Misc. - "Believe in the Book" - 2 Timothy 3
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Believe in the Book
Believe in the Book
Several weeks ago we heard our pastor preach a message entitled “Bring me the Book.” it was a shout it out message. Strong in both services, and a reminder that we desparately need this book.
We need it for life, for wisdom, for joy… we need this!
We can all agree that we need this… especially on a Wednesday night in Bible study like this.
But have you ever considered WHY we should believe this book?
Maybe you’ve asked the question (or have been asked the question): Would I believe in this particular book if I was born in a country that doesn’t have Christianity?
Maybe you’ve even asked yourself, Do I just come to church because my parents raised me this way, or do I come here and devote my time, talent, and treasure here because I really believe in this book?
Tonight my goal is to simply do three things:
Encourage the Believer to Continue believing the Word
Give you a brief explanation of why this book is valid
and then just emphasize what this Book does for us
So right now you may be wondering, “Hayden, why are you preaching a message like this on a Wednesday night?”
Short answer: the majority of people in 2023 are Biblically Illiterate.
only 6 percent of American adults hold to a Christian worldview, evangelical pollster George Barna tells us.
Many struggle with basic biblical facts, familiar even to atheists in days gone by.
For example, the Barna Research Group reported in recent years that only 60 percent of American adults can name even five of the 10 Commandments; 12 percent believe Joan of Arc was Noah’s wife; and 50 percent believe Sodom and Gomorrah were married.
According to 82 percent of Americans, "God helps those who help themselves," is a Bible verse. Those identified as born-again Christians did better--by one percent.
Lifeway:
A recent LifeWay study found that only 32 percent of Americans who “attend a Protestant church regularly say they read the Bible personally every day.” Evangelical Protestants faired a little better (36 percent)
11 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord God, That I will send a famine in the land, Not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, But of hearing the words of the Lord:
Definitions to understand about the Bible.
Bible means “books.” (fifth century)
66 books. 39 in the OT and 27 in the NT.
40 authors
1,600 year period
Canon means a standard or rule.
a rod, reed, or cane. Essentially means to keep straight
especially a straight rod used as a rule; from this usage comes the other meaning which the word commonly bears in English—‘rule’ or ‘standard’.
A book is said to be of canonical authority when it has a right to take a place with the other books which contain a revelation of the Divine will
Canon factors: Council of Hippo (393 AD) Carthage (397) all 27 NT books.
Did the NT quote from or allude to the OT? (All but 2 OT books)
Jesus endorsed the Hebrew canon Matthew 23:35
35 That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar.
Jew meticulously preserved their OT
2. Ws the book written by someone who was an eyewitness to Jesus?
Did it pass the truth test?
Covenant is a contract or an agreement between two bodies establishing a relationship.
preamble - who the great king is.
historical prologue - what He’s done
Stipulations - what’s expected
Blessings & Cursing.
works
grace
Baptist Faith and Message:
The Holy Bible was written by men divinely inspired and is God’s revelation of Himself to man. It is a perfect treasure of divine instruction. It has God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth, without any mixture of error, for its matter. Therefore, all Scripture is totally true and trustworthy.
The Bible is God’s inspired revelation with a single plot. The plot is the redemption of man by Jesus Christ for God’s glory.
written down by humans, without error in its original writing, has one single plot, and that is the redemption of man by Jesus Christ for God’s glory. It teaches us both how to experience life and how to live.
The Holy Bible was written by men divinely inspired and is God’s revelation of Himself to man. It is a perfect treasure of divine instruction. It has God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth, without any mixture of error, for its matter. Therefore, all Scripture is totally true and trustworthy. It reveals the principles by which God judges us, and therefore is, and will remain to the end of the world, the true center of Christian union, and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and religious opinions should be tried. All Scripture is a testimony to Christ, who is Himself the focus of divine revelation.
The goal for tonight is to remind you what the Bible is and encourage you to be a person of the Word.
10 But thou hast fully known my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, charity, patience,
11 Persecutions, afflictions, which came unto me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; what persecutions I endured: but out of them all the Lord delivered me.
12 Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.
13 But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.
14 But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them;
15 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.
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.
1. Paul Encouraged Timothy with the Word
1. Paul Encouraged Timothy with the Word
a. Paul’s Encouragement Includes a Recognition
a. Paul’s Encouragement Includes a Recognition
1. Paul Recognized His Own Trials
1. Paul Recognized His Own Trials
10 But thou hast fully known my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, charity, patience,
11 Persecutions, afflictions, which came unto me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; what persecutions I endured: but out of them all the Lord delivered me.
Paul brings up his own personal testimony…
“Timothy, you’ve seen what’s happened in my life and you know what I believe.”
You know what sustained me?
The Word!
2. Paul Recognized the Truth about the World
2. Paul Recognized the Truth about the World
12 Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.
We are going to face persecution. As believers we will
3. Paul Recognized Timothy’s Faith
3. Paul Recognized Timothy’s Faith
2 Timothy 3:14 (KJV 1900)
14 But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them;
15 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.
5 When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also.
He was a child and learned the OT Scriptures from his mom and grandmother.
Scripture was real to Timothy and he knew it and believed it for Himself!!!
b. Paul’s Encouragement Includes a Requirement
b. Paul’s Encouragement Includes a Requirement
14 But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them;
15 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.
Not only do I remember what you’ve done, but CONTINUE in it!
13 Hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.
2 And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.
c. Paul’s Encouragement Includes a Reason
c. Paul’s Encouragement Includes a Reason
Why was Paul reminding Timothy of all this?
Simply put: this world is crazy and people are crazy.
Paul encourages Timothy to stay faithful to the Word of God.
