to 2nd Timothy chapter 3. 2 Timothy 3, I wanna say I have
a very burdening Bible study for us today, very burdened about
it. So may the Lord really let us
enter into this. Last week, we looked at verses
13 and 14, which say, but evil men and seducers shall
wax worse and worse deceiving and being deceived. But continue
thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured
of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them. That was last week's
text. Our text today will be verse
15, which says, and that from a child, Thou hast known the
holy scriptures which are able to make thee wise unto salvation
through faith which is in Christ Jesus. Last week, verses 13 and
14 made me think of a verse of scripture in Isaiah 45. and we
went to Isaiah 45, and we ended up staying there all day last
Sunday, Isaiah 45. This week, verse 15 led me to
another chapter in Isaiah, and we're gonna go there in just
a minute, and then we're gonna stay there all day today, all
day in that particular chapter. I have two main points to get
across for this lesson. All right, this Bible study,
two main points. Number one, our children are
so blessed for the fact that they are being taught the scriptures
of God. They're so blessed. the actual
words that God wrote. They're so blessed by the fact
that we opened the Bible. That's an amazing thing to say,
but it's true. Most children in religion, and
any time that I say religion, I mean false religion. That's
what I'm talking about. We are not in religion. We are separate from religion. We're not in religion. We are
in Christ. And you say, well, isn't everybody
in Christ? No. We are in the truth, and
I don't say that arrogantly, I don't say that, I mean, I say
that humbly, like all the men of scripture, woe is me, pour
dust and ashes on my head. But by God's grace, we're in
the truth. And you say, well, isn't everybody
in the truth? No. No. But most children in false religion,
number one, they are not being taught God's actual words. They're being taught a very twisted,
perverted, watered down version of God's word. And they're being
taught man's wicked opinion on God's word by some wrong translation. They keep coming out, you know,
you go to the bookstore, you realize how many, a translation
is one language to another language. When you're going English to
English, that's not a translation, that's an interpretation, that's
an opinion. But do you realize how many opinions
on this there are on the bookshelves? They keep coming out with all
of these translations or versions trying to make it easier to understand
God's Word. And in the process, they are
completely eliminating God's Word. That's what's happening. Saying, well, really, God meant
this. He meant to say it that way.
No, he didn't. He wrote what he meant. God's
Word does not need to be made easier to understand. A babe
can understand what this is saying. Men change it, not because they
don't understand it, but because they don't like it. That's why
they change it. So they change it, and then they
indoctrinate their little ones with their lies. They tell them this is a Bible
verse from God's word, and it's not. It's not. In false religion, children,
and this really hit me, children, you realize what's happening
to our children? Children are either taught lies
on God's word, Or they're just not even taught anything that
resembles God's word, anything close to God's word. Children's
classes will be all about crafts, games, and fun time. And these children will grow
up to be adults, and nothing will change. As adults, their false religion
will consist of lies on God's word, and something to keep them
busy. That's what it'll be, lies on
God's word and something to keep them busy. So the first point
I want to get across for this lesson is our children are so
blessed for the fact that they are in classrooms and in this
auditorium by God's grace, by God's grace, They're being taught
the word of God. They're being taught God's word. And this is why it's such a blessing
for them and for us. It's because the holy scriptures
are able to make us wise unto salvation. The salvation that is already
finished and complete in Christ. Okay, let's establish this. It's
already finished. Salvation is already accomplished
by the blood of Jesus Christ. For all of God's people. God's
people come to hear of. They come to know of. It's an
amazing thing how the Lord has ordained this, but he ultimately
causes his people to cross the path somewhere, somehow, with
his actual word. And the first response of the
flesh is, I don't like that word. Yeah, I know, I read it, I see
it. That ain't what I've been told. I like my lies better. And we kick against that prick
of this word. We kick against the prick. That's
who God is. That's what God said he would
do. And you kick and kick and kick
until you can't kick anymore. And you surrender. These scriptures declare the
finished salvation of God's people and through this word they hear
it and come to realize what has already been done for them. They
spend their life trying to figure out what do I have to do to be
good enough to go to heaven? And then they hear it's already
done. It's already complete and they are notified of, they learn
about, they become wise to their salvation through the declaration
of God Almighty's word, not through crafts. Well, we need to get
them in church, so let's do some crafts. Not crafts, not games,
definitely not lies. God's word, God's word. Turn with me to Luke 16. Verse 19. There was a certain rich man
which was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously
every day. And there was a certain beggar
named Lazarus which was laid at his gate full of sores and
desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's
table. Moreover, the dogs came and licked his sores. And it
came to pass that the beggar died and was carried by the angels
into Abraham's bosom. The rich man also died and was
buried. And in hell he lifted up his
eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off. and Lazarus
in his bosom. And he cried and said, Father
Abraham, have mercy on me and send Lazarus that he may dip
the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am
tormented in this flame. But Abraham said, Son, remember
that thou in thy lifetime receivest thy good things, and likewise
Lazarus evil things. But now he is comforted, and
thou art tormented. And beside all this, between
us and you, there is a great gulf fixed, so that they which
would pass from hence to you cannot, neither can they pass
to us that would come from thence. Then he said, I pray thee therefore,
Father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house, his
family, who's still alive on the earth, or I have five brethren
that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this
place of torment. Abraham said unto him, they have
Moses and the prophets. Let them hear them. They have God's word. That's
what he said, they have God's word. Verse 30, and he said,
nay, father Abraham, but if one went unto them from the dead,
they will repent. And he said unto him, if they
hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded,
though one rose from the dead. If they don't become wise to
salvation through God's word, there is no other way to become
wise. No other way. Turn with me over
to Romans 10. Verse 13 says, For whosoever shall call upon
the name of the Lord shall be saved. 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 have 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. Paul gave a reverse order of
events back to the source of how sinners are saved. He said, they call on the name
of the Lord. Whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord. And the source of their call
is they believe on him. It starts in the heart. And the source of their belief
is the truth of the gospel is preached to them. And the source
of the gospel being preached is God calls a preacher. And the source of a true God-called
preacher is the direct command, the direct calling of God Almighty. And the source of that calling
is it comes through His Word. It all comes down to this Word. Faith comes by hearing this Word. Peter said, some of us apostles
had the privilege of hearing God the Father speak out loud.
You think about that. But he said, we have a more sure
word of confidence in these things, a more sure word of prophecy
than even hearing God the Father speak out loud. It's this word. This word, how blessed we are
to be taught God's actual word. It's this word that produces
faith to believe on Christ. So that's the first point. And I don't know how long, I
may just have to stop early, I'm not sure, because I got a
lot to say. So just bear with me and I'll stop when it's time
to stop here, okay? That's the first point. I got
two, only two. The second point I want to make
comes from verse 16, right here in Romans 10. Romans 10, verse
16. But they have not all obeyed
the gospel, for Isaiah said, Lord, who hath believed our report? That is Isaiah 53. Hold your place in Romans and
turn over to Isaiah 53. We are blessed to have this Word
so we can know this Word and believe this Word. But if we
are going to know this Word and believe this Word, this Word
is going to have to be revealed to us by God Almighty. Isaiah 53 verse 1 says, Who hath
believed our report And to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? Who will believe this report?
whoever it's revealed to by God Almighty. We are blessed to have
this. So blessed to have this. But
it must be revealed to us by the Spirit of God. That's our
two points for this Bible study. We have a great advantage if
we hold and read and know God's actual word. We have a great
advantage. But we're still at the mercy
of His will and His purpose and His decision on revealing it
to us. Go back to Romans, this time
chapter three. Romans chapter three. I'm going
to finish. I mean, I haven't been that long. We'll have a quick turnaround,
but I'm going to finish on it. Romans three. Actually, the end of chapter
two, verse 28, it says, talking about Jews and Gentiles, and
it says, he's not a Jew which is one outwardly, neither is
that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh, but he is a Jew
which is one inwardly, and circumcision is that of the heart, in the
spirit, and not in the letter, whose praise is not of men, but
of God. What that means is Gentiles,
heathens, like all of us, that's what we are, they have been included
in the spiritual people of God, spiritual Israel, just as much
as the Jews have. Gentiles have just as much as
the Jews have. It's all according to God's choosing
and God has chosen a people out of every tribe, nation, kindred,
and tongue. So he said in chapter 3, what
advantage then hath the Jew? Or what profit is there of circumcision? They had this promise given to
them and this symbol of the covenant which was circumcision. And he's
saying if not every person born into the Jewish nation is a child
of God, Not every, just because they're
born a Jew, that doesn't mean they're a child of God. And we
could say the same thing and we could compare that now to
families and congregations who sit under and believe the truth
of God's word. Not every person who is born
into a believing family and attends a true believing congregation
is a child of God and will be saved. Just listen to this scripture,
okay? This is Jeremiah 3, verse 14. It says, turn, O backsliding
children, saith the Lord, for I am married unto you, and I
will take you one of a city and two of a family, and I will bring
you to Zion. He said, there are going to be
some cities on this earth where I only call one person out of
the whole city. That's mind blowing, isn't it?
There are going to be some families where I only call two people
out of the whole family tree. Just because mom and dad know
the gospel, doesn't mean the children know the gospel. And
just because the children know the gospel, doesn't mean mom
and dad know the gospel. They could attend the same church
and sit in the same pew all their life and it's going to come down
to who God chooses to reveal it to. Just like a person could be born
into the Jewish nation and have all the same rituals and go through
all the same ordinances as every other Jew, but still not belong
to Christ? Because it's all gonna come down
to who God chooses to reveal it to. Okay. The natural response of ignorant
flesh, and that's what we are, the natural response is, then
what's the point? What's the point? And I'm gonna
tell you, I understand this response, and you do too. And I really
would like for us to zero in and dial in on this right here.
I feel so deeply burdened about this, okay? I understand this thought process.
