Bible Study Class 104 - 2 Timothy Chapter 3: Apostasy & Bad People; Stay Steadfast In The Word of God

Posted : 2 May, 2011 07:20 PM

Bible Study Class 104 - 2 Timothy Chapter 3: Apostasy & Bad People; Stay Steadfast In The Word of God by David Guzik

All Verses can be found in your Bible

A. Perilous times mean that discernment matters.

1. (Verse 1) Perilous times in the last days.

But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come:

a. Perilous has the idea of troubles, difficulty, stressful situations; this sort of atmosphere will mark the last days.

b. What are the last days? The term describes the time immediately preceding the return of Jesus and the consummation of all things.

i. The characteristics Paul will describe speak not of bad times, but of bad people. "We should note what the hardness or danger of this time is in Paul's view to be, not war, not famine or diseases, nor any of the other calamities or ills that befall the body, but the wicked and depraved ways of men." (Calvin)

c. Though many dismiss the idea as frivolous, we should be able to discern when the last days are, or at least when world conditions are like the Bible described they would be in the last days.

i. In Matthew 16:1-4, Jesus rebuked the religious leaders of His day, because they did not, or would not, understand the meaning of their times: Hypocrites! You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times. (Matthew 16:3) Would Jesus have the same rebuke for many Christians today - who are unaware of the last days and the soon return of Jesus Christ?

2. (Verses 2-5) A description of the human condition in the last days.

For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!

a. Men will be lovers of themselves: If there is ever an age when men and women are encouraged to love themselves, we live in that age. People are told to love themselves no matter what their conduct is, with the hope that loving themselves will make their conduct better - the only problem is that it doesn't!

i. The idea that people who feel bad about themselves do bad things while people who feel good about themselves do good things is completely false.

ii. We don't need to be encouraged to love ourselves; we naturally have such a love. Neither should we be taught to hate ourselves, but as Paul said in Romans 12:3: For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. We must see ourselves as we really are - both the bad of what we are in the flesh and the glory of what we are in Jesus Christ.

iii. Ask yourself: Are men lovers of themselves today? Is this an indication that we may be in the last days?

iv. This love of self is the foundation for all the depravity that follows in Paul's description: "But readers should note that lovers of themselves, which comes first, can be regarded as the source from which all the others that follow spring." (Calvin) "It is no accident that the first of these qualities will be a life that is centred in self. The adjective used is philautos, which means self-loving. Love of self is the basic sin, from with all others flow. The moment a man makes his own will the centre of life, divine and human relationships are destroyed, obedience to God and charity to men both become impossible. The essence of Christianity is not the enthronement but the obliteration of self." (Barclay) "'Lovers of self' aptly heads the list since it is the essence of all sin and the root from which all the other characteristics spring. The word is literally 'self-lovers' and points to the fact that the center of gravity of the natural man is self rather than God." (Hiebert)

b. Men will be . . . lovers of money: The love of money is nothing new, but today we have the ability to pursue our love of money like never before.

i. Brenda Blackman is enjoying some measure of success as she teaches a course called How To Marry Money. The course attempts to show men and women to marry rich, and costs $39 a head. In the course, Blackman offers helpful hints, such as how to search through your prospective mate's checkbooks, study their deposits and assess their income levels. She builds her student's confidence by leading them in a chant several times through the lecture: "I want to be rich! I deserve to be rich! I am rich! I was born to be rich!" In one class, Blackman was asked by a woman if it was all right to settle for a man whose income was about $100,000 a year. "No way," she replied. What if he was perfect in every other way? "If he was in his peak earning years and he was maxed out at $100,000 -- forget it," Blackman advised. When someone asked her about the place of love in such relationships, Blackman said that finding a mate with that much money is the hard part; learning to love that person is easy by comparison. "How could you not love someone who is doing all these wonderful things for you?" she said. Blackman is single.

ii. Ask yourself: are men lovers of money today? Is this an indication that we may be in the last days?

c. Men will be . . . boasters, proud, blasphemers: Boasting, pride, and blasphemy are nothing new; but today, they seem far more prominent than ever - the power expression of the "me" focus.

