2 Timothy 3:14-17

Please take out your copy of God's Word and turn with me to the book of 2 Timothy chapter 3.

2 Timothy 3 · chapter mention

We may all remember Mother's Day 2019 as the Sunday that it got a little rock and roll at Christ Family Church.

There's a little white stripes going on on the stage, I think.

It's good stuff.

I commend you guys for that.

It's great.

Our text for this morning is 2 Timothy chapter 3, verses 14 through 17.

2 Timothy 3:14–17

As we take a break this morning from our verse-by-verse exposition of the book of Hebrews,

it's my intention to be an encouragement to the mothers and future mothers of our congregation.

You may find some challenge in God's Word to us this morning,

but I want you to know that I believe that the mothers of our church work hard to excel in the training of their children,

and this does not go unnoticed.

Moms, we know you are working at this.

I know that your job as mothers can often seem mundane and unending,

and that it is always exhausting.

So I want you to be encouraged this morning to persist by grace,

to train your children as God will use you to yield fruit in their lives.

If you are not a mother or future mother ever planning on being a mother,

like you may be a man in the room,

I hope that this morning will help aim your prayers for the moms of our congregation.

So with that in mind, let's take a look at 2 Timothy chapter 3, verses 14 through 17.

2 Timothy 3:14–17

Beloved, this is God's Word to us, written for His glory and our good.

We would all do well to listen to it in order to believe its promises and obey its commands.

Paul writes,

In verse 14, Timothy is exhorted by Paul to continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed,

as opposed to, set up against, in juxtaposition to, the men of verse 13.

Paul says they're evil people and imposters,

that will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.

It's in light of that statement in verse 13,

that he's now exhorting Timothy to continue,

but you continue in what you have learned and firmly believed.

And then Paul encourages him to faithfulness to those things with the phrase,

knowing from whom you learned it.

Paul states that remembering the godly people from whom you learned the truth

is a source of strength and of encouragement.

Continue in the things you learned because of who taught them to you.

And Timothy learned the truth that he has learned and has firmly believed by being instructed,

we see this in verse 15,

in the sacred writings,

and also we see in verse 16,

Paul tells us this is the Scripture.

Timothy had been taught the Bible.

But who is it that taught Timothy the Bible?

Timothy learned the Scripture from his family.

Timothy's mother was a Christian.

His father, unfortunately, and as far as we know, was not.

And we know this from Acts chapter 16 and verse 1,

Acts 16 · chapter mention

where Luke writes,

Paul came also to Derbe and to Lystra.

A disciple was there named Timothy,

the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer.

He was a follower of Christ, a believer in the way.

And then Luke writes,

but his father,

in opposition to, in difference to,

was a Greek.

He doesn't say that he was a believing Greek.

He's speaking to his ethnicity, to be sure.

He just says that he's a Greek.

He doesn't include any reality that he's a follower of Christ there.

We know later, 1 Timothy 1, verse 2,

1 Timothy 1:2

that Paul became Timothy's spiritual father.

He adopted him in that sense,

where we read,

to Timothy, my true child in the faith.

So, Timothy was also instructed by Paul in the way of the Lord.

A bit earlier in chapter 3 of 2 Timothy,

verses 10 and the first part of 11,

we can read,

you, however, have followed my teaching,

this is Paul speaking,

my conduct,

my aim in life,

my faith,

my patience,

my love,

my steadfastness,

my persecutions,

and sufferings.

And so we have Timothy learning from his mother.

We have Timothy learning from Paul

as a spiritual father,

and likely,

his grandmother.

You see in the first part of verse 15,

and how from childhood you've been acquainted

with the sacred writings.

And in chapter 1 of 2 Timothy,

verse 5,

Paul writes,

I'm reminded of your sincere faith,

a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois,

and your mother Eunice,

and now, I am sure,

dwells in you as well.

So, God-fearing Christ-following mother,

God-fearing Christ-following grandmother,

instructing young Timothy

in the sacred writings in the Scripture,

and then Paul as a spiritual father to him,

instructing him in the manner

that he should walk.

So, Timothy is instructed.

