“Know the Holy Scripture” -- 2 Timothy 3:14-17

There’s the old gag, “If all else fails, read the instructions.”

With the advent of the latest electronic gadgets designed to make our lives easier, it’s becoming more and more important to read the instructions that come with even the simplest devices. Of course, reading them and understanding them are not necessarily the same thing. At that point, we turn to our children or our children’s children to show us how to work the machine.

Everything in that previous paragraph explains in part the need for Christians to read our Bibles. Too often, we try to go through life, and only in a crisis do we turn to the Word, both in prayer and in Scripture. Most of the Bible is relatively straightforward, but it is a foolish person who does not lean on the Holy Spirit to guide us in our studies.

If we will live holy lives, we need to know and study the Bible.

Background

There are numerous times in the Gospels when Jesus tells us He expects us to know and do His will. Toward the end of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 7:21). Later on, at the end of the Sermon, Jesus tells us a wise man is the one who not only hears what He says, but does it. In Luke 6:47, Jesus asks, “Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?”

James writes, “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says” (James 1:22). He goes on to compare the person who hears and doesn’t do to a person who looks in the mirror, then turns away without doing anything about it. He finishes his thought with, “But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does” (James 1:25).

Paul is writing his second letter to Timothy. Timothy is one of Paul’s disciples, a young man who is now pastoring a church on the island of Crete. In both letters, Paul is giving advice about being a young man in a leadership position. His letters are filled with advice for each of us.

In this particular passage, Paul is reminding Timothy of the latter’s heritage and upbringing. Paul reminds the young man of all that Paul has done—“my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance, persecutions and sufferings” (3:10-11a).

Having reminded Timothy of the apostle’s example, Paul then reminds Timothy of how he was raised by his grandmother and mother. It is here that we see why it is so important for a person who wants to live a holy life must spend time in studying the Bible.

Central Truth: The holy life is grounded in God’s word.

We study the Bible because:

1. It makes us wise (14-15)

“But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus” (vs. 14-15).

I grew up in church. I can’t remember a Sunday or Wednesday night when we weren’t in church. It wasn’t until we moved to Whitehouse that I started going because I wanted to, not because I had to. Granted, my reason for wanting to go to church was because I had a crush on one of the girls in the youth group, but my awareness and practice of going to church as I grew up eventually paved the way for me to come to know Christ as Savior and Lord.

Paul reminds Timothy of the importance of growing up around the Scripture. Paul writes that the Bible makes us wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. The reason Timothy is aware of this truth comes from not only the reading of Scripture but also from the examples of those who have played a part in Timothy’s life.

Timothy learned about the Bible through the examples and lessons from his grandmother, mother, Paul and others who also walked in faith. The same is true of each of us. No one comes to the Father except from the examples of others who have taught us, lived out their faith around us. We first become aware of Christ through the testimonies of others, from the people we are close to and look up to. For me, it was my parents and close friends in high school.

Timothy was blessed to have a mother and grandmother who were dedicated to teaching him about Scripture. These two women of the Jewish faith were consistent in teaching him the importance of the Word, and while they didn’t grasp the full message of the Bible until they heard Paul preaching, they laid a foundation so that Timothy knew that the message of Christ was found in the Word of God, the Bible.

Paul’s point is that Timothy was raised in a house that knew the importance of studying and learning the Bible. As Timothy continued to grow, God surrounded him with people who loved Him and were committed to living out their faith, both in his family and in the lives of Paul and those who traveled with him. The testimony of those who loved Christ combined with the assurances of the Scripture were used by the Holy Spirit to open Timothy’s heart to the truth that made him wise to follow his faith in Christ.

We study the Bible because it is our source of wisdom as revealed through the Holy Spirit.

2. It prepares us for holy living (16)

“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness” (v. 16).

This is one of the most familiar verses in the Bible. We know it primarily because it attests to the fact that the Bible is God’s inspired word. The problem with using a verse from the Bible to prove the Bible is that a person who doesn’t believe the Bible will not suddenly come to a change of mind because they see this verse. If we want to prove the validity of Scripture, then we must live it out. That’s what Paul was writing in the previous two verses, and that’s why Paul writes this verse.

The verse is intended for those of us who already embrace the truth of the Gospel. We are reminded that the Bible is a valid book because God inspired it. The fact that the Bible is proclaimed to be “God-breathed” lets us know that God the Spirit was acting in the lives of those who wrote the words. Each of the writers was guided by the Spirit while expressing the truths in ways that were consistent with them as a person. For instance, it is highly unlikely that I would ever write something in Elizabethan English, simply because my vocabulary is not geared to that. While it is possible that God could give me the gift of language to do so, when He inspired the writers to write, He used them as they were. He also inspired those who decided which books were Biblical and which were not. If we look at the Bible, we understand how God not only inspired those who wrote it, but He inspired those who have preserved it over the years.

