Last time, we focused on the first phrase of verse 16, “All Scripture is God-breathed,” as we thought about how the Bible is inspired. We talked about how our Bible came to us as they are today and how the early church determined which writings were to be considered inspired by God and which ones are not by putting them to the Apostolic test: Is the testimony tied to the Apostles? Is the testimony endorsed by the Apostles? And Does the testimony reflect the message of the Apostles?
Today, I want us to look at the rest of verse 16 as we think together about how the Bible is useful. (READ TEXT) Paul tells us that All Scripture is useful for four things: Teaching, Rebuking, Correcting, and Training. The objective of these four uses of God’s Word is so that we might walk in righteousness. Being righteous refers to the state of being and doing right. Of course, this righteousness spoken of here has to do with our walk with God. So, Scripture is given to us to enable us to be right with God and do right for God.
“Guide my steps by your word.” - Psalm 119:133 (NLT)
“Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path.” - Psalm 119:105 (NLT)
So how does God’s Word work in our lives to keep us walking on the path of being right with God and doing right for God?
1. Teaching us what the path of righteousness is.
“Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” - Romans 12:2 (NLT)
Our work through the Christian Women’s Job Corp is based quite a bit upon research done by Dr. Ruby Payne and her research as published in the book, A Framework for Understanding Poverty. In that work, she speaks about the different way various
socio-economic classes think of things, and contends that if a person if going to move from one level to the next, they will need to learn how to think as a person in that social strata and have a mentor to coach and encourage them in moving from one
socio-economic level to the other.
Likewise, if we are going to learn how to live like Jesus - to be right with God and do right for God - we need to unlearn some of our ways of looking at things we developed as an unbeliever. That’s where the Word of God comes in. We also need mentors to coach and encourage us in the process. This is where the church comes in.
“The believers spent their time listening to the teaching of the apostles. They shared everything with each other. They ate together and prayed together.” - Acts 2:42 (Easy to Read)
Where do we find the teaching of the Apostles? In the Bible! How is it best for us to learn and apply the teaching of the Apostles? With other believers! Verse 46 of Acts 2 tells us the early church met to consider the teaching of the Apostles in both a large group setting (temple courts) and a small group setting (homes). This is the biblical pattern for believer gatherings.
In a large group, through preaching and teaching of God’s Word, we are helped with information and inspiration. In small group, through study and discussion of God’s Word, we are helped with application and transformation.
Isaiah 40:31 speaks of “soaring with wings as eagles.” Notice, if we are going to soar, we need two wings. I would suggest to you that those two wings are meeting with God’s people to consider God’s Word in both a large group and a small group. You can’t fly very high with only one wing.
2. Rebuking us when we get off the right path.
“For the word of God is living and active and full of power [making it operative, energizing, and effective]. It is sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating as far as the division of the soul and spirit [the completeness of a person], and of both joints and marrow [the
deepest parts of our nature], exposing and judging the very thoughts and intentions of the heart.” - Hebrews 4:12 (Amplified)
The word in Greek for “sword” could be translated “scalpel,” referring to the tool used by a surgeon to remove diseased parts from our bodies in the effort to bring us to healing and health. God uses His Word to get to the depth of our being and cull out those thoughts, those sins, those vices, those attitudes that we would be better off without. That same word also is used in the Bible to refer to the knife used by the priests to slit the throats of the sacrificial lambs. In other words, the Bible helps us to obey Romans 12:1:
“So I beg you, brothers and sisters, because of the great mercy God has shown us, offer your lives as a living sacrifice to him - an
offering that is only for God and pleasing to him. Considering what he has done, it is only right that you should worship him in this way.” - Romans 12:1 (Easy to Read)
One of the surest signs that a believer is getting off on a wrong path is that they avoid meeting with God’s people for the preaching and study of God’s Word. As someone once said, “Church members are like car engines, they start missing before they quit.”
“The Bible will keep you from sin, or sin will keep you from the Bible.” - Dwight L. Moody
Which is why we need to stay in the book!
3. Correcting us by showing how to get back on the right path.
“Correcting” comes from the Greek word for “straight,” which the New Living Translation helpfully renders, “It straightens us out.” God’s Word is useful in a practical way. Those who accept its reproof will begin to find their lives straightening out.
It’s been said that God loves us just as we are, but He loves us too much to leave us that way. This is why He gave us His Word. Through use of His Word, we not only are rebuked when we get off the right path, but we are directed as to how to get back on the right path again.
I am sure you have heard the old saying, “The quickest path between two points is a straight line.” God wants us to get where we need to go in life. Whether that is building a godly marriage, raising godly kids, growing up spiritually, living a life of purpose, the Lord wants to get us there. Just like any trip, the quickest way is the most direct path from point A to point B. So it is with life.
A crooked path, on the other hand, is filled with twist and turns that can cause us to end up in a ditch. If that should happen I am glad that God is there to help pull us out if we are ready to turn things back around.
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” - Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV)
But notice how this promise is tied to God’s Word:
A. We can’t “trust in the Lord with all our heart” if we don’t believe God’s Word is true. The Hebrews thought with their “heart” and felt with their “gut.” So we are being told here that we must trust our thoughts over to God - we need to renew our thinking according to His truth; and Jesus said, “Your Word is truth” (John 17:17).
B. To not lean on our understanding requires that we look to God for understanding; understanding provided through His Word.
C. We can’t submit to God in all our ways and not obey His Word.
It is impossible to claim this promise and ignore God’s Word. Only through use of God’s Word can our lives be straightened out.
4. Training us in how to stay on the right path.
Once we’re back on the right path, the Bible tells us how to stay there and make further progress. “Training” literally refers to the training a parent gives their child to help them mature and know how to function in life. Even so, through His Word, God teaches us how to deal with all of life - the good and bad; those times when we can rejoice, and those times when we are sorrowful; when things go our way and when they don’t; how we need to act and how we need to react. God wants to take us from being babies to being grown up; from milk to meat. But we can’t mature if we ignore our Bibles.
“You have been believers so long now that you ought to be teaching others. Instead, you need someone to teach you again the basic things about God’s word. You are like babies who need milk and cannot eat solid food. For someone who lives on milk is still an infant and doesn’t know how to do what is right. Solid food is for those who are mature, who through training have the skill to recognize the
difference between right and wrong.” - Hebrews 5:12-14 (NLT)
Sadly, this description fits too many believers today. Why? Because if we ignore God’s Word, we won’t move from “milk” to “meat”; and we will not know how to live our lives being right with God and doing right for God. We must get into the Word and get the Word into us.
“The Word of God well understood and religiously obeyed is the shortest route to spiritual perfection. And we must not select a few favorite passages to the exclusion of others. Nothing less than a whole Bible can make a whole Christian.” - A. W. Tozer
Conclusion: Let’s get serious about studying God’s Word and sharing God’s Word!