He is trained in the Bible

by Paul as an adult,

but also as a child,

he becomes acquainted with the Scripture.

That is to say,

Timothy knew his Bible

from an early age.

God worked saving faith in Jesus Christ

into Timothy

through the labors of his mother

and grandmother.

Recall that when Paul encounters him

in Acts chapter 16,

Acts 16 · chapter mention

he's already there called a disciple.

He's already a follower of Jesus Christ.

God has used the work of his mother

and his grandmother

and their instruction

to bring him to saving faith.

What an absolute blessing it is

that God includes us

in his saving purposes

toward our children.

He uses us as the means

to bring our children

to believe in him.

And this is a blessing for us

to get to participate

in this way.

Now, I would never argue

that the church does not have a place

in the instruction of children.

That is not good

for the gathered people of God

to diminish the word of God

to our gathered children.

But I will argue

that the responsibility

of instructing children

belongs firstly,

primarily,

to the family.

Fathers and mothers

loving their children

with gospel truth.

How can I say such a thing

with any measure of authority?

In many churches

that function today

as if the work

of bringing children

to Christ

is entirely the work

of the church

and the work of the parent

is to merely drive

their children

to gather

with said church.

There are many Christian leaders

today

that would strongly

even disagree with me

that aim most

of their ministry

at child evangelism

and sadly altogether

neglect the parent's

spiritual maturity.

I can make this claim

because God's word

makes this claim.

And I want to give you

just a couple of examples

and we're going to do so

from the book of Proverbs

and I'll run through these

quickly.

You're welcome

to try to join me

if you'd like.

Proverbs 22

and verse 6.

We read,

Train up a child

in the way he should go

even when he is old

he will not depart from it.

Proverbs 23

Proverbs 23:13

verse 13 and 14.

Do not withhold discipline

from a child.

If you strike him

with a rod

he will not die.

If you strike him

with a rod

you will save his soul

from Sheol.

Now,

neither of those two

specifically say

that this is

the job of parents

although I think

most parents in the room

would agree

that I shouldn't

strike your children

with a rod.

This is not my place.

But,

we can read on

Proverbs chapter 29

Proverbs 29 · chapter mention

and verse 17.

More specifically here

discipline

your son

and he will give you rest.

He will give

delight

to your heart.

Just a couple of examples

of instruction

in the Bible

for parents

to help train up

their children.

Charles Spurgeon

once wrote,

You are as much

serving God

and looking after

your own children

and training them up

in God's fear

and minding the house

and making your household

a church for God

as you would be

if you had been called

to lead an army

to battle

for the Lord of hosts.

It is a weighty

and important task

that's been given to us

as parents.

Mothers,

it is a privilege

to spend

the day in

and the day out

with your little ones

wiping

snotty noses

and teaching them

to share.

We need to be

familiarized

at all possible

as young children

with the sacred writings.

We would know

the gospel truths

that we would be able

to pick them up

when God brings us

to faith.

But more specifically,

right,

and we're developing

this idea

and continue to,

how are children

trained for godliness?

How predominantly

and primarily

are they trained?

Right?

It's not merely

through

moralistic shaping

of our children.

It includes that

teaching them

what is right

and what is wrong.

But doing that

from a place

of authority,

right,

as bringers

of God's authority

into their lives.

We live in an age

where people

desperately

need to understand

authority.

Authority is given

to us as a good

blessing for us,

right,

not as something

to restrict

our freedom.

Deuteronomy 6,

Deuteronomy 6:6

verses 6 and 7,

God says,

and these words

that I command you

today shall be

on your heart.

You shall teach

them diligently

to your children

and shall talk

of them when you

sit in your house

and when you

walk by the way

and when you

lie down

and when you

rise.

So all the time,

right,

the good instruction

of the Lord

is to be taught

to our children

for their good.

Mothers,

you provide

many necessary

things for your

children.

Don't stop

doing that.

There's many

things that they

need that I know

takes a lot

of time,

right?

You keep them

clothed and fed,

but your children

do not need

a perfectly clean

house.

Stop trying to

compete with the

Pinterest moms.

They're faking it

anyway,

right?

Only that corner

of the house

is really that

clean for that

moment.

