Authoritative

Introduction

Well, good morning!

If you’d take your Bible and open ‘em up with 2 Timothy chapter 3……We’re actually gonna look at the end of chapter 3 and the beginning of chapter 4 this morning.

If you were with us last week, we started this new sermon series looking at the Word of God…asking the question, “What should we believe about it?…What should we believe about the Word of God?” Because what you believe about the Bible, it shapes everything about your life.

Last week, in asking that question, we began looking at what it says about itself…which the first thing, if you remember, it says that it is inspired by God Himself. Meaning, it’s not just some old, dead guys’ words…its’ the very words of God. It’s His words, that He’s given to us, so that we might know Him. The Bible, it was inspired by the very Spirit of God. Meaning, its true…it’s inerrant…its infallible.

But listen, what else does the Bible say about itself? What else should we believe about the Bible? Why’s it so important that we continue to go to it over and over again? Because not only is it inspired…but according to Scripture, its also authoritative.

According to Oxford, the word ‘authority,’ it means to have the power or the right to give orders, to make decisions, or to enforce obedience…it also means to have power or control over something else.

Now I understand that word…for some of us…hearing that definition…it immediately puts us into defensive mode. We don’t like being told what to do…we don’t like anyone or anything having authority over us…because the reality is, that’s our sinful nature. It’s the same feeling a lot of us get when we start to talk about the doctrines of election or freewill. We get angry at the idea of election because we don’t like something having that kind of authority over our lives. We don’t like being told what to do or being forced to do something. We cling to this ‘right’ we think we have or this false idea of freewill…which for the record, you won’t find the word ‘freewill’ anywhere in any of the 66 books of the Bible.

Now I’m not saying we don’t have freewill…but what I am saying, the reason we struggle with the idea of authority, it’s because of our freewill. Our freewill, its always contrary to God. That’s why its so important that we remind ourselves, constantly, who we are! We’re dirty, little sinners that deserve nothing but death and separation.

You wanna understand authority?…the authority Scripture has in our lives?…then you have to acknowledge who you are at your core and why you buck authority so much.

If you constantly humble yourself, remembering that “all [including you] all fall short of God’s glory…all have sinned,” you’ll start to realize that in order for you to grow there needs to be a foundation of authority. There needs to be something that’s good and true that you can root yourself to as sin attempts to overcome you.

God says to Cain in Genesis chapter 4, “Sin’s desire, its for you.” If we have zero authority in our life, sin will overcome us. Scripture, along with the indwelling of the Spirit, it gives us the power to overcome sin in our lives…because it has sole authority over right and wrong…ultimately, because as we talked about last week, it came from the very mind of God…its His words.

And so let us apply what Jesus spoke in the Beatitudes…let us be poor in spirit, realizing our sin nature…let us mourn for our sin, realizing the separation its created…let us be meek or humbled, realizing our freewill, it’ll always take us from the presence of God…and listen, because of those things, let us hunger and thirst for righteousness, clinging to the authority of Scripture as we grow in our walk with Jesus. Amen? Because when we do those things…not only will we see the authority Scripture has…but Jesus says right there in the Beatitudes, we’ll be blessed.

And so, with all that in mind…would you stand with me as we read our passage together? Second Timothy chapter 3, verse 14:

2 Timothy 3:14–4:5 (ESV)

But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it 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. All Scripture is breathed out by God and 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 charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. 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, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

Thank you, you can be seated.

[Prayer]

If you’re taking notes…I have three points for us this morning…number 1, God’s Word makes us wise…number 2, God’s Word instructs us…and then number 3, God’s Word has absolute authority.

And so, if you’d keep your place there in 2 Timothy, let’s see what God’s Word says about its own authority in the life of a believer.

I. God’s Word Makes Us Wise (vv. 3:14-15)

The first thing it says about itself…its that God’s Word makes us wise.

Look at verses 14 and 15 with me again. It says:

2 Timothy 3:14–15 (ESV)

But as for you [this is Paul writing to Timothy] as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it 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.

Now the context here…Paul’s writing to Timothy…Timothy’s a young pastor in Ephesus…and for whatever reason, he’s struggling…he’s discouraged, as we’ll see in a minute…it doesn’t look like the believers there are following Timothy’s lead, they’re not listening to his teachings. And so, Paul, he’s addressing this discouraged pastor and he’s giving him some encouragement on how to move forward.

Look at the first thing Paul says here…, “Continue in what you’ve learned…continue in what you’ve firmly believed in, knowing from who you’ve learned it.”

