I Timothy 6
Testimony in the work placeverses 1-2
Let as many servants as are under the yoke count their own
masters worthy of all honor that the name of God
and HIS doctrine be not blasphemed
AND they that have believing masters – let them not despise them
because they are brethren
BUT rather do them service – BECAUSE they are faithful and beloved
partakers of the benefit
These things teach and exhort
Watch for people who don’t teach good work ethicverses 3-5
IF any man teach otherwise – and consent not to wholesome words
even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ
and to the doctrine which is according to godliness
He is proud – knowing nothing
but doting about questions and strifes of words
whereof comes envy – strife – railings – evil surmisings
perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds
and destitute of the truth
supposing that gain is godliness
from such withdraw yourself
Learn to be contentverses 6-8
BUT godliness with contentment is great gain
for we brought nothing into this world
and it is certain we can carry nothing out
And having food and raiment let us be therewith content
Love of money root of all types of evilverses 9-10
BUT they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare
and into many foolish and hurtful lusts
which drown men in destruction and perdition
FOR the love of money is the root of all evil
which while some coveted after
they have erred from the faith
and pierced themselves through
with many sorrows
Paul instructs Timothy to follow example of Christverses 11-16
BUT you – O man of God – flee these things
and follow after righteousness – godliness – faith
love – patience – meekness
Fight the good fight of the faith – lay hold on eternal life
whereunto you are also called
and have professed a good profession
before many witnesses
I give you charge in the sight of God – WHO quickens all things
and before Christ Jesus
WHO before Pontius Pilate witnessed a
good confession
That you keep this commandment without spot – unrebukable
until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ
which in HIS times HE shall show
WHO is the blessed and only Potentate
the King of kings – and Lord of lords
WHO only has immortality
dwelling in the light which no man can approach to
WHOM no man has seen – nor can see
to WHOM be honor and power everlasting. AMEN
Paul gives instructions to richverses 17-19
Charge them that are rich in this world – that they be not high-minded
nor trust in uncertain riches – BUT in the living God
WHO gives us richly all things to enjoy
That they do good – that they be rich in good works
ready to distribute – willing to communicate
Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation
against the time to come – that they may lay hold on eternal life
Final instructions to Timothy regarding false teachingverses 20-21
O Timothy – keep that which is committed to your trust
avoiding profane and vain babblings
and oppositions of science falsely so called
which some professing have
erred concerning the faith
Grace be with you AMEN
COMMENTARY:
DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers
: 1 Let as many servants as are under the yoke count their own masters worthy of all honor, that the name of God and HIS doctrine be not blasphemed. (987 “blasphemed” [blasphemeo] means speak evil, to speak reproachfully, rail at, insult, slander, curse, to speak lightly or profanely about sacred things, hurling abuse, or to speak impiously or irreverently of God)
DEVOTION: Paul is here talking of a place where there are masters and slaves. It is a unique time period where people were brought for a price and became property of those who brought them. There was a way to earn enough money to buy back your freedom but it happened very rarely. Some slaves had such a good reputation with their owners that they would listen to their advice. The servant girl of Naaman was such a slave. Nehemiah was such a cupbearer. There are many examples of a good testimony in the work place of people who were followers of God in the Old Testament.
It is a awesome responsibility for a Christian to work in the workplace with those who are not believers. Too often those who are not followers of Christ look for faults in those who are and then spread rumors about them. It is hard to fight a rumor.
Paul’s advice is that those who are believers need to be consistent in their work ethic. If there is consistency than when someone says something bad about a believer they can look at his/her record of work and see that the person is spreading a lie.
The testimony of God is at stake when each of us enters the world to represent HIM. Our work ethic needs to be better than those who are not believers, in order to, give us the ability to be heard.
Once we earn the ability to be heard we can share the truth of the Word of God to those around us because they will be looking at us as someone who is true to the standard God has set for them.
CHALLENGE: Establish a good work ethic in your own life and then train your children to have a good work ethic in their life.)
DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers
: 6 But godliness with contentment is great gain. (841 “contentment” [autarkeia] means a competence, adequacy, sufficiency, enough, satisfaction with what one has, a perfect condition of life in which no aid or support is needed, or a mind contented with its lot)
DEVOTION: Paul is telling Timothy what is important in life. He want him to teach with wholesome words. He wants him to teach about godliness. He mainly wants him to teach the Christians of Ephesus the truth that great gain is accomplished through godliness. A strong warning is given regarding money.
