Sermon by Pastor Brent Kompelien
May 28, 2023
INTRO
We are continuing our Summer Seminars series, and we are asking foundational questions about the Christian faith. And we will have a Q&A time after the sermon to share about what God is teaching us through today’s passage.
So let me ask you: How can we know God? How can we know his attributes, his character, his glory, what he desires of us, or what is true? How can we know how to be saved? And how can we know how to walk in faithfulness in the challenges of this world? People have been asking these questions for millennia. We aren’t the first ones.
ILLUST — One example from church history came 89 years ago this month when leaders of evangelical churches from around Germany gathered for what they called the “Pastor’s Emergency League” in the city of Barmen. (SLIDE 2) The year was 1934, Hitler was Chancellor, and the German State Church had begun colluding with him.
This emergency gathering of church leaders drafted what became known as the Barmen Declaration, which asserted their biblical convictions and called out the German State Church for following the Nazi Party’s ideology.
This is what this document said, “The Confessional Synod of the German Evangelical Church met in Barmen, May 29-31, 1934. Here representatives from all the German Confessional Churches met with one accord in a confession of the one Lord of the one, holy, apostolic Church…the Confessional Synod insists that the unity of the Evangelical Churches in Germany can come only from the Word of God in faith through the Holy Spirit. Thus alone is the church renewed…If you find that we are speaking contrary to Scripture, then do not listen to us! But if you find that we are taking our stand upon Scripture, then let no fear or temptation keep you from treading with us the path of faith and obedience to the Word of God, in order that God’s people be of one mind upon the earth and that we in faith experience what Jesus himself has said: ‘I will never leave you, nor forsake you.’…Jesus Christ, as attested in Holy Scripture, is the one Word of God whom we must hear, trust, and obey in life and death.”
3 months later German President Hindenburg would die and Hitler would proclaim himself the supreme ruler of Germany, plunging Europe into another World War, resulting in the deaths of more than 50 million people. The Confessing Church would continue to struggle against the German State throughout the war, led by pastors such as Dietrich Bonhoeffer who insisted on sticking to the truths set forth in God’s Word.
(SLIDE 3a) Bonhoeffer realized, along with a host of other underground church leaders, that they must remain faithful to Christ no matter the cost. The 28 year-old Bonhoeffer, knowing his fidelity to Jesus might cost him his life, wrote a letter to a friend just four days after Hitler took power: (SLIDE 3b) “My calling is quite clear to me. What God will make of it I do not know…I must follow the path. Perhaps it will not be such a long one, for I desire to depart to be with Christ.” Bonhoeffer would be executed on April 9, 1945, just one month before Germany surrendered. He held fast to his biblical convictions in the face of terrible persecution amidst the horrors of war.
(SLIDE 4, title) Just as Bonhoeffer stood his ground and gave his life to defend the truth, this morning we are going to read what the Apostle Paul wrote to his young protege Timothy on the eve of Paul’s own execution.
The second letter to Timothy is probably the Apostle Paul’s last written work. He completed this letter mere weeks, perhaps days, before he was beheaded for his faith.
Things were not good at this moment in the 1st century. This is how Paul put it in the middle of this letter, “But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.” (2 Tim. 3:1-4)
Wow! This list hits a little too close to home. I know so many of us struggle with these very things or are bombarded with them every time we step out the door. But how are we to know God, to know what he desires, and to know how we can saved from our sin?
When Timothy finds himself in such a difficult and tumultuous environment, his mentor Paul sets out this simple truth that is the same truth the German Confessing Church declared in the Barmen Declaration: Trust in God’s Word because by these words you can know the Living Word himself: Jesus Christ. Be strong! Stand firm in the face of false teaching and persecutions! Proclaim the Scriptures because these are the very words of God. No matter what, hold fast to God’s Word. That’s what we are going to learn this morning.
Open with me to 2 Timothy 3:10-4:5.
