Sermon text: 2 Timothy 3:14–17
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.
“But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.”
So writes St. Paul to young Timothy in our Epistle reading this morning. And so the Church says to you this morning: continue. Continue in what you have learned. Continue in the sacred writings.
Timothy had been acquainted with the sacred writings from childhood. From his grandmother Lois, from his mother Eunice, he had learned the Scriptures. And Paul says to him: continue in them. Do not move on from them. Do not graduate past them. Continue in them.
For these sacred writings “are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.” The Scriptures are not wise for many things. They will not make you wise for fixing your car, or for investing your money, or for winning an argument on the internet. But they will make you wise for the one thing that matters: salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.
“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”
All Scripture is breathed out by God. The Greek word is theopneustos: God-breathed. The Scriptures are not man’s word about God. They are God’s Word to man. They are breathed out by Him. And because they are breathed out by God, they are profitable — useful, beneficial — for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.
Teaching: the Scriptures teach us what we could never learn on our own. They teach us that we are sinners, that Christ died for our sins, that we are justified by faith apart from works. No man would ever invent such teaching. It comes only by revelation.
Reproof: the Scriptures reprove us. They show us our sin. They hold up the mirror of God’s Law and show us what we really are. And this is profitable — for unless we see our sin, we will never see our need for a Savior.
Correction: the Scriptures correct us. They set us straight when we go wrong. They call us back when we wander. They are the straight edge against which our crooked lives are measured and made straight.
Training in righteousness: the Scriptures train us. They form us. They shape us into the people God wants us to be. Like an athlete trains for the race, so the Christian trains in righteousness through the Word.
“That the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” The Scriptures do not leave us half-finished. They complete us. They equip us. They make us ready for every good work that God has prepared for us to walk in.
So continue. Continue in what you have learned. Continue in the sacred writings. Do not be moved. Do not be shaken. Do not be led astray by every wind of doctrine. Continue.
For the world will tell you to move on. The world will tell you that the Bible is outdated, that it is irrelevant, that it is a book for a bygone age. But Paul says: continue. The devil will tell you that you have outgrown the Scriptures, that you need something more, something new, something exciting. But Paul says: continue. Your own sinful flesh will tell you that the Word is boring, that it is repetitive, that you have heard it all before. But Paul says: continue.
Continue in the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. For in them you have Christ. In them you have forgiveness. In them you have life. In them you have everything you need.
May the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.