What Role Do the Scriptures Play?
Question 3 of our Scripture Catechism--plus the sermon on how disciples must grow together.
Q3: What role do the Scriptures play?
A3: The Scriptures teach, rebuke, correct, and train in righteousness so that the child of God may be equipped for every good work. The Scriptures preserve the truth for evangelizing and discipleship.
There is a fourfold profitability of Scripture found in 2 Timothy 3:16-17.
All Scripture is breathed out 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. - 2 Timothy 3:16-17
Teaching: For the Word to be of value, Christians must know the contents of the Scriptures themselves.
Reproof: To grow to maturity, Christians must see from His Word when their speech, actions, and thinking are apart from God’s design.
Correction: The Scriptures show us how to come back via repentance and into realignment.
Training in righteousness: The Scriptures show us how to move forward well with the knowledge and wisdom of all that was learned in the correction-reproof process.
This passage reminds us that the Scriptures are sufficient to equip us for every good work.
How are you being equipped by the Word? What steps will you take to develop habits for daily equipping in His Word?
This past Sunday, I preached from Hebrews 10:19-25 on how a mark of a disciple is to grow together. Here's the introduction:
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Many news outlets are writing articles explaining why church attendance has decreased over the last decade. Some reject the traditional way of doing church activities like yoga, gardening, and community involvement. These were just a few of the numerous things they wanted out of the church. And that’s the key--what they want? In reflecting on this, Tim Challies reminds us of how prone we all are to operate on personal preferences:
We may roll our eyes at such people and consider ourselves superior to them. But isn’t it possible that we can relate to church in a similar way? Isn’t it possible that we can join and depart churches on the basis of preference more than on the basis of God’s revelation of what a church is and ought to be? Aren’t we all tempted at times to leave a faithful church for an exciting one, a church that does things God’s way for one that does things in a fresh or novel way? Isn’t every leader tempted at times to change the way he does church not because he has come to realize it’s unfaithful to Scripture but because it no longer seems to engage the people around him?
I know over the years that I can list off preferences:
Music: They want old, they want new, they want acoustic, they want a band, they want authentic, they want strobe lights and smoke machines.
Demographics: This church doesn’t have my age group or this church has too many of my age group.
Service times: Having a 10:30 service cuts into my day off. It should be earlier, later, on Saturday, etc. Can you work around my kids' sports schedule and activities?
I don’t feel connected: it could be that you are waiting for someone to connect with you, or that you’re the last one to arrive and the first one to leave.
The preacher: He’s too young or too old. He dresses too formally or not formally enough. He preaches out of the Bible which I like--until it gets personal which I don’t.
Every week? Some, even Christians and members of the church have lost a sense of priority.
We must realize that our faith is not merely a personal faith but brings us into a family and a community. We are called to grow together, not separately.