“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.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17 ESV
Much is lost to Christians due to the inability to understand two things: Scripture and prayer. To know one is to know the other and the two can’t be separated, nor played over against each other.
On the one hand, Scripture, is God talking to us. On the other, prayer, we’re talking to Him. This is a simplification, of course, but it suffices as our foundation for Christian living. The connection is this: the more one knows of God, the more He is loved. To know Him is to love Him. And the more one knows Him truly, through His self-revelation in Scripture, illuminating the darkness of human existence without Him, the more one will pray to Him.
To adore God is to live a God-saturated life. Every moment is recognized as His moment, ordained before the creation of the world to bring us into fellowship with Him. The heavens declare the glory of God. The day pours forth speech (Psalm 19:1-7) and the evening hours, their breezes and cool air all bring us, Scripture says, word of His divine nature and eternal power. The God who saves us, who loves us, and directs our every step, is the One who hung the stars and laid down the foundations of the earth, tossing great mountain ranges at the sound of His holy voice. The power of God, and His splendor, are clearly seen by the eye and we’re told about His divine character in His holy Word. So, indeed, to know His word is to learn about His character and then a man or woman, or boy or girl, are compelled to adore Him at every turn.
A bubbling stream, the fall colors, a winding country road with the windows down…all of it is an inestimable grace that speaks to us, breaks our heart with beauty, and we pray in and through it all because He loves us.
It’s important to understand that we’re saved by a God who pours His love into our hearts (Romans 5:5). We’re given the Holy Spirit who is so intimate with us that He literally intercedes for us with the Father (Romans 8:26). And not just in a perfunctory way as though the Spirit is some kind of cosmic court appointed attorney. No. He helps us with “groanings too deep for words!” In other words, He’s (the Holy Spirit of God) intimately and emotionally invested in us. Let this fact of the faith settle your heart. A terrible misconception about God is that He would ever crush those for whom the Son died. The discipline of the saints is in love, always in love, never, as it were, in wrath. There is no condemnation for us who are in the faith (Romans 8:1). The perseverance of the saints is the promise of the Lord (John 6:37-40).
The God who saves us through no merit of our own isn’t going to change His mind or be discouraged if we’re in a rut. From faith, for faith…the righteous by faith shall live (Romans 1:17).
Let Scripture interpret Scripture, for this is the only sound philosophy of life. No one can see God unless they’re perfect, without sin. Righteousness is a free gift of grace by God the Father who brings His children to the Son through the Spirit (John 6:44). The Lord declares that all who keep His word, living in faith, will never see the great judgment of death (John 8:51). Why? Because of their personal efforts? Talents? Works?
Nonsense.
For all have sinned.
Your pastor. Your mother. The best amongst us. All of us. All of us deserve death because sin’s penalty is death (Genesis 2:17).
Donald Grey Barnhouse once related that sinners, who have convinced themselves that they’re free, and embrace various forms of self-righteous false religions, are in fact hemmed in. On either side along their path are great walls that are unscalable. No man may find another path. All roads lead to Jesus Christ and judgment. The Christian is the one who’s been led to Calvary by faith, to accept the sacrifice of the Son on his/her behalf. Righteousness is, therefore, a gift. A life altering one, and a life-saving one. The unsaved will go too…in defiance and hatred of God.
And they’ll be broken because of their refusal of God’s love. They who reject mercy and insist on being god will be met with the consequences of their self-worship. They demand justice, not mercy; they demand a showdown and a clash; they demand that God acquiesce to them. All of life for the sinner is a challenge to the Most High. Sin is the declaration of the creature against the Creator.
But the righteous ones are made so as a gift (Romans 3:23-25).
None may boast because pride is the killer (Romans 3:27).
“Indeed, all who delight in pursuing righteousness and are determined to live godly lives in Christ Jesus will be hunted and persecuted [because of their faith]. But evil men and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.”
The logical necessity of persecution of the Christian is because in a sin-sick world that’s at war with the Creator, the lie must be maintained. The world of sin is the world of make-believe; it’s the fantasy of a creation without the Creator; it’s the con that the world of truth and beauty exists by chance.
Sin demands silence from God but Christians are walking-talking testimony of the Master’s plan and presence. In us, those saved by grace, He makes His appeal to a lost and rebellious people. Evil men and imposters demand silence. They want a heaven, yes…but one without God, so they try and make heaven out of earth and in turn make a hell. Marx wrote that “communism begins where atheism starts.” Lenin said that “hatred is the basis of communism.” But love is the basis of Christianity because God’s love is poured into our hearts and we learn of this love, are nurtured in it, live, work, and play in it. All is love for the Christian because he/she has peace with God. The utopias of Marx and Lenin, the big ones of communism and despair, as well as the small ones that exist in the citadel of every fallen heart, are big and small Babylons. A Christians very existence is evidence that the King is coming and Babylon will fall. Is it any wonder, then, that there’s persecution and trouble?
A sinful world at war with God will invariably make war on His people.
“But as for you, continue in the things that you have learned and of which you are convinced [holding tightly to the truths], knowing from whom you learned them, and how from childhood you have known the sacred writings (Hebrew Scriptures) which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus [surrendering your entire self to Him and having absolute confidence in His wisdom, power and goodness].”
The confidence and calm of the Christian in the face of life’s struggles and the persecutions is the knowledge of God. Scripture makes us wise to what’s really happening. It allows us to make sense of this world. It shows us that peace and joy without righteousness is impossible. It shows us that enmity and strife are due to sin and that only righteousness will bring real peace and that righteousness is only possible through faith!
Let’s not forget this. It’s possible to talk about trees all day and never mention the forest. This is what’s done when we speak of virtues and morals all day but not the gospel. Nothing man can do, no height he can attain, no bridge he can build, will bring him to God. Only faith and only Christ…and only the Scriptures teach us this. Faith isn’t a feeling. It’s the power of God for righteousness (Romans 1:16). The gospel, in its true power and simple telling, is the law of faith which shows the righteousness of God in that He is both just and justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus (Romans 3:26). All disastrous reroutes and detours of antinomianism and legalism are avoided by our comprehending Romans 3:31 and the plain fact that Christ is the end of law for everyone who believes (Romans 10:4).
All Scripture is God-breathed [given by divine inspiration] and is profitable for instruction, for conviction [of sin], for correction [of error and restoration to obedience], for training in righteousness [learning to live in conformity to God’s will, both publicly and privately—behaving honorably with personal integrity and moral courage]; so that the man of God may be complete and proficient, outfitted and thoroughly equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:12–17 AMP
Scripture is God-breathed in that it conveys the majesty of His eternal plan and love for those in Christ. As far as the east is from the west, so far has He put our sins away (Psalm 103:12).
The greatest thing in the universe is God’s love. 1 Corinthians 13, that epic chapter, contains, oddly for Paul, not one specific mention of God’s name and yet it does. It’s the love chapter, after all, and God is love. To be profitable for instruction it must be understood to say what it really says, which is that man has fallen. It speaks of grand things: of creation, fall, redemption, and glory. To instruct, therefore, is to understand what the Bible says about sin and righteousness and faith. The gospel is about God’s love and His righteousness. The paradox of the cross shows it all…His mercy and love, His moral perfection, His hatred of sin, and His amazing wisdom (1 Corinthians 1:20). To speak of God’s love toward sinners is only possible in light of the cross…in grace. To speak of it in any way that ignores sin is delusional. But to speak of righteousness outside of faith is dead legalism and the height of folly.
Recent Comments