B - Bible Study

Introduction

Well, good morning! I hope everyone had a great New Year’s week! I hope you guys got some rest on this break…but ultimately, I hope you’re ready for 2024…I hope you’re ready to see what God has in store for us here at FBC!

I mentioned last week, all the things God’s done here at FBC in 2023…and listen, the thing I’m most grateful for is the salvations He’s allowed us to see and the people He’s allowed us to invest in and disciple. When we introduced our 2030 goals last year, I never thought we’d see Him move so early on…but that’s God! Amen? And He’s not done. Just as we recited all year last year, He wants us to make disciples…He wants us to baptize them and to teach them all that He’s commanded…and He wants us to prepare them to be used by Him to do the same thing. And He’s gonna do that…we just have to keep our eyes on Him and on focus on the means by which He’s gonna do that in us…which of course as we began looking at last week, it’s through the church…the people that He’s called us to here at FBC…which is why we introduced a new memory for us in 2024.

If you were with us last week, we read Acts 2:42 through 47 in its entirety and we said we’re gonna work this year to memorize this passage together because it reminds us of how God’s gonna accomplish His will through us…it reminds us of what we’re called to together, as a church. And of course, we’re spending this month exploring this passage together, looking at who these first century believers were.

And so, before we get started this morning…let’s begin by just reciting the first two verses of this passage together. Remember, we’re gonna break this up into sections throughout the year so that we can memorize it as a whole.

And so, if you’re ready, the verses‘ll be on the screen. Let’s read it together:

Acts 2:42–43 (ESV)

And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles.

[Prayer]

Alrighty…if you’d open your Bibles to Acts chapter 2, if you haven’t already…and hold your places there…and then also turn with me Second Timothy chapter 3 as well. We’re actually gonna be there for most of our time this morning.

If you were with us last week, we started this new sermon series called ‘This is Church’…and the whole idea, its to examine this passage here in Acts, and what it shows us about the very first church after the ascension of Christ. And the purpose of this series, its to show us how God uses the church to grow us as believers, to strengthen our walks, to sanctify us, disciple us.

And if you remember, part of this series, as we examine our memory verse, its to also show us what we have here at FBC that models this first century church and how you can get more plugged into those things here. And so, last week, we presented the first thing in our ABCDE discipleship pathway…which of course was assembly. We saw through our passage in Acts and in Hebrews that our presence and our participation in our gathering together, its necessary for us as a believers and for us as a church. We must gather together…which is why these first century believers devoted themselves to it.

But as we continue through this passage together, we also see that they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teachings…which of course is to the study of Scripture. Now, we know, based on context, these believers, they didn’t have copies of the New Testament, none of it had been written yet…but they did have the Old Testament, which of course all points to Jesus and to man’s redemption…and they had the apostles who taught them about Jesus and the gospel. And listen, pay attention to the text…it says they devoted themselves to those teachings…when they gathered…part of the purpose there, it was to learn the Scriptures together.

As I mentioned last week, we have to remember that church isn’t something we do, it’s something we’re apart of, it’s about the people God’s called us to…and we do some things together, right? We assemble, as we mentioned last week…to encourage and to edify, to worship…but we assemble also to talk about Jesus and His Word. In fact, our gatherings, it should be rooted in His Word which of course leads to some of the things we talked about in our first sermon. We’re not some social club…we’re not a movie club that gathers around our love for movies. We’re not an exercise group or a pickleball club…we’re not brought together because we’re all from the same places or grew up in the same cultures. It’s not our hobbies or our interests, that’s not what brings us together…Jesus, He’s the One that unites us…and it’s His Word we find our common interest in.

When we gather, part of that gathering…every gathering…should be rooted in our devotion to His Word.

And so, why’s our devotion to God’s Word so important? Because it’s His Word that should be our foundation…it’s His Word that’s the one source of absolute truth in this world. And of course, as believers, we understand that this book, its not just any book, it’s living and its active. Guys, when we devote ourselves to God’s Word, what we find…it’s that we’ll fall more in love with God and His message of salvation…and as a result, we’ll find that the Scriptures shape who we are.

And so, to help us examine this idea of Bible study or devotion to the Scriptures…I want us to use 2 Timothy to do that this morning…to show it’s importance in the life of the church, our gathering together, and of course our own personal lives. And to kind of help guide us through this passage…there’s three questions I want you to focus on as we do that…number one, have you been changed by the gospel? Number two, do you have a desire to know God? And then, number three, are the Scriptures shaping you? And then when we’ve examined those three things, I wanna just real quickly show you some things here at FBC we have to help you devote yourself to His Word.

