The ABC's of the Christian Life #8: Following Jesus Rightly #4: Authority & Sufficiency of Scripture

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We're working through these ABCs of the Christian life and since they are the foundational and simple not simplistic but simple things of the

Christian faith I'm hoping for most of you that you see nothing new here but it just reaffirms for us what we already know to be true and this is such an important matter it's foundational is it not to living rightly following the

Lord rightly and that is a recognition and submission to the authority and sufficiency of Scripture this is one of the most important matters for the

Christian life and ultimately most of the problems you come across that people have professing

Christians it's because they have either neglected or failed in this area looking to the

Word of God the Holy Scriptures alone as a source of all authoritative information about the

Christian life how we might know God and how he would have us live before him is taught in his

Word God's Holy Word declares itself that the Holy Bible is the source book of all authoritative information about what we were to believe about God and our relationship with him and how our

God would have us live in the world that old watchword Sola Scriptura of the

Protestant Reformation Scripture alone we acknowledge and confess the opening words of our confession make this statement the very first paragraph the

Holy Scripture is the only sufficient certain in other words it's the only objective source that we have the only certain and infallible rule of all saving knowledge faith and obedience although the light of nature and the works of creation providence do so far manifest the goodness wisdom and power of God is to leave men inexcusable yet are they not sufficient to give that knowledge of God and his will which is necessary unto salvation and therefore please the

Lord at sundry times and diverse manners that's words from Hebrews 1 1 to reveal himself and to declare that and to declare that his will unto his church and afterward for the better preserving and propagating of the truth and for the more sure establishment and comfort of the church against the corruption of the flesh and the malice of Satan in the world to commit the same holy underwriting which maketh the

Holy Scriptures to be most necessary those former ways of God's revealing his will unto his people be now ceased and so that is a statement on the authority and sufficiency the finality of the

Holy Scriptures and we affirm that we would argue the Holy Scriptures themselves declare that good summary statement in our confession the

Lord Jesus Christ himself of course declared that life in the true sense life from God before God comes to the

Holy Scriptures when the devil tempted Jesus to turn stones to bread when he was near in a state of starvation the

Lord said to him man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God this is how his people live through the word of God from the mouth of God and in contending with the devil our

Lord quoted scripture of course the Lord dealt with the devil there in the wilderness in the same way that you and I are to deal with the devil he did no more than what you and I can do and that is to rely on Holy Scripture to govern how we act and react to situations and how we respond the

Lord Jesus used scripture quoted from Deuteronomy and so as Christians we're to affirm and we are to employ the

Holy Scriptures alone we underscore that word alone to determine all matters of truth respecting our faith and practice as as Christians you deviate from here you're going to have problems guarantee it but it's a sad and lamentable problem that Christians will tend to either substitute something else other than the

Holy Scriptures or augment the word of God with other sources of information about God and his will

I would have us live in the world and more often than not the substitute for the authority and sufficiency of the

Holy Scriptures lies in some impression or inward sense of what is true or right regardless of what the scriptures say the

Lord led me I just felt it in my heart I knew it was so and the scriptures aren't cited or looked to but rather some inward impression they're wholly subjective in this we're just not objective like the statement above said it's the only certain source of information we have about God but the

Bible is the Word of God it is the only objective source of information we have about God and his dealings with us all other claims to hearing from God are subjective and unverifiable the essence of their error is that they do not believe that God's revelation of himself and his will to direct his people is limited to the written word the

Bible but there are other ways that God communicates his will to his people they claim that through their devotion their prayer and meditation that they receive direct communication from God this is so common among professing

Christians it's it's a rarity really to have a church of people to confess all the scripture in these days or similar to this they believe that some holy man or woman has received direct communication from God how many men and women who purport to be church leaders or parachurch leaders assert themselves as having some direct discourse with God God told me this and now

I'm telling you and it serves to elevate that man or that woman in the eyes of the people well the thought or idea that God directly communicates with people in this fashion is really the error of mysticism mysticism is a common error of evangelicalism it's commonplace of course in many

Pentecostal denominations but but it's not only common with them for example the

Quaker denomination is characterized by mysticism they look for an inner light oftentimes sit quietly as a congregation until someone is moved by not the

Holy Spirit because they don't believe in the Holy Spirit but they have an inner light and they stand up and make a declaration this is the