PROP — We are going to answer this central question “What is the Bible?” by looking at Paul’s encouragement to Timothy to stand firm in the midst of challenges and compromise. As we read this text, I want you to imagine Paul sending these words of encouragement to us in the midst of the challenges we face living in our day. READ 2 Timothy 3:10-4:5.
Let’s define some define from key terms that we often hear in theology: (SLIDE 5a)
Verbal-Plenary Inspiration (SLIDE 5b) — The Bible is inspired in its words and in its meaning. It is “God-breathed”, meaning it is from God and communicated by God’s Spirit through the human authors.
Important — The human authors were not passive agents, as though God were dictating words to them through the Spirit. Their humanity is not cancelled out in the writing of Scripture. That’s why we can study their unique vocabulary, grammar, and historical situation. Yet they were writing God’s very words, inspired by the Spirit, in every detail, down to every dotted “i” and crossed “t”.
Inerrancy (SLIDE 5c) — Without error. The Bible always tells the truth.
Important — Rooted in God’s nature: He has no mistakes.
Infallibility (SLIDE 5d) — Cannot error. The Bible cannot tell a lie.
Important — Rooted in God’s nature: He cannot lie.
Canon (SLIDE 5e) — 66 books of the Old and New Testaments.
Who determined the canon? God!
The councils recognized which books God inspired to be in the canon.
ORG SENT — Ok, let’s now look at our text to see Paul answers two questions: What is Scripture (3:10-17), and what we are supposed to do with it (4:1-5)?
MAIN 1 — What Is Scripture? (3:10-17) (SLIDE 6a)
Go back to 3:10. The focus here is on the special revelation of God through the Scriptures. There is a flow to this paragraph, a shape to the text that helps us drill down to where our trust should lie when it comes to knowing God.
(SLIDE 6b) Verses 10-13 describe how Paul models the truth in his own life.
(SLIDE 6c) Verses 14-15 explain how Timothy’s mother and grandmother taught him the truth from infancy.
(SLIDE 6d) Verses 16-17 get to the heart of the matter: The Scriptures are the very words of God.
KEY — This flow is critical to understand.
Timothy has presently seen the fruit of Paul’s faithfulness to God’s Word, and Paul is certainly worthy to emulate. Why? It is not because Paul is so cleaver. It is because Paul has built his life on the foundation of God’s special revelation in the Scriptures that testify to Christ, even if it means that he is persecuted!
This is in contrast to others who Paul calls “evildoers and imposters” that have infiltrated the early church. In the ancient world, the word “imposter” literally means “to howl” because enchanters would utter incantations in a kind of howl. An “imposter” was a person who made a show out of mesmerizing you and making loud sounds and waving things around in the air to make you think something supernatural or spooky was happening. These people are “swindlers” or “charlatans.”
APPLY — It is the same today. There are so many gimmicks and tricks and deceiving words today, even in the church! And the environment of the internet has only made this more prominent and more easily accessible.
But Paul says to Timothy, don’t be taken in by them! Dig deeper Timothy! There is a foundation on which all right teaching stands: God’s very words in Scripture. It is a light to illuminate the darkness.
2 Peter 1:19 says, “We also have the prophetic message as something completely reliable, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place.”
ILLUST — Martin Luther encountered this reality in his day when he was challenging the teaching of the Catholic Church. He said, “The Word of God is a light in a dark and gloomy place…Therefore, look not to how gifted they are who teach any other doctrine—however grandly they set it forth. If you cannot trace God’s Word in it, then doubt not that it is mere darkness…Since they have not the light, neither wish to receive it, they must remain in darkness and blindness. For the light of God’s Word teaches us everything we ought to know, and all that is necessary to salvation, a thing which the world by its wisdom and reason knows not.”
In other words, don’t listen to the imposters. Watch those whose lives are full of the light of Scripture and who have modeled faith, patience, love, and endurance no matter what the cost.
