Thankful for Unwavering Truth

I pray that you have been preparing to hear God speak to you through his word this morning. Today, I want to begin presenting to you what I believe are our core values as a church. After being the pastor here for 20 months and having many visits, meals, and conversations, there are some things that all of us value here at Immanuel Baptist Church. The first one is that we are thankful for unwavering truth.

2 Timothy 3:16–17 ESV

16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

Introduction

Why is truth important? The world tells us today that truth is not important, and some even say that truth does not exist. Truth and opinion have bled into one another. We are not blind to the culture. Especially in a time with the rise of gender confusion. You can just be whatever you want, no matter what the actual truth is. Truth matters. Truth is what keeps us in track. Especially spiritually. Because when we go off track, we believe what makes us feel good, not what is good. Which is the truth of scripture.

Abraham Lincoln once asked, how many legs does a dog have if you call his tail a leg? Four. Saying that his tail is a leg doesn’t make it a leg.

This is how we need to be. We need to understand truth and live by it and stand by it. And where do we find that truth? Scripture. And I want to tell you that when we look to scripture for truth, it is not only truth, but unwavering truth. And that is what we need. We need truth that will never change. Not with time, not with outside beliefs, not with culture. And we need to be thankful for God’s word being the fountain that we have for unwavering truth.

If not for the unwavering truth of scripture, we will crumble. When the trials comes, when we lose our parents, lose our kids, our husband or our wife wants a divorce, or we lose that job, we must stand on the unwavering truth of scripture. As it says in the verses that precede this, scripture is able to make us wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. Not losing our parents or kids or spouse or our job. What saves us is faith in Christ Jesus which is revealed to us in the unwavering truth of scripture.

This whole passage hinges on the first words of it. All scripture is breathed out by God. We talk about the inspiration of scripture, but we must also think about the expiration of scripture. Not that is had a day when it is no longer good, not that kind of expiration. But that God expired scripture with his own breath. God spoke these words into existence, sometimes through the mouths of humans.

But he didn’t only do it to some scripture. It says that all scripture is breathed out by God. We cannot pick and choose what we believe. Scripture is God’s revelation to us. It speaks to us, it guides us. We must see scripture for what it is to us, which is sufficient. And that is what we are going to be looking at today as we go through these different aspects that are described of scripture in these verses.

1. Thankful for the Teaching of Scripture

It is profitable for teaching. We are all learners. Even as we get older, we still learn. We may not be learning math like we did when we were in school, but we are still learning. How many of us get on youtube to learn things? We go on there and watch videos and see how things are done and we take what we learn and we can do it. I love watching cooking videos. Those are some of my favorite. But there is one video that I have to watch twice a year because I forget and have to relearn and that is how to set my clock in my truck after the time change.

We are all learners. The greatest place to go to learn things is God’s word. Scripture teaches us. Now, it won’t be where we need to go to learn how to reset our clocks. But it is sufficient for our needs because its truth is unwavering. Like when we are having trouble with our kids and do nothing but argue with them, we can go to scripture and we read in Ephesians 6:4 “4 Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.”

It teaches us about our lives, our friendships, our children, our marriages, but mostly our lives as Christians. I love how the KJV puts it here that it is profitable for doctrine. We tend to avoid doctrine oftentimes. Because doctrine divides. And I want to say that it is a good thing that doctrine divides. Not on the basis that it causes divisions but that it unites people around the truth. Without the division that doctrine causes, there would be unimaginable false teaching in all churches.

When I think of teaching in scripture, I think of Jesus and the sermon on the mount. This is a prime example of how scripture is profitable for teaching. Jesus sat down with his followers and in 3 chapters in scripture, taught them what it means to be a devoted disciple to him. And that has been given to us today for us to know what it means to be a devoted disciple to Jesus. It is through the unwavering truth of scripture that we are taught. We are thankful for the teaching of scripture.

2. Thankful for the Reproving of Scripture

This word reproof is not a word that we use in our everyday language. This word means disapproval. So it means that scripture points out problems in our lives.

