“Something to be Very Thankful For” 2 Timothy 3:15-17

Well, take your Bible and turn with me back to 2 Timothy chapter 3. 2 Timothy chapter 3. We’ve been going through 1 and 2 Timothy. We do look at this time of special words of wisdom from the old guy to the young guy. Well, the young guy is somewhere out in the Atlantic Ocean just eating his heart out on a cruise ship on a well-deserved vacation time and celebration of their anniversary.

And so it’s fitting in a sense that we come to this one because when he, that is Pastor Ryan, came, we drilled him, I drilled him, deacons and elders drilled him and as a congregation and being here for the last three years, something like that, that that we understand and know his doctrine of the scriptures. But as we come to this passage, it’s a reminder. We’ve already seen a couple of times Paul has told Timothy to stir up the mind of remembrance. And so some things we just need to be reminded of and to come back to. And we’re going to do that this morning. And we as Christians. Should be the most thankful people on the face of the earth. It is good to give thanks unto the Lord, the psalmist says in several places. It is fitting. Let the rejoice, let the the chosen of the Lord, let the people of God. Declare. And say so of the many blessings and things as we rejoice, let the redeemed of the Lord say so. And so we ought to be a thankful people.

Last Sunday night, Pastor Ryan had a wonderful message on Psalm 92 and how to be thankful. But we have so much to be thankful. And so I know that Brother John and his Sunday school class gave that opportunity of people to praise and they were thankful for anything and everything. Sometimes circumstances in life just this past week, answers to prayer for families, for children, for parents. There’s a lot of things that we are to be thankful for. But I would have a proposition for you today. There is one thing. that for which we ought to be truly thankful for. Sometimes we don’t really express it. And just because we don’t express it doesn’t mean we’re not thankful for it, but it might be good for us to express it. What is it that we should be most thankful for? Now, if I was to go around with the roving mic and go around and says, what do you think the most thing that you should be thankful for? There would be several things that would top that list, probably in this kind of a setting and in a church with a bunch of born again, say believers, we would say, well, I think that we should be thankful for salvation, the gift of salvation, the gift of eternal life. Well, that’s a good one. Let’s face it, the older we get, you know, I’m really getting to like that one and more thankful that, you know, that is we have the calm assurance of sins forgiven and being able to enter into heaven. I saw in one of those game shows where they asked, now this was a lot older of a kind of a reclaim. But they said, when you get to heaven, what do you think is the first thing that you will see? And they’re asking a bunch of these people on a game show.

This is just on, you know, regular TV back when it was just CBS, NBC and ABC. And they said, what do you think is the first thing? And I was happily shocked when the first person said, I will see God. Well, that’s good. God is in heaven. Then the second was well, to see Jesus Christ, his son. I was amazed. And then, of course, they said things like, you know, streets of gold and some of those other things. The gift of eternal life. That’s a good thing to be thankful for. But I think there’s something else that precedes that. Some might say, well, I’m thankful for that. Jesus died on the cross. And that he made atonement for my sin. Woe is me, because I am undone. There’s none righteous, no, not one. For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. That’s all pretty bad news. However, the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. So I’m thankful for salvation, but I’m thankful for how I got my salvation, and that is through Jesus Christ. I’m thankful for my savior, Jesus Christ. Well, obviously that would be on all of our hearts and we would be thankful for the Lord Jesus Christ, his atoning death upon the cross of Calvary. That’s something that we ought to be thankful for.

But I think something precedes even that. Well, some might just, you know, wanna go really big and I’m thankful for God. that God created the heavens and the earth and that that, you know, every good gift and every perfect gift comes down from the father of lights. And that I’m thankful just that there is a God. And having been taught by R.C. Sproul and having had the privilege of sitting in a seminary class with him in my doctoral program, He was a man, just so precious. And he would make a comment, things like, if there was no God, you wouldn’t be. There would be nothing. Well, that’s pretty much to be thankful for. You would think, wow, you know, how can anything precede importance concerning that of what we should be thankful? I’m thankful for God. I’m thankful for Jesus Christ. I’m thankful for the gift of salvation. I’m thankful for the atonement. But there is something else that even precedes that. And my proposition this morning is we ought to be thankful for the holy scriptures. And I want to tell you why. That the heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament shows his handiwork, but that has been tainted by sin. And even though you can look at creation as per what the London Confession of Faith said in 1689, which is preceded by Romans 1, when we find out that God has revealed himself in nature, but it’s not enough to save you, it’s only enough to condemn you, to hold man without excuse.

