Greeting
Good morning. It is a joy to be with you this morning. Let me invite to turn to 2 Timothy 3:10-17. Our sermon text for this morning will be on 2 Timothy 3:16 in a message titled: “Why the Bible is the word of God.” While you’re turning there, I want to thank you and give glory to God for allowing me to be called to be your pastor. I have been looking forward over this journey to this day and so thankful for the Lord’s blessing and call. Thank you for your kindness to me, my, and the children. Thank you for making us feeling at home.
Introduction
Let me give a brief introduction of what is head. I would like to journey through a series of 12 grand texts of the Bible over the next 12 weeks as the Lord leads. There are several reasons for this. Originally, I had intentions to continue in the book of Hebrews, if you recall the sermons when I came over the past few months. Ordinarily, I would select a book of the bible and preach verse by verse exegetically. But I believe there are occasions to preach a series, and this is one of them given that we are in a sense starting off a fresh. I believe He wants us to have the big picture of the bible, or to see the forest from the 30,000 foot level before we go examine the individual trees. And lastly, I felt that if we get the foundation right from the beginning, we will be able to build from there on the rock solid ground of Jesus Christ and His Holy Word. Which brings us to the purpose of today’s message to lay the most important foundation of God’s word.
Scripture Reading
Let’s begin reading in verse 10. 2 Timothy 3:10-4:2.
10 You, however, have followed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness, 11 my persecutions and sufferings that happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, and at Lystra—which persecutions I endured; yet from them all the Lord rescued me. 12 Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, 13 while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. 14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it 15 and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. 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: 2 preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.”
Prayer
Great God in heaven and earth, we come before you, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, praising your holy name. Now as we come under the ministry of your holy word, I ask that you would so move in the hearts, minds, and very souls of your people, the church of the Lord Jesus Christ, whom He purchased with his previous blood, to cause us all to believe with unshakable faith, that all the scriptures were given by your breath, that the whole council of your word is true. Awaken dead hearts by the power of your spirit and grant that your gospel be proclaimed, the life, death, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, who rules and reigns in heaven as the only mediator between God and man. Give us ears to hear from you we pray and bless your church here oh God, for your sake, and kingdom, in the name of Jesus, the only wise God and King of Kings and Lord of Lords, Amen. Amen.
Dear Congregation
Dear Congregation. Thus saith the Lord. It is written. God has spoken. God has revealed Himself. Long ago at many times and in many ways God spoke, but in these last days God has spoken by His Son. The spoken word of God has taken on human flesh, Jesus Christ our Lord. This Jesus, the eternal Son of God has been crucified and raised from the dead, according to the scriptures. Dear brothers and sisters. This gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ is revealed to us in God’s holy word.
All Scripture is God’s holy word. All scripture both the Old (OT) and New Testaments (NT) are the means God has chosen to reveal himself and the gospel of Jesus Christ. All scripture has been breathed out by God. It is a masterpiece. Every jot and tiddle, every iota, every word is the very word of almighty God. His word is eternally fixed in the heavens and not one word will pass away until all is accomplished. The Bible is profitable for us. There are methods of teaching, correction, reproof, and training in righteousness that God uses. God has revealed Himself to the church in such a time as this through the Bible. This mighty book of all books and contained within it is the everlasting gospel of salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, the only name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.
