Jump Start # 817

2 Timothy 3:16-17 All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.”

Our passage today is a very familiar one to many of us. Like a movie that we have seen over and over, a familiar passage can lose it’s freshness with us because we know it so well. The insight and reflection and depth that can be found in rich passages, such as this one, tend to be nothing new. However, let’s take a look at this passage. There is much there.

All Scripture is inspired by God. Not some Scripture. Not most Scripture. Not the big stuff. Not just the doctrine. All Scripture. The expression, “inspired by God” means God breathed. There are words that are “breathed” out. Try this: put your hand right in front of your mouth and say aloud the word “peace”. Feel your breath. Many words are “breathed.” God breathed the Bible. The words came from God. The choice of words. The order of the words. These all came from God. It helps once in a while to look at words in the language they were spoken in. The New Testament was in Greek. It traveled through the Latin language, then the German language before it became English. There are a lot of jumps there. Some times words lose their power in all of those jumps. The word “love” is one example. The Greeks had multiple words for love. We have one. The Bible is God’s book, not ours. The Bible is the heart of God revealed. Don’t fall for Satan’s little tricks that there are missing books, like the Gospel of Thomas, or things were added later on. There is so much proof and evidence for what we have that those thoughts don’t stand a chance.

This God breathed book is profitable. Profit is good. Profit means growth, advancement. The Bible will do just that.

• It is profitable for teaching. Some translations say, “doctrine.” Simply, the Bible tells us what is right. God defines the boundaries of right and wrong. We need to know. Can you imagine playing a game, any game, and you don’t know the rules. Life has rules. God defines them. This is important. The church doesn’t decide, God does! When someone asks, “what does your church teach about…” they are asking the wrong question. It doesn’t matter what the church believes. God defines. A Methodist church in Carolina has declared that they will not hold any weddings until the states allow same-sex marriages. They are petitioning all churches to go along with them. No one gets married until we allow the homosexuals marriage. Who do these people think they are? We do not make the rules. God does. It seems that they are a social and political front that believes the whims of society changes the rules. Study the history of Methodist doctrine. They didn’t think homosexuality was acceptable fifty years ago. Who changed? God? Their doctrine. God sets the rules, not the church. The only by-laws or creed a church has is the word of God. Anything else, ought to be tossed out with the trash!

• It is profitable for reproof. This defines what is not right. God warns. He tells us what is wrong. The Bible is necessary for that. We need to know. The world is dangerous and Satan is alive and well and after us. Warnings protect. Warnings keep us safe.
• It is profitable for correction. That simply is how to get right. When we are wrong, how do we get right? God’s word tells us. Faith in Christ, who is our Savior is the answer. All have sinned, the Romans were told. All, therefore, need to know how they can be right.
• It is profitable for training in righteousness. That is how to stay right. How do we keep on the path? How do we keep ourselves between the ditches? The Bible is the answer. It shows. It teaches. It provides examples. It is message that we need.

The Bible provides us with the tools that are necessary to go about life. Worry a problem? The Bible has an answer for that. Lust knocking on your door? The Bible has great examples of what to do. Fear? Sorrow? Questions about what happens after death? Go to the Bible. The answers are there. Now the Bible won’t answer every question I have. It is not intended to. Which TV show should I watch? The Bible won’t answer that. Which stock should I invest in? The Bible won’t answer that. The Bible deals with character, faith, and God. It is intended to connect me to my Savior and then to my God. It is intended to build faith and trust in God. It is made to mold me into the image of God’s Son. It is written to show me how to find God’s grace and go to Heaven.

Used properly, the Bible will get you to Heaven. Misuse it and you will get into all kinds of messes. A person cannot be wrong with the book and right with God. You cannot separate the message from God. A person misunderstands when he says, “I know God, but I don’t know much about the Bible.” The book tells us about the author. Without the book, we are left to speculations, guess and ideas that are without foundation. To know God is to know the Bible. To obey God is to obey the Bible.

The Bible– a message from God. The greatest book of all time. The greatest help of all time. Get to know the Bible. TV shows about the Bible may be fun to watch, but they do not replace the actual story. Open the book and find out for yourself!

Roger