Turn with me now to 2 Timothy
chapter 3. 2 Timothy chapter 3. I would like to double down as
we say it. on our Bible study from two weeks
ago on the absolute importance of hearing the Word preached. The absolute importance of hearing
God's Word preached. The next two verses here in 2
Timothy 3 are going to really explain why. Let's read them
and then we'll break them down and really get into what they're
saying. 2 Timothy 3 verse 16 says, all scripture is given by inspiration
of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction,
for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect,
throughly furnished unto all good works. Number one, Paul
said, all scripture is given by the inspiration of God. All
scripture is given by the inspiration of God. Whatever this word has
to say to us, let's remember this is not coming from a man.
This is not coming from a man. The instruction, this teaching,
it's not a man's opinion, this is God Almighty's word. This
is God's word to us. Look with me if you would at
2 Peter chapter one. 2 Peter 1 verse 12 says, and let me just encourage you
to really zone into these verses right here, okay? Really, really
zone into this. 2 Peter 1 verse 12, Peter said,
wherefore, I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance
of these things, though you know them, and be established in the
present truth. He said, even though we know
it, I'm still going to remind us. You know it. People say, I already know that.
I know. I know we know it. But Peter said, I'm not going
to be negligent in reminding us. I'm still going to remind
us. Verse 13, yea, I think it meet necessary. as long as I
am in this tabernacle, this body I'm walking around in on earth, to stir you up. You see that? I think it made as long as I'm
in this tabernacle to stir you up. You know how complacent we
get? with things in the scripture,
with things concerning God, with eternity, we get so lost in the
world, we get so, our minds naturally, it's such a struggle to get them
off of everything but God's word. God's word is the last, it's,
with man it's impossible. With man it's impossible. You
cannot come into a church, sit down, and just be enthralled
by God's word unless his spirit is very kind to you. You just
can't. All right, so Peter said, I think
it meet as long as I'm in this tabernacle to stir you up by
putting you in remembrance, knowing that shortly I must put off this
my tabernacle. He said, I'm gonna die soon.
Even as our Lord Jesus Christ hath showed me. Moreover, I will
endeavor that you may be able after my decease to have these
things always in remembrance. What he's saying is, I've been
given this commission by God. I've been burdened by God to
make sure we know these things. And Peter said, I'm gonna die
soon. And I enter into this, I put myself into this, you know.
The Lord can take out any, no man is important. No flesh is
impure, well, the world needs you. No, the world doesn't. The
Lord can take me out before this Bible study's over. He does not
need me. I'm gonna die soon. And Peter
said, my conscience must be clear that
I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God. It's urgent that after I'm gone,
you don't forget these things, but you carry these things forward
for yourselves and for the next generation. Verse 16. For we've
not followed cunningly devised fables when we made known unto
you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses
of his majesty. For he received from God the
Father honor and glory, When there came such a voice to him
from the excellent glory, this is my beloved son, whom I'm well
pleased. And this voice which came from
heaven, we heard when we were with him in the Holy Mount. We
heard the voice of God the Father. All right, verse 19. We have
also a more sure word of prophecy, where unto you do well that you
take heed. Peter said, please listen to
me. You know, Peter got himself in
more trouble. If you know anything about Peter,
if you've ever read the stories about Peter, he got himself in
more trouble by thinking he had it right in his mind. Every time
he was like, well, I'll tell you what I'm gonna do. They're
all wrong, but I'm right, and this is how it is. He'd grab
the Lord and say, not so, Lord, uh-uh. I know what you just said,
but we're not doing that. Peter got himself in more trouble
by thinking he had it right in his mind and ignoring the direct
word of God on it. Both of Peter's epistles are
filled with him saying, take my word for it. I had to learn
the hard way. Learn from my mistake. Pay attention
to this word. This is real. This is serious. Pay attention to this word. Take
heed to this word. Don't be aloof. Don't ignore what God is saying
to us at the excuse of his sovereignty. You ever heard anybody say, well,
God's sovereign, isn't he? Well, you know, it was his election.
Don't ignore what he's saying at the excuse of his sovereignty
or the excuse of his election or the excuse of his predestination. Peter kept saying, be vigilant,
be sober, be sober. What difference does it make?