So, you can’t know about salvation and eternal life without the scriptures. By the way, what can you tell me about Jesus Christ that is authoritative, accurate, without error, that’s not in the Bible? You can’t. What can you tell me about God? the heavens declare the glory of God, the firmament shows his handiwork. Where does it teach you about love, forgiveness, mercy, wrath? You’re not gonna see all of that. We need divine revelation. And so we need to take two steps back and to say, you know what I really need to be thankful for? All these other things, my husband, my wife, my kids, my, you know, dog, whatever. I can say I don’t have a dog, but you know, I’m thankful for all of these wonderful gifts. But I am really thankful for the word of God. And when we come to second Timothy, and there’s gonna be a few other places that are key in all of this. But when Paul is writing and he’s ready to depart this world, he says, my time of departure is soon at hand.

When he wanted to encourage the young preacher, and Peter as well, and first and second Peter, when they wanted to leave behind and to guarantee the perpetuity of the gospel, which means the passing from one generation to another. What does he refer to? What is the foundation? What is the safeguard? It was the holy scriptures. And so this morning, when we come to the Bible, we know that it is absolute truth, but what can we know about God, creation, sin, salvation, and all that? What can we know authoritatively without our Bibles in that? Nothing. The scriptures are what is called self-authenticating. That is, they authenticate themselves.

When we come to the Bible, we understand that it’s a book, but it’s a book made up of smaller books. We call them books of the Bible. But when it talks about itself and in the scriptures, in the Pentateuch, which is the first five books of the Old Testament, there are 680 references to the Bible as the Holy Scriptures. In the historical books, there’s 418 references to the Holy Scriptures. In the poetic books, like Psalms, Proverbs, and the Wisdom books, there are 195 references to the Holy Scriptures. In the prophetic books of the Old Testament. There’s 1,307 references to the Holy Writings or the Holy Graphae in the Greek, but the Holy Writings or that it is inspired in the New Testament. There are over 300 claims to inspiration. And when we come to Second Timothy, chapter three, probably the greatest reference of them all is about what the Bible says about itself. B.B. Warfield, in his well-known book on inspiration and the word of God, he wrote these words, first sentence in the book. The religion of the Bible is a, frankly, supernatural religion. It is revealed in the Word of God. Supernatural.

The Word of God is sharper than any two-edged sword. The Word of God is living. So that even John, in writing the Gospel of John, in the beginning, was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God, and the Word became flesh. Now that’s in reference to the Lord Jesus Christ. We refer to Christ as the living Word, and the scriptures as the written Word. The Bible is a book, but it’s a book like no other book. And books generally have a genre. I’ve already mentioned them, whether they’re poetical, historical, prophetic. But the Bible is a book unto its own. It is the book of norms. It is a book whereby we measure all other books. It’s a book like no other. And in one way that it is like no other is the fact that what it reveals Only it reveals it in a way without error, without compromise. It is sufficient. It’s not comprehensive because it’s talking about the revelation of God, His will, His will in this world, His will in my life, His will and His holiness, and we can’t We can’t absorb all of it, but we can absorb some of it. And so the Bible becomes this truly special, special book.

In the passage this morning that I want us to look at today in First Timothy chapter three, verses 15 through 17, there’s three imperative truths concerning the scriptures that we just cannot get around. They’re humbling, but that’s also I guess every time I come to this, it just creates a deeper love, passion, and I’m also gonna use the word tenacity. I suppose as I’ve gotten older, there’s just some things that are really worth being tenacious about. Not, I will not be moved. I will stand here, I will die here. This is a hill that I’ll take a bullet on. There’s no compromise. And I can begin to feel a little bit of what the Apostle Paul was feeling as he was writing to the young preacher and looking at the future and the future of the church and preaching and so forth. And that is this very doctrine of the scriptures.

