Trust the Word of God
Ten Guidelines to a Meaningful Christian Life • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Introduction
Introduction
In this part of our series, we will examine the importance of Scripture in our lives.
Last week we learned that when we love the Lord with all our minds we will spend more time in the Word.
We will desire to grow and learn and be more committed to Him.
Paul tells us just this in 2 Tim. 2:15
15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.
If we are to know God with our minds, hearts, souls, and strength, we need to be diligent, zealous, all about studying His Word.
When we do this we will know the truth because Jesus told us He was the Truth and that God’s Word is truth (John 14:6, 17:17).
If we want to be able to stand firm, avoid the wickedness that is all around, and be equipped for battle, We need to know God’s Word.
Paul tells us that wicked people will abound, they will sneak in and devastate those who are weak minded about the Word, deceive many, persecute the faithful, and abound in life while the faithful struggle.
We can live a peaceful and joyous life in Christ when we know the truth and apply that truth to our lives.
Let us examine the text from...
1 But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. 2 For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, 4 treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people. 6 For among them are those who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions, 7 always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth. 8 Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, men corrupted in mind and disqualified regarding the faith. 9 But they will not get very far, for their folly will be plain to all, as was that of those two men. 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.
Society is degenerating all around us.
We see the failings and sinfulness everywhere.
We see many people saying the Bible affirms these wicked lifestyles.
The enemy has many in his army and they are equipped and ready to destroy you and me.
We must have a way to thwart this wickedness and be able to stand under attack.
Paul says that in the last times, but this began after the ascension of Christ.
We do not know the day or hour that Christ will come so we are always in the last days.
Yet, it seems lately this wickedness has ramped up around us.
When we know the Word and are approved workmen who know how to rightly handle the Word of Truth we are in...
We Avoid Evil (3:1-9)
We Avoid Evil (3:1-9)
But understand this. Is a critical to us because it tells us to keep on knowing this.
Wicked people will arise and they will make life hard for believers.
We need to know why we believe and what we believe to be able to stand against them.
These people love money and selves over anything.
They are arrogant and unholy. They are all about themselves and will destroy anything that gets in their way.
They may appear to be godly and good, but they are false and wicked as can be.
They teach false words like their father Satan who says always to us as he did to Eve,
Did God Really Say?
Did God Really Say?
Then they say things that are close to what Scripture says, but is not correct.
I want to lay out three things that people say that is not in Scripture that people think are because of these types of people.
God will never give you more than you can handle.
Money is the root of all evil.
This too shall pass.
Number one is a twisted version of 1 Cor. 10:13 “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.”
Number 2 is a twisted version of 1 Tim 6:10 “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.”
And number 3 is a twisted version of 2 Cor. 4:17-18 “17 For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, 18 as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.”
But these phrases, amongst many many more are not in Scripture.
Neither are the sayings that God wants us healthy, wealthy, and happy.
No. That is not biblical either but many people have fallen for these lies and fallen into the snare of the devil.
We have fallen for the old line “Did God really say?”
This is from people like the two magicians of Pharaoh listed here.
These two men opposed God and lost in the end even though they were able to perform some of the miraculous events Moses did.
For a time these evil people will continue and they will lead many astray, but we all need to understand this and be wary and ready for these people.
We do this by what Paul says next.
We Stay Committed (3:10-15)
We Stay Committed (3:10-15)
Here Paul reminds Timothy of his following of his teaching and conduct.
He reminds him of the sufferings and struggles he endured and that it was for the faith and not a false teaching.
Hence Paul saying that all who desire to live godly lives will be persecuted.
The Christian life is not a walk in the park.
It is not all rainbows and unicorns, but rather outlawed broncs and tornadoes.
It is not easy and it is tough.
But when we know who has us and what He has told us in His Word, we can stay committed.
We look to the faithful before us and see how they ran the race.
We know that the evil people and imposters of the faith are gaining ground and deceiving people, but we do not fall into their traps for ease of life and comfort.
We do not because we know what God has said about sin and living in depravity.
We know it is unholy and against Him.
We know that it is better to be thrown into a pit of vipers than to deny our amazing Savior and God.
One way we stay faithful and committed in these difficulties is to be like Timothy was.
He knew the sacred writings from his childhood.
Look back at 2 Tim 1:5
5 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.
He had a faithful mother and grandmother who committed the time to him knowing the Word of God and growing in his faith.
This should drive all of us parents, and grandparents to do the same for our children.
We should not wait for someone to disciple our children, we must do this.
We must take the time to learn the Word ourselves and then spend the time to train our children.
I promise you that there is nothing more important than training our children in the way of the Lord.
Look at verse 15.
It says 2 Tim. 3:15
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.
The Word is able to make you wise to salvation.
Knowing the Word of God makes us able to know truth from false, deceptive speech from sound speech, and it makes us wise for salvation.
We will not so easily fall for the lies of “Did God really say?” and we will be better equipped to reach others when we know what God has said.
Also..
We are Corrected and Equipped (3:16-17)
We are Corrected and Equipped (3:16-17)
In verse 16 it says “All Scripture is breathed out by God...”