Similarly, Paul encourages Timothy to look back at the past.
When he was younger, we know from chapter 1 of this same letter that Timothy was trained in the faith by his mother Eunice and his grandmother Lois. From infancy they taught him the Bible. How critical that we are saturated in God’s Word from our earliest years because it reveals to us the way to be saved: Only through Jesus!
And now Paul drills down to the bedrock. In verses 16-17 he lays out the basis for Timothy’s certainty of faith and trust in God: That the Scriptures are God’s very words.
Look again at verses 16-17 with me. READ vv. 16-17.
There are three claims made here that form the center of our belief in the Scriptures as God’s Word, and they have to do with the origin, purpose, and result of Scripture.
Origin (SLIDE 6e) — All Scripture is God-breathed
Where do the Scriptures come from? This the classic question of the inspiration of Scripture. This word “God-breathed” is only used here in the entire Bible. Many scholars believe that Paul coined a new term.
How do we understand this idea of inspiration in a deeper way?
2 Peter 1:21 says, that the “prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit,” which means they were directed and sustained by the Spirit to bring every word God wanted to his people. But they still wrote in their own hand, with their own grammar and vocabulary, in the context of their historical moment, with their personality shining through.
A parallel is the incarnation. We talk about Jesus being the “Word made flesh.” He is the Living Word. The written word points to him. He sent his Spirit to reveal exactly what he wanted the authors to write. Jesus is fully God and fully man. His divinity doesn’t diminish his humanity, nor does his humanity diminish his divinity. Similarly, the written word is a fully divine document and a fully human document. It therefore is fully reliable, truthful, authoritative, and effective. It is also beautifully rich in revealing the real stories and experiences of people, rooted in real history, and an immersive revelation of God’s will in-and-through his people over time.
Purpose (SLIDE 6f) — Useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.
I love how Scripture engages our minds and our hearts!
Because God has chosen to preserve for us a written word, our intellect is engaged in the study and interpretation of the Scriptures. We must learn about the historical context, the authors, the original recipients, and the ins-and-outs of the events and truths revealed.
But these words are not merely an intellectual exercise. By the Spirit of God, they will change your life. His Word will be like a seed planted in your heart that can sprout and blossom into a beautiful tree, bearing fruit for God’s glory.
Friends, God cares most about your heart. He cares most about what you love, what you desire, what you live for. By the Spirit, His Word will convict you of sin, illuminate truth, and reveal salvation through Christ.
KEY — These are purposes that occur in community! Look at the list. These things are relational, happening when we come together as a Body! These things requires that we are known, that we engage with others, and that we get close enough to others with an open heart and mind to graciously receive teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness.
Result (SLIDE 6g) — So that the servant of God may be equipped for every good work.
Remember the context here…there are direct challenges to Timothy’s faith from people who are against Jesus, some are imposters masquerading as those who have the truth, while others have so compromised their faith that they no longer stand in alignment with God’s truth.
ILLUST — John Stott, the great English preacher, wrote about this passage from 2 Timothy when he was experiencing the cultural upheaval of the 1970s. If you were around during those years, you know that there were radical shifts happening in culture and that both Europe and America were experiencing strife and violence in unprecedented ways.
This is what John Stott wrote in 1973, reflecting on Paul’s words to Timothy: “The times in which we seem to be living are very distressing. Sometimes we wonder if the world and the church have gone mad…[But Paul says to Timothy:] Never mind if the pressure to conform is very strong. Never mind if you are young, inexperienced, timid, and weak. Never mind if you find yourself alone in your witness…You know the biblical credentials of your faith. Scripture is God-breathed and profitable. Even in the midst of these grievous times…it can make you complete and it can equip you for your work…It will lead you into Christian maturity.’”
APPLY — These words could be said of us today! The God-breathed Scriptures are able to equip us to walk faithfully with the Lord, by the power of the Spirit who will guide us into all truth!
