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If you open your Bibles at 2
Timothy chapter 3. Our text for this evening is
the verses 16 and 17. I'd like to, if I can, over the
next three weeks, just to concentrate on these two verses. First of
all, we'll see what the Bible has for us. The next thing, we'll
see what the Bible has to say about God. and the next thing
we see what the Bible has to say about the Lord Jesus Christ. So if we just read these two
verses first of all. It says all scripture is given
by the inspiration of God is proof profitable for doctrine
for reproof for correction for instruction and righteousness
that the man of God may be perfectly thoroughly furnished for all
good works. So that's our text for the next
few weeks. I'm sure you can read over it as you prepare
yourselves for Bible studies over the next few weeks. And
I'm sure you can add more to it than I will get out of it.
But we're looking at how we perceive the Bible today. We have to ask
the question again. There's always a question, I
know. When we read the Bible, do we
get any real benefit from reading and studying of God's Word? Remember,
it is God's Word we're talking about. This has been God's breath. Like He breathed into man, so
He has breathed into man to write these words down. It would seem
that many who engage in reading the Bible have no spiritual profit.
for all the effort they put into reading it. We can say that because
there's no evidence of the fruit that comes from them or what
they produce. People take up the reading of
the Bible for many different reasons. Some people take up
the study of scripture with the same enthusiasm and pleasure
as they would get out of studying history, or even geography, so that it might increase their
knowledge, and that they might discover something through their
efforts. Reading the Bible, but there's
no spiritual joy to be had It's just as if you are reading a
science book or any other book for that matter We may well increase
his knowledge and most likely his pride Others may take up
the Word of God just to say I've read the Bible Some may take
up the reading to obtain a general acquaintance of the contents
of the Bible for educational reasons, for the study reasons. Others to satisfy their sense
of curiosity as they might do with any other book on their
shelf. People belonging to a particular
denomination would search the Bible for proof texts that can
support all the doctrines that they would hold. Others do the
same for the purpose to be able to argue successfully with those
who would differ from them. But in all these reasons for
reading the Bible, there doesn't seem to be any thought of God
Almighty. There's no real desire for spiritual
edification, and therefore there's no real benefit to one's soul. As we look at the passage of
Scripture here in 2 Timothy 3, 16 and 17, we see quite clearly
how profiting from the Word of God consists. For we read all
Scripture, all Scripture. That means from the beginning
of the Bible to the end. All Scripture is given by the
inspiration of God. It is profitable for doctrine,
for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.
That the man of God may be perfectly, thoroughly furnished for all
the good works. What it does not say is that
the holy scriptures are given to us for our own intellectual
gratification. But it is to furnish us, that's
what it says at the end of the verse, it is to furnish us for
all good works. And it does this by teaching
us, reproving us, and correcting us. Let us look, first of all,
how the Word of God, when applied to us, what it does. Say, take for example, sin. How
does the Word of God convict us, revealing our depravity? and exposing our vileness and
all our wickedness. A man may well live a life that's
irreproachable. His dealings with others may
also be faultless. That means you just can't find
any fault in him. But when the Holy Spirit applies
the Word of God to his heart and his conscience, Then his
eyes are opened to sin, and it's made to see his relation and
his attitude to God, and it causes him to cry out, woe unto me,
for I am undone. It is in that way that each truly
saved soul is brought to realize the great need he has for our
Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. They that are whole need not
physicians, but they that are sick, says the Lord in Luke 5
and verse 31. You see, it's not until the Spirit
applies the word through divine power that the individual is
made to feel that he is sick, that he is sick unto death, for
it tells us the wages of sin are death. When such conviction
of sin brings home to them our poor state in which a human being