The idea here, Paul’s telling Timothy to remember, right?…Well, we’ve talked about that for three weeks now. Moses wrote our memory verse and the book of Deuteronomy as a whole so that they might remember what the Lord had done before they took possession of the promised land. Peter said, in his letter last week, that he wrote what he did so that his readers might remember, right? And what’s Paul say here? How’s Paul first address Timothy’s problem?

Continue in what you’ve learned…continue in what you’ve firmed believed…Or another way to put it, remember! Remember what you’ve learned…remember what you’ve believed all this time, since childhood, Paul says.

In fact, that word there, it’s the Greek word (menō) which means to remain or stay…it can refer to someone dwelling or living somewhere. Paul says to Timothy, “Remain in what you’ve learned....stay firmly, in what you’ve believed…dwell in those things…live in those things,” right? And what’s the means to staying grounded…remaining firm in the things Timothy’s learned and believed? Paul says, “It’s the sacred writings.” Those were the things that shaped Timothy’s mind…those were the things he learned and believed in. Which at the point of Paul writing this, the sacred writings, that would’ve only consisted of the Old Testament.

Paul’s exhortation here, its for Timothy to stand firmly on the Word of God. Don’t budge…don’t waver in your commitment to do what you know to be true. That’s why Paul says, remember those that taught it to you…your grandmother, your mother, me! He mentions them a few verses before this. But his point here, stand on the Word of God!

Why? Look at the end of verse 15…because they’re able to make you wise.

Now let me just stop here for just a moment…knowledge and wisdom, those are two very different things. Smarts and wisdom…two different things. You can be the smartest person in the world and yet have zero wisdom.

Someone stopped me the other day, we were talking about college and stuff, and they said, “Wow, you must be wise because you have a doctorate.” Let me just say this…having knowledge, doesn’t make a person wise. One of the people who discipled me doesn’t have a 4 year degree. Your education, it doesn’t make you wise.

Solomon, the wisest man that’s ever lived, according to the Bible…he wrote much of the wisdom books in the Old Testament…he had everything a man could wish for…love, money, power…He says this at the beginning of Ecclesiastes:

Ecclesiastes 1:1–2 (ESV)

The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.

Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher,

vanity of vanities! All is vanity.

It’s all empty…it’s useless, worthless, in vain…he says. Everything!

And he ends the book by saying this:

Ecclesiastes 12:13–14 (ESV)

The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.

Fear God, keep his commandments…that’s the advise we’re given from the wisest man that’s ever lived…a man that had everything!

Knowledge and power, those things don’t make you wise.

These things also don’t have authority.

Listen, I’ve said this before…I actually heard it from another pastor…I don’t have authority in this church…My position doesn’t give me authority…My education doesn’t give me authority…My calling doesn’t give me any authority…My knowledge doesn’t give me authority…Authority, it rests on the sacred writings…writings that God inspired Himself. My job, its simply to expound them for you and allow them to equip you for the work of ministry (we’ll talk about that in just a second).

The Word of God is the only authority in our lives, and listen to the reason why? Paul says because it makes you wise for salvation through Christ Jesus.

You remember what Jesus told the disciples in Matthew 28?

Matthew 28:18–20 (CSB)

ALL authority, [its] been given to me in heaven and on earth.

ALL authority, its been given to Jesus…which is another reason John calls Jesus the WORD in his letter, right? The Word of God, it has authority because ultimately it points us to Jesus…it makes us wise about Him.

You see what’s Paul’s saying here? The Scriptures lead us to salvation. We’re not saved by believing the Bible, but instead by trusting the Jesus that’s revealed in the Bible. And Paul’s reminding Timothy here that at the very most basic parts of his walk, he must ground himself in the teaching of Scripture because it points to the good news of Jesus. He’s telling him…don’t wavier on that. Let that be your foundation.

When you ground yourself in the sacred writings, you’re gonna be reminded about salvation…about what Jesus did. You’re gonna be reminded that you’re a sinner and that without Jesus taking your place, taking on your punishment, you’d die a death with no hope of life after. When you go to the Scriptures, you’re reminded, like Solomon, that the things of the world, they’re in vain…they’re empty. Jesus is what matters…and His mission is the goal. That’s where wisdom flourishes. That’s what makes one wise.

And listen, Paul says only the Scriptures have the authority to reveal those things to you. Only the Scriptures can make you wise.