MAIN 2 — What Do We Do With Scripture? (4:1-5) (SLIDE 7a)
These are Paul’s final words from a mentor to a young pastor, crystallizing his priority to preach the gospel in the face of difficulty. Of course, this isn’t intended to capture the full scope of how we use Scripture, but Paul’s words here are eerily relevant to our culture today.
IMPORTANT — When Paul reflect on the times in which he lived, the prime problem he focuses on is that (SLIDE 7b) “people cannot bear the truth.” They can’t stand truth and refuse to listen to it. Because their personal desires are at the center, the criterion by which they judge what is true is not God’s Word but their own subjective taste.
This is how Paul describes his contemporary situation in this text: They will not put up with sound doctrine, they will turn their ears away from the truth, they will suit their own desires, and they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. Has he heard of YouTube?
What is Timothy to do? (SLIDE 7c) If people will not bear the truth and will not listen to it, should he shrink back? No! Paul encourages Timothy to continue preaching in verse 2, then he gives Timothy four commands in verse 5:
Be steady in all things (SLIDE 7d) — Literally, this word means “be sober-minded”. When others get wrapped around the axel on things or are whipped up into a frenzy, you be calm and level-headed.
Endure suffering (SLIDE 7e) — An environment where people won’t tolerate truth can be very hostile. Be ready to endure difficulty and persecution.
Do the work of an evangelist (SLIDE 7f) — Make the gospel central. Don’t get sideways like these other teachers, keep preaching the gospel and you will ensure your priorities are straight!
Fulfill your ministry (SLIDE 7g) — Persevere until your task is finished. Don’t give up!
Friends, these are the same commands for us: That we would be calm and level-headed with others in our culture are whipped up into a frenzy, that we would endure whatever persecutions come from standing firm in the truth of Scripture, that we would keep the gospel of Jesus Christ central, and that we would persevere, trusting in the sufficiency, clarity, authority, and necessity of God’s Word.
Questions:
In what ways is the context of Paul’s letter to Timothy similar to our world today?
What is the origin, purpose, and result of Scripture?
Why is it important to believe in the authority and sufficiency of Scripture?
How do we approach Scripture in a day where people won’t put up with sound teaching?
Key Terms:
Verbal Plenary Inspiration
Inerrancy
Infallibility
Canon
Resources:
Taking God At His Word — Kevin DeYoung
How To Read The Bible For All Its Worth — Gordon Fee and Douglas Stuart
The Historical Reliability of the Gospels — Craig Blomberg
The Enduring Authority of the Christian Scriptures — Don Carson
“Bible Books Chart” — Pastor Brent
Kevin DeYoung wrote a book entitled Taking God At His Word: Why the Bible is Knowable, Necessary, and Enough, and What That Means For You and Me. He wrote about four characteristics of Scripture using the acronym “SCAN”:
(SLIDE 8a) Sufficiency of God’s Word — The Scriptures contain everything we need for knowledge of salvation and godly living. We don’t need any new revelation from heaven. This means that any “new” idea must be tested against what is already revealed. There will be no new revelations, no new truth, no innovative understanding of God.
(SLIDE 8b) Clarity of God’s Word — The saving message of Jesus Christ is plainly taught in the Scriptures and can be understood by all who have ears to hear it. We don’t need an official magisterium to tell us what the Bible means. While some passages may be more challenging to understand, all that we need to know, believe, and do can be clearly seen in the Bible.
(SLIDE 8c) Authority of God’s Word — The last word always goes to the Word of God. We must never allow the teachings of science, human experience, or church councils to take precedence over Scripture. All truth will accord with the Bible, even if we can’t fully understand. We can fully trust in the authority of God’s Word to reveal what is true.
(SLIDE 8d) Necessity of God’s Word — General revelation is not enough to save us. We cannot know God savingly by means of personal experience or human reason. We need God’s word to tell us how to live, who Christ is, and how to be saved.