stands in the experience, usually then leads to a humbling and
a repentance and to conversion. The point is that we should not
restrict the initial experience, that means the initial experience
when we first were converted, but it should be each time that
God blesses our word to our hearts. We should be made to feel how
far short we come to the high standards of Almighty God. This is what we read in 1 Peter
115, be ye holy in all manners of conversion. When we read the
Bible, of the failure that different ones throughout the Bible had. Surely it must make us feel and
realize just how much we are like them. We do fail. We fail
often. On the other hand, when we read
the perfect life that the Lord Jesus Christ lived, does it not
make us feel how terribly unlike him that we are? We see also that one profited
spiritually when he has great sorrow over his sin. When we
read the Word of God, it tells us that the stony ground here
in Matthew 13, 20 and 21, he heareth the word and an eyes
with joy receives it, yet has he no roots in himself. But when
we read of those who were convicted, under the preaching of Peter,
it is recorded that they were prickled in their very heart. Acts 2 verses 37. But has anything
changed? Many today will listen to a lovely
sermon, they'll even address on some doctrine, or given by
some good elegant speaker, but there's not much depth to it,
and there's not much application to the conscience of the one
that's hearing. It may well be received with
appreciation, even by the congregation, But the thing is, there's no
humbling of oneself before the throne of Almighty God. No one
was brought into a closer walk with God through it. Should it
not, instead, that the faithful minister of the Lord should be
teaching in such a way that would bring the truth of scripture,
so that it would expose to the hearer to perceive that what
a failure, even as the best of God's people are. You may well
despise the message or even the messenger, but be thankful for
the message which will make them mourn before God and cry out,
O wretched man that I am. We must ask ourselves then, is
it the same for us in our private reading of the
Bible? Is that our private reading? Do we have this feeling for sin? It is when the Holy Spirit applies
it in such a way that we are made to feel our own shortfalls
and failures. It is then that we are really
blessed. This is what was written in Jeremiah
31 and verse 19. After that I was instructed,
I smote my thigh, I was ashamed, yet even confounded. So does
the reading and the study of God's word produce a broken heart
that leads you to humbling yourself before Almighty God. Does it
convict you of your sin in such a way that you're brought to
repentance before him? Exodus 12 and verse 8, the parcel
lamb had to be eaten. What was it eaten with? It was
eaten with bitter herbs. So it would be for us when we
feed also on the word of God. The Holy Spirit will make it
bitter before it becomes sweet to taste. Is it not the same
with all things? There must be a mourning before
comfort. Matthew 5, 6. And there must
be a humbling before exalting. 1 Peter 5, verse 6. So when the word of God leads
us to confess a confession of our sins, we spiritually profit
by it. 2nd Timothy 3 16 the scriptures
are profitable for reproof a soul that is honest with the self
will of course acknowledge all of it is false on the other hand
the cardinal soul it is written in john 3 20 for everyone that
loveth evil hateth the light neither cometh to the light least
his deeds should be reproved Our renewing heart will cry out,
God, be merciful to me, a sinner. Every time we are quickened by
the word of God, we will feel that there's a great fresh revealing
to us, revealing to us of our transgressions before Almighty
God. He that covers his sin shall
not prosper. But whosoever confesses and forsakes
them shall have mercy. Proverbs 28 verse 13. You see there will be no spiritual
prosperity or fruitlessness. Psalm 1 verse 3, whatever we,
that could be the wrong reference, but whatever we conceal within
us, all of our guilty secrets, it's only when we own up before
the mighty throne of God and every detail of our wrongdoing,
shall we be able to joyfully, to enjoy the mercy of God before
us. We must confess all at the throne
of Christ. We mustn't leave anything out. There will never be any real
peace for our conscience. There'll be no rest for our heart
when we remain in us on confessed sins. the biggest remedy or the
best remedy for sin or for wrongdoing. I'm sure you all know what sin
and wrongdoing is. We all know what right and wrong
is. And so when we do wrong, what
we should do is get down on our knees, confess it before God