They don't need

wrinkle-free

clothing.

They honestly

don't really even

need clean clothes

to be totally

frank.

They don't need

the most exciting

meals.

They don't need

to love everything

that you put

in front of them.

In fact,

it's probably good

if they don't.

They do need

you.

And they need

your careful

instruction in

the scripture,

right?

Let the laundry

stay unfolded

if it means

that you're

going to neglect

spending time

in the Bible

with your kids,

right?

Make that,

right?

Instructing them

in the way

of the Lord

the priority

and see if the

other things

appropriately fall

into place.

So our children

need the good

instruction of

the word of God.

We never

outgrow our need

of this instruction

by the way.

We're always

in need

of the instruction

of God

found in the

scriptures.

As the scripture

is necessary

for our salvation

and it's also

necessary for

our sanctification,

our continued

growth in the

Lord.

And let's take

a look at both

of these as we

consider the rest

of the text.

First,

found in the

last half of

verse 15,

we can see

the scripture

is the power

for salvation.

As Paul say,

familiar with

these sacred

writings which

are able to

make you wise

for salvation

through faith

in Jesus

Christ.

Our children

are currently

forming a

worldview,

an understanding,

a base on

which to build

an understanding

of the world,

a lens through

which they will

interpret the

world around

them and

their place

in it.

We ought to

work to build

for them a

biblical worldview

for the glory

of God and

for their good.

The book of

Proverbs juxtaposes

the way of

wisdom and

the way of

folly.

And what is the

beginning of

wisdom?

Fear of the

Lord.

It's understanding

rightly Him as

creator, God,

and us as

creation.

This is why

this is stated.

Having a

proper worldview

lends us

toward wisdom.

We want our

children to walk

in the way

of wisdom.

Proverbs 2.6

says,

For the Lord

gives wisdom.

From His mouth

come knowledge

and understanding.

And what is the

Bible?

But the very

words of God.

Paul tells

Timothy that the

Scriptures are

able to make

you wise.

Here in

verse 15,

specifically for

salvation through

faith in Christ

Jesus.

It is the

Scripture that

tells us the

story of the

world in which

we live.

Our children

need to

understand that

we have a

creator God

who made all

things, who

spoke it by

His power out

of nothing.

We weren't

and then we

were.

And then He

ordered it

under His

good rule.

He gave

very simple

instruction.

Things to do

and things to

not do.

And Adam and

Eve were meant

to live in this

world and to

go forth and

to multiply and

live under the

good rule of

God forever.

But it didn't

last for very

long.

One of my

post-glory

questions will

be how much

time actually

passed from

Genesis 1-1 to

the beginning of

chapter 3.

Was it only a

couple days?

I want to hope

they did a little

better than that

in the garden.

But it doesn't

take long in the

biblical narrative.

For Adam and

Eve to do the

very thing they

were commanded

not to do,

to say to God

that they wanted

to be like God,

they rebelled

against Him,

they became His

enemies.

And He justly

and rightly

punished them

for it.

Our children

need to understand

that they live

in that fallen

world.

That they have

inherited the

sin nature of

Adam.

That they are

guilty before God.

That they are

rebels before

Him.

If you have

held children

for very long,

you know.

I've seen people

walk out of this

room already this

morning that are

going,

sin.

Voddie

Baccham has

famously said,

a contemporary

pastor has

famously said,

do you know

why children

are so small

when they're

born?

And people

go, you

know, why?

He said,

because if they

weren't, they

would kill you.

The first time

you didn't give

them something

that they wanted,

seen the rage

of a baby.

And thankfully

they're so cute,

so we don't

want to do the

same.

They're broken.

Right?

My children

are broken.

They're enemies

of God.

They need

reconciliation to

our Creator,

God, because

it's good for

them.

It's loving

kind that God

would even give

them a way to

be restored to

Him.

So they need to

understand redemption.

We don't always

use these types of

words with our

children.

They need to

understand that in

order for them to

be accepted by

God, all of the

penalty for their

sin needed to be

erased.

It needs to be

stricken from the

record.

But beloved, they

also need to

understand that

that's not enough.

That's not a full

presentation of the

gospel of Jesus

Christ.

