True Value: Biblical Preaching and Teaching
Text: 2 Tim. 3:16-17; 2 Tim. 4:1-4
Introduction
1. The second core value has to do with our source for faith and doctrine: the Bible.
2. Illustration: The Department of Social Services in Greenville County, South Carolina sent the following letter to a deceased individual. "Your food stamps will be stopped effective March, 1992, because we received notice that you passed away. May God bless you. You may reapply if there is a change in your circumstances."
3. Know this is what we call ineffective communication. However, we never have to worry about ineffective communication with the Word of God.
4. We value Biblical preaching and teaching because:
a. It comes from God
b. It is useful
c. It keeps us grounded
5. Read 2 Tim. 3:16-17
Proposition: We value Biblical preaching and teaching because it is God’s instruction manual for His Church.
Transition: There are two reasons for this. First, because...
I. All Scripture Comes From God (2 Tim. 3:16)
A. Breathed Out By God
1. Verses 16 – 17 are the strongest statement in the Bible about itself. - (Liefeld, NIV Application Commentary, New Testament: 1 & 2 Timothy, Titus,279).
2. Paul says that "All Scripture is inspired by God..." First we must see that he says "all Scripture."
a. That means that everything from Genesis to Revelation.
b. I loose patience with those who says "well it’s not in the NT so it doesn’t count!"
c. My Bible says that "all Scripture" is useful.
d. You cannot pick and choose what you want to believe. You must accept all of it, or none of it.
3. Second, we must notice that Paul says "All Scripture is inspired by God..."
a. That means that we didn’t think it up, dream it up, or make it up.
b. It was given by God to man.
c. 2 Peter 1:20-21 (NLT)
Above all, you must realize that no prophecy in Scripture ever came from the prophet’s own understanding, or from human initiative. No, those prophets were moved by the Holy Spirit, and they spoke from God.
4. This leads us to the third thing that we must notice "All Scripture is inspired by God..."
a. What does that mean?
b. The idea is that God breathed out the Scripture or God produced the Scripture somewhat like He did creation.—(Practical Word Studies in the New Testament)
c. Psalm 33:6 (NLT)
The Lord merely spoke, and the heavens were created. He breathed the word, and all the stars were born.
d. The thought conveyed is that the writings under consideration are ‘the product of the creative breath of God’ - (New International Bible Commentary, Pradis CD-ROM)
B. Without Error
1. Illustration: I have always believed in the inspiration of the Holy Scriptures, whereby they have become the expression to man of the Word and Will of God. Warren G. Harding
2. Why is it so important that we understand that the Word of God is inspired?
a. If they came from man, they would be tainted.
b. If they came from man, they would be filled with error.
c. If they came from man, they would be unreliable.
3. However, because the Scriptures come from God we know that...
a. They are without error
b. They are life changing
c. They are powerful
4. Because the Scriptures come from God we can...
a. Stand on them
b. Trust in them
c. Cling to them
5. Because the Scriptures come from God they...
a. Are what they say they are
b. They will do what they say they’ll do
c. Matthew 24:35 (NLT)
Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words will never disappear.
Transition: Because the Word is inspired, we also know that...
II. All Scripture is Useful
A. Useful
1. Paul tells us that because the Scriptures are inspired they are useful.
a. The word useful means valuable, beneficial, and helpful.
b. Simply stated, the Bible is for mankind; God gave it to help us.
2. The point Paul appears to be making is that Timothy, confident of Scripture’s inspired nature, can rely upon it to be ‘useful’. - (New International Bible Commentary, Pradis CD-ROM)
3. Illustration: We are apt to think that everything that happens to us is to be turned into useful teaching; it is to be turned into something better than teaching, that is, into character. We shall find that the spheres God brings us into are not meant to teach us something but to make us something. (Oswald Chambers, “Daily Thoughts for Disciples,” January 18th )
4. The word of God is useful for everything and situation in life.
a. Any situation you are faced with in life you will find addressed in one sense or another in the Bible.
b. Any question that you need answered you will find answered in the Bible.
c. If you need it, the Bible talks about it.
B. Teaching Us
1. Paul says that Scripture is "useful to teach us what is true..."
2. The content and teaching of truth, must flow from and be consistent with Scripture.
3. By calling the Bible "inspired" Paul was identifying its divine source; by making it the source of teaching, he was reminding Timothy of its authority.
4. Teaching that contradicted biblical standards was to be rejected, corrected, or replaced by accurate teaching.
5. God wants man to know beyond doubt who God is; who man is; and the beginning, meaning, and end of all things.
a. The Scripture reveals the truth—the nature, meaning, and significance of truth.
b. The Bible gives man the principles and rules for life. It gives him the teachings and foundations of life.
