I’m not a big fan of podcasts, but there are a few that I really like listening to, like “One Minute with the Bible.”
It’s a series of short episodes with scripture passages organized around a theme. Each episode is just over
a minute long.
But here is one thing you need to know about the podcast: There’s no intro telling you where the passage is from;
the person reading just starts reading. If you want to see where the passage is from, you got to check the podcast intro on your device.
So, one morning, while driving to church, I started listening to an episode entitled “The Profit of the Scriptures.”
The title caught my attention because I believe we profit from the Word of God, and I was eager to hear the passage read.
The episode started with these words:
“But know this: Hard times will come in the last days. 2 For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, proud, demeaning, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 unloving, irreconcilable, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, without love for what is good, 4 traitors, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 holding to the form of godliness but denying its power.
Avoid these people.
As I listened, I thought, “Wait a minute.”
I thought I would hear something about “profiting from the scripture,” and here they began with, “Hard times will come in the last days…” Followed by a whole lot of character traits that certainly aren’t profitable!
I was a little bit confused—I wasn’t expecting that.
But as the reader continued, he read this, and it all began to make sense to me:
14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and firmly believed. You know those who taught you, 15 and you know that from infancy you have known the sacred Scriptures, which are able to give you wisdom for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is inspired by God, and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness, 17 so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
You probably recognize this passage.
The reading was from 2 Timothy 3. The chapter begins with hard times and ends with a statement about all scripture being inspired by God and profitable!
And I thought…Profitable for what?
For navigating hard times and difficulties!
I had been listening to the news that morning before I left, and I was frustrated by the litany of issues that came up. I had also been thinking about some of my friends and their difficulties; my heart was heavy, and honestly, I was a bit sad when I left the house that morning.
But in God’s Providence, before I even made it out of my neighborhood on my drive in to the church, I listened to a podcast about profiting from God’s Word!
Oh, I was so encouraged! That morning, God reminded me that His Word is fully sufficient for every situation we face.
It was a word I needed to hear that morning.
Paul was right—Hard times are everywhere! It was that way in his day and is still the same today. But thanks be to God, we have all we need to thrive today because of God’s Word.
In 2 Timothy chapter 3, Paul wants Timothy to grasp this reality. Throughout his letter, Paul urges Timothy to stand firm in the truth of the scriptures.
And why is he telling Timothy this? Because it is the most important thing Timothy will need to know! The Scriptures are true—inspired by God—the very breath of life for all who seek to walk in God’s ways. That’s why Paul is telling him this.
This morning, We’re going to step out of John and camp in
2 Timothy 3:16-17; it’s Paul’s last words to Timothy before he issues his charge to him to…“Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season…
But before we look at our passage, we’ve got to understand the context of Paul’s statement, or we will miss just how powerful this passage is.
Paul was writing to Timothy from prison. This was his second and final time being imprisoned. In fact, this is his last letter.
Paul understands better than anyone that he is in his final days and knows he will be executed for devoting his life
to the Gospel of Jesus.
Paul has modeled his life after Christ for decades. His life has been filled with troubles and hardships, and now, his death is at hand. And Rather than questioning what his life was all about and wondering if he had thrown it away for nothing,
he doubles down on the Gospel!
Paul firmly believes in the Gospel of Jesus. He’s passing the torch, so to speak, to Timothy and challenging him to continue his work, to imitate him, and stand firm in Christ.
Timothy was Paul’s most beloved and trusted assistant.
Paul had sent Timothy on several special assignments, and he performed so well that Paul sent him to Ephesus to lead the church there. The church faced various issues, including false teachers who were causing division. It was a challenging assignment.
He wanted Timothy to stay rooted in scripture and stick with what he had learned as a child and first believed. Paul’s charge was for Timothy to step into the gap and continue to follow his example.
And in the midst of all this, the most important thing that Paul tells Timothy is our focus for today:
16 All Scripture is inspired by God, and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness, 17 so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
This is Paul’s primary statement to Timothy. He wants him to know that the inspired Word of God is fully sufficient for all things necessary to know and glorify God and to experience redemption in Christ.
It’s a powerful statement!
Paul, his mentor and father in the faith, would be executed soon, yet Paul still wanted Timothy to know he had everything he needed to know to navigate this difficult assignment.
