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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 disapprove 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 in righteousness, 
that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every 
good work. Amen. Well, let us pray. Father, 
thank you for the word of God and thank you for this clear 
testimony concerning its usefulness for your people. Grant us grace, 
Lord God, to receive these things and to see the prophet of Scripture 
in our lives. Certainly, as Jesus rehearses 
to the devil in the wilderness and as you, God, told the children 
of Israel in the wilderness, man shall not live by bread alone 
but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. Help us, 
Father, to lay hold of this. Help us to see it in our own 
lives and how precious and how valuable Scripture is to us. 
We ask now that your Holy Spirit would guide us as we study scripture. 
He, the author of it, is the one that is able to illumine 
our minds and our hearts and cause us to receive these things. 
May we do so with thanksgiving, and may we do so with a fresh 
resolve to commit ourselves to the study of Holy Scripture. 
And we pray these things through Christ our Lord. Amen. Well, 
essentially what Paul is doing in 2 Timothy 3 is contrasting 
the false teachers with Timothy. He begins in verses 1 to 9 by 
highlighting the particular practices of wicked men in the last days. And then he makes the contrast, 
the first one in verse 10, but you have carefully followed my 
doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, long-suffering, love, 
perseverance. These answer specifically to 
the vices that were given that characterized the wicked men 
in verses 1 to 9. Paul then makes another statement 
concerning the disposition of evil men. In verse 13, evil men 
and imposters will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being 
deceived. Now note the contrast. Verse 14, but you must continue 
in the things which you have learned and been assured of, 
knowing from whom you have learned them. Not only from a godly grandmother 
and a godly mother, but from the apostle Paul himself. Timothy 
had learned these things. And even most importantly, He 
had been schooled in the Holy Scriptures. Note verse 15. And 
that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures. Those 
Holy Scriptures are able to make you wise for salvation through 
faith which is in Christ Jesus. It's important to notice that 
the Scriptures in view in that particular reference are the 
Old Testament. And so Paul is saying that the 
Old Testament Scriptures are able to make one wise for salvation 
through faith which is in Christ Jesus." So the next time you 
look at the Old Testament and say, why in the world would I 
want to read it? Because it's able to make you 
wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. It 
typifies, points forward to, and gives us Christ in those 
particular conventions or in those particular types and shadows 
and all those things. The Old Testament scripture is 
highly valuable and prize worthy. And that leads Paul then to expound 
upon or expand upon the importance of scripture. As George Knight 
said, the reminder of Timothy's long acquaintance with the scriptures 
And their central function, verse 15, leads Paul to conclude this 
section with a fuller statement on the divine origin and specific 
usefulness of scripture, verse 16, and on the purpose that it 
serves in the life of the man of God, in verse 17. Now, if my children or grandchildren 
ever said to me, why is the Bible important? Well, I would certainly 
want to go to 2 Timothy. I would want to go to Psalm 119. 
Actually, I'd want to go to a lot of places in the Bible. But when 
we look at 2 Timothy 3, 16, and 17, we see it spelled out. We see Paul give us why Scripture 
is profitable, why Scripture is useful, how it is to be employed 
in the lives of God's people. And I think as we survey these 
particular categories, we will see that, indeed, they are helpful 
to us in these particular regards. So let's look in the first place 
at the usefulness of scripture and consider these four things 
in terms of general profitability. Notice what Paul says, all scripture 
is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine. for doctrine. Now, there has 
been, at least in the last 100 or 200 years in the Christian 
church, sort of an anti-doctrinal idea. In other words, we ought 
to just love Jesus. Doctrine divides us, and doctrine 
hurts us, and it's persons that get their minds full of doctrine 
that don't do nice things for poor people, and it's those intellectuals 
that just want to you know, make cerebral the Christian faith. 
Well, the Apostle says that the Bible is profitable for doctrine, 
for teaching, for instruction, and this is a recurring theme 
in these pastoral epistles. You can turn to 1 Timothy chapter 
4. It's good for us to rehearse this. It's good for us to be 
reminded of this. It's good for us to see that 
in the Apostle Paul, His letters to Timothy and to Titus, his 
emphasis is not on the fact that they become the most popular 
guys, the best speakers, the nicest fellows in their respective 
communities. Rather, he wants them committed 
to and preaching of sound doctrine. Notice in 1 Timothy 4, 6, Notice 
Paul's Identification of what a good 
minister looks like. A good minister is one who instructs 
the brethren in Christian doctrine. A good minister is somebody who 
preaches the Bible. A good minister is somebody who 
presents the truth to the persons that he is ministering unto. 