Word of God and so mysticism is seen in the common belief and practice by many television preachers for example but there are very many churches and Christians that combine mysticism with biblical teaching yes the

Bible is the Word of God but in addition God speaks to us in other ways and you have to know and be able to be trained in how to listen to the voice of God so that you might live rightly before God this is common teaching

I hear it all the time and so the evangelical scene is rife with the idea that God communicates directly with your spirit and when

I talk about spirit what they're saying by that is that a person an individual has this heavenly spiritual self that is distinct from the soul distinct from the body and that God communicates directly by revelation or by the

Holy Spirit with my spirit bypassing the Holy Scripture it's the

Word of God and so they believe that this spiritual aspect of the individual is a higher and more desirable way to receive communication from God than even the

Holy Scriptures and oftentimes they downplay doctrine biblical teaching as secondary and many times they even say unspiritual years ago

I was in Guatemala with my good friend Jason Austin and we were standing up in front of about a dozen

Pentecostal pastors primarily a Baptist but they were very similar in their understanding many of their this was up in the mountains of northern

Guatemala among the Mayan Indians and many of them were illiterate most of their members were illiterate the pastors could hardly read and primitive conditions and they didn't read the

Bible in fact they encourage their people you know not to give any attention to the Bible but rather they were totally subjective and they began to recount all the miracles they claimed that God was doing in their midst and whatnot and I remember

Jason having brought a number of study Bibles and handing it to them and we just spent our time trying to reinforce to them as the

Scripture as a sole authority for matters of faith and practice and the Lord broke through in a wonderful way and I was really pleased at that in fact one of them concluded by saying fellas we have to change everything we've ever taught and done because they the

Lord broke through and revealed to them the authority and sufficiency of the Holy Scriptures in bringing about his work among his people but they thought you know what's the value of doctrine

God has spoken to my spirit and this is what's really important they claim

Scripture says well that's what God said thousands of years ago we need a fresh word today and they claim that God gives them that fresh word and they turn around and declare it to people and people believe it embrace it and it's evangelicalism is rife with this kind of belief and teaching but it's not biblical and I would argue it's not even

Christian it's pure mysticism and yet many many are deceived by this these silly and foolish ideas of spirituality and what matters to many people again it's not the

Word of God but rather they're looking for an impression a feeling that God spoke to my spirit and then they go with it well may the

Lord deliver us from that kind of error the Scriptures and the Scriptures alone may we look to the written authoritative inerrant

Word of God and the Scriptures for it is through the Scriptures alone that the Lord speaks to his people it is the only objective source certain source everything else is subjective the

Bible alone is objective and yet there's so many evangelical voices that say something counter to this particularly in the last generation they call themselves

Bible believers but they reject the teaching of Sola Scriptura again the

Latin phrase Scripture alone as the source of all information about who

God is and what he would have us believe and how we should live before him I've cited in the past I'll cite him here again

Jack Deere a former seminary professor at Dallas Theological Seminary and yet he was surprised on one occasion by the voice of God and he developed his ministry accordingly and he wrote this in order to fulfill

God's highest purposes for our lives we must be able to hear his voice both in the written word and in the word freshly spoken from heaven he's adding to the

Scriptures a word freshly spoken from heaven all scriptures the word but you know that's what

God said 2 ,000 years ago we need a fresh word he gives it to us Satan understands the strategic importance of Christians hearing

God's voice so he has launched various attacks against us in this area listen to this one of the most successful attacks has been to develop a doctrine that teaches

God no longer speaks to us except through the written word ultimately this doctrine is demonic even though Christian theologians have been used to perfect it and so what we're advocating this morning he says is demonic when we advocate the sole authority of the

Scriptures he says that's it that's of the devil and yet so many people follow after him there are others who are less overt in their assertions one of the most popular writers in the last generation was

Henry Blackaby there was an entire arena of books and church programs that were produced out of his original book entitled experiencing

God and he basically was trying to teach people on how to experience

God in life and the book and I have a copy of it

I've read it although it has a lot of very good information in it he was a

Southern Baptist pastor nevertheless he goes beyond Scripture and he advocates that you have to hear from God apart from Scripture to really experience

God that's what he advocates and so Blackaby speaks of a will of God outside of the

Scriptures it's found by properly reading day -by -day events that occur in one's life and so God controls all things and therefore you know you know like me the other day

I get an accident lady comes out totals my car what was God saying to me through this and then draw some conclusion now the

