SCRIPTURE…WHAT'S UP WITH THAT?

Across our society today, there are people on all sides that debate the validity, accuracy and inerrancy of the Scriptures. Even the most learned of our Biblical scholars fuss and fight over translations and interpretations that will not and cannot be solved until Jesus comes again…so where does that leave
us in relationship to God's Holy word?

The tortured, yet tireless apostle Paul had this to say to his young protégé, Timothy, in his second letter to him. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 reads, "All Scripture is breathed out by God and is profitable for teaching, for reproof,  for correction and for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be competent, thoroughly equipped for every good work."

There are several things that we should notice in this scripture. First, the Word of God is His exhale. It is what He breathes out so that we may breathe it into our lives and be forever changed. Just as we cannot live without breathing in oxygen, the competent, committed Christian cannot go a day without breathing in the Holy Word of God….it is vital to our DNA as a Christian. The lack of God's word in our lives will lead to a slow and deathly asphyxiation of who we are as a believer and will make us totally and completely vulnerable to the lies of the Deceiver.

Secondly, there are the other attributes of God's word that Paul shares with young Timothy…the ever-present need for us to be fed and taught the attributes of God so that we may become more like Jesus. There is the need for reproof or rebuke…to be called "on the carpet" for the sin that separates us from a loving Savior and to be admonished to repent and restore that relationship with a righteous and holy God.

There is the loving hand of God at work to correct us and to remake us through ingesting His word…it truly becomes His word that nourishes our soul and makes us hunger to be more like Him as He lovingly corrects us and our interactions with those that He has placed in our path. We are to point others to Jesus, but that becomes increasingly difficult to do when all anyone can see in our lives are the mistakes we make and they cannot tell us from the rest of the "loonies" that run around proclaiming to know the "truth."

And then, perhaps the most important aspect of God's word is its use as a training manual in righteousness…something that is totally foreign to us as His creations. We were born into sin and that's where we would die, except for God's grace and mercy displayed in the sacrifice of His Son for our sins. In Christ, we are declared "RIGHTEOUS" but that is just the first step in claiming our inheritance as children of the King. If we are to live as His children, we must immerse ourselves in His Word and be in constant training to run our race as believers. Our study of God's Word will equip us as God's messenger to be competent and ready to do every good work that He sets before us… and each good work propels us toward our Heavenly home and our eternal reward.

Running the Race…Ingesting His Word,

WPQ