Continue in God’s Word and preach God’s Word because it is God’s Word

As a courtesy I’m going to tell you that my time here at this church is temporary. I should also let you know that your time here at this church is temporary. In fact, the very existence of this specific church is temporary. The jobs we take, the things we construct, the institutions we create, and the kingdoms we build are all temporary. 1 Peter 1:24-25 tells us, “All flesh is like grass and its glory like the flower of the grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord remains forever. And this word is the good news that was preached to you.”

Because of this, I want to build this ministry on God’s Word. I want us to be reading it, hearing it, singing it, and talking about it. These other distractions won’t last. And so today I’m starting a brief 4-week series on the Bible: its authority, its clarity, its sufficiency, and its necessity.

Authority is where we’ll start today, and it’s a difficult place to start, because we live in a culture that is suspicious of all authority. We question every leader. Unfortunately, this general attitude has caused us at times to be suspicious of God himself and especially of his Word the Bible.

Let me warn you that today I’m going to challenge you to spend regular time in God’s Word and I promise you that your heart is going to come up with every conceivable excuse as to why you are unique and you don’t have to. But please be on guard against that.

Our sermon today will take place in 2 Timothy 3:14 - 4:4. Here is the main point for our sermon today.

Main Point – Continue in God’s Word and preach God’s Word because it is God’s Word

Let’s read the passage and I want you to look for that language of continuing  in and preaching God’s Word. There are several synonyms here for God’s Word - the sacred writings, Scripture, the word, the truth, but they all refer to the Bible.

Read Text – 2 Tim. 3:14-4:4

Prayer

Let me start with the first thing that might sound obvious to you, but its truth is often forgotten.

Point #1 – The Bible is God’s Word (3:16a)

Look at verse 16. It opens with “All Scripture is God-breathed”. The word translated here as God-breathed is “theopneustos”. And it’s a unique word. As far as scholars can tell there are no records of it ever being used in any written form before Paul writes this letter to Timothy. But its meaning is abundantly clear. Paul combined two words: the name God and the verb breathe. You don’t have to be a scholar to figure out what he’s saying. These words, the words of scripture have come from the very mouth of God. Just like a man is the only person who can be the source of his own breath, so God is the only one who can be the source of these words. They are God-breathed which means they have come from him personally.

Now why is Paul telling his readers this? What does it matter that these written words (the word “scripture here means words written down”) have come directly from God? Why should it matter to us that this is God’s Word? I think Paul’s making at least two simple assumptions.

1. If God speaks, we must listen and obey -

We live in a world that is suspicious of all authority and even rebellious of all authority. The unwritten mantra of our culture is “No one can tell me what to do with my life”.

You are all familiar with the political movement based on the phrase “my body, my choice”. It exposes the belief that there is no authority outside of me. Therefore, I get to determine what is wise. I get to determine what is moral. I get to determine what my purpose is. I am the only authority of me. It is evidently plain that this type of thinking leads to chaos. When there is no king, everyone does what is right in their own eyes. And for many of us it is easy to look at others and see how they shipwrecked their lives by attempting to be their own authority.

But what about us? Do we as Christians act like we are our own authority? You may wake up on Sunday and say, “Do I want to go to church today?” If you’re your own authority, you get to decide whether gathering with God’s saints and sitting under his word is worth your time. You may ask yourself, “Do I want to serve God’s people with generosity and hospitality? Or would I rather isolate and keep to myself?” If your highest authority is you then that’s a decision that you get to make. Paul tells us the Bible is God’s Word to remind us that its commands are not optional, but are an authority over us.

1. The second assumption Paul makes is that the written word of God carries the same exact authority as the spoken word of God.

God doesn’t lose his wisdom, power, or authority simply because he had his words written down.