And what does he have? The Word of God!
When you get down to the brass tacks, this is what truly matters—we profit from the scriptures. The scriptures make us complete and equip us for every task God has called us to.
Our passage is one of the most important statements in the entire Bible!
The Bible is unlike any other book in the world.
Other books may contain truth, wisdom, and help,
but there is only one book that includes the very
Word of God Himself, and that is the Bible.
As we read our passage, pay attention to the word “inspired”—it literally means “God-breathed.”
This word describes how the Spirit of God worked through the biblical writers to write God’s Word entirely and exactly as He intended so that what they wrote was the very Word of God.
Peter confirms this idea by writing, “No prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things. For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:20-21)
And Because God is all-powerful, all-knowing, and completely perfect, his Word will, by its very nature, have the same characteristics, making it infallible—Incapable of error—and authoritative. It’s completely trustworthy.
The Word of God is fully sufficient for a life of faith and service.
Paul knows full well the power of God’s Word—especially to teach, rebuke, correct, and train; if Timothy stays connected to it and studies it, he’ll be equipped for every good work.
I was listening to a John Piper video Aaron sent me the other day—it was so good. Piper was discussing the power of God’s Word, and I believe he captured the essence of Paul’s message to Timothy about the importance and reality of the scriptures.
He says, “The ultimate thing about the Bible is not that God spoke sentences and paragraphs (which he did), but that with sentences and paragraphs, God revealed reality. Rightly understood [ the Bible is a] window onto reality… And our encounter with God, through His word, is without limit in its relevance and application to everything…If you know God, you know the most important thing about everything! God’s Word is without limit in its relevance and application
to everything.”
Piper’s statement captures what Paul wants to convey to Timothy. The Scriptures, the Word of God, will uphold Timothy in his current ministry and beyond.
That’s Paul’s message to Timothy. I am convinced that this message also applies to our own lives!
Paul’s message to Timothy is the same message to us:
In hard times, we, too, profit from the scriptures and can find the strength and guidance needed to live for God’s glory.
The Bible is a unique gift to us…it’s not a book of advice telling us what to do. It is a book of redemption, telling us what God has done and how we can live a life that honors him.
It is a message of redemption from start to finish!
It reveals God’s Son, Jesus—declaring what God has done to restore all things through Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection.
From the Bible’s opening pages to the last page, they all point to Jesus. Jesus—the Word of God—is the one who changes everything!
Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. Trusting in him completes and equips us for every good work.
What I love about the Bible is that it doesn’t downplay hard times like other religions or philosophies; it’s filled with realism. Amid our troubles, pain, and suffering, the Bible reveals the God who came from heaven and into our struggles.
As we spend time in the scriptures, God recalibrates our hearts to align with Him. No matter how hard times may get, God’s word is a place of safety and refuge for us.
We can have confidence that we will never experience difficulties that go deeper than what the Bible can address. The Word of God is fully sufficient for a life of faith and service.
Paul and Timothy weren’t the only ones living in crazy times—we live in crazy times, too!
But Praise God that we are not left hopeless; we have God’s complete Word to help us navigate these challenging times. Through the scriptures, God has given us all we need to know. The most important thing we can do is trust and ground ourselves in God’s Word.
I know it’s easy to say this, but sometimes, it isn’t easy to do so. Sometimes, there’s a disconnect between what we believe and do. Our beliefs and behaviors are not in alignment.
This can happen in many areas of our lives—in my experience, it’s very common. So, we have to pay attention to what we say we believe and what we do and ensure that the two are in alignment.
Once we’ve identified a misalignment, we must be willing to take the steps to bring the two back into alignment. This can be difficult work, but when it comes to our faith, the Bible is our power supply, and we must be connected to it.
If we become unplugged, we will function okay for a time,
but it won’t take long before we begin to falter and become depleted. Don’t let this happen. Be willing to do the good work of aligning your beliefs and behaviors, especially regarding God’s Word.
So, where are you today regarding your Belief in God’s Word?
Do you believe it is true? Do you think it is profitable?
Do you believe it has the words of life written in it?
Do you believe the scriptures contain everything we need to be complete and equipped for every good work?
We must answer these questions honestly.
