God-Breathed

Well, it's been about two and a half months since I preached a sermon, and while I enjoyed

having a break from weekly sermon prep over the summer, I'm also excited to be back at

it this Sunday and to open the Word of God together with you.

This thing that we do right here every Sunday morning is arguably the most important thing

that we do together as a church.

And I'll say more about why this is later, because our passage this morning is actually

going to speak to this.

We're once again picking up the words of the Apostle Paul to Timothy, Paul's second letter

to Timothy, and quite likely one of Paul's last letters written.

If you remember from earlier this year, Paul at the time of this writing is in prison, and

he is very near the end.

History has it that not long after this, he was executed in Rome.

And so these are like Paul's last words.

And you can hear it.

You can feel it, even as you read through this letter.

These are the words of a man who knows his days are numbered.

And he's writing to encourage and instruct the younger man, Timothy, who is right now serving

as a leader in and around the church of Ephesus.

Now I'm not going to recap the whole letter for us this morning, but I would encourage you

to have a read through it again this week.

My last message back in June was on chapter 3, verses 10 to 15, and so I'm going to read

verses 10 to 17 for us this morning.

And then we'll continue on from verse 15 to the end of the chapter.

So 2 Timothy chapter 3, we're picking it up in verse 10.

2 Timothy 3 · chapter mention

You, however, know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith, patience,

love, endurance, persecutions, sufferings.

What kinds of things happened to me in Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra, the persecutions I endured,

yet the Lord rescued me from all of them.

In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while

evildoers and imposters will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.

But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know

those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the holy scriptures,

which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.

All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training

in righteousness so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

So the first thing we hear Paul do is to encourage Timothy with the example of his own life.

You know my teaching.

You know my life.

You know my purpose, and so on.

His main point here is something like,

Timothy, you can trust me.

Unlike the evildoers and imposters of our day, you know me.

You know I am the real deal.

You know that my life and my teaching match.

And then here he points out another trustworthy source for Timothy.

In contrast to the religious imposters and pretenders of Timothy's day who cannot be trusted, there

is a source of truth that can be relied on, which can be trusted, and it is the holy scriptures.

This is what Paul is referring to when he says,

Continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of.

What you have known from childhood.

The holy scriptures.

And it's worth mentioning here, Paul mentions it.

How did Timothy learn the truth that is in the holy scriptures?

He says,

Because you know those from whom you learned it,

and how from infancy you have known the holy scriptures.

Who did Timothy learn the holy scriptures from,

from the time that he was a little child?

The answer is in chapter 1, verse 5,

right at the beginning of the letter.

It says there,

I am reminded of your sincere faith, Timothy,

which first lived in your grandmother, Lois,

and in your mother, Eunice,

and I am persuaded now lives in you also.

So Timothy learned and became convinced of the truth in the holy scriptures

because his grandmother and his mother taught them to him.

They had sincere faith in God,

and so they did what God commanded,

and they taught the holy scriptures to Timothy.

This is to be further confirmation to Timothy.

Because you know those from whom you learned it.

Again, it's not just Paul,

who has been a godly example worth following,

but look at your own mother,

and your grandmother, Timothy.

They too are the real deal.

And you can trust what they taught you since you were a child,

because look at how their lives match their message.

Unlike with these imposters we are seeing around us.

Do you hear this?

The life of Timothy's mom and his grandma have become like anchors for Timothy

in the storm that he now finds himself in.

Many are turning away from Paul.

Imposters and false teachers are arising.

But Paul tells Timothy to look at the example of faith in his mother and grandmother

and be reminded that the holy scriptures that they taught him are true.

Now, I know this is a tangent that I'm about to go on,

but it is worth mentioning here.

Are parents responsible to teach their children the holy scriptures?

Are parents responsible to teach their children the truth about God?

Are they responsible to exhort them to have faith in God and to follow God?

Two passages have been on my mind in the past several weeks.

First, there is what God said to the Israelites long ago in the Old Testament law.

Deuteronomy 6, verse 4.

Deuteronomy 6:4

Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.

These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts,

impress them on your children.

Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road,

when you lie down and when you get up.