II. God’s Word Instructs Us (vv. 3:16-17)

But not only that…point number 2…God’s Word instructs us as well.

Look at verses 16 and 17 with me again. It says:

2 Timothy 3:16–17 (ESV)

All Scripture is breathed out by God and 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.

Now we talked about the inspiration of God’s Word last week…the Scriptures, they’re breathed out by God, right? They’re His very words to us…words that tell us about Himself…what He’s like, His character, His nature…words that communicate our origins…our problem…Words that communicate the story of human redemption.

But listen, not only are these words inspired…not only are they true and dependable because they came from God…but listen to what Paul says here…God Word’s, its profitable [its useful, its beneficial] in teaching, for reproof, correction, for training up in righteousness.

Listen, what Paul’s saying here…don’t just believe the Scriptures…USE IT! There’s so many in our culture today that say they believe in the inspiration of Scripture, they believe God gave us these words…but then they deny their belief by the way they practice what the Bible says.

We’re actually seeing a lot of this in our own community. We’ve had two churches in our town, just this year, that have chosen to step away from the ministerium because of the stances we’ve taken on things like homosexuality and abortion…And listen, I’m not bringing this up to start anything…I’m bringing this up to say it’s not something just happening somewhere in our country…its happening in our community.

If Christians believe the Bible to be God’s inspired Word, then we naturally have to see it as profitable in our lives, right? Paul just told us that it’s profitable for making us wise…and now he’s saying it’s profitable for teaching and rebuking and correcting…its profitable for training us in righteousness.

Listen, the Bible shouldn’t just shape our beliefs…it should shape our lifestyles as well…it should shape how we live. The Scriptures, they should have the most influence on our doctrine and on our conduct. And listen to Paul’s words here…the Scriptures aren’t just a supplement or something to be used alongside something else…they’re sufficient, alone, in shaping us into the very image of Christ by the power of His Spirit.

The Bible addresses us in a variety of ways, right? It gives us doctrinal truths that we should know and understand…things we need to affirm. It rebukes us for ungodly behavior or false beliefs or teachings. It corrects us when we’ve strayed from Christlikeness. It trains us on what it looks like to live righteously, in a way that’s pleasing to God and worthy of the gospel message. It even tells us why we struggle so much to do the things the Bible lays out…it shows us where our means are to overcome those challenges. There’s an incredible amount of power in God’s Word (which we’re gonna talk more about next week) but Scripture has the sole authority in shaping us. That’s why Paul tells Timothy to just preach the word in chapter 4…because again, it’ll rebuke, and correct, and encourage. “Don’t do anything else, Timothy…just let the Word do what God inspired it to do!”

I mean, God’s Word, it meets our deepest needs. It transforms us from the inside out. And one of the reasons I’m so adamant about expository preaching…one of the reasons, I hate tropical preaching…it’s because we don’t need man’s observations on the world around us or the problems we face…we don’t need practical suggestions from some preacher whose also imperfect himself…(don’t get me wrong there’s times for council)…but what we need more than anything, it’s God Word. You don’t need my words…you don’t need me to spend an hour telling you stories about myself…you need the very thing that has the authority to shape your life…the thing God gave you to instruct you and grow you.

Listen to what Paul says in verse 17…why do we need to rely on Scripture to teach us and correct us and rebuke us? Because it’s the only thing that’ll complete us and equip us for God’s work. It’s the only thing that’ll sanctify us into the image of Jesus. Scripture, it has the only authority to equip us.

John Stott says this, “Scripture is the chief means which God employs to bring ‘the man of God’ to maturity.”

Listen, can I ask you a question? Are you growing? Are you growing spiritually? I get that complaint a lot…, “I just feel like I’m not growing…I feel like God’s so distant…I feel stuck in my walk.”

Listen to Paul here…only the Scriptures can grow you!…Are you in it? Are you reading it? Are you studying it? I mean, do you have the same spirit as the Psalmist in Psalm 119?

Psalm 119:97 (ESV)

Oh how I love your law!

It is my meditation all the day.

Psalm 119:161 (ESV)

my heart stands in awe of your words.

I mean, is that your mindset toward Scripture?

God gave it to us to instruct us…to grow us…to equip us, all for good work.

Let our pray be this every single day we rise…John Wesley said, “At any price give me the book of God…Let me be a man of one book.” Let this book teach us…let this book rebuke us and correct us…let this book edify us and show us what it looks like to live righteously.