There have been times when boys have been playing outside and I sent one of the younger ones to call them in for dinner. My 5-year-old comes back and says “They aren’t coming inside”. So I tell him to go out again and this time say, “Daddy says, it’s time to come inside”. When the older ones hear this, they come running. I wasn’t myself on the porch calling them, but I sent a representative who carries the full weight of my words. And my older boys recognized that if they ignored or disobeyed the voice of my representative, it would be as if they were ignoring or disobeying me directly.

If you’re like me, you may have wished at times that God would open up the heavens and speak directly to you out of the skies, a big booming voice that tells you exactly what to do. Wouldn’t that carry more authority? Wouldn’t that feel so much more meaningful? Well, it might feel more meaningful, but I assure you it would not somehow become more authoritative, and more importantly we would be no more inclined to obey it.

Do you remember when God gave Israel the 10 Commandments? It’s a great passage. It’s in Exodus 20 and it describes God as appearing on Mt. Sinai in a terrifying display of power. There is a black cloud that descends on the top of the mountain. Trumpet blasts are coming from no visible source. God himself descends onto the mountain in a raging fire. If there were any living things on that mountaintop, plant or animal, they most certainly did not survive God’s awesome presence. If this weren’t enough, smoke was ascending as high as anyone could see, the crash of thunder and flash of lightning was repeatedly filling the sky. Even the ground itself was shaking. The trumpet grew louder and louder and then God’s own voice boomed from the mountain. “I am the LORD your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.” He goes on to speak from heaven the 10 Commandments to the people: Don’t murder. Don’t commit adultery. Don’t steal. Remember the Sabbath. Don’t make idols. God could not have spoken more directly or more plainly as to what he expected of these people. And yet what happens? In a very short period of time, these people break each and every one of these commandments. How pathetic.

But… do you think you would be different? If you’re wishing to hear the audible voice of God, then you’re assuming you would do better than this entire nation of people. They heard his voice and were in awe, but then they turned around and disobeyed it anyway. Each of us would do the same. Jesus himself confirms this.

In Luke 16, he tells the story of a rich man and Lazarus the poor beggar. Both of them die. Lazarus is taken to heaven and the rich man is sent to hell. The rich man can see Abraham in heaven and he begs him, “Please send Lazarus back from the dead to warn my 5 brothers so that they don’t come here.” But Abraham responds, “They have the Scriptures. Let them read it.” But the rich man insists, “No, but if only someone would come back from the dead then they would repent.” Jesus concludes the story with Abraham saying, “If they won’t listen to the Scriptures, they wouldn’t even listen if a man came back from the dead”

Church, this book you hold in your hands is the Word of God. Nothing could ever happen to make this become more authoritative or more true. It is the very Word of God. You don’t need a word or a sign from the heavens. You don’t need to witness a miracle. What you need is to open these pages and submit to the God of the universe who has spoken them. “All Scripture is God-breathed.” The Bible is God’s Word.

So what should we do with it? Shane, if what you’ve said is true, and I’m holding the words of the almighty Creator of the universe in my hands, what should I do about it?

Point #2 – Continue in God’s Word (vs. 14-15)

Paul is writing these words to Timothy who is his protege. He’s familiar with Timothy’s life and with his story. Timothy had a Greek father but a Jewish mother who was a believer. Her name was Eunice. And like a good Christian mama, Eunice taught little Timmy the Bible from the day he was born. And Eunice had a good mentor of her own. Her mother’s name was Lois. And Lois had taught Eunice the scriptures. Timothy is a third generation believer. He is incredibly familiar with God’s Word. He probably grew up doing his Bible buddies and Bible drills on Sunday nights. He could tell you every book of the Bible forwards and backwards. I really identify with Timothy here because that’s the same exact environment that I grew up in. And coincidentally, my grandmother’s name was also Lois. I pray that one day my boys can say they experienced this same kind of blessed familiarity with the Scriptures since they were born. But with such a great blessing, there also comes a great temptation. The temptation is this - “I don’t need to read God’s Word anymore, because I already know what it says.” I’ve read it before. Why should I read it again? Some of us have become so familiar with the Bible that it’s no longer fascinating to us.

