Where do you learn how to love and obey God?

Question 14: Where do you learn to love and obey God?

Answer: In the Bible Alone

Tonight I want us to look at one passage that teaches us what it is that God teaches us through the Bible teaches and the reason he teaches us or the purpose of biblical teaching.

Turn with me to 2 Timothy 3:14

2 Timothy 3:14–17 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. We Learn of Salvation from the Scriptures.

2 Timothy 3:14–15 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.

Notice how Paul is talking to here…He says, But as for you. Paul is writing this letter to Timothy his young disciple, friend, and fellow laborer in the Lord. Timothy is a young pastor who Paul is instructing how to lead the church in the midst of persecution.

Paul tells Timothy before these verses, in

2 Timothy 3:1–5 ESV

But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.

Doesn’t that sound like some bad times? Doesn’t that sound like times of great evilness and wickedness?

The good news is Paul just doesn’t stop there, he doesn’t just tell Timothy good luck young man! He tells Timothy do not despair. You have something that will help you remain steadfast and obedient, growing in the knowledge of the Lord.

He tells Timothy even though it seems like everyone else is doing what is right in their own eyes, like they are only doing what is evil, you continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed. Paul says you have believed the only cure for this corruption of society. Paul wants Timothy to also remember from whom he has learned it…and notice what he says next, and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings.

I want all of you to recognize the privilege you have of learning from the Bible they way you do. Hopefully, like Timothy you have a Father, a Mother, or a Grandparent that teaches you the Scriptures. Even if you don’t you are here learning the Scriptures.

Here is what I want you too see, Paul tells Timothy, the Scriptures or sacred writings, are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. This is the first and most important thing we learn from the Bible. We learn that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, who was born of a virgin, lived a life free of sin, was crucified on the cruel cross to receive the punishment sinners like you and I deserve. Three days later he rose from the dead, defeating death, hell, and the grave.

We not only learn of the person and work of Jesus, but we learn of our own sinfulness. Think about that list Paul have Timothy in verses 1-5.

How many of us,

Are lovers of self?

Lovers of money?

Proud?

Arrogant?

Disobedient to parents?

Ungrateful?

Do you get the picture? We are all sinners by nature, we are disobedient and we need a Savior! The Scriptures teach us who that Savior is, Jesus Christ. The Bible teaches us that God gives us a new heart and causes us to see our sinfulness, and see that Christ is our only hope in salvation. We also see in the Scriptures that we are to repent of our sins, confessing them to God, turning from them and turning to Christ trusting in Him alone for salvation!

Ephesians 2:4–5 ESV

But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—

1 Peter 1:22–23 ESV

Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God;

So you you see we learn how to obey unto salvation?

The second we learn from the Scriptures is,

II. We Learn Right and Wrong from the Scriptures.

2 Timothy 3:16 ESV

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,

The very first phrase in verse 16 explains why we learn how to love and obey God from the Bible.

All Scripture is breathe out by God

New American Standard Hebrew-Aramaic and Greek Dictionaries: Updated Edition 2315 θεόπνευστος (theopneustos)

θεόπνευστος theopneustos; from 2316 and 4154; God-breathed, i.e. inspired by God:—inspired by God

This means the Scriptures are spoken, breathed out, the words of God. God spoke the words of the Scriptures to men of God that they might write down these words for our instruction.

2 Peter 1:21 ESV

For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

As God spoke by his Holy Spirit men wrote the Words God gave them to teach us how to love and obey them.

How about if I give y’all a new phrase tonight to help you learn what this means?

Plenary, verbal, inspiration - Every word from beginning to end is inspired. The big words like propitiation and the little words, like but, and, etc...

The Reformation Study Bible: English Standard Version (2015 Edition) History of Interpretation

Verse 16 teaches the doctrine of plenary, verbal inspiration. That is, the Bible is the God-breathed (or inspired) Word of God. Inspiration is plenary, extending from the beginning to the end of the Bible. Inspiration is also verbal, extending down to the very words of the Bible. The Bible, therefore, is inerrant, without error in all that it affirms.

Because we believe the Bible is inspired, inerrant, and without error we believe what Paul writes to Timothy,

It is profitable. Paul wants Timothy to know the Scriptures are useful, beneficial, and advantageous. In other words, they are good for us.

