Biblical Inerrancy - 2 Timothy 3: 14-17

1:35We just had our biggest Sunday a few weeks ago, and we had 70 people there. It's just amazing, yeah. And it's just a lot of joy, a lot of growth in all the ways that you want to see, not just numerical growth, but people confessing sin, people being discipled, loving the Word of God. It's just such a joy to be a part of, and it's so much fun. If you want more updates, you can ask me about it later. But one of the chief theological debates of the 20th century was the debate over the inerrancy of Scripture. And I don't know if you remember that, but there began to be in scholarly circles, there began to be a looking down upon the teaching that the Scriptures were inerrant. And that eventually crept in even into Christian academia to where it was not cool as a scholar, as a theologian, to believe in the inerrancy of Scripture. They would say, how naïve, you know, how foolish to think that a work, a work written by men, could actually be perfect and without error. And so the debate blew up in Christian circles, and people argued, and battle lines were drawn. And from that debate, there were these very clear statements. That came out about the inerrancy of Scripture. People took sides, and you have the more conservative Christians that stood their ground and said, No, we believe in the inerrancy of Scripture. And then you have their more liberal counterparts that said, Well, we don't. And it was very clear. Well, after that clarity, there came to be a little bit murkier of a distinction.

3:27Some Christians, still wanting acceptance in academia and in other circles, they said, No, no, no, we still believe in the inerrancy of Scripture. We're not going to deny that debate, but we're going to call it something different. And they called it something that should be a synonym. And they would say that they believe in the infallibility of Scripture. That should be a synonym, but listen to this. R. C. Sproll writes, To escape guilt by association with anti-intellectual circles, some have retreated from the term inerrancy and taken refuge in the term infallibility. Let me read that again. To escape guilt by association with anti-intellectual circles, some have retreated from the term inerrancy and taken refuge in the term infallibility. And again, those terms should be. Synonymous, inerrancy means without error, and infallibility means without mistake. They should be synonyms, but when people make a distinction, they redefine infallibility to mean something less than inerrancy.

4:46Here's what you might hear somebody say. They might give a more qualified definition. And so they would say something like, I believe that the Bible is without error in all matters of faith and practice. Have you ever heard that before? I believe that the Bible is without error in all matters of faith and practice. Well, that's certainly a true statement. The Bible is without error in all matters of faith and practice. But the reason why they add that qualification is because they're trying to leave some things out. They're saying it's without error in all matters of faith and practice, but there are maybe some areas that it does have error. They're trying to get a little bit of wiggle room in that statement, and usually what they mean is that it's got some scientific errors, it's got some historical errors, it doesn't match the archaeological record, but all matters of faith and practice is without error. And they would define that position as believing in the infallibility of Scripture. You can see that saying that the Bible is without error in all matters of faith and practice, you can see that that's a lot different than saying that the Bible is without error, period. But the Bible is without error, period.

6:06In faith, in practice, and in anything else. Why is this the case? How can we be confident that the Bible is without error? Well, it's in our text. He says, all Scripture is breathed out by God. You can find that at the beginning of verse 16. All scripture is breathed out by God. At the time, Paul's referring to the Old Testament writings. He's writing to Timothy, and he's saying, these scriptures that you know, they've been breathed out by God. And of course, that would apply to the New Testament writings as well. But you can see that there's no wiggle room in this statement. Those who would try and find little errors or something, they might quote to you a different passage about the inspiration of Scripture. They might quote to you 2 Peter 1.21. It says this, No prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men carried along by the Holy Spirit spoke from God. That's a true statement. And they would say, you see, we believe in the inspiration of the Holy Scriptures. We believe that men were inspired. They were carried along by the Holy Spirit and they spoke by God. And then they would take another step and they would say, but you know, all men are sinners and we all make mistakes. And so even though those men were inspired by God, they can still make mistakes. Surely, there are a little bit of mistakes here and there in the scriptures. But in our passage today, there's no wiggle room like this. Because it doesn't just say that the men were inspired, though they were. They were carried along by the Holy Spirit. But our text doesn't stop there. It says that the words were inspired.

7:55It says, all Scripture is breathed out by God. The words themselves are inspired by God. They have been breathed out by God. So if the Scripture says it, God says it. That's the point. And so if then we're going to say that the Bible does have some errors in some different categories, well, then who made those errors? You'd have to say that God made errors if the Scriptures have been breathed out by God. But of course, that's not true. If the Bible says it, God says it, and God doesn't make errors. So if the Bible says it, it's true.