Maybe it’s your Beliefs that need to Change. Are they well-founded? When the “bangs” of life come and test your beliefs, will those beliefs stand? Are they founded in ultimate reality, in God?
The answer needs to be yes.
For most of us, the answer is yes. But maybe our behaviors are misaligned. You can fix that today. In fact, you can fix all of this today.
The Bible says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and cleanse us of all unrighteousness.” It says that if we “Confess with our mouths that Jesus is Lord and believe God raised him from the dead, we will be saved.”
If we’ve done this, we’re now positioned to ensure that our behaviors grow our relationship with God. We can tap into the power found in God’s Word.
Are you plugged in?
Are you consistently being fed by God’s Word?
Again, this is a question for you to ask honestly.
It’s not intended to bring shame. It’s intended to help us determine if our beliefs and actions are misaligned so we can properly align them.
No matter how you answer this question, here are a few things you can do to ensure that you stand firmly in God’s Word.
The first is to live decided.
Decide to stand firmly in God’s Word.
I don’t have to unpack this—you’ve heard Terry speak to this idea many times.
The truth is that, as believers, we are responsible for believing and acting according to the Bible’s commands. We are called to stand on the Bible’s truthfulness.
Since it is true, we must listen closely to what it says. As the Scriptures say, “Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts” (Heb. 4:7). We can’t hear his voice if we’re not in His Word.
So be done with “deciding” and settle the issue. Decide to stand firmly on God’s Word.
The Second is to be in God’s Word Daily.
We’ve read or referenced the “Shema” in Deuteronomy 6 several times over the last few months, and I will point to it again…
4 “Listen, Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one., 5 Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. 6 These words that I am giving you today are to be in your heart. 7 Repeat them to your children. Talk about them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Bind them as a sign on your hand and let them be a symbol on your forehead., 9 Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your city gates.
We need God’s Word on a consistent daily basis. Why? Because we forget!
We can easily become distracted and tempted to draw away from God to pursue our own desires.
This only leads to tragic results.
The entire Old Testament shows us what happens when we forget and go without God’s Word active in our lives.
We need to digest and metabolize God’s Word.
Jesus said he is the bread of life found in the pages of scripture, and we’re called to commune with him daily.
We do this when we make time to read God’s word daily.
The final thing you can do is let biblical truths
guide and shape your conduct and behavior.
The Bible is “living and effective” (Heb. 4:12, CSB); it is the primary means God has chosen to reveal Himself to us and shape our lives so that we can know, understand, and follow Him. Engaging with and studying the Bible is what leads to spiritual growth.
And it does so in at least three ways:
First, It tells us who He is and what His character and nature are like…The Bible points us to the face of Jesus,
who saves us from sin and death through His death on the cross and resurrection from the dead.
Without the Bible, we would not have this understanding of God’s nature and work through Jesus and the Holy Spirit.
It is through the pages of Scripture that we are transformed into His likeness day by day. (2Cor 3:18)
Second, the Bible renews our minds to think God’s thoughts. This is key to growing spiritually. The Bible is essential for us to be “transformed by the renewing of our mind, so that we may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God” (Rom. 12:2).
Finally, the Bible redirects our lives away from sin and towards holiness.
As we see God’s goodness and grace through the gospel and are renewed in our minds to think in alignment with God’s thoughts, we can then begin to act in a way that pleases Him and blesses others. This is truly spiritual growth—it’s a beautiful thing when we align our beliefs and actions to become more like Jesus in all things. (Rom. 8:28)
In other words, the more we engage and study the Bible, the more we can be transformed and grow!
Application:
Ask the Holy Spirit to grow your desire for God’s Word.
Ask Him to reveal any barriers—sins—that are keeping you from His Word. Then repent. Ask Him to help you prioritize your life around Him. Be determined to regularly engage with God’s Word and make it a part of your daily routine.
Prioritize time in God’s Word and appreciate its beauty and glory. Let the Word bring you closer to God. Don’t give up; persevere and internalize God’s truth in your heart. Let Jesus be the foundation upon which you build your life.
Decide today, right here at this time and place, to stand firmly planted in the Inspired Word of God, which is fully sufficient for all that is necessary to know and glorify God.
Let me pray for us.