right away, and don't let it fester. Relief only comes when we unburden
ourselves before God through the Lord Jesus Christ himself. David said in Psalm 33 verses
3 and 4, when I kept silent, my bones whacked old through
the roaring all the day long. For day and night thy hand was
heavy upon me, my moisture turned into drought of the summer. But
then David goes on to say in Psalm 32, I acknowledge my sin
unto thee, and my iniquities have I not hid. I said I will
confess my transgressions unto the Lord, and thou forgivest
the iniquities of my sin. If David had to do it, that mighty
man of God, surely then we must do the same. We can also benefit
spiritually when the word of God gives us a real dislike and
hatred for our sin. Psalm 97 verse 10, ye that love
the Lord hate evil. None of us can love the Lord
without hating what God himself hates and we all know what God
hates. He hates sin. We should do all
we can to avoid it And we must turn away from it and refuse
to continue in it. Remember what Jesus said to the
women? He said, go and sin no more. One of the best tests to apply
for those that you meet who confess conversion is what their attitude
towards sin is. Ask them that first and see what
they say. It will give you a good idea
just where they stand. There should be a great loathing
against and indeed against all things that are unholy. And we
especially thankful when the word of God then reproves us. David had this experience. Psalm
119 verse 104. Though through thy precepts I
get understanding, and I hate every false way. We notice that
David not only hates some or even many, but it says every
false way. And goes on to say in the same
Psalm, verse 128. Therefore I esteem all thy precepts
concerning all things to be right, and I hate every false way. The very opposite is said of
the wicked concerning the Word of God in Psalm 50 and verse
17. Proverbs 8, 13 tells us that the fear of the Lord is to hate
evil. The godly fear comes through
the reading of the Word of God. So the Christian then must have
a great hate and a loathing against all sin, not some sin, all sin. In Deuteronomy 17, 18, till sin
be hated, it cannot be mortified. When there's a great hating for
your sin, it will lead for us to turn away from it. 2 Timothy
2.19 Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from
iniquity. The more we read the word of
God to find out just what is pleasing and what is not pleasing
to the Lord, the more we discover what the will of God is. The
more our hearts will desire to be right with Him, the more our
ways will be conformed to Him. His ways and theirs will be walking
in the truth. We read at the end of 2 Corinthians
chapter 6, some precious promises that are given to those who separate
themselves from unbelievers. verse 16 and 18. And what agreement has the temple
of God with idols? Remember, if you're a Christian,
you're a temple of God. For we are the temple of the
living God. As God has said, I will dwell
in them and walk in them. I will be their God. and they
shall be my people therefore he says come out from among them
and be ye separated said the lord and touch not the unclean
things and i will receive thee and will be a father unto you
and ye shall be my sons and daughters said almighty god And continues
on in chapter 7 and verse 1, having therefore these promises,
Dearly Beloved, let us cleanse ourself from all filthiness of
flesh and spirit. John 15, 3, Now you are clean
through the word which I have spoken unto you. Is the reading
and the studying of God's Word producing a cleansing of our
ways? Wherewith shall a young man cleanse
his ways? The answer to that question is,
of course, by taking heed thereto according to thy Word. It is
more than simply reading. It's believing, or even memorizing,
but it's a personal application to the Word of God, to our own
selves. That's the way the Christian
is brought into a practical separation from evil. For sin has not only
to be confessed, it also has to be forsaken. Proverbs 20,
8, verse 13. The Holy Scripture are given
not only for purpose of revealing our sinfulness and the many ways
in which we come short of the glory of God, Romans 3, 23, but
the word of God also teaches us how to obtain deliverance
from sin, how to keep from displeasing God. Psalm 119 and verse 11. This word have I hid in my heart
that I might not sin against thee. The Bible also says in
Job 22 and verse 22, Here, of course, in Job, he is talking
about the commandments and about their warnings and about their
exhortations. We need to memorize them. We
need to meditate over them. and we need to put them into
practice. Unless we do that, we might as well do nothing.