i. When I boast, when I am proud towards others, and when I express my pride towards God in blasphemy, I am the center of my universe. You don't matter and God does not matter. All that matters is me. Is this the spirit of our age?

ii. The proud boaster is personified by the trash-talking professional athletes that so many admire; they live not just to compete honorably, and not even just to win - but to exalt themselves and to humiliate their opponents if they can.

iii. And today, blasphemy is not only present - it is government funded! So-called "works of art" that are patently offensive - and intended to be! - are funded by taxpayers. But blasphemy is also supported by the general public; Madonna has made a career out of blaspheming God, and the public has given millions to support her.

iv. Ask yourself: Are men boasters, proud, blasphemers today? Is this an indication that we may be in the last days?

d. Men will be . . . disobedient to parents: Can we not see a frightening breakdown in the authority once assumed by a child towards their parents?

i. A judge in Orlando, Florida, ruled that an 11-year-old boy had the right to seek a "divorce" from his parents so that he could be adopted by a foster family. But though there are few "legal" divorces from parents by children, it is far more common that young people simply disregard their parents.

ii. Listen to the words of a 13 year-old L.A. area tagger: "It's like a family to belong to a crew. They watch your back, you watch theirs. You kick it everyday with them. . . . You get friendship, love, supplies, everything." He also says: "I'll tag anything . . . Now I don't care. Well, sort of. I wouldn't like no one to write on my stuff. I do it to get known, to get up, regardless if people feel that I'm causing damage to property. I'd say the damage I've done is quite a bit. During the day I carry a screwdriver or a knife for protection. But at night I carry a gun. I have three guns. I hide them. My mom took a .38 from me. I'm getting it back." When asked about once when he got caught, he said: "My parents sort of talked to me about it. Of course they told me, 'Don't do it again.' But I'm not gonna listen, and they don't have to know about it."

iii. Ask yourself: Are men disobedient to parents today? Is this an indication that we may be in the last days?

e. Men will be . . . unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving: Ever since Adam, humankind has been marked by these things to one degree or another. Here, Paul is saying these things will be especially prevalent in the last days.

i. Unloving (translated without natural affection in the KJV) literally means "without family love." Certainly, basic family love is lacking in our culture today.

ii. Every few months we hear of some woman who gives birth in secret, and throws the baby away, discarding it as something inconvenient. The simple, family affection God gave men and women by nature is being eroded more and more each year.

iii. Ask yourself: Are men unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving in a special measure today? Is this an indication that we may be in the last days?

f. Men will be . . . slanderers: Men have always told hurtful lies about other men; but today, in media and in politics, slander has been elevated to big business - and big money.

i. In politics, candidates will routinely and knowingly distort their opponents positions, just to make the other guy look bad - and they don't feel bad at all about the lying, if it helps them get elected. In media, editors and news directors serve as prosecutor, judge, jury, and executioner to innocents who are wrongly suspected - and refuse to apologize when they are proven to be wrong!

ii. Ask yourself: Are men slanderers in a special measure today? Is this an indication that we may be in the last days?

g. Men will be . . . without self control: The story of no self-control can be written across almost everything today - sex, drugs, alcohol, food, work. Whatever we do, we often do it out of control.

i. Michelle, a successful writer and editor, fears the day her husband might discover her secret stash of credit cards, her secret post office box or the other tricks she uses to hide how much money she spends shopping for herself. "I make as much money as my husband . . . If I want a $500 suit from Ann Taylor, I deserve it and don't want to be hassled about it. So the easiest thing to do is lie," she explains. Last year, when her husband forced her to destroy one of her credit cards, Michelle went out and got a new one without telling him. "I do live in fear. If he discovers this new VISA, he'll kill me." A school teacher explained more: "Men just don't understand that shopping is our drug of choice," she joked, even while admitting that some months her salary goes exclusively to paying the minimum balance on her credit cards. "Walking through the door of South Coast Plaza is like walking though the gates of heaven. God made car trunks for women to hide shopping bags in." A young professional named Mary explained: "Shopping is my recreation. It's my way of pampering myself. When you walk into [a mall] and you see all the stores, it's like something takes over and you get caught up in it."

