Committed to the Word of God

Very good. Good afternoon, everyone. Welcome to Cornerstone Reformed Baptist Church. I'm going to invite your brethren to please open up your Bibles to the second letter of the Apostle Paul to Timothy. By God's grace, we are going to continue with our study through this assertion that we have made in the last couple of weeks of the characteristics of a biblical church.

We are going to continue today with that study. And I'm going to invite you, as I said, to please open up your Bibles to the second letter of the Apostle Paul to Timothy. Today we are going to be addressing a section that is very well known among Christians that speaks about the sufficiency of the scriptures and also the call of Paul to Timothy to preach the word. We're going to be addressing today from verse 16 all the way through chapter 4, verse 5, or verse 6, if the Lord allows. But we are going to be reading together today from chapter 3, all chapter 3.

And we're going to be going into verse 8 of chapter for. As I said before, today we are going to make an assertion and that assertion is that a biblical church is committed to the word of God. A biblical church is committed to the word of the Lord. That is the assertion that we are going to make today in this series of studies of the characteristics of a biblical church. We are going to be reading together, as I said, chapter 3 all the way through chapter 4, verse 8.

But before we read, let us come before the Lord that the Spirit of God will be among us, guiding us, giving us light not only to speak, but also for you to receive, that the outcome of this will be that we understand the scriptures and that we are pointed to Jesus Christ. So let us come before the Lord and let us pray together, brethren. Father, we come before you in the name of your Son, Jesus Christ, Lord, we give you thanks for your patience towards us, Lord, your kindness, your goodness that you have given us life on this day, that you have given us of your love and your patience, Lord. As we're coming before you together as brothers and sisters, Lord, we pray that you will teach us through the Word of God and through your Holy Spirit We desire to know your will for your church and for your people, and I ask, Lord, that that which corresponds to your will will be what is given to your people in their hearts, that we will not fill our minds with information only, but that by the Holy Spirit we will be drawn closer to Jesus Christ, We are so needy of more of Christ and less of us, O Lord, so I pray that You will forgive us for our sins, that You will be patient towards us, Lord, and that You will illuminate us, Lord, through Your Holy Spirit. We need consolation, we need exhortation, we need direction, we need encouragement, and we know that Your Word is sufficient for all things for Your people.

So we ask, O Lord, even as we read and as we consider these matters from the Word of God, that you will direct us in the ways of righteousness and that you will point us to Jesus Christ. And if there is anyone among us who is not truly or fully in Christ, I pray, O Lord, that by the preaching of the gospel, the proclamation of the cross, that you will bring that person today to the feet of Christ in true repentance and faith, and that your name will be glorified through the salvation of that which is lost. I pray for my brothers and sisters that their souls will be strengthened and edified and that our eyes will be pointed to Jesus Christ alone. Bless us, Lord, as we read the scriptures and as we aim to expound the meaning of the scriptures and protect us from our own imagination. So protect us, Lord, from deviating from your truth.

I pray that you will do this in Jesus' name. Amen. Okay, brethren, as I said, we're going to be addressing verses 16 in chapter 3 all the way through verse 5 in chapter 4. But the reading that we're going to have for today is going to be from chapter 3 verse 1. So let us read together.

This is the word of the Lord. 2 Timothy chapter 3 verse 1. This is the word of the Lord. But understand this, that in the last days, There will come times of difficulty, for people will be lovers of self. Lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unpeaceable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.

Having the appearance of godliness but denying its power, avoid such people. For among them are those who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins, and led astray by various passions, always learning and never able to arrive at the knowledge of the truth. Just as Janus and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also opposed the truth, men corrupted in mind and disqualified regarding the faith. But they will not get very far, for their folly will be plain to all, as was that of those two men. You, Paul says to Timothy, you, however, have followed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness, my persecutions, and sufferings that happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, and at Lystra, which persecutions I endured, yet from them all the Lord rescued me.

Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil people and imposters will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. But as for you, Timothy, Paul says to Timothy, 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. 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.

I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing in his kingdom, preach the word. Be ready in season and out of season. Reprove, rebuke, and exhort with complete patience and teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. As for you, Timothy, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race. I have kept the faith. Henceforth, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me, but also to all who have loved his appearing.

Amen. This is the reading of God's Word. And I think I confused the passage with the passage that we're going to be addressing this afternoon. It is from verse 14 in chapter 3 all the way through verse 4 or 5, if the Lord allows us, in chapter 4. And the assertion that we're making this afternoon is this, brethren.

That is that a biblical church is committed to or with the Word of the Lord. When a group of people come together and they call the church, I'm going to submit to you that a biblical church is going to be committed to the word of the Lord. And the reason why we're doing this series on what it is or what are the characteristics of a biblical church, it is perhaps because the question of which church I'm going to belong to, it is perhaps one of the most important questions that a Christian should answer for their spiritual life. Perhaps second only to the question of marriage, the person who am I going to marry, the question of the church that I'm going to join, and the brothers and sisters with whom I'm going to worship, is perhaps one of the most important questions in the spiritual life of a Christian of brother and sister. And that is because in the context of the church, is what we learn of Jesus Christ.

It is in the context of the local church where we are taught the Word of the Lord. It is in the context of the local church where we see Jesus Christ and His sacrifice being given and applied to the brothers and sisters, and that being made alive in the coming together of brothers and sisters. So this question of what is a biblical church or the characteristics of it is a very important one. And for that reason, last week, the first thing that we did was to address what is the definition of a church. Because many people, we said last week, come and they define that when they come together and they put a sign on the building that they are a church, they call themselves to be a church.

But people do not define what the church is. A church is defined by what is written in the scriptures. Perhaps the most important conclusions that we made last week from the book of Ephesians is that the church is the body of the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the head, and the Church is the body, and we said that that analogy, that illustration of Jesus Christ being the head and the Church being the body primarily points us to the fact that the body is meant to be spiritually united to the head. In other words, the nature of the Church is a spiritual one.