So God commanded the Israelites long ago to teach their children his commands.

And not just once a week, but all throughout the course of the day

and throughout the various activities of the day.

Back in the Old Testament, that's what God commanded.

And then as we look to the New Testament,

this is what Paul himself wrote about this to the church at Ephesus.

I'm reading from Ephesians chapter 6.

Ephesians 6 · chapter mention

He writes there,

The first commandment�ist,

honor your father and mother,

which is the first commandment with a promise,

so that it may go well with you

and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.

Fathers, do not exasperate your children.

Instead, bring them up in the training

and the instruction of the Lord.

Now, it's easy for us who are fathers

to get focused in on that word, exasperate,

and we get thinking about our interactions with our children.

And have I been patient with them?

Have I been given to anger with them?

Have I been putting on them a load of expectation

that even I couldn't carry when I was his age?

And these are great questions to ask.

For us who are fathers.

But let's not miss the rest of the verse here.

That's what we should not do.

We should not exasperate our children.

But what should we do?

Do not exasperate your children.

Instead, bring them up in the training

and instruction of the Lord.

Are parents responsible to teach their children

the Holy Scriptures?

Yes.

Are parents responsible to teach their children

the truth about God

and exhort their children to have faith in him

and to follow him?

Yes.

And not just parents,

but us who are fathers.

This has been charged to us

by Christ.

This task is ours.

And we notice what it does not say here.

It does not say,

Fathers,

bring your children to church

so that Pastor Josh

and the alive teachers

can bring them up

in the training

and instruction of the Lord.

It says,

Fathers,

you do this

for your own children.

And yes,

part of that will include

bringing your children to church

and to alive

and to youth group.

But the bulk of that responsibility

is on your shoulders,

Dad.

And of course,

there are situations

when this doesn't happen.

Maybe Dad isn't a believer,

but maybe Mom is.

Or maybe neither of the parents are.

And this is why it's important

for us to do things

like alive

in our church

for the children.

In fact,

we notice that Paul

does not even mention

Timothy's father

as an example to follow.

It's the sincere faith

of his mother

and grandmother.

But where was Timothy's dad?

Timothy's dad was a Greek,

but it would seem

that he was not a believing Greek.

And so his mother

and grandmother

taught him the scriptures

and taught him to know

and love the Lord.

What are you doing

in your household

not just to encourage,

but to bring up your children

in the training

and instruction

of the Lord?

this is going to require

more than just telling them,

son,

read your Bible every day

and believe it.

If you have children

at home with you,

I strongly encourage you

to consider

incorporating

some kind of family

devotional time

into your family routine.

Donald Whitney,

a professor

at Southern Baptist

Theological Seminary,

has written this

wonderfully brief

and helpful

little book

called

Family Worship.

And it's a fantastic

starting place

if you've never done

anything like this before.

He says it can be

as simple as

read,

pray,

and sing.

each day

to read a passage

of Scripture together

from the Scriptures,

pray together

for a few minutes,

and sing a song

of praise together.

Even ten minutes

a day

after supper

is a great place

to start.

And as you get into this

with your kids,

it may not seem natural

or rich at first,

but stick with it.

You're creating

the time

and the space

and the place

for conversations

about the Lord Jesus

to happen.

And questions

may arise

as you read

the Scriptures together

and you may not

be a gifted teacher,

but you can explain

to your kids

what you think

God is saying

in a passage

and how we should live

in obedience to it.

Fathers,

this is your responsibility

to lead

in this.

And if you want

to get started

with something

and have no idea

what to do,

come and talk to me

and we'll get you

a copy of this

wonderfully brief

little book

to help you

get started.

But back to the

main point here

and Paul's

letter to Timothy.

Here in

2 Timothy 3

2 Timothy 3:15

verse 15

he says,

continue in what

you have learned

and have become

convinced of

because you know

those from whom

you learned it

and how from

infancy

you have known

the Holy

Scriptures

which are able

to make you

wise

for salvation

through faith

in Christ

Jesus.

There's two

things we want

to see here.

First,

what are

the Holy

Scriptures?

What are

the Scriptures

that Paul is

talking about?

And second,

what does trusting

these Scriptures

do for a

person?

So let's

tackle that

first one.

What are

the Holy

Scriptures?

Which Scriptures

is Paul

talking about?

Notice,

Paul says

that Timothy

has known

these Holy

Scriptures

from infancy.

From infancy

you have known

the Holy

Scriptures.

And if we

think through

the chronology

given us

in the book

of Acts

and how

Timothy

was old

enough to

understand

and witness

the sufferings

of Paul

when Paul

first came

through Lystra

with the

Gospel,

these Holy

Scriptures

Paul is

referring to

are undoubtedly

the Old

Testament

Scriptures

which

Timothy's

Jewish

mother would

have taught

him.

I mean,

the New

Testament

Scriptures

hadn't even

been written

yet when

Timothy

was a

child.

And by

this time,

the time of

this second

letter to

Timothy,

only some

of the New

Testament

Scriptures

had been

written.

This letter

is a part

of them.

Another way

to say all

this,

Timothy's

Bible

growing up

was only

the Old

Testament.

That's the

specific

Scriptures

in view

as Paul

tells

Timothy

here to

remember

the truth

that he

has learned

and become

convinced of

from the

Holy

Scriptures.

And this

becomes

especially

important

as we

get to

verse 16

where Paul

says,

all Scripture

is God

breathed

and is

useful for

teaching

and rebuking

and correcting

and training

in righteousness.

All Scripture

includes

the Old

Testament.

In context

here for

Timothy,

it was

primarily

the Old

Testament

Scriptures.

So let's

consider now

the second

thing that we

want to see

here.

What does

trusting these

Scriptures

do for a

person?

how from

infancy

you have

known

the Holy

Scriptures

which are

able to

make you

wise

for salvation

through

faith

in Christ

Jesus.

We notice

the care

that Paul

takes in

his wording

here.

He does

not say

that the

Old Testament

Scriptures

are what

saves you

by believing

in them.

He does

say that

they are

able to

make you

wise

for salvation

through faith

in Christ

Jesus.

So it's

faith in

Christ

Jesus

that brings

salvation.

Believing

in Jesus

Christ is

what we

must do

to be

saved.

And the

Old Testament

did not

reveal Jesus

because he

hadn't come

yet.

But the

Old Testament

laid the

foundation

salvation for

Timothy.

It prepared

him to

understand

and receive

Christ Jesus

by faith

when he

came.

So the

Old Testament

Scriptures can

make us

wise about

how to be

saved because

they point

forward to

the Savior,

the Christ.

Christ.

So in

ten years

when Paul

is dead

and

Timothy

perhaps is

in jail

and false

teachers

and impostors

and wicked

men are

surrounding

him like a

pack of

dogs hungry

for his

blood

and when

the judge

gives

Timothy the

option to

renounce his

faith in

Jesus,

what does

Paul want

Timothy to

do in

those moments

when doubts

may arise?

Remember

the Holy

Scriptures

which you

learned from

your mom

and your

grandma.

Remember

the holy

words of

our God.

It was

he who

made all

these wonderful

promises

concerning the

Christ through

Moses and

the prophets.

it was

he who

foreshadowed

it how

things would

go with

Jesus Christ

hundreds and

thousands of

years prior in

the lives of

men like

Joseph,

David,

Solomon,

Daniel,

and in the

ordinances of

Israel with

the Passover

and the

sacrifices,

it was God

who foretold

the rising

of his chosen

king from

the dead.

if doubt

gets a hold

of you,

Timothy,

shake it

off by

going back

to that

which we

can be

confident in,

the holy

words of

God which

announced and

declared and

foretold and

foreshadowed this

good news of

Jesus coming

for salvation

long before we

were even

born.

The Old

Testament is

able to

make us

wise for

salvation,

specifically the

salvation that

comes through

faith in

Christ Jesus.

And this

actually makes a

lot of sense

when we stop

to think about

it.

Where do we

first come to

learn about

sin?

The Old

Testament.

Where do we

first learn that

our sin warrants

punishment because

God is just?

The Old

Testament

Scriptures.

