As a church family, we are making our way through a book of the Bible called 2 Timothy. This book is a letter written from a man named Paul to another man named Timothy. Paul was an important person in the early church. Timothy was called Paul’s “son in the faith”. This letter, which was Paul’s last letter before he died, was instruction and encouragement to Timothy. Timothy was helping the church in Ephesus – which was facing some hard times. In particular, there were false teachers – evil people – who were convincing people to follow them instead of Jesus. Today, we are going to read a part of this letter that makes a truth claim that is fundamental to Christianity. And the claim is this: God has spoken and God is speaking. Here is why that is important: We don’t have a distant and removed God. We have a God that is communicating to us.

The question then becomes “Are you listening?” We have to ask ourselves “Can I discern the voice of the Lord?” Opening Illustration: Speaking through the baby monitor. My oldest child just turned 15 this past week. On his birthday, I walked down memory lane with the photos on my computer. I came across this video of when he was just a few years old and he was holding his baby monitor like a cell phone. It brought me back to the days when I would look the video baby monitor to make sure each of my kids would go to sleep. There would be times, on occasion, where I would talk through the baby monitor and tell my kids to lay down and go to sleep. I remember for each one of them, the very first time I spoke to them through the baby monitor, they would immediately stop whatever they are doing and start looking around. They were trying to figure out where the voice was coming from and who’s voice it was. Do you know what happens after the 2^nd or 3^rd time I speak into the baby monitor? “Hi, Daddy!” They know their father’s voice. What we read today in the Bible is that God speaks today. Know His voice. And…Never stop listening to the unchanging God. 

We are looking at 4 verses from 2 Timothy today. Open your Bibles to 2 Timothy 3. We are going to read verses 14 through 17. Read with expectancy. Why? God’s Word is alive and powerful. This is God’s Word. And we are about to hear from God. Read 2 Timothy 3:14-17. Pray. I am going to start with the core of this passage and then we are going to work out from there. We are going to start with the first part of verse 16. Here is what we uncover in this verse: You can trust the Bible because it’s God’s Word to you. 

1) You can trust the Bible because it’s God’s Word to you. (vs. 16a) What the text says: Take a look at the first part of verse 16: ¹⁶ All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true… (and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.) What does it mean “all scripture is inspired by God?” If you were to go back to the Greek – which is the language the original manuscripts were in – you would see the word “theopneustos”. This word means “God breathed”. In the ESV translation, this verse reads “All Scripture is breathed out by God…” This means that every part of Scripture inspired and authored by God. God is the only source of the Bible. Everything we read comes from God. This verse doesn’t say, “All Scripture inspired by God is…” This verse says “All Scripture IS inspired by God!” “But Jess, I hear you say all the time when you preach that “Paul wrote” or “Paul writes”. Doesn’t that mean Paul is author? “You even said “Paul wrote this letter to Timothy”. “How is God the author?” The answer is this: God spoke through Paul. God spoke through many different people to record the 66 books in the Bible. God authored and a human recorded. God used human authors – human writers – to bring about His words. When God used humans to bring His words into humanity, God didn’t take away their brains. They didn’t become robots. God used their personalities – their perspective – their Sitz Im Leben (German term) – their situation in life. God used all of those pieces as part of His way in bringing forth His Word. God breathed His character into Scripture so that Scripture is inherently inspired. The Bible’s origin and distinctiveness are God Himself. Quote: “When you read [the Bible], you are not reading the self-taught compositions of poor imperfect men like yourself, but the words of the eternal God. When you hear it, you are not listening to the erring opinions of short-lived mortals, but to the unchanging mind of the King of kings. The men who were employed to indite the Bible, spoke not of themselves. They “[spoke] as they were [carried along] by the Holy Spirit.” … All other books in the world, however good and useful in their way, are more or less defective. The more you look at them the more you see their defects and blemishes. The Bible alone is absolutely perfect. From beginning to end it is “the Word of God.” -- J. C. Ryle. So, we can trust the Bible it is God’s Word.

I am going to go down a little bit deeper because when it comes to trusting the Bible, the question that comes up next is usually “How do we know what we are holding is what was actually written? Illustration: The manuscripts of the Bible (Taken from JD Greear[1]). I want to revisit something we talked about last year. The Bible we hold in our hands today is taken from copies or manuscripts of the original documents. For example, 2 Timothy, the book we are studying, was written on a piece of paper. Scribes would copy the original letter in order to preserve it. There was no saving in the cloud in the New Testament. Over time, paper would naturally deteriorate or would get destroyed. The only way to preserve books was to copy them. The Greek New Testament Manuscripts are close to 6,000 copies! Now, let me give you a point of comparison, the second most copied ancient manuscript is the Iliad – which has about 1,500 MSS. Here’s what that means: The greater number of manuscripts provide a greater accuracy of what was written in the original letter. There are critics out there that like to use the number of copies against the Bible. It’s inevitable that when someone copies something by hand, there are going to be typos. Now, I’m about to give you a lot of numbers, so lock in with me for a minute. There are some people who claim there are about 160,000 variations in what the Bible actually says. That number is misleading. To get to that number, you’d have to count every variation in every copy. That means if a single word is spelled incorrectly in 3,000 copies, they would count that as 3,000.  variations. If you reduce the duplicate counting, it brings the variations down to about 10,000. Of those 10,000 variants, all except 400 are spelling variations. Think Joe vs Jo. Of the 400 that are left that are not obvious typos or misspellings, all but 40 are sentence order that doesn’t matter. Jesus Christ our Lord vs Lord Jesus Christ. There are only 40 variations that change the sense of the passage. Now, think about that for a moment. Of all the variations, of all the copies, there are only 40. Guess how many of those 40 variations that have anything theological at stake? ZERO! 

