“Why Should I Trust the Bible?”
(2 Timothy 3:14-17)
Series: Life’s Biggest Questions
Rev. Todd A. Linn, PhD
First Baptist Church Henderson, KY
(4-13-08) (AM)
- Take your Bibles and open to 2 Timothy, chapter 3.
We are right in the middle of our special six-week study on life’s biggest questions. So far we’ve asked the question, “Why?” We’ve asked, “Why am I here?” and “Why should I believe in God in the first place?” Today’s question is, “Why should I trust the Bible?” For that question we’re going to look at Paul’s second letter to Timothy, chapter 3.
2 Timothy is the Apostle Paul’s last letter he writes before he dies. If you knew you were going to die soon and you had one last letter to write to someone what would you write? Paul says, “the time of my departure is at hand (4:6).” He knows it won’t be long and he’ll leave this world. So he writes of short letter to the young pastor Timothy and one of the most important things he talks about is the power of the Bible. In our passage this morning, Paul warns about those who will stand against the Christian faith, unholy people, people who love themselves rather than God, and Paul teaches to not be deceived by them. There is a contrast between the people he is describing and what he encourages Timothy to do in the verses we will read.
- Stand in honor of the reading of God’s Holy Word.
14 But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them,
15 and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for 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 complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.
- Pray.
Introduction:
The Bible is a book unlike any other book in all of history. It contains a sum total of 66 books from Genesis to Revelation. It was written by over 40 authors over a time span of 1,500 years. These authors came from all walks of life, people like a king, a shepherd, a tax collector, a fisherman. They wrote from different places like the wilderness, a battlefield, a prison. These authors wrote in a variety of literary genre: poetry, law, song, and biography. They wrote in 3 different languages: Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. And yet with such variety, there is one unfolding theme that runs throughout all 66 books: the glorious God who rules the universe seeks us out to be reconciled to Him and powerfully transformed!
Let’s talk about why we should trust the Bible. And as we do, we’re going to allow the Bible to guide our study. I want us to think this morning about three major aspects of the Bible. First:
I. Consider the Bible’s Power (14-15)
In verse 14 Paul says to Timothy, “continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them.” Timothy had learned a lot about the Christian life from Paul. As recently as verse 10 Paul had said, “You have carefully followed my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith,” and so forth.
Timothy had learned a lot from Paul, but he had also learned a lot before he had ever met Paul. Parents, look up here at me! As Timothy was growing up, from whom do you suppose Timothy had learned most about spiritual things? Look at verse 15:
15 and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
Timothy had learned about the Bible, “from childhood,” literally, “from infancy.” Specifically, who were his instructors? Unfortunately, we don’t read a lot about Timothy’s father. It is the father’s role to be the spiritual leader in the home, but unfortunately we don’t read about Timothy’s father. We do read, however, about Timothy’s mother and grandmother. In 2 Timothy 1:5, Paul says, “I call to remembrance the genuine faith that is in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice.” So it is these two stalwart women Paul has in mind back in chapter 3, verse 15, where he says, “from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures.”
Praise God for parents who show their love for their children by teaching them, “from childhood; from infancy” the Holy Scriptures! And praise God for a church that teaches children about the Bible. In our evening service tonight, the kids are going to lead worship and share what they have learned from the study of the Bible.
Well, where is Paul going in these two verses, verses 14-15? See how they end: Paul wants us to consider the Bible’s power. He says, “Continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures—(here it comes)—which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Jesus Christ.”
The Bible is powerful! The Bible makes us wise for salvation through faith which is in Jesus Christ. Timothy had learned much of the Old Testament which was the Bible of his time. And he learned about how God’s people were looking forward to the coming of a Messiah, one who would save them from their sin. And we have Old and New Testament. We have so much more of the Holy Scriptures to make us wise for salvation.
Now someone may ask, “But can we really trust what the Bible says? Is the Bible historically reliable?”
There are presently more than 5,686 known Greek manuscripts of the New Testament. That is, as archaeologists do their work of digging and searching for things, they have found over the years nearly 6,000 Greek manuscripts of the New Testament. You may ask, “How significant is that?” Well, when we talk about historical reliability, we’d like to know how old something we have found is, how old in relation to the original, and how many copies of it we have.
Forget about the New Testament for a moment and consider what is the best-attested work of antiquity. How many of you had to read Homer’s Iliad in school? The first complete text of the Iliad dates from the 13th, the 1200s. There are 643 manuscripts of the Iliad. But that stands a distant second to the New Testament. The New Testament is the most frequently and carefully copied and widely circulated work of antiquity, with a total of nearly 6,000 Greek manuscripts, the earliest fragment of which dates to about 50 years from the original. If you add the over 10,000 Latin versions and 9,000 other early versions, you have a grand total of 25,000 manuscript copies of portions of the New Testament in existence today. According to Josh McDowell in his, New Evidence that Demands a Verdict—a book you can check-out of our church library, “No other document of antiquity begins to approach such numbers and attestation (p.34).” Again, Homer’s Iliad is a distant second with 643 manuscripts. 643 to 25,000!
