The Foundation of the Gospel

Introduction

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Continuing in our Gospel Story Series today we are going to be in the book of 2 Timothy.

2 Timothy written by Paul, to Timothy Pastor of Ephesus.

Universally beleived to be Paul’s last letter before death

Paul was writing to establish how Christian leaders are to be unashamed of the gospel and to carry on faithfully the message about Christ.

I can only imagine this letter was important to Timothy when he recieved it. Paul asked Timothy twice to come visit him while in prison.

The passage of scripture that we are going to be examining today deals with the foundation of the Gospel. The foundation of our faith.

What is your faith based on? Do you believe in Jesus because of how good your life is? Are you living as a Christian because things are going well?

What happens if that’s removed? Does that change God? Does that change who Jesus is or what Jesus has done?

Is your faith founded upon an experience you had? A prayer you prayed?

What if that experience was just emotional and could be conjured up at a concert? What if the words of that prayer weren’t genuine or you don’t know if you meant them?

What is your foundation?

Paul writes to Timothy and explores this in 2 Timothy 3

2 Timothy 3:10–12 KJV 1900

10 But thou hast fully known my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, charity, patience, 11 Persecutions, afflictions, which came unto me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; what persecutions I endured: but out of them all the Lord delivered me. 12 Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.

2 Tim 3:10-12

Exegete:

Paul explains to Timothy here that he has known him. timothy has witnessed Paul’s example. He knows his doctrine or what eh teaches. He knows the patience he has shown, the love he has exhibited, and the presecutions he has faced because of His faith in Christ.

He has seen God bring Paul through the trials and Paul reminds Timothy that for anyone who follows Christ they are going to face problems like that.

Paul taught Timothy “Thus Saith the Lord” and not Thus Saith Paul.

Even in writing to the Corinthian church, he made sure to be specific when He was speaking of His own opinion and not the Lord.

1 Corinthians 7:10–12 KJV 1900

10 And unto the married I command, yet not I, but the Lord, Let not the wife depart from her husband: 11 But and if she depart, let her remain unmarried, or be reconciled to her husband: and let not the husband put away his wife. 12 But to the rest speak I, not the Lord: If any brother hath a wife that believeth not, and she be pleased to dwell with him, let him not put her away.

1 Cor 7:10-12

This doesn’t mean there isn’t biblical principle behind his statement but it would seem that in this particular passage that Paul wanted to make sure the people knew “This is paulology”

That’s important. Why?

What would happen if I taught Dustinology from up here? What would happen if you came and took some things I was saying that wer my opinion and built your faith around them?

You began to live your life based upon the preaching of God’s word (Which we all should) but then you found out that it wasn’t God’s Word. It was my opinion...

Paul is reminding Timothy, you have heard what I preached and you have seen me live it.

This was ccommon of the first century Church.

Acts 11:26 KJV 1900

26 And when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and taught much people. And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.

Acts 11:26

because of the disciples behavior in Antioch matching what they were preaching about Christ they were given the title Christians, which means like Christ by those around them.

They didn’t get the title by wearing crosses, getting scripture tattoos, or putting a fish bumper sticker on the car, they got it because of how they lived their lives.

IF you were to remove anything thatt identfied you as a Christian, even the Sunday morning church attendance, would anyon know you were like Christ?

The disciples were abelt o live and follow the teaches of the Lord because they were just that, the teaching of God. They had a sure foundation.

Illustrate:

Have you ever had someone tell you something that wasn’t true?

“I’lll be ready in 5 minutes...” 30 minutes later she’s done

“I’m only getting one thing at the store...” 2 hours later he walks out of bass pro with new fishing poles and a boat.

“I’ll do this thing for you by this time...” And it doesn’t get done.

What is it we say when those things don’t happen? “You told me…but instead you did...”

Are we truly frustrated at what was done or the fact we were told something else would be done?

A new boat without you knowing may make you more upset than the fact you didn’t know it was coming right?

Notice with me, even in these simple examples you were framing what the world looks like and would look like, what your reality would be in those instances and when they were proven untrue by the character of the individual, it caused an emotional reaction and change of view.

These are small scale instances that have no real bearing…again…the boat may change some marriages but not an eternal consequence.

Now what if the foundation for your reality wasn’t grounded on a consistent and unchanging source.

