Friday, October 24 – 2 Timothy 3:16-17

2 Timothy 3:16-17 tells us what Scripture is good for. These 2 verses tell us about the perfect Word of God and then go further by telling us how we use Scripture. We don’t read God’s Word for the sake of reading God’s Word. We read God’s Word to know the perfect will of God, so that we can be ready to go and do the work of the Kingdom of God.

That type of application is difficult in the world today. A few verses earlier, 2 Timothy 3:12 says, “all who want to live in a godly way in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” As we read the Bible and are equipped to do God’s work, we must be prepared for the persecution and suffering that will come. Each of us has a choice to make when reading the Bible. Verse 16 says, “all Scripture is inspired by God.” We can either live by all Scripture and be persecuted, or we can pick and choose Scripture that fits into the community and culture in which we are comfortable.

Living out the Bible is much easier when you have devoted yourself to a group that studies the Bible together. When you do that, you have encouragement and accountability for living out what God actually says, not how the world interprets the Bible. May we be taught, rebuked, corrected, and trained by the Bible together, so that we are ready and equipped to be the hands and feet of God.

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2%20Timothy%203%3A16-17&version=NASB