When the scriptures are compromised, everything else is. Everything else is compromised. You will be compromised in what your thoughts are of God. Hence, and this, people will say, well, God is a God of love, and they think that’s all he is, and yet they just, Don’t pay any attention to verses in the Bible that says that God is angry with the wicked every day. God hates all workers of iniquity. You want a good picture of God, then you must know that, yes, he is a God of love. He’s also a God of wrath. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness. You see, if you compromise and have a weak doctrine of inspiration, you will not get God right. And this world is full of professing Christians who do not get God right. And then they’re talking to a bunch of people that have never picked up a Bible and read it, and they convince them. And then those of us that are Bible believing people, that kind of practice what I practice, but what does the Bible say?

Well, they don’t know what it says. And then when you show it to them, then they will misinterpret it because they not only don’t know what the Bible says, they don’t know the right way to let the Bible say what it says. Does the Bible contain the word of God? No. The Bible is the Word of God. Satan is a master deceiver. And he will compromise where he can. And some people who are not careful in their thinking will be sucked in. So you see, this thing called the Bible is like majorly important. Well, in our passage today, there are these three imperative truths. concerning the scriptures that we just really need to see. And it starts off with the first one, and that is this, that the holy scriptures, and I’m using that because that’s what he uses in verse 15 of chapter three, that the holy scriptures give instructions concerning salvation.

You see, if we are going to be saved, we’ve got to know A lot of why do I need to be saved? And how am I saved? And what is being saved look like? Where do I go? You know, it isn’t good enough to think, well, I know God is a God of love and I’m going to be OK. Or I don’t know how many times I heard this week because, you know, everybody’s celebrating Christmas early. We even have a young man. That’s the thing for pointing him out. I’ll call him young. a young man here with a Christmas tie on. Wow, you know, we’re all doing, but what happens is, is they all get caught up in the, I have warm fuzzies, and I just know I’m okay, and God’s gonna take me to heaven. Or you hear of people that are just wicked. Well, may he rest in peace. I’ve gotten to the point, I never say that anymore. Because I don’t know if they’re resting in peace or if they’re in writhing agony and pain. Now you might say, well, that’s pretty cold hearted. No, but that’s what the Bible says. You know, it’s appointed unto man once to die and after that enjoyment for all. And after that, the judgment. And so We need to understand some things.

So the first revelation or the first imperative truth is that the Holy Scriptures give instructions concerning salvation. This comes out in his argumentation because he’s made the distinction with the evil men, verse 13 of chapter 3, but evil men and imposters. will grow worse and worse, deceiving, that’s what they’re doing, and being deceived, probably through the blindness of their own eyes and being deceived by Satan, who is the master deceiver. But you, Timothy, because this is a personal letter, you must continue in the things which you have learned and have been assured of, knowing whom from you have learned them. We find out that that included his mom and the family members, and that from a childhood you have known. Known what? What is keeping you from being deceived and deceiving others? What’s keeping you from being evil? What’s keeping you from being an imposter? What’s keeping you from growing worse and worse? Because from a child you have known the holy grafe, the holy scriptures. which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith, which is in Christ Jesus. The best man can do in knowing how to save himself if he feels that he needs to do something to get saved is what? I gotta work on good works. I’ve got to try and do better.

That’s why whenever and probably almost everybody in this room that’s a born again believer at some point before you came to faith in Christ, you thought all I got to do is to have more good works than bad works and I will go to heaven. If you take a look at all the things that are going on in the world and talk to most people in this world, it’s that I got to have good works to outweigh the bad works. And so I want to do nice things. Now doing nice things is nice and it’s good. It makes living a whole lot nicer. And you’ll get some endorphin rush from all of that. And it’s a great thing. But guess what? Your righteousness as a filthy rag before God. And the concept there of a filthy rag is the rag that God would use or that a man would use to wipe out the ooze and the goose and the dead tissues and the and just, you know, all the infection out of a leprosy wound. And offering that up and say, these are my good works. Yuck. I would love to even get more gross, but there is lunch out here. OK, so I won’t do it anymore. But you get the idea.