Pay attention to what Paul does here…he says continue learning…continue trusting and believing in these Christ-centered writings…understand that’s its God breathed…understand that it’s totally sufficient in your sanctification.

But then look at what he does in chapter 4…only proclaim these words because of how they’ve shaped you and because of what you believe about ‘em.

III. God’s Word Has Absolute Authority (vv. 4:1-5)

Point number 3…God’s Word has absolute authority…and for that reason, not only do we let it shape our lives…but its also the only thing we proclaim.

Look at the first five verses in chapter 4 with me again. Paul says:

2 Timothy 4:1–5 (ESV)

I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. 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, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

And so, again…Timothy’s struggling. He’s obviously facing some kind of false teaching in the church…people aren’t listening to him…and this is how Paul closes his letter to him…He gives him one final exhortation…and personally, I believe this is what a pastor is called to do…this is their main responsibility…the thing they’re supposed to devote themselves to.

Paul tells Timothy to preach the word…everything in this passage, its centered on this one command…Preach the very Word of God!

Verse 1…Paul says, “I charge this to you in the presence of God and Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead.” Guys, he says it like this to remind Timothy the severity of his call…, “Your proclamation, it has eternal consequences. Don’t get wrapped up in pleasing people. Don’t get wrapped up in your emotions. Don’t fall into false teaching. Preach the very thing that has authority to change lives, Timothy!” That’s Paul’s charge.

And listen, I love this…there’s actually 6 different commands Paul gives Timothy here…the first one’s “Preach the Word!”…which of course drives the passage. But the second one…, “Be ready!” That word there it means “to press something home.”

And so, when should he do that? In season and out of season, right? When it’s convenient and when its not. When its expected and when its not.

This is actually kind of funny because in the Greco-Roman world, in rhetoric or speech, it was taught that a person shouldn’t speak if the people they’re speaking to aren’t receptive or attentive…Well Paul says here, Timothy, he’s to preach the Word regardless of the circumstances. His duty, it was to preach…it wasn’t to predict the audience’s response…which, without getting off topic here, this charge, it lays the foundation of faithful preaching. The authority of the preacher, it’s not in his own words…its in the Word of God.

But look at the third, fourth, and fifth commands Paul gives Timothy here…, “Reprove, Rebuke, Exhort!” (Sounds kind of like what we just saw in chapter 3, right?) Listen, each of these instructions, they refer to one’s intellect, or conscience, or will. Timothy, he was to correct failures in one’s Christian walk by the knowledge of God’s word…he was to rebuke those consciously attempting to defend wrongdoings…he was to give encouragement to those struggling, all by proclaiming the truth of Scripture. That was his means to performing the commands Paul gave him, right? “Preach the Word,” Paul said.

The preaching of God’s Word, it reproves, it rebukes, and it exhorts the people of God…Why? Because Scripture alone has absolute authority in our lives.

But listen, I love Paul’s final charge…he tells Timothy, “Do this…but do it with great patience and instruction…Don’t get angry…Don’t get frustrated at your people…don’t belittle them…Be patient and continue to instruct them in the Word of God.” What he’s saying here…, “Trust the Word to do what it’s supposed to do because it has authority. Just preach the Word…watch it work in the lives of believers.”

Paul says, there’s gonna be a day when the people won’t endure sound teaching or they won’t put up with sound teaching. They’re gonna find the gospel offensive…they’re gonna find it unappealing. Based on the context of this letter, it seems as if that’s already started to happen in Ephesus when Paul wrote this. Paul says because of their desires…or because of their flesh…they would accumulate for themselves or they would bring in people that suited their own passions…people who would teach ‘em what they wanted…people that would satisfy their “itching” ears.

An author wrote this, “Such speakers toy with the minds of the hearers but leave the intellect uninformed, the conscience unchallenged, and the will set in a direction away from God.”

Listen to what Paul’s saying here…the reason these people move in that direction, its because the authority in their lives, its been neglected.

Paul, he’s describing here what it looks like when people find teachers that satisfy their desires instead of their needs. First, these people, they turn away from listening to truth. Now, that also doesn’t mean they’ve once professed truth either. He says, these people, they begin wandering off into myths and legends. As people give in to what they desire…these myths become their foundation of truth. The word “myths” here it simply implies fabrications that aren’t grounded in factual information. But understand Paul’s point…he’s saying without the authority of Scripture in a person’s life, this is what happens. They turn away and they begin rooting themselves in lies…and eventually, those lies they begin to manifest in that person’s life through the way they live.

