Turn now with me to Paul’s 2nd Letter to Timothy in Chapter 3

V10-17
Paul is in a Roman prison, and this is the last Letter he will write, he knows this and wants to ensure he passes on his ministry to someone he can trust, to faithfully carry on in the manner he has done so.
Paul begins by speaking of the ‘last days’
The Bible states, during the ‘last days’ there will be a time, when scoffers will be present who will mock God, saying He is ,dead, we can’t find him anywhere, and they will scoff at any talk of judgment or the return of our Lord’.
When the Bible mentions last days, as it does numerous times, it is referring to the days between the day of Pentecost and the time of our Lord’s return.
Many Bible scholars think we are in that period now, and they may well be right. The Bible lists terrible events which will come before the final end, and whilst these have in some way been seemingly applicable to past years, they seem to be most applicable now. When we look carefully at them, we can claim they are very much relating to our time.
In the first nine verses of Chapter 3, Paul talks of godlessness, describing the very conditions we find today; lovers of selves and money, unholy, children having no respect and disobedient. This is what happens when a nation turns its back on God. We live in an age of relativism, in which there are no absolutes, no basic morals, a case of if it feels right it is. They become lovers of themselves, and there is a moral collapse as the pursuit of money becomes so important.
In v10 Paul expresses his faith, purpose in life, endurance, love and patience. and living a godly life, and warns of impostors.
He then points out the suffering he endured, and Timothy must be prepared as every Christian must, to find he suffers be it mild or harder.
Paul must have felt saddened, to see a falling away from Church after it had made much progress. It is sad when people fall away, and once they do so find it hard to return, but is so easy to succumb, often to outside pressure.
Paul is telling Timothy to follow the teaching of the Apostles, which he means sound words, and not be led astray; still a good message for to-day, when the pressure is constantly to avoid being positive in keeping to Scripture. Sound words are those not distorted or weakened ones. It is so easy to be distracted and led astray.
A woman Bishop in America, once publicly stated that it was not necessary to believe in Jesus Christ to be accepted by God, for you cannot keep God in a box. I have no doubt there are others who would agree with her remarks, in both America and Britain. Paul likens this to James and Jambres, who opposed Moses, these two men opposed the truth and corrupted others in mind, disqualifying the faith.
Paul contrasts all that, with the way Timothy has been brought up with a love of Scripture, something children of several generations have been deprived of in the present ages. The Ten Commandments have become Ten Suggestions, or pick any four from ten. We have raised a generation, who are unaware of even the most basic beliefs. A majority do not even understand the true meaning of Easter and Christmas.

 

It is a disturbing situation, where all the traditional manners are not practiced, because few know what they were. Children are denied the basic details of the Bible or its characters, and Jesus is just a word they hear adults use when they swear.

Many of us here to-day, grew up in a totally different culture. We may not have had all the wonderful technological aids and comforts that now are available, but we benefited in other ways. Like Timothy we were taught about the Bible at home, and went to Sunday school as youngsters, learning the stories about Jesus, which gave us standards and values and a good foundation for life.
We had morning assemblies in all schools, now largely avoided in (state) schools. This may not have been widely followed up in life, but the basics had been laid, and our lives were directed by Christian values. Children are now denied these foundations, and are growing up without knowing the country’s religious faith and heritage.
In v14/5, he refers to the teaching Timothy had, having been brought up in the faith by his mother and grandmother,( and also had been taught much by Paul, and in fact Peter had helped a little, so he had the two Apostles who wrote much of the new testament.) Now Timothy had the wisdom to receive salvation, by trusting in Jesus Christ, the only way to God.

In v16 we come to an important verse when Paul reminds him that ALL Scripture is inspired by God, and tells what is right and true, so we can recognize wrong way.
In v17 God prepares his people to do good work. This will mean Timothy to be fully equipped for his ministry, when he has to correct people who are not speaking the truth, rebuke those who mislead, and encourage with patience those who are learning the gospel.
We are told God inspired and guided forty men, using their different characters and occupations, to write the Scriptures which would be His message to the world. We can reasonably presume that if God gave us these words, He would not have done so just to fill pages, but meant us to take note of all that was given. God wants us to understand and know Him, and the only way we can do that is by Him telling us, which He does in this book. He tells, we listen and obey him.
There are 66 books in the Bible, 39 of which are in the Old Testament and 27 in the New, written by 40 men, all but one being Jewish. God used their individual personalities and occupations, to communicate His words, and none of them would claim it was any thoughts of their own. Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Amos, all state they did not feel worthy, but God laid a burden on them. This was done over many years, without any collusion, they did not meet each other, yet there is no contradiction in writings.
The Bible is given to teach us and guide us in the way God wants us to live. It is the supreme authority for the Church containing the very words of God and does not need any amendments.
This is a very stressful world in which we live. This is a post Christian age, when most people under the age of 40 have little if any knowledge of the Christian faith or Church. It may have been written by men, but these men were inspired by God, to give us the message that God wished us tohave. We are therefore enabled to live according to God’s teaching.
The important word is, ALL. Once you start discounting parts you challenge the whole credibility and authority of the Bible. When we fully understand God’s Word, we are more able to inform others.
I don’t think even Church members, give the Bible the attention one would expect. I know there are many whose sole connection with it is in the Sunday service. But even then, is mainly a case of listening to it being read.
In evangelical Churches, it has been the practice of having Bibles in the pews, or at least available, so that members can follow the readings, and I always found it helped to follow the sermon, (when the sermon is Bible based that is.) I went to take a service at one Church where there wasn’t even a Bible to read the lessons from, and someone had to go out and borrow one.
I am very impressed by some Churches I have seen in the United States, which have large congregations. When the Pastor announces the Bible reading, the whole congregation turn to their own Bibles; this is revealed when the cameras show all different Bibles; such is the attention paid by the people, they are making notes of the sermon. This was once common in our Churches, but after many years in ministry, I never saw it happen.
There is a basic question we should all ponder. Why do we come to Church? There are many answers, but the real purpose should be to worship God with reverence and awe; to learn about God and how He would want us to live.
In order to do this, we need to know our Bibles and be prepared to accept what is taught there. I know this will not be acceptable to some people within the Church, for it may condemn the way they are conducting their lives.
The Bible has to be the supreme authority of the Church. I heard a Vicar state in her sermon that we should not take the Bible literally, and there are other Ministers who will say the same. You should question them as to why not.

 

May God’s Holy Name be praised and He be Glorified