14 But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them;
Paul told Timothy that it would get worse in the future.
Look at what he said:
“last days” - before Christ comes
“Perilous” - means difficult or hard to deal with.
same word inMatthew 8:28 with the demonic man in Gadarene.
it’ll be like living in a demonic graveyard.
boasters - swaggerers
true affection will disappear, and unnatural affection will prevail.
“incontinent” means “intemperate” or no self control
fierce - savage
heady - reckless
dealt with a student today who lost their dad to an overdose.
verses 5-8 - form of godliness but denying the power of God.
people buy Bibles but crime rate is sky rocketing.
2. Paul Explains the Truth about the Word
2. Paul Explains the Truth about the Word
Paul could have easily said, “believe it because it changed my life!!”
I choose to believe the Bible because I tried it, and it worked for me.
Logical hole.
man born in Ohama, Neb.
Father murdered as a little boy.
Mother had mental illness, and was institutionalize.
all siblings sent around, and bounced around until he could move into her older sister in Mass.
Started to get in trouble on the streets. thief, burglar, gambler… eventually arrested
Need to submit his life to a Messiah. but he couldn’t do it.
One night according to his own biography, the “messiah” came into the
eventually got out of prison early, and became a lecturer.
Opened hundreds of houses of worship.
He tried Islam… came to realize it was a sham.
Left Islam, and was assassinated.
what about the alcoholic Muslim? What about the mormon?
Muhammed.
Let the Word testify about itself.
So when someone asked you that question, it might be a good idea to answer with something like Voddie Baucham said:
So when someone asked you that question, it might be a good idea to answer with something like Voddie Baucham said:
“I choose to believe The Bible because it is a reliable collection of historical documents, written by eyewitnesses during the lifetime of other eyewitnesses, reporting supernatural events that took place in fulfillment of specific prophecies and claimed their writings are Divine and not of human origin.”
“I choose to believe The Bible because it is a reliable collection of historical documents, written by eyewitnesses during the lifetime of other eyewitnesses, reporting supernatural events that took place in fulfillment of specific prophecies and claimed their writings are Divine and not of human origin.”
a. This Book is God’s Book
a. This Book is God’s Book
15 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.
40 authors over 1500 years on three continents all about ONE SINGULAR PERSON AND PLAN.
Look at this image...
b. This Book is God Breathed
b. This Book is God Breathed
Some say, “The Bible only contains the word of God,” or “The Bible is inspired the way Shakespeare is inspired.” But Paul would not agree with these statements. The Bible is the inspired Word of God. The word “inspired” means “God-breathed—filled with the breath of God.” The Spirit of God enabled men of God to write the Word of God (see 2 Peter 1:20–21), for the Spirit of God is the “breath” of God (John 3:1–8; Ezek. 37:1–14). While men like Shakespeare may have had literary inspiration of a high quality, they did not write the very words of God. “All Scripture” means that every word of God is inspired.
Wiersbe, W. W. (1992). Wiersbe’s expository outlines on the New Testament (p. 650). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
What does the Bible say about itself?
8 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: But the word of our God shall stand for ever.
12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
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.
25 But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.
c. The Bible has been Preserved by God
c. The Bible has been Preserved by God
The discovery of the Dead Sea scrolls in 1947 confirmed that we still have the same Old Testament as they did at Jesus’s day. The survival of thousands of New Testament manuscripts confirms that the New Testament writings were also providentially preserved. The question among textual scholars is not whether some words are missing, but which variant readings, in a few minor cases, are the correct ones.
In contrast, few copies have survived from nearly every other classic book, such as Caesar’s Gallic Wars or Herodotus’ Histories. While copies of major portions of the New Testament survive from documents dated around AD 300, most other classic books survive in copies no older than around AD 900.
God’s Word survived despite intense efforts to destroy it. For instance, in 175 BC the king of Syria, Antiochus Epiphanes, ordered the Jews, on pain of death, to destroy their Scriptures and worship the Greek gods. But Judas Maccabaeus saved the books and led a revolt that won independence for the Jewish nation. (Today, Jews celebrate this event at Hanukkah.)
Another example is the Roman emperor Diocletian’s order to have Christianity outlawed, its leaders killed, and their Bibles burned. As a sign of God’s providence, the next emperor, Constantine, legalized Christianity and paid for fifty new hand-written copies of the Bible.
they’ve translated it.
Manuscript hole:
6,000 in NT. OT, 20,000 plus.
julius ceasr - Galic Wars (less than 12)
Airstotle - Poetics (less than 10)
Writings of Socrates (none)
People Groups Hole:
bible translated in Syriac, Coptic, and Latin
then they would have to lie on the Greek manuscripts.
Early Church Fathers.
95-98 percent could be reproduced.
another study said just by what the early church fathers could be copied other than 11 verses
3. Paul Emphasized the Task of the Word
3. Paul Emphasized the Task of the Word
15 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.
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.
a. Right Belief of Christ
a. Right Belief of Christ
Salvation
Apollos did this:
28 For he mightily convinced the Jews, and that publickly, shewing by the scriptures that Jesus was Christ.
Isaac carrying the wood up the mountain and them finding the ram. - This points to Jesus
Jonah being in the belly of a large fish - Jesus
22 But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.
15 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.
b. Righteous Behavior following Christ
b. Righteous Behavior following Christ
16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
Christian living:
Teaching - doctrine (Romans)
Reproof - conviction (1 Corinthians )
correction - setting right (Galatians)
instruction - discipline (Ephesians & Colossians)
for what? Maturity.
do you see how Paul reminds Timothy of the purpose in this?
17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.
this book allows children to become men and women of God.