In July of 2021, I had the opportunity to fill the pulpit for a church in Troy called Tabernacle Baptist. When I was preaching the Wednesday night service, I noticed that I was having a hard time standing up because of pain. In the weeks that followed, I was having a high level of pain shooting down my leg. I went to many doctors appointments and on November 8th of 2021, I had to have spine fusion surgery.

I say all that to say this, my pain receptors in my body and my nerves in my leg told me that something was wrong. My spine had collapsed on itself. Those pain receptors pointed out something wrong with my body. Just the same, scripture does that with our lives. Whenever we begin to fail in things like the great commandment, scripture shows us that we are on the wrong path. When we begin to believe false teachings like just be a good person and you will go to heaven, scripture shows us differently. When we fail to love our spouse, scripture shows us that we are in sin. It shows us where we fall short.

This aspect of scripture is what many people do not like. This is no secret. No one likes for their faults to be pointed out. How many of us at some point avoided going to the doctor and having just a routine appointment with our bloodwork done because we know that the numbers would not be good and the doctor would tell you that you need to lose weight and watch what you eat? Probably most of us. But avoiding it doesn’t make the truth disappear. Scripture is not going to change when we avoid it. And, for the believers, how could we ever want to avoid our Father speaking to us. We want to be made into the image of Christ and for that to happen, God needs to have some hard conversations with us. Sin needs to be pointed out. But it cannot stop there. Because after sin is pointed out, we need to be corrected.

3. Thankful for the Correcting of Scripture

Because of our fleshly, sinful nature, none of us like being corrected. Kids, how many of you like to be correct and disciplined? It isn’t fun. And kids, it doesn’t get more fun the older you get. It happens even now. My wife has to correct me often. I say something I shouldn’t or say I am going to do something and don’t. And she comes in, lovingly and gently, and corrects me. And I hear her out and I move towards correction. We all need some correction sometimes. And scripture does that for us. But oftentimes, there is resistance. I think of that state of the world around us and the moral evils that are happening such as abortion. We use scripture, even to the world around us to try to correct this evil.

This resistance to correction should not surprise us. Paul tells Timothy before this in this same letter of the world around us. (2 Timothy 3:1-5) read passage.

Should this resistance stop us? Absolutely not. Because the world, even though they are unrepentant, need to hear the unwavering truth of scripture. Correction comes down to repentance. And repentance is not only for the unbeliever to come to faith. It is also for the believer to turn from ongoing sin in their life. It is also for the church when they stray as well. And this happens when they stray from the truth. We talked about scripture being profitable for the teaching of doctrine. We need to be honest and acknowledge that some church have strayed from this.

Revelation 2:12–16 ESV

12 “And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: ‘The words of him who has the sharp two-edged sword. 13 “ ‘I know where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is. Yet you hold fast my name, and you did not deny my faith even in the days of Antipas my faithful witness, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells. 14 But I have a few things against you: you have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, so that they might eat food sacrificed to idols and practice sexual immorality. 15 So also you have some who hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans. 16 Therefore repent. If not, I will come to you soon and war against them with the sword of my mouth.

2 Timothy 3:7 “7 always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth.” There are churches that continue to teach and people continue to learn, yet they never are able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth. This doesn’t happen when they are centered around the unwavering truth of scripture. As the pastor here, I want everything that we do centered around the unwavering truth of scripture. I want us to read scripture, outside of the sermon, I want us to pray prayers that reflect scripture, I want us to see scripture as we observe the ordinances, I want us to sing songs that reflect the truths of scripture. I want everything that we do to be about scripture.

When we do this, we protect the church. We protect it from false doctrine, we protect it from self-centered worship (singing songs that are more about us than God), we protect ourselves from becoming a church that is about our preferences. When we do this, we become the church that Christ wants us to be. A church that is centered around the unwavering truth of scripture. Who wants to be that church? We need to be open to being corrected by scripture for this to happen.

4. Thankful for the Training of Scripture

Scripture also trains us. What does it train us in? It trains us in righteousness. It molds us into the image of Christ. When I think about this, I cannot but help to think about our sweet time that we have together on Wednesday evenings. I would love for each and every one of you to be able to come and be with us. Because this is just a wonderful of what Paul is telling Timothy here. Training in righteousness.