Lord wasn't telling me anything you know other than I'm to act and react in a biblical way to what just happened and you know this is how the

Lord reveals himself and this is how we're to respond we're to take everything that happens to us and and attempt to interpret it and apply the

Scriptures to it one of the best descriptions of the

Christian life I ever read was in the title of a little pamphlet and it was it the title of it was the

Christian life a life of principled obedience and that's what the Christian life is the

Scripture set forth principles and then we apply these in life in addressing and dealing with situations and they are set forth in the

Holy Scriptures but Blackaby says no if you really want to experience

God you're going to have to learn how to listen to the voice of God that is mysticism that is not

Christianity Bill Bright who's with the Lord now founder and director of Campus Crusade International worldwide there they developed that Jesus film project which is aired throughout the world he declared there will be an awakening in America now this is 25 years ago our

World Center will be erected we will see the International Christian Leadership University develop where Vonette and I will take the basic truths and messages of Campus Crusade to thousands

I'm telling you what God told me and I'm willing to stake my life on it see there's a declaration you know that God gave him an inside message as it were and he's declaring it now to the world that is in conflict with contradiction to historic

Protestant understanding of Sola Scriptura in one of his books Bright declared that he had gone through a 40 day fast and that God spoke to him through this fast if he could get a hundred thousand

Christians to fast for 40 days God would send revival and so this is what this book that he wrote advocated that revival is contingent on a hundred thousand

Christians fasting for 40 days this is mysticism it's not

Christianity biblical Christianity but let me make a possible or correct a possible misunderstanding when we're asserting that the

Bible alone is the sole rule in all matters touching what we're to believe how we're to live we're not saying that God doesn't presently lead us he does lead us to his providence at times and evangelicals have always affirmed that God guides and direct his people by the

Holy Spirit as the scriptures are illuminated to them and so the Holy Spirit prompts actions brings to remembrance scriptural principles places upon our hearts the desire to do good works but these evangelicals are saying something entirely different I have a book in my library it's

I don't know if I can remember the exact title remarkable incidents and answers to prayer

I think it's copyrighted in the 1890 or something it's a it's a little book filled with first -hand accounts from a number of different Christians and Christian leaders

Spurge and whatnot in there and whatnot but I remember one in particular that made a great impression upon me years ago about a man living in New England in the 19th century and there was a a storm brewing but he became very burdened about a couple living in a house some neighbors not far away and so he went out and he went up to their house stepped into the porch he didn't knock on the door but he prayed for them prayed out loud

Lord if there's a someone here that wants to do them harm a hand raised up I pray you paralyze that that arm that hand and years years later this this man was preaching in a prison and a prisoner came up to him and said

I know you and I was in that porch and was intending to do harm for that family and you prayed that prayer and he showed his shriveled arm and said it's shriveled up then it's been paralyzed ever since you know the

Lord does remarkable and miraculous things but that's not what we're dealing with here we're talking about ways in which

God communicates you know truth about himself and how he would live before us that's in this

Holy Scriptures alone but we certainly do not deny the miraculous and and remarkable things that happen in people's lives the corrective to Christian mysticism is restoring the role of the mind as the arbiter of truth as God has set forth in the

Holy Scriptures the mind when God created Adam and Eve the mind had the the role of the leader of the soul mind emotions and will the mind was to govern the soul the hegemony the leadership of the mind but when man sin

Adam and Eve sin the role of the mind suffered and became subordinate to the affections to the lusts and so the fallen man is given governed by lusts but when

God converts people and causes them to be Christian he reaffirms and reasserts the role of the mind that the mind is to be the governing aspect of the soul and that's expressed here in Romans 12 verses 1 and 2 where Paul said

I beseech you brethren therefore brethren by the mercies of God that you present your bodies a living sacrifice wholly acceptable to God which is your reasonable service or worship ministry and do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind our people transformed they're transformed by the renewing of their mind so that you may prove or test or validate what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God it's the the mind that is to be shaped and informed by the scriptures the

Word of God and this results in a transformation and so Paul appeals to the need for Christian the

Christian to experience transformation in other words the believer sanctification and so the mind needs renewed through acquiring truth correcting error informing ignorance so that the believer is able to order his life according to that truth that his mind has acquired and has retained and so the domination of the mind is restored or should be restored in the life of the

Christian now there are any number of places in Scripture where we can look for the authority and sufficiency of the

