VOICES FROM THE PEWS: THE VALUE OF SCRIPTURE (2 TIM 3:14-17)

Snippet of Sermon by Mr Lim K Tham

1. V 15 Scripture makes us wise for salvation. John 20:31 tells us that the 1 aim of scripture is to help readers know God. We live in a time where Christian activities to evangelize others, even tracts are unwelcome. Evangelism in the early church was via the use of Scripture and nothing else. It was said that the gospel stood out in the way the speaker appealed to Scripture e.g. Peter, Stephen and Paul's use of Scripture. In one study about evangelism, it was found that people were converted to the Christian faith due to two factors:

• The reading of the Bible
• The lifestyle of the Christians.

Scriptures point us to salvation. The knowledge of Scripture by itself, does not save. That knowledge is only useful when it is applied.

2. V16 It is profitable for teaching (what is right), for reprove (what is not right), for correction (how to get it right), for training in righteousness (how to stay right). The usefulness of Scripture is when creed (beliefs) and our conduct are married together. Bible was not given for our information but for our TRANSFORMATION. What we believe must be backed by conduct. The speaker referred to recent article by David Brooks that sparked a debate (david-brooks-moral-diet.html). In the artcile, he mentioned that in the 1970s, the gift shop at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts was an informal affair. It was staffed by about 300 mostly elderly volunteers, and there were cash drawers instead of registers. The problem was that of the shop’s $400,000 in annual revenue, somebody was stealing $150,000.

 

Dan Weiss, the gift shop manager at the time who is now the president of Lafayette College, investigated. He discovered that there wasn’t one big embezzler. Bunches of people were stealing. Dozens of elderly art lovers were each pilfering a little.

The writer of the article also had one blind colleague and one sighted colleague take taxi rides. The drivers cheated the sighted colleague by taking long routes much more often than they cheated the blind one, even though she would have been easier to mislead. They would have felt guilty cheating a blind woman.

"... these days, people are more likely to believe in their essential goodness. People who live by the Good Person Construct try to balance their virtuous self-image with their selfish desires. They try to manage the moral plusses and minuses and keep their overall record in positive territory. In this construct, moral life is more like dieting: I give myself permission to have a few cookies because I had salads for lunch and dinner. I give myself permission to cheat a little because, when I look at my overall life, I see that I’m still a good person." What the Bible tells us is that we need some interior moral standard. Are you bothered by the spiritual nominalism? Do we want to grow in holiness?

3. V17 It equips people to do good works. The study and reading of scripture must never be simply for our own salvation only. It should be more than defending the faith. Ultimately it is for equipping believers to please God and to do the work God wants him/her to do. We are all called to serve. Here, the author uses an old title reserved for prophets in the Old Testament, "the man of God" although it is used in a general way here to place the responsibility on all of us to be worthy of that title. We must be fully equipped for good works and this equipping is only found in the word of God.

CONCLUSION: 3 REASONS FOR VALUING SCRIPTURES.

1. Wisdom for Salvation. No other literature can do it, not even tracts. It is important than to give Scripture away.
2. Profitable for teaching and instruction. We need to read and study it and let our conduct be consistent with our creed.
3. Bring us to maturity as man and woman of God, equipped for good works!