we look at churches, we use those marks in the Belgic Confession,
Word of God, discipline, sacraments, those are a great three-fold
grid. But it all hinges on that Word
of God. If that Word of God is not being utilized, if it's not
being preached, if it's not being taught, if there's no reproof,
no correction, no instruction in righteousness, then there
is a deficiency. And so I think that this is a
defining text, not only for our Christian life, but for church
life, for everything that affects faith and practice. And then
in terms of, back to the Psalm 119. So Psalm 119.9, how can
a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to your
word. Psalm 119.105, your word is a lamp to my feet and a light
to my path. Psalm 119, 130, the entrance
of your words gives light. It gives understanding to the
simple. Psalm 119, 133, direct my steps
by your word and let no iniquity have dominion over me. John 17,
17, sanctify them by your truth. Your word is truth. So, you know,
in the history of the Church, it's typically those persons
that utilize the Word of God that are healthy, that are vibrant,
that are diligent, that are faithful. I'm not suggesting that the person
that hasn't memorized all Scripture, I'm not saying they're not Christians.
There ought to be that impetus in all of us to grow in the grace
and knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, to get
the doctrine, to get the reproof, to get the correction, and the
instruction in righteousness. And then the particular prophet
is for the man of God, in verse 17, that the man of God may be
complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. It's not
his leadership training, but ultimately scripture that completes
the man of God. It's not his likability, but
it's ultimately scripture that completes the man of God. It's
not his charismata, but scripture that completes the man of God.
It's the scripture that is definitional in terms of the man of God. and
that he may be equipped for every good work. George Knight comments
on this text, since God created Christians for good works and
calls on them to do good works, he has given scripture to instruct
them so that they may know in principle what God expects of
them and thus be equipped to do that particular good deed
called for in each situation. So, in conclusion, you've got
a very glorious statement here concerning the Old and the New
Testaments. You've got a wonderful statement
concerning the authority, or origin and authority, of that
Scripture, and then the profitability of that Scripture. And so this
is why, God willing, we do what we do on Wednesday nights in
terms of studying Scripture, and on Sunday in terms of preaching
Scripture. Now, in terms of one final sort
of observation, turn back to Psalm 119. You've heard this
before as well. I think it's a wonderful model
in terms of the way we approach the Bible. or the way we should
approach the Bible. So you've got that statement
in Psalm 119, how can a young man cleanse his way? And then
you've got the answer, by taking heed according to your word. So we see that in the first place,
the man of God, in this case, probably not the pastor, he's
just a man of God, a woman of God, a person of God, whatever
we're calling people these days, how can a person cleanse his
way by taking heed according to your word? I think that refers
to justification and sanctification. So how can a young man cleanse
his way? It obviously assumes that the
young man's way stands in need of cleansing. He needs to come
to the Savior. He needs to believe the gospel.
He needs to come to Jesus Christ and be saved. But then the life
of sanctification. How does that young man continue
to cleanse his way? He continues to cleanse his way
through the use of the means of grace, through the Word of
God Most High. Fax Spurgeon says, let him become
a practical disciple of the Holy God, who alone can teach him
how to overcome the world, the flesh, and the devil, that trinity
of defilers by whom many a hopeful life has been spoiled. He is
young and unaccustomed to the road. Let him not be ashamed
often to inquire of Him who is so ready and so able to instruct
him in it. I remember reading Spurgeon elsewhere,
and he was talking about the Bible, and he was talking about
how, you know, if there's a difficulty that you come to in the scripture,
a lot of people, I think, well, I just don't know. I'm not going
to worry about it. You can pray. You can ask God.
And he uses the illustration. If you were reading a book that
your next-door neighbor had written, and you came to a passage that
you didn't understand, you'd probably walk over to your next-door
neighbor's door and knock on it and say, well, what did you
mean right there? So he says, you can pray. You may not get
an immediate answer, but certainly it's a good means to pursue in
terms of understanding the Word of God. So this young man obeys
the Word, but notice he engages the Word with a whole heart.
Verse 10, with my whole heart I have sought you. Oh, let me
not wander from your commandments. Brethren, I understand that it's
not always the case that our whole heart is engaged in the
act of reading or in the act of preaching. This is another
good thing for us to pray. God, help me by your grace to
engage my whole heart to seek you. And certainly let me not
wander from your commandments. Notice as well, he memorizes
the word. Verse 11, your word I have hidden
in my heart that I might not sin against you. Phone Bibles
are great, but Phone Bibles typically don't help you to memorize scripture.