Where do we

also hear that

God is merciful and

that he forgives

sin?

The Old

Testament.

Where do we

first learn that

forgiveness of

sins can only

come through a

blood sacrifice?

The Old

Testament

Scriptures.

Where do we

first learn that

there's going to

be a forever

kingdom for the

people of God?

The Old

Testament

Scriptures.

And I could

go on for a

long time here,

but I think you

get the point.

And so we

must not

neglect the

Old Testament

Scriptures.

This is why we

are crazy enough

here in our

church to take

two out of

every three

years with

our kids

in alive

to work

through the

Old Testament.

It is the

foundation

for the

Gospel.

The Old

Testament

Scriptures

are able to

make our

kids wise

for salvation

through faith in

Jesus Christ.

They are able to

prepare the

heart and

mind to

understand what's

going on so

that by the time

we come to the

New Testament,

we understand,

we appreciate

why we need

Jesus in the

first place.

In fact,

I will be so

bold as to

say that

even for the

adult who

has grown up

never going to

church,

half of what's

in the Gospels,

Matthew,

Mark,

Luke,

and John,

half of it

doesn't even

make sense.

unless you

know what's

in the Old

Testament.

Let us

not neglect

the Old

Testament.

Oh,

but I'm

already saved,

Pastor Josh.

I believe in

Jesus.

I've learned

what I need

to from the

Old Testament

and now I

just mostly

read the

New Testament.

But wait,

Paul has

more to say

here.

All Scripture

is God

breathed,

he says.

All includes

the Old

Testament.

And all

of it

is useful

for teaching,

rebuking,

correcting,

and training

in righteousness

so that the

servant of God

may be

thoroughly

equipped

for every

good work.

God

So the

Old Testament

doesn't only

make us

wise for

salvation,

it too

is part

of the

All Scripture

that is

useful.

It's not

irrelevant

to our

lives today.

All Scripture,

even the

Old Testament

is useful

to us

today.

It's useful

for teaching

us,

teaching us

about who

God is

and who

we are

and what's

happening

in the

grand story

of our

world.

It's useful

for rebuking

and correcting.

And because

all of us

are sinners

and are

still tempted

by many

things and

even fall

into sin

or stray

from God's

ways,

we need

rebuking

and correcting

at times.

And the

Old Testament

in particular

is a

treasure trove

of divine

material

perfectly

suited

to helping

us see

the error

in our

ways

and the

path

back to

God.

And there's

more.

All Scripture

is useful,

even the

Old Testament,

for training

in righteousness.

Do you

want to know

how to live

a righteous

life as a

follower of

Jesus today

in 2024?

All Scripture,

even the

Old Testament,

is useful

for training

us how.

All Scripture,

even the

Old Testament,

is useful

so that the

servant of

God may be

thoroughly

equipped,

for every

good work,

writes Paul.

Do you

want to be

thoroughly

equipped for

every good

work?

Do you

want to have

just what you

need from

God to do

the many good

things that he

would like you

to do in

life?

All of

this is

useful for

God's

God's

God's

God's

God's

God's

life

situations

and

circumstances.

Even the

Old Testament.

Let's just

camp for a

moment on the

word all

here.

All Scripture

is God-breathed

and is useful

for these

good purposes

in our lives.

All Scripture

includes the

history of

Genesis and

how our

world began.

All Scripture

includes the

commands God

gave in the

law through

Moses.

It includes

the details of

the various

covenants that

God has made

with man.

All Scripture

includes the

prayers and the

poetry of the

Bible, the

songs and the

Psalms.

Psalms.

There once

was a

Christian man

who said

to me,

I hate

the Psalms.

There's too

much expression

of feelings

in them that

I just

can't relate

to.

But they

too are

God-breathed

and are

useful to

teach us,

correct us,

train us,

and equip us.

All Scripture

includes the

book of

Ruth and

the book of

Esther.

Sometimes we

men would

rather read

about David

and his

mighty men

fighting battles

against the

uncircumcised

Philistines.

But God has

something useful

to us in

Ruth and

Esther as

well.