It’s like having a membership at the zoo. The first time you go you're amazed at how beautiful the peacocks and tigers are. The size of the rhinos and elephants is mind-boggling and the monkeys are hilariously entertaining. But after you go three, four, or twenty times. Suddenly it’s not that impressive. “Look! It’s a giant rhino.” “Meh.” “Look at this 20 foot long snake!” “Nah, I’ve seen it before.” We’ve seen it all before. The wonder is gone and we’re more interested in our phone than a silverback gorilla.

This is the same temptation that each of us faces in our own hearts when it comes to Scripture. “The almighty God of the universe is speaking to you.” “Meh. I’ve read it before. I’d rather hear something new.”

This isn’t a new temptation. Paul knew that Timothy would face it and so what is his command to him? He says, “Continue in what you have learned”. Don’t quit. Don’t move on to something new. Don’t let it collect dust on your shelf. Continue learning it and believing it. And because Timothy is just like us and would ask the question “If I’ve read it before and I’ve already believed it, why should I continue in it?” Paul gives him two reasons for continuing. He says first, “Because you know from whom you learned it and have been acquainted with the sacred writings from childhood.” And second he says, “they are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.”

1. Let’s discuss his first reason that Timothy (and that you) should continue in the Scriptures. Paul says that Timothy should remember whom he learned the Scriptures from. Ok. We know who that was. He learned it from Lois and Eunice, his grandmother and his mother. Paul saw these women as reputable examples of godly living. He looked at the outcome of their lives and said these two women have devoted themselves to continuing in God’s Word and do you see what the outcome has been? They are pillars of the church. They have impacted generations after them. Their faith is respected by all and their love and good works are evident everywhere. Do you see how God’s Word has transformed the lives that came before you?

Continuing in God’s Word has very visible effects on a person’s life and if you’re a part of this church, you’ve met some people whose lives have been transformed by it. Think about them. I’ve been meeting with people the past few weeks and hearing about saints who have had a lasting impact on the people here. Should I name their names?  Some of them are still around and some aren’t. Here we go: Virginia Eskew, Alma Carroll, Nell Gunner, Butch and Glenda Riddle, and there’s countless others whom I haven’t heard of or met yet. But I know how they all became so influential. They didn’t believe the lie that “I don’t need to spend time in God’s Word because I already read it”. Rather their lives were transformed by continuing in it. Reading it. Loving it. Sharing it. Hebrews 13:7 sums this up perfectly; it says, “Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith.”

1. The second reason Paul gives Timothy (and us) to continue in the scriptures is because they “are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.” Now this is a fascinating reason. In one short sentence Paul has given us the purpose and goal of the entirety of Scripture. Why did God give us this big giant book? What’s the point of sharing his words with us at all?

   1. I’ll tell you a few things that God did not give us this book for. He did not give us his word so that you could be healthy, wealthy, and happy. God didn’t look down on a humanity that was lost in sin, who were destroying themselves, whose every thought in their hearts was only evil continually and say, “Their biggest need is to have a bit more comfort in their lives. I better explain to them how they can avoid pain and have more ease.” Many people think that’s what this book is about. It’s not.

   2. God didn’t give us this book so that we could impress people with our knowledge of trivia. I’m sure there are some folks in here that could win every Bible quiz game you could imagine because they know all of the little obscure facts in this book and they’re really impressive. God’s purpose in giving us this book wasn’t so that we could store up useless knowledge. Paul tells us what the book is for and why we should continue in it.

   3. It’s because it is able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. Of course you say in reply, “but Brother Shane, I’m already saved through faith in Christ Jesus.” Well guess what friend? So was Timothy! Not only was Timothy saved, but he was the pastor of his church! The words used in this verse are very specific. He doesn’t say continue in the Scriptures because they can make someone else wise for salvation. He doesn’t say continue in the Scriptures because it can make you and all your church wise for salvation. He says it singularly to Timothy. You, Timothy. You, person who has already read the Bible, who teaches the Bible, who is saved, you. You need to continue in the scriptures because they are able to make you wise for salvation.