You see, without the Holy Scriptures, you don’t know how to become wise unto salvation that’s found in faith in Jesus Christ. It’s a wonderful thing to be thankful to God for the person. Who brought you the truth, faith comes by hearing and hearing by the teaching and preaching, and it’s it’s an instrumentality of hearing the truth put in the work of the Holy Spirit. There was another author of the book on inspiration. It says, you know, we ought to also ought to be thankful to the Holy Spirit. One, he inspired and helped in the writing of the scriptures. But then secondly, he helps the sinner understand what is written, because we have no spiritual discernment. And that’s why sinners still in the state of sin, they read our Bible and they say, doesn’t make sense to me. Well, that’s just kind of silly. That’s all it is. And so on and so forth. They don’t get it because they don’t have the Holy Spirit. But the Holy Spirit uses the word of God, the revelation of God, the revelation of truth, to bring us to faith. So notice what it says there. Again, that you have learned from them and that from childhood you have known the holy scriptures. Holy means separate or of another kind. When I said that the Bible’s in another genre, a genre of its own, It is the norm of norms.

The Bible is like no other book because it was inspired. It is inerrant. In the original autographs, no, it’s the holy scriptures. But why do we have them? Because first of all, they are able to make you wise for salvation. And how does that happen? Through faith, which is in Christ Jesus. That’s why I ask the question, what can you know of Christ? That’s not found. In the scriptures and to know that it is holy, inerrant, inspired, that it’s absolute truth. Well, we live in a world that questions all absolute truth. We know there is absolute truth, it’s in the Bible and what it tells us about Christ, it is accurate. And let me tell you, the most important thing is, is that he died on a cross. He was buried and he rose on the third day, just as he said. Now, that’s either true or it’s not. But how do you even know about that? It’s in the Bible. That’s its only place. Now, I’ll give you at least the fact that you might know a few things about Christ. That’s not found in the Bible. I’ve never said that. quite this way whenever speaking on this kind of a topic.

But there are a few things like the Shroud of Turin. Of course, I don’t know why you would want to know anything about the Shroud of Turin if you didn’t know what the Bible said about Jesus being wrapped up in cloths and so forth. But I’ll give you that. OK, so the Shroud of Turin. Well, is that really Christ or not? I don’t know. How could you prove that it was? How can you prove it’s not? He says, well, it’s got real blood in it, so I don’t think it is. Well, Jesus had real human blood. He became a man. But how would you know about the virgin birth? How did Jesus escape sin and the sin nature? Well, that’s because of the virgin birth. How do you know about the virgin birth? It’s all in the Bible, nowhere else.

So if you think that the Bible has errors, then how do you know what is error and what is not? And how on earth are you ever going to verify? That is where the gift of faith comes in. I trust that when God wanted to reveal himself and he wanted to reveal the amount of revelation that is necessary whereby I must be saved, I got it. And it’s here. The Holy Scripture gives instructions concerning salvation. It’s the source of living truth. Turn back with me to the Gospel of John. The Gospel of John. Now, when the Gospel of John was written first or second, Timothy, well, both of them actually had already been written. So this came afterwards as John was writing. The apostle John was writing in John, chapter five. and verse 24, we read this, Jesus speaking. Well, how would we know that Jesus was speaking if it wasn’t in the Bible? But that’s another thing.

Most assuredly or truly, truly, I say unto you, he who hears my word and believes in him who sent me has everlasting life and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life. Now if we didn’t have that verse, how would you know to go from a state of spiritual death to spiritual life? How would you know anything about, for by grace you are saved through faith and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. How would you know that? You wouldn’t, you couldn’t. And there are people without the spirit of God’s aid They still don’t get it. It’s an act of grace and mercy that we even have the knowledge to be able to. So the source of saving you look on over, not only in verse 24, but go on down to verse 29. You search the scriptures.

Now, this is Jesus talking. So to the Pharisees. And so when he says search of scriptures, he means Old Testament at that point. For in them, you think you have eternal life. So you got to have the scriptures and they still needed to be interpreted as in that you search the scriptures and you think you have eternal life. And these are they which testify of me. In other words what is the main message of the Old Testament just to tell us how King David can commit adultery or how a woman can put a nail in a guy’s head in a tent or how a donkey can talk. Or how you can become fish bait and live in a fish for three days and three nights. Is that all that those are? Nice little stories? You know, I was going to say bedtime stories for young children, but some of those are pretty gross. You might want to wait till they’re a little bit older. But is that all it is?