He wants Timothy to realize that he has to be content with what the LORD gives him. Too often people are more concerned with having a great amount of money. Paul warns that the LOVE of money is the root of all evil. Money isn’t evil, it is the love of money that is evil.
Paul wants Timothy to instruct the people who are rich to be generous with their money. That way, they will lay in store in heaven a good foundation that will last for eternity.
It is more important to be close to the LORD. He wants Timothy and us to realize that our sufficiency is in Christ. We need nothing more or nothing less. We live in a condition of life where no aid or support is needed except from God.
We like to think that God calls on people around us to help us live this life and HE does. HE is the one who meets our every need through HIS Word, HIS people and HIS wealth. The final warning is that we have come into this world with nothing and we will leave the same way. We are not going to take any money with us. We are going to take our good works with us into eternity. The good work emphasized here is the work of giving to others.
Can we understand HIS support? No, because we are a people who never have enough. We want a little bit more. Our prayer should be “Help me to be content!!!”
CHALLENGE: Ask the LORD to show you how much hold money has in your life. Your checkbook can give you a key in this area. What check to you write first each payday?
: 12 Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto you are also called, and have professed a good profession before many witnesses. (3671 “profession” [homologia] means confession, an open avowal of some belief or opinion, acknowledgement, promise, or agreement)
DEVOTION: Timothy was a young man who was taught by Paul. He had the gift of leadership. He was still young when he was sent to Ephesus to work in the church. Remember in his society you had to be sixty years of age to be an elder in the community. So he was young by that standard.
Paul told him to keep fighting for the true faith in the congregation the LORD had given him. He was to hold tightly to the truths of the Word of God because there were always going to people who used something against him whether it was his age or some of his teachings.
The elders had laid hands on him after he went through a time of examination regarding his believes and life. He passed the test and they commissioned him as a missionary/pastor to the church.
Once you are faithful to the teachings of the Word of God and receive recognition by your peers a congregation should accept your teachings as long as they stay true to the Word of God.
We have many men and women who start out good in their teachings and they become politically correct instead of Biblically correct. When believers start apologizing for speaking the truth in love we are in real trouble with the LORD and those who we are leading.
CHALLENGE: Speak the truth in love to those who need to hear it. Don’t try to please the people who want to have their ears itched
DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers
: 18 That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate. (2130 “ready to distribute” [eumetadotos] means free to impart, liberal, willing to give and share unstintingly, generous in sharing, bountiful, or rich in good works)
DEVOTION: Sometimes having money can be a problem. There are only certain believers who can properly handle having a lot of money. Paul lays down some guidelines for those who are rich in world’s goods. It is not a sin to be wealthy.
It is a sin if a believer uses his wealth for only his/her own personal pleasure. They are not blessed with wealth by God to just use it for their benefit. Money is a tool that can be used to bring glory to God and produce rewards for those who use it properly in eternity.
Four of the instructions are given in this verse. First, they are to use their money to do good in their world. What this involves has to be given to the individual wealthy person by the ministry of the Holy Spirit and wise counselors.
Secondly, they are to be rich in good works. Remember that when money is given it is not for the glory of the individual but for the LORD. The instruction to not let the left hand know what the right hand is doing could apply here. If this individual wants to give so that only God gets the glory they will have to do some of their giving anonymously. The LORD and the individual will be the only ones to really know what is happening. Remember what is done in secret is important to the LORD.
Thirdly, a rich person should be always ready to give. That means that it might be in cash. There is no tax write off for cash donations but the LORD is watching them and recording them. If some need is presented that needs immediate attention it should be done immediately with the witness of the Holy Spirit involved.
Fourthly, there should always be a willingness to share. It should never be done grudgingly. God wants us to be a cheerful giver. We should never have to say “Well, if I have to.”
CHALLENGE: It is an awesome responsibility to have a mature faith and few people are able to handle it Biblically.