And so, with that, let’s jump into this first question.

I. Have You Been Changed by the Gospel? (vv. 14-15)

Have you been changed by the gospel?

If you’d turn to our 2 Timothy passage and look at verses 14 and 15 with me again. It says, “14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it 15 and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.”

And so, just a little context here…Paul’s life, it’s about to end and he’s writing to Timothy here because Paul knew Timothy had to continue the race…And in these first two verses, Paul reveals some things that we really need to pay attention to. First, Paul says, “Continue in what you have learned and firmly believed…” Timothy, according to Paul here, he’s been learning about the Scriptures since childhood. Both his grandmother and his mother (Lois and Eunice), they had taught it to him since infancy. He says that in chapter 1, verse 5.

But notice it also says, “Continue in what you’ve firmly believed.”…carrying the idea that he was also convinced of the truth…it wasn’t just taught to him, but he had become convinced it was true…he had become convinced of the truth of God’s Word…And now, Paul’s saying, he’s urging Timothy, to continue trusting, continue studying God’s Word.

And then he goes on, and he says, “these Scriptures, they’re sacred, and they make you wise for salvation through faith in Jesus.”

You know, that’s kind of a weird statement, right? If Timothy had come into a knowledge and belief of God’s Word, and if Paul’s writing to Timothy in this manner, I think it’s safe to assume that Timothy’s saved, right? He’s been reborn, given new life. But look at what Paul says, “continue trusting, continue learning”…why?…because the Scriptures, which are sacred…they make you wise about salvation?

And so, why does Timothy need to become wise about salvation if he already has it? Because ultimately, it’s the gospel…its the reality about our salvation…through the church and through the Spirit of God, that grows us…its that reality that leaves us in awe…it humbles us and reminds us of who we are…I know for me, it helps me to fall even more deeply in love with God…every time I think about the gospel, what Jesus has done for me, the lengths at which He went to save me…it crushes me…it humbles me. And as a result, it shapes me even further.

Guys, the gospel…its not something we hear once and its over. Its a message that the entirety of Scripture speaks about and points to and its a message meant to impact us for all eternity. We should never get tired of hearing the gospel. You understand? We should get excited about it…we should get excited when people ask questions or when God gives us the opportunity to share it.

I mean just look at what this passage says again, “Continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it.”

Guys, his grandma and mom, they had obviously been changed by the gospel because of their desire to teach it to their grandson and son. And they knew the source of the gospel, it was rooted in the reality of Scripture. If you wanna learn and teach the gospel, you have to go to the one source that speaks about its truth…God’s Word…this is the one source of absolute truth in our world. It’s why over the last several thousand years, not a single person has been able to discredit or disprove any of it. And within it, every piece of it, speaks about the gospel and points to the One that provides us with salvation, Jesus. From Genesis chapter 1, verse 1 to Revelation chapter 22, verse 21…its all meant to make us wise for salvation and point us to Jesus, as our Redeemer. It tells us about a holy God and our decision to rebel as man…it speaks about our fallen nature and the consequences of our decisions…it speaks about the death we brought on and our inability to do anything about it…and it speaks about Jesus our Lord and Savior, who became like us to save us from that outcome.

And notice, these writings…Paul says they’re sacred…meaning they’re holy…they’re righteous. This isn’t just some book, it’s much more than that…and it should define who we are once we’ve been changed by the gospel.

Guys, Jesus said, “If you love me, you will keep my commands.” That’s John 14:15. He told His disciples in Matthew 28, the passage we recited all of 2023, “Make disciples, baptize them, and teach them to observe all I’ve commanded you.”

Part of our devotion to the Word…it’s that we wanna be defined by it…We don’t obey the Scripture to gain Jesus’s love…we obey them because we realize we’re loved by Him, we’ve been changed because of His sacrifice and through His power…and we do it ultimately because we love Him.

And so, our first question, “Have you been changed by the gospel?”