God Almighty says it makes a lot of difference. My children didn't do anything
to become my children, okay? They didn't do anything to become
my children. They had no say in the matter. You mean I have no say in the
matter? No say in the matter, okay? They had no say in the
matter. It was settled and done before they ever had any awareness
of it. They can't do anything to not
be my biological children. They can run anywhere they want
to run to in the world or do whatever they want to do, but
they can't do anything to not be my biological children. Now, does it matter whether they
listen to what I have to say to them? Does it matter? Does it matter whether they heed
my instruction to them or not? They had better believe it does.
We had better believe it does. Now listen to this. Listen to
this. I believe this will make a lot of sense to you. They had
better heed my instruction because they are my children. because it was ordered and sure
and set and can't be done. That's the reason why they are
the ones that must heed my instruction. Those who are not my children
are welcome to be aloof. That means I'm not paying any
attention to you. This doesn't affect me. I don't
have any reaction to it. I don't care. I don't care what
you're saying. Those who are not my children are welcome to
be aloof to what I say. I'm not gonna discipline them. I'm gonna leave them alone. I
really am. So I say something to a child
that's not mine, that child just ignores me and keeps on running.
I'm gonna leave them alone. But I'm not gonna do that with
my children. I'm not gonna leave him alone. I'm not gonna leave
him alone. And that's what Paul is saying
in our text, and that's what Peter's saying right here. Look
at verse 19. He said, we have a more sure
word of prophecy where unto you do well that you take heed as
unto a light that shineth in a dark place. That light is Christ. That light is the word of Christ.
That dark place is me and you. our natural minds, our natural
hearts. Verse 19, we have a more sure
word of prophecy where unto you do well that you take heed as
unto a light that shineth in a dark place until the day dawn
and the day star arise in your hearts. That's Christ. Knowing
this first that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private
interpretation, For the prophecy came not in old time by the will
of man, but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy
Ghost. That means this is not a man's
opinion concerning me and you, this is coming directly from
God Almighty. This is God's command concerning
me and you. And we would be wise to get into
this scripture and see what God has to say to me and you. We
would be so wise. Now go with me back to 2 Timothy
3. Second Timothy three, verse 16,
it says, all scripture is given by inspiration of God and is
profitable. That means advantageous. It will
be to our advantage. We will gain from it. We really
will. We will gain from it. All scripture
is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine. That word doctrine means teaching. And that word means this book
is all we need to teach in our churches and our assemblies.
That's what it means. This book is all we need to teach.
This is all that preachers need to preach. This is all that believers
need to hear. We don't need to teach some series
on studies that some man has written on some worldly issue
that he thinks is important. You know, everybody, they're
always looking at and considering issues and things like that.
We don't need to do that. We don't need to teach man devised
prophecy on when he thinks the end of time will come. which
a lot of people, that's a big subject matter. We're gonna have
a conference or we're gonna do a series on when the end of time
will come or what a certain person thinks is gonna happen when that
comes. We don't need that. We don't need to teach millennialism.
If you don't know what that is, good, don't worry about it. We
don't need to teach dispensationalism. We don't need to teach Judaism.
You ready for this one? We don't need to teach Calvinism. This book is our doctrine. This book is our teaching. All we need to do is literally
start right here and work our way from the left side of the
page to the right side of the page. That's what, you know,
this is chapter three. We're about right in here. When
we get to right here, that's what Paul is gonna tell Timothy
again. Just preach the word. Just preach
the word. Just keep preaching the word.
That's all we need to do. Verse 16. All scripture is given
by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine for reproof. This is important. Reproof means proof. It means evidence. Do you have
any proof? Why do you believe what you believe?
You have any proof? If you want to prove that something
is so, Paul said, show it to men and women in the word of
God. If you can't find it in this
word, you can't prove it to be so. This word is the foundation
of everything that's so. If you have two brethren arguing
over an issue, which has happened, unfortunately it will happen.
It's what sinners do. But if you have two brethren
arguing over an issue that they're both convinced they're right
on, how do you settle it? Go to this word. Whatever this
word says, that settles it. That's it. Verse 16, all scripture
is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine,
for reproof, for correction. That means for chastening, for
chastening. Now, really, really dial into
this, okay? I'm really burdened that we get
this. I really want us to get this. For so many reasons, our Lord
was so wise for ordaining the means of having a man stand in
a pulpit where argument and debate cannot take place, only declaration,
Our Lord was so wise for ordaining this means of having a man speak
his word to his people. That's what's going on in preaching.
