Sola Scriptura (2 Timothy 3:16-17)

Devos.HipHop

Flame || Rewind

Let’s be real, how many of us take the Bible seriously? Sure, there are some good things in it that help us live better lives, and of course there’s that stuff about God, Jesus, heaven & hell. But most of us only crack open our Bibles on Sunday morning, and maybe a few times during the week to read a verse or two. That’s not putting much respect on the Bible. Well, what if I told you there’s more to the Bible than that?

The 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith teaches that the Bible gives us everything we need to know God as he has revealed himself, how to obtain salvation, & ultimately how to please God with our lives. Yet, many view the Bible in a different light. To quote Flame, “People pick and choose what they will and won’t use from the Holy Scriptures// but the Bible is not just a book that you can just look through and see what fits ya.” No can do. That’s not how the Bible works. According to 2 Timothy 3:16 everything in the Bible is breathed out or inspired by God. That means if these are God’s words given through human authors moved to write them down, then we must take them all seriously.

How do we know the Bible is about more than salvation? The rest of 2 Timothy 3:16 tells us why God gave us the Bible. First, it’s good for teaching and gives us the knowledge we need. What does it teach? Primarily three things: 1) who God is, 2) God’s reason and plan for salvation, and 3) how to live in light of this knowledge. Next the Bible is good for reproof, which means getting called out when you’re wrong or breaking God’s Law. But, we aren’t called out without being given a path of correction, which is the next thing on the list. The Bible corrects our wrong thinking & habits, allowing us to repent & move forward. Finally, it trains us to live godly lives. You’re not going to get this from just a few verses here and there, it takes reading all of the Bible. This is one reason why the Old Testament is worth reading. In 1 Corinthians 10:6 we’re told that God allowed these events to be recorded so we could have examples of how to live.

I want to close by quoting Flame one more time. He says, “please don’t insert your own authority in place of the scriptures, that’s backwards.” And in the very next line he says, “the scriptures are perfect and they are able to guide the people of God into the truth of God.” Yes, the Bible is a big book, but it’s one we should take time to learn because it has everything we need for living well in this life and reaching the next. Can we get this information else where? Nope! That’s why it’s “Sola Scriptura,” aka Scripture alone.

Dig Deeper

1. Read Psalm 1. What does this psalm tell us about the person who delights in studying God’s Word and living it out?
2. Read 1 Timothy 6:3-11. What kinds of things are we taught to avoid and pursue according to this passage?
3. Read 2 Peter 3:15-16. How do we know that both the Old and New Testaments are inspired by God? How does Peter refer to Paul’s writings?

Purchase

Download

Download Podcast Episode

Background music: The Battery “Finna Be (Instrumental)” from album Two – courtesy of Illect Recordings