Just to say that

the record was

canceled is not

enough.

That only brings

them to neutral

with God.

God requires that

we not be His

enemy, but He also

requires that we be

obedient to His

command, that we

show ourselves to

belong to Him.

We cannot do

this because of

our nature.

And so we need

the perfect nature

of Christ.

Our children need

to understand that

we are found

righteous in

Jesus.

That His

righteousness is

imputed to us.

It's given to us.

There's a great

exchange that

happened on the

cross as Jesus

hung for the sins

of the world.

There was a trade

that happened.

We gave Him our

guilt.

He gave us His

righteousness.

And therefore, we're

justified before God.

We're counted as

righteous.

No longer guilty, but

being perfect law

keepers because Jesus

kept the law

perfectly.

Our children need to

understand this.

And oh, what a work

it is to help them

understand this.

I have tried every

imaginable way to

explain this to my

children.

I'm going to

continue to do

that very thing.

To plead with them

to understand not

only the person, but

also the work of

Jesus Christ.

What it accomplished

for us.

And our children need

to have their minds

drawn to to be

enthralled by the

final restoration

that will one day

take place.

Christ will return

and He will judge

the world and He

will set all things

straight.

We want to aim our

children to that

bigger and higher

reality.

Yes, the world lives

in a cursed and

broken state, but one

day God's going to

make it all new

again.

Our children need

this worldview to

fit everything else

that they're going to

learn into creation,

fall, redemption,

restoration.

And these things are

important for us to

understand rightly.

You ask many people

in the church today,

what is the gospel?

And you will get a

varied and wide

range of answers.

And many of those

answers will be

partly right,

sometimes they'll just

be totally wrong,

but mostly partly

right, but

incomplete.

Full biblical

narrative answer

to that question.

Creation, fall,

redemption,

restoration.

And allow me to

caution you at this

point to not jump

at the first

opportunity your

child offers to

lead them to

faith in Christ.

When you present

the gospel in some

form or fashion,

it kind of makes

sense.

When you say to a

young person,

heaven is a great

place and hell is a

horrible place.

And here's a thing

you should do to

have the one and

not the other.

They're not dumb.

It's not a

complicated choice

to make.

We want to be so

careful that we

don't give our

children false

assurance.

Be so careful that

they actually are

placing believing

faith in Jesus

Christ.

We also don't want

to overcomplicate

that.

But we should be

exercising some

caution.

Many, as I

mentioned, churches

are all about

child evangelism.

Every year I get

tons of promotions

from our denomination

to put on vacation

Bible schools,

to do them super

well.

This will be the

chance.

This is the

opportunity.

This is the...

And a couple of

years ago I got a

stat as an enforcer

to that which said

children are 70%

more likely to

respond to a gospel

invitation before

they turn eight.

This was the

promotion for this.

And I wouldn't

throw statistics out

the window altogether,

right?

But this was the

reason they were

saying we should do

this work because

they're 70% more

likely to respond to

a gospel invitation

before they turn

eight.

You know what else

happens on average

at the age of eight?

Children stop believing

in a particular

jolly elf that

comes down a

chimney and fills

stockings at the

same time.

So at the age of

eight children become

less gullible.

And we want to be

careful that we're

not preying upon

that.

Is it possible for a

child to come to

faith before eight?

Sure.

But we just want to

be very, very careful

in the process of

sharing the good

news with children.

The call of the

gospel is repent

and believe, not

repeat after me.

It's repent and

believe.

Our church has

unapologetically

reformed soteriology,

which means if our

children are to be

saved, they will be

saved by God's

grace alone.

Sola gratia.

This is good news

for parents.

This is really good

news for parents who

want their children to

make professions of

faith that persist,

to make real

professions of faith

that persist to the

end, that God is

in control.

Thomas Watson, a

Puritan, once said,

this is on your

bulletin if you

happen to have one,

God's decree is the

very pillar and

basis on which the

saints' perseverance

depends.

That decree ties the

knot of adoption so

fast that neither sin,

death, nor hell can

break it asunder.

That said, God uses

and has always used

means to accomplish

his saving purposes.