   4. Now why does Timothy of all people need to become “wise for salvation”? Now while this might be unclear for us, I don’t think it was at all unclear for Timothy. And the reason is that over the past couple hundred years in America we have developed a very narrow meaning of the word salvation. Salvation all throughout the Bible and all through the history of the church has meant a very big thing, but we’ve made it narrow. When we talk about being saved, we often are referring to the time when we walked an aisle or prayed a prayer asking for forgiveness of our sins and expressed our faith in Christ. As a result, God has forgiven us of our sins and when we die we will be with him forever in heaven. That’s what we mean by salvation. And praise God all of that is true. Anyone who repents of their sin and places faith in Christ will be saved from the penalty of sin in hell. But the way the Bible talks about salvation includes much more. You see, even though you have been saved from the penalty of your sin, you recognize that sin still has an effect on you, don’t you? Your heart is still drawn towards it. You are still being deceived and charmed by it. Sin won’t ultimately defeat you in death, but it is still trying its best to punish you and enslave you now. Each and every one of us has a great need to be saved from sin’s power that’s still present in our life. When talking about the battle sin wages in our hearts, Paul cries out in Romans 7 “Who will deliver me from this body of death?!”We have all felt this desire to be saved from sin’s deathly power. Where will we find it? There is only one place. In the Scriptures. They can make you wise for salvation from sin’s power through faith in Christ Jesus. Paul tells us this is exactly what he means in the next verse. “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” That’s what the scripture does. It trains you in righteousness and equips you to be saved from sin’s power.

So continue in God’s Word. You’ve seen how it has transformed the lives of those you know. It’s the only possible way to transform your life. Continue in God’s Word.

But Paul isn’t content for us simply to study God’s Word in our own private quiet time and then just keep it to ourselves. But if this is the true word from the very real God in heaven who has authority over all creation, then we must share it with others.

Point #3 – Preach God’s Word (4:1-2)

His command to Timothy is pretty straightforward: “Preach the Word,” but man he really takes his time getting there. It seems like he’s trying to sound really threatening and intimidating, right? “I charge you in the presence of God!” If you’re a parent you might have said something like this, “I swear to you in the name of God almighty and all things that are heavenly and holy you had better clean up this mess or you’ll be sorry.” But I think there’s more going on than just that. He’s challenging Timothy that if he is going to live in a way that is consistent with what he believes, it must result in him sharing God’s Word with others. So let’s break down verse 1 one phrase at a time.

“I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus” - he’s telling Timothy to consider God who was just mentioned as the one who has breathed out this Scripture. Think about him. He is the Creator of the universe who carries all the authority. Also consider Christ Jesus who was just mentioned as the one who can provide us salvation. Faith in him is the only means of being saved from our sins. Consider this person.

“Who is to judge the living and the dead” - This God is the judge of all creation. It doesn’t matter if you are alive or dead, you will face the judge. And what is it that he’s judging? One of the things he’s judging is whether or not you will be saved. Did you submit to his authority as expressed in this book? Because this book is not full of suggestions. It’s not a self-help book about how to be happier and more comfortable. Do you remember Jesus’ parable in the book of Luke. It’s in chapter 12. I’m going to read it because it’s so relevant.

READ LUKE 12:42-47

Church, we have been given the master’s will, all of it, in our hands. He is the judge, who judges the living and the dead. That means you, but it also means your children. It means your grandchildren. It means your spouse. It means your neighbor. It means your co-worker. It means the person you pass in the grocery store. Every single one of them will give an account to the Master and every single one of them is responsible to submit to his will.