It has to be seen how we're living and how we're keeping them. If
we had, for an example, a plot of land, and we did not want
to be overgrown with weeds, well, what would we do? We would plant
good seed in it. The only way to come out of evil
is with good. So the more the Christian dwells
in us, sorry, so the more Christ dwells in us, the less room there
will be to exercise sin in our hearts. You see, if we're filled
up with the things of Christ, if we're filled up with the knowledge
of Christ and the way we must do and the things we must do,
then there's going to be no room in ourselves for sin. When it
comes to the Word of God, if we only have lips and tongues
only to make a matter of talk, we will soon lose it and it will
be gone. It will be like the parable of the sower. It will
soon, the seed that was on the surface, what happened to it?
It was picked up by the fowls of the air. Therefore, when it
comes to the Word of God, we have to hide it deeply within
us. We are not just to hear it, we are not just to think about
it, but we have to let it sink down deep into us. Then it will
become dear to us. and it will push all our lusts
and all our sins aside. Psalm 37 and verse 31, the law
of God is in my heart, none of his steps shall slide. Do you
see, as long as God's truth is active within us, stirring up
the conscience and is really loved by us, we shall be kept
from falling. Joseph was tempted by Potiphar's
wife Remember what he said? How then can I do this wicked
thing and sin against God? Genesis 39 verse 9 you see the
Word of God was in his heart and therefore had a prevailing
power even then over his lusts Not one of us knew when we might
be tempted. Remember the Lord Jesus Christ
was tempted. What did he do when he was retempted?
He quoted scripture. Therefore, it's necessary for
us to prepare against temptation. Temptation, I'm afraid, comes
to everyone. When we store up God's word in
our heart, we will be ready to stand against them. We will also
benefit from God's Word when we cause us to do the opposite
of sin. Sin is a transgression of the
law, 1 John 3, 4. In other words, sin is rebellious
against God. It is determined to have its
own way. Now, the opposite of sinning
against God, what do you think it is? It's submission to God. To practice the opposite of sin,
then, is to walk in the way of obedience. This is one of the
main reasons why the scripture was given to us, to make known
to us the way which are pleasing to God. Scripture are profitable
not only for reproof and correction, but also for instruction in righteousness. We must ask ourselves, are all
our ways and works regulated by the Word of God? That simply
means, as all the decisions, as all the things we do, do we
do them by the Word of God? Do we go to God first? Do we
pray to God about them? That's what our lives should
be, regulated by the Word of God. This is what our Lord requires
of us. James 1.22 says clearly, Be ye
doers of the Word, and not hearers only, saving yourselves. This is how we are to show our
gratitude and our affection for our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. He said there in John 14, 15,
if you love me, keep my commandment. That's a sure way of finding
out if we really love the Savior, we will keep his words. This
is something we may not be able to do ourselves because, of course,
we'll need God's help. But even a godly man like David
prayed, make me go to in the path of thy commandments against
Psalm 119 and verse 35. We need God's help because the
blindness of our minds and the weaknesses of our heart. David
asked for the pass of thy commandments. Not a self-chosen course, that
means we're not to choose ourselves what we should do, but we should
define what we should do, what is marked out by God for all
the children of God to follow. So we will be doing the opposite
of what sin would have us do. In closing, I must ask, has the
study of the Bible been any spiritual benefit to you? Have you found
that through it you are thoroughly furnished unto all good works,
and that it teaches us reproof and correction and gives us a
greater desire to seek after the things that please God. You
see, we must have God's word and we must have it in our hearts.
We must trust God that When we sit down to read our Bible, we
pray first, pray for God to open his message for us, pray for
God to help us understand. There's many things in the Bible
that we don't understand, but we can pray for God to help us
understand what the Bible is saying to our own individual
selves. And it's that way when we go
to read our Bibles and study our Bibles, The Holy Spirit will
apply them to us and we will indeed, as the Bible says, be
thoroughly equipped to stand up against evil. Thank you.
How we perceive the Bible today
| Sermon ID | 101115412270 |
| Duration | 29:12 |
| Date | |
| Category | Prayer Meeting |
| Bible Text | 2 Timothy 3:17; 2 Timothy 3:16 |
| Language | English |
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