Download Ash Wednesday – February 25, 2009

Pentecost 22 – October 24, 2010
Pastor Brauer
Continue in God’s Word
2 Timothy 3:14 – 4:5
Sometimes God has us start something new. Sometimes God has us continue something that is already underway.
The apostle Paul was about to start something new. He was about to die a martyr’s death for his faith and enter the Lord’s
heavenly kingdom. More on that in a couple weeks when we hear Paul’s final words.
The pastor Timothy was going to continue in something already underway. Timothy was going to continue in his gospel
ministry on this earth.
God had the chained-up and soon-to-be-martyred apostle Paul write a final letter to his dear son in the faith, Timothy, who
was serving as a pastor many, many miles removed from his mentor and father in the faith. Paul’s final message to Timothy?
“Timothy, continue in God’s Word.” Continue in God’s Word. A great message for pastors. A great message for all God’s
people. Continue in God’s Word.
“Timothy, you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you
learned it, and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures.” Timothy’s grandma Lois, Timothy’s mom Eunice, the
apostle Paul – these were three of the people who had taught Timothy the Bible. His mom and grandma taught Timothy the
Old Testament when Timothy was still a tiny tyke, and later Paul, who went on to write nearly half the books in the New
Testament, taught Timothy about the Lord Jesus whom Paul had seen and heard firsthand. “Continue in what you have
learned and have become convinced of…continue in the holy Scriptures.”
1. Know what it can do.
What will become the longest rail tunnel in the world – at over 35 miles – the Gotthard tunnel is under construction through
the Alps mountains in Switzerland. To cut through all that rock, special tunnel boring machines are needed. Here I have a
sheet with the specifications for a huge tunnel boring machine being used on this project. Specification sheets of course tell
where a machine comes from and what the machine can do. Listen to this. (Read the specifications.)
When Paul wanted Timothy to continue in the holy Scriptures – the writings of both the Old and New Testaments – Paul
handed on to Timothy a sort of specification sheet for the holy Scriptures. Where they come from and what they can do. If
you thought the specifications for the tunnel boring machines were impressive, listen to these specifications for the holy
Scriptures. The holy Scriptures, the words in the Bible, are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of
God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. It’s important for pastors to know and remember these specifications.
It’s important for everyone of you to know and remember these specifications.
First of all, where the holy Scriptures come from. All the 66 books of the Bible and all the words and thoughts in the Bible
come from God. The Bible is no mere great piece of human literature. Yes, men wrote down the words and thoughts in the
Bible. The apostle Paul is the man who wrote down the words and thoughts in 2 Timothy. But the word and thoughts in 2
Timothy are not just words of the apostle Paul. God gave Paul the thoughts and words that God wanted written to Timothy
and that God wanted preserved to this day for our learning. When you read the Bible or listen to the Bible, you are reading
and you are hearing the words and thoughts of God, in fact, the only words and thoughts God has chosen to put down in
print, words and thoughts that will stand for all time and for eternity. Jesus said, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my
words will never pass away” (Mt 24). Because the words of the Bible are God-breathed. They come right from the mouth of
God through the mind and pen of those who wrote them down for us. The Bible is God’s Word.
Second on the specifications, what God’s Word can do. The Scriptures…are able to make you wise for salvation through
faith in Christ Jesus. I know and you know that there is no way you could take your fist and punch through over 35 miles of
mountain rock like that tunnel boring machine. Pphh. 35 miles? You couldn’t punch through one foot of rock. But if
punching through 35 miles of rock seems impossible to you, then you are just starting to get a grasp on how impossible it is
for you to make yourself wise for salvation. In his God-breathed Scriptures, God describes the human heart – the inner
being of a person – as a heart of stone. Solid rock that cannot be penetrated by human brainpower or human will. The heart
of stone, the sinful mind, is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s commandments, it has no capability to submit to
God’s commands. The heart of stone, the sinful mind, does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they
are foolishness to the man without the Spirit, and that man cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.
Every human being, as they naturally are, is a sinner against God who will not and cannot believe that God’s objective in this
world is to save them and give them everlasting life through his Son, Jesus Christ.
But God’s Word can not only create mountains and move them wherever he pleases, God’s Word even has the capability of
boring out the miles and miles of sin and unbelief that surround the hard heart and the hard head of mankind. Your hard
heart, your hard head, and mine too. God’s Word has done this for us. We are now wise for salvation. We know, we are
convinced, that Jesus Christ is God who also became man. We know, we are convinced, that Jesus Christ put himself under
all of God’s commandments and perfectly performed where we miserably failed. We know, we are convinced, that Jesus
Christ willingly gave his life and died on the cross as the substitute payment for our sins and for the sins of every human
being on the planet. We know, we are convinced, that Jesus Christ came physically back to life from the dead, that he
appeared to multiple eyewitnesses to prove the fact that he was alive again, one of those eyewitnesses being the apostle
Paul. We know, we are convinced, that Jesus Christ will come to judge the living and the dead. We know, we are convinced,
that our Judge is also our Savior, and he will pronounce us not guilty on the last day, save us from the hell and damnation we
deserve, and instead save us for an everlasting life with him in his new creation. We are wise for salvation through faith in
Christ Jesus. How so? Because God’s Word has demonstrated its capability and its power in us.