Scripture not just the authority but the sufficiency of Scripture it it alone should govern our thinking our lives and I thought we would look at 2nd

Timothy 3 1 through 17 in order to see how this is played out

Paul was writing to Timothy Timothy was was being prepared to pastor he was going to be set there in Ephesus to pastor the church there in Ephesus and so Paul was instructing him and he was telling

Timothy you're going to have all kinds of problems and not just outside the church inside the church you're going to have all kinds of problems but Timothy the

Lord has equipped you to deal with every possible contingency that you're going to have to face and we'll see of course that the basic equipping that the

Lord gave Timothy was the Holy Scriptures and that Timothy was fully equipped to deal with any issue that would confront him with the

Holy Scriptures so 2nd Timothy 3 verse 1 and following but know this that in the last days perilous times or perilous times will come for men will be lovers of themselves lovers of money boasters proud blasphemers disobedient to parents unthankful unholy unloving unforgiving slanderers without self control brutal despisers of good traitors headstrong haughty lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God having a form of godliness but denying its power from such people turn away for of this sort are those who creep into the households and make captives of gullible women loaded down with sins let awake by various loss always learning but never able to come to the knowledge of the truth so knowledge puffs up unless it's knowledge of the truth knowledge of the truth builds up knowledge apart the truth puffs up but they're never able to come to the knowledge of truth although they're always learning now as Jannies and Jamborees resisted

Moses so do these also resist the truth men of corrupt minds disapprove concerning the faith but they'll progress no further for their folly will be manifest to all as theirs also was but you have carefully followed my doctrine manner of life purpose faith long -suffering love perseverance persecutions afflictions which happened to me at Antioch at Iconium at Lystra were persecutions

I endured and out of them all the Lord delivered me yes and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution but evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse deceiving and being deceived you must continue in the things which you have been learned and been assured of of knowing from whom you have learned them 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 all scripture and I've emboldened this italicized it for emphasis all scripture is given by inspiration of God and it's profitable for doctrine for reproof for correction for instruction in righteousness that the man of God may be complete thoroughly equipped for every good work

Paul was asserting solar scripture to Timothy you've got the holy scriptures you've been taught you've been trained even from a youth you followed me you learn from me but you've got the scriptures to govern you and to guide you to address all the problems that you're going to have to deal with in that church in which you're going to pastor and so God tells us in this portion of his word that he's given resources to his people to stand strong and stay true to him even in the perilous times that will come to them now the

Apostle Paul's reference to verse 1 to perilous times shouldn't be viewed as the end times

I have an acquaintance in this area he's visited church once or twice maybe a couple years ago

Pentecostal fellow we have mutual friends nice guy loves the

Lord witnesses to people on the street all the time but he called me yesterday afternoon one talk about a half an hour about what

I thought about the end times and all the difficulties that are going on in the world and he made mention of the perilous times here and I tried to affirm and assert him no

Paul was talking about perilous times throughout this church age not talking about problems right before the second coming of Christ he was declaring perilous times that Timothy was going to have to face and he was telling him he was equipped to deal with this so Paul was declaring that the entire church age what the

New Testament describes as the last days were this last 2 ,000 years the last days will be characterized by periods of great difficulty for Christians and although Christians are living in the age of fulfillment in which they enjoy

God's salvation through the Messiah they would have to endure periods of great peril perilous times will be upon us and down through church history the people of God have had to suffer through great seasons of trial and persecution there are some that claim that there have been more

Christians martyred just in the last generation or two than throughout the entire church age perilous times exist even though we in America have been wonderfully and largely preserved from it nevertheless

Paul assured Timothy that God had equipped his people or more precisely him to stand strong in these difficult times and so we read of Paul encouraging

Timothy in these ways instructing him to be courageous and confident that he had what was required what was necessary to serve the

Savior among his people and so he said before Timothy that you had no reason to be fearful or timid for God has provided everything for you

Timothy in order to live godly and godless days serve him rightly and serve his people and we see what equipped

Timothy first we see in verses 10 and 11 Timothy had a spiritual mentor to learn from and an exemplary model to follow wouldn't it be nice to have someone like the

Apostle Paul to teach us and to observe but you have carefully followed my doctrine manner of life purpose faith long suffering love perseverance persecutions afflictions which happened to be at Antioch at Iconium at Lystra what persecutions