Apply:

This would mean that your reality and how you percieved the world would ebb and flow. You would be in a constant state of not knowing.

This leads to people eveloping strange ideas of reality. Ones that take as much if not more faith than the truths of the BIble.

When we say “What you believe determiens how you behave” It means so much more than where you spend your time and money.

What you believe about kids, determines how you treat them.

What you beleive about others determines how you treat them.

What you believe about lying determines if you lie.

You and others can know what you believe about something particular, God, or anything at all by how you behave.

I. Your Life reveals your faith

When something so important is being determined by what you believe in ,shouldn’t what you believe in be: Unchanging, Unable to incorrect, and Unlike anything else on earth?

The Bible and Christianity has survived through some very bad years. It is a collection of religious writings unlike any other. It was written over 1500 years with 27 different authors and throughout its writings there are no contradictions.

Paul Told Timothy, you know my doctrine. You know what I believe, you know what I teach. Then he told him, you’ve seen me live it.

What about those who don’t live according to the Word of God?

2 Timothy 3:13–15 KJV 1900

13 But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived. 14 But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; 15 And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

2 tim 3:13-15

Exegete:

Evil men…Pastor not everyone is evil…Listen, without Jesus as your Savior and his transforming power the Bible says your heart is deparately wicked. I’m going to presume we can agree wicked and evil are synonyms here.

Without the foundation of scripture, people get worse and worse.

Paul tells him, you keep doing what you know to be right. Not just because you have seen an exmple, because some people set bad examples with good intentions, but what you have known of the holy scriptures.

Timothy knew the BIble. His mother and grandmother has taught him the Old Testament. Paul had instructed him in the teachings of Jesus.

Paul admonishes him to continue living his life according to the Bible and what He knows is right.

He made sure Timothy had a foundation that could be trusted. That would lead Him in the right direction. One that would point Him to God. One that would lead Him to serving the Lord and not himself.

Notice Paul make three points about the scriptures

You have learned them

You have been assured of them

You know who has taught you

That’s something important to every person here today. If we are going to lead the next generation of Christian believers, not just oru children, but those that are coming to Christ later in life they will need these 3 thrings.

They will need to be taught, they will need to be assued of them. How are we assured of something? We learn more about it and we see it proven. We study to show ourselves approved. We absorb the scriptures, we learn the doctrines, we understand the fale doctrines, and we pass those along to others.

Then we must have our lives as an example of, not just what it looks like, because we ccan all look like we know whats going on, an exammple of what it is to be Christian.

What does that look like? That looks like a people that will stand up and say “I am not perfect. I deal with sins in my life. I am not what Christianity is about. It is about Jesus. He is the reason I belive. He is who I beleive in. He is who I seek to glorify. He is Holy, righteous, and magnificent. He is better than all of us but I am no better than you or anyone else.”

It doesn’t mean your going to dress a certain way, it doesn’t mean your going to sing certain songs, it means your going to live according the Bible that says Jesus must have the preeminence in alll that we do. You’ll live accoreding to Gal 2:20

Galatians 2:20 KJV 1900

20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

because if we don’t, If you don’t, and you wonder why no one wants the Jesus you serve…It’s because your not serving the Jesus of the Bible. You’re serving the Jesus of your making.

Illustrate:

Ever seen the movie Aladdin?

You know who Jafar is right?

jafar was the Royal vazer of Agrabah and the closest confidant of the Sultan.

He would lie about what the Sultan said and he would use the serpent staff to change the Sultans mind or control him.

Why? Because if Jafar didn’t do that, the Sultan would do things that Jafar didn’t like.

If you are looking to the Bible and discover God does something you don’t like and try to rationalize your way out of it, or change what it means, you are like Jafar.

You are trying to create your own Jesus. If you create your own Jesus then that Jesus is as worthless as its creator.

That’s going to happen though.

When you read the Bible you will find things you arre at odds with.

Jesus said Blessed are the meek for they will inherit the earth..

“Man God, I really lliked being able to think I was right all the time and not being humble.”

Guess what, you don’t get to change who God is to fit your agenda.

Argue:

Some people try it though. I recently watched “American Gospel Christ Ccrucified” What an amazing documentary.

If you are believer you need to watch that and American Gospel Christ Alone. If you are questioning if Jesus is the only way to Heaven and you don’t ahve to work for it, pay for it, or anything else, Christ alone is amazing.