We're standing up here speaking the same word you hold in your
hand, the same word you have at your house. We're standing
up here speaking his word and our Lord was so wise in doing
that because it is so much more piercing It's so much more piercing having
a man say it to you than it is for you to just read it for yourself.
And that's the truth. It is so much more piercing having
a man say it to you than it is for you to read it for yourself.
Our Lord on purpose did not say faith cometh by reading and reading
the word of God. He didn't say that. He said hearing.
Hearing. I don't want to diminish the
importance of reading God's word for yourself. I'm not trying
to do that. But generally speaking. You will never get out of it. Reading it by yourself. What
you will get. From hearing a God called preacher
read it to you. Generally speaking and listen.
You know, I sit down in the pew with you. I've spent my whole
life sitting there listening to a man speak to me and teach
me and preach to me, and I haven't grown from it. I haven't gone
past that. I need to sit and listen to a
man do the same thing. And I do, as often as I can. But proof of this, if we want
proof of this, is the Ethiopian eunuch. He was sitting in his
chariot reading Isaiah 53. And the Lord told Philip, you
go to that eunuch, and he said, do you understand what you're
reading? He said, how can I except some man should guide me? We will never get out of this
just by reading it on our own what we will get from hearing
a God-sent, spirit-controlled man Preach it to us, read it to us.
Some of that has to do with where two or three are gathered in
my name, I'm in the midst of you. When we gather together
like this, God's spirit promises to be with us and he opens these
things up to us. His spirit opens these things
up to us. Part of it is we can't claim the pride of seeing something
on our own. It's very humbling to have someone
else teach you. It's very humbling. But our Lord
said his word is quick, that means alive, living. It's quick,
it's powerful, it's sharper than any two-edged sword piercing. That's what he does with it,
he pierces. And generally speaking, that piercing is the greatest
and it cuts the deepest when the word is preached to us. Rarely
will we feel the chastening of the word like when it's preached
to us. And if the preaching of the word
does chasten us, okay, if it does, if it does correct us,
if we do feel that chastening, if it doesn't just go in one
ear and out the other and have no effect on us, if we feel the
piercing of his correction, then we should be thankful. If we
feel that, then we should be thankful. We should take comfort
in the fact that whom the Lord loveth, he chastens. He chastens, he corrects. He
doesn't leave them to themselves. He doesn't just let them keep
wandering off the path until they finally fall into the ditch.
He doesn't do that. He'll bring them back. He'll
get their attention again. He'll get their attention again. He'll bring them back to the
pleasing state of turning to Him, looking to Him, listening
to Him, heeding His word. When God's people are in that
state, it goes well for them. It really does, it goes well
for them. All right now, dial into this. The Lord is very active with
His people. I've told you so many times that
growing up, I'd always hear about God's sovereignty. I am the Lord,
I change not. And I envisioned the Lincoln
Memorial statue, Abraham Lincoln sitting in that big chair, never
moving. That's how I envisioned our God. Our God is very active with his
people. Just read the word. That's all
we gotta do is read the word. Our Lord is very active with
His people. The Old Testament proves that
to us. If we want reproof on that statement,
if we want to prove that it's so, all we have to do is look
at Israel in the Old Testament. And again, our Lord doesn't change.
He's the same yesterday, today, forever. What He did then, that's
what He does now. Israel in the Old Testament would
constantly wander off on their own way. That's Kingsport Sovereign
Grace Church, okay? They would constantly just wander
off on their own way. And let me refine that. That's
Gabe Stoniker, the pastor of Kingsport Sovereign Grace Church. They would wander off forgetting
God. You mean the pastor can forget God? Oh yeah, he can.
And God has to chasten him and bring him back. forgetting God, forgetting his
word to them, every time they would get themselves in trouble.
Every time. And then God would send a prophet
to them, and that prophet would remind them, thus saith the Lord. How many times have we read that?
