“But don’t let it faze you. Stick with what you learned and believed, sure of the integrity of your teachers—why, you took in the sacred Scriptures with your mother’s milk! There’s nothing like the written Word of God for showing you the way to salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. Every part of Scripture is God-breathed and useful one way or another—showing us truth, exposing our rebellion, correcting our mistakes, training us to live God’s way. Through the Word we are put together and shaped up for the tasks God has for us.”
Paul’s letters to Timothy are treasures word-for-word. With care and patience, Paul explains, advises and encourages Timothy in the Christian life. Keep going back to the drawing board, is what Paul is saying here. Don’t forget why you do what you do. Don’t forget why you believe what you believe. And hold fast to those truths. In Timothy’s day, the four gospels (penned by Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, disciples of Jesus) must have been the core of the account of Jesus’ life and words, as was the book of Acts. And to the new Jewish believer it was a big leap of faith to go beyond the Judaic scriptures to understand and practice this new life in Christ. Today, two millenia later, Paul’s letter to Timothy is as fresh and relevant to the new believer as it was in his day. I hope and trust you will give this some thought, gentle reader!