Notice in 1 Timothy 4.13, till I come, give attention to reading, 
to exhortation, and there it is again, to doctrine. Notice 
in 1 Timothy 6, in verse 3, if anyone teaches otherwise and 
does not consent to wholesome words, even the words of our 
Lord Jesus Christ and to the doctrine which accords with godliness. Now, we certainly ought not to 
be obnoxious. James White speaks of the cage 
stage. When young men come to embrace 
the doctrines of grace, he suggests that it would be good to just 
lock them in a cage while that initial zeal is spent because 
they can be rather obnoxious. You know, we get these minds 
and hearts full of sound doctrine and we want to fight everybody. 
We want to go on Facebook and show everybody how excellent 
we are and present the truth as it is in Jim rather than as 
it is in Paul or in Isaiah or in Ezekiel. So we need to make 
sure we're not obnoxious with our doctrine. Our doctrine ought 
to affect us in very practical ways. The doctrine that we entertain 
concerning God ought to result in love to God and in love to 
men. But having said that, we need doctrine. We need the truth 
of God's Holy Word. The Apostle says it is this doctrine 
which accords with godliness. Notice in 2 Timothy 2. And these 
things, and the things that you have heard from me among many 
witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach 
others also. Teaching is doctrine. Timothy 
is supposed to look out amongst the church brethren. He is to 
find faithful men. He is to identify faithful men. He is to see that those men are 
brought into pastoral ministry and that those men preach and 
teach the word of truth to others. Timothy is to multiply and bring 
more persons in so that they may teach the scriptures. Notice 
in 2 Timothy 2, 14-16, Always love that passage because the 
minister's primary concern is not approval from men, it is 
approval from God. The minister's primary concern 
is not the approval of men, but it is the approval of God. Now 
that doesn't mean he should irritate people and he should be obnoxious 
and do the sorts of things that I just suggested we should not 
do. But he seeks, by the grace of 
God, to be a minister approved unto God. He then says, a worker 
who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of 
truth, but shun profane and idle babblings, for they will increase 
to more ungodliness. Notice in 2 Timothy 2.25, in 
humility, correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps 
will grant them repentance so that they may know what? They 
may know doctrine, they may know the truth, and that they may 
come to their senses. and escape the snare of the devil, 
having been taken captive by him, to do his will." And then 
in 2 Timothy 4.2, he tells Timothy, preach the word, be ready in 
season and out of season, convince, rebuke, exhort with all long-suffering 
and doctrine. Timothy is to teach the Scriptures 
patiently. He is to do so in a particular 
manner, but the end result is the same. Preach the truth as 
it is in Jesus. Towner says, as the bedrock of 
Christian education, Scripture's prime function within the community 
is in relation to teaching. and John Murray in a most helpful 
statement concerning the importance of doctrine says this, 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, something the opponents of doctrine never 
want to consider. Maybe the problem isn't the doctrine. Maybe the problem is your heart, 
because if, you see, We understand the truth of God, how can it 
not but produce warmth, and vigor, and life, and promote health 
in the hearts of God's people? He says, 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. He says lack of biblical doctrine 
is lack of interest in God and his will for us and this is godlessness. I think Murray is absolutely 
spot on. So in the first place, if my 
children or my grandchildren were to ask, why should I read 
the Bible? Because it's profitable for doctrine. It will teach you about God. 
It will teach you about his law. It will teach you about his attributes. 
It will teach you about his son. It will teach you the gospel. 
It will teach you concerning. Your redemption. It will teach 
you your great need for the blood of Jesus Christ to wash you and 
cleanse you. The Bible as well teaches you 
about you. The Bible shows you to be the 
man, the woman, the boy or girl that God sees. You're not the 
individual butterfly that's floating through life doing nothing but 
good. You are a wretched sinner that is in rebellion against 
the living and true God. You're not going to get that 
from Dr. Phil. You're not going to get that 
from Oprah. You're not going to get that from the Chilliwack 
Progress. You're going to get it from Scripture. It will rightly 
identify your problem and it will rightly present the remedy. So why should we read the Bible? 