Well, notice what he says. And these are they which testify of me, but you are not willing to come to me that you may have life. They were not willing to come. You see, how would we know the truth if it wasn’t for the Spirit of God taking the Word of God and telling us how we can be saved? It is the source of saving truth. Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. There is no other name given among men whereby we must be saved. Do you get the thrust of that? What does this world say? Well, we’re all going to heaven. Wrong. Oh, now we’re judgmental. Oh, we’re all basically good people. Wrong. For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. The wages of sin is death. That’s why we’re all gonna die. Because the Bible is right. And it has been for over 2025 years.

Well, whatever, how you want to reconcile all that. It’s just right. And you see how. When the Bible says that if you confess with your mouth, Jesus is Lord and you believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead. Then you’ll probably go to heaven. Thou shalt be saved. Call upon the name of the Lord. Repent of your sin. That’s just not Bible thumping, you know, hellfire and brimstone kind of preaching. That’s the truth of God. And that’s what we have to pay attention to because the scriptures are the only source that which God has given to man, whereby he has encapsulated truth, absolute, inerrant. And the world says, well, you’re bigoted. I want to just say back, and I’m right. I know I’m right. Now, if you don’t want to believe it, you don’t have to believe it, but you’ll find out when you’re dead. I am right. And it’s not because of me. It’s because of the word of God.

So it is the only place of source of giving us the saving truth of God in his word. It’s the source of the saving one because Jesus Christ came to seek and to save that which was lost. Again, the book of Acts. There’s no other name given among men whereby we must be saved. Oh, you know, we’ll be good. That would be spitting on Jesus while he was still on the cross. I’m going to be good. I’m going to give up. And you name a sin. I’ll give up that sin. And then you’ll take me to heaven. He could look at you and say, and then if that were true, why am I dying? But what did he say? Father, forgive them. They put the nails and forgive them. They don’t know what they’re doing. Mercy, grace. It is finished. Is it? How would you know it is? No wonder people want to continue to work on being good for the doctrine of salvation, because they don’t know their Bible. They don’t know what’s going on. And they think they can get there. By their own effort, you can’t. It’s an act of grace and mercy. We don’t deserve it.

So the first imperative truth concerning Scripture is the Holy Scripture makes you wise for salvation through faith, which is in Christ Jesus. Then we get, now notice, we almost all can quote chapter three, verse 16, but that other one, it sets it up, because when he says the Holy Scriptures, it becomes quite clear what he’s talking about, and then he says all Scripture. Now, I’m not going to go into the whole thing of whether this should be all scripture is given by inspiration or all inspired scripture is given. I see that’s where people put it. Sometimes they they and it goes into grammatical arguments and all of that. Then there’s the argument to not the whole test. The New Testament was not completed yet. And I think that’s why the spirit of God wrote it the way it’s translated here. All scripture. Some of it. is still covered from this perspective. It’s all been now written. We have the canon. All scripture. Is given by inspiration of God. Now, let’s just pause there.

The Holy Scripture not only gives us instructions concerning salvation, the Holy Scripture provides a testimony concerning itself. And what is that? All scripture is given by inspiration. Now we know and I know that most of you know that that term inspiration means to be God breathed. And so that makes this book different than any other book. Let me just challenge you, there’s a lot that could be said about that, and you’ve probably heard it, or you’ve read it, or you can read it, but this is just one thing. Now, God is spirit, and we must worship him in spirit and in truth. God doesn’t have lungs. The God man does, Jesus does, but God the Father doesn’t have lungs. God the Father, in a sense, doesn’t have to breathe. What would he breathe? Is it oxygen? You can play with that, and it just gets a little bit bizarre.

But let me just say this, that the Bible reveals the importance of breath. When God breathes, or God has, as it were, by using a metaphor on whatever it is, that God breathes out, what happens? And God said, let there be light, God said, let the waters and the firmament separate. God says, let there be plants and trees with fruit in them. And God says, let there be animals in the water and then on land. When God breathes, things happen. And it’s big. We call it ex nihilo, or out of nothing, something. God breathes and puts a living soul in a bunch of dirt and then calls him Adam. When God breathes in a book, it’s called the Bible. You think that maybe the Bible’s kind of an important thing to God? It’s the breath of God. And brethren, this is the time to get really convicted, preacher included. Do we really pay that much attention to the Bible or how many days can we go without hearing it, reading it? And yet this is the breath of God. It is the inspired, the God-breathed book. And so it’s testimony concerning itself in creation.

