EXPOSITION OF THE THEME

By

Rev. Dr. Edward Muhima

 

2 Timothy 3: 16-17 - Fully equipped for the call

 

Scripture is inspired by God (Verse 16) means;

i)   those who wrote the scriptures wrote what God wanted.

ii)  God was actively involved in the revelation of His truth to the prophets and apostles

     who wrote it down

iii)  God Himself was the author of the Bible - He’s got the copyright. There is coherence

      from the beginning (Genesis) to the end (Revelations).

iv)  Scripture is completely trustworthy because God  was in control.

v)   It is authoritative to all believers about matters concerning their life.

 

Therefore the scripture is useful for the following;

i)   Wisdom that brings salvation;

            -to know God is eternal life, to serve Him is perfect freedom

            -the fear of the Lord is the the beginning of wisdom (knowing what to do, when to         do and say, how to do it.)

ii)  useful and good for true  teaching concerning Jesus, the person and his life.

iii) Scripture is useful for reproof;

            -showing someone where they went wrong and showing them the right way.

            -It is like a compass.

iv) Useful for correcting all the themes, theologies and ethics.

            -they are to be tested against the Bible

v) Training a person in righteousness until they are thoroughly equipped for every good  

    work.

 

Every good work; in everything you do there should be a link between knowing God’s word and applying it in our lives.

 

Implications:

1. Study of scripture should not be selfish; for the good of our own souls

            -we are the light of the world, the salt of the earth.

            -Jesus called his disciples to be with him, sent them out to preach and to cast out           demons.

2. Study God’s word to strengthen our faith and inspire us to do every good work.

 

5 important ingredients in our approach to scripture.

 

1.      Knowing that this is actually the word of God and not the words of men and women, we should approach the word in prayer. He suggested that every time we are going to read the Bible, we should pray that we are guided into understanding.

 

2.      Approach the scripture in faith; not blind faith but in trusting faith, knowing and believing that God is going to speak to us.

 

3.      Read the word while knowing that the word is the truth. When you know it is the truth you can proclaim it boldly.

 

4.      Know it is divine truth and edifying. Come to it in humility. When you are reading the word and you do not understand some things, humbly ask God to teach you what they mean in His own time. Do not just dismiss them.

 

5.      Have reverence for the Bible. Over-reverence for the book is idolatry. We need to have a high degree of reverence for the Word that the book has.

 

In conclusion, read the Word in prayer, faith, truth and reverence. There is some human error in typology but this does not change the word of God. The Bible has principles which are expressed in different ways and which cannot be changed. These principles transcend time and societies.