8:37Inerrancy of Scripture. Well, so far in chapter 3, Paul has been speaking to Timothy, his protege in the faith, the one that he's left behind in Ephesus. He's writing a letter to him, and he is talking about how he's about to die. He's about to put off, he's being poured out as a drink offering. The time of his departure has come, and so far in chapter 3, he's been warning Timothy about false teachers. Timothy has been told to remain separate from false teachers and distinguish his ministry from theirs. Avoid them. Watch out for them.

9:17Paul tells Timothy that he's got two advantages for this, and one came earlier in the chapter, and that was that Timothy has seen Paul's life. Timothy knows that Paul's life is very different from the false teacher's life. Timothy has observed Paul's life. He's seen how much he's worked for the gospel. He's seen how much he's labored, and so he can copy that. That was the first advantage. The second is in our text today, that Timothy has the scriptures. These false teachers are always trying to teach something new. They're always craving after something new. The people who listen to them are always having itching ears. But Timothy has all that he needs because he has the Word of God. That's the point of our text today. Timothy, you have everything you need because you have the Scriptures, and the Scriptures have been breathed out by God. And so you can know that they are dependable and profitable and abundantly sufficient. That's our outline for today. Three truths about the God-breathed scriptures. They are dependable. They are profitable. And they are abundantly sufficient. They are dependable. Dependable, they are profitable, and they are abundantly sufficient. Follow along as I read 2 Timothy 3, verses 14 through 17. 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. Pray with me. Father, as we come to study this passage, we pray that you would help us understand.

11:18Help us be confident in the truth that it expresses, that your word is breathed out by you. And so it is dependable. It is profitable. It is sufficient for us. Help us come to this passage even today and believe that in the core of our being. Help us learn from your word and help us seek to apply it and grow. Help us repent where we've neglected the truth. We pray for sharp minds this morning that are able to pay attention to your word and learn from it. In Jesus' name, amen.

12:00Well, the first truth about the God-breathed Scriptures is that they are dependable. Dependable. Look at verse 14. He says, 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. So Paul uses language right at the beginning to turn aside from the false teachers. He's been talking about them. And now he addresses Timothy. He's done this a bunch of times in this letter already. He's talking about the false teachers. And then he turns to Timothy and says, but you, you're different. Something different for you. And he says to Timothy, continue.

12:49Remain in what you know. You don't need something new. The false teachers are always chasing after something new. You remain. You continue in the Scriptures. Continue in what you've been taught. He says, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed. So Timothy has learned the scriptures, and he learned them enough to become firmly convinced, to firmly trust them. He's confident in God's Word. God's Word for us is an anchor. It is dependable. It's something that you can. Come to and learn about and firmly believe it, firmly trust what's written in it. And Paul is saying to Timothy, that's what you've done. You've come to learn this word, you've firmly believed it, now continue in it. Continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it. So, this is another reason why, for Timothy at least, the scriptures are so dependable. Because he can look at the lives of those that he learned the word of God from. He knows from whom he learned it. And this probably refers to his mother and grandmother. Remember, we hear about them elsewhere in the letters to Timothy, Eunice, and Lois. This probably also still refers to Paul and any others that Timothy has been learning the Word of God from. He can see their lives, and he sees that their lives are completely different from the false teachers.

14:23Paul is saying that that's because of God's Word. Timothy can trust God's Word, 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. This has been going on for a long time in Timothy's life, ever since childhood. He has seen the outcome of the Word of God in people's lives. He's seen the outcome of the Word of God in his own life. And Paul is saying, it's Dependable, you can keep trusting it. You know the truth. It is able to make you wise for salvation.

15:09It's in the scriptures that you can learn how to be saved. It's not, don't misunderstand, Paul is not saying that just believing that the scriptures are true or even believing that the scriptures are inerrant saves you. That's not what he says. Instead, he says that salvation is through faith in Christ Jesus. Do you see that in your text? At the end of verse 15, salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. That's the only way we're saved, is by believing in Christ Jesus. But it's the scriptures that are able to make you wise for that salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.

