Thursday, March 20, 2014

March 21, 2014

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, II Timothy 3:16

From Paul's letter to Timothy we get three big purposes for the Word of God:

1) To save you
2) To shape you
3) To sharpen you

In my last post I focused on the necessity of finding salvation through Christ and how only the Word of God will lead you to that relationship.

What happens after you come to faith in Christ?

Does that render the Word of God less important?

Not at all!

In fact, it makes it MORE important because you need it to shape this new life that has birthed within you. 

Paul informs Timothy that Scripture is "God breathed". So, whenever you read the Word God is literally breathing into your Spirit!

That brings us to the second purpose of the Word. The Word shapes you!

It will shape your beliefs!  The Word is profitable for teaching - “teaching” = challenge with truth. You MUST begin with a solid foundation of true Biblical teaching to have your beliefs correctly shaped.

It will shape your thinking! The Word is profitable for “rebuking” = confront thinking. You need the Word to keep you thinking properly. Having a corrupted mind you are prone to think in the wrong way and about the wrong things. You need the truth to confront your "stinking thinking".

It will shape your conduct ! The Word is profitable for “correcting” = confront conduct. When you believe correctly and think Biblically you are more likely to act rightly. But when your conduct is unseemly the Word of God will convict you. 

It will shape your character! The Word is profitable for - “training” = calling to righteousness. When you are believing right and thinking right and living right it is evident that the Word has shaped your character!

When the Word of God is "breathed" into your mind and your intellect and your will and into your spirit it will shape you! And it will shape you into the righteousness of Christ!

So, what sort of shape are you in this morning?