Because it's profitable for doctrine. Note, in the second place, it's 
profitable for reproof. That word profitable qualifies 
all the subsequent words. Profitable for doctrine, it's 
profitable for reproof, it's profitable for correction, it's 
profitable for instruction in righteousness. But what is reproof? The Scripture is profitable in 
rebuking for wrong belief or wrong behavior. The Scripture 
exposes the errors of man. Notice in Titus 1.9, it exposes 
the errors of false teachers. 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. The idea of conviction 
and reproof standing in a close relationship there. So you see 
the scripture not only is profitable to instruct us, but the Scripture 
is profitable to reprove us. Certainly you have found that 
to be the case in your own life, I would imagine. If you have 
the Holy Spirit and you've gone to the Scriptures before, if 
you've been living in a pattern of sin, hopefully the Spirit 
shows you that and reproves you. Or perhaps it's occurred under 
preaching. You've come to the house of God, you've listened 
to preaching, you've been entertaining sin, you've been engaged in sin, 
you've been playing with sin. And then you hear preaching and 
it sounds as if God has got this right for you. It reproves you, 
doesn't it? It convicts you. It shows you 
that you are the man. It functions as David's Nathan 
to point that finger in our face and say that you are the one 
that has erred. You are the one that has departed. 
You are the one that has gone astray. Brethren, don't balk 
at that. Don't reject that. Don't get 
angry with that. That's the Spirit's work in our 
lives. We ought to be thankful that 
He brings conviction. We ought to be thankful that 
there's preaching. We ought to be thankful that 
there's sermon audio. We ought to be thankful that 
we have our Bibles, such that when we go into our closets, 
the Lord God Most High reproves us for bad conduct, or He reproves 
us from heretical thinking, or He reproves us for not being 
obedient to Him. Don't get mad at that. Don't 
say, I can't believe it that you said so and so, or that the 
Apostle Paul says thus and thus. No, that's the Spirit's work 
in our hearts. The Word of God is a living Word. 
It cuts us deep. It penetrates right down to the 
marrow of a man. And we ought to embrace that 
and welcome that. In fact, I hope that when you 
come to the house of God, or when you come to the Scripture, 
your prayer isn't, God, just leave me alone. Just let me satisfy 
the daily requirement and read my section of Scripture. Just 
let me go through the Lord's Day motions and show up in the 
house of God and look alive at least for that 45 minutes to 
an hour. God, but I don't want my feathers 
ruffled and I don't want to be challenged and I don't want anything 
to mess up with my comfort zone. I hope that's not your prayer. 
I hope you have the mindset of David in Psalm 119. I'm sorry, 
Psalm 19. You can turn there to see David's 
mind with reference to these things. Psalm 19, after celebrating 
God's general revelation through the created order, and then God's 
special revelation through the written word, David says, who 
can understand his errors? Verse 12, cleanse me from secret 
faults. What's he saying? Find me out, 
God. Show me the reality, Lord. Let 
me not continue in this particular pathway. He says, keep back your 
servant also from presumptuous sins. Let them not have dominion 
over me. Then I shall be blameless and 
I shall be innocent of great transgression. David understood 
the practical application of Paul's words in 2 Timothy chapter 
3. It is profitable for reproof. Let the righteous smite me, David 
says. Let the brother or the sister 
or my wife or my husband or my parent or my child reprove me 
with the word of God. That's a blessing from God. When 
somebody sees us going astray, what would you have them to do? 
Push us along the way? or try to rope us back with scripture 
and say, you know, the Bible says you shouldn't do that. The 
Bible says that you are not to engage in that. Don't get upset 
at that person. Hug them and praise God that 
the Holy Spirit used that person to bring you back. Certainly 
we sing that song and I hope it resonates in all of our hearts. 
