An Exhortation to Disciples Part Five

2Timothy 3:14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it 15 and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.

We are to know three important things: Vs14
 
1) Who we learned the truth from (herein lies the secret to exposing untested and possibly unreliable teachers that abound through the avenues of media and other sources. There are many good teachers and gifted men and women out there but there are also as many if not more unreliable ones. Here we find the Holy Spirit admonishing young Timothy through Paul to know who he has learned the truth from. There is relationship involved and it is supposed to count for something in our efforts to rightly discern who we should trust and what teachings to believe. When we know who we learned from we also know the way in which they have lived and the example they have set for us through practice. Embodied in this may well be the instruction found in:

Hebrews13:17 Obey your spiritual leaders, and do what they say. Their work is to watch over your souls, and they are accountable to God. Give them reason to do this with joy and not with sorrow. That would certainly not be for your benefit.

If someone doesn’t trust the ones in leadership where they enjoy Christian community and are being taught the Scripture, then why would they wish to be there? A disciple should be able to trust that the men in charge of caring for their souls are genuine, sincere, equipped and discerning. Men able to teach who are sound in their understanding of Scriptural truth and committed to the gospel. A disciple engaged in Christian community should at least have enough knowledge to know and trust that the leaders follow Christ. This is why there is a list of credentials for elders and deacons in the church.)

2) We should know the benefit of being acquainted with Scripture from childhood (If you have had the privilege of growing up in the church or in a Christian home where the Scriptures have been taught to you then you are a blessed person indeed. There seems to be a growing number of people who speak about this particular privilege as being negative. They wish to marginalize this great experience. Truth is, those having this advantage should count it a blessing. In Timothy’s case Paul is viewing this to be of great advantage to him and a reason to expect that Timothy should conduct himself in a responsible and discerning manner. It is not a negative thing to be acquainted with the Scriptures from childhood. This to me this is a good basis for promoting the idea of children being taught to memorize the Scriptures. Familiarity with the Word of God is a good thing. On the flip side, if you did not have this privilege it is never too late to familiarize yourself with the Word of God. Begin to study it consistently and look for Christ being revealed in the pages of it. It will be a blessing to you in more ways than you can even imagine.)

3) We are to know that the Scriptures are able to make us wise regarding salvation through faith in Christ (Notice how the Holy Spirit stays consistent with the full purpose of Scripture. He makes sure Timothy sees the importance of being wise about salvation through faith in Christ. Any salvation that goes beyond being through faith in Christ alone is no real salvation for it is limited in both its scope and it’s power. The idea of promoting the understanding and study of Scripture is not so we can simply be smarted or possess a little more Bible knowledge. The end is meant to be that we become wise with regard to salvation and that we understand that it is through faith in Christ that we are saved. This text is not outside the gospel of grace but is rather rich with it.)