Paul says, “Timothy, as for you…don’t be like this…don’t give into the flesh…be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist (or in other words, preach the Word)…fulfill your ministry!…Remember the authority that comes from the Word of God.”

And so, what’s this mean for us?

Guys, can you see what Paul’s telling Timothy here? The importance of Scripture? Can you see the warnings of what happens when we don’t allow the Word of God to be central in our lives?…When we don’t give it the authority it should have?

Listen, don’t read these final verses thinking, “Oh yea, the people Paul’s talking about, that’s not me…that would never be me.” Again, remember who you are, at your core…remember the lengths God went to redeem you. When you start neglecting your study of God’s Word…when you stop filling your life with truth…your voice of reason comes from within and you’ll start making decisions based on the things that influence you the most…which for many of us, its things like Facebook, or Tik Tok…its YouTube…its some podcast we listen to. And if we’re honest, if we really reflect on our thoughts and our actions for just a minute…what we’ll realize, its that we’re probably more worldly than we thought we were.

Fill your life with the Word of God…Amen? Read it, study it, believe it, apply it…And guys, do that over and over again. Understand that the Word, it has authority over you…it has the authority to tell you how to live and what to do.

And listen, this letter might be written to a pastor…but if what Paul’s telling Timothy is true…then it means as parents, as teachers, as mentors, as siblings, as friends…what should we be doing if we believe the Bible to have this kind of authority? We should all be proclaiming it, right? Because as we talked about last week, its relevant in all areas of our life.

Closing

And so, listen…as we close this morning…the question I have for you…do you truly believe God’s Word to be authoritative? Do you believe it to be true? Do you believe that it sets the standard of right and wrong? Do you believe it should be followed? Are you giving it absolute authority in your life?

Every head bowed and every eye closed.

Listen, I can’t answer those questions for you…I can see your life…I can see what you give yourselves to…I can see what you invest in. But I can’t answer that question for you.

What I really want you to ask yourself as we move into a time of worship, “Does my life…do my actions…does it all point to my view and my belief about God’s Word?” Because listen, if you’re in the Scriptures like Paul’s telling Timothy to be here…in you’re continuing in your study of it…if you’re proclaiming it in the different areas of your life…it’ll show…and it’ll show because it will shape you and form you…because it has absolute authority in your life.

And so, what does your life and what does your actions show about your view and belief about God’s Word?

And listen, whatever it is…whatever the Spirit places on your heart…respond to that…the steps are open, you can come pray. You can pray where you’re at. But respond and repent…turn toward Christ.

But listen, if you’re here and you don’t know Jesus…hear what I’m saying. God’s Word, it’s true…every single verse, every chapter…it’s all been inspired by the very Spirit of God…it’s come from the mind of God…it’s authoritative in our lives…it has real power.

And listen, what it tells us…it tells us that we were created…by God. And it says that in our rebellion, we chose contrary to God…we chose to please ourselves…we didn’t want the grace of God…we didn’t want His provision in our lives…and so, we chose our on way…and in that rebellion, and because we aren’t God, we couldn’t sustain life…we brought on death. And because of our rebellion…and because God’s a good and righteous God, we couldn’t be in His presence any longer…therefore, He couldn’t grant us life. He’s the source of life because He’s the Creator. And so, without our circumstances changing, every one of us, we all experience death and separation.

Paul says, “The wages of sin, its death.”

But listen, the Bible also shows us “that God so loved the world that He gave us His Son, Jesus.” It says, “That whosoever believes in Him, they’ll have eternal life.” You see, Jesus, He’s God Himself…He’s the Creator…And the amazing thing about the gospel, its that God stepped into His creation, He took on flesh…He lived a life as man…all with the purposes of dying a death man deserved. And if that wasn’t enough, the cornerstone of Christianity…its that Jesus didn’t remain dead…it says He rose three days later and it says He ascended to heaven, very much alive.

Listen, the Bible, its true…and because it’s true…its very important that you respond to its message. If you turn to Jesus, if you confess with your mouth and believe in your heart that He’s Lord, that He raised from the dead…the Bible says you will be saved…It’s that simple. You don’t have to be a perfect person…You don’t have to be good enough. Let the Spirit and let the Word have authority in your life and turn to Jesus!

And so listen, whatever it is, whoever you are…I just want you take this time…respond to what the Spirit might be doing in your heart right now and then I’ll close us in just a moment.

[Prayer]