We're prone to wander and prone to leave the God we love. If 
somebody in our lives has the courage and the wherewithal to 
stop us from wandering, don't get upset at them. Don't get 
mad at them. Remember I referred to Ahab last 
week with reference to Micaiah in 1 Kings 22. Jehoshaphat says, 
is there another prophet? Yeah, there's one more, but he 
doesn't tell me what I want to hear. I don't like what he has 
to say. I don't like it because it doesn't 
fit my comfort zone. And in fact, when Micaiah shows 
up on the scene, that is precisely what happens. Ahab's mad. The 
prophet, the false prophet smacks him and they put him away in 
prison. That's not the way we are to conduct ourselves. Do 
not dare to be an Ahab. Rather, welcome the reproof of 
men. Notice in the third place, the 
scripture is profitable for correction. Again, the children say, what 
is it profitable for? Doctrine, reproof, and correction. What does God do after he reproves 
us? What does God do after he shows 
us our error? What does God do? But He corrects 
us. He gives us the remedy. He gives 
us the antidote. He gives us the medicine. And 
we ought to bless God for that. The scripture is profitable in 
setting persons on the right track with reference to belief 
and conduct. Notice I continually stress belief. I think at times, as Christians, 
we think we're only sinning if we're looking at pornography, 
or we think we're only sinning if we're stealing from our employer, 
or we think we're only sinning if we're yelling at our spouses. 
We're sinning when we're not thinking right thoughts about 
God. We are sinning against the Lord 
Most High when we are heretics. We are sinning against God if 
we don't get the hypostatic union. And we can't explain it the way 
those divines at Nicaea did. I'm just kidding. We don't have 
to go quite that far. But we need to recognize Christian 
orthodoxy. It's not just a matter of don't 
go here and don't do that. But it's how you think. And so 
the scripture reproves us at times and shows us that we've 
been thinking in a faulty manner. It shows us that we have been 
heretical. We have entertained thoughts of Christ that dishonor 
Christ. The scripture corrects us. It brings us back onto the 
path. If we are prone to wander and 
prone to leave the God that we love, reproof functions to show 
us that we have departed. And correction brings us back 
to that blessed path. That's what the scripture is 
profitable for. You see why it's so important 
you should be reading it constantly, regularly, attentively, carefully? Do you see why? It's not just 
a matter of if you read five verses, when you show up this 
week, we're gonna, you know, raise our fist and say, good 
job, or attaboy. That's not the point. What does 
the psalmist say in Psalm 119? Thy word I have hidden in my 
heart. so that I can boast on Facebook that I've meditated 
or that I've memorized scripture today? No. The word I've hidden in my heart, 
what? That I might not sin against you. For the psalmist, having 
a deposit of scripture truth in his heart, would hopefully 
keep him from pursuing lust, from engaging in anger, from 
engaging in all manner of wickedness. The Scripture corrects us. Some 
of you might be on a path of belief or on a path of conduct 
that is just not right. You need to be reproved and you 
need to be corrected. You need to be educated. You 
need to come and be conformed or rather transformed by the 
renewing of your mind to the Holy Scripture. Notice in the 
fourth place what it's profitable for, for instruction in righteousness. For instruction in righteousness, 
the scripture is profitable for instructing God's children in 
the way they should go. Psalm 119. I'm sorry, it was 
119.11, I think, is the word hidden in my heart. 119.9 is 
how can a young man cleanse his way? How can a young man cleanse 
his way with reference to justification and sanctification? by taking 
heed according to your word. It is instruction in righteousness. 
We live in an unrighteous world. We live in a world filled with 
lies and deceit. We live in a world that is not 
out for promoting godliness on the part of the hordes. In order 
to be instructed in righteousness, we have to get our minds in the 
Word of God. We have to bring our hearts to 
the Word of God. How about Psalm 119.105? Your 
word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. It instructs 
us in righteousness. Psalm 119.130, the entrance of 
your words gives light. It gives understanding to the 
simple. Isn't that good news if you're 
a simple person? It gives understanding to us. 