The method of that interpretation where we read about in 2 Peter chapter 1 and verse 21. I love this. The method of it all is 2 Peter 1 21. For the prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke or wrote as they were born along by the Holy Spirit. Again, as that man said, without the Holy Spirit, none of this really happens. That term born along just means like riding in a boat. They all have their personalities, they all have it there, but it was protected because it is the word of God. And that is the method of the inspiration. The extent of it is is given in second Peter, chapter three and verse 16, the Old and New Testament, all the content. All Scripture is given by the breath of God.

So we have the Holy Scripture gives us instruction concerning salvation. The Holy Scripture gives us a testimony concerning itself and the fact of what it is, how we got it, and how much of it. That’s why we say we believe in verbal inspiration, plenary inspiration. It is sufficient. It’s not comprehensive, but it is all that we need for faith and practice. Then thirdly, the Holy Scripture provides instruction concerning sanctification versus 16 and following through verse 17. Notice this. I’ll just read them all and then we’ll come back and make some quick comments. All the scripture is given by the breath of God or the inspiration of God and it is profitable for doctrine. What does the Bible say in its teachings? It is profitable for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. That term of sanctification It tells us how to be set apart. It said earlier in that verse 15, the holy scriptures, that’s part of the word of what sanctification it is. It’s in that it is profitable and it is sufficient for these things. Well, what in what way it’s profitable for doctrine or teaching the content of the faith?

I don’t know if you ever thought about it, but there may be some doctrines that you don’t care for. We have a whole generation that really does not like the wrath of God. When I hear that, I just go, well, you know what? God didn’t ask for your opinion. You know, there’s some things that are hard to be understood. Well, God’s the one who put them in there hard to be understood so that you’d have to study a little bit more. Well, I don’t like it that he says that I should be a virgin when I get married. I don’t really care. Well, nobody else is doing it. I really don’t care. Or everybody else is doing it. Well, guess what? Morality is not statistical. It is truth. And sin is sin. But he also then says, repent of your sins, confess your sins. And he is faithful and just to forgive you your sins and to cleanse you from all unrighteousness. But don’t deny it. Don’t say, I don’t believe it. Well, the Bible declares it. God doesn’t care what your opinion is. It’s not a democracy where you vote on the truths that you want.

That’s one reason why, and that can be on other doctrines too, whether it be on the doctrine of election and limited atonement or a particular redemption or all those kinds of things. Chosen in Christ from before the foundation of the world. Well, I don’t like that doctrine. I really don’t care if you don’t like it. Because he has revealed truth. Now, I may not understand it. Okay, now that’s, you know, hey. He’s God, and we’re only in the image of God, and there’s a lot of stuff we can’t get. And so you just put on a back burner and you let it go. But you have you don’t deny that’s the one thing that just, you know, is so astounding in today’s society. If a man lie with a man, as he does with a woman, it is an abomination. That’s not a hard verse to understand. And people deny it. They’re calling God a liar. My Bible says God doesn’t lie. I’m often on the God side.

Now, I may or may not like that. Doesn’t make any difference. He didn’t ask my opinion. And so you see, the Holy Scripture provides instruction concerning sanctification on doctrine, the content of faith. It isn’t faith plus works. It’s faith. The next word is reproof. Now that word to reprove is the idea of to rebuke, to rebuke, to point out misbehavior in doctrine or practice. You know, the Hellfire Brimstone and preaching, there is reproof. If you see a brother sin, everybody says, you know, well, you know, don’t judge me. Well, I’m not judging, but the Word of God says that I am to reprove you if you are sinning because of my love for Christ and your professed love of Christ and using the Word of God.

Now, if you have this thing where it says that, you know, you’re picking out something that is just extra or non-biblical and you’re doing that, you may be in the wrong and you might have to confess your sin. But to rebuke or reprove and use the scripture, a true believer will repent. A non-believer will hate your guts until you’re dead. But the word of God is for reproof. The next word is that word correction. And now that’s kind of an interesting word, and especially in this context, it says for correction. That is a hapax logomenon, which is an odd place for one to be found. Because he could have used other words that he said that the word of God is used for correction. That is the word for restoration. To help a person to get back up. We might use it this way to bring encouragement. There’s a time that the word of God can help you. And this is how it was used to get back up on your feet.

