GCV Blog

In our little series on 2 Timothy 3:10-17, we’ve seen Scripture’s saving power, its final authority, and its complete sufficiency. Second Timothy 4:1 does not change Paul’s focus on the Word. Instead, he builds on everything he’s already said to demand a very practical application from Timothy. His pointed charge still has deep ramifications for us today. Because the Word saves, is authoritative and is sufficient, the Word should be preached.

The following is a transcript of a helpful question and answer session with Pastor John Piper of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, MN. For more questions and answers, visit www.desiringgod.org. Question: Is gratitude a bad motivation for obeying God?

My early view of growth in Christ was fairly immature. For what I could figure out, being a Christian basically meant this: I made a profession of faith by saying a prayer and now I have to do certain Christian activities like read my Bible, pray and go to church. There was no rea- son behind those activities other than duty. While I benefitted from some of these activities, I recall feeling so guilty when I didn’t do them. The guilt went so far that I made it a condition of God’s love for me. I needed a better, and biblical, model for my life as a believer.

Every Roman soldier would wear a tunic, a large square outer garment with holes cut out for the head and arms. It was meant to be worn loose, as it covered most of the body. As a good soldier prepared for battle, mostly hand-to-hand combat, it was critical that the soldier tuck in tightly any loose article of clothing so nothing would get caught up or be able to be grasped or clung to by the enemy. The belt was an essential part of the armor to have fastened around every soldier’s waist to hold all clothing tightly together. This is the image Paul wants us to picture as we consider the first component of the armor of God.

We hear the term “accountability” quite a bit. The basic definition is “to allow oneself or to be in a position to have an account taken of what you do, what you say or who you are; being liable or answerable.” What is accountability within the Christian context? Is it even biblical? One of the best places to go to answer that question is that list we so often refer to as the “one anothers.” As you know, there are 33 distinct “one anothers” in the New Testament. Three in particular relate to Christian accountability.

I have a love/hate relationship with instruction manuals. On the love side, I am a compulsive reader of instructions. Before I turn on any new phone, assemble any toddler toy or dive into the new furniture, I first sit down and read the instructions from cover to cover. Well, actually, I usually skip the Spanish, German, French, Danish and Chinese portions of the manual. On the hate side, I find it hard to handle the incredibly common ineptness with the English language, inability to draw a reasonable likeness to the product and convoluted order of events.

Through God’s providence, Andy Muxlow and I independently picked the same topic for the pastoral word. Since this is a topic that is on both of our minds and one that is profitable to con­sider, let’s again think carefully on the topic of spiritual warfare.

I am fascinated by the amount of preparation, money, training and the sheer numbers of men and women that go into our U.S. Armed Forces to protect our freedom and defend our nation. Every soldier is trained with the most basic task of dressing and arming himself. It is critical that a soldier is prepared in every way for the battle that lies ahead. First, he must know what battle armor he is to wear. Second, he needs to actually have the uniform and weapons of war. And third, he has to put it on.

Sanctification means being “consecrated” or “set apart.” There are two parts to the sanctification of a believer. The first occurs at salvation when someone is set apart for God as one of His people. In this moment, he becomes a “saint.” The second part of sanctification is what we usually think of as the definition and pertains to the process a believer goes through during his life.

“All Scripture is breathed out by God.” With this one simple phrase, Paul anchors his previous words about saving Scripture (2 Timothy 3:10-15 ) with the wealth of instruction still to come. And with that one phrase, massive dividing lines are drawn in Christian faith and practice. So very much hangs on our active belief of these few words. Scripture is not only saving; it is also completely authoritative.