The church are not people only who come on a Sunday and they sit in chairs or on chairs, but rather the nature of the church is a spiritual one. That is, those who by grace through faith have been united to Jesus Christ, they have been united to the body. And that's why it is very important that we understand the nature of the church as a spiritual one. Because if we don't understand the nature of the church as a spiritual nature, we may be tempted to confuse the church with the external community. Only people coming together on a Sunday, they like each other, and they're friends to each other, and that community defining what the church is.

It is true that when people, Christians, come together, there is going to be a community of Christians, of brothers and sisters. But the most important thing is that they are meant to be spiritually united to Christ, genuinely saved in Christ Jesus, so that they can be genuinely united one with the other. This unity happens in submission to Jesus Christ, as we said last week. Not only united to Christ, but also the head is that which leads the body. So the body is meant to be in submission to the Lord Jesus Christ.

And in being united to Him, we said thoroughly that the body of the Lord Jesus Christ completes Jesus. Not that Jesus Christ is lacking something, but rather that God has appointed that the mission of the Son on earth will be completed by and through the church. It is true that God could have saved everyone just by the power of his mouth, but he has appointed that the church will complete the work of the head, the Lord Jesus Christ. And in completing the Lord Jesus Christ, fourthly, we share the victory of Christ Jesus. So with Jesus Christ, we share in his ultimate and final victory.

So Jesus Christ will be victorious over Satan and death, so the church will also be victorious. And there we have the picture that Paul gave us in Ephesians. That Jesus is the head of the church that is the body, and that God is going to put all things under the feet of Jesus. And that means that all things are going to be put under the feet of Jesus and his body, the church. The victory of Christ is the victory of the church.

Having understood the nature of the church, not one that is organizational or institutional or an earthly external community, but rather understanding the nature of the church as a spiritual one, Now we come to the first and perhaps most foundational assertion, and that is that a true, genuine church that is united to Christ Jesus spiritually and are united to each other as members spiritually is one that is going to be committed to the Word of the Lord. A biblical church is one that is committed to the Word of the Lord, and I want us to examine that from the exhortation that Paul is going to give to Timothy. There's going to be an exhortation, a charge, and the charge that Paul gives to Timothy is that he is to preach the Word, that he's to continue in the Word, and that he's to abide in the word. I'm going to submit to you that the only way in which this exhortation that Paul gives to Timothy and that makes sense is when it's true for all Christians and for all believers. Because I'm going to submit this to you, brother and sister.

A biblical church that is committed to the word of the Lord is not so much equal to a type of sermon that is preached on a Sunday or a style of teaching that happens on a Wednesday night in a Bible study, but rather a biblical church that is committed to the word of the Lord is when each one of the members of the church that have come together is individually committed to the Savior and to his word. Only we can have a biblical church committed to the Word when the individual members of that church, those who belong to that church individually, are committed to Christ and to His Word. And hence, the result of these people who are committed to Christ and to His Word when they come together is that the church as a body now is committed to the Word of the Lord. So even though we are preaching and teaching the characteristics of a biblical church and now we're saying that a biblical church is committed to the Word of the Lord, actually and foundationally what we are asking or what we're saying is that those who profess to be in Christ are committed to their Savior and are committed to His Word. The question is, are you?

Are you committed to Christ? And that commitment to Christ is seen in your commitment to the Word of the Lord. Are you committed to Jesus in such a way that when the eyes of God, the seer of all, see your life and your heart, your mind, there is a commitment inside of you, your mind and your heart and your affections towards your Lord and His Word. Because the only way that a coming together of people, a gathering of people can be seen as biblical and as committed to Christ is not only if we have a ceremony in a particular way, or a Bible study in a particular way, but when the brothers and sisters together individually are committed to Christ. And hence, we can take the example of the exhortation of Paul given to Timothy in 2 Timothy 3 and 4, and then ask ourselves the question, what is the meaning of being committed to the Word of the Lord?

And that is what I want us to do this afternoon. As I said, from verse 14 all the way through chapter 4 verse 5, we are going to be asking ourselves three questions. And I want that these questions perhaps will lead us and help us to understand what it is to be committed to the Word of the Lord. The first question that I want us to ask ourselves from this text is, what is it? What is the meaning of being committed to the Word of the Lord?

What do I mean when I say that a Christian is meant to be committed to the Word of the Lord? We're going to ask ourselves the what. Once we understand the what of how Paul is going to instruct Timothy to be committed to the Word of the Lord, then I want us to ask the question of how can I be committed to the Word of the Lord? Actually, the exhortation of Paul to Timothy is going to give different reasons and motivations for him to be committed to the Word of the Lord. And then finally, once we have addressed the what and the how, I want us to finish our teaching here with the why.

Why are we, as a church and individuals, why are we supposed to be committed to the Word of the Lord? And now, my dear brother and sister, I'm sure that in our flesh, we're always tempted to go on to point our finger and to analyze the person that is next to us, or perhaps the person that is in front of us, and then to take the text that we are reading or that the person is bringing and preaching, and then to analyze someone else through the teaching of the scriptures. But let me submit to you that it's better for all of us as a body and as brothers and sisters to examine ourselves through the teaching of the scriptures. Because the spiritual growth of the body happens only when Jesus Christ is enthroned as Lord in the heart of the believer, and then the believer individually is committed to Christ, member of the head, and then member of one another. So let us start with the first one.

What is the meaning of being committed to the word of the Lord? Paul is going to give this exhortation to Timothy by emphasizing two things. First, he's going to emphasize that Timothy is meant to be diligent, and the result of this diligence in the Word of the Lord is meant to be seen in the proclamation of the Word of the Lord. These are the two ingredients that we are going to see here in this exhortation that Paul gives to Timothy. Timothy is meant to be diligent in the Word of the Lord.

