April 30 - 2 Timothy 3:16-17

April 30
2 Timothy 3:16-17

2 Timothy 3:16 All Scripure is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be completely equipped for every good work.

These two verses gives us the promise that every verse in our Bible is God's truth to us, inspired by Him, and given to us to equip us for life.

• Our doctrine then becomes God's doctrine because we simply took God at His Word.
• God reproves us by pointing out sin to us through His Word. 
• God's Word corrects us when we have gone astray. For when we understanding that we are out of the will of God, that gives us opportunity to confess it as sin and how to get rid of it. 
• Then God's Word teaches us how to lead a righteous life - following the will of God in our lives.
• God's Word equips us for every good work so we can live and do the righteous will of God to fulfill our life and how to serve others.

God said what He means and He means what He says. That means that we should always study the Bible literally (unless it tells us otherwise), taking what it says as God's Word to us regardless of whether I understand it at that time or not.  Sadly, that is not the case for most Christians. Most Christians place their own interpretation on Scripture when they read something they don't understand, or else they rely on the word of someone else, such as a pastor or even a famous preacher to interpret it for them, thinking they have more knowledge of the Scriptures. So when they read a portion of Scripture, they read through the lenses on man's interpretation instead of God's true meaning.

Everyone - there is no room for personal interpretation when it comes to the Word of God. That is why there are so many doctrines and even denominations out there among Christiandom. Really, if we just took God at His word, trusting that what He says is God speaking to us, whether we understand it or not, we can be certain that the more we study and mature in God's Word, His more His truth will be revealed to us as we need it.

I John 2:27 But you have received the Holy Spirit, and he lives within you, so you don’t need anyone to teach you what is true. For the Spirit teaches you everything you need to know, and what he teaches is true—it is not a lie. So just as he has taught you, remain in fellowship with Christ. NLT

I so encourage you that you begin your study in God's Word by seeking the Holy Spirit as your teacher, not relying upon any man's interpretation, including your own, and then stay in the Word of God instead of commentaries, and finish with the Word of God, because God has the final word on everything.