Firm Foundations: Core Truths We Believe
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The Bible - Our Final Authority
The Bible - Our Final Authority
This morning we are starting a series titled “Firm Foundations: Core Truths We Believe” in this series we will look at ten foundational beliefs
A theme verse for this series is Jude 3
3 Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints.
Jude writes to believers to address false teachers that had infiltrated the church
He wanted these false teachers identified and removed.
It is imperative that believers learn to distinguish truth from error.
In our theme verse of Jude 3, he says that believers must contend earnestly for the faith.
What he is saying is that he wants believers to energetically contend for the faith, that is, for the body of Scripturally based doctrine that is to be the authoritative guide for our belief and practice.
Christians are to wage war on behalf of the true faith as deposited in God’s inerrant Word.
The first Core Truth we will look at is the Bible - Our Final Authority.
We will look at what Paul tells Timothy about the Word of God.
We will be looking in 2 Timothy 3 this morning.
In chapter 3 Paul tells Timothy that the last days will be difficult, and that evil men will proceed from bad to worse.
Because of the evil people trying to deceive believers to walk away from the faith, Paul writes the last two verses of this chapter.
16 All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness;
17 so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.
The Bible is God’s Word - true, trustworthy, and our authority.
PRAY
Inspired by God
Inspired by God
16 All Scripture is inspired by God
Here Paul tells Timothy that All Scripture - which is from Genesis 1:1 through Revelation 22:21.
Paul says all Scripture and is meaning there is to be nothing added or taken away from the Bible.
The Apostle John writes at the end of Revelation 22:18-19
18 I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues which are written in this book;
19 and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his part from the tree of life and from the holy city, which are written in this book.
Now these two verses can be argued that John was specifically talking about the book of Revelation, and most will agree that he was.
The same God who spoke the prophecies to the Apostle John is the same God who spoke to the prophets and the other writers of God’s Word.
If we say well those two verse only refer to the book of Revelation, then what about what God says through Moses in Deuteronomy 4:2
2 “You shall not add to the word which I am commanding you, nor take away from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you.
Now people may say, that is Old Testament, it is written by Moses and therefore only applies to the Mosaic law.
We then hear something similar in Proverbs 30:5-6
5 Every word of God is tested;
He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him.
6 Do not add to His words
Or He will reprove you, and you will be proved a liar.
These two verses are part of Agur’s words to Ithiel.
We are told here that every word of God is tested, God has weighed and examined every word of the Bible to get just the ones He wanted.
It is our job as believers to believe and obey God’s Word, and not put our own words on par with His.
We are told not to add to God’s Word in these verses also, why because God has already determined what He wants in the Bible.
In our text we are told that All Scripture, again that means from Genesis 1:1 through Revelation 22:21 is inspired by God.
The doctrine of the inspiration of Scripture is vitally important, and a doctrine that Satan has attacked from the beginning.
It is inconceivable that God would give His people a book they could not trust.
He is the God of truth, Jesus is the truth, and the Holy Spirit is truth.
Jesus said of Scripture in John 17:17
17 “Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.
The Holy Spirit of God used men of God to write the Word of God, as Peter states in his second epistle.
20 But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation,
21 for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.
The Holy Spirit did not erase the natural characteristics of the writers.
In fact, God in His providence prepared the writes for the task of writing the Scriptures.
Each writer has his own distinctive style and vocabulary.
Each book of the Bible grew out of a special set of circumstances.
In His preparation of men, in His guiding of history, and in His working through the Holy Spirit, God brought about the miracle of the Scriptures.
What we mean by biblical inspiration is the supernatural influence of the Holy Spirit on the Bible’s writers, which guaranteed that what they wrote was accurate and trustworthy.
Inerrant and Trustworthy
Inerrant and Trustworthy
16 All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness;
We have seen that all Scriptures in the Bible have been spoken through the Holy Spirit to the authors, that is every word in the Bible is from God.
Because all Scripture is inspired by God then we can know that the Bible in its original manuscripts is entirely free from error.
Because all Scripture is inspired by God and entirely free from error we can trust every word that it says.
If all Scripture is inspired by God, then all Scripture is profitable for teaching meaning to instruct us in the truths that we need to know.
Next we see Scripture is profitable for rebuking, meaning reproving us for what we have done wrong.
Scripture is profitable for correcting, meaning to show us what is right.
Scripture is also for training us in righteousness, meaning guiding us to approach life as God intended life to be lived.
A believer who studies the Bible and applies what they learn will grow in holiness and avoid many pitfalls in this world.
As we read the Bible we need to remember that it is God’s Word, the Holy Spirit spoke to the authors of each book of the Bible to write what is written.
Therefore, as we read the Bible it is God speaking those words to us as we read them.
God cannot lie, God is truth, and therefore, there is no errors, and we can trust it in its entirety
Sufficient for Life and Godliness
Sufficient for Life and Godliness
17 so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.
The man of God here is that any believer can become a person of God.
That does not mean we are gods, but that we are children of God.
How do we become a man or woman of God?
By studying the Word of God, obeying it, and letting it control our life.
It is worth noting that all of the men of God named in Scripture - including Moses, Samuel, Elijah, Elisha, David, and Timothy - were men who were devoted to God’s Word.
There are two words in this verse that are important in the NASB it says adequate and equipped, in the KJV it says perfect and furnished.
The word adequate or perfect literally translated is complete, the meaning of the Greek word is complete, in fit shape, in fit condition.
It does not begin to suggest sinless perfection.
Rather, it implies being fitted for use.
It is through the studying, obey, and apply the word of God that we become in shape or in a fit condition spiritually.
Just as a body build, works out on a very disciplined schedule to be in a fit condition.
As believers we must study, obey, and apply on a discipline schedule to be in a fit spiritual condition.
The second word equipped or furnished the literal translation is fully fitted, the meaning of the Greek word is equipped for service.
In other words, the Word of God furnishes and equips believers so that they can live a life that pleases God and to do the work God wants them to do.
The better we know the Word of God, the better we are able to live and work for God.
The purpose of studying the Word of God is not just to understand doctrine or to be able to defend the faith, as important as these things are.
The ultimate purpose is the equipping of the believers who reads it.
It is the Word of God that equips God’s people to do the work of God.
The times are not going to get better, but we as believers can become better people, even in bad times.
We must separate ourselves from that which is false, devote ourselves to that which is true, and continue in our study of the Word of God.
Then God can equip us for ministry in these difficult days, and we will have the joy of seeing others come to a knowledge of the truth.
When we think of Scripture and its use, think of a compass versus your feelings.
If I am traveling through the woods, or down the road, my feelings may tell me to turn but the compass tells me to keep straight.
There are times my feelings tell me to go one way, or to do one thing, or saying something.
When I look at the situation from the perspective of our spiritual compass the Word of God, it may tell me to stay, to not act that way, or to not say that.
We need to build our life on God’s Word, not on culture and society.
As we look at the Firm Foundations of what we believe, the first thing must be Scripture, which is the inspired Word of God.
Next week we will look at God and who He is.