I endured and out of them all the Lord delivered me and so Paul could cite himself as an example to Timothy and here we see implied of course in these verses the value and the importance of having godly

Christian mentors to teach and guide younger Christians in the way of Christ I think there are many believers who have not grown as believers because they have not had personal spiritual interaction with more mature

Christians oftentimes we regard our faith as personal a private matter and so we keep to ourselves and that's not healthy for the

Christian we do not voice our questions or make known our doubts and struggles we do not seek the counsel of those who could help us and so our

Christian walk therefore is hindered is stunted most mature believers in the

Lord I say most not all are so because they've been taught by others who have brought them along in the faith

Timothy had a great mentor the Apostle Paul and Timothy heard

Paul preach and teach Timothy heard Paul counsel others he spent time with Paul learning from him as they traveled about throughout the

Roman Empire he observed Paul as he encountered hardship and difficulty and Paul could appeal to Timothy due to their close interaction and mutual experience you've watched me you've observed me you've learned how it's done

Timothy what were some of these things that Timothy observed well

Timothy had followed carefully Paul's doctrine Timothy was taught doctrine by the

Apostle Paul doctrine is an expression of one's understanding of truth is taught in God's Word another word for doctrine is teaching there are many people that are very down on doctrine they think it's deadening to spirituality

Oh Paul puts this at the head of the list doctrine true doctrine correct doctrine is biblical truth understood that's what doctrine is one must have a thorough understanding of the teaching of Scripture if the

Scriptures are to influence your life and the fact is everyone holds doctrine even those that don't like doctrine who say they hate it they too are doctrinal creatures you cannot be otherwise if you believe in God or if you don't believe in God you hold to certain doctrines about God who he is what he's like what you believe about him what you don't believe about him every rational person in this world holds doctrine you can't escape it the question is whether it's good doctrine in accordance with the

Bible or bad doctrine in conflict with the Bible but every one of us is by you can't if you're a thinking person you're you're a doctrinally minded person may have weak doctrine understanding of the

Word of God that is not rightly informed according to the Scriptures then

Timothy had followed carefully Paul's manner of life Paul didn't just teach the Word of God he models it for him

I recall Spurgeon once said the lives of some

Christians are so little like their words they would do better saying less about spiritual things but Paul he modeled he lived what he preached

Timothy had followed carefully Paul's purpose in life and Paul lived for three primary ends he sought to know

Jesus Christ more fully secondly he sought to defend the truth of God before others and thirdly he sought to serve others in Jesus name that was his purpose in life and Timothy saw that modeled before him and no doubt embraced that purpose for himself

Timothy had followed carefully Paul's faith and I take this to be the observance of Paul's subjective faith his faith in God in his

Lord in even difficult times Timothy sought what it was to believe on God to believe on Christ Timothy followed carefully

Paul's long suffering as he endured such difficulty and really a true test of Christian maturity is bearing up under prolonged trial it's one thing to have a difficulty to last a day or two it's another one to have a difficulty last two or three months in that day but this is this is how the

Lord purifies our faith and confirms our faith to ourselves and to others

Timothy had followed carefully Paul's love Paul was not as a sounding brass or a clanging cymbal but having many gifts but no love

Paul's love was shown and that he suffered long and was kind he was not envious of others he didn't parade himself as somebody before others he did not behave rudely nor was he self -seeking he was not easily provoked all those things that Paul himself wrote about in first Corinthians 13 and then

Timothy had followed carefully Paul's perseverance Paul stood firm through his trials until the

Lord granted him relief or victory and Timothy had followed carefully his afflictions and his persecutions and Paul could cite these things

Timothy you were with me you saw this you followed me through all this and he could say out of them all the

Lord delivered me what may we say concerning this preparation of Timothy well we see an overarching principle for being used of the

Lord even in perilous times we can perhaps learn best how we might live before God in an ungodly world as we interact say with a more mature believer while he's encountering problems and there's where the lit lessons will be displayed before us how may we apply this in our own church if you desire to grow strong become mature find someone whom you respect and follow him or her

Proverbs talks about if you want to be wise follow a wise man

Elisha wanted to be used to the Lord he would stick to Elijah even though Elijah tried to discourage him if you cannot find someone whom you can follow a great substitute would be to walk with others through their life as told by biographers my five favorite books are biographies they're absolutely wonderful as they describe and testify to their their ministry and their lives the two volumes of D Martin Lloyd -Jones absolutely wonderful the two volumes of biography by Arnold Allemore of George Whitefield is transforming absolutely incredible Spurgeon's two volumes put out by Banner Truth in Murray wonderful biographies and and biographies of less noted persons also but they can serve as your mentors as well to encourage and instruct and guide you and motivate you and inspire you and then we can certainly see the great need for people to step forward and disciple others at some point in your

Christian life you need to stop only being a follower and increasingly become a teacher of the word that you can model and instruct and guide others in the way they ought to live as a finding a young Christian the writer of the

Hebrews rebuked them he said by this time you should have been teachers every one of us at some point hopefully have learned something through life and the

Lord that we can impart to others and we ought to try and develop those relationships with others particularly younger

Christians by which we can model this and help them along Paul next in verses 12 -13 declared that persecution comes to the godly when living among the worsening ungodly of the world yes all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution but evil men and imposters will grow worse and worse deceiving and being deceived started out bad in the days of Paul and Timothy and it's only gotten worse to the through the centuries all your times of reprieve thankfully in revival but there are perilous times perilous times would increase become more difficult with the unfolding of history and Paul is declaring this would occur in the churches by the way deceivers themselves deceived by error and they reap what they sow those who attempt to deceive others will in turn be deceived either by themselves or by others and because times are difficult godly people will suffer persecution and difficulty in life and again we are you know pretty much preserved from this thankfully in a free society but things are getting a little worse the last generation you know used used to be a pastor in a community was pretty highly regarded he's taken a fall as far as estimation as to the character of a clergyman in the community now oftentimes they're suspicious suspicions rather than an assumed respect and that's that's experience you know

I've experienced that it's different than it was 30 years ago 40 years ago

Calvin wrote however that you know well don't feel bad if you're not being persecuted terribly that doesn't necessarily mean you're not godly

I wrote a this paragraph from Calvin it's asked must all men be martyrs for it is evident that there have been many godly person who have never suffered banishment or imprisonment or flight or any kind of persecution

I reply it's not always in one way that Satan persecutes the servants of Christ but yet it is absolutely unavoidable that all of them shall have the world for their enemy in some form or other that their faith may be tried and their steadfastness proved for Satan who is the continual enemy of Christ will never allow suffer anyone to be at peace during his whole life and there will always be wicked men that are thorns in our sides and moreover as soon as a believer manifest zeal for God it kindles the rage of all ungodly men and although they have not drawn sword yet they vomit out their venom either by murmuring or by slander or by raising disturbance or by other methods accordingly although they are not exposed to the same assaults and do not engage in the same battles yet they have a warfare in common and shall never be wholly at peace and exempt from persecution.

John Calvin was a godly man and a great pastor in Geneva. You know he was coming out of the

Dark Ages and you know he didn't reform everything but he was one of the great leaders of the faith but there's probably no name through church history more hated than John Calvin and the doctrines he taught.

I remember before I was very informed regarding the reformed faith I had a very negative conception of John Calvin it just came with being in church.

Well we next read Timothy was to continue in the faith taught him from the Holy Scriptures and this is really what we wanted to focus on of course a few minutes we have verses 14 and 15 but as for you continue in the things which you've learned and been assured of knowing from whom you've learned them that from the childhood you've known the

Holy Scriptures which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus and so Timothy was to continue in the faith and this is not subjective faith the faith that Timothy had it was a faith entrusted to him continue in the faith in his doctrine the strength to endure hardship and continue to live for Christ in perilous days and found in one's own understanding of who

God is what his will is respecting salvation God's overthrow of his enemies and the confidence that the

Lord will accomplish his purpose through us the one who is not informed in these matters will become discouraged and easily foiled by the opposition he encounters but a man such as Timothy who had been taught well who had been assured that he had been taught was indeed the truth of God that man will stand strong in the faith even on to his final salvation and Paul assured

Timothy these Holy Scriptures are able to make you wise on to salvation talking about that final fullness of salvation on the

Day of Judgment we know from other places it was his mother and grandmother that instilled this in him his dad apparently was a

Gentile didn't know the Lord but his mother and grandmother taught him the Holy Scriptures from youth even when

Timothy was but a teenager he'd been taught by Paul and so he was equipped and as a result

Timothy had a resource to call upon when others about him would shrink from their duty he knew the Holy Scriptures he had a store from which to draw when the need arose to recall

