The Value of Teaching

2 Timothy 4:3 For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, 4 and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.

3 Ἔσται γὰρ καιρὸς ὅτε τῆς ὑγιαινούσης διδασκαλίας οὐκ ἀνέξονται ἀλλὰ κατὰ τὰς ἰδίας ἐπιθυμίας ἑαυτοῖς ἐπισωρεύσουσιν διδασκάλους κνηθόμενοι τὴν ἀκοὴν 4  καὶ ἀπὸ μὲν τῆς ἀληθείας τὴν ἀκοὴν ἀποστρέψουσιν, ἐπὶ δὲ τοὺς μύθους ἐκτραπήσονται.

Paul has just finished explaining the value of Scripture in 3:16-17 and now he is explaining his admonition to Timothy that he preach the word.  This is the reason why.  There will be a time when people will not endure sound teaching.  You don't have to look very far to realize that this clearly speaks to our society today.

Sadly, this even permeates our churches.  You can find folks reading Joel Osteen, yet they identify themselves as evangelical.  T.D. Jakes is a bestseller, despite the fact that he denies the Trinity and is a Oneness Pentecostal.  Joyce Meyer's particular blend of psychology, self-help, and Word-Faith theology packs out coliseums around the country.  Why?  These so-called teachers tell people what they need to feel better about themselves.

Of course, the Bible is full of promises that help us to feel better.  But the difference is that they are promises that make us feel better because of who God is and who we are in Him.  The Bible is about Jesus, not about us.  If we just read it like a fortune cookie we may think that it is all about us, but it's really His story, not ours.

This is why it is important to study and teach theology.  We need to look for answers to the fundamental questions of life.  Who is God?  Who is man?  What does man need to be reconciled to God?  If we are reconciled then how should we live as a result of this reconciliation?

Read your Bible that you may know God.  Everything begins to fall into place after that.

Scripture

2 Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.

16 πᾶσα γραφὴ θεόπνευστος καὶ ὠφέλιμος πρὸς διδασκαλίαν, πρὸς ἐλεγμόν, πρὸς ἐπανόρθωσιν, πρὸς παιδείαν τὴν ἐν δικαιοσύνῃ, 17  ἵνα ἄρτιος ᾖ ὁ τοῦ θεοῦ ἄνθρωπος, πρὸς πᾶν ἔργον ἀγαθὸν ἐξηρτισμένος.

I often try to stay away from the more commonly-quoted passages when I write these little journal entries, but I can't pass this one up.  This is one of my absolute favorite passages in the New Testament.  It pretty much summarizes my approach to life and ministry.  The key to everything is Scripture.  We will get into this a bit more when we do 2 Peter 1, but the point is that Scripture has what we need to live.  It is not just that Scripture equips man for some good works, but it equips man for πᾶν ἔργον ἀγαθὸν.  All means all.

This is one of the strongest passages we have for the inspiration of Scripture.  Paul uses a word that presumably he made up for the occasion.  As far as anyone knows, the word θεόπνευστος  is a compound word where he joined Θεος and πνεω.  He made it up because it perfectly expressed how Scripture came to be.  God breathed it out.  Note that this refers to πᾶσα γραφὴ.

This has a very profound implication.  This means that the word ὁ in verse 17 is as inspired as the word θεόπνευστος in verse 16.  It means that everything in Scripture is important.  This is not to say that God dictated everything, but what we have as Scripture is what God intended for us to know.  We see in verse 16 all that it does for us.

So, to beat my drum again, we need to know what it says!  I cannot over-emphasize the importance of this.  Know your Bible.  Find a reading system and stick to it.  I am really enjoying the ten chapters approach.  Whatever you do, find some way to get through your Bible systematically.  You will not be sorry.

Controversies

2 Timothy 2:23 Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels.

23 τὰς δὲ μωρὰς καὶ ἀπαιδεύτους ζητήσεις παραιτοῦ, εἰδὼς ὅτι γεννῶσιν μάχας·

This is one of those chapters where I could write about several different verses.  I chose this one because of a great discussion I had with a commenter last week.  It is vitally important that we be careful about our controversies.

There are a lot of dangerous areas with me.  First, I'm in seminary and thinking about matters of theology.  This is the time when one is forced to think about these matters and start to make decisions about them.  Papers are polemic by nature, so it is easy to be in an argumentative mood.  I need to be careful about that.

Second, I'm a Calvinist.  This is not to say that Arminians have no interest in discussing theology.  Far from it. However, for some reason we Calvinists tend to be a little more combative when it comes to these things.  We tend not to be afraid of being "jerks for Jesus" because we figure that the important thing is just to get the word out and let God sort everything out.  While that is true to a degree, it does not excuse any lack of gentleness nor does it excuse looking for a fight.

Third, I tend to thrive on discussion and argument.  I like hashing stuff out with others.  I'm not very good at sports, but I still like to compete.  This is one area where I can be competitive and often win.  However, theology is not a competition.

Ultimately the goal is to show people Christ so that they may enjoy Him.  I also want to enjoy Him more.  I don't think that foolish controversies add to that.  However, we also need to remember that some controversies are vital.  The trick is to distinguish which are vital and which can be left with a decision to "agree to disagree."  I think we learn that by time in the Word to see what is important to God and by listening to the Spirit as we go about our lives.

Our Spirit

2 Timothy 1:7 for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.

7 οὐ γὰρ ἔδωκεν ἡμῖν ὁ θεὸς πνεῦμα δειλίας ἀλλὰ δυνάμεως καὶ ἀγάπης καὶ σωφρονισμοῦ.

In this second letter Paul is giving Timothy some exhortations.  Remember, this is the last time Paul would write to Timothy, so he had to make this count.  Here he explains about how Timothy received the Holy Spirit after Paul laid hands on him and prayed over him.  This verse explains the type of spirit we received.  It is one of δυνάμεως καὶ ἀγάπης καὶ σωφρονισμοῦ.

This is one of those verses that can actually go well on the bathroom mirror or on an index card.  I am normally against turning Scripture into fortune cookie aphorisms, but this verse contains a promise that we would do well to remember often.  God did not save us so that we might be timid.  This has all kinds of implications.

For example, when you sense the Holy Spirit prompting you to tell someone about Jesus, how do you react?  Is it out of fear or is it out of His power?  I'm afraid that I fail at that frequently.  When you look at your life are you worried about how you can possibly make ends meet or do you trust in God's provision for your life?  When you approach an unknown situation do you trust in God's sovereign care over your life or do you think through all the possible ways that things can and will go wrong?

We could go through a myriad of applications with this verse.  Paul wrote this to Timothy specifically about Timothy's ministry.  However, I don't think we need to stop there.  Let's remember that God's Holy Spirit is one of power and not δειλίας, amen?