If you want to hear some crazy beliefs about the Bible refuted by men more intelligent than I am, Christ crucified is the way to go.

Anyway, peeople on there saying that God is a child killer because He crucified His Son. They don’t wanat a God like that.

How ignorant.

While we call Jesus the Son of God, we must understnad that in the context of the culture that titles came about it put Him on the same pdastal as God because…He is God.

God put Himself on the Cross so that God’s wrath could be fulfilled and not poured out on us.

Apply:

How do we know this to be true and right? How do we know how we are to live? How do we know Who God is? Because we base it on a lliteral, grammatical, and historicallly accurate context of scritpure.

becuase we don’t read into the text something that isn’t there. We don’t make the Bible about us when it is about God.

We hav as our foundation the Bible according to the Bible.

If we change the Bible, If we develop our own ideas of the world, then we are basing our ideas on opinions.

II. Without a Foundation, your faith is an opinion

You get that right? If you say to a person “I believe the Bible but I don’t believe that part about the flood” Then you don’t believe the Bible.

I believe the BIble, but I don’t believe Jesus is the onlly way to Heaven, then you don’t believe the Bible.

If you live your life and base the thigns you do, the character you have, and what will be the guiding lilght of your existence off of anything other than scripture, you base it off of opinion.

However, when we base our faith off of scripture we base our faith off of not just the words of man, but the words of God.

2 Timothy 3:16–17 KJV 1900

16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.

2 Tim 3:16-17

Exegete: Given by inspiration…The Greek word this phrase is translated from is

Theopneustos -God Breathed

2 Peter 1:21 KJV 1900

21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.

2 Peter 1:21

The Word of God was given by God in His soveriegnty through the writing of men.

Why?

To lay a foundation of unwavering truth, to provide direction, to confront people when they err, and help people progress

Paul wanted Timothy to Grow in His knowledge and understanding of the Word. He wanted to Him know God lilke He knew God.

He wanted Him perfect…not without sin, the greek word means complete , other translations like a CSB (Christian Standard Bible) say that word here. He wanted him to be complete spiritually and the only one who can do that is God. Beccause we Worship God in Spirit and in Truth.

God is a Spirit, God is truth. He makes us complete, equipped for Good works in His name.

Illustration:

Have you ever been ill equipped for a task?

If you are ever here working at LBC on something I can tell you that if you need a phillips screw driver, you will be ill-equipped. We have like 20 flatheads…but phillips…we have bought many of them and they dissapear. So now, we have a couple strategically placed throughout the building.

Being ill equipped insn’t a good place to be. It’s frustrating...

It’s like having a nail to drive in without a hammer.

It’s liike having a soccer game to play with no soccer ball

It’s like going shop and not having your husbands credit card

It’s like having a laptop and no wifi

You just can’t get somethign done you need to do.

That’w what life is without a foundation int he Word of God.

Without that foundation we are not equipped to face the world.

We allow our emotions and conspiracy thoughts to drive us wild when things happen.

However when we have scripture to ground oursellves in we can take on the World.

While Christian marriages can end in divorce, I can gaurentee you that those that do end had spiritual issues and were not biblically grounded from one of the spouses.

Apply:

No matter what you face in life the BIble ha the answer. Have you explored it?

The first thing we have to remember is that while the principles of scripture can be applied to our lives to live mroe complete and I believe a better life, the bible isn’t about us.

The Biblle is abotu God.

This Gospel Story serie we have been on has shown us how The Gospel is woven throughout scripture.

The Gospel is about God creating man, man turning from God, God providing a means for reconsilation that is in and through Himself, so that Man an worship and glorify Him.

The Bible as our foundation leads to God as our aspiration. Not so that we may be God, so that we may Love God and have reverence for who He is and what He has done. Not just the home, the car, the 401k, the insert physical bllessing here...

No I mean the redemption that he provided to us through His Son. The more we focus on the physical the more we make this llilfe about us. The more we look to the spiritual and immaterial things God has done, the more we understand how important He is to us.

How do we live this way? By having a foundation that is God breathed and establihed in Heaven forever.

That’s part of what it means to be a Christian.

To have at your foundation the Word of God.

III. The Foundation of your Christian Faith is the Bible

Arre you a believer in Jesus this morning? Do you have this type of foundation? Do you have a faith in somethign that doesn’t change because of tthe words of man?

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