The Book of Books In her acceptance speech, Griffin said that "a lot of people come up here and thank Jesus for this award. I want you to know that no one had less to do with this award than Jesus." She went on to hold up her Emmy, make an off-color remark about Christ and proclaim, "This award is my god now!" (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070911/ap_en_tv/tv_emmys_griffin) While I cannot comment on Ms. Griffin ’s personal beliefs, it is clear that she either lacks a fundamental understanding of Scripture, or simply doesn’t believe. In either case, she could not be more wrong. Jesus had EVERYTHING to do with her award, and every other good thing she has done with her life (she is active in a number of charities). But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God – having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them. Ms. Griffin’s comments are an example of just the type of humanism that Paul warned Timothy to avoid. Tragically, it is also the exact type of humanism that is running rampant through our society today. How can we protect ourselves against this? At the risk of stating the obvious, there is one simple answer: read The Bible! What is Scripture? Scripture (n.): The operative word in this definition is “authoritative.” Scripture tells us what God’s Word is. It gives us the definition of how God wants us to live our lives (in a godly manner). The Bible is truly a book of books, composed of 66 independent books and letters by roughly 40 authors over the course of 1,500 years! What is truly amazing is that despite the variety of people contributing to the pages of Scripture, and the wide variety of social and political situations governing the time of Scripture, it provides a consistent message and a coherent story across the ages. There is a difference between this “1,000 Monkey” development model and the way The Bible was written. The Bible is not a random Open Source work to which anyone can alter based on random keystrokes or their individual whims. The Bible is the AUTHORITATIVE body of sacred writings. While many people had a hand in writing The Bible, the words are inspired by God directly to the writers. This is why we use the term “Scripture.” The writers of The Bible were not truly authors, putting their own thoughts onto paper; they were scribes, carefully recording what God told them. The Bible’s books are organized by general type. Its first division is based on the Old and New Testaments. A testament is a covenant, or contract, in this case, between God and Man. The Old Testament includes those Scriptures written before Christ was born. The New Testament includes those Scriptures based on Christ’s teachings, and the letters and revelations of Christ’s apostles. The Old Testament is further divided into three categories: The Law, Prophecy, and Other Writings (sometimes divided into Poetry and History). The New Testament is divided into four basic categories: The Gospels (a specialized kind of biography), History, Epistles (Letters), and Prophecy. The books that are part of today’s Bible were formally documented in A.D. 397 at the Council of Carthage, called to establish the official canon of Christian Scripture. It was made up of those books of the New Testament that met the following criteria: Many people are familiar with the so called “Lost Books” of the Bible. These are not considered authoritative books of The Bible, but are gaining popularity today. The apocryphal (hidden) books from both the Old and New Testament periods make an interesting read; they are filled with stories of dragons, mysticism, Solomon’s ability to control spirits, and salacious claims that Jesus was a bratty child and used his powers for his own good. THESE BOOKS ARE NOT THE AUTHORITATIVE WORD OF GOD. I'll say this again to make my point clear: THESE BOOKS ARE NOT THE AUTHORITATIVE WORD OF GOD. Study the Word Paul tells Timothy to guard against the sins and false teachings of humanism, and he provides guidance on how to arm himself against this spiritual threat. Paul instructs Timothy to continue to study Scripture. But as for 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… (2 Timothy 3:14-15) How does a student prepare for a test? He or she STUDIES! Life is one big test, with one critical final exam. Just as you would study for a test in school, you should study God’s word to help prepare you for the final final exam. Of course, as long as there are tests, there will be prayer in school, and prayer is equally important to helping you pass this test. But more on that in another sermon… There are three steps to studying God's word: 1) Observation: Identify the social, historical, and literary context of the passage. Ask yourself "What is going on in the life of the author? Is the author trying to tell a story, write a letter, or compose poetry?" 2) Interpretation: Identify what the author is really trying to say. Some books of the Bible are harder to interpret than others, mainly because they contain prophetic language or poetry filled with symbolism. 3) Application: Identify what the passage means to you. How can you apply this passage to your daily life? The key to interpreting God's word is CONTEXT. In order to correctly interpret Scripture, you must understand the social, political, economic, and literary context of the passage. Certain passages of The Bible, if taken out of context, can be used to justfy horrible sins against God and against mankind; they have been used to justify slavery, Aparthied, wars, and genocide. Be careful when studying Scripture. be sure to seek out God's will, rather than trying to justify your own. Find Salvation in Christ Old Testament: The Messiah is coming, here is what you need to do to prepare. New Testament: The Messiah has arrived and here are his teachings on how to receive His salvation. Paul reminds Timothy that the Scriptures point the way to salvation through Jesus.