He's going to call him to continue to abide, to remain in the things that he has learned and he has believed, even from the sacred writings that were taught to him from very early childhood, that he's to abide, to be diligent in that. And the result of it is that he's to be a proclaimer of the Word, that he's to preach the Word. The first element of this exhortation, we see it in verse 14. In verse 14, the Apostle is going to call Timothy to be faithful, to be diligent with the Word. It says in verse 14 of chapter 3, 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.

Paul is telling Timothy that Timothy is supposed to abide. You see that word that we have there, continue, is the word to abide. Just as we are called to abide in Jesus Christ in John chapter 15, we are called to abide, or at least Timothy here is called to abide in the things that he has learned. He's to remain and to continue in the things that he has firmly believed, that he's to continue in all of these things that he received from those whom he learned, especially his grandmother and his mother that we know from chapter one that were instructing Timothy in the scriptures. And now the Apostle tells us that he has been taught in the sacred writings from very early childhood.

The call of the Apostle to Timothy is that he's to be diligent, that he's to abide in the Scriptures, in the things that he has learned. Because let me submit to you that uttering the truth or proclaiming the truth requires more than knowing the truth. And actually, this is one of the mistakes or one of the errors that Paul is going to exhort people here. There were some people who pretended to know the truth. Actually, perhaps they even knew the truth in their minds.

But being proclaimer of the truth, it is deeper than just simply uttering sounds that correspond to truth. We are supposed to abide in the scriptures. We're supposed to be diligent in the words of the Savior. That is the calling that Paul was given to Timothy. This is now coupled with the main charge that he gives in chapter four, that is in verse two.

Pay attention to four two. There is only there when Paul is going to call Timothy to preach the word. In other words, to be a proclaimer of the word. The call to Timothy is that he is to be diligent in knowing, understanding, abiding in the writings of the word of the Lord, and only when he abides and continues in the things that he's learned from the people that he's learned from every even childhood by God's grace in his case, now he's a preacher, a proclaimer of the word. Now this is very important because this teaches us, my dear brother and sister, of the importance of having the word of the Lord in our heads and in our hearts.

We proclaim the Word because this is the means by which the Church of the Lord is built up. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing the Word of the Lord. So the Word of the Lord is going to be essential, not only for genuine salvation, but also for the edification of the Church. And the Christian, if the Christian is committed to his or her Lord, then the Christian is going to be committed to the Word. This teaches us that as Christians, not only Timothy there being a pastor, but as Christians, we are to be students of God's Word.

Because Paul uses a very simple, a very similar language to speak of Christians in general. If you come with me to Colossians chapter 3, you will see that this is not only for Timothy. He's not only the one that is called to be diligent in the Scriptures, but all Christians are called to be diligent in the Scriptures of the Lord. It says in Colossians 3, a very famous verse, which is the basis for which the songs that we sing here at Cornerstone, if you go to Colossians 3, verse 16, Colossians 3, verse 16, there we're told, Paul is speaking to all the Christians, not only to the pastor, but he's speaking to all the Christians. He says, Pay attention to that.

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly. That is dwell, this is abide. Just like the same thing that he says in 2 Timothy 3, that you continue, that you abide in the things that you have learned and that you have received from early childhood. Now it says here in verse 16, let the word of Christ dwell or abide in you. Not only abide in you, but it says ritually.

Why? Because the Christian is meant to be diligent in being in the scriptures and in the word of the Lord. And then it says, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing songs and hymns and spiritual songs with thankfulness in your hearts to God. Here, we do not only learn that the early church was singing hymns and spiritual songs and psalms as we try to do here at Cornerstone, but also, more importantly for our sermon here, we learn that the word of the Lord is meant to dwell richly in the hearts of the people so that they will teach and admonish one another. A biblical church is committed to the word of the Savior.

And to be committed to the word of the Lord, it is not to have a certain type of sermon preached on Sunday, or a certain type of Bible study, or just to have these certain type of teachers and preachers that they look the same, and they speak in a similar way, that they belong to a denomination, or to a certain particular way of doing things. A biblical church is committed to the word of the Lord individually. And that's why the spiritual growth of the Church is not so much in numbers and in multitudes and in crowds, but it's how much is the Word of God abiding and being richly deposited in the hearts of those who are the Church of the Lord. And the striving and the desire of the brothers and sisters should not only be, let's come together on a Sunday to be gathered as a community, but how can we be Christ to each other? so that the Word of the Lord will abide in each other, so that we will be able to teach one another and admonish one another according to the will of the Savior.

And the role of teaching and the role of admonishing is not only one of the pastor or the elders, but the role of teaching and admonishing is one another. So you are vessels of the word of the Lord, and the Lord uses what the Lord has deposited in you for the benefit of others. The way that the church is built up, it is through maturity in the will of the Lord through his word. And if we do not abide in the sacred writings in the word of the Lord, The opposite of spiritual maturity, brethren, is going to be spiritual immaturity. If we go to Hebrews chapter 5, in Hebrews chapter 5 we have the case of Christians that were not abiding or that were not dwelling in the scriptures.

And here we have the outcome, the practical result of those who were not in the Lord or abiding in the words of the Lord. If you come to Hebrews chapter 5 in verse 11, Here the Apostle Paul, or whoever is the writer of the book of Hebrews, after speaking about the priesthood according to the order of Melchizedek, which is a difficult thing to explain, he's going to say in verse 11, Hebrews chapter 5, verse 11. He says, about this, that is the priesthood according to the order of Melchizedek, about this we have much to say. And it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. For though by this time you are to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God.

You need milk, not solid food. For everyone who lives on milk, pay attention to this, is unskilled. in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil. Two types of people are presented here within the context of the church.

Those who are not abiding in the Word of Righteousness. Those who are not making practice of the Word of Righteousness. Those who are deviating from the Word of Righteousness. And hence, the Apostle is going to call them here spiritually immature. Those who need milk.