So, moms and dads, we

want to faithfully

teach the gospel to

our children that

they might believe.

A number of years

ago, I went to a

large conference called

Together for the

Gospel.

It's in Louisville,

Kentucky, every other

year.

And there were some

10,000 church leaders

and seminarians from

Southern Seminary

there.

Rather a large

crowd.

And it's kind of a

warm-up thing to the

conference.

A pastor named Mark

Dever got up and was

just asking questions

about how people had

come to faith in

Christ.

So they were having us

stand when he said,

how was it that you

came to faith in

Christ?

And he had gone

through a couple of

options.

And then he said,

how many of you came

to faith in Christ

because your parents

taught the gospel to

you in your homes?

And if you've ever

been in a stadium

where it's quiet and

everybody stands and

the chairs flip up

because you're all

packed in way,

way too tight,

it was almost

deafening the amount

of those people who

stood.

It was 85% of that

group.

And their parents

were used of God

to share the gospel

with them and God

saved them.

So we play an

incredibly important

part in this.

It's not dependent

upon us,

but we're used as a

tool in the mighty

hands of God to see

our children come to

faith.

And so we should do

it all the more

and all the more

confidently because

of this reality.

We should be like

Paul in Romans

Romans 1:16

chapter 1,

verse 16,

where he said,

for I am not ashamed

of the gospel,

for it is the power

of God for salvation

to everyone who

believes,

to the Jew first

and also to the

Greek.

Right?

We would see our

children come to

faith in Christ.

So Paul exhorts

Timothy.

Continue in what

you have learned.

Don't be like those

men who have

abandoned the faith.

Continue in what

you have learned

and firmly believe

knowing from whom

you learned it

and from childhood

you were acquainted

with the sacred

writings,

which are able to

make you wise

for salvation

through faith

in Christ Jesus.

Scripture is also

powerful for

sanctification.

Verse 16 and 17

teaches us this,

that Scripture

is breathed out.

God is its very

source.

And because of

that, it is

sufficient.

It's profitable

for teaching,

reproof, correction,

and training

in righteousness.

And then in verse 17

Paul says that the

man of God

may be complete,

equipped for

every good

work.

It is what we

need to be

trained in

godliness.

Our labor as

parents is to

raise men and

women, not

merely boys

and girls.

We want to

think with the

end in mind.

And we should

want our children

to grow up

to be children

who honor the

Lord with all

that they feel

and all that

they do

and all that

they say.

Our children

will seek

instruction.

If you are not

instructing them,

they will find

some path to

follow.

They are going

to find it

on TV.

They are going

to find it

with their

friends.

Eventually,

someday,

they will find

it in the

philosophies of

their school.

As adults,

they will continue

to do this

very thing

if they have

not been

given

faithful

instruction,

faithful grounding

in the

Scripture.

This is why

the Oprahs

and the Dr.

Phills and

the Tony Robinsons

of the world

are so very

popular.

People are

saying we

need instruction.

We need

help for how

to walk

in the

world.

But only

the Bible

is competent

to this

task.

Only the

Bible is

competent to

the task

of training

our children

in faith

and godliness.

And it

is sufficient

for this

task.

It contains

within it

everything we

need to

know.

Any other

good books

that we

promote,

there's a

couple of

wonderful

books out

in the

book note

on mothering

and on

fathering,

are just

aiming us

at the

Scripture.

They're just

helping us

to understand

what the

Scripture

teaches

about this

topic

or any

other.

Moms

and dads,

we must

be faithful

students of

the Bible

ourselves,

that we

might be

faithful

teachers

of the

Bible

for the

sake of

our

children.

And that

doesn't have

to be an

overwhelming

task for you.

That can

simply start

today.

Open up

the Scripture

and learn

something from

it and

then turn

and impart

what you're

learning to

your children.

Try to

speak it in

the simplest

possible terms

you can

without diluting

it as truth

at all.

I still fly so

high for my

kids sometimes

and then I

think,

can I say

this any

simpler?

I don't

know that I

can try to

explain the

Trinity to

anybody but

much less a

five or six

year old.

You can

only make

it so

simple.