ii. Ask yourself: are men without self control in a special measure today? Is this an indication that we may be in the last days?

h. Men will be . . . brutal: Cruelty and brutality are nothing new in the world; but Paul is saying, by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, that the last days will be marked by a particular brutality.

i. An Oxnard man was accused of murdering his roommate after the two disagreed over the brand of beer the man had brought home. The accused man brought home Natural Light, and the murdered man wanted him to bring home Michelob. As he poured the Natural Light down the kitchen sink, he was stabbed to death.

ii. We like to think of ourselves as more advanced than previous generations; but surely more people have been murdered in our century than ever before; these are violent, brutal times.

iii. Ask yourself: are men brutal in a special measure today? Is this an indication that we may be in the last days?

i. Men will be . . . despisers of good: There just seem to be too many examples of this in modern society to pick out examples; but for starters, there was a time when most people thought letting people live was good, and killing them was generally a bad thing. Today, we live in a culture when the simple good of life is now despised and attacked, through abortion, the glorifying of violence and murder, and through euthanasia.

i. At one time, we had laws against killing other people. On March 6, 1996, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals declared the United States Constitution gives every American the right to kill someone else. Essentially, the court said that if you think someone might want to die - even if they have never said so - you can kill them and no law can stop you. You can kill someone if you are a doctor, a nurse, a pharmacist, a family member, or a "significant other" to a person you think wants to die. From the Judge's ruling: "When patients are no longer able to pursue liberty or happiness and do not wish to pursue life," they can be killed. The Federal Judge directly tied his decision to the right to abortion on demand. The reasoning seems to be that if the state must allow us to kill humans in the womb, it must also allow them to kill them later.

ii. Ask yourself: Are men despisers of good in a special measure today? Is this an indication that we may be in the last days?

j. Men will be . . . traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God: These characteristics are all about one thing: Self. Men are traitors because of self, they are headstrong because of self, they are haughty because of self, they are lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God because of self.

i. Is this not the spirit of our age? Notice the slogans from recent national advertising campaigns: Nothing is taboo . . . Break all the rules . . . To know no boundaries . . . Relax: No rules here . . . Peel off inhibitions. Find your own road . . . We are all hedonists and want to do what feels good. That's what makes us human . . . Living without boundaries . . . Just do it. The message is the same: You make your own rules. You answer to no one. You are the one that matters. Your universe revolves around you.

ii. We don't have to choose between pleasure and God. Serving God is the ultimate pleasure; Psalm 16:11 says, At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore. But we do have to choose between the love of pleasure and the love of God. Living for God will give you many pleasures, but they only come as you love God first and refuse to love the pleasures themselves.

iii. Ask yourself: Are men traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God in a special measure today? Is this an indication that we may be in the last days?

k. Having a form of godliness but denying its power: In our self-obsessed world, people feel very free to have a "salad bar" religion - they pick and choose what they want; they feel free to be very "spiritual," but sense no obligation to be Biblical.

i. The Reverend John Canning delivered the eulogy after Leo and Hazel Gleese were slain, telling mourners that he had been so close to the couple that he could call them Mom and Dad. On Friday, six weeks later, Canning was led off to jail in handcuffs, charged with beating and strangling the 90-year-old couple. Police say the Gleeses were killed in their home January 2 after they discovered Canning had abused the power of attorney they gave him and was stealing their savings. "It's the most despicable thing I've ever heard of," said Phil Ramer, a Florida Department of Law Enforcement agent. "Of all people in the world you should be able to trust, it's your pastor. They couldn't do it in this case, and he wound up killing them." The pastor was a suspect from the start because he waited a day to report he found the couple dead in their home. "When it takes somebody a day to report two dead bodies, it doesn't take a rocket scientists to say who the suspect is," Ramer said. The minister passed the time before reporting the deaths by spending a day at the beach and dining out with friends.

ii. A 63-year-old married woman writes to Dear Abby to justify her adultery. She writes: "He's also married. We meet once a week at a motel for three hours of heaven. My husband knows nothing about this, and neither does my lover's wife. Sex with my husband is even better now, and it's not as though I am denying my husband anything. I teach a class at church every week, but for some reason, I feel no guilt."

