“Every scripture is God-breathed, and is profitable for teaching, for conviction, for improvement, for training with respect to righteousness, in order that the man of God may be complete, fitted out for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17 Wuest).
We can summarize the final verses of 2 Timothy chapter three by remembering several key points from this passage. The Biblical Scriptures thoroughly equip us by…
A.) Teaching– or instruction in the truth.
B.) Rebuking– reprimanding those who hold false beliefs.
C.) Correcting– maintaining the right course with God.
D.) Training in righteousness– learning and living a God-honoring lifestyle.
So, as we close our look at these verses, we will finish with some final observations. The following commentators offer several important insights regarding the value of this passage, the distressing absence of genuine Biblical instruction, and the risks awaiting a church that neglects to focus upon expository Biblical teaching…
“…the Bible also provides a basis for ethical authority: it is profitable ‘for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness’ (2 Tim. 3:17). Wherever the Bible issues commands and prohibitions, we are under moral obligation to obey them because they come from God Himself. The Bible applies to all contemporary ethical situations, and authoritative standards may be formulated on issues not specifically found in the Bible (e.g. stem-cell research, cloning, or euthanasia).” (1)
““All Scripture is … profitable … for reproof, correction, and training in righteousness” (v. 16). In these words Paul articulates the practical value of Bible study… There is no shortage of books written to teach excellence in almost every area of life. They all claim to be profitable for training readers in particular skills. But where are the books that will train us in righteousness? All those other books cannot answer the question, ‘What shall it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his soul’ (Matt. 16:26).” (2)
“Widespread disregard of the Bible by the present day Church is simply appalling. Many prominent church leaders not only neglect the Bible, but with great intellectual pride, in the name of ‘modern scholarship,’ resort to every conceivable means to undermine its Divine Origin…” (3)
“As I travel around America, and around the world, I am troubled that, in church after church today, the congregation is biblically illiterate. They are evangelical churches, but they do not know the Bible; they do not know the great truths of Scripture; they have never realized the radical counterculture movement that this Book represents. As a consequence they are drifting down the broad way that leads to perdition, along with all the rest who do not believe the Book at all, because they know nothing about it.” (4)
(1) Sola Scriptura: The Protestant Position on the Bible, Don Kistler, ed. Soli Deo Gloria Publications, 1995 [pg. 64]
(2) Sproul, R. C. (2000). R.C. Sproul’s chapters from symposium volumes (electronic ed.). Grand Rapids: Baker Books. [pg. 6]
(3) Henry H. Halley, Halley’s Bible Handbook, II Timothy Chapter 3. Grievous Times Copyright © 2000, 2007 by Halley’s Bible Handbook, Inc. [pg. 639]
(4) Excerpted with permission from Thinking Christianly © 2021 by Ray Stedman Ministries. All rights reserved. Visit www.RayStedman.org for the complete library of Ray Stedman material. Please direct any questions to [email protected]