The Bible is essentially our Mapquest Directions to Heaven. Unlike human 12-Step programs, God’s roadmap to Salvation is fairly simple; it only requires Four Steps: Click here to read a complete discussion of The Four Step Method of Salvation Share the Wisdom The final charge Paul sends Timothy is to share his wisdom with others. It is not enough to improve ourselves and know God’s word, we have to LIVE God’s word. Living a godly life involves not only living our lives in a manner that would please God, but also to TEACH others to live godly lives. 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. (2 Timothy 3:16) Jesus great commission to the Apostles was not to lock themselves into a tower and study God’s word until they have it memorized and have achieved a perfect understanding of it. In fact, as humans, WE ARE NOT CAPABLE of perfect understanding of God’s word. God’s knowledge and understanding is infinite. Our vision is limited; therefore, our capacity to understand the infinite is limited. Jesus commanded His disciples to go out to the ends of the Earth and spread God’s word. Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw Him, they worshipped Him, but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go our and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:16-20) It is not only our right to spread God’s word, but it is OUR JOB! God wants us to spread His word across the Earth. In fact, He commanded us to do go out to ALL the nations, spread God’s word, baptize them, and teach them to obey God’s word. We must not only spread the word; we must ACT! We must not only talk the talk, we have to be willing to walk the walk. It is also important to note that not everyone who does good works knows God’s word. Remember Kathy Griffin; she is very active in charities and other good works, however, she clearly does not know God’s word, or else she would have realized that Jesus is the reason for ALL things in life, especially the blessings of her success. The Word of God: ALL SCRIPTURE IS GOD BREATHED (2 Timothy 3:16). This means ALL Scripture, not just the passages with which you happen to agree, or the ones which make your life easier, or the ones that justify your political position. So how can you know how to live your life? Study God’s Word! You can do this through personal study of The Bible; participating in group Bible Studies such as those we host each Sunday, Tuesday, and Wednesday; and by participating in our weekly worship services. Amen.
2 Timothy 3:1-5, 14-17
Kathy Griffin is a popular, if often bawdy, modern comedienne. He most recent accomplishment is a series entitled “My Life on the D-List,” Which pokes fun at her own life as a D-List celebrity, having to fly on a budget, performing at less than opulent forums, and getting only minor roles in movies and television. Her life on the D-List has finally paid off, as she accepted a Creative Arts Emmy Award for her series this past week. However, she took her edgy style a step to far for most when she chose to make an insulting comment about Christ during her acceptance speech.
In 2 Timothy, the Apostle Paul warns Timothy that in leading his church, he should guard against godliness being overtaken by humanism.
The first book ever printed in mass quantity on Gutenberg’s press was The Bible. It has been a runaway best seller ever since. With an estimated 6 billion copies in print, and translated in over 2,000 languages, The Bible is the #1 best selling book of all time. There is little dispute that The Bible has had significant influence, if not a driving force, in the course of human history. Despite its enormous influence and record sales, many polls indicate that it is also the least read, and least understood book in human history. 
What, exactly, is Scripture? How does it apply to my life? Webster’s Dictionary defines “Scripture” as follows:
a capitalized (1) the books of the Bible -- often used in plural (2) often capitalized : a passage from the Bible
b : a body of writings considered sacred or authoritative
In the software development world, there is much ado about “Open Source” development, allowing each developer with some skill to modify the core code of an application. Proponents of this model, spearheaded by the Penguin-loving followers of Linux, argue that open source solutions make technology more accessible, stable, and reliable for business operations. However, critics of Open Source compare it to the idea that if you give each of 1,000 monkeys a typewriter and let them bang on the keys with their butts, they will eventually write War and Peace.
Basically, Paul tells Timothy to “Keep on Keepin on” in order to defend himself against the onslaught of false teachers and humanists.
God’s word has a defined and common purpose: our salvation! The Old and New Testaments can be summarized in one sentence each.
… from infancy, you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. (2 Timothy 3:16)
God’s word nourishes our spirits as Christians, just as food nourishes our bodies as humans. Just as our bodies need a variety of foods for a healthy lifestyle, our spirits needs a variety of spiritual nourishment to lead a healthy Christian life. Carrots are healthy, but if we ate only carrots, our bodies would be missing vital nutrients that we get from a balanced diet. If all we do is go to church on Sundays and do not spend time in both self and group Bible Study, our understanding of God’s word would be unbalanced, and we would be missing key spiritual nutrients for our Christian life.