You can trust the Bible! I heard the question recently, “Why didn’t God just give us one copy and make sure that one copy stayed intact?” Because it would be way easier for someone to believe that one copy was tampered with than to believe 6,000 copies were all tampered with! Without a doubt, the Bible is the truth, God’s truth. Now that we’ve laid the groundwork for the Bible as God’s true Word, what does that mean for your life? The Holy Spirit uses God’s Word for you to know what to do next.

[1] https://summitchurch.com/message/you-cant-really-trust-the-bible-2-peter-112-21

2) The Holy Spirit uses God’s Word for you to know what to do next. (vs. 16b -17) Let’s look at the rest of verse 16 and verse 17: ¹⁶ All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. ¹⁷ God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work. So far in our time in God’s Word, we’ve answered the question, “What is the Bible?” But these verses we just read answer a different question. I’d be really curious if I walked around Spring Hill and asked people “What is the Bible for?” My guess is that most people would answer “The Bible is for Christians.” Which is partially answering “Who is the Bible for?” But what about the “what?” “What is the Bible for?” It’s a two-part answer:

1) To teach us the way to salvation

2) To teach us how to live out our salvation

I like how the CSB translation puts these verses: ¹⁶ All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness, ¹⁷ so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. (CSB). Did you catch that? “So that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” God spoke His Word into existence so that you would not only know the way to Him, but also how to live this life. The Bible is totally sufficient to shape every part of you through the work of the Holy Spirit. I like how John Stott said it: Quote: “Scripture is the chief means which God employs to bring the servant of God to maturity.” Everything you need in order to learn to navigate this life is found in the Holy Spirit using God’s Word to transform you. It’s one thing to hear the Father’s voice. It’s another thing to let the Father’s voice change you. Illustration: Each child refused to stay in bed. I remember those early days when I would tell my kids through their baby monitors to go back to bed. The very first time, they would almost immediately obey. It was like their head couldn’t hit the bed fast enough. But what would happen? A few minutes later, they would pop their heads up and peak around. Then within a minute, they were right back up, jumping on the bed. The cycle would start over again. But I wouldn’t stop communicating to them. Why? Because I wanted them to learn to go bed. Why? Because I know they need sleep. I know how important it is for their growth. I know what’s best for them and their future. When we refuse to listen to God’s Word, we are just like an immature toddler who won’t go to bed. 

If you want to know what’s next in life, then live in God’s Word. For some of you, that means you need to learn the way salvation. You need to take heed of John 14:6. That Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. You need to believe in John 3:16. That God loves you so much – and He showed it by sending Jesus to die in your place. You need to see God gave you the Bible so that you can be saved from your sins. GOSPEL PRESENTATION For others, living in God’s Word means you start listening carefully. The Holy Spirit will take God’s Word, as you read it, and will transform you from the inside out. Quote: “Scripture, in the hands of the Holy Spirit, has the power to make us the kind of people who can discern and do the good that needs to be done.” – John Piper. Never stop listening to the unchanging mind of God. When you listen to God’s truth – when you let God’s truth transform you – God uses you in ways that you won’t know, think, or ask. I want to go back to verses 14 and 15 to look at the final piece of this passage: Your lasting impact is dependent on the passing of God’s Word.

3) Your lasting impact is dependent on the passing of God’s Word. (vs. 14-15) Let’s read verses 14 and 15 again: ¹⁴ But you must remain faithful to the things you have been taught. You know they are true, for you know you can trust those who taught you. ¹⁵ You have been taught the holy Scriptures from childhood, and they have given you the wisdom to receive the salvation that comes by trusting in Christ Jesus. What was a major part of why Timothy was being used by God in mighty ways? He had been taught the Scriptures. Who taught him? (2 Tim 1:5). ⁵ I remember your genuine faith, for you share the faith that first filled your grandmother Lois and your mother, Eunice. And I know that same faith continues strong in you. We know very little about Timothy’s mother and grandmother. But what do we know? They were filled with faith. They knew God’s Word. And their lasting impact was that they passed on God’s Word to Timothy. I think often about what I’m passing along to my kids. As I was walking down memory lane this week, I came across another video. I was the first time my son tried a lemon. Fully expecting him not to like the lemon, I made sure I recorded it on video. Illustration: Canon tries a lemon for the first time (show video) Just so you don’t think I’m some cruel dad, I have a ton of other videos that include cake, ice cream, and a lot of delicious foods. This just happened to be the one that popped up this week. The point is this: Whomever God has placed in your life is receiving something from you. The question is: “What are you passing along?” Is it lemons? Or is something so much more? My hope is that my kids will be able to look back and say, “Dad showed me Jesus.”

I know the only way I can possibly do that is by the Holy Spirit using God’s Word to transform me from the inside out. That means I can never stop listening to the unchanging God. I have to be consumed with God’s Word. The Bible is not simply a book to be studied, but a word to be encountered. The Bible is not something God did. The Bible is something God does. I’ll close with this…God has spoken. God still speaks. Do you know His voice? Are you letting His truth mold you and guide you? When the Holy Spirit uses God’s Word to transform you, God will take you places you never imagined. When the Holy Spirit uses God’s Word to transform you, God will do things in your life that you never imagined. When the Holy Spirit uses God’s Word to transform you, God will use your life to impact others more than you imagined. So, start listening and start dreaming! Let’s pray.

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