iii. When we talk about the power of godliness, we often mean it in the sense of "power to give me what I want." But this is exactly not what Paul means here. The power of godliness that men will despise in the last days is the power it should have to guide their lives; power in the sense of rightful authority - and many, many, today deny that God has the power to tell them what to do through His Word.

iv. Ask yourself: are men having a form of godliness but denying its power in a special measure today? Is this an indication that we may be in the last days?

l. From such people turn away! Here we are confronted with a cultural challenge: The command to turn away from people described by the characteristics in this list.

i. Today, people who do the things on this list are not only common in our society, they are our cultural heroes. The simple responsibility of Christians is to turn away not only these attitudes, but also from the people who do these things.

ii. Many think it is enough if they themselves are not like this, and give little heed to the company they keep. But if we spend time with people like this - either personally or by allowing us to entertain us - they will "rub off" on us. As Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15:33: Do not be deceived: "Evil company corrupts good habits."

m. From such turn away means that Paul knew those marked by the spirit of the last days were present in Timothy's own day; yet we should expect that they would be even more numerous, and have increased power, in the last days before Jesus' return.

i. "This exhortation clearly implies that Paul did not consider the state of moral depravity just pictured as wholly a matter of the future. He was keenly aware that the evils about which he was forewarning were already at work." (Hiebert)

3. (Verses 6-7) The strategy of the corrupt in the last days.

For of this sort are those who creep into households and make captives of gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.

a. Those who creep into households: Who, and what have you allowed to creep into your household? Paul's head would spin if he could see ahead as to how his words would be fulfilled through television, pay-per-view, videotape, and the Internet.

b. Make captives of gullible women: Once the spirit of the last days has entered your home, it wants to take you captive. It can do this because we are gullible - we will believe, or pay attention, to most anything if it is packaged the right way.

i. Many of us breathe a sigh of relief when we read the word captives; we reassure ourselves that we indeed are not captives, so we are untouched by the spirit of the last days.

ii. If, indeed, you are not captive, there is only one way to know: Walk away for a while, and see if chains bind you back. Take a week off from letting anything marked by the spirit of the last days into your household - and see if chains bind you back to those things.

iii. Why does Paul single out gullible women? Simply because in that day, women spent far more time at home than the men, and were far more exposed to any corruption that would infiltrate the household.

iv. "Also he speaks here of women rather than men, for they are more liable to be taken in by such impostors." (Calvin)

c. If you resent this characterization, there is one answer: don't be gullible! Use your discernment! Look at the signs of the times, and be careful about whom you let into your household - either in person or through the television or Internet.

d. Led away by various lusts: Obviously, the spirit of the last days finds its appeal to us by exciting various lusts within us; the desire to be excited sexually, or romantically, or to have our desire for comfort or wealth or status satisfied.

e. Always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth: The spirit of the last days is indeed brilliant; the high priests of the spirit of the last days know how to make things work and how to lead us away by various lusts. But for all their skill, for all of their marketing brilliance and knowledge, they never come to truth.

i. Indeed, the spirit of the last days has a problem with the idea of "true truth" all together; because it believes that we each are the center of our own universe, and we each create our own truth. According to the spirit of the last days, there is no truth outside of ourselves, so we can learn and learn and learn, but we will never come to God's eternal truth.

4. (Verses 8-9) An example of this sort of corrupt human condition: Jannes and Jambres, who resisted Moses.