Next Paul lays out 4 ways in which the Bible is profitable for us.

1. Teaching - the Scriptures instruct us on what is right.

God has given us his law, his prophets, wisdom literature, the gospels, and the epistles or letters in order that we may know not only how to be saved, but how to live in light of our salvation. Or as the question asks how to love and obey God.

For example,

Matthew 22:37 ESV

And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.

Does Jesus teach us here the right way to love God?

Yes with all of our heart, all of our soul, and all of our mind.

2. Reproof - the Scriptures teach us what is not right.

We not only learn how to love and obey God rightly from the Scriptures we learn how and when we are in disobedience to God. In other words we learn what we are not to do.

2 Timothy 2:16–17 ESV

But avoid irreverent babble, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness, and their talk will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus,

Do you see how Paul called out two men who were causing division in the church, but talking nonsense and ungodliness. He says this isn’t right they are saying things that are not true, they are swerving from the faith.

3. Correction - the Scriptures teach us how to get right.

Sometime we learn from the Scriptures what is right, we know what is not right, but what happens we disobey the word of God, or we sin against God. This is where we learn of the mercy of God from the Scriptures and the grace of God in the gospel. Even when we fall short and sin, God corrects his children as a Father corrects his sons or daughter.

Revelation 3:19 ESV

Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent.

Do you hear what Jesus tells the apostle John. Those children whom I Love, who are mine, I reproof, tell them what is wrong, and I discipline or correct. So what are we to do when we are in error?

Repent, turn from our sin and be forgiven, cleansed of all unrighteousness, and refreshed. This is Jesus gracious correction.

There is one more way the Scriptures help us learn of right and wrong.

4. Training us in Righteousness - the Scriptures teach us how to stay right.

Throughout the Scriptures we learn of how we are to love and obey God. God teaches us how we are to adore Him, worship Him, serve Him, and Love him. He also teaches us how we are to love one another and care for one another in the church.

Let me give you a couple of examples.

Jesus says,

John 14:15 ESV

“If you love me, you will keep my commandments.

Peter writes,

1 Peter 1:13 ESV

Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

Do you hear how we love and live rightly?

By obeying Jesus, by preparing our minds, being serious minded, and setting our hope fully on the grace of Jesus Christ!

John Calvin writes, “God, therefore bestows a gift of singular value, when for the instruction of the church, he employs not dumb teachers merely, but opens his own sacred mouth; when he not only proclaims that some God must be worshiped, but at the same time declares that he is the God to whom worship is due; when he not only teaches his elect to have respect to God, but manifests himself as the God to whom respect should be paid.”

In my simple words God has breathed out every word of his Bible so that he might teach us who He is, what He has done in order that we might love, obey, and worship Him!

What then is the purpose of all this?

Why would God give us his word to learn to love and obey him? What is the overarching purpose of our obedience?

III. We Learn to how to be Mature Men and Women from the Scriptures.

2 Timothy 3:17 ESV

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

As God through his Word teaches us how to love and obey him we grow in maturity, or christlikeness, or the other big Bible word we hear often, that starts with and S!

What is that word? Sanctification. Being made holy, set apart, conformed into the image of Jesus. Paul tells Timothy this is the Word making us complete!

Now why would God do this? Is this just so that we might look good? So that we might stay out of trouble? So that we might be better than other people? NO.

God’s purpose in sanctifying us in by his Word, is what? His own glory! As we are being conformed into the image of Christ Paul say’s we being transferred from one degree fo glory to another.

I want to give you one more passage as we close to see how God has given us not only his inspired word to mature us for his glory and the good of his church, but he as given us ministers of the word to help us grow in maturity, love and obedience.

Ephesians 4:11–16 ESV

And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

Do you see the way God works through his word?

He gives us apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds, and teachers to preach and teach us the word of God.

What is the purpose?

To equip the saints for the work of the ministry (obey Him).

To help the church Know Christ.

To grow us in mature manhood and womanhood.

To grow us in the stature of Christ.

To keep us steady in obedience, not being tossed to and fro.

To help us speak the truth in love

To grow us up in every way in Christ.

To equip us for the work of Christ.

To cause us to grow up in love!