Guys, I get it…this book…its hard to get into it sometimes…its difficult to understand…but that’s part of the reason why Paul’s speaking to Timothy in the context of the church. They learned it together, right? First, when he was a child, he was taught by his grandmother and mother…and now, the context, Paul’s telling him to do it in the church. If you were to continue on in this letter, that’s what Paul’s saying. Together, we hold each other accountable to our reading and learning…together, with the help of the Spirit, we discern it’s truths. Guys, our changed life, it should give us the desire to wanna do that…we should wanna learn more…and like Timothy’s family, we should wanna help others learn. It’s a mark of our salvation…its a mark that we’re different…its a mark that we’re no longer consumed with ourselves but that we care what God wants.

And so, have you been changed by the gospel?…Is that change reflected in your devotion to His Word?…Do you have a quiet time? Do you have a reading plan that you’re going through? Listen, we have all kinds of resources for you here at FBC. If you need a reading plan, we’ve got two of them printed out for you…you can get that at our sign up table…there’s several others on our website under our resources tab if you don’t like the one’s we’ve printed out…we have these books that teach you about studying the Bible on your own…they’re free…take one. Guys, there’s plenty of things we offer to make your Bible study easier.

And so, have you been changed by the gospel? That life change, it should give you a desire to grow in God’s Word…to continue in it as Paul says to Timothy here.

That’s the first thing.

II. Do You Have a Desire to Know God? (v. 16a)

The second question…do you have a desire to know God?

Part of the reason the first century believers in Acts 2 devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching was because ultimately they had a desire to know God.

Look at the first parts of 2 Timothy 3:16. It says, “All Scripture is breathed out by God…”

Guys, this is one of the most important statements made in the Bible. “All Scripture’s God-breathed,”…it’s all divinely inspired by God. And its not like what we think about when we think about the English word “inspired,”…”like that song, it was really inspiring,” right?…That’s not the same kind of inspired here…Instead, this statement, its saying…every verse, every chapter of the Bible, it was literally breathed out by God…meaning, the Bible, it’s God’s own words here…as if He spoke directly to us.

Listen, this a powerful statement and it’s powerful because of what Paul’s implying here…he’s saying that in the same ways God spoke all things into existence in the Genesis account, in the same way, He breathed out His Word in Scripture…through the Spirit working through the different biblical authors.

And notice the words Paul uses here…he says, “ALL Scripture is breathed out…” Meaning, that we can’t pick and choose what came from God and what didn’t. We don’t get the privilege in deciding which commands we’re gonna obey or what pieces of theology we’re gonna believe in. All of it’s from the Spirit of God and therefore, all of it’s good, and binding, and true.

And listen, yes this statement was referring specifically to the Old Testament Scripture…because…well, that’s all they had at this time. When Timothy’s grandmother and mother taught him the Scriptures, it’s talking about the Old Testament…the New Testament was still being written…but guys, there’s plenty of evidence throughout the Bible to believe that all of it, both the Old and New Testaments, are equally inspired by God and hold the same God-breathed authority…Let me give you a couple examples.

The first one is that Jesus, Himself saw His own teaching on par with Scripture. We see this in Matthew chapter 5. He believed His teachings had the authority of God, right? In John 14:10, he said, “I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works.”

Second, Jesus, His whole earthly ministry, He prepared His apostles to speak with divine authority for the sake of the church. That’s why He says in John 16:13 “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth.”

Third, the apostles, themselves, after being given that authority by Jesus, they claim to have been inspired by God. In 1 Corinthians 2:13, Paul says, “We [the apostles], impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit.”

Fourth, Peter in 2 Peter 3:16 talks about Paul’s letters and he shows us they’re just as authoritative as every other piece of Scripture by saying, “some twist his letters [Paul’s letters] as they do the other Scriptures.”

Even our church memory verse in Acts chapter 2…it doesn’t say they devoted themselves to the Scriptures, it says they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teachings, right?…Meaning, they saw it as equally authoritative. Now, let me be clear here…even though there’s some out there that call themselves apostles, there’s no such thing in our modern-day context…My words, they don’t have the same authority as the apostles or as Scripture and they never will. I’m not infallible, my words aren’t inerrant…no man on this planet is…not even the pope like the Catholics claim him to be. And quite frankly, my words don’t need to be infallible because the reality is, God’s Words are, and they’re enough…Amen?

And listen, I show you all this because when Paul says ‘all Scripture’s inspired by God,’ it refers by implication to the Old and New Testaments. And so, taking what Paul says here and contrasting it with what Peter says in 2 Peter 1:21 that “no prophecy ever came by the will of man; instead, men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” Meaning, if what Paul says is true…every biblical author was inspired, they were carried, so to speak, by the Spirit of God…so that God’s words could accurately be communicated.