Now as Jannes and Jambres resisted Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, disapproved concerning the faith; but they will progress no further, for their folly will be manifest to all, as theirs also was.

a. Jannes and Jambres: Though they are not named for us in the Exodus account, these two men are the Egyptian magicians who opposed Moses before Pharaoh (Exodus 7:8-13; 19-23; 8:5-7; 16-19).

b. Jannes and Jambres were able to work real miracles - not mere parlor tricks - but by the power of darkness, not the power of God. When Moses cast down his rod and it turned into a serpent, Jannes and Jambres could do the same. When he turned water into blood, they could do the same. When Moses brought forth a plague of frogs, Jannes and Jambres could do the same. But eventually, they could not match God miracle-for-miracle, and their occultic powers were shown to be inferior to God's power.

i. This is ability to, or willingness to receive, miracles done by the power of darkness will characterize the end times (Revelation 13:13-15; 2 Thessalonians 2:9).

ii. Some of us are amazed by any spiritual power that is real, without carefully thinking that real power may have a demonic source instead of a Godly source. And even if a psychic or new age power seems to "feel" right, we can't be seduced by it, because demonic powers can come masquerading as angels of light (2 Corinthians 11:15).

c. Resisted Moses: The resistance of truth by Jannes and Jambres was shown by their ability to cooperate with demonic powers to do miracles. In the last days, men will also resist the truth.

d. Even as Jannes and Jambres were eventually put to shame (though for a while they matched Moses "miracle for miracle") and were eventually compelled to give reluctant glory to God, so also will the evil men of the last days.

i. Even as Jannes and Jambres' power had limits, so does Satan's power, even in the last days - God is still in control.

ii. This is the message of great hope in the midst of this great darkness - the spirit of the last days has an answer to it in Jesus Christ. The spirit of the last days is not stronger than the power of Jesus!

iii. The glorious truth is that we don't have to be bound by the spirit of our times; we don't have to be slaves to self and have our universe revolve around something as puny as our selves. There is hope, triumphant hope, in Jesus!

iv. Our greatest danger is falling asleep to the threat of the spirit of the last days. Friends, we are in it! We are surrounded by it! And if we will have the discernment to see it, God will give us the hope of Jesus Christ to overcome it.

B. The precious truth: Scripture matters.

1. (Verses 10-12) Timothy needs to know that persecution a fact of following Jesus.

But you have carefully followed my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, love, perseverance, persecutions, afflictions, which happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; what persecutions I endured. And out of them all the Lord delivered me. Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.

a. Paul has just described the kind of people that will threaten the earth in the last days, and which Timothy must contend with even now; But you shows that Paul has drawn a clear dividing line between Timothy and those ruled by the spirit of the last days.

b. Timothy was different because he had carefully followed Paul's doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, love, perseverance, persecutions, afflictions.

i. Carefully followed means that Paul did not merely teach Timothy these things in an academic sense; Timothy learned these things by carefully following Paul's example. The best kind of Christianity is not only taught, it is caught by seeing it lived out in other people.

ii. It all began with Timothy catching Paul's doctrine. The reason Paul lived the way he lived was because he believed certain things. What we believe will determine how we live, so it comes back to truth.

ii. Timothy caught Paul's manner of life: There was just a certain way that Paul lived, and Timothy was around him enough to learn it and follow it.

iii. Timothy caught Paul's purpose: Paul's life had a purpose. It was not without direction. He was going somewhere, and that purpose had been established by God. Timothy saw that in Paul, he caught it, and he wanted to live his life that way.

iv. Timothy caught Paul's faith, longsuffering, and love: you could see in Paul that he had a faith not everyone had, and Timothy wanted to catch it. Paul was longsuffering - that is, patient with the little irritations of people and life in a special way, and he had a love that made him stand out. Remember all of these flowed forth from the doctrine - the truth - Paul held on to and Timothy carefully followed.

c. Timothy also caught Paul's perseverance, persecutions, and afflictions. We might think that the person who lives their life with the right doctrine, with the right manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, and love would be loved and accepted by everyone - but they are not.

i. In fact, some level of persecution is certain for people who carefully follow this kind of life: Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.

ii. In our own day, Christians are being persecuted all over the world - in China, in the Muslim world, even in Russia, where a strong anti-missionary law was just passed. And we can face persecution in a social way today.

iii. Why? Why does the world persecute such people? We simply need to look at Jesus, and why He was persecuted: And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. (John 3:19)

d. Paul reminds Timothy of the specific occasions of persecution which he endured: at Antioch, where Paul was kicked out of the city for preaching the gospel (Acts 13:50), at Iconium, where Paul was almost executed by stoning (Acts 14:5), and at Lystra, where they actually did stone Paul and leave him for dead (Acts 14:19).