Those who cannot have solid food. He says that by this time you ought to be teachers, but now you're not teachers. You require that someone will come to teach you the basic principles of the Word of the Lord. That is spiritual immaturity. But also we see that those who are now trained in the Word of the Lord are those who have taken practice and have their senses or the powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.

What is the call of the Christian, and what is the call that we should give to each other, my dear brother and sister? Abide in God's Word, abide in the writings of Christ, because the more that you spend time in the Scriptures, you're spending time with the Savior. And the more that you spend time with the Savior through the scriptures, the less of you that will be in your vessel and the more of Christ. Come to the scriptures, not as an intellectual exercise in which I just want to have all of this information just to be heard, to pursue ministry, to want to just to pursue accolades and to have a name, but rather come to the scriptures pursuing Jesus Christ. Because if you pursue Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ is the one that will equip you for the things that God has ordained that you will do for his people.

And that might be doing something, doing another thing, whatever it is that the Lord has ordained for his people to do, we should be glad and we should be joyful in finding Jesus and not pursuing what Jesus can give. We're not pursuers of the gifts that Jesus gives, we're pursuers of the giver. And we pursue him through the scriptures. So a biblical church is one that is committed to the word of the Lord. And a biblical church is one that is going to call the members and the congregants to be equipped and to be always diligent to abide in the scriptures.

The Church is supposed to run away, brethren, from this scheme and this system of activity from the one that speaks and passivity from the one that receives. And then we just simply do and meet each other on a Wednesday and a Sunday just to hear a person play a music or just preach a sermon, and then I disconnect myself from what is Christ. That is not genuine biblical Christianity. Genuine biblical Christianity is that each one of us is connected individually to divine, that each one of us is connected to Christ through the Word of the Lord, and that the outcome of it is that we come together on a Sunday or we come together as the people of God to rejoice in the fact that Jesus Christ has saved us. This is what is to have a group of people that are committed to the Word of the Lord.

And the question comes, are you? Are you committed to Christ? Are you committed to his word? Or have you been distracted by the things perhaps that happen in our lives? We're all distracted by the things of our lives in such a way that now Christianity is just simply me coming to church on a Sunday or just simply doing certain things, but Christianity is no longer dwelling at the feet of Christ and learning for the Savior.

Can you say before the Lord that you are committed to the word of the Lord Jesus Christ? Or have you changed your commitment to Christ and His word and His communion with Him to commitment to religion? In which now we just simply come on a Sunday to tick a box that I have attended church and I have done these things and now just simply go with my week and I'm going to be king or queen to my own life. Are we committed to Christ and in his word? And brothers and sisters, I'm speaking as one who is often distracted from these matters.

So we are to repent and come and to know that we are to be in the Lord and abide in the Lord and to come to the scriptures and to treasure up the scriptures in our hearts. Because if we don't, the outcome of what it is inside of us is not good. Brethren, you have spent enough time with yourself 10, 15, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 80, whatever years you have spent with yourself, and you know what it is inside of your mind and inside of your heart. You are the one that knows best, apart from God, the thoughts that you had and the things that you have in your heart. The only way that those things can be cleansed and put away is by becoming more like Christ Jesus.

That happens through the word of the Lord, so the advice that you're going to receive always from the pulpit and every time that we meet is, brother and sister, have you read the scriptures? Are you reading the scriptures? Are you spending time with Christ daily? Are you coming to the scriptures to memorize, to meditate on the scriptures, to treasure up in your heart? Are you spending time with Him?

because there's no meeting, there's no time that we spend together, there's no coffee that we have together that is going to fix your problem. There's only one, and that is Jesus Christ, the one that is going to strengthen you through His word. A biblical church is one that is committed to the word of the Savior. As we return to the text, we move on to our second question. How can we be genuinely committed to the word of the Lord Jesus Christ?

How can we, Christians, who are so easily distracted by the things of this world, how can we so easily distracted by our emotions and our affections, how can we B, focus and committed to the Word of the Lord. As I said, Paul is going to give different reasons to Timothy of why he is to preach the Word, why he is to continue and to abide in the Word of the Lord. And I want to point you to those here, perhaps three to five, let's see how we go with the time. Those reasons, we're going to see them in the following verses, verses 16 through verse 2. So I'm going to give you five reasons of why or how we are supposed to be committed to the Word of the Lord.

First one, it is by understanding the importance of the Word of the Lord. How can we be committed to the Word of the Lord? First, by understanding the importance of the Word of the Lord. We are told there in verse 16 of the divine importance of the scriptures. It says in verse 16, 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 might be complete, equipped for every good work." I know that Paul is writing primarily to Timothy, and I know that this primarily applies to those who are going to take the office of an elder, like Timothy was an elder and he was a preacher. But I have shown you from Colossians and also from Hebrews that the expectation of the Scriptures is that every single Christian will abide in the word of the Lord. And the way that we are committed to the Word of the Lord is by first understanding the importance of the Word of the Lord. My dear brother and sister, the Scriptures are not only a book that is going to tell us about wisdom, The book that we have before us is not only a compilation of stories and letters that are going to tell us something that is good to follow, but we need to understand that the scriptures, as the word of God, contain the life of God.

We're told in verse 16, all scripture is given by inspiration by God. All scripture is breathed out by God. That means that the scriptures is equal to the life of God. Where can I find the life of God? I can find the life of God in the Word.

When the Word of God is applied to me by the Spirit, then I can find life. That's why Paul says in Romans 10, verse 17, that faith comes by hearing, and hearing the Word of the Lord. The Word of the Lord is that which initiates faith, and faith is that which initiates the new life. Why? Because the scripture is equal to the life of God.