It's a blessing. You don't have to be a PhD. You 
don't have to be the proverbial rocket scientist. You don't have 
to have read every book in that office to have wisdom from on 
high. Those who are saturated in the 
scriptures, those who have the Holy Spirit, they are wise men 
and women. And then Psalm 119 verse 133, 
I love this. He says, direct my steps by your 
word and let no iniquity have dominion over me. You see, for 
David, he saw things in those sort of stark contrasts. He saw 
things in that martial imagery, and let no iniquity have dominion 
over me. What can we infer, or what can 
we imply, or what can we at least observe? If it is the case that 
God does not direct our steps by his word, then iniquity will 
have dominion over us. Persons try to kill sin. Persons try to deal with particular 
temptations. Persons try to gain instruction 
in righteousness by not coming to the Word of God. That is absolute 
folly. We need to come to Scripture 
to be instructed in righteousness. So the next time, children, you 
ask, why should I read the Bible? Because it's profitable for doctrine, 
for reproof, for correction. and for instruction in righteousness." 
As I said, that is the general profitability. Now, note the 
specific profitability in verse 17. Now, the man of God certainly 
refers to all men of God, all women of God, all blood bots. 
My son Micah refers to Christians now. They're called blood bots 
as far as he is concerned. I quite like that term and that 
description, blood bots. But all of us benefit from the 
profitability of the word in this regard, but the man of God 
is technical language that applies here specifically to Timothy 
as a minister. So the scripture certainly completes 
every man, but as I've said, the context indicates that the 
ministers of the gospel are in specific view in verse 17. Now, note what Paul says. It's 
profitable for the things, in verse 16, that the man of God 
may be complete. What completes the man of God? 
The seminary education helps the man of God. It is the Word 
of God that completes the man of God. And so far as seminary 
education, as far as book learning, goes insofar as the man is saturated 
with the truth of God. That is what completes him. And 
it is intriguing that Paul says it's not leadership training, 
it's not the charismatic gifts, it's not his, you know, kindness. Now I'm not saying ministers 
should be mean, nasty pieces of work. They should be kind. However, It is the Word of God 
that completes the man of God. It is the knowledge of the Scripture. 
It is his understanding of doctrine. It is his appreciation for the 
truth in all of its parts and as a connected whole. His view 
of systematic theology, his view of biblical theology, his understanding 
of theology proper, his understanding of Christology and Hamartiology 
Deontology and Soteriology and all these ologies, all of that 
converge to complete the man of God. This is what we need 
in our pulpits today. We don't need entertainers. We 
don't need persons that are just friendly fellows. I would rather 
have a man that's not the friendliest fellow who can rightly explain 
to me the hypostatic union than have a man that's super friendly 
that couldn't figure out the humanity from the deity of our 
Lord Jesus Christ. Brethren, we have co-opted in 
many ways the world's model for our leaders and our pastors. 
Paul says it is Scripture that completes the man of God. It is nothing else. Notice as 
well, he says that the man of God may be complete and that 
the man of God may be equipped for every good work. What equips 
the man of God for every good work? It's the Scripture. It's 
unfortunate that we have to spend time on this. You know, there's 
a move, or there has been a move, as long as I've been a pastor, 
on, you know, leadership this, and leadership that, and leadership 
conferences, and books on leadership, and what can this guy tell? Just 
preach the Bible. You know, at the end of the day, 
isn't that what we should want from our preachers? Just preach 
the Bible. I don't care how many business 
books you've read. I don't care how many leadership 
conferences you've been to. I don't care how many gurus you've 
employed so that you can sit, just preach the Bible. That's it. If the church collectively 
will just say that, we would be a whole lot better off. We 
have accepted this mindset that the movers and the shakers among 
us, the men with this innate ability to move people and to 
lead people and to serve as cheerleaders at a pep rally, those are the 
guys that we want to emulate. No, we want to emulate the Apostle 
Paul. We want to be a man who is able 
to say to the Corinthian church, but I determined to know nothing 
among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. That's the 
kind of preachers we want. That's the kind of men of God 
that we want. That's what we hope and pray 
for, for men that are raised up in our church. Not that they 
are able to subscribe to whichever leadership model, but they can 
faithfully and accurately proclaim the truth of God's Holy Word. 