e. And out of them all the Lord delivered me: Paul remembers this while he is on death row and scheduled for execution. He knows that God is completely able to deliver him again - or that He may not. Paul seems at complete peace, leaving it in the Lord's hands. Persecution was not going to stop Paul from following hard after Jesus Christ.

i. Will it stop us? We may not face much violent or even economic persecution in our culture; but there is a great deal of social persecution Christians must deal with. 1 Peter 4:4 describes the mind-set of many of those who socially persecute Christians: They think it strange that you do not run with them in the same flood of dissipation, speaking evil of you. Does anyone think you are strange?

ii. If we are not willing to have others think us strange; if we are not willing to be rejected by some for the sake of Jesus Christ; if we are not willing to be an outcast before some people, then we can never be true followers of Jesus Christ. Think about it in light of eternity!

2. (Verses 13-15) The course of evil men and the course of the godly.

But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

a. Evil men refers to the obvious, open enemies of Jesus; impostors refers to those who "look" fine, and many think of as fine, but they are actually destructive forces among Jesus' followers.

b. These two kinds of people (evil men and impostors) will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. Paul gives us insight into how many people are effective deceivers among God's people - they themselves are being deceived.

i. Motives are important, but we can sometimes place too much importance on them. Much harm has been done by people who were sincerely deceived, and who tried to do wrong things out of wonderful motives - and because others look at their wonderful hearts, they buy into their dangerous deceptions. We can't always go only by motives in others; we must measure them also by the truth.

c. But you: This is the second but you in this passage; Timothy is supposed to swim against the current, and to continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of.

d. How precious that in his childhood, Timothy was given something to continue in! Timothy's mother taught him the Scriptures even when he was a child, and because of that, Timothy has been made wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

i. Wise for salvation: many people are wise in many different things - wise for cars, wise for money, wise for health, wise for cooking, wise for computers - but are we also wise for salvation? This is the most important wisdom one can ever have!

ii. Where does this wisdom come from? The Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation. In and of itself, the Bible does not save us - but it is only through the Bible that we can receive God's truth about Jesus, and put faith in Him.

3. (Verses 16-17) The greatness of Holy Scripture.

All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

a. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God: Here, Paul tells us the source of Scripture: It comes from God (literally, it is God-breathed), and in its autographs, displays His perfection, being inerrant and absolutely reliable.

b. This is a huge dividing line in our world today: Is this a book from God, given through men; or is it just a great book from men?

i. No one can deny the greatness of the Bible; it is completely unique among all books ever written.

ii. The Bible is unique in its continuity: It was written over 1600 years, over 60 generations, by more than 40 authors, on three different continents, in different circumstances and places, in different times, different moods, in three languages, concerning scores of controversial subjects, but it speaks with one united voice.

iii. The Bible is unique in its circulation: It is the most published and popular book ever written - far and away; any thing else is a distant, distant, second.

iv. Unique in its translation: It was the first book translated, and has been translated into more languages than any other book in existence.

v. Unique in its survival: It has survived the ravages of time, manual transcription, persecution, and criticism.

vi. Unique in its honesty: It deals with the sins and failures of its heroes in a manner quite unknown among ancient literature.

vii. Unique in its influence: The Bible has had, far and away, a greater influence on culture and literature than any other book in the existence.

c. So, there is no problem in saying the Bible is a great book; but is it God's book? Fulfilled prophecy can give us the answer.

i. In his second letter, Peter writes about how we can know the Scriptures are really from God; and he speaks about his own certainty because he saw Jesus miraculously transfigured before his own eyes, and he heard a voice from heaven say, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Yet, Peter says we even have something more certain than a voice from heaven in knowing the Bible is from God: We also have the prophetic word made more sure, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place. (2 Peter 1:19)

ii. God's ability to precisely predict future events in the Bible is His own way of building proof for the Bible right into the text. It proves that it was authored by Someone who not only can see the future, but Who can shape the future.

