By Not Known
Car divers tend to have a street directory in the car glove box. It is often a battered and well-thumbed book, with post-it notes and other pieces of paper tucked in and pages scribbled on. That’s how it should be, for a street directory is a working book, It’s there to guide our lives and change our behaviour. We laugh at the idea of a leather bound, gilt edged street directory sitting on a shelf at home in pristine condition.
What about the Bible? The Bible is better compared to a street directory than to a textbook on religion. It’s not there just to inform us or to entertain our mind. Or, to change the imagery, the Bible is like a sharp two-edged battle sword rather than a ceremonial parade ground sword – it is alive and active (Heb 4:12).
We see this in the Bible passage that our morning congregation will consider today – 2 Tim 3.
The Bible’s uses are outlined in a context that reminds us of the difficult and confusing environment in which we trust, follow and serve Jesus (v1-9). It is tough out there, and Christian people are apt to be demoralised and thrown off-guard by the speech and actions of people around us. Our calline is to be different and to continue in the faith that we have learnt and believed (v14).
This is where the Bible is useful. It is God-inspired (v16). This means that it speaks with a voice that is true, reliable and enduing. We can trust the Bible in a way that we cannot trust any human voice.
The Bible’s uses are outlined simply (v15,16b). It is there to:
- Show us the way of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ
- Correct false teaching and give true teaching
- Correct false behaviour and train us in right behaviour
The end result of our Bible learning is meant to be that we are thoroughly equipped for every good work (v17). ‘Work’ is an action word. If our Bible Learning is not changing what we do, we are examples of people who are always learning but never arriving at the truth (v7).
Where is your Bible and what does it look like? Is it tucked on a bookshelf in mint condition? Or is it like the street directory in your glove box? Let’s get our Bibles out and use them to guide our thoughts, words and actions.