6. From time to time I have had people say to me "Well, I don’t believe in doctrine. I just believe in Jesus!"
a. If you don’t believe in doctrine, then you don’t believe in Jesus, because the fact that Jesus is the Son of God is a doctrine.
b. If you don’t believe in doctrine, then you don’t believe Jesus died for your sins, because that is a doctrine.
c. If you don’t believe in doctrine, then you don’t believe He rose from the dead, because that is a doctrine.
d. If you don’t believe any of those things then you’re not saved, and that is a doctrine.
7. It is important to know and understand doctrine because we not only need to know what we believe, but why we believe it.
C. Helps Us Realize What Is Wrong
1. The Bible is useful to "make us realize what is wrong in our lives."
2. God wants man to sense conviction and to be rebuked when he is disobedient to God’s will.
3. The Scripture reveals God’s will and the consequences of disobedience to His will.
4. The initial impact of true teaching involves the confrontation of false teaching and understanding.
5. Studying the Bible should bring conviction to us. In fact, that is the way you can test whether the Word of God is moving in your life.
a. Heb. 4:12 For the word of God is full of living power. It is sharper that the sharpest knife, cutting deep into our innermost thoughts and desires. It exposes us for what we really are (NLT, 1st edition).
b. If you read this Book like any other book, then the Spirit of God is not moving in your life.
c. But if it convicts you, then you know the Holy Spirit is at work within you.
d. Reading the Bible is like looking at your soul in a mirror. It shows you what you are really like.
D. It Corrects Us
1. Illustration: The cartoon character Popeye is famous for eating spinach. Whenever he breaks open a can of spinach and eats it he gains enormous strength. Popeye was employed by the US Government during World War 2 to promote the idea of eating spinach. Meat was a rarity during war, but spinach appeared to be a great substitute. In the 1890’s German scientists had shown that spinach contains the same amount of iron as meat. And iron of course is one of the essential vitamins in building strength.
But the facts are wrong. The German researchers did prove that spinach contains iron, but when they wrote down their results they put the decimal point in the wrong place. They overestimated the amount of iron in spinach by a factor of 10! Unfortunately, the correction didn’t get across the ocean until after WW2.
2. It is useful to "correct us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right."
3. God wants man to be set right when he is wrong.
4. In the area of correction, the Scriptures have two roles:
a. (1) they provide a complete presentation of the teaching, where only part of the truth has been present; and
b. (2) they provide for a right understanding and application where true doctrine may have been taught but has not taken effect.
5. Ps. 119:9 How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word.
E. Prepares and Equips Us
1. Illustration: It seems that even the obvious things in life can’t be taken for granted:
After a woman sued McDonalds because she wasn’t warned her coffee was hot, companies are changing their instruction manuals and product warning labels to cover themselves from liability. Listen to a few of these:
On a particular brand of soap- Directions: Use like regular soap
On a frozen dinner - Suggestion: Defrost before eating
A Christmas pudding - Product will be hot after heating
On a string of Christmas lights- For indoor or outdoor use only
A packet of peanuts warning - May contain traces of peanuts;
On a chain saw- Do not stop chain with hand
On a motorcycle helmet mounted mirror - Remember, objects in the mirror are actually behind you;
2. Aren’t you glad that God’s instruction are crystal clear?
3. Paul says of Scripture, "God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work."
4. God wants man to know the right things to do, to think and to say.
5. The Bible reveals how "We should live in this evil world with wisdom, righteousness, and devotion to God (Titus 2:12).
6. The Bible is not purely a record of the past--the history of the Jews and then of the church.
a. Rather, every story, every prophecy, every teaching, every admonition, and every command points beyond to the author, God, who came to us in Jesus Christ.
b. God confronts us in the pages of his Word--telling us how much he loves us, how we can become his children, and how we should live to please him.
Transition: We also value Biblical preaching and teaching because...
III. All Scripture Keeps Us Grounded (2 Tim. 4:1-4)
A. Preach The Word
1. When we consider what Paul says to his young protégé, Timothy, in this letter, there are a few things we must keep in mind.
a. He is in prison and knows that soon he will be killed for the sake of the gospel.
b. This fact makes what he is about to say extremely important.
c. He wants to be sure that Timothy is aware of what is expected of him in his ministry.
