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How Does God Speak to Us? Scripture Alone

How Does God Speak to Us? Scripture Alone
January 8, 2017

Scripture: 2 Timothy 3:14-17

I. The Bible alone is our authority for what we believe.

A. In the letter of 2 Timothy the Apostle Paul wrote to Timothy, Paul’s younger friend and a pastor-elder at the church in Ephesus. One of the major problems at the church in Ephesus was a problem of false teaching. We see this problem addressed by Paul in 2 Timothy 2:16-18 and 2 Timothy 3:8. If false teaching is the problem, what is the solution? The Bible alone! So Paul encouraged Timothy in vs. 14 to continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed. Timothy had learned about the Christian faith from his family and from Paul himself.

B. What was the source of their teaching to Timothy? Verse 15 says it was the sacred writings: the Bible. It was the Bible Paul says that made Timothy wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. In vs. 16 Paul says that all Scripture is breathed out by God. Yes, the Bible was written by human authors like Paul. But those human authors were inspired by God. There is no greater authority than the Bible because God is its author. So Paul told Timothy when you are dealing with false teaching go back to the Bible.

C. Some people think that studying what happened 500 years ago in the Reformation of the church is useless. How could something that happened 500 years ago matter to us today? But consider what was at stake in the Reformation. The Reformation was a dispute about how we know God and how we can be right with him. At stake was our eternal future, a choice between heaven and hell. Do those things still matter today? Absolutely! Our authority for finding answers to those important questions of life and death is the Bible alone.

II. The Bible alone is our authority for how we live.

A. Paul goes on to write in 2 Timothy 3:16 that the Bible is profitable for correction and training in righteousness. It is the Bible that is our authority for correcting us when we are guilty of bad behavior. And on the positive side it is the Bible that gives us guidelines for good behavior. Timothy and every Christian can find in Scripture everything necessary to do good works (vs.17). It is in the Bible that we find what kind of a life pleases God.

B. We know, however, that people like the Pharisees add human customs to the Bible in an attempt to please God. What did Jesus say about the Pharisees’ customs and traditions? Let’s read out loud together from Mark 7:6-8: “And he said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.” The Pharisees made a choice between the authority of human traditions and the authority of the Bible in how to live their lives. They made a bad choice. They chose human traditions over the Bible. Every day you have the privilege and the opportunity to hear the voice of God. You can hear God Himself speak to you by reading the Bible. And on Sundays you can hear God speak to you in the sermons that are preached from the Bible.

Application:
Make the Bible your treasure and your authority for what you believe and how you live.

Sources:
Commentary on 2 Timothy by William Mounce
Why the Reformation Still Matters by Michael Reeves and Tim Chester