And if I'm not spending time with the scriptures, it is not only that I'm putting this book away, I'm not spending time with what is printed here, I'm not spending time with the source of life that is the Word of God. If I'm not putting into myself the life of God through the Scriptures, then I'm going to be living my life according to my own wisdom, according to my own life, according to my own preferences, and according to the powers of the affections that are within me, because I'm now being ruled by myself. The scriptures are the word of the Lord and gives us the life of God, and in giving us the life of God, the apostle tells us that it's going to do four important things, that we are trained by it, that we are reproved by it, that we are corrected by it, and that we are trained by it. This is just the picture of the Christian life. The life of God is given to the Christian through the scriptures.

And the first thing that the scripture does is that it tells us where we are supposed to go. It teaches us. It tells us where we are supposed to go. What is our direction? The scriptures point us to what we ought to do, what we ought to believe.

It teaches us. But because of the sin that is within us, when we are walking in the path that God has defined for us, sometimes we are going to deviate from that path. So the Word of God through the Holy Spirit will come to reprove us. He's going to come and tell us, that is not the way. That is the second thing that Paul says there.

He does not only teach us, but it's also that he reproves us. He reproves us, that is, that when we deviate from the path of the Scriptures, the same Scriptures are going to tell us, that is not the way that you are supposed to take. But the Scriptures are not only going to point us to the deviated path that we are taking, second or thirdly better, the Apostle tells us that the Scripture also is profitable for correction. So the Word of God is sufficient to point us not only to the deviated path that we are taking, but also to bring us once again into alignment, to correct. the ways that we have undertaken, and to bring us once again into alignment to the path of the Lord, so that once we are once again in the path, we have been corrected by the word of the Lord, we can be trained in righteousness.

The word of the Lord is sufficient to teach us the path that we are to follow, to reprove us when we deviate from the path that the Lord has given us, to correct us from the sins in which we have fallen, to bring us back into alignment to his will, and then to train us in righteousness. so that by the up and down, the correction, the reproof, and the pain of the suffering of our sin within us, as we walk towards him, we are equipped for every good work. We can grow in understanding of the will of the Lord and the path that we are to follow through the word of the Lord. And what I want to point to you there, my dear brother and sister, is that the way of the scriptures in the Christian is not an easy one. Reproof, correction, This is the way of the Christian as we walk and as we live for Him.

Reproof and correction, that does not feel good. That does not feel, you know, the best in our minds. We want to be pat on our heads and on our shoulders and to be told that you're good and you're the best and look at you, you're free, you're forgiven, you're a child of God, you're the best. We want to receive those words, and that is true. A brother and sister, the Word of God does not only tell us those things, it also tells us you have deviated from the path.

You have to be corrected, and you need to follow into the way of righteousness. How do we become committed to the Word of the Lord? By understanding, first of all, the divine nature of the Word, that the Word of God is the life of God, and apart from the life of God, we're going to deviate from the path. Second, and we find that in verse 1 of chapter 4, it is not only by understanding that the Word of the Lord is divine, but second, it's understanding the seriousness of the call that not only preachers and proclaimers of the Word have, but all of us as being vessels of the Word of the Lord the seriousness of the call that we have. We are the ones who have the truth.

So second, we are to understand the seriousness of what it is the call that we have to be proclaimers of the word of the Lord. It says in verse one of chapter four, I charge you, Paul says to Timothy, I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead and by his appearing in his kingdom, preach the word. The charge that Paul gives to Timothy is in light of the seriousness of what it is to be a messenger of God, a messenger of the Savior. We are told in James chapter 3 that those who call themselves to be teachers are going to have a stricter judgment. That those who want to be heard, that those who want to be followed, they will have a stricter judgment, it says in James chapter 3 verse 1 and 2.

But it's also true that Christians who have received the light of the Word of God are going to be held to the standard of having the truth. The more light that we have, the greater that is going to be the requirement of God of us, because in this world we are all vessels that hold the truth of God, and we are the ones who have the message of Jesus Christ, not only to define one another, but also to speak the words of God to those who are lost and those who need to be saved. So it is the seriousness of being a vessel of the truth of God that we need to know and that we need to have in our hearts. That when a person comes to us and when they are broken, when a person comes to us and they are suffering, when a person comes to us and they are in sin, when a brother is broken, when a sister is broken, when they're in sin, that which we ought to give them It is not a psychological wisdom that comes from the wisdom of men, or based on my experience, I have done this every day, so perhaps it works for you. But we ought to be vessels that communicate the word of the Lord, because the word of Christ is that which is sufficient for the soul of the person to be strengthened, to be encouraged, and to be brought into alignment.

And we are going to have to give an answer, not only those who teach, not only those who preach, but we're going to have to give an answer for the truth that God has given to us and how we have used that truth to proclaim Jesus Christ, not only to brothers and sisters, but also to the lost. We have a great message. We have a great power of this word, and that is meant to be used for the glory of Jesus Christ and the edification of the church. How can we be committed to the word of the Lord? Not only first, by understanding the importance of it, but second, by understanding the seriousness of the call.

Thirdly, let me point you there in verse 3, how can we be committed or how do we exercise the use of the word of the Lord? It says in verse 2, by being ready in season and out of season. Pay attention to verse 2. It says, preach the word. Be ready in season and out of season.

Once again, this is the commandment of Paul to Timothy that he as a preacher and as a teacher of the word, as a pastor of the church, that what is expected of Timothy is that he will be ready. ready to proclaim the Word in which He has abided, ready to proclaim the mystery of Jesus Christ in which He has dwelt, ready to proclaim the sacred writings that He has spent time knowing and understanding with His Savior, that He is to be ready to preach the word in season and out of season. That means when it is needed and when it is not needed, when there is a good opportunity and when it's not a good opportunity. The readiness of the Christian is not contingent upon the circumstances. The readiness of the Christian is contingent upon our abiding with Jesus Christ.

So whether that is the time for us to speak, it is not the time for us to speak. We are ready to be proclaimers of the word of the Lord. And how can we be ready to preach the word in season and out of season? By abiding in the word. The times of war, spiritually speaking, are faced by your preparation in times of peace.