Okay, then what's the point? If it doesn't matter whether
Jew or Gentile, an upbringing under truth or an upbringing
under lies, Some of God's people spent, Abraham was 75 years old
before God ever revealed himself to him. Some people spend their
whole lives under false religion. If God is going to, at his appointed
moment in time, if he's gonna cross all of his people with
the path of the gospel, and he's gonna reveal his salvation
to whoever he's chosen to save, and none of them are gonna be
lost, then What difference does any of this mean? Verse one, what advantage then
hath the Jew? Or what profit is there of circumcision? Much every way. Paul is about
to tell them that God has ordained a means of saving his people. If we take the approach that,
you know, well, God is sovereign. He's going to do whatever he's
going to do anyway. So none of it matters. We are wrong. And we sound like a lost person. If we have that attitude, I want
to warn us that that is the conversation of an unbeliever. I really want
to warn us. If that is our take on God, it
don't matter what you do, do what you want to do. God, he's
already set it all in stone anyway, do what you want to do. If that
is our take on God, we don't know God and we don't know his
word. Is God sovereign, ordering, controlling
all things? Yes, he is. And he has sovereignly declared,
these are my means. These are my ways and to deny
them is to deny me. It pleased the Lord by the foolishness
of preaching to save them that believe, to quicken them to life,
to give life that was already secured for them, to call them
to it. Forsake not the assembling of
yourselves together as the manner of some is, but exhort one another. And so much the more, do it more
and more and more as you see the day approaching. Why? Because the preaching of this
gospel is the power of God unto salvation. Faith comes by hearing
this word. And I'm gonna tell you this,
we all need more of it. If those apostles who walked
with Jesus Christ and looked at him and saw him and talked
to him, if they said, Lord, increase our faith, how much more us? When our Lord comes back, will
he even find faith? 2 Thessalonians 2 verse 3 says,
That scares me so badly. We don't want to be in that falling
away. And we don't want our children to be in that falling away. We don't want our children to
be in the falling away. So Romans 3 verse 1, Paul said,
What advantage then hath the Jew? Or what profit is there
of circumcision? Much every way, chiefly because
that unto them were committed the oracles of God. That means
the utterance, the words of God Almighty. Our Lord has been pleased
to reveal himself. He's been pleased to reveal Christ
and to call him his people by way of his word. He has been
pleased to teach us. We hear things and we say, you
know what? That's right. It comes by way of His Word. We learn, we grow through His
Word. He's been pleased to reveal Christ
in His Word by way of the spiritual teaching and leadership of a
preacher. And I need one. And I listen
to them all the time. I need to be under the message.
Our children need to be under the message. And I gotta keep
going. This is really important. Please
hear what I'm saying right here. If God has burdened our hearts
to put our children under the preaching of the word, I mean,
every time it's preached, then there is hope that he will
reveal himself to them through this word. I thought he had chosen people
before the foundation of the world. I thought he elected exactly
who would be like, that's it, no more. He did. It is not our effort of having
them here that's going to save them. It's not. It is not our burden of having
them under the Word that's going to save them. We could have a
burden for our children and a burden and God may not save them. It's
not our burden of having them under the Word that's going to
save them. But where much burden and where much effort is, much
hope is because this is the means. Where little burden and little
effort is, little hope is. Our Lord said these scriptures
right here, the word itself, which is sharper than any two-edged
sword and compares to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit. And if he's gonna do that, I
don't know when it's gonna be, and neither do you. You know, I preach messages.
Every time I stand up here, I hope, Lord, please open somebody's
eyes. Pierce the heart of somebody.
I have no idea if he's gonna do it or not. I don't know if
he's gonna do it to me. We never know when the moment
could be that he might pierce the soul and the spirit. You know, after our Lord's resurrection,
he entered into the room where 10 of the 11 apostles were. Judas
was already gone. And he revealed himself to them. He said, behold, my hands and
my feet, they saw Christ. They saw the lamb that was slain. I mean, they saw the victory
of the cross. They saw life himself. But Thomas wasn't there. He just wasn't there that day.
And look, this ain't a guilt trip. I know everybody has reasons. Don't take it that way. It's
just eternity's on the line. Not just for me, but for my children,
and my neighbors, I can't help it. I just can't
help it. I've been called to deal with things of eternity.
I'm so thankful for doctors, but they deal in temporary matters.
Every person they heal, that person's going to die anyway.
It's a temporary, this is an eternal matter. And he just wasn't
there. You know, what was he doing?
Something he deemed to be more important. than gathering with
the saints and hearing that, having one more mustard seed
of faith. Lord, give me one more mustard
seed if you'll allow it. And he missed it. And I don't
want to miss it. And I don't want my children
to miss it. And I don't want you to miss it. I don't want
you to miss it. I don't want us to miss Christ.
If we believe and if we teach our children that something is
more important than the one thing needful. If we teach them that
there is something more important than the one thing needful, there's
not a lot of hope there. Just not a lot of hope there.
If God said this word was what he was gonna use to make us and
our children wise to salvation, then may God make us wise to
this word. Really, may God make us wise
to this word, wise to salvation through the faith which is in
Christ Jesus. Who hath believed our report?
To whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? Lord, reveal it to
me through your word. All right, you're dismissed.
We've got to have a quick turn.