Over the centuries, despite sufferings and attacks, the Bible has been preserved by the sovereign King of kings. For nearly a millennia, the church was in darkness under the yoke of Roman Catholic Popery.God brought Reformation and that was led by a recovery of the doctrine of the word of God, that led to the puritan era and our Baptist forefathers. Our 17th century Baptist forefather’s were no strangers to persecution, error, and tyrannical governments. In the first chapter they confessed the doctrine of the word of God. Of the scriptures: Here’s what they codified in their confession and what we confess with them:
“The Holy Scripture is the only sufficient, certain, and infallible rule of all saving knowledge, faith, and obedience…it pleased the Lord at sundry times and in diversified manners to reveal Himself, and to declare (that) His will unto His church;3 and afterward for the better preserving and propagating of the truth, and for the more sure establishment and comfort of the church against the corruption of the flesh, and the malice of Satan, and of the world, to commit the same wholly unto writing; which makes the Holy Scriptures to be most necessary, those former ways of God’s revealing His will unto His people being now completed.4“
With the recovery of scripture God brought the Great Awakenings that blessed America with spiritual outpouring and evangelical gospel preaching over the next few centuries. In our day, attacks on God’s word and God’s people continue in different ways. Satan repackages his attacks. We are surrounded by false teaching, error, and the likelihood of increased Christian persecution. Consider popular psychology – A downgrade in the word of God leads to a downgrade in preaching. Preaching has been reduced to self-help pop-psychology messages that have little to no biblical substance.Take away pulpits and set up tables and TED talks that pry on the emotions. The thread of persecution – Even in the past few years, the government was able to almost overnight shutdown every church across the country. In other countries, such as Canada, pastors were fined and arrested for allowing their congregations to continue to meet. Finally, cultural ideology and empty philosophy – the false religion of our day is the secular states obsession with abortion, ethnicity, gender ideology, the sexual revolution, and political polarization. Churches in our day who refuse to bow the knee to the culture may find themselves in isolation or persecution of the state.
Background
Paul recalling their longstanding friendship and partnership in the ministry, Paul longed to see Timothy. “As I remember your tears, I long to see you, that I may be filled with joy. I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now I am sure, dwells in you as well. (2 Timothy 1:4-5). Paul directs Timothy to come to Rome, “Do your best to come to me soon (2 Tim. 4:9).
Paul also writes to encourage Timothy in the gospel, “Therefore, do not to be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor Paul his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savoir Jesus Christ, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, for which I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher which is why I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have delivered, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that day what has been entrusted to me” (2 Timothy 1:8-12). The purpose of Paul’s writing is a final word of encouragement and commissioning to preach the word of God.
Context
In the context of chapter 3, we see that Timothy was an eye-witness and of Paul’s persecutions and that false teaching confronting the early 1st century church. Paul warns Timothy to stick close to the truth (v. 13). This is why he tells Timothy to keep close to the scriptures and the things he’s learned (v. 14-15) even from his childhood. Despite Paul’s imprisonment, sufferings, and soon appointed execution, it struck me how confident Paul is in the scriptures. He stakes his life and eternity on them and the gospel. With that brief background and context in mind, look at the words “all scripture” in verse 16. As we consider the question before us, why the Bible is the word of God? Because:
1. It is a Masterpiece: The Bible is a God-breathed Masterpiece
The Bible is a God breathed masterpiece authored by God. The whole Bible, OT and NT. Look back at verse 16. What is meant by “breathed out by God”. It means that the word of God is inspired by God. In the original, “theo-pneustos” More literally, it is the expiration of God. The very breath of God. Not just portions of it, but down to the individual words.
There are several reasons why the bible is the word of God. Since the Bible is the breath of God, it is:
It is inspired
it is authoritative
it is infallible
It is sufficient
How can we tell scripture was inspired by God?
Consider the majesty of its style, it’s truth, it’s purity, the sublimity, the doctrines contained in it, the incarnation, the mediatorship of Christ, the virgin birth, the atonement, resurrection. The great end of the scriptures is the glory of God and the salvation and holiness of God’s people, the church. It is a hammer that crushes the hardness of man’s heart, it is a sword that pierces into the soul, it produces faith it the hearts of God’s people, encouragement in the darkest night, the word of God always triumphs over the kingdom of darkness. How do you account for the historical reliability? We have over 6,000 manuscripts of the NT. If you look at the next closest work of literature from antiquity, we only have a dozen manuscripts on the gallic wars.How do you explain the harmony of all the parts of the law, the prophets, the historical books, over nearly two thousand years, the gospels, the letters, 40 different authors, many of whom of the NT were martyred for faith in Jesus Christ?Look at the many more martyrs in every age of Church history that would not have suffered the cruelest deaths if the scriptures were not the word of the living God.
Look at the power of the word of God on the minds of men who converted to Christianity. Listen to the prophecies that have come to pass and the test of time. The scripture has been preserved over centuries for God’s people. Since all scripture is God breathed, it has the authority of God. It is authoritative. The Roman Catholics taught that that church has the authority. God brought reformation and they preached Sola scriptura. The Scriptures alone have the authority of God, not the church, not the Pope. At the heart of the gospel is Christ’s saving work was accomplished according to the scriptures (1 Cor. 15:3-4).