2. He says to Timothy, "I solemnly urge you in the presence of God and Christ Jesus, who will someday judge the living and the dead when he appears to set up his Kingdom:"
a. The phrase solemnly urge, means "to make a serious declaration on the basis of presumed personal knowledge - ’to declare, to assert, to testify" (Louw and Nidda, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Symantic Domains).
b. What he is telling his young friend is that this is what you must do.
c. To intensify just how serious this is, Paul adds divine authority to this command God the Father, the Lord Jesus, and judgement into the picture.
d. What he is saying is "God will judge you by what you do with this command."
3. This is his command, "Preach the word of God."
a. The preacher is not to air his own opinions but to proclaim God’s eternal, authoritative Word of truth (Expositor’s Bible Commentary, The, Pradis CD-ROM).
b. We don’t need more opinions or unsubstantiated theories; what we need is the truth - God’s truth.
c. The word suggests vigorous proclamation! Paul wanted Timothy to be bold and passionate (Life Application New Testament Commentary).
4. So important was this task for Timothy the he was to "Be prepared, whether the time is favorable or not."
a. This is a difficult task in our day and age, because essentially people don’t want to hear the truth.
b. The world doesn’t want to hear the truth. People in the world today have bought into the lie that truth is relative. The truth is whatever you think it is.
c. Unfortunately, too many in the church don’t want to hear the truth. That’s why so many float from church to church. This preacher didn’t say what I want to hear so I’ll go find someone who will.
5. In addition, Paul tells Timothy to "Patiently correct, rebuke, and encourage your people with good teaching."
a. Good preaching does more than entertain or excite people. It should teach them the truths of God’s Word.
b. It should correct them when they are wrong, rebuke or warn them when they are not right with God, and encourage them when they are down.
c. Timothy has before him the incredible responsibility of shepherding God’s people, and this is a responsibility that he must not take lightly.
6. Why does Paul tell Timothy this is so important. Because "a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear. They will reject the truth and chase after myths."
a. Sound doctrine will be rejected, its demands being too great.
b. Instead, men with itching ears, desiring merely to be entertained, will gather around them a great number of teachers who will tell them only what they want to hear.
c. The truth will still be taught, but they will turn their ears away from it, preferring to turn aside to myths (Fee, New International Bible Commentary, Pradis CD-ROM).
d. There is no doubt that Paul had in mind a time in Timothy’s lifetime, but we can also see that what he told him is true today.
e. All the more reason to "Preach the Word!"
B. God’s Opinion
1. Illustration: John Wesley used to ask his young men whom he had sent out to preach on probation two questions: "Has any one been converted?" and "Did any one get mad?" If the answer was "No," he told them he did not think the Lord had called them to preach the Gospel, and sent them about their business. When the Holy Ghost convicts of sin, people are either converted or they don’t like it, and get mad.
2. Expository preaching is a form of preaching that expounds upon the meaning of a particular text or passage of Scripture.
a. The practice probably originated from the Jewish tradition of the rabbi giving a "Dvar Torah", explaining a passage from the Torah, during the prayer services.
b. It explains the text.
c. In expository preaching, the preacher doesn’t decide upon a topic and then flip through a concordance to find Scriptures that support what he wants to say, but rather the point and sub points of the sermon are determined by what the text says.
3. Expository preaching causes us to grow spiritually because it forces us to deal with God’s word.
a. Ps 119:130 — The teaching of your word gives light, so even the simple can understand.
b. God’s word reaches down to the very depth of our souls.
c. God’s word is lamp to our feet and a light to our path.
d. God’s word exposes our sins, wrong attitudes, and improper motives.
4. Expository preaching causes us to grow spiritually because it is based upon what God says.
a. You don’t need my opinion; you need God’s.
b. You don’t need my thoughts; you need God’s.
c. You don’t need my words; you need God’s.
5. Expository preaching causes us to grow spiritually because it installs in us a hunger for God’s word.
a. Matthew 4:4 (NLT)
But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say, ‘People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
b. It feeds us spiritually not with opinion and fluff, but with the word of the living God.
c. It gives us spiritual nourishment by reminding us of the promises of God.
d. It focuses our attention off our selves and onto God.
Transition: When we come face to face with the living word of God, it transforms us to be more like Him.
Conclusion
1. The Bible is the most effective book you will ever read because:
a. It is given and inspired by God
b. It is useful to teach us right from wrong
c. It keep us grounded
2. Just listening to preaching and teaching is not enough. In order to see the effectiveness of the Word in our own lives we must do four things:
a. Read it
b. Study it
c. Believe it
d. Apply it
3. What are you doing with the Word?