:20 O Timothy, keep that which is committed to your trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called. (3866 “that which is committed” [paratheke] means 1 a deposit, a trust or thing consigned to one’s faithful keeping. 1a used of the correct knowledge and pure doctrine of the gospel, to be held firmly and faithfully, and to be conscientiously delivered unto other. [Strong, J. (1995). Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon. Woodside Bible Fellowship])
DEVOTION: When you became a believer in Jesus Christ, did you realize that something precious had been entrusted to you? In Tolkien’s novel, Frodo Baggins discovered that he had been given something extremely precious in the One Ring which gave him special powers, but also had the ability to corrupt him. He needed to be careful because there were those who wanted to destroy him in order to get the ring for the power that it provided. Only when he put the ring on himself did he realize what it could do and why Smeagle called it “my precious.”
When you received Jesus Christ as your savior, you likewise received something that is precious which has been entrusted to you, your faith. Not only that, you have received a calling from God to share this faith with others around you. Both of these are what Paul is warning Timothy to hold tightly onto. Paul contrasts this with the irreverent talk that philosophers were saying, claiming that their teachings were “knowledge.”
In our day, there are many out to destroy faith. It is common on college campuses, for example, for professors to ridicule the faith of students and to try and convince students that there are no absolutes because God is not real. Many students go unprepared into these universities, and subsequently leave the church or even deny their faith. Paul makes it clear to Timothy that we need to be prepared for such attacks, and that we need to understand the basis of our faith and of our calling.
CHALLENGE: Have you started to drift away from your faith and walk with the LORD? If so, it is time to begin understanding the difference between what the Bible teaches about God and what man’s philosophy teaches about Him. Don’t be a sitting duck for the target practice of unbelievers! (MW)
DISCIPLINES OF THE FAITH:
BODY
Chastity (Purity in living)
Fasting (Time alone with LORD without eating or drinking)
Sacrifice (Giving up something we want to serve the LORD)
Submission (Willing to listen to others and LORD)
Solitude (Going to a quiet place without anyone)
SOUL
Fellowship (Gathering together around the Word of God)
Frugality (wise use of resources)
Content with food and raimentverse 8
Love of money = root of all evilverse 10
Charge the richverse 17
Journalizing (Writing down what you have learned from the LORD)
Study and Meditation (Thinking through your study in the Word)
Secrecy (Doing your good deeds without others knowing but God)
SPIRIT
Celebration (Gathering around a special occasion to worship LORD)
Confession (Tell the LORD we are sorry for our sins on a daily basis)
Prayer (Conversation with God on a personal level)
Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)
Worship (Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group)
DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:
Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible)
Words of our Lord Jesus Christverse 3
Doctrineverse 3
Commandmentverse 14
God the Father (First person of the Godhead)
Godverses 1, 11, 13, 17
Name of Godverse 1
HIS doctrineverse 1
Man of Godverse 11
Sight of Godverse 13
Quickens all thingsverse 13
Living Godverse 17
Gives richlyverse 17
God the Son (Second person of the Godhead –God/man, Messiah)
Lordverses 3, 14
Jesus verses 3, 13, 14
Christverses 3, 13, 14
Lord Jesus Christverses 3, 14
Christ Jesusverse 13
Good confessionverse 13
HIS timesverse 14
Blessedverse 15
Potentateverse 15
King of kingsverse 15
Lord of lordsverse 15
Immortalityverse 16
Dwelling in the lightverse 16
Honor and power everlastingverse 16
God the Holy Spirit (Third person of the Godhead – our comforter)
Trinity (Three persons of the Godhead who are co-equal = ONE God)
Angels (Created before the foundation of the world – Good and Evil)
Man (Created on the sixth twenty-four hour period of creation)
