Biblical Teaching - 2 Timothy 3:10-4:5

I once had a friend who put diesel in her gas tank. I don’t know if she saw a lower price on the diesel and instinctively used that at the pump. Maybe she just grabbed the nearest fuel nozzle and started pumping away without considering what was really going into her gas tank. Whatever the reasoning (or lack thereof) was, the results were predictable.

Her car quit running.

What goes into the gas tank on your car really does matter. One of my favorite quotes from the movie Ratatouille goes, “Food is fuel. You get picky about what you eat, your engine is going to die.” But that just isn’t the whole story. Yes, if you run out of fuel your engine will die, but if you use the wrong kind of fuel, your engine will die just as quickly.

So what do we use to fuel our walk as Christians?

In 2 Timothy 3 and into the fourth chapter, Paul gives us a picture of just what it is that our ministries should run on. And yes, you as a student, a parent, a worker, a church member, have a ministry. You are called to love God, which leads to loving people, which leads to making disciples. At work, at home, on the golf course and in the car, that's the life of a Christian.

But Paul knows that this is difficult in our world. In the beginning of the 3rd chapter Paul points out that there are times or seasons where things will be hard. Times where we as people will love ourselves more than God and pursue our own means instead of God’s priorities. Paul knew that there would be times, much like the time we find ourselves in today. And yet he encouraged the young pastor Timothy to hold fast to the faith. To keep holding on to the mission of loving God, loving people and making disciples. And Paul says that it is the Bible that provides the fuel for such a ministry.

And I mean the whole bible. Verse 15 of chapter 3 urges Timothy to continue holding on to “the sacred writings” that he read as a child. Those “sacred writings” are none other than the old testament! That’s right, those books we rarely like to crack open, Paul says are able to “make [us] wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.”

But then we get to verse 16, which expands Paul's definition to “all Scripture”. Paul lets Timothy know that all of scripture, the old and new testament alike, has been “breathed out by God” and is “profitable” in the business of making us like Christ. This bible we read isn’t just some self help collection composed by a bunch of smart dudes through history, the bible is the life-giving breath of God.

And so when we realize all of that, the natural application would seem to be, “read your bible!” And yes, that is absolutely what Paul means when he tells Timothy to “continue in what you have learned…” But Paul gives Timothy another form of application.

Preach it.

Paul, in chapter 4, gives Timothy the command, “preach the word!” To continue our illustration, if reading the bible is akin to putting fuel in the engine, preaching is the exhaust coming from the engine. Preaching is simply the natural outflow of what we are taking in.

What preaching do you listen to? What sermons do you give? I’m not just talking about from the pulpit, but in day to day life, what messages are going into your mind? What does the way you live say about what you believe? Something that my youth pastor often said to me, I now want to pass on to you. If you go to a church, and the bible isn’t opened and the gospel isn’t preached, find a different church!

We are a people, as 2 Timothy 4:3-4 says, do not like to endure sound teaching, but instead we seek to find the next quick fix. To learn the 3 steps to a better life. To wander from the truths of the gospel and become entangled in endless myths. And sure, these may have some earthly benefit for a little while, but it is only when we learn from the “God breathed” scripture that we receive any lasting spiritual benefit.

And so I want to invite you to open your bible this week. Not because it is just another interesting read. If you want that, I have many, many books I could recommend. Instead I want to invite you to open your bible and read it this week so that you may be made “wise for salvation”, that you may be taught, corrected and trained in righteousness. That you may be made into a man or woman of God, that you may be competent and equipped for every good work.

I charge you this week, preach the word in your life. When it’s hard and when it’s easy. Teach, live, share and endure suffering as you are fed by the very breath of God. It's not easy, but it is the fulfillment of your ministry.