God's Word he was thoroughly equipped on to every good work that he would ever face any enemy that opposed him he was equipped to deal with the problem

Paul says the Scriptures give the ability to understand and receive salvation why is for salvation and this of course is with you to the future

Day of Judgment often evangelicals talk about salvation only in the past tense

I was once saved I was saved second week of January 1972 but Paul for the most part as does

Peter talks about salvation as a future prospect that we will most certainly receive an inheritance the outcome of our faith even the salvation of our souls and the

Holy Scriptures will direct us in that path that will most certainly result in our full and final salvation on the

Day of Judgment we will be saved from sin through faith in Jesus Christ the

Bible of course speaks of that Day of Judgment you know one of my in my thinking one of the greatest faults or deficiencies of dispensationalism that permeates evangelicalism is taking away the biblical teaching that there is a future judgment day of judgment according to works the

Bible talks about the Lord Jesus coming and all the world has been going to be gathered before King Jesus Matthew 25 they'll be gathered before him like sheep and goats and he's going to separate them the ones on the one side going to everlasting life the ones on the other side into everlasting damnation and it's in a government it's a it is a judgment of works that will determine the outcome of the destiny of those people again

Jesus said in Matthew 25 you know when I was hungry you fed me when I was naked you clothed me when

I was in prison you visit me Lord when did we see you naked that we clothed you or hungry that was it when you've done it to the least of these my brethren you've done it on to me they demonstrated their

Christianity by how they loved the brethren and on the day of judgment their works validate their claim to faith and their faith will save them from damnation because their faith unites them to Christ and he will be their advocate and they'll be exonerated from any judgment and damnation their works will validate their faith on the other hand those who claim to be

Christian but whose lives say otherwise their hypocrisy will be betrayed on that day revealed on that day manifest on that day and they'll be sent into everlasting perdition but sadly dispensational teaching says no no the church is going to be raptured before the tribulation period and the only judgment that Christians will face is a judgment for rewards they take away the whole idea of a judgment of works that set forth in Romans 2 2nd

Corinthians 13 and Matthew 25 and so many places the fact is you and I will be judged one day according to our works our works are not meritorious they will not save us but they will either validate that we're true believers or they will prove that we're not and the outcome will be damnation and people are not being told this or not be warned of this and Paul is telling

Timothy that the Holy Scriptures are able to make you wise unto salvation they're able to instruct you and guide you in the way you were to live the way of faith and it's a faith that's lived out not just a faith that you claim to believe but a faith that is lived out and demonstrated and that will be manifested on the day of judgment when the

Lord's people be exonerated the judgment of works is so terribly important and so Paul says that these scriptures are able to make you

Timothy wise unto salvation and then

Paul's concluding word of encouragement based on the authority and sufficiency of Holy Scriptures in verse 16 he declares all scripture is given by inspiration of God it's literally

God breathed and it's profitable and he said he declares it for several purposes for doctrine in other words authoritative teaching about God who he is what we're to believe how we're to live before him profit for doctrine for reproof correcting people in their errant thinking errant behavior for correction reproving people correcting people and for instruction in righteousness in other words instruction on how to live rightly before God you find this in the

Holy Scriptures the Holy Scriptures are authoritative and they're sufficient Paul is telling

Timothy by these you are equipped to deal with anybody in these perilous times that you are going to face they're sufficient because they're inspired of God they're sufficient because of what they're able to produce in the area of spiritual life they are the gift of God to his people to instruct us and guide us may the

Lord help us to affirm the Holy Scriptures alone so the scripture in all matters of faith and practice and may we not fall into the error of mysticism where we're looking for you know for signs or impressions or circumstances by which we can assess you may as well be looking in the liver of chickens right or the entrails of animals that's what pagan people did in the past and that's what many people do today as they're trying to interpret things that are happening in their in their lives fact is you and I don't have that kind of wisdom to assess and understand

God's provenance his dealings with us but he has given us an authoritative inspired word that's inerrant and we can rely upon and it will guide us rightly in the way we should live and it will assist us and equip us to deal with any kind of issue that can possibly confront us in this fallen world amen thank the

Lord for his word father we thank you for your word that you've delivered to us and we just prayed that you would help us to affirm its authority and its sufficiency our

God to govern us in all matters of how we're to believe upon you and in all matters as to how we're to live before you and we pray our

God that we would have confidence in your word as we declare it to the fallen world in which you've placed us and so help us our