Servant – mastersverse 1
Worldverse 7
Piercing self with many sorrowsverse 10
Pontius Pilateverse 13
Rich menverses 17, 18
Not highminded
Not trust in uncertain riches
Trust in living God
Do good
Rich in good works
Ready to distribute
Willing to communicate
Laying up good foundationverse 19
Lay hold of eternal lifeverse 19
Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)
Blasphemedverse 1
Despiseverse 2
Consent not to wholesome wordsverse 3
Proudverse 4
Knowing nothingverse 4
Doting about questionsverse 4
Envyverse 4
Strifeverse 4
Railingsverse 4
Evil surmisingverse 4
Perverse disputingverse 5
Corrupt mindsverse 5
Destitute of the truthverse 5
Supposing gain is godlinessverse 5
Rich fall into temptationverse 9
Snareverse 9
Foolish and hurtful lustsverse 9
Love of moneyverse 10
Evilverse 10
Covetedverse 10
Erred from the faithverse 10
High-mindedverse 17
Trust in uncertain richesverse 17
Profane and vain babblingsverse 20
Professing science – erred from faithverses 20, 21
Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)
Honor mastersverse 1
Doctrineverses 1, 3
Believingverse 2
Service to mastersverse 2
Faithfulverse 2
Belovedverse 2
Partakers of the benefitverse 2
Teachverses 2, 3
Exhortverse 2
Godlinessverses 3, 5, 6, 11
Withdraw yourself from corrupt menverse 5
Contentmentverse 6
Content with food and raimentverse 8
Faithverses 10, 11, 21
Man of Godverse 11
Flee from sinverse 11
Righteousnessverse 11
Loveverse 11
Patienceverse 11
Meeknessverse 11
Fight the good fightverse 12
Calledverse 12
Good professionverse 12
Chargeverse 13
Keep commandment without spotverse 14
Unrebukeableverse 14
Blessedverse 15
Rich in good worksverse 18
Graceverse 21
Israel (Old Testament people of God)
Church (New Testament people of God)
Believing mastersverse 2
Brethrenverse 2
Good profession before many witnessesverse 12
Timothy – keep trustverse 20
Timothy – avoid profane and vain babblingsverse 20
Timothy – opposition of science falsely so calledverse 20
Last Things (Future Events)
Carry nothing out of this worldverse 7
Perditionverse 9
Eternal lifeverses 12, 19
Appearing of our Lord Jesus Christverse 14
HIS timesverse 15
Time to comeverse 19
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QUOTES regarding passage
6 Although “godliness,” or “piety,” should never be used as a means to secure financial gain, it is nevertheless true that “godliness with contentment is great gain.” The word for “contentment” (autarkeia) was used in classical Greek in a philosophical sense for “a perfect condition of life, in which no aid or support is needed” (Thayer). In the only other passage in the NT where this word occurs (2 Cor 9:8) it is used objectively for “a sufficiency of the necessities of life.” But here it is used subjectively for “a mind contented with its lot,” and so “contentment” (EGT, 4:142). The closest parallel passage in thought is Philippians 4:11, where the adjective autarkēs is employed. Contentment is one of the greatest assets of life. (Earle, R. (1981). 1 Timothy. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Ephesians through Philemon (Vol. 11, p. 384). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House)
6. Contentment (αὐταρκείας). Only here and 2 Cor. 9:8. The adjective αὐτάρκης self-sufficient, Philip. 4:11. Comp. Sir. 40:18. Αὐτάρκης is an inward self-sufficiency, as opposed to the lack or the desire of outward things. It was a favourite Stoic word, expressing the doctrine of that sect that a man should be sufficient unto himself for all things, and able, by the power of his own will, to resist the force of circumstances. In Ps. of Sol. 5:18, we read: “Blessed is the man whom God remembereth with a sufficiency convenient for him” (ἐν συμμετρίᾳ αὐταρκεσίας); that is, with a sufficiency proportioned to his needs. (Vincent, M. R. (1887). Word studies in the New Testament (Vol. 4, pp. 275–276). New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons.)
With contentment (μετα αὐταρκειας [meta autarkeias]). Old word from αὐταρκης [autarkēs] (αὐτος, ἀρκεω [autos, arkeō]) as in Phil. 4:11. In N. T. only here and 2 Cor. 9:8. This attitude of mind is Paul’s conception of “great gain.” (Robertson, A. T. (1933). Word Pictures in the New Testament (1 Ti 6:6–7). Nashville, TN: Broadman Press.)
