The Bible will keep you from sin, or sin will keep you from the Bible.
In today’s message at Trinity Baptist Church, Pastor Andy Coats’ message focused around 2 Timothy 3:16-17, which reads:
“All scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”
Our culture has normalized some sins. In other words, on earth, some sins have more consequences than others, but to God, sin is sin. Until we let truth come into our life, sin will control us.
What sins have you normalized in your life because our culture, not God’s word, say they are okay (Abuse, Divorce, Foul Language, Inappropriate Conversations, Emotional Affairs, Pride, Drunkenness, … are just a few of the things you may be struggling with)?
We have bought into the false teachings of culture that some sins are “ok”. When the Bible becomes a part of who you are, you become less likely to fall apart.
It’s not okay to simply talk about God’s word like we know it but not live our lives going to the Word.
There are four things God’s Word has:
1. PLACE
His word is where we should turn when we have problems. We must look at all 66 books of the Bible. We cannot add more to what the Bible says (don’t turn to other teachings), and we cannot take away from what it says (don’t just read one scripture). God’s word will never compromise. So if you’re hearing voices or other people are telling you things contrary to what’s in the Bible, that is not coming from God.
2. POWER
The Bible has 1,189 chapters, 774,746 words, and 3,566,480 letters. Each one of them is “God breathed” (or inspired by God). There are many who wrote the Bible, but all of the words came from God through them.
The power of receiving those words and understanding them in your life, however, only comes once you have a relationship with Christ.
Without the relationship, the Bible is merely a textbook. With the relationship, the Holy Spirit can speak to you through the Bible.
3. PURPOSE
The Bible has four purposes:
- Teaching or Instruction
The Bible teaches faith, how to interact with others, how to avoid sin, and how to apply all of its lessons to our life. - Reproof
The Bible brings conviction by detecting and exposing all that is false in our lives. If you’re not reading the Bible, however, it is hard for the Holy Spirit to bring the conviction. Through the kindness of the conviction, we find our ability to repent. - Correction
The Bible gives us the guidance we need to get back on track. Sometimes the correction is tough and comes in the form of consequences or discipline. That comes not to hurt us but to encourage us and remind us not to get off course again. All correction comes with grace. - Training
The Bible trains us in righteousness. It gives us the knowledge we need to lean on during our trials. We can try to lean on friends and family, but they will all let us down to some degree. Why? Because we are all broken people. We all fall short from time to time. But God never fails. His Word will always be there. By studying His word on a regular basis, we will be able to recall the truth of His word in the trials.
4. PLAN
God’s word is equipped (designed) so we can be His ambassadors. We can accomplish God’s work once we learn the Word, develop convictions about the Word, and live the Word in every aspect of our lives.
The Bible is our life map, our set of instructions, our spiritual food, our path to know God’s will. The Bible breaks hard hearts and restores broken hearts. It is the only book that contains the mind of God, the state of man, the way to salvation, the doom of sinners, and the happiness of believers!
If that’s not enough to excite you to want to turn to it this week … I’m not sure what might be? 😊
Click here to watch the full message.