Some translations say inspired or given by inspiration of God.
These are fine translations but God Breathed is better because the Greek word is θεόπνευστος. The first part of this word Theo is God in Greek and the second part, pneustos, is air, breath, spirit. Like pneumatic tools are air tools.
So, the word θεόπνευστος means God Breathed.
What this means is that the Bible that we Have is God’s Word.
It is what He had the men write who wrote the words down.
These words we have in this Book we call the Bible are God’s Words exactly as He wanted us to have.
We can trust these words.
What the Bible is not is a book that “contains the word of God,” but a book that IS the Word of God.
That is why it is profitable to us.
It will teach us and others the truth of what God wants from us and has for us.
It will show us the areas that God disapproves of for us.
It will correct us when we fall into sin or other bad ways.
Also, it will train us in the ways of living a holier life and being better believers. We will grow more and more like our savior the more we study and read His word.
It will make us mature, which is what this word complete means, and able to do what is right the way God wants us to do it.
Scripture teaches us to align our behavior with that of the Lord the more we read and study it.
What this means is that we must not just casually look at these words written on these pages, but we must actively engage and study these words.
We must do more than just hear sermons, we must engage what was said and taught.
We must seek to learn and renew our minds by being transformed by the word of God Rom. 12:1-2.
When we do this we will see that the Word of God is consistent and reliable and that it tells us the truth because it is the truth as John 17:17 tells us.
Trust the Word of God and know it doesn’t ask, Did God really say?
No, it says what God really said and how we can live that out.
Application
1. We can apply this section of Scripture by accepting the reality that there are more false and evil teachers out there than good ones.
When we do this we will be better able to reject the false and embrace the good because we have begun to trust God’s Word over what we hear on TV, YouTube, Facebook, or anywhere else.
This will help us endure the evil because we know the good that God has. We can endure ridicule because we know what God has for us. We are His and He will deliver us, trust that.
2. Our next application involves continuing in the faith by keeping closely the things we have learned from faithful believers.
Maybe you were not trained in the ways of the Lord from a young age. Maybe you are the first believer in your family. If so, find a man or woman that is faithfully following the Lord.
Find them and learn with them. Ask them to disciple you if you have too. But do not try to fight alone it will only lead you to a fall.
Once you have got in with someone, become convinced of the things you have learned from the Word.
Be firm in your beliefs, do not be easily swayed by the world.
Keep the Word near to your heart and keep a tight grip on what God has said to avoid falling for those who say, “Did God really say?”
When you are convinced that God said, you can boldly say, Yes God has said and you are to depart from me you foolish deceiver.
3. Finally, to learn and grow so you are equipped you must get into the God Breathed word.
To do this observe the text. Look at what it says. Find the people addressed, the place, the words used. See what the author was saying before seeking to know what it means.
Seeing what it means is next. After observing it see what it means. Look at the context and other writings by the author to determine the flow. Look at the words used here and see how the author uses them in the rest of the book.
Then look for how it applies to you today.
When we see what it says, understand what it is saying, then we can apply it to our lives and become equipped in righteousness and able to do every good work.
We will also know when we hear false scriptural sayings and be able to stop them then.
Don’t Live by Trial and Error
Don’t Live by Trial and Error
This story about a man eating the wrong mushroom is fitting for the end of this message.
In January 1997, according to Moira Hodgson in the New York Times, Sam Sebastiani Jr., a member of one of California’s most prominent winemaking families, died from eating poisonous mushrooms that he had gathered near his home in Santa Rosa, California.
“The mushroom Mr. Sebastiani is thought to have eaten,” writes Hodgson, “was an Amanita phalloides, also known as the death-cap mushroom. It is the cause of 95 percent of lethal mushroom poisoning worldwide and is fatal more than 35 percent of the time; toxins in its cap destroy the victim’s liver by rupturing the cells.
“Experts … are warning inexperienced mushroom enthusiasts to leave the picking to trained mycologists, who will not be fooled by poisonous varieties that closely resemble their nonpoisonous cousins.”
Roseanne Soloway, a poison control center administrator, says, “A level of presumed expertise is not enough to save your life.”
“One of the most sinister aspects of deadly mushroom poisoning,” writes Hodgson, “is the delay between ingestion and onset of symptoms. The stronger the poison, the longer it takes to show itself, and by the time a patient is aware of the problem, it may be too late.”
Some things you shouldn’t attempt to learn by trial and error, for the price of a mistake is far too high. That’s the way it is with our beliefs about the meaning of life and our choices about right and wrong. Much is at stake, and the full consequences of our actions may not be seen until it is too late. The only expert you can fully trust is the Bible.
Craig Brian Larson, 750 Engaging Illustrations for Preachers, Teachers & Writers (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2002), 38.
Let us always trust the expert and live out what it says because God has given it to us to study and know so we can follow Him easier. Christ working in us and through us will guide us to understand His Word if we just read it and pray to Him for help.
Trust Christ and trust Him to guide you through His Completely faithful Word.
When you do, you will begin to live an even more meaningful Christian life and be able to be Resolute in a world gone mad.