In Job

and in some

of those

difficult books

written by the

prophets,

all Scripture

even includes

the lists and

numbers and

genealogies of

the Bible as

our brother

Nate reminded

us of last

Sunday.

We may have

our preferences

we may have

our favorite

passages and

even genres

in the Bible

but we should

choose to

love all

of the

Scriptures.

Old Testament

and new,

poetry and

prose.

May we not

neglect any

of it for the

reason that we

think it's

irrelevant or

boring.

Paul is

telling us

right here that

it's not.

We just

haven't seen

perhaps or

appreciated

what God

has there

in a

particular

passage for

us yet.

How many

of you have

ever spent

money on

tools?

Maybe a

saw or a

drill, a

wrench, a

pair of

pliers, a

hammer?

Many of us

have at least

one toolbox

full of tools.

Some of you

I know have

entire sheds

and even shops

full of

them and

tools are

awesome because

sometimes you

need just the

right device to

fix something or

to build

something, to

get the job

done or that

project finished.

Wouldn't it be

awesome though if

instead of going

to home hardware

to get another

tool every time

that you do

something new,

wouldn't it be

awesome if you

could just get a

toolbox that

has every tool

you'd ever need

in it for the

rest of your

life?

Wouldn't it be

awesome if the

toolbox was only

this big?

That's essentially

what Jesus is

saying to us

here.

all scripture

is God

breathed

and is useful

so that you

might be

thoroughly

equipped

for every

good work.

Every

good thing

that God

wants you to

do in your

life, every

one of them,

what you need

to do every

one of those

things, the

equipment you

need is right

here in the

holy breathed

writings, the

holy God

breathed

writings, the

scriptures that

he has given

us.

We tend to

underestimate the

value, not

just of the

Old Testament

writings, but

of this entire

book.

I mean, it

almost sounds

too good to be

true, doesn't

it?

Can a single

book, a

single collection

of writings be

the perfect

multi-tool for

all of life's

work?

can it be the

toolbox with

no bottom,

having just the

thing we need

for all of

life's moments

and situations?

That's what

Jesus is telling

us here

through Paul.

Believe it

so that the

servant of God,

man of God,

may be thoroughly

equipped for

every good

work.

How can this

be true?

It's true

because of where

this book comes

from.

Let's just look

at our last

word for today.

All scripture

is God

breathed.

Now I want to

dig into this

word for a

minute with you.

in the original

Greek that this

was written in,

this word is

just one word.

And it's

basically the

word God

and the

word breathed

sandwiched

together to

make one

word, as

you can see

on the screen

there.

Here's a place

where I think

the translation

of the Bible

you use is

significant.

The New

International

Version,

which is the

translation on

screen,

renders this

best.

Some of the

other translations

render this as

inspired by

God or

something similar

to that.

Some of them

have a footnote

which says that

this is literally

God breathed

or breathed

out by God.

So this is not

a disputed

thing.

But here's why

this matters.

Today,

in our modern

English,

the word

inspired often

means just

to have a

great idea

or to

influence

something.

You might

watch a movie

that tells the

true story of

something that

happened in

history.

But then if

you're like me,

you might want

to look it up

online and see

how accurate

the movie was.

and you might

be surprised to

find out that

the movie

actually embellished

a few things

and changed

a few things.

Or in some

cases, you

might find out

that it was

inspired by a

true story,

but only very,

very loosely.

Sometimes the

movie barely

resembles the

true story that

it was based

on because it

was inspired only

in the sense of

giving one

great idea

or one

big motivation

for the film.

But scripture

is not

inspired

like that.

God didn't

loosely

impress his

ideas upon

the biblical

writers such

that they wrote

some things

that have

only some

of his wisdom

or ideas

in them.

In fact,

in my opinion,

inspired has

never been

the best

translation of

this word

because even

400 years ago

when the King

James was first

translated,

to inspire

meant to

breathe in,

to inhale.

And you can

sort of see

how the word

came to mean

what it does

today.

If someone

was under

the influence

of something

in the air,

they might

behave differently.

Some of the

pagan worship

over the centuries

has involved

smoking or

breathing in

of stuff

that when

burned

causes

hallucinations.

