Revealed (Putting the Bible In Its Place #4)

I want to start with a question, and it is aimed at those of you in middle school, high school, and college. Parents, just listen in quietly for a moment.

Students: what is the purpose of school?

Do not answer out loud. Just think about it.

Do you think the purpose of school is to find friends?

It is not. Now do not misunderstand me — finding friends is good and enjoyable. You need social skills, and school is a great place to learn how to work with others, which the workforce demands. But that is not the purpose. And if you are homeschooled, you have to be friends with your siblings anyway, so that settles it.

Maybe the purpose of school is to get good grades? My son is looking at me skeptically right now, and I am fairly sure he has a 4.0.

That is not the purpose either. Again, getting good grades matters — some colleges and graduate programs will not admit you without a certain academic record, and some jobs will not hire you without it. But it is not the primary purpose.

So maybe the purpose of school is to regurgitate facts? That certainly seems to be what my teachers thought, based on the tests they gave me and their insistence that I know exactly what happened in 1799.

No. It is impressive when you can work a math equation, or produce a tidbit from history, or explain something in depth. That is important. It is still not the primary purpose.

I Called an Expert

As I was putting this together I thought I knew the answer — and then I remembered that I am not in the field of education. I am married to someone who is, and my mother was a teacher, but I figured I should check with an expert.

So I called a friend of mine. He started as a math teacher, then became a curriculum coordinator for a school district, and after earning his doctorate he now teaches the courses people are required to take to become a principal or superintendent. He has written books on education — including one on grading that would put me to sleep, though it is genuinely published work. And nearly all of his substantial social media following is about education. He also happens to be one of our elders.

So I asked him: what is the purpose of school?

He said there is a bit of debate about it, but if you asked the majority of teachers, they would say the purpose of school is to learn.

That is it. It used to be reading, writing, and arithmetic. Now you have added industrial arts and physical education and music and instruments. But the purpose is to learn.

What Happens When You Get the Purpose Wrong

Now imagine someone believes the purpose of school is to find friends. So they ignore the learning. They skip the homework. They do not bother with the tests, because to them that is not the point.

They will not graduate — but they will feel like they have a ton of friends and everybody likes them. And then they cannot get into the college they want, because they never bothered to learn.

Or imagine someone believes it is all about the GPA. So they work relentlessly for it. And then they get a job and discover their boss is not remotely impressed by their GPA. Their boss simply wants them to show up on time.

How sad to be convinced of a purpose when the reality is something else entirely.

And that is exactly what a great many people have done with the Bible. They are certain they know its purpose, and they are wrong.

A Word Before We Go Further

As I say that, some of you may find it arrogant — a man standing on a stage announcing that others have the Bible’s purpose wrong and that he is the expert who will now explain it.

Others of you are internally nodding, because you are already thinking of a particular person, or a whole group, or an entire tribe of Christianity that has it wrong.

But this is not limited to one branch of Christianity or one subsection of humanity. Many people — Christians very much included — have this wrong.

I say it because today, as we talk about the purpose of the Bible, