The Power of the Bible (2 Timothy 3:15-17)

The Power of the Bible (2 Timothy 3:15-17)

 

15 And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

17 That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.

 

Intro)

 

1. Today's scripture is from the second of two letters the Apostle Paul wrote to his beloved son of faith, Timothy.

 

When Paul wrote this letter, he was a prisoner in Rome and Timothy was serving an Ephesian church. Of Paul's earnest advice laid out in his letter, he implores that Timothy "2 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season..." In other words, he tells Timothy to preach and spread the Word of God, at any time anywhere.

 

Wherever Paul went, he always preached God's Word and the Bible. Today's scripture tells us why we must also follow this path.

 

Body)

 

1. Wisdom for Salvation

 

Timothy learned about faith, the Bible, and Jesus from a young age. The Bible in particular is what led Timothy to Jesus and salvation, everlasting life, and Heaven. The Bible taught Timothy how to be a child of God.

 

1 Peter 2:2 says, "2 As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:" only when we read and learn the Bible will we find the path the salvation.

 

The verse above tells us that the Word is like milk for a newborn. It tells us everything we need to know about Jesus from why he came, why he died, how he died, when he will return, how he will return, and even his appearance. We can gain salvation and a place in Heaven just from reading and learning the Bible properly.

 

Treat the Bible as the precious source of life it is. It is a gift that instructs us on how to obtain the ultimate gift of eternal life.

 

2. Instruction in Righteousness

 

The world grows more evil by the day. Information and material wealth grows ever more abundant, yet these things drive us farther away from God and we become more and more corrupt. But why? It is because we become spiritually ill and turn to the great discoveries and developments of the world rather than turn to God.

 

2 Timothy 3:2 says, "2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy..." What we all need most desperately in today's time is the Bible. The Bible teaches us how to decipher right from wrong; good from evil.

 

The trouble is that our children, and even we ourselves, don't know the Bible as well as we should. We should be the ones teaching our children about the Bible and its infinite wisdom, yet we brush this duty aside because we, too, know little about it, find it dull, or we just have no interest.

 

A pastor at the onnuri Church in Seoul told this story:

A deaconess served onnuri Church for 30 years, despite the disapproval and threats of her husband. During these 30 years, she admitted that the most difficult part was when she would walk out the door to go to church with her Bible in her hand. Whenever her husband saw her leaving with the Bible, he would mock her saying, "You've been carrying that Bible around for 30 years, and you still haven't memorized it? It's not like it covers a wide range of topics! It's a book about one thing!"

 

Of course, this was a statement of ignorance by a man who knew nothing about God or the Bible. However, his statement isn't completely false: There are indeed Christians who have served and carried a Bible with them for decades, yet they don't know much about the book in their own hands.

 

You can't say you truly know God if you don't know the Bible. If you don't know and understand the Bible you can't know or understand God's plans, His will, or His heart. You can be at church serving, sharing in fellowship, and volunteering every single week, but if you don't know the Bible your interest isn't truly focused in God; it's focused on the activities you participate in.

 

We must all make the active decision to read, learn, and understand the Bible thoroughly. We must live by the Bible and meet our Lord our God in a meaningful way.

 

Hosea 6:3 says, "3 Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the Lord: his going forth is prepared as the morning; and he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth."

 

During the time of Hosea, the Israelites had fallen to worshipping an idol of a golden calf because they did not know God's Word. And so they were destroyed. God had clearly instructed the Israelites through Moses to live by His Word and they would be granted happiness. But the Israelites were less interested in God's Word and promises and instead sought after worldly riches and a god they could see and touch. And as a result, they met their demise.

 

2 Timothy 3:16 says, "16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:" The Bible is written by the inspiration of God. Its words are His Words directly from Him. It is not a fictional creation of the Bible's writers. It is a collection of instructions and lessons on how we can live a joyful life from God Himself. The Bible nourishes our spirits and teaches us to be righteous.

