2 Timothy 3:16-17 (2021) – The Bible and Me – Bible study

2 Timothy 3:16-17 The Bible and Me 2Tim 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works. We must be careful to never forget the basics. Only with a strong foundation can we build a sure future. Tonight, I want to speak on the most fundamental basic Christianity has, the Bible. Let me share three simple but basic thoughts. I. The Bible is necessary. A. The Bible is absolutely necessary to the Christian faith. 1. Let me read a statement that I wrote quite a few years ago now. 2. The Bible is to the Christian what air is to the mammal; what water is to the fish; what food is to the organic; and what fuel is to combustion. Without the Bible, Christianity ceases to be. The Bible describes our God, our existence, our fault, our redemption, our future, and our purpose. It commands our actions, our loyalty, and our attitudes. Simply put: If the Bible is removed from the Christian faith, there is no Christian faith. B. But the Bible is not just necessary for the Christian. It is necessary to everyone. C. Consider that the Bible reveals the character of God. 1. Gods creation tells us of His power \#Romans 1:20\, but only Gods Book tells us of His nature. John 1:18 No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him. 2. God cannot be seen, probed, analyzed, or studied, either with the human eye or any tool that man can create. a. This is the very reason that some say there is no God and others come away with a warped view of God. (1) They try to understand God based on His creation. (2) What they dont know without the Bible is that Gods creation has been corrupted so they end up with a corrupted understanding of God. b. Everything we know about God comes through written the revelation of the Word of God. c. It is the only way to know Gods character. D. Consider that the Bible reveals our origins. 1. Without the Bible, we have no history; and if we have no history, we do not know where we came from or where we are going. a. If you woke up tomorrow morning, standing in the middle of the former Malfunction Junction, with no memory; you would not know where you came from or where you are going. b. If you could see a trail of breadcrumbs marking the path that brought you to that point, you would at least know where you came from and might be able to plot the direction you should go in. c. But without a history, you would know nothing at all. 2. What people do not understand is our history also shapes our philosophy. a. If we have no Bible, the theory of evolution is as good as any other notion as to where we came from. b. That theory basically asserts that we are animals, (1) that we have no soul; (2) that there is no eternity; (3) that life is only what we see before us. c. But that false history also gives to mankind a false philosophies (1) i.e. If this is all there is, I might as well get all I can by whatever means I can and make myself the happiest that I can. (2) And that is exactly the way the people in our world are living. (3) Why? Because their false history has given them a false philosophy. (4) They need a Bible. 3. But the Bible gives us a completely different history. a. We were created in the image of God. b. One day, each of us will stand before God and give an account of what we did with the gift of life. c. Biblical history gives us a completely different and diametrically opposed set of philosophies for life. 4. Now, if you dont think those two historical models are going to make a difference in our behavior today and in our future tomorrow, you are sadly mistaken. E. Consider that the Bible reveals our fault and Gods redemption. 1. Without the Bible, people can and have been persuaded that they are okay and that things are not so bad. a. Without a Bible, many actually believe that things are getting BETTER! b. To be honest, even without the Bible, I would hope to have a hard time buying into that one. 2. But again, the Bible tells us something different. a. Life is not what it was intended to be. b. Sin has skewed it and skewed us. c. Jesus Christ came to restore both us and our existence. d. By faith and obedience, we can become what we were intended to be. II. The Bible is not only necessary, it is necessary in its totality. A. The Bible cannot be dissected into parts which can be accepted or rejected individually. 1. Some do that. a. They "believe the Bible," but not the part about creation. b. Or they "believe the Bible," but not the part about Jonah and the great fish. c. Or they "believe the Bible," but not the part about the virgin birth, the substitutionary death, or the bodily resurrection of Jesus. 2. The reason you cannot do that is because the same promises and processes which have preserved one part of the Bible, preserves all parts of the Bible. a. If fault is found with any portion of the Bible, then we must assume fault exists in all of it. b. If any section of Scripture fails the test of reliability, it all proves untrustworthy. B. And so every Christians needs to know Bible 101. 1. The Bible was given to us by the means of inspiration \#2Tim 3:16\. a. It means "God breathed" and is explained in 2Peter 1:20 Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. 21 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. b. God "moved" upon menthat means "brought them along." (1) Did God give an idea and let men write it? No. That has too much room for error. (2) Did God give the Bible word for word and let men only pen them? No. The Bible has too much personality for that. (3) Inspiration is somewhere in the middle. i. God controlled the words written to the place we can preach the very words of the Bible with confidence and authority-just like Im doing now. ii. But He allowed enough freedom that the personality of the writer also came through. iii. Theologians refer to that as verbal, plenary inspiration of the Scriptures. 2. After divinely giving us His Word, God has supernaturally preserved the Bible. Psalm 12:6 The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. 