“And by his appearing” - this person is coming back. The one who wrote this book is going to come back. We cannot delay. That parable we just read reminds us that the Master will return when we least expect it. We cannot wait until later. There might not be a later. The Master will return like a thief in the night. Christ the judge, the master, the one who has left his will for us to follow will return and will he find us obeying it?

“And his kingdom” - when Christ the judge returns, he will set up his kingdom. He will reign eternally. As a king, those subjects who are loyal to the throne will be a part of his kingdom, but those who have failed to submit will be cast out forever. There is not a second chance. The king will reign and he only wants servants who are faithful to him. “But!” you might object, “That doesn’t sound very gracious or merciful. How can God be a loving God full of grace and mercy and cast people out without a second chance?” Friends… today is your chance. He’s being gracious to you right now. Now is your chance to submit to the authority of the king. Take it. Because he is the judge. He is returning. And he will set up his kingdom when he does.

Paul gives this heavy charge to Timothy, “I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead and by his appearing and his kingdom” What should we do as a result of this truth? Preach the word. Always look for opportunities. Do it when it’s easy and do it when it’s difficult. Know the master’s will and share it with everyone around you. Do it “with patience and teaching”. What does that mean? It means do it continually over a long period of time. It takes a long time to teach in a way that others understand. It must be a regular habit.

When you wake up in the morning, read your Bible. When you’re sitting at the table with your family. Talk to them about the Bible. When you’re listening to the radio or a podcast while you’re working, listen to things that fill your mind with the Bible. We want to be servants found doing the master’s will when he returns and he is graciously and mercifully giving us this opportunity right now. Let’s use it.

Transition - Paul concludes this passage with a final warning in verses 3-4

Final Warning - What falling away looks like (vs. 3-4)

There is a genuine danger for those who call themselves Christians to abandon God’s Word, to ignore and reject his authority. Paul predicts it here and in the thousands of years since then it has happened over and over again. It not only can happen to people in this very church, but I’m confident that it will happen to people sitting here this morning. Sadly, some of you will fall away. How will it happen? Paul lays out the progression for us in four steps.

1. “People will not endure sound teaching” - you will look at the clear teaching of Scripture and say, “I don’t like that” or “That’s not the type of God I want to follow” or perhaps you’ll say “That’s too difficult. I don’t want to have to do that.”

2. “Accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions” - You will gather your own teachers, you will find other people who agree with you. In the age of the internet, it’s extremely easy to find other people who have the same complaints as you. There are authors of books and blogs that are just a click away who will validate all of your distaste for God’s Word. Step 2 is surrounding yourself with them.

3. “Turn away from listening to the truth” - the words taught by Bible believing Christians will seem increasingly painful to you. You might even refer to them as dangerous and harmful. Because of this you will stop reading your Bible. You will stop listening to people who teach the Bible. You have your own teachers who validate you and you will simply listen to them instead.

4. “Wander off into myths” - You will place your hope in falsehoods. You will chase after a world built as you wish it would be. You will pursue a fairy tale where you have done nothing wrong, you don’t need to be challenged or changed or saved, and a life led by your own personal wisdom will lead to paradise.

And this end is because you’ve failed to recognize the authority bound up in this book and have made yourself the authority.

Friends, when I tell you to spend time in God’s Word and submit to God’s Word. I’m not trying to place a burden on you. I’m trying to relieve you of the burden of being your own authority. Living your life by your own wisdom and for your own ends will crush you. And one day when the Master returns, it will damn you. The Word Christ presents to you is grace. It is salvation. It is a blessing. It is mercy and forgiveness. And our sinful stubbornness to rule ourselves would sever us from all of that. Repent from a stubborn heart and receive the blessing of God’s authoritative Word.

Church, look at your Bibles. Did I deliver to you God’s Words today or did I deliver my own? Because if what you heard this morning is true then it carries all the authoritative weight of God himself and we must continue in God’s Word and preach God’s Word because it is God’s Word.

PRAYER