My wife, Rebecca, and I were just musing the other day. You
used to memorize phone numbers, didn't you? I did. I used to
have phone numbers memorized. I don't memorize anybody's phone
number now. I mean, I think I know... I don't know yours. I don't know
yours. I still think I know Josh and
Brittany's because they've had their number longer. But we used
to memorize, right? When something's that accessible
and that available, the tendency might be, well, I've got my phone,
or I've got my computer, or I've got my Bible near. Well, memorizing
scripture is more than just being able to recite it for, you know,
points. Your word I've hidden in my heart
that I might not sin against you. There's a very good thing
about memorizing scripture. It's, you know, the Romans 12
thing. but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. So
don't be conformed to this world. Okay, great. I don't want to
be conformed to this world. I won't watch their filth. I
won't participate in their garbage. Now what? But be transformed
by the renewing of your mind. We saw that on Sunday night.
There's in sanctification a put on and a put off ethic. Put off
the bad, put on the good. Don't steal anymore, but get
a good job and make enough money so that you can give it to others.
Don't lie, but rather speak truth. So there's the put off and the
put on. So put off the bad in terms of the world, don't be
conformed to it, but rather be transformed by the renewing of
your mind. And scripture memory is a wonderful thing. It seems
to be a lost art. I think that going back a few
years, it seemed like more people were memorizing scripture. condemning,
judging, I'm just suggesting this is a good practice in terms
of, you know, helping us in our lives. A person struggles with,
you know, sins of the flesh. 2 Peter, or 1 Peter chapter 2,
abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul. It's always
seemed to me to be a good text to have ready in the mind to
try to combat those particular sorts of things or the various
temptations. If you're tempted to steal, memorize
the 8th commandment and that's not a tough one really. So it's
flushing out the bad, putting in the good. And then notice
as well, he depends upon divine instruction from the word. From
the word in verse 12. Blessed are you, O Lord, teach
me your statutes. Again, Spurgeon says, young man,
the Bible must be your chart and you must exercise great watchfulness
that your way may be according to its directions. You must take
heed to your daily life as well as study your Bible. And you
must study your Bible that you may take heed to your daily life.
With the greatest care, a man will go astray if his map misleads
him. But with the most accurate map, he will still lose his road
if he does not take heed to it. The narrow way was never hit
upon by chance. Neither did any heedless man
ever lead a holy life. Spurgeon's comments on the Psalms
is fantastic. It's online, you can find it,
Treasury of David. Very good stuff in this section
on the young man keeping his way pure. And then notice, he
engages the word with a desire to declare it to others. Verse
13, "...with my lips I have declared all the judgments of your mouth."
He doesn't just internalize it, but he also publicizes it. He
tells others. When we are conquered by God's
grace, there is that desire for us to tell others of God's grace.
Notice that he engages the word with joy. Verse 14, I have rejoiced
in the way of your testimonies as much as in all riches. So
he uses a very obvious illustration, as much as in all riches. If
you found a bag of money, you'd certainly be happy. I'd be happy
if I found a bag of money. Actually, I wouldn't. I'd think,
man, they're going to come and get me. I'm going to, you know, whatever.
But we actually had a family here that did find a bag of money.
They're not with us anymore, and they ended up getting it.
They found lots of money. turned it in and got returned
to them, so what a blessing. But the psalmist uses that by
way of analogy. I have rejoiced in the way of
your testimonies as much as in all riches. And then notice he
engages the word with meditation and contemplation. In verse 15,
I will meditate on your precepts and contemplate your ways. Another
helpful thing about memorization. You got the word memorized. You're
able then meditate upon it. You're able then to contemplate
it. Meditation in the Christian realm is not disengaging the
mind. It's not Eastern meditation where
you just go chant or hum and sit in the lotus position. But
rather you are engaging your mind upon the Holy Scripture. You're thinking through it. You're
contemplating it. You're rolling it about. And
then finally he engages the word with delight and determination
in verse 16. I will delight myself in your
statues. There's the delight. And then
notice the determination. I will not forget your word.
He says several things along the way in Psalm 119 that are
pretty powerful. I will not. He is purposeful. He is determined. He is resolute
that he's not going to compromise his position before a thrice
holy God. So just some hopeful, hopefully
helpful encouragement from the young man in Psalm 119. Well
I'll close in prayer and if there's any questions we can take those.
Father in heaven, we thank you for your word. We thank you for
its profitability. We have tried and proven it and
known it to be the case in our own hearts and lives. And we
thank you for that word. We thank you for Genesis to Revelation,
for what it reveals to us concerning your power and your glory and
your plan and purpose of salvation through your son, the Lord Jesus
Christ. Thank you again for making us participants by your grace. We pray that you would help us
to honor you and to serve and to glorify your great and awesome
name. And we pray this through Jesus Christ, our Lord,