The reason this God-breathed book is so important is that it is the actual “owner’s manual” for living out the Christian faith. There are four areas where the Bible is so useful for us.

First, it teaches us. The Bible is filled with the words of Christ and the way He lived. It is filled with the message of how God has dealt with humanity from the very beginning through the lives of the apostles. It is in the Bible were learn the wisdom of God and what it means to know Him. The Bible is able to answer our questions and guide us toward a closer walk with Him. The Bible teaches us.

Second, the Bible is used for rebuking. That is, the Bible is good for pointing out our sins and our sinful actions. This is done not through beating people over the head with the Bible, but with gentleness and respect. There are not too many people who like to be shown their shortcomings, in part because most of us already know our shortcomings and are already embarrassed about them. Years ago, I did something that I was ashamed of. There was one kid a grade ahead of me that seemed to take delight in asking me about the embarrassing thing on a daily basis. One day, I finally told him that I had answered his questions enough and not to bring it up again. Fortunately for me, he lost interest in embarrassing me anymore. No one likes to be told they messed up, but when we have to point out the sins of those around us, we can rely on the Bible as the guide of what is and isn’t a sin. The Bible is good for rebuking us.

Third, we use the Bible to correct ourselves. There are times we come up with ideas we think are from God. I think of the church in Corinth. They thought they were a godly fellowship, but God used Paul’s letters to dispel them of their erroneous thoughts and teach them the right way. As we read the Bible and prayerfully study it, we come to a new awareness of God and His ways and we find our wrong ideas or ways to be inconsistent with His will. We confess and correct our direction. The Bible is good for correcting.

Finally, the Bible is good for training in righteousness. Another word we can use for righteousness is holiness. We use the Bible as a training manual. When I hear the word “train,” I think of athletes or soldiers. I think of people who have a special task and a special duty. Accordingly, they spend hours and days and weeks in training, going over the things that will hone their skills for their particular task or duty. We use the Bible as a training manual. It sets the parameters of what it means to live a holy life and points us in the direction for holy living. We learn from its verses what it will take to become holy. The Bible is useful for training us for righteous, holy living.

3. It equips us for good works (17)

“so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” (v. 17).

Are you familiar with the phrase, “Never take a knife to a gunfight?” The idea is that we need to be properly equipped for the task at hand. A soldier doesn’t go into battle with the equipment he needs to allow him to do his or the task. A football player wouldn’t go on the field without his pads or helmet. A student isn’t equipped if he or she doesn’t have a pen and paper, or at least a fully-charged laptop.

Equipment is important for the successful completion of a task. This verse reminds us that God uses His Word to equip us for living a holy life. He uses the Bible to remind us that we are indwelt by the Holy Spirit, that we are always in the presence of Christ, and that we are assured of eternal life through Christ. He uses the Bible to teach us that we know Him personally because we have eternal life. He gives us guidance. He equips us.

It’s significant to not that God not uses Scripture to equip us, but He uses it to thoroughly equip us. God knows what it takes to follow His will in our world. He knows what we will face and what we will need. God gives us not only the equipment, but He enables us to be thoroughly equipped to do His will. How does He do this? By teaching, rebuking, correcting and training us. By showing us examples through those who are older in the faith, those who are strong in living out the faith.

This idea is that we are equipped for “every good work.” God gifts us through the Spirit with spiritual gifts. He enables us through the Spirit that reminds us of all that Christ has taught. This and so much more is given to us so that we can do everything He calls us to do.

Look at a football team. Each player is thoroughly equipped and trained, but it is very seldom that a player is called to do more than what his position calls for. A receiver may be called upon to catch a pass, but he may also be called upon to block on a play. That same receiver may be required to act as a runner on an end-around sweep. He needs to be aware of his role in a particular play, and be prepared to act out his roles as a receiver depending on the play and the way the play unfolds. While being a receiver, he needs to be prepared to do every good work.

In the same way, not all of us are called to be a jack of all trades in spiritual matters, but we do need to be aware of where God is leading us and how He wants to use us. As a member of the body of Christ, we each have our parts and our works. God uses His Scripture to thoroughly equip us for every good work.

Conclusion

There are a lot of good books in our world. Some of these books are inspirational, some hold a kernel of truth. We can find good in many forms of art.

There is only one book, though, that is God-breathed and can thoroughly equip us for every good work. We need the Bible because God uses it to teach us about Himself and about how we can relate to Him. He uses His inspired word to draw us closer to Him, and encourage us to live holy lives.

If we will live holy lives, we must study God’s Word. And we haven’t been doing so, we can begin today.