Historical reliability ought to mean something to the honest skeptic. See, Muslims claim the Old and New Testament has changed over the years so you cannot trust the Bible. But the evidence is on our side. There is no better-attested work of antiquity in all of history. The oldest, complete copy of the Bible—that is, all 66 books together in one unit—dates back to the 3rd century, 400 years before Islam, 400 years before the Koran.
Consider the Bible’s power. It is able to “make us wise for salvation.” Now if the Bible can make us “wise for salvation,” don’t you think it would be wise for us to read it?! Yet, our country is fast becoming biblically illiterate.
I want you to check-out this video clip. Some people in a typical American city are being asked how many of the 10 Commandments they can name. How many could you name? Let’s check it out.
**VIDEO-CLIP (2 minutes).
It’s a pretty sad thing in our country when we can name 10 beers, but we can’t name even one of the 10 commandments. We’re talking about the Bible’s power, but we can’t know its power if we don’t read it. That takes us to the next point:
II. Consider the Bible’s Profitability (16)
16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,
Here Paul tells us about the profitability of Scripture. Now before we see the many ways in which the Bible is profitable, helping us grow and become more like Christ, notice this word here at the beginning of verse 16.
Paul says, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God.” The word inspiration there is not meant this way: “Oh, the Bible is so inspiring to me!” That may be true, and probably is, but that’s not what the word means. It doesn’t mean that the Bible “inspires” us in the sense that a good movie inspires us. The word “inspiration” there is a Greek word that literally means, “God-breathed-out.” This verb reminds us that the source of the Bible is God Himself. God breathes His words through the personalities and backgrounds of the writers of Scripture.
I like to study this text alongside 2 Peter 1:20-21. Peter writes:
20 knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation,
21 for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.
Peter says, “the writers of the Bible did not just write-down their own opinions and tell a bunch of stories.” No, he says, “holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.”
The word “moved” connotes the idea that God, “picked them up and carried them along.” God used their different backgrounds, reasoning, personalities, use of literature, etc., but He guided and superintended the process so that, in the end, what they wrote-down was exactly what God wanted. That’s awesome! That’s why we can trust the Bible.
Now look again at 2 Timothy 3:16 as we consider the Bible’s profitability. By the way, how much of the Bible is profitable? How much? First word of verse 16: “All.” All! Now, I like to use this clarification: All of the Bible is equally profitable, but not equally interesting! You know what I mean? When was the last time you heard a sermon entitled, “A careful, chronological study of the Levitical priesthood and the many-numbered facets of civil and cultic Jewish law?!” Important? Yes. It is God’s word and there are principles there that apply. But equally important or equally as interesting as, say, John 3:16? Well, that’s a different story, isn’t it?!
Nevertheless, “All” scriptures is God-breathed. All of it. And because God breathed-out all of it, it is wholly true and without error.
We’re talking about the Bible’s profitability. Look at these things. It is profitable for four things:
Doctrine. This is, “divine truth.” We learn basic truths about God when we study the Bible. Last week, for example, we learned some of the attributes or characteristics of God from Psalm 139. God is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent. That’s doctrine. Our children tonight are going to share with you some of the doctrine they are learning in Sunday school.
Reproof. Reproof is when God rebukes us for wrong behavior. Hebrews 4:12 says:
“For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”
Correction. Correction sort of follows reproof. It brings the Christian back to where he’s supposed to be. God uses His word to open our heart so that we confess our sins and then God uses His Word to bring us back where we need to be.
Instruction in Righteousness. This phrase connotes the idea of training, like the loving discipline a parent gives to a child.
The whole point of verse 17 is that God’s word is profitable to us in that it changes our behavior. The Bible is not given to merely fill our heads with information, but to guide our conduct. Let me say that again. The Bible is not given to merely fill our heads with information, but to guide our conduct.
So we must regularly read the Bible and apply its teachings. We must submit ourselves to the authority of God’s Word. This all takes us to the final point. Why should we trust the Bible? Well, consider the Bible’s power, the Bible’s profitability, and thirdly:
III. Consider the Bible’s Purpose (17)
Here is the ultimate purpose for which God gives His Word:
17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.
Here is the ultimate purpose: that each of us may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. The idea is that with the Bible, “we have everything we need to do what God wants us to do.”
Rather than chasing after so many other things, we need to turn to the Scriptures. God has blessed us with so much.
The memory verse this week is Matthew 7:24:
“Therefore, whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock.”
Let’s get the whole context here and remember that this verse comes at the end of three chapters of Jesus’ teachings. It comes at the end of Jesus’ “Sermon on the Mount,” Matthew chapters 5-7. Look at what Jesus says:
24 ” Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock:
25 “and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.
26 “But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand:
27 “and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.”
Did you learn the song when you were small?
The wise man built his house upon the rock
The wise man built his house upon the rock
The wise man built his house upon the rock
And the rain came tumbling down
Oh, the rain came down
And the floods came up
The rain came down
And the floods came up
The rain came down
And the floods came up
And the wise man’s house stood firm.
- Stand for prayer
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