And listen, this is how God’s always worked…even from the very beginning, when He started having men write down His Words…they were just as authoritative. I mean just take Moses on Mount Sinai, writing down the Commandments. First, God wrote them with His own finger…and then Moses went down, saw the peoples’ idolatry and broke them out of anger…and so, God makes Moses go back up the mountain and write them himself…Were the second tablets any less authoritative? No, they were still God’s words, written or prescribed by man…and the Bible’s the same.

And so, with all that being said…if the Bible’s all inspired by God, Himself…it means these words, they’re all His…and it means we have direct access to knowledge that’s unshakably true and infinitely valuable…We have access to the very mind of God. Through these words, we get to learn more about this God that’s saved us. And for that reason…as the Psalmist alludes to in Psalm 1, we should delight in His Word, meditate on it, day and night…we should root ourselves in it because we should have this unmistakable desire to learn more about God.

Guys, the Creator of the universe, He breathed out a book that shares His heart with us. And as believers, we should have a desire to know this God.

And so, ask yourself…do I have a desire to know God? And does that desire lead me to the very writings He breathed out?

That’s the second question.

III. Are the Scriptures Shaping You (vv. 16b-17)

The third and final question this morning…are the Scriptures shaping you?

If you’ve been changed by the gospel and you’ve been given this desire to know God…the Spirit’ll lead you to the Scriptures…and as you dig into them…you should be shaped by them. I mean just look at these last two verses with me again. Paul says, “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.”

Guys, listen…because Scripture is the very word of God…it’s supremely profitable. That word “profitable,” it’s also used in 1 Timothy 4:8 where Paul says, “bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.” This “godliness” that’s profitable in every way, even into eternity…it’s explained here in 2 Timothy 3:16 and 17…it comes from Scripture.

And the profitable part of it, the profitable effect of Scripture, according to verse 17, its “that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” Being “equipped for every good work” that’s what godliness is. And the way it comes about in our lives is through the Scriptures. The Word of God, in the hands of the Holy Spirit, it has the power to make us the kind of people who can discern and do the good that needs to be done. “Equipped for every good work.” It transforms us…empowers us so to speak…it enables us to do the good that needs to be done.

And guys, just look at Paul’s words here…why do we devote ourselves to the Scriptures?…Because it transforms us from the inside out…The Bible, its totally and entirely sufficient, right? Guys, don’t miss the point of what Paul’s saying here…its that this God-breathed Bible, it aims to make us godly…its another tool that God uses to grow us and sanctify us. It means to make us doers of good. The doctrines of the Bible, they’re meant to produce good work in us. And it does that by teaching us godliness…and through that, Paul says the Scriptures reprove, correct, and train us in righteous…Meaning, when you’re properly taught the Word of God…it’s gonna challenge you, right?…It’s gonna reprove you…its gonna pinpoint the errors in your way of thinking and living…Guys, when its properly taught to you, it should stop you in your tracks and make you rethink some things. And not just that…but it should cause you turn around from where you’re going and point you in the right direction…it should cause correction, right? And through that, it should help you to understand righteousness and how to live in it.

Guys, the Word of God, its referred to as a hammer in the Bible…it’s referred as fire…and of course as a sword. And so, if you’re devoting yourself to it…if you’re engaged in our sermons, if you’re committed to your quiet times…if you’re involved in your Sunday school class or small group or whatever…the Word of God…it should be crushing you like a hammer…and it should be heating up that cold heart we all have sometimes…and it should be piercing us all for the point of growing us. And so, does the Word do those things in your life? Guys, I’ve gone through the Bible I can’t tell you how many times…and yet, God’s Word, it still rebukes me and corrects me and trains me…it crushes my way of thinking and it lights my heart on fire right when I seem to need it…and guys, it pierces my very soul with its truth…Are the Scriptures shaping you?

Paul tells Timothy…don’t forsake the thing’s you’ve learned…Continue in it…Stay in it…Remain in it. And do it because the power that resides in these writings. Do it because the Scriptures make you wise about salvation. Do it because every verse, every chapter, it points you to Jesus. Do it because it’s all God-breathed…Do it because ultimately its profitable…and it’s God’s means to mold you into the image of Christ.