And the picture is if you have a small child, they’re learning to walk and they stumble around and they fall. And then you go up to that child and you come and you lift them back up and get them back up on their feet. That’s what the word of God is. It helps people get back up on their feet. And yet, if you talk to people in today’s world, that if we point out sinners to their sin, they think we’re judgmental and trying to tear them down. No, we’re trying to lift them up. They’re already down. They’re dead in trespasses and sins.

So you see, the word of God is good for correction or putting people back where they need to be. It’s good for instruction in righteousness. That is another word that was used to help a child to learn how to dress. Remember, was it Ephesians when it says, walk worthy of the calling where if you are called. When we turn to the scriptures to find out what does a Christian look like? I’m afraid that so many people are libertarian in their politics, they bring that over to Christianity. You know, it’s okay to limit your Christian liberty, lest a weaker brother stumble. It’s not the law, but out of love for a brother. And it’s the idea of to learn a life of righteousness, of right living. Some things you can do, but probably shouldn’t. Because of where it might lead and where it might go. It might not be bad in and of itself, but it might cause another person to stumble. That is a person for, using the scriptures for instruction in righteousness. It also teaches that idea of that we should be lifelong Christian students to learn how to live.

And then that last verse, 17, that the man of God, and that’s anthropos, that’s the word for all of us, men, women, children, that we can all be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. There’s a lot that could be said, but it points to maturity, To be a soldier, he’s going to mention some of those things. But let me put it this way. We wrestle not against flesh and blood. Now, first of all, how would we know that? Because the Bible tells us how would we know about Satan? He’s a master deceiver. You’d never get any good, accurate revelation on Satan from Satan or without the word of God. It’s not going to happen. And so we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers, against spiritual wickedness in high places. How are you going to wrestle? How are you going to see and hear the lion roar to destroy your life with sin? It’s through scripture. Listen to the scripture, the Holy Spirit who indwells the believer to convict of what? Sin, righteousness and of judgment. so that we can be equipped unto good works.

You know, when I came to Fellowship Baptist in 1994, long time ago, 30 years, that one of the things that I shared that I had taken up while in Upper Sandusky, Ohio at the public pool, took up diving. And then when I came here, Mark Kirby, who was the athletic director at Lakeland Christian, that tweaked his hearing. And I think his ears actually moved. He says, diving, diving, really? Because there’s not that many people, dive coaches and so forth, and Lakeland Christian has a swim team. And they, you know, you don’t have a lot of divers, but you have some. And so he asked if I’d be interested, and I thought that would be kind of a cool thing, and I became a diving coach. Which, for those of you that know me, me coaching anything is probably not gonna be a good thing. But that is one of my passions. I love diving.

Well, just so that I didn’t embarrass him, I say that in jest, because he’s a very loving man and he loves his pastor, but just so I wouldn’t embarrass Mark Kirby, and he’s also terribly competitive, terribly. And he wanted to win, he handed me this, I kept it. This is swimming and diving and water polo, the instruction booklet. And it is full of things that probably most of you would find very boring. But it tells you about what dives are required, what order, what the rates are. It has a thing in there to give how to judge and all of the details of how it’s supposed to be done. And by God’s grace and a whole lot of mercy, I was able to take some kids to the state competition, one being the Kirby’s oldest daughter, Colleen. Why? And I don’t think I ever embarrassed him. I don’t think so. But why? I had an instruction booklet that told me the rules Oh, and by the way, it’s written by the National Federation of State High School Association. It was as authoritative as you can get at that particular time in the competition that we were involved in statewide. An authoritative writing to tell me how to coach, what to coach, what to watch out for, and everything else that is pertinent to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, okay? pales into insignificance.

Next to this, for the born-again saved believer with the indwelling ministry of the Spirit of God, it is the Word of God, given, protected, preserved, authoritative, sufficient to land us safe in salvation on the other side and how to live on this side. Now, that’s a gift really being thankful for.

Let’s pray. Our Father in heaven, if there be one soul here today that doesn’t recognize the fact and understand how important the Bible is, may the spirit of God remove those scales and may they read the scriptures And when they do, they will find out that they are they of that which tells me the truth. Father, use these words for your glory. And may we all have a new appreciation for the breath of God in written form that you’ve given to us. We thank you in Jesus name, amen.