So that when we are not distracted, when there is no suffering, when you have time, when you have the ability, when you have the power to do so, the more that you accumulate in your spiritual vessel of Christ, the more that you will be ready in the time of difficulty, in the time of trial, in the time of persecution, whatever it is that is to come to face that moment with the Word of God in you. when you're broken, when you're discouraged, when you don't have the power to wake up in the morning and to open up the scriptures because you have fallen in sin and because your mind is tempted with different things, that moment is going to be determined by how much you spend with Christ in the previous season, that which has been deposited in your heart, that which Christ has put into your mind and into your heart, because every day that you come to the Savior, it is preparation not only for that day, but for what comes ahead. So if the Lord is going to give us months, if the Lord is going to give us years, if the Lord is going to give us brothers and sisters and children and a future, it is our duty to abide today in the scriptures so that we will be found to be ready to proclaim the word in season and out of season. Sometimes people ask, how long does it take to prepare a sermon? And my answer is 11 years or 12 years that I have been a Christian.

It is all the time that I have spent with the Lord that defines what I can know, what I can say, and is the same exactly for you. Your Christian life is not a week or two weeks or one night in which you are preparing something to know and to say. Your Christian life is meant to be the result of your abiding with Christ. Because when temptation comes or temptation arrives, that which is in your heart from Christ is what is going to protect you. Ready in season and out of season.

Thirdly or fourthly, it is not only that we are to be ready, but brothers and sisters, we are to be willing to say a difficult thing. Pay attention to verse two. So Paul says to Timothy that he's to preach the word and to be ready in season and out of season. And he's going to tell him how he's supposed to do it. Reprove rebuke, and exhort.

And I know that these are words that we don't use very often in English, but let me just simply tell you one common denominator about reproof, rebuke, and exhort. They are difficult things. Reproving, rebuking, and exhorting. Someone perhaps would have said, oh, I would have preferred the poll would have said here, encourage, You know, like speak about your blessings and about the things that you have, which Paul does in the rest of the scriptures. But here, the apostle is pointing Timothy that in the readiness to proclaim the word in season and out of season, we are to reprove, rebuke, and exhort.

And my dear brother and sister, this shows us a very important balance in the scriptures. Is it true that the scriptures speak about the blessing of what it is forgiven? It is true. Is it true that the scriptures speak about the blessing of being free? It is true.

Is it true that the scriptures speak about the blessing of being in Jesus Christ in the heavenly places? It is true. It is true that the scriptures speak about the future blessing that we're going to have, the sin will be no more? It is true. But when you honestly come through the scriptures, you realize that the labor of the apostle Peter and Paul and John with the Christians was not only pointing to those things that you are forgiven and that you're loved and that you're a child of God, which they do and we do and we should do, but also with the reproving and the rebuking and the exhortation and the correction.

And this is what gives the balance to the sound doctrine of Jesus Christ. We are sometimes very quick to point to preachers and churches that will speak about, you know, prosperity and that if you come to Jesus Christ, you have a new life and that you have a new car and that you can have a lot of money and that you can have a reputation. And sometimes, you know, we are very quick just to analyze that and just to see that that is wrong. And it is wrong. It is wrong that the exaltation of the preaching of the gospel would be material blessings.

But there is a subtle, also, disbalance or unbalance in the preaching of the Word. And that is when the only thing that is coming from the pulpit is that you're loved, you are forgiven, you are a child of God, and then you are free. And that the emphasis of what is preached and teaches, you are forgiven, You are loved, you're cared for, and you're a child of God. All of those things are true, and we ought to preach them. But my dear brother and sister, even though we're forgiven, we are loved, we're children of God, and we're free in Him, we have something inside of us that is called sin, and it's going to be within us until the moment in which we die.

So commitment to the fullness of the Word of God, it is not only common to say you're forgiven, you're loved, you're a child of God, let's praise God because you're forgiven and you're all of these things which we should do, but there is time of reproof, there's time of rebuking and exhortation, and that is needed for the soul of the Christian. Just as a child is not manifested full loved when they are just allowed to do whatever they want because they are children, and look how cute, they are just destroying the wall without discipline. Just as a child is not loved without discipline, so we are not loved without the discipline that comes from the Lord. That is the whole point of the Apostle Paul in Hebrews chapter 12. So then that means that the proclamation of the word should be willing to say those things that are hard to say to the carnal ear.

And then that means that the building up of the biblical church, it is not only going to be speaking to warm the ears of the carnality of people, but the building up of the church will happen with correction, with rebuke, and with exhortation. And even though sometimes that might be done wrong, sometimes those things might be done with the wrong countenance and with a bad accent and with difficult things to say, even though those things might be done in that particular way, the question is not so much how is it delivered, but the question is, is it true? Because if it is true, then our problem is not with the person that speaks, then our problem is with the person who has given the truth that is written in the scriptures. And let me submit to you that you and me, we need reproof and correction and exhortation through the word of the Lord. So a biblical church is one that is committed to the word.

And in being committed to the word, first understand that the word is not just only a word of psychological wisdom, but is the word of the Lord that comes from above, that is divine, given by inspiration, understands the seriousness of the calling that we have to proclaim the truth. It is ready in season and out of season by being diligent to students of the scriptures to proclaim the truth, and is willing to say the difficult things. because in being willing to say the difficult things, rebuking, exhorting, and reproving, then we are showing the love that Christ has shown to his bride. There's going to be one time in which sin is going to be no more, and that time we are going to enjoy the fullness of Christ, but until that time arrives, Christ Jesus will make us more like him, and that will happen through the Word. And fifth, I think it's number five, The final thing that we need to understand is that this is a process.

Pay attention to how he concludes in verse 2. It says, So he puts those two together, that which you do and that which you ought to have. teaching, and patience. And you are to be patient only when something requires time. Let me just say this to you, my dear brother and sister.

