From infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.From infancy, you have known the holy Scriptures which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.and that from a babe thou hast known the sacred writings which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
5 sermons cite this verse
… believed, knowing from whom you learned it, and how from childhood you've been acquainted with the sacred writings which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus." The longer I live, the more convinced I am that, although I didn't always understand this, that to be brought up within the framework of a Christian home under the tutelage of those who know Jesus, love Jesus, and love the Bible is an immense privilege. And so when I read 2 Timothy and I read of the influence of his grandmother and his mother and so on, and then of course of the influence of those who mentored him in the Christian life, this is something that many of us will be able to identify with. And the reminder to us that wherever we were at the beginning, we are to continue in what we've learned. We've come to firmly believe it. We know the source from which it's come. And also we know what it's all about, that from childhood we've been acquainted with the scriptures, the sacred writings. …
… what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it, and how from childhood you've been acquainted with the sacred writings which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 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. And this is the word of the Lord. Just checking for Episcopalians in the group. That's all right. All right. A brief prayer. Father, what we know not, teach us. What we have not, give us. What we are not, make us. And we ask it in Jesus' name. Amen. Well, I chose the second letter of Timothy somewhat arbitrarily. The more I read it, the more I said to myself, there is some sense in which 2 Timothy provides us with a mentoring manual. Admittedly, Timothy's circumstances is different from many other people, and Paul is unique. But to the extent that it is an older man counseling a younger man, as this older man has now reached the end of his journey. In chapter 4, he says, the time has come for my departure. I'm already being poured out like a drink offering. So he is absolutely committed to making sure that his young mentee, Timothy, is going to hold the line. …
… knowing from whom you have learned them. And that from childhood you have known the holy scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith, which is in Christ Jesus. Wise for salvation. Interesting phrase. Wise for salvation. You say, well, Bill, I'm already saved. Yeah, I believe that. I believe the moment you received Christ, you were saved, you were born again. But Paul talks about working out your salvation daily. So there's this threefold dimension of salvation. I was saved at such and such a time, but I am presently being saved. And when Jesus returns or I die in a period before him, I will be saved. There's that triune dimension of salvation. He's talking here about the word of God as being that which enables us to work out our daily salvation. In other words, we'd be more saved today than we were yesterday. That should have excited you much more than it did, but we'll just move on. I'll pretend it was a good response. …
… They too affirm the authority and the inspiration of Scripture. But 2 Timothy 3.15, 16, and 17 say something else that is key. Verse 15, Scripture is able to make you wise for salvation. So the Bible, if you just have the Bible, it will make you wise for salvation. You would not need something else. And more importantly, verse 17 says, Scripture makes us competent, equipped for every good work. Now, yes, Paul is referring most immediately to the Old Testament, but we know that the early church counted the apostolic writings as Scripture. Peter said Paul's writings were Scripture. So we can apply this to all of Scripture, old and new. The important point is this. Paul considers Scripture perfect. By that I mean lacking in nothing. Able by itself to save and to make us competent for every good deed. The Bible doesn't tell us everything we want to know about everything. doesn't tell you how to change oil in your car. I still don't know how to do that. I know, turn in my man card, but there are good people that I'm happy to pay money to do such things. …
… And you start early. You remember Paul in 2 Timothy 3.15 said to Timothy that from a childhood you learned the Scriptures which are able to make you wise unto salvation. Start the process of gospelizing your children from their childhood. Timothy was in the ministry because his mother and his grandmother had taught him the gospel from his childhood. Teach your children the gospel, who is God, who is Christ, what is sin, and teach them to repent, to reject all that dishonors God, to love and trust the Lord Jesus, to follow Christ in faithful obedience. This is the wisdom that comes from above. Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child. There's no question about that. And you have the responsibility to replace it with wisdom. If I could just give you quickly two suggestions to start with. One, teach your children to fear the Lord. And by that I don't mean just to be afraid, although there's a healthy fear that makes you respect the judgment of God. …