That ought to be what you always demand from me and Pastor Porter. You ought never, ever to settle 
for the sorts of things that the people of God settle for. I think I told you years ago 
I went to a church while I was visiting in California, and it 
happened to be the 4th of July. I mean, that in and of itself 
was a terrible thing. I mean, there was more Americanism 
in this church than there was Christ. We were singing, proud 
to be an American in the house of the living God. That ought 
not to be. I mean, that in and of itself 
were some bad preliminaries. And then the guy preaches, I 
don't know, 15, 17 minutes, and it was what D.L. Moody called 
birdbath theology. It was about that deep. And afterwards, 
I mean, if that wasn't shocking enough, I just sat through a 
message that was, you know, pablum. Babies in our church would reject 
that. They'd say, no, I want to hear 
about the hypostatic union. What was most discouraging, to 
use a Renehanism the opposite way, was to stand outside and 
visit with the people of God, or at least the professed people 
of God, who were telling me how great and how powerful that sermon 
was. Now, I can be a critical man, 
I can be a hyper, you know, critical jerk, But brethren, anybody who 
had spent any time thinking in any terms about Bible and theology 
would not conclude that that was a deep, powerful, robust 
sermon. But the people of God are, again, 
the professing people of God are gobbling it up. It ought 
to break our hearts what people put up with. It ought to make 
us pray to God, awaken them, not to be saved. If they are 
saved, awaken them to the reality that they are settling for mud 
pies when there's a holiday by the seaside, to use a Lewisism. Brethren, it ought not to be 
the case that persons are satisfied or content with sermonettes for 
Christianettes. We need to be thoroughly equipped 
for every good work. Again, I like what Knight says 
here. He says, 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. Perhaps you men have noticed 
this before. You come home from work, or you 
come home from someplace, or you're spending time with your 
beloved bride, and you can tell that there's something just not 
right about her countenance. You can tell that not everything 
is good. And you ask the question, is 
everything okay? Yeah, everything's okay. Did 
I do something wrong? No, you didn't do anything wrong. 
But you get this feeling that certainly you did something wrong. 
And then it comes out, you didn't do such and such, or you didn't 
go there and there, and you say, wait a minute, I didn't know. 
God doesn't do that to us. Now, in our house, it doesn't 
just happen with me and her, it happens with her and me. I'll 
be pouty and whiny and moany, and you didn't get it right, 
or you didn't do what I wanted you to do. I didn't tell her 
what to do. I didn't say what the expectation was. God doesn't 
do that. He doesn't just say, go and go 
do good works. What's a good word, God? He tells 
us. He specifies it to us in detail, 
description. Never say, I just don't know 
what to do as a Christian because, you know, God hasn't told me. 
Yes, He's told you. He's told you blatantly. He's 
told you loudly, He's told you clearly in the Scripture. Perhaps 
you're not doing good works because you're not reading the Scripture 
telling you to do good works. That is a blessed reality that 
our Lord provides. The Scripture not only completes 
the man of God, but it thoroughly furnishes him unto every good 
work. Well, brethren, in conclusion, 
we ought to praise God and prize Holy Scripture. The surpassing 
value of Holy Scripture is seen in that it instructs us concerning 
God, His law, and His gospel. The supreme value of Holy Scripture 
is seen in that under the Spirit, it is useful to reprove us. God 
loves us too much to allow us to continue to stray. So praise 
him that he provides the spirit to bring scripture to bear upon 
our hearts to reprove us when we are in a particular thought 
process or in a particular action. As well, we ought to praise God 
for the surpassing value of the scripture that corrects us. That corrects us. It specifies 
the way we ought to go. It provides for us that particular 
course. And it instructs us in righteousness. I hope it's welling up in your 
heart right now to say, wow, I can't wait for tomorrow morning 
because I want to read my Bible. I can't wait to get back to my 
scriptures. God, forgive me that I haven't 
approached it with the heart I ought. Forgive me, help me, 
and send me to that holy book. Let me go mining out those treasures. Let me be a spelunker. You know 
what a spelunker is? That's somebody that wanders 
around in caves wearing a hat with a flashlight on it. That's how we ought to view our 
approach to the scripture. We ought to be miners, going 
about our tasks, spending time in the earth, seeking to uncover 
those gems. Now, I make it sound like there's 
some code involved. No, just read and meditate and 
contemplate and think through it. There's no extra special, 
you know, if you wear a hat with a light bulb on it, you're going 
to be really extra holy. No, no, no, that's not, that 
was not my point. We need to be steeped in the 
scriptures. We need to be instructed in righteousness. As well, we 
ought to see the importance of Holy Scripture for the ministers 
of the gospel to complete them and to thoroughly furnish them 
onto every good work. The man of God is to take his 
orders from God and not men. He is to study to show himself 
approved unto God. As well, the man of God must 
be committed to the word of God in his own heart, in his own 
life. I love what Lloyd-Jones says 
concerning Bible reading for the pastor. He says, do not read 
the Bible primarily for sermons, but read the Bible for food. I've always loved that and appreciated 
that. Now, he's not suggesting that 
you aren't to study the Bible for sermon prep. You could never 
argue that with Lloyd-Jones. But what I think he suggests, 
with reference to the gospel ministry, is that some ministers 
say, you know, I'm studying the Bible a lot for sermon prep. 