15:50The scriptures contain the perfect message that can lead to salvation in Christ Jesus. So I have a question for you. As you're sitting here, maybe you're somebody who's grown up in the church, a teenager. Maybe you've known the scriptures for a long time as an adult. You believe that the scriptures are true. You would hesitate to ever go against the scriptures. And yet, you haven't ever actually believed in Christ Jesus, asked for forgiveness of your sins. You honor the Word of God, you come to church, you listen, you sit up straight, and you listen to the Word of God. And yet, you've never actually believed, repented of your sins, and believed in Christ Jesus for salvation. I just want to remind you that believing that the Word of God is true isn't what saves you. It's not going to help you on Judgment Day. The only thing that's going to help you on Judgment Day is faith in Christ Jesus, trusting in Him. So, I want to invite you to do that today: to believe in Jesus Christ, to say to God that you are sorry for your sin and confess your sin.

17:03When Jesus died on the cross, he paid for our sins so that we can come and find forgiveness from our sins. And I want to invite you to do that today. But for those of us who have already believed, Paul's command to Timothy is to remain in the truth, and the command is the same for us. We need to remain in the truth. We have so many millions of distractions and other sources of truth that are competing for our affections and competing for our attention. Instead, we need to remain in the Word of God. We need to love the Word of God, rest in the Word of God. Just like we read in Psalm 19 earlier this morning, the Scriptures are this haven for us because they're perfect, they restore our soul.

17:52If we can get to the bottom of what a passage of Scripture is saying, then we've gotten to the bottom of truth itself. And so we need to sit in them and meditate on them and think about them and read them as often as we can. The scriptures are breathed out by God, and so they're dependable. The second truth about the God-breathed scriptures is that they are profitable. The scriptures are profitable. Look at verse 16. All scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training and righteousness. So you see the main idea that we've already talked about? The scriptures are breathed out by God. And then he follows that up right away by saying that they are profitable. There is great value in the scriptures.

18:46They're useful. And he'll say later in verse 17 that they're useful in every way, but here in verse 16, he lists four ways. First, he says, All scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching. You know, there's a reason why we don't gather every week and hear somebody speak word from word through Aesop's fables or any other work. There's a reason, and it's because only one work is breathed out by God. And so it is the supremely valuable content to teach and to listen through.

19:26The Word of God. Teaching on the Scriptures leads to Salvation, like we already saw. It leads to wisdom, it leads to worship. Teaching on the scriptures lets us know God and what He's like through the teaching of the prophets. The Scriptures help us know God through the Son of God. We know what God is like because Christ has been revealed in the flesh, and He is the exact imprint of the nature of God. And we read about Him in the Scriptures. And so, there's nothing more valuable to teach. And that's why, at churches like Emmanuel and Redeemer, we are always going to be committed to teaching the Word of God on Sunday, word by word, verse by verse, over and over, through books of the Bible. It's more valuable than a speaker speaking on life experience. It's more valuable than a speaker speaking on life coaching. You know, we're never going to get up here and simply speak on those things. We're not going to get up here and just speak about history or even speak about other great theologians or other sermons. We're going to instead preach on the Word of God. That's what's valuable for teaching. Next, the scriptures are profitable for reproof.

20:54Reproof. Reproof is an act of love. Christ says to the Laodicean church in Revelation, he says, Those whom I love, I reprove. Jesus tells believers, if your brother sins against you, go reprove him. And Paul tells Timothy, in 1 Timothy, he says, reprove those who sin. And so it's very clear in the scriptures that as believers, we're to be involved in this challenging ministry of reproving one another. Of when we see a brother teaching or acting in a wrong way, we're to go and confront him and reprove him out of love.

21:42And so if we know that's true, the next question is, how? How do we reprove? What resource do we have to reprove with? How can we have common ground and not just argue on the basis of opinions? And the answer is the Word of God. It's profitable for reproof. And so when you see a brother going astray in his doctrine, when you see a brother or sister going astray in their conduct, you go to him and with all the love that you have and all the gentleness you have, you bring to them the word of God and you show them their error and you reprove them and their error. That's something that we're supposed to do for each other as Christians, not just the people in the ministry, in the church, but. All of us. We're all in the ministry, in the church. We're supposed to reprove one another. The next one is similar. He says, correction. Scripture is profitable for correction. This one is probably the more positive side of reproof. So you go to your brother and you reprove him. You show him what he's been doing wrong, what's an error, but then also you correct and you restore him to what's right. You show him from the scriptures of what the right thing to do is, what the right doctrine is, through teaching him through the scriptures. You lovingly help that brother or sister walk in the light.