On the spec sheet, there’s a second thing God’s Word has the capability to do. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful
for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for
every good work. Remember, though Paul’s earthly life was soon coming to an end, Timothy was going to remain on earth
for some more time. For Timothy, that meant more work as a pastor, more time as a friend, more opportunities for being an
obedient and law-abiding citizen, and any number of other responsibilities God put into Timothy’s life. Every day God gives
you and me life and breath, he puts responsibilities into our life – many opportunities to serve him with good works and show
him gratitude for saving us. Just take stock of the responsibilities you currently have in your life, all the things you have in
front of you to do this upcoming week, God-willing. How are you going to know what words and deeds are pleasing to your
God? How are you going to be able to do them? What if you stray from your responsibilities and fail to measure up to them?
What is going to correct you and get you back on track again? Look at the spec sheet for God’s Word. God’s Word is useful
for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for
every good work. So continue in God’s Word.
2. Know how to use it.
You know, those tremendous tunnel boring machines are not going to be much good for boring the world’s longest railway
tunnel unless some operators are trained to use them. What good would it do to haul those machines to the job site and get
their 5 megawatts ready to go if nobody knew how to use them? After Paul reminded Timothy what God’s Word is capable
of, Paul also wanted to remind Timothy how to use this powerful tool of God. In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus,
who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the
Word. You gotta fire up the engines on those tunnel boring machines and skillfully get them moving ahead so they can do
their thing. With God’s Word, here’s what you do. Ready for this? You preach it. You proclaim it. You speak it. You talk
about it when you sit at home and when you walk the sidewalk, when you lie down and when you get up. You mull it over in
your heart and you impress it on your children. And you let God’s Word do its thing.
God through Paul says, “Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season.” Speak it. When it seems convenient
for the speaker or listener, when it seems inconvenient for the speaker or listener. Speak it. When it seems like a favorable
time for the speaker or listener, or when it seems like an unfavorable time for the speaker or listener. Speak it. When it
seems opportune to do so, when it seems inopportune to do so. Just speak it, Timothy. Proclaim it. Preach it. After all, the
capability of God’s Word is not in the speaker’s skill or the speaker’s persuasiveness or the speaker’s charm. Nor is the
capability of God’s Word in the listener’s eardrum or the listener’s level of receptivity. All the capability is in God’s Word. “Is
not my word like fire, and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?” God asks when talking about his Word’s capability to
correct and rebuke someone doing wrong (Jer 23). And when it comes to encouraging the sinner who has a troubled
conscience, God calls his gospel his power for the salvation of everyone who believes, his consolation that brings joy to the
soul. All that drilling of a hard human heart, and all that healing of a weary and troubled heart, only God’s Word can truly do
that. So keep preaching it. Keep telling it.
It might seem like today’s message is meant for pastors. And yes, it is meant for pastors. Preach the Word; be prepared in
season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage – with great patience and careful instruction. I know these words
are speaking to me as a pastor. My brother, who is also a pastor, preached on these words at my installation at Holy Trinity
over nine years ago. I remember these words, and I take them to heart. But God’s Word does not just belong to pastors.
God’s Word belongs to God’s people. That’s why it is preached to you. That’s why we study it together at church. That’s
why you are encouraged to read it daily for yourself. It’s even translated into your own language so you have access to it
24/7. God also wants you to know how to use this word for yourself. To correct, rebuke, and encourage yourself. God
wants you to know how to use this word for others. To correct, rebuke, and encourage others with tons of patience and with
careful wording.
Maybe you sometimes think, “Well, I’m not just equipped well enough to be able to correct and rebuke. I don’t have the right
words in such potentially tense situations. Or, it’s hard for me to come up with the right passage to encourage somebody the
way that God would have them encouraged.” I can understand that. Pastors too feel that way sometimes. I mean, you don’t
just hop on one of those tunnel boring machines and have at it. You do need to know what you are doing. But the answer
there is to keep studying and learning and reviewing so God’s Word works ever deeper into our heart and head. But also,
don’t sell yourself short. You are wise for salvation. You are equipped for good works. And God delights in using us in our
weaknesses, especially in our weaknesses, to display the capability of his Word in our life and in the lives of other people.
So continue in God’s Word. Use it. Speak it. Amen.