That sort of covers it. Now, maybe that does cover it. 
I don't find anywhere in scripture that I can condemn that and say, 
you evil wretch, don't do that. But I think the thrust of Lloyd-Jones' 
statement is that a minister should be a man of God first, 
reading the Bible for his daily intake of food, for his daily 
intake of bread, and that sermon preparation comes on top of that. He's a man of God before he's 
a minister of the gospel, and therefore he is reading as a 
food-hungry sheep, and then he reads to study in sermon prep. Incidentally, I think Lloyd-Jones 
used the the Robert Murray McShane reading calendar. And we're only 
at the 17th of January. There's still time to pick one 
up. And you got a bit of tough sledding to catch up. But once 
you do, it's a wonderful plan. You basically start the Bible 
in four places. And over the years, I've heard 
people say, well, that's just so confusing. But you can read a 
newspaper and move from sports to politics to, you know, whatever 
else. That's somehow not confusing. 
I mean, you start in Genesis, you start in Ezra, you start 
in Matthew, you start in Acts. Hopefully you're, you know, a 
bright enough bulb that you can keep things clear. So that's 
my plug for Murray McShane on the 17th. I should have done 
this on the 31st. And the man of God must preach 
the Word of God. 2 Timothy 4.2. God willing, when 
I come back, we will finish 2 Timothy. As I said, I hope to move to 
the epistle of James, but Paul's last formal command or official 
command to the church vis-a-vis Timothy as a gospel minister. There are later commands in the 
chapter, but they're more of a personal nature. Timothy, bring 
my cloak, bring my books, especially the parchments. But in 2 Timothy 
4 to preach the word, be ready in season and out of season. 
That's the subject matter for the gospel minister. It is the 
preaching of the word. It's not to preach, you know, 
entertainment. It's not to preach movies. It's 
not to preach anything other than the scriptures of the word 
of God. And the man of God must be distinguished 
by progress in the word of God. 1 Timothy 4, 6, I'm sorry, 15. 1 Timothy 4, 15. The scriptures are so important 
for the man of God. It ought to be evident to you 
as the sheep that your particular men of God are progressing in 
their understanding of the Bible and of theology. Notice in 1 
Timothy 4.15, meditate on these things, give yourself entirely 
to them that your progress may be evident to all. It's not because 
look at me, I've read it, you know, 15 chapters today. No, 
it's the Word of God has an effect upon the man of God. It conforms 
him more and more under the power of the Spirit onto the image 
of the Lord Jesus. Take heed to yourself and to 
the doctrine. continuing them, for in doing 
this you will save both yourself and those who hear you." Well, 
brethren, I hope tonight we have seen the usefulness of Holy Scripture, 
and I hope and I pray that there is a renewed vigor in all of 
our hearts to approach the Scriptures as the blessed privilege it is. It ought not to be the case, 
oh, I've got to read the Bible. There's a got to, to be sure, 
but there's a get to involved. We get to hear from the living 
and true God. Well, let us pray. Our Father, 
we thank you for the word, and we thank you that you've not 
left us to ourselves in this world. You've provided scripture. You've provided the Holy Spirit. 
We are not orphans. We are adopted sons of God Most 
High, and we pray that you'd help us to be nourished in these 
things, help us to feed upon scripture each and every day. 
We ask that you would go with us now, watch over us in this 
coming week, bring us together next Lord's Day to praise, to 
worship, and to honor you. We ask these things through Christ 
Jesus, our Lord. Amen. We'll close with a brief 
time of meditation.