23:11You show them from the word what the expectation is, and it's the word itself that's sharper than any two-edged sword that'll pierce and convict and help the believer get back on the right track. Last, the scripture is profitable for training and righteousness. This is the last one he mentioned. So it's profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training and righteousness. You know, you never are going to become a good piano player without training. You don't become a world-class athlete without training, intense training. And we're never going to become righteous without training. We need to train for righteousness. We need discipleship. And the question, again, is: what is the supremely valuable resource for? This training? What's the curriculum for this training? If we're going to work hard as disciples of Christ, and that's a question for you: do you work hard as a disciple of Christ to become more mature, to lead your family? But if we're going to work hard as disciples of Christ to be trained like an athlete, like a musician, or like anything else, the only supremely valuable curriculum is the Word of God. Again, we need to grow in our knowledge of the Word of God.

24:31The Word of God teaches the content and it trains, it reproves, it corrects. The holy writings are profitable. And I know that for 99% of you in the room, these are truths that you already know and you profess with all of your heart. You believe that the Word of God is valuable. At least you say that by your words. But I'm afraid that for many of us, our actions say something completely different. We can, by our profession and our doctrine, we can say all day, yes, the Word of God is so valuable. We're going to revere the Word of God. We're going to depend on it. And then we never read it.

25:14We put in our headphones and we listen to Zen and Feng Shui and everything else, every other teaching under the sun. We never have time to listen to the scriptures. We can read news article after news article. And Twitter feed after Twitter feed, and yet we never have time for the scriptures. So we say all day that it's valuable, but then we don't treat it as something that's more precious than much fine gold, sweeter than honey, enjoyable.

25:46We treat it as a chore and we neglect it, and we pretend it's not valuable. So I just want to challenge us, and myself included, to, yes, continue agreeing to the fact that the scriptures are supremely valuable with our words, but also back that up with our actions. Treat them like that. Treat it like you just won the jackpot when you wake up and get to read the word of God. It's supremely valuable for you. The third truth about the God-breathed scriptures is that they are abundantly sufficient. They're dependable, they're profitable, and they're abundantly sufficient. Verse 17, he says that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good word.

26:37So Paul refers to the man of God here. He did in 1 Timothy chapter 6, he called Timothy a man of God. And just a side note about that phrase, there are a lot of Christian traditions that take that word and make it refer to somebody specific in the church, like a Moses-like figure. You know, the preacher is a man of God. He's a man of God. He's a man of God. And you hear that in certain Traditions, especially in the charismatic movement or even overseas. And I don't think that's what he's meaning here. I think he's meaning an ordinary Christian, a believer who is longing to be equipped. And he's saying, What equips the believer, what equips a man of God, is the Word of God.

27:23That the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. Paul is saying that the believer needs the Word of God if he's going to be complete and mature and equipped for every good work. More than that, I think that Paul is saying that he doesn't need anything else. The Word of God is sufficient. Listen again. The man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. Equipped for every good work. Not just a few good works, but every good work.

28:07The Word of God equips the man of God for every good work. Thoroughly and utterly, completely equipped in every way. Dwell on this for a little bit. Again, we don't treat the Word of God like this in our actions sometimes. We pretend like the opposite is true. True that, yeah, we need a little bit of Bible in our life. I'll get that on Sunday. The rest of the week, I need these other teachings. I need to listen to what so-and-so says, I need to listen to what this pundit says and what this philosopher says.

28:50As a Christian, we can't get away with saying that we need some outside teaching to address our sin issue. So often, as believers, we like to say that kind of thing. No, you don't understand. My sin is different. I need something different than everyone else in the church. I'm unique. I have unique temptations. But that's just not true, according to the scriptures. You've not been tempted beyond what is common to man. What we need is the word of God. And so, if you, as a believer, are not complete and equipped for every good work, well, the answer is not that it's because you haven't studied psychotherapy enough, it's not because you haven't studied philosophy enough, it's only because you haven't studied the scriptures enough and you don't know them yet.

29:44He says that the scriptures are able to make you complete and equipped for every good work. Do you treat the word of God like that? You know, this is one of the most beautiful and joyful things about the biblical counseling room. And I know you've recently done a series. On biblical counseling with Pastor Tom. One of the most astounding things is over and over Christians come in, or even unbelievers come in, and they believe that they are unique. They believe they have some condition. They believe there's no help for their sin. They can't escape from it.

