Rev. David Holwick ZC 2 Timothy series
First Baptist Church
Ledgewood, New Jersey
September 5, 2010
2 Timothy 3:14-17
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I. Are there dead bugs in there?
A. He got the right lesson from it.
Jazz musician Kirk Whalum was scheduled to speak at Texas
Southern University.
He decided to add a little color to his talk by quoting
something from the Bible.
But as he pulled his dusty, unused Bible off the shelf, a
dead bug fell from its pages.
And deep in his heart, Whalum heard God speak to him.
The voice of God was telling him that he was spiritually just
as dead as that bug.
At that moment, Whalum committed himself to reviving his
spiritual life through Bible study and prayer.
I suspect some of us could have a dead bug fall out of our
Bibles.
I hope I'm wrong.
#24310
B. Baptists are "people of the Book."
1) Yesterday I was asked what the difference is between a
Baptist and a Catholic.
a) I mentioned we are less formal, and are sermons are
longer.
b) Then I said we focus on the Bible, and we believe you
must be born again - have a personal relationship
with Jesus Christ.
2) What we can know about Jesus, comes from the Bible.
a) And often we don't know all that much.
b) A college professor's sad discovery.
Trilby Salmon and I both graduated from Wheaton College.
It prides itself on being the top Christian college.
Yet those who attend there have gaps in their knowledge.
For several years, a Wheaton professor named Gary Burge
has given a Bible knowledge test to incoming freshmen.
His surveys show that students who have...
... attended Sunday School all their lives,
... have watched innumerable episodes of VeggieTales,
... and have listened to countless sermons,
cannot identify basic facts about the O.T.
#15570
3) The Apostle Paul knew the value of the Bible.
a) He knew it had to be defended from the false teachers.
b) He also knew it was the foundation of a successful
ministry, and a successful life.
c) It pays to heed his words!
II. The Bible must be learned from someone. 3:14
A. It was a normal part of Jewish life.
1) Religious instruction began in the home, from infancy.
a) In practical terms, it began at age 5.
b) This was the case for Timothy.
2) This is why Jews have been renowned for scholarship ever
since.
a) The intellectual discipline they applied to the Bible,
they have since applied to everything else.
B. No way around it, learning the Bible requires work.
1) Spend time reading it.
a) People don't read much anymore.
b) Interview with fledging Daily Record newspaper reporter
this week, on the Roxbury 9-11 service day.
1> I asked, "Will newspapers still be around when you
graduate?"
2> She chuckled nervously.
c) The Bible is a book, and books require reading.
1> If you want to put it in a CD player, or on your
I-phone, or on a Kindle, that's fine.
2> Just get the content.
2) Spend time studying it.
a) It is normal to have lots of questions about the Bible.
b) Read one that has notes, or have a commentary handy.
3) Spend time meditating on it, mulling it over.
a) Don't approach it as a school lesson.
b) We want to personally profit from what we read.
c) God will communicate to us through it.
III. The Bible is from God.
A. Christians have always believed the Bible was special.
1) It is not just a great piece of literature.
a) It is the very Word of God.
b) Jesus believed this, and all the other Bible writers.
2) The Bible is a book, but much more.
a) Studying up on the Book of Mormon this week.
1> Fantastic story of two Semitic immigrations to
America.
2> Second immigration was of Jews to Peru.
A> American Indians descend from them, they claim.
B> Genetic studies say this is baloney.
3> Many big claims, but no evidence.
A> Over 30 large cities mentioned, but none have
been found.
4> Interestingly, the three humans who witnessed the
golden plates were all kicked out of the Mormon
church.
b) Is the Bible in the same boat?
1> Much has been questioned about it.
A> Questions of history, science, anthropology.
2> Key parts have been established historically.
A> Most of the cities mentioned in the Bible have
been identified.
B> The customs and practices find support in what
we have discovered about other people in that
period.
3> Certainly questions remain.
A> Noah's ark has not been convincingly found.
B> Archaeologists in Egypt are still looking for
evidence of a Jewish presence and the Exodus.
c) Some aspects will never be proved one way or another.
1> But the Bible is consistent in what it presents.
2> It is a grand account of God's work to save humanity.
B. The Bible is "God-breathed." 3:16
1) Other ancient people longed to hear a word from heaven.
Outside of the town of Delphi there were cracks in the earth
that gave off fumes.
A goat herder discovered that when he entered one of the
chasms, he sensed a spiritual euphoria and could see
into the past and the future.
A shrine was erected at the site and a young virgin was
chosen to live there and communicate her visions to the
people.
However, the men began flirting with the virgins so they
were replaced by 50-year-old women.
Keep that focus on the message, guys!
Overcome by the fumes, the priestesses would speak the word
of God in low voices.
And usually what was spoken could be taken two ways, so you
couldn't blame them for what happened.
In 2001, archaeologists investigated the faults that run
near the temple and found they emitted noxious gases.
These gases could induce hallucinations.
#9353
2) The Bible is more complicated than this.
a) Some of it is visions people had.
b) Other parts are poetry, or sermons, or historical
accounts.
c) But Christians believe all of it originated with God.
IV. The Bible is useful. 3:16
A. Ministry or life?
1) Paul's advice focuses on the task that Timothy has ahead
of him.
2) But it also is applicable to anyone's life.
B. What the Bible can do for you.
1) It can teach you.
a) As I said before, the Christian faith has content.
b) The Bible is our source of information and inspiration.
2) It can show you where you are going wrong.
a) This is the meaning of "rebuking."
b) Some of our moral and spiritual choices are wrong and
we need to be aware of it.
3) It can show you how to do what is right.
a) This is the meaning of "correcting."
b) You might think of it as the positive side of rebuking.
c) Being a Christian is not just avoiding the bad stuff,
but actively choosing the good stuff.
4) It can show you how to follow God.
a) "Righteousness" is not just living right, but living
God's way.
b) We need to be trained in this, it doesn't come
naturally.
c) The end result is an effective Christian life.
V. The ultimate goal of the Bible. 3:15
A. The goal is not to memorize every detail.
1) A popular competition in Israel is a Bible trivia contest.
Some of the winners are actually atheists!
2) Paul says the message of the Bible is for our salvation.
a) John 20:31 - "These are written that you may believe
that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that
by believing you may have life in his name."
B. Do you believe this?
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SOURCES FOR ILLUSTRATIONS USED IN THIS SERMON:
# 9353 "Gassed For God," adapted from the Wikipedia.org article "Pythia"
by Rev. David Holwick.
#15570 "Veggie Tales Don't Hack It," Christine Wicker, God Knows My
Heart (New York: St. Martin's Press, 1999), p. 175. Quoted by
Rev. King Duncan, Dynamic Preaching: The Works +, Kerux sermon
#23153.
#24310 "Dead Bugs In Your Bible," John Beukema, Stories from God's
Heart (Chicago: Moody Press, 2000), 26-27. Rev. King Duncan,
Dynamic Preaching: The Works +, Kerux sermon #23153.
These and 35,000 others are part of the Kerux database that can be
downloaded, absolutely free, at http://www.holwick.com/database.html
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