7 Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever. a. Gods Words are "given" pure by the process of inspiration. b. Gods Word are "kept" from generation to forever by God! c. That brings us to the question of translation. (1) If God gave the Bible in three language (Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek), but none of us speak those languages. (2) Has God preserved ALL of those translations? NO! (3) Then the question becomes "Are any translations preserved and if so which one?" (a) That is a legitimate question and you need to be able to answer it. (b) What makes you think your translation is the one and only translation that is preserved. (c) Some will quote Ps 12:6-7 and say, "Because the KJV says it is." i. You cant do that! ii. Ps 12:6-7 is in there lousy translation too. (e) The answer to that question must come from outside the Bible because the Bible does not tell you that the KJ is preserved. d. While there are literally hundredsif not thousandsof translations today, the King James Bible is unique from all the others. (1) The King James Bible was translated from manuscripts which have been available since the original was given God. (2) That set of manuscripts came to be known as Textus Receptus. (3) All modern-day translators have set those manuscripts aside as inferior and given preeminence to manuscripts that were rediscovered in the 1600-1800s. (4) Consider that the early church had ALL of those manuscripts but chose not to use ALL of them. (5) That is why SOME became LOST. (6) Understand, those who hold to the King James Bible and the Textus Receptus manuscripts are NOT the ones turning from the view of the church fathers! (7) Those who turn AWAY FROM THEM are! e. If you look up the Textus Receptus, you will find many writers giving their many arguments as to why they are inferior to the more recently re-discovered and now-more-commonly-used manuscripts. (1) However, the best argument I find for staying with what the church has used for 1800 years is the "results" argument. (2) The manuscripts upon which the King James Bible were translated have won millions of souls, stirred countless revivals, sparked a reformation, started the modern missionary movement, founded countries, and kept the church not only alive but pure and vibrant. (3) Instead of adding to the church, the newer manuscripts are the ones being used by the modern-day, rock-n-rap churches, who are cancelling their services for convenience, know how to sing and dance but cant preach, talk of love but never of sin, and emphasize psychology over obedience to the Word of God, in part because they have no confidence that any translation is accurate and trustworthy. (4) If you think that the church of today is better (more spiritual, more righteous, and more pure) than the churches of yesteryear, then there is really no reason for us to ever discuss this topic because we are NOT going to see things a like. f. Anyone who advocates throwing away the manuscripts and the Bible translation that God has used for 1800 years has a problem. (1) If they think the Bible and the manuscripts God used for first 1800 years is not the preserved Word of God, would argument would you give that what was found would be? (a) You cant say the re-discovered manuscripts were preserved to all generations, because clearly they werent! They were lost for 1800 years. (b) You cant say God just gave them because He didnt. They are as old as the ones that have been used. (c) What argument can you give than to say YOU THINK they are better? (d) And who are you to disagree with 1800 years of church history? (2) And if the King James Bible and the manuscripts used to translate them are the preserved Word of God, what argument will give that I should turn from them? 3. The Bible can only be understood by illumination of the Holy Spirit. 1Cor 2:14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. a. The Bible: (1) Is given by inspiration, (2) is kept by preservation, (3) and is understood by illumination. b. I have heard people say of the King James Bible for years, "I know what you are saying, but I can understand the other translations better." c. That does not fly with me for two reason: (1) The King James Bible was used as a primer to teach Americans how to read for around 150 years or more! (a) If kindergarteners could read and understand it, why cant we if we have a worthy education? (b) Studies on the King James Bible show that it was written on a second grade reading level. (c) That means that the average word is shorter and has less syllables than other translations. (d) The only thing that makes the KJV a bit more difficult to understand is the "thee"s" the "thou"s, and a few words that have changed in meaning. (e) Folks, if you have a worthy education, it wont take you long to figure out the "thee"s, "thou"s, and to find out the meaning of the older words. (f) Might I suggest the problem is not a lack of ability but a lack of effort. (2) The Bible is not understand by intellect and education but by spiritual relationship. (a) Now, of course you need to know how to read to read and understand any book. (b) But if you dont read well, dont avoid the King James Bible. i. Rather, get some phonic cards, and let someone teach you the sounds. ii. Then practice on the King James Bible, and listen to what you read. iii. The Spirit of God will both help you learn to read and to understand what you read. III. With that in mind, what kind of relationship should we have with the Word of God. Three possibilities: A. We may scoff at it. 2Peter 3:3 Knowing this first, that there shall come IN THE LAST DAYS scoffers, walking after their own lusts, 4 And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. 5 For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: 1. Obviously, these people doubt the reliability of the Bible. a. They may doubt God as the Author, or the Bibles inspiration, or the Bibles preservation, or they have no Holy Spirit to guide them. b. And so they mock, ridicule, and scoff at Gods Word. 2. The Bible tells us about this type of person: a. \#3\ Their motive is their LUST. (1) They are lost, and the Bible deprives them of the things they crave. (2) Lester Roloff-"The Bible will either keep you from sin or sin will keep you from the Bible." (3) So they call themselves a Christian but cast away the Bible that keeps them from their lusts. b. \#4\ Their hope is that all things will continue as it has. (1) These people dont want Jesus to come back. (2) They dont want to stand before Him, but He is coming back and every person will stand before Him! c. \#5\ Their heart is willingly ignorant! (1) That means they are ignorant not because they cant know but because they wont know. (2) Listen, it doesnt take a genius to understand these truths. It just takes someone who wants to know them. B. Some may believe but without zeal and confidence. Luke 24:21 But we trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel: and beside all this, today is the third day since these things were done. 1. \#Luke 24:21\ "But we trusted"-past tense. 2. Circumstances had weakened their believe. Jesus was dead! 3. Sometimes arguments weaken our beliefs, especially when there is no one to give a counter-argument! a. That is the danger of worldly schools. b. Modern-day education stifles the counter-arguments and destroy the faith of the young! c. That is the reason I am a "teaching" preacher. (1) I know some do not like that kind of preaching. (2) They would like the kind of preaching that causes us to jump high and shout loudly. (I like it too.) (3) But I also want you to be able to walk when you land, and to keep on walking whether I am there or not. C. Some will believe to the place they will contend for it. Jude 1:3 Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. 1. That means we believe it, read it, obey it, and fight for it. 2. That is the kind of faith we need in the Bible and in the world in which God has called us to serve Him. May be have it.