Our coming together to Christ and our spiritual maturity requires teaching and requires patience. And patience is seen in the fact that your brother and sister will not be what you want them to be. Your brother and sister might not be where they ought to be. The church might not be where you want the church to be. But the work of Jesus Christ is not that you go into a place and that you find perfect people and a perfect church because you think that you are perfect.

The process is a process, and that means that we walk together in the scriptures. As some people may advance in certain things coming with all the baggage from their past, and all of us come with baggage from our past and our presuppositions and our assumptions and the things that we have to learn and de-learn or unlearn, whatever the word it is that you use, but this is a process. Is it an enjoyable process? It's not. It's not an enjoyable process, and it's not an easy process, but this is the process that Christ has appointed to his bride and to his church.

That's why the solution that many times churches find to that is that I disconnect myself from you and put up on this persona of just being this person, and then we have 100, 200, 300 people so that we don't know what is going on with our lives, but we just simply come on a Sunday to be gathered together, and that's it. because that is easier. But if we want to minister to each other, it is painful. And it makes us feel sometimes that we want to run away because painful is not enjoyable. But the process of sanctification is difficult in the individual and is difficult in the church.

So we are to teach with patience. Knowing that every time that we point one finger, there are three pointing to us, and that there might be something even worse in myself than in the others. So we are to be patient in the process that God has ordained for his people. How do I know that I'm in the right process? If I'm committed to the word of the Lord.

Not in the perfection of my ways, not in the perfection of my decisions, not in the perfections of the things how we deal with each other, but if we are committed to Christ and to his word. So a biblical church is not one that is perfect. A biblical church is one that is committed to the word of the Lord. not only in the sermon that is preached and the Bible study, but in every single person being encouraged and being strengthened and being pointed that we are to abide in the Word of the Lord, that we are to be proclaimers of the Word of the Lord, that we are to know the divinity of the Word of the Lord, that the Word of the Lord is equal to the life of God, that we are to know that the Word of the Lord provides everything that we need, that we understand the seriousness of the call that we have in the scriptures, that we understand that we are to be ready in season and out of season, that we are willing to say the things that are difficult to say, and that we are willing to put ourselves through the process of being taught the Word of God, being patient with ourselves, and being patient with others. Because if we fall into the trap, I think is the word, of being impatient, then we will not endure sound teaching.

Why are we supposed to be committed to the word of the Lord? Thirdly, and with this I finish, because of our flesh, my dear brother and sister. Our flesh is going to tempt us to run away and to oppose the truth. There are two types of opposition that Paul mentions here in chapter 3 and chapter 4. Those opposers of the truth.

Let me finish perhaps in three minutes with these. Two types of opposers to the truth. Those who need to be avoided. and those that are going to walk away seeking their own pleasures. There are two types.

Actually, the reason why Paul is writing this way to Timothy, it is because the church, it is in an environment in which there are people, false teachers, false Christians, that are trying to change and they're trying to, you know, alter the way of the word of the Lord. These two types of people, there's the lovers of self, that need to be avoided, and the lovers of self that are going to walk away from the truth, and that are going to accumulate unto themselves teachers that suit their own passions. The first type of people, lovers of selves, lovers of their passions, are the ones that want to remain within the truth. They want to remain within the church, but these people are to be avoided. We are told about these people in the first nine verses of chapter 3.

Pay attention to this. It says in 3.1, but understand this. But in the last days, there will come times of difficulty, perilous times. Verse two, for people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unpeaceable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasures, rather than lovers of God.

And it's not that these people are not saying, Lord, I love you. It is that they are lovers of pleasures, rather than lovers of God. It says, verse 5, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power, the power of godliness. Avoid such people. There are three instances in which Paul teaches Timothy how to deal with false teachers.

This is the only instance in which he says, in this letter I mean, that we are to avoid such people. that we are not to be with them, but that we are to avoid such people, those who pretend and show godliness, but they have denied the power of godliness. Verse 6, for among them are those who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions, always learning and never able to arrive to the knowledge of the truth. just as Janus and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also opposed the truth, men corrupted in mind and disqualified regarding the faith. But they will not get very far, for their folly will be plain to all, as was that of those two men, Janus and Jambres."

These are the lovers of self. That they are within the truth and they're always learning but never able to arrive to the fullness of the truth. These people avoid. But in the immediate context, we have the people that are actually going to run away from the truth. Why is Timothy supposed to be committed to the Word of the Lord and to preach the Word of the Lord according to the will of Christ?

Because verse four or verse three of chapter four, there's going to be people that will deviate from the truth and accumulate unto themselves teachers that speak to them according to what they want to hear. It says in verse three, for the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. My dear brothers and sisters, there is a sense in which the fullness of the word of the Lord is meant to be endured, not because of the harshness of the words that are used to be proclaimed, but because of the sin that is found inside of us. And once the righteous word of the Lord is preached against the sin that is against us, this requires the grace of the Lord to keep us and to preserve us, to lead us into repenting of our sins, and to come into Jesus Christ for forgiveness. But when we are not coming to Jesus, but rather we make ourselves self-righteous and we say, I'm not wrong, I'm not wrong, I'm not wrong, I'm right, what we end up doing is I want to change the voice that is preaching to me the word of the Lord, So I'm going to change for the voice that tells me all of these other things that make me feel good about myself so that I can continue to live my life in darkness, in the secret place, not being bothered by the proclamation of the word.

And while that could be called a church and a place in which Christians gather, let me submit to you That if the fullness of the counsel of God is not brought according to what is written in the scriptures, with the good, the bad, and the difficult, then we're not bringing the fullness of the will of Christ to our hearts. And if we don't have the fullness of the will of Christ for us, we are not committed to his word. We're only committed to the parts that we want. We're only committed to the things that we want to hear and that we want to receive. A biblical church is one that is committed to the Word of the Savior, not only in the collective way, but in the individual way, that every person is committed to Christ.