iii. For example, there are at least 332 distinct Old Testament predictions regarding the Messiah which Jesus fulfilled perfectly (such as His birth in Bethlehem, His emergence from Egypt, His healing of the sick, His death on the cross, and so forth) the combination of this evidence together is absolutely overwhelming.

iv. Professor Peter Stoner has calculated that the probability of any one man fulfilling eight of these prophesies is one in 100,000,000,000,000,000 (10 to the 17th power); that many silver dollars would cover the state of Texas two feet deep. Stoner says that if you consider 48 of the prophecies, the odds become one in 10 to the 157th power.

d. Some people say, "I agree that the Bible came from God, but men messed it up from there. So many things have been added and subtracted from what God originally gave to us, that there is no way we can really tell what God is saying to us."

i. This is a matter which can be decided by science and research; and though errors have been made in copying the Scriptures through the centuries, today we have a New Testament where not more than one-one thousandth of the text is in question - and not one significant doctrine is in question. The numbers for the Old Testament are even more impressive!

e. If we deny that the Bible is God's Word to us, what is the alternative? There may be other holy books from God (but what are they?); or, it is just all up to the individual - everyone decides for themselves what is from God and what is not.

f. If all Scripture is given by inspiration of God, then there is something else we can say about the Bible: It is true. And though the Bible is not a science text-book, when it does speak on matters of science as science (not in figures of speech or poetic hyperbole), it is true.

g. Since all Scripture is given by inspiration of God, we also see that it is profitable - it is good for us, it profits us something. It gives us doctrine (tells us a truth that means more than our opinions). The Bible gives us reproof and correction (tells us when we are wrong in our thinking or conduct). The Bible gives us instruction in righteousness (tells us how to live rightly before God and men).

i. This all means something else very simple: We can understand the Bible. If the Bible could not be understood, there would be nothing profitable about it.

ii. Then how are we to understand the Bible? Literally, of course! When we say this, a howl goes up among many modern, "educated" people - they believe one of the worst insults you can give a person is to say they "take the Bible literally." Well, how else are you to take it?

iii. But when we take the Bible literally, we also understand that it means that we take it as true according to its literary context. When the Bible speaks as poetry, it will use figures of speech that may not be literally true. One example is when David said, All night I make my bed swim; I drench my couch with my tears in Psalm 6:6. Obviously, he spoke in poetic metaphor - he did not actually float his bed with tears). But when the Bible speaks as history, it is historically true, when it speaks in prophecy, it is prophetically true.

h. That the man of God may be complete: When we come to the Bible, and let God speak to us, it changes us - it makes us complete, and transforms us.

i. One way the Bible transforms us is through our understanding. Romans 12:2 says, do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. When we let the Bible guide our thinking, our minds are renewed and transformed, so we begin to actually think like God thinks.

ii. But there is another level by which the Bible transforms us: a spiritual work, a spiritual blessing which God works in us as we come to the Bible and let Him speak to us - a spiritual work that goes beyond our intellectual understanding. With great spiritual power beyond our intellect, the Bible gives us eternal life (1 Peter 1:23), it spiritually cleanses us (Ephesians 5:26), it gives us power against demonic spirits (Ephesians 6:17), it brings spiritual power to heal our bodies (Matthew 8:16), it brings us spiritual strength (Psalm 119:28), it has the power to spiritually build faith in us (Romans 10:17).

iii. Because of this spiritual level on which the Word of God operates, we don't have to understand it all to have it be effectively working in our lives. Many people get discouraged because they feel they don't "get much" when they read the Bible on their own, and so they give up. We must work to understand the Bible the best we can, and read it thoughtfully and carefully, but it benefits us spiritually even when we don't understand it all intellectually.

iv. A critic once wrote a letter to a magazine saying, "Over the years, I suppose I've gone to church more than 1,000 times, and I can't remember the specific content of even one sermon over those many years. What good was it to go to church 1,000 times?" The next week, someone wrote back: "Over the past many years, I have eaten more than 1,000 meals prepared by my wife. I cannot remember the specific menu of any of those meals. But they nourished me along the way, and without them, I would be a much different man!" The Bible will do its spiritual work in us, if we will let it.

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