So our

children and

we need

the Scripture

to lead us

to the

gospel for

our salvation

and for

our

sanctification.

So I want

to close with

an encouragement

to you from

history.

I'll commend

this book.

It's called

Devoted.

It's by a

man named

Tim Challey.

The subtitle is

Great Men

and Their

Godly Moms.

It's got a lot

of really neat

examples of the

way men

throughout church

history were

served faithfully

by their

mothers,

moms especially.

This would be

a great one

to pick up

and to read.

Husbands,

you could order

on Amazon

right now

for your

wives.

I think it

would be

good for

their souls.

I want to

tell you a

little bit

about a

man named

John Gresham

Machen.

Late

19th century,

early 20th

century Christian.

Became a

Christian rather

young in his

home.

His mother

faithfully

worked with

him and

taught him

the scripture

as well as

his father,

but this book

is not about

the fathers

of these

men.

His mother's

name was

Mary,

but went by

the name

Minnie.

I don't know

why,

but this book

tells us that

she did and

refers to her

as such.

And Gresham

Machen was

tempted by

the liberal

theology of

his day.

He had gone

away to school

where he

encountered

liberal

theologians

who were

whimsical,

who were

kind to

him,

and he

was tempted

to begin

to forsake

the inerrancy

and the

authority of

the scripture.

And his

mother was

aware of

this.

He had

shared this

with her

and was

talking out

these things

with her,

and I'll

pick up

reading at

this point.

Minnie

wrestled

with

growing

anxiety

over

her

son's

doubts.

But because

she was

rooted in

scripture,

she knew

better than

to panic

and confront

her son

in fear

or anger.

Relying

instead on

the grace

of God,

she chose

to provide

him with

comfort

and steadfast

love.

She wrote

to him,

quote,

But one

thing I

can assure

you of,

that nothing

that you

could do

could keep

me from

loving you.

Nothing.

It is easy

enough to

grieve me.

Perhaps I

worry too

much,

but my

love for

my boy

is absolutely

indestructible.

Rely

on whatever

comes.

I'm sorry,

rely on that

whatever comes.

And I have

faith in you

too and believe

that the strength

will come to

you for your

work,

whatever it

may be.

And that

the way

will be

opened.

Pulled back

by his

mother's

love,

along with

the counsel

of other

godly

mentors,

Gresham's

crisis was

soon quelled

and he

returned to

the sound

doctrine in

which he

was raised

in the

Presbyterian

Church.

One of

Gresham's

biographers

would write,

No one

ever seriously

rivaled his

mother in

her capacity

to satisfy

his need

of deep

spiritual

sympathy or

in her

hold upon

his affection

and admiration.

With God's

help,

the combination

of training

and tenderness

won her son

back to his

roots.

He soon

took up a

position at

Princeton teaching

New Testament

and became

well-liked and

highly respected

among both

faculty and

students.

This is a

long time ago

Princeton.

Non-liberal

Princeton.

He would

teach at

Princeton until

1926,

though his

time there

would be

interrupted by

overseas service

during the

First World

War,

but liberalism

would continue

its ascendancy,

forcing him

to take

action.

In 1929,

he would

take the

lead in

founding

Westminster

Theological

Seminary,

and in

1936,

a new

denomination,

the Orthodox

Presbyterian

Church.

Because Gresham

was a lifelong

bachelor,

his mother

would remain

the closest

woman in

his life

until her

death in

1931.

This was the

most grievous

event he had

experienced,

for no one

had held

him in

greater

esteem

than his

mother.

No one

had been

so unswervingly

loyal to

him.

Perhaps no

one had been

so impacted

by him.

She once

wrote to

him,

I cannot

half express

to you my

pride and

profound joy

in your

work.

You have

handled in

a very able

manner the

most important

problem of

the age,

and you

have given

voice to

my own

sentiments

far better

than I

could

myself.

On the

day the

family laid

her to

rest,

Gresham

wrote,

My mother

seems,

to me at

least,

to have

been the

wisest and

best human

being I

ever knew.

May we

be a church

that produces

faithful mothers

and fathers

who will

impart with

great charity

and patience

the wisdom

of God

to their

children.

Let's pray.