We are going through the book of James and James is one of the most practical books in scripture for this. Just in the last several weeks, we have talked about and had conversations of how to practically do things like...

suffer joyfully

be doers of the word and not hearers only

not be partial to someone because of their looks or wealth

how to have a faith that is alive

tame our tongue

fight against worldliness

These are all things that scripture has been training us in. Scripture is the most applicable book to the life of a Christian that we can ever have. It is given to us to mold us and shape us into the life of Jesus Christ. Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 11:1 “1 Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.” And where do we find who Christ is and who we should imitate. We can only find that in scripture. When we stray from scripture, what we do is we create our own Jesus around who we want him to be. We create this false idol that we worship that is in line with what we want to believe. We mold Christ in our image instead of molding ourselves into his image. So, we must go to the unwavering truth of scripture to see the true Christ and worship him and be molded to his image.

In recent years, in both the modern worship and traditional worship preferences, there has been this focus put on songs and music that should be placed on God’s word. The preaching of God’s word must be central in the life of the believer. Songs and music, no matter how good it is, is not breathed out by God and inspired by the Holy Spirit. It is not profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. I am not saying that we need to cut out music in our church. Singing praises to God is a way that we corporately worship. But we must not worship the music. John MacArthur once said ““You don't think the world has infected your church? Cut out the music. Turn on all the lights -normal light bulbs, please. Have a man stand in front of them and preach the Word. Try and sell that. See how many come back next Sunday.”

Without the preaching of God’s word, the church will suffer. Let us see the preaching of God’s word, week in and week out, as a way that we are taught, rebuked, corrected, and trained in righteousness. Paul continues after our passage today and tells Timothy in 2 Timothy 4:2-4

2 Timothy 4:2–4 ESV

2 preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. 3 For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, 4 and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.

Preach the word. That is why we value the unwavering truth of scripture here at Immanuel. Let scripture be what trains us in righteousness so that we can be formed into the image of Jesus Christ. There is 1 more aspect of scripture that Paul lists to Timothy that we should be thankful for as well.

5. Thankful for the Equipping of Scripture

2 Timothy 3:17 ESV

17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

Your version may say for the man of God to be perfect. Now, in the context of what Paul is writing, he is speaking to Timothy who was a preacher of the word. More than likely, when he is talking about the man of God, he is referring to the elder or overseer or pastor. But, scripture does not hold a pastor to a higher standard than a normal believer. So what Paul tells Timothy is both profitable for the pastor and for the believer.

To be perfect. Who in here has tried to be perfect but has failed? You are not alone. We cannot be perfect. This is why we need help. And where does this specific help come from? The Holy Spirit, and the unwavering truth of scripture. This is where we find the perfect will of God, this is where we find the wealth of truth that God has given us. And this is where we are equipped. And just like with any job, you need to be equipped.

Every job that I have had, there were tools that I needed to preform the job. When I worked construction, in my tool belt I had nails, tape measure, speed square, hammer, gloves, and all sorts of other things. If I did not have these, I would have a hard time doing the job. If a police officer were to go to work without his duty belt, he would have a hard time doing his job. We must be equipped.

For the believer, we have a job to do. Make disciples. We must have the right tools for that. We are equipped to do this because of scripture. Scripture gives us the plan of salvation, good doctrine, it equips us as we counsel others. Scripture is a wealth of tools as we grow the kingdom of God. But it also equips us personally as we mature in our faith. Every Christian should be maturing in their faith. If you are not maturing in your faith, you are headed in the wrong direction. And we mature with God’s word becoming alive to us. God’s word is breathed out, which means that it is living and active. To the believer, it gives life.

Conclusion

I asked a question when we began. Why is truth important? It is important because it teaches, reproves, corrects, trains, and equips us. It is a guide to us in the dark world that we live in. It keeps us on track with what a believer should be. But it means nothing without one specific truth.

The truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ. (gospel presentation with emphasis on great exchange)

For the believer that is here today, dwell on your own life in Christ. Ask God to show you where you need to focus to be made more into the image of Jesus.

For anyone in here who does not have their hope and faith in Jesus, today could be that day for you. Scripture tells us to repent and believe. Turn from your sinful ways and go to Jesus Christ. Believe that everything that Jesus did on the cross was for you. And when you do this, you will be saved.