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This week I had the opportunity to preach on the Sufficiency of Scripture. The text was from 2 Timothy 3:16 (thanks to RefTagger I no longer have to type it out). The context leading up to verse 16 is awesome because Paul is telling Timothy that perilous times will come in the last day because men will be lovers of self and lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God. God will not endure these who will not glorify Him and those who exchange His glory for that of corruptible man and beasts. ( Romans 1:21 ) Because these people are lovers of self more than lovers of God they seek to better themselves, become more moral, more externally appealing, more successful...all in the glorification of self. This ambition to become "better" produces a form of godliness; something that looks like "Im trying to better myself, and do the right thing, trying to be more "moral, honest, "pietous". And the form looks good, it looks right, it looks noble, but when you present these same "lovers of self" with the truth of God's Word, the Bible, and you tell them that it has all things necessesary pertaining to life and godliness, and then tell them that God is our sufficiency, then they reject it and deny the power of the Word. 2 Timothy 3:5.
These lovers of pleasures and lovers of self will continue to deceive many, and wax worse. We see them in the churches and pulpits of America and we see them in the media, convincing people to live for themselves, to use God to give them a "better life" and to be the "self-made man". Their end will be made manifest is what Paul says and God will not endure those who are lovers of themselves more than lovers of Him. In Romans 1:24 it says He gives them over to their desires.
Paul continues writing to Timothy and says to observe his life, his doctrine, his testimony, his persecutions and afflictions. Paul had gone through so many things at Iconium, at Lystra,and at Antioch: near death experiences, left for dead outside of a city, stoned, persecuted, railed against, excorcising witches..he wasnt making this up. And he says that the Lord delivered him from all of these things. Then Paul follows up by saying in verse 12, that all who will live godly in Christ will suffer persecution. So much for the "best life now", "12 steps to a happy life", "make a better you" teachings of the lovers of pleasure in verse 2. Paul was saying that this is what made the difference between those false teachers and those silly women and himself. No matter what life threw at Paul, he stood on God's Word, and God delivered and kept him. God was in control in Paul's life. These false teachers wanted to make their own life, eliminate all suffering and persecution from it, throw out all affliction and then command God to make it the way they designed it. Thats wrong! Thats making God stand on your word, rather than you standing on His.
In short, Paul tells Timothy to stick with the infallible, correcting, true, inerrant and all sufficient scriptures. Why? For in them is salvation in Christ, not in self or pleasure; and in them are life and completion and the ability to do the will of God.
Stick with the scriptures, make them your priority, your standard. Throw out all advice from the world, and from people who only want to appease you and not glorify God. Stand on His word and make them the foundation to your home, your family,your marriage, and your relationships. God's Word is Sufficient and is enough for all matters of faith and conduct for the Christian.
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