 

3. Provision for All Good Deeds

 

Example 1) There was a soldier who was known for being a Christian and was often mocked for it. one evening a different soldier was ridiculing the Christian soldier and smacked him across the face with his boot and then remarked, "Don't you Christians say that if someone slaps you, you let them slap you on the other side as well?" The Christian soldier didn't retaliate.

 

The next day the soldier that hit the Christian soldier woke up and found that his boots had been cleaned and shined. He didn't need to be told who had done it. From then on, the soldier respected the Christian soldier.

 

Most of us in this world try to live kindly and righteously. We don't want to sin intentionally. But things are easier said than done; we don't have the ability to live a kind life and do good things because we are all at the mercy of Satan. We are all tied to the chains of sin. The only way to free ourselves of these chains is through the Bible.

 

2 Timothy 3:17 reads, "17 That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works."

 

The path to becoming a whole person before God is in the Bible. The Bible plants seeds of goodness in our hearts. The Bible blesses us with God's grace and allows us live like Jesus.

 

Example 2) A young student in shabby clothes was going door to door selling books in Maryland. one day the young man knocked on the door of a house when a young girl answered. She saw he was selling books and quickly remarked, "I'm sorry, we can't afford to buy any books from you."

 

The young man wiped the sweat from his brow and asked the girl for a cup of milk. The girl gladly obliged and brought out two glasses of cold milk for the young man to drink. Touched by the poor girl's generosity, the student wrote her name down.

 

Twenty years later, the now grown young girl was admitted to the emergency room on the brink of death. Hospital Director Howard Kelly and his medical team immediately treated her and saved her life. When she awoke the woman was distraught upon seeing the bill was over $10,000.00. She was concerned about her financial situation when she saw on the back of the bill was a short note:

 

"This bill was paid for 20 years ago when you selflessly gave me two glasses of milk." Howard Kelly was the poor young man she helped all those years ago. Good deeds never go unrewarded. If we aren't rewarded for our good deeds while on this earth, we will in Heaven. The good work we do is often more beautiful when conducted in secret.

 

2 Corinthians 9:8, "8 And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work:"

 

Example 3) During the Presidential election in 2000 Bush and Gore once spoke about how often they read the Bible. Bush proudly announced that he read the Bible cover to cover at least once a year. Al Gore responded that he was raised in the Christian faith since his youth so he had abundant knowledge about the Bible and had never had a scandal. Both of the candidates were Christians.

 

In Korea the president is sworn in with his/her hand placed upon a constitution book. In the United States, the president places his/her hand on the Bible. The same Bible George Washington used at his inauguration is still in use today on special occasions. The Bible is the greatest book God has gifted us.

 

Many great figures in history were inspired and compelled to do great things after reading the Bible: Martin Luther led the Reformation; John Wesley started a great revival in Britain; gang leader Ik-doo Kim became a pastor; Augustine became a saint; Schweitzer went to Africa; Queen Elizabeth declared that Britain's greatness lies in the Bible; Lincoln freed the slaves and won the Civil War; the US was built on the Bible and became the world's strongest power. God's Word strengthens the weak and completes us, and only the Bible has the power to do it.

 

Verse 17 of today's scripture says, "That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works." only the Bible can complete us so that we are "perfect [and], thoroughly furnished..." and it is achieved through salvation and our education of His Word.

 

No study or educational book in the world will make you whole before God; only the Bible has that power. No matter how hard we work, if we distance ourselves from the Bible, we can never truly be God's children; we will always come up short. only the Bible can guide us and teach us to wholeness, righteousness, and salvation.

 

Con)

The Bible has consistently been the bestselling book across the world, across time. The Bible revives a person's soul. Through the Bible we meet God and Jesus, and through Jesus we receive salvation. The Bible is the source of all blessings. The Bible is our treasured gift from God and should be our most treasured possession we pass down from generation to generation.

 

Keep the Bible close and active in your life. Read it, meditate on it, learn it, teach it, and love it. Through the Bible, let us all become whole before the Lord and live a blessed life.

 

091017 by Ik sun Ahn