Thus saith the Lord. And that word from God would
prick their hearts, and they'd turn to him again. And every
time he would heal them, he would help them, he would deliver them,
out of all the trouble they got themselves into. And that always
came to pass by the word of God. Thus sayeth the Lord. So verse
16, all scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable
for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in
righteousness. Christ is our righteousness.
Instruction in Christ. Instruction in Christ. As followers
of Christ, as believers on Christ, his word will instruct us on
what and how we ought to be and how we desire to be. We desire, if you get to the
heart, the core of a true believer, we desire to be like him. We
desire to be like Him. Now, we are not going to be in
this flesh until we lay this body of death down and go to
be with Him. But what we one day will be,
we desire to be right now. And we ought to strive to be
as much as He will let us, as much as He will allow us to be.
In Christ, we're free from the law. Okay. In Christ, we're free from the
law, but just because his grace fulfilled the law for us, do
we make void the law? God forbid. The law is not our enemy. The
law is not our enemy. The law is the very character
of Jesus Christ. It's not that he came here and
lived up to the law. The law exposed the character
that he already was. He is the law. He is judgment,
verity, righteousness. The law is never going to go
away. It's never going to go away. In glory, we will be the
example of the law because we'll be like Christ. And even though the old man of
the flesh cannot fulfill the law in one dot of the I or cross
of the T, the new man in Christ desires to. The new man in Christ
desires to. Now, take the Ten Commandments.
This is my, no it's not. I was gonna say it's my last
page, it's not. I got two more pages, I'll be
quick. Take the Ten Commandments, okay? Number one, thou shalt
have no other gods before me. Does anything in you want to
say, oh, that's just the law? You can throw that out. You can
worship any god you want to worship. That's just law. Anything in
you want to say that? Absolutely not. Go ahead and murder. It doesn't
matter. Take your neighbor's wife. That's just law, that's all that
is, is law. God forbid. God forbid. Verse 16, all scripture is given
by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for
reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness
that the man of God may be perfect. And that means mature. That's what we need to be, brethren. I didn't put a star by that,
but I should have. That's what we need to be, brethren,
we need to be mature. We need to be mature. Verse 17, that the man of God
may be perfect or mature, throughly furnished, that means perfected. unto all good works. Unto all
good works. This word will bring God's people
to maturity. It will bring God's people to
maturity. And that maturity will perfect
them unto the good works that they have been called to. All
right? Dial into this. Not the evil
works. Not the wicked works of men's
hands. Not the dead works that men try
to produce in order to save themselves. Or to see the evidence of salvation
in their flesh. That's not the works he's talking
about. The works of man. That's not the works he's talking
about. He's talking about the good works that God works in
his people. It's God who works in you, both
to will and do his good pleasure. What would you have me to do?
He answered that question. For by grace are you saved through
faith and that not of yourselves. It's the gift of God, not of
works. Lest any man should boast for
where his workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works,
which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
What does that mean? How do you separate that? What
does that mean? Let me give you two scriptures and I'll close. All right, this is it. Go to
two places. Turn to Romans 10 and hold your
place there. And then go to John 6. Romans 10 and then John 6. We're going to look first at John 6. John 6 verse 28, then said they unto him, what
shall we do that we might work the works of God? Jesus answered
and said unto them, this is the work of God that you believe
on him whom he hath sent. Can we really get a hold of that
for a second? This is the work of God that
you believe on Him. What is the Father's will? This
is my beloved Son. Hear Him. Bow to Him. Believe on Him, all right? This
is the work of God. This is the good work. Believe
on Him. Believe on Christ. Do we have
that? Now flip to Romans 10. Verse 14, how then shall they call on him
in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in
him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without
a preacher? And how shall they preach except
they be sent? As it is written, how beautiful
are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace and bring
glad tidings of good things. But they've not all obeyed the
gospel for Isaiah said, Lord, who hath believed our report? So then faith cometh by hearing
and hearing by the word of God. Do we see that? If we're going
to believe on him, what should we do? We're going to work the
works of God, believe on him. If we're going to believe on
him, we're going to have to learn of him through his word. If we
really are going to believe on him, we're going to have to learn
of him through his word. It's why the word was given.
It's why this word was given to teach us Christ, to teach
us the word of Christ, to instruct us, to correct us, to confirm
us. And we would be wise to heed
it if God will give us the ability to do that. Pray he will. Amen.