And as it says with Paul, I have counted all laws for the excellency of knowledge, my Lord Jesus Christ. I have counted all laws for the excellency and the greatness of what it is to be a Christian and to follow the Lord Jesus Christ. Following the Lord Jesus Christ means that I'm going to come to this book, not every time that I'm in trouble, not every time that I'm in difficulty, not every time that I just simply remember that I need to check this book. But in submission to my Savior and out of love for Him, I'm going to come to this book on a daily basis. Just as I need food for my physical body, I'm going to come to this book to spend time with Jesus, with Christ that illuminates my mind, that points me, that matures me, and I'm able to discern that which is right, that which is wrong, so that my mind, my feeble mind, is not filled with thoughts.

My eyes are not easily filled with evil sights. My hands are not going to the direction that they should know. My feet are not used for unrighteousness, but rather by the power of the Spirit, I'm able to bring glory to the Lord and to serve one another with the word that has been given to each one of us. Every person that is a genuine Christian is a vessel of grace. And every time that you spend time with Christ, the grace of Christ is deposited into your vessel.

And that grace that is given unto you is necessary not only for your walk, but it's also necessary for the walk of your brothers and sisters. And sometimes, my dear brothers and sisters, we are just so even just taken over by the things that are going on inside of us, That we are no longer able to minister and to serve one another. That's why we depend upon Jesus Christ. Because when we are in Him, every matter of the heart is brought before the feet of the Savior, and the Savior is the one that strengthens us to serve one another. A committed church to Christ is a committed church to the Scriptures, and a committed church to the Scriptures is one in which every person is committed to the Word of Jesus.

And I finish with this, are you committed to the Word of Christ? Are you being abiding and diligently coming to the Savior to abide and spend time with Him? You may look back in this week or the previous month and you may say, no, I have not been doing it because it's been difficult and there's too many distractions. This is my word for you. Do not look back to the previous month or the previous week or the previous day in which you have not done what you ought to do.

Look ahead by the grace of the Savior, and by the grace of Christ. Today is the day in which you come to the scriptures and seek the Lord Jesus Christ. Tomorrow is the day in which you come to the scriptures and you try to find your Savior. Look back, and that is gone. There's nothing that you can do about that.

It is be committed with the grace that the Savior has given you for you to come to Christ and to want to know more about your Lord, about your Savior. Because when you come to the scriptures and you do so, my dear brother and sister, you find the greatness of who He is, what He has done for you, what He has done for your brothers and sisters, and what He will continue to do in the context of the church until He comes. And in that there's a lot of joy, there's a lot of peace, there's a lot of strength, and there's a lot of perspective so that when we see the trials and difficulties of our present days, we see with the glories of Christ that are much greater than that because we have been taught by the scriptures. May the Lord make us abiders in Christ, and may the Lord make us abiders in his words, that that which is none of us is not only that we love one another, but the love that we have for one another is rooted in that we spend time with the Savior because he loved us and he gave himself for us. Amen?

Amen. Let us pray. Father, Lord, I give you thanks for your goodness and your patience towards us, Lord. And I pray, O Lord, that the words that we have preached and the things that we have said, as they correspond to scriptures, Lord, that you will deposit them in the hearts of your people. I pray, Lord, for every brother and for every sister and for every children here present.

I pray, O Lord, that you will grant us the strength that is needed for us to come and abide in Christ. We are so easily distracted many times, Lord, with work, with education, with money, with savings, with future, with uncertainties, with health, with children, Lord, with all the things that you have given us and that we are to be diligent with, Lord. So many times, Lord, we leave behind all the important matters of our abiding with Christ in the world. I pray, O Lord, that you will make us a church that is committed to the Word. I pray, O Lord, that you will make us brothers and sisters that are committed to the Word.

I pray, O Lord, that you will teach us the value of the importance of the Word of the Lord as the God-breathed Word. that you will teach us the seriousness of the calling that we have been vessels of truth, that you will teach us, Lord, to be ready in season and out of season to be proclaimers of the truth, that you will grant us the strength that is needed to speak the things that are sometimes difficult to speak according to the word, that you will grant us, Lord, the patience and the teaching that is necessary for us to walk together, looking to Christ Jesus and being committed to our Savior. Bless us, Lord. Forgive us, Lord, for the many times that we have not come to you. Forgive us, O Lord, for the many times that we have been distracted.

Forgive us, O Lord, for the many times that we've thought that we have the answer in our minds and in our hearts and we have not come to you. We don't want to be followers of Christ only in our mouth. We want to be followers of Christ in our heart, in work and in the things that we say. Make us, Lord, students of your word. I pray, Lord, for the husbands and the wives.

Make us, Lord, people that bring the word of God to our children. Make us, Lord, people that proclaim the word of God with boldness and with clarity in our households. I pray, Lord, that you will bless our marriages, Lord, that in all beautiful things that we can do together and enjoy one another, husband and wife, Lord, that you will grant us praying together and spending time in the scriptures. I pray, O Lord, that you will do this for our children, Lord. I pray that you will do this for the single, that you will do this for the elderly, that you will do this for the sick, that you will do the one that is weak, Lord, that you will make us people, not only that come together to open the Scriptures and to read the Scriptures, but that we will be known as the people that spend every day in your Word, in prayer before your presence, Lord.

not as a religious group of people, Lord, that just simply do external things, but understanding that we depend of the life that comes from you, and how weak we are, and how easily we are taken by the things and the distractions of this world. I pray, O Lord, that you will strengthen each one of these brothers and sisters, all of us, even those brothers and sisters who are not present among us, and that you will bear fruits of righteousness in us for the glory of the Father. Now as we come to the table, Lord, and as we are going to partake of the wine and of the bread, as we are going to be united in this table, Lord, to the Word of God, I pray, Lord, that you will bless us and that you will grant us faith, Lord, to do it with reverence and always with joy for the fact that we have been forgiven and that we are your people. I pray that you will do this in Jesus' name. Amen.