30:19They believe that the Word of God does not address their sin. But then, when they stop just long enough to hear the Word of God skillfully applied to their life and they realize, wow, the Scriptures do address my sin. They do contain all that I need. Then it's like their whole world opens up. The lights come on. They realize they've been neglecting this source of truth for so long and their life has changed because of the Word of God.

30:56And because of the Spirit of God working in them. The God-breathed Scriptures are abundantly sufficient. Abundantly sufficient. So the Scriptures find their source and origin in God Himself. It was God, the Holy Spirit, who inspired the apostles and the prophets. And as they pinned their narratives and their letters and their prophecies and their poetry, the Spirit of God carried them along, and as a result, the words of the Bible are God's. God-breathed. And since they are God-breathed, like we read in the scripture reading this morning, they are perfect and they are sure, they are right and they are pure, they are clean, they are true and they are precious.

31:45And for the believer, they are dependable, they are profitable, and they are abundantly sufficient. If you have never repented of your sins and placed your faith in Jesus Christ as your Savior, I want to invite you to do that today. But I also want to invite you to start reading the Word of God. This is what has the power to make you wise for salvation in Christ Jesus. And if you don't know where to start, I want to invite you to start reading the Gospel of Mark, the book of Mark. It's the shortest of the four Gospels, and it's action-packed. And it'll introduce you to the one who came not to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. If you've never read it, I encourage you to read it. Read the Gospel of Mark.

32:36Be introduced to who Jesus is. But for those of you who are already believers, I want to encourage you to rekindle. Don't just sit there and feel guilty for how you don't read the Word of God. Instead, rekindle. This is something enjoyable. This is something profitable in your life. This is something joyful in your life. Take the time to read God's Word. It's sweeter than honey. Better than gold. You draw near to God through the study of his word. It will equip you in every way. You don't have to stay an immature believer. You can grow in maturity.

33:20The word of God will equip you to teach. You can rebuke. You can correct. You can train others with the word of God. You can be made complete through the word of God. So don't treat it lightly. Don't pretend this is just something for somebody else. You can jump in on this. Grow in knowledge. When you sit down in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise, continue in God's word.

34:01And of course, we can't stop here with the application. We're almost done, so just hang on for just a second. But we want to see how Paul applies this truth. Paul has just, as a climax of this letter, he's been talking about all these false teachers. He's giving Timothy all these final warnings. And as this climax, he says, the Word of God is breathed out by God. It's what's supremely valuable. And so what does Paul tell Timothy to do with that fact? Well, look at chapter 5. The next verse, verse 1, 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 and his kingdom, preach the word. Be ready in season and out of season, reprove, rebuke, and exhort with complete patience and teaching. You can see that at this climax of this death row letter to Timothy, as Paul is writing his final letter to his protege, what he's leaving him with is this command in the presence of God, in the presence of Christ Jesus, Christ Jesus, who sees Timothy and he's going to judge the living and the dead.

35:11And by his appearing and his kingdom, that's a heavy charge, isn't it? In Paul's last days, he gives this heavy charge to Timothy: preach the word. It's the word that's breathed out, so of course, preach it, whether it's popular or not, in season and out of season. And so, as believers, we want to always be part of a church where the word is preached, and we want to discipline ourselves to listen to the word, drink an extra cup of coffee before you come, listen to the word, pay attention, refuse to have itching ears.

35:51Instead, be humbled as you listen to the word preached. You're so blessed at this church to have a pastor. Who loves the Word of God? So come and listen to it. Listen to the Word preached and grow and be committed to the Word. And you, as an individual, read as much as you can, as often as you can. It's better than gold. It's better than an extra paycheck. Read as often as you can, read as much as you can, and highly value the dependable and profitable and sufficient Word of God. Pray with me.

36:33Father, we thank you so much for your word. It's life to us. It taught us about salvation. We thank you for our salvation. We thank you for our forgiveness in Christ Jesus. We know it's the Word of God that taught us the truth. So help us be committed to the truth. Help us be committed to your word. Help us not stray from it now that we have been saved. Let us value it more than ever. Let us learn all about you.

37:08Let us learn all about ourselves and our sin and what we need to do about it, what you've done about it. Help us learn all about you and what you want from us, how we can please you, how we can honor you, how we can glorify you. Thank you, Father, for inspiring the inerrant scriptures so that we have something that we can trust, an anchor that we can come to and learn from. We thank you for the work of your Spirit in our hearts.

37:53Help us believe. Help us value your word. In Jesus' name, amen.