All scriptures is God’s word because it is infallible. That is it is entirely true. Jesus said to the Father, thy word is truth. God’s word is true because God cannot lie (Heb. 6:18). “Your righteousness is righteous forever, and your law is true” (Psalm 119:142). “The sum of your word is truth, and every one of your righteous rules endures forever.” (Psalm 119:160)It will endure forever. Heaven and earth will pass away, but Jesus said, my words shall never pass away (Matt. 24:35). John wrote that he saw the Lord, of which he was writing, he was testifying, “that which we have heard, which we have seen with our own eyes, of the Word of life, we declare unto you” (1 John 1:1). God’s word is true because Jesus didn’t just appear to one man after the resurrection. He appeared to many men and women. Not over a day but a period of forty days.
How do you explain the genealogies fulfilled about the promised Messiah, the seed of the woman according to promise, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, through the line of Abraham and David, born of a virgin? All scripture is God’s word because of its clarity. It is clear enough for a child to understand. “The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.” Psalm 19:7 All scripture is God’s word and it is therefore sufficient for your life and salvation. Paul wrote to Timothy, “that from a child thou hast known the holy Scriptures, which as able to make you wise unto salvation” (2 Tim. 3:15).
2. The Method: All Scripture is Profitable
What use is the Bible to us? God’s word is profitable. Look at verse 16. All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable or useful for teaching, reproof, correction, training in righteousness. This is the aim of scripture. To teach us, reproof us, correct us, and train us in righteousness. This is one of the chief aims of the great commission. “Make disciples of all the nations baptizing in the name of the father, the son, and the holy Spirit, teaching them to obey all that I have commanded ” (Matt. 28).
Scripture is profitable or useful for reproof. How did our Lord reprove the devil in temptation? “It is written.” Scripture is profitable or useful for correction. Scripture is able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Jesus Christ (2 Tim. 3:10). The scripture contains the gospel of your salvation. The whole bible from beginning to end is centered upon the only mediator Jesus Christ. Can we convince people the Bible is true? No, they must be born again. God’s word is an incorruptible seed. It is the seed of which we are born again. 1 Peter 1:23. Our faith is not in the arguments of man. It is in the word of God. Paul said, “My speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: that your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God” (1 Cor. 2:4-5). Faith comes by hearing and hearing of the word of Christ.
3. Closing Applications
Listen to the preaching of God’s word. How do we listen? Prepare to hear God’s word the night before. In prayer and preparing for worship. Don’t stay up late. Get your affairs in order for the week before the Lord’s day. Come to church listening attentively. Receive it with meekness and joy. Be willing to be challenge, reproved, and corrected. Retain it. Don’t let your mind wander during the sermon. Internalize the word. Don’t just take notes and never internalize it. The sermon is not a lecture to take notes for a test. They are words of the living God from Christ. The word of God is heavenly mana. Take hold of God’s word. Shake it like a tree that fruit will fall down for you to eat. Practice. Live out the sermon.
“The scriptures teach us the noblest way of living, the best way of suffering, the most comfortable way of dying.”
John Flavel
The Holy Spirit – Beg the holy spirit to help you to hear and to do. “The scripture is the library of the Holy Spirit.”
Thomas Watson
Come to the sermon like it’s the last you may ever hear. Let it take root in your heart after the sermon by the Holy Spirit’s work. If you go from the sermon and race of to some secular activity, how will the seed scattered take root on good ground? Will it take root if the seeds are choked out by the cares of the world? If before during and after the sermon, the cares of this temporal world creep in, then the word preached may harden your heart. Put the Word into evangelistic practice through…
Good works – “…that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work” (2 Tim. 3:17).
Have a zeal for missions – have a missionary mindset cultivated by the word of God. Those without Christ are perishing. We must be winsome in our words and actions that the church would burn with urgent zeal for reaching the lost. This is why we preach Christ every Lord’s day. This is why we have Sunday school and VBS. This is why we are salty in our conversation with family members and coworkers. We want to win souls to Christ. This is why we pray for missions and for revival.
Benediction
Yes, Jesus loves me, Yes, Jesus loves me, Yes, Jesus loves me, for the Bible tells me so.
16 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.”
Amen