But this

word that's

used here

in the

original

is not

about

breathing in.

It's about

breathing out.

That the

scriptures

are God

breathed

means that

God breathed

out the

words that

are in the

scriptures.

as the

biblical authors

put pen

to paper

and wrote.

God was

breathing out

the words

they were

writing

such that

those words

were ultimately

coming from

God's mouth.

In,

with,

and under

the words

the biblical

authors wrote

was God's

own spirit,

God's breath,

such that

the words

they wrote

on the

papyrus

ultimately

have their

source

in the

mind

and heart

of God.

God's

love.

And this

is the

key.

If we're

wondering how

an old

collection of

writings like

the Bible

can be

useful and

relevant to

us today,

equipping us

for every

good work,

this is

how.

This is

why.

Because it's

not just the

thoughts and

ideas of

men from

2,000 plus

years ago.

These words

ultimately come

from God

himself.

he breathed

them out

as men

like the

apostle Paul

wrote them

down.

This is

why the

scriptures are

so valuable.

This is

why Paul

tells Timothy

to remember

the scriptures

and anchor

yourself in

the scriptures.

They are

the words

of God

himself.

And so

they have

everything you

need

for life,

for the

situation

you find

yourself in,

for every

good work

that God

has given

you to

do.

Once we

wrap our

minds around

this truth,

that these

words in

our Bibles

come from

God and

are his

words,

it changes

everything.

And this

is not

just an

old book

anymore.

This is

the single

most important

book on

planet Earth.

God

is

God

to

God

to

God.

And this

thing we

do on

Sunday

mornings,

having a

sermon from

the word

of God,

is arguably

the most

important thing

we do.

And this

is why.

During this

time on

Sundays,

we open

up and

read and

unpack and

reflect,

not just on

some thoughts

of a dude

who lived

2,000 years

ago,

but on

the very

words of

God

himself,

our

creator.

And if

we have

everything else

wrong in

how we do

church,

how we are

living life,

but we have

this one thing

right,

that we are

regularly and

continuously going

back to the

words God has

given us,

the scriptures,

then the rest

will follow in

time.

Day by day,

week by

week,

year after

year,

God's word

as we hear

it and

believe it

and obey

it will

teach us.

It will

correct us

as a church.

It will

give us

the timely

rebukes

that we

need.

And it

will train

us in

righteous

living.

It will

equip us

as a church

for the

good works

that God

has prepared

in advance

for us

to do

here in

this

community.

sometimes we

think of

God's word

as being

a part

of what

we do

at church

but it's

so much

more than

that.

God's word

is what

forms his

church.

It's what

shapes us

and molds

us and

nurtures

us and

grows us

so that

we are

the church

that God

desires us

to be.

Almost

20 years

ago now

our church

went through

a difficult

time.

And it

was around

that time

that our

church

changed

its name.

I'm not

going to

go into

all the

details

of it

but

after

withdrawing

from a

particular

conference

of churches

for the

first time

in decades

we had

no

affiliation

with other

churches

not with

the

associated

gospel

churches

not with

the

Baptist

churches

and at

that time

those who

remained

sought the

Lord

together

about

what to

change

our church

name

to

and the

name

chosen

was the

Davidson

Community

Bible

Church

who are

we

as a

church

in this

community

of Davidson

what is

it that

most

defines

us

what is

it that

determines

how we

operate

and what

we value

and how

we should

live

our answer

as a

church

is

not

the

Pope

not

some

archbishop

or king

or council

not

tradition

but the

Bible

this

is our

highest

authority

because

these

words

we believe

are

God

breathed

and useful

to equip

us

and so

I smile

every time

someone refers

to our

church

by its

nickname

the

Bible

church

church

because

while that

may sound

weird

or pretentious

that's what

we want

to be

it doesn't

mean we

follow the

Bible

perfectly

or know

it better

than everyone

else

it means

we value

it

supremely

above all

other sources

as the

word of

God

it means

that we

are aiming

to submit

ourselves

to his

authoritative

words

in our

lives

and so

may we

continue

as a

church

to

treasure

these

words

which

God

has

given

us

may we

continue

to be

changed

by them

let's

pray