Closing

And so, in closing…have you been changed by the gospel? And as a result, do you desire to know more about God? Are the Scriptures shaping you? Examine your devotion to the Word of God. Are you in it? Are you meeting with other Christians here at FBC to hold you accountable to that devotion? That’s what our Knot groups are all about. And I get it, you live a busy life, but if you’re too busy to study the one thing that has the ability to shape you into the image of Christ, what’s that say about your devotion, or what you’re actually devoted to?…Are you coming to a Sunday school class at 8:45 before service? We have one for every age group. Josh Mumau and Ken Hale do a great job expounding the Word for our adults…Kyler does a great job with our youth…We have awesome leaders that lead our children…Are you in a Home Group? Yes, those are more about community but all of them study Scripture together…Do you come to our men’s or women’s or young at heart groups? In February we’re actually making it a little easier for families to do that by moving our men’s and women’s breakfasts to one night where both come on the same night and we’re gonna even have something for the kids as well. It’s gonna be on the fourth Wednesday night of every month. Larry’s leading the men…Robyn’s leading the women…Cheryl’s leading the kids…we’re gonna have dinner if that makes it easier for you. And don’t worry we’re not changing our youth or young adults or young at heart…you’ll still have your times to meet with those…but come to this too. Guys, there’s plenty of ways to grow in the Word here at FBC…it really just comes down to your devotion to it.

And listen, our passage in Acts…it says they devoted themselves to these teachings together, right? Yes, you need to be in the Word on your own…but guys, there’s something about being in the Word together as a body as well. You need to be plugged into these things we have here. Your walk, its dependent on the church and being involved…and you’ll never grow in the Word, you’ll never be shaped by it, solely on your own.

And so, listen…as we close this morning…if you’d just close your eyes and bow your head with me.

I just want you to pray, what kind of commitment can I make this year?…what kind of commitment can I make today that will further my devotion to the Word of God? Maybe that means I’m gonna make a commitment to read my Bible this year…or I’m gonna make a commitment to join a Sunday school class…or I’m gonna make a commitment to start meeting with someone one on one…What is that commitment?

And listen, here’s what I want you do…whatever that commitment is…after you’ve prayed about it…sought after the Lord’s will…I just want you to take the sticky note that’s in your bulletins and I want you write that commitment on your sticky note…then I just want you to pray over it and stick one in your Bible and one in our basket at the back this morning. If you don’t have a Bible with you, maybe that’s where you need to start. Devote yourselves to God’s Word this year?

But listen, if you’re here this morning and you’ve never made the decision to follow Jesus…would you just listen to me for just a moment? Guys, in the beginning…God created man…and He created them perfectly, in His image. But after being given everything, man rebelled against God…they sinned and through that sin, they caused death…it carried on to all of creation. And because we’re born to that flesh…we’re all recipients of this sin nature…and we’ve all rebelled in our own ways against a holy and righteous God. And for those reasons, every one of us will experience death…and many of us, we’ll experience separation from the goodness of God at that death…But guys, the Bible teaches us that God wasn’t okay with that…it teaches us that He loved us so much that He gave us His Son Jesus…The Gospel of John says that the Word [Jesus] who is God, came and He dwelt among us. And guys, He did that so that in the flesh of man, He could be born to a virgin, not being born to sin through the one man…and could live a righteous life and go the cross on man’s behalf. He came so that He could receive our punishment as man. And on that cross, the wrath of God, it was poured out on Him so that we’d never have to experience that…and it says He died…before raising to life again three days later. And the Bible says that for those that repent and believe…for those that simply confess with their mouths and believe in their hearts that Jesus did those things…they will be saved…and they will raise with Jesus and receive everlasting life. And so maybe, that’s where you need to start this morning. Ask Jesus to forgive you…tell Him that you believe and that you want Him to change you, to give you eternal life…and guys, if you do that, He’ll listen.

And so, if that’s you, on your sticky notes, that’s all I want you to do…write down that you made a commitment to follow Jesus…put one in your Bible and one in the basket as you leave this morning.

And so, listen…our deacons, they’re gonna come and prepare the Lord’s Supper for us this morning…Wendy’s gonna play…you take this time and just respond…I’m here if you need me, to pray with you…but you respond and I’ll close us in just a moment.

[Prayer]

Matthew 26:26 (ESV)

Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.”

Matthew 26:27–29 (ESV)

And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.”