6:6. Picking up on the words “godliness” and “gain,” Paul shifted their meaning in a characteristically Pauline fashion (cf. 1 Cor. 2:5–6 for a similar shift) from the erroneous to the truthful. Godliness does not give financial gain (1 Tim. 6:5); it itself is gain when accompanied with contentment. Autarkeias literally means “self-sufficiency.” Yet the sufficiency of oneself is due to the sufficiency of God (cf. 2 Cor. 9:8; Phil. 4:11, 13 for other uses of the same word). Godliness combined with that inner God-given sufficiency which does not depend on material circumstances (the opposite of the false teachers’ greed) is indeed of great gain. (Litfin, A. D. (1985). 1 Timothy. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 2, p. 746). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
Wealth does not bring contentment (v. 6). The word contentment means “an inner sufficiency that keeps us at peace in spite of outward circumstances.” Paul used this same word later. “For I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content” (Phil. 4:11). True contentment comes from godliness in the heart, not wealth in the hand. A person who depends on material things for peace and assurance will never be satisfied, for material things have a way of losing their appeal. It is the wealthy people, not the poor people, who go to psychiatrists and who are more apt to try to commit suicide. (Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 2, p. 235). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
6:6 contentment. This Gr. word means “self-sufficiency,” and was used by Stoic philosophers to describe a person who was unflappable and unmoved by external circumstances. Christians are to be satisfied and sufficient, and not to seek for more than what God has already given them. He is the source of true contentment (2Co 3:5; 9:8; Php 4:11–13, 19). (MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (2006). The MacArthur study Bible: New American Standard Bible. (1 Ti 6:6). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers.)
Ver. 6. But godliness with contentment is great gain.] By godliness is not meant any particular grace, but all the graces of the spirit of God; as faith, hope, love, fear, &c. the whole of internal religion, as it shews itself in outward worship, and in all acts of holiness of life and conversation; and which the doctrine that is according to godliness teaches and engages to; and this is gain, very great gain indeed. A man possessed of true godliness is a gaining, thriving, man: such as are godly, or truly gracious, they are come into good and happy circumstances, and are possessors of the true, solid, satisfying, durable, and unsearchable riches of grace; all their debts are paid, they are richly clothed, and deliciously fed, and are in a good family, even the household of God, who before were in debt, arrayed in rags, were in a starving condition, and strangers and foreigners; yea, they are heirs of God, joint-heirs with Christ, and have both a right and a meetness for the heavenly inheritance; they are now made kings and priests to God, and, in the present state of things, have God to be their portion, and exceeding great reward; they have an interest in Christ, and in all spiritual blessings in him, and have the spirit as the earnest of their future inheritance; they are rich in faith, and in good works; their souls, which were lost, are gained, and shall be saved with an everlasting salvation; and ere long they will be possessed of all the riches of glory, signified by a house not made with hands, a city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God, an incorruptible inheritance, and a kingdom and glory: how great is the gain of godliness! And what adds to this gain, and now goes along with it, is contentment; for this is not to be considered as the condition of godliness being great gain, as if it was not so without it; but as the effect of godliness, what that produces, and as a part of its gain. The word here used signifies sufficiency; and so it is rendered in the Vulgate Latin version: it designs a competency of the good things of this life; and what that is, is expressed in ver. 8 and such God gives to them that fear him, his godly ones, who shall lack no good thing convenient for them; for godliness has the promise of this life, as well as of that which is to come; and God does give to such all things pertaining to life and godliness, even all things richly to enjoy. The word indeed properly signifies self-sufficiency, which in its strict sense only belongs to God, who is El-Shaddai, God all-sufficient and self-sufficient; but here it intends such a sufficiency as a man himself judges to be so; for this phrase does not so much design the thing itself, which is a sufficiency, as the opinion, the sense which the godly man has of it, who himself judges it, as Jacob did, to be enough; and such a man is content with what he has, and thankful for it, submits quietly to the will of God, and patiently bears every adverse providence: and this is now the fruit and effect of godliness, or true grace, and is a considerable part of that gain which godliness brings with it; and such a man is a happy man indeed, let his circumstances be what they will. The Jews have a saying, that “he is a rich man whose spirit rests in, or is contented with his riches;” that is, as the gloss explains it, “who rejoices in his portion, be it little or much:” thus, though godliness is not gain, nor gain godliness, in the sense of the false teachers, yet is it true gain in a spiritual sense. (Gill, J. (1809). An Exposition of the New Testament (Vol. 3, pp. 309–310). London: Mathews and Leigh.)
FROM MY READING:
(Remember the only author that I totally agree with is the HOLY SPIRIT in the inerrant WORD OF GOD called THE BIBLE! All other I try to gleam what I can to help me grow in the LORD!!)
Billy Graham’s Prayer For Our Nation
‘Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask your forgiveness and to seek your direction and guidance.
We know Your Word says, ‘Woe to those who call evil good,’ but that is exactly what we have done.
We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values.
We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery.
We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare.
We have killed our unborn and called it choice.
We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable.
We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self esteem.
We have abused power and called it politics.
We have coveted our neighbor’s possessions and called it ambition.
We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression.
We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment.
Search us, Oh God, and know our hearts today; cleanse us from sin and Set us free.
Please, come back and rule our nation, be number one in our nation. In Jesus Name I pray,
Amen!’
With the Lord’s help, may this prayer sweep over our nation and wholeheartedly become our desire so that we once again can be called “One nation under God!”
NEW CREATURES
Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
Romans 6:4
There is no point in our saying that we believe that Christ has died for us and that we believe our sins are forgiven unless we can also say that for us old things are passed away and all things are become new, that our outlook toward the world and its method of living is entirely changed. It is not that we are sinless, nor that we are perfect, but that we have finished with that way of life. We have seen it for what it is, and we are new creatures for whom everything has become new.
But I can imagine somebody saying, “Don’t you think that this is rather a dangerous doctrine? Don’t you think it is dangerous to tell people that they are dead to sin, dead to the law, dead to Satan, and that God regards them as if they had never sinned at all? Won’t the effect of that make such people say, ‘All right, in view of that, it does not matter what I do’?” But Paul says that what happens is the exact opposite, and that must be so because to be saved and to be truly Christian means that we are in Christ, and if we are in Christ, we are dead to sin, dead to Satan, dead to the world, dead to our old selves. We are like our Lord.
Let me put that positively. We have not only died with Christ—we have also risen with Him: “Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:4). We live in “newness of life.” We have been raised with Christ.
A Thought to Ponder: If we are in Christ, we are dead to sin, dead to Satan, dead to the world, dead to our old selves.
(From Sanctified Through the Truth, pp. 120-121, by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
The Pharisees and Sadducees attempt to discredit Jesus through treacherous questions.
INSIGHT
In today’s passage, we see one of the most marvelous teachings in the New Testament. An attorney, intrigued by the quality of the answers Jesus gives to the Pharisees who are trying to discredit Him, asks Jesus what the greatest commandment is. He only asks for one; Jesus gives him two.
The Lord says, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart . . . [and] your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these”(Mark 12:30-31). The Christian life can be very complex, but at its heart, it is very simple: love God and others. (Quiet Walk)
Mindful of the Words
“That ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Saviour.” (2 Peter 3:2)
There has long been a tendency for certain Bible teachers to water down the doctrine of verbal inspiration by arguing that it is the “thoughts” of Scripture that count—not the precise words. They forget that the transmission of specific thoughts requires precise words. Ambiguous language is bound to produce fuzzy thinking and uncertain response.
Thus the apostle Peter, in his last chapter, urged his followers to heed the words written by the Old Testament prophets. And Paul—in his final epistle—stressed that “all Scripture is given by inspiration of God” (2 Timothy 3:16). That is, all the writings are “God-breathed.” The “Scripture,” of course, means the writings, the actual words written down—they are “God-inspired,” not just the concepts.
Similarly John, in his last chapter, warned of the grave danger incurred by anyone who would either “add to” or “take away from,” not just the ideas, but “the words of the book of this prophecy” (Revelation 22:18-19). Actually, “he which testifieth these things” was not just John but the glorified Jesus Himself (see Revelation 22:16, 20).
In fact, Jesus frequently quoted passages from the Old Testament, sometimes basing His entire thrust on a single word (e.g., John 10:34, 37; arguing on the basis of the word “gods” in Psalm 82:6). In that connection, He stressed that “the scripture cannot be broken” (John 10:35), referring to the actual words written by Moses and the prophets.
Near the end of His earthly ministry, He made a startling promise: “Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away” (Mark 13:31). Thus the actual words of the Bible have come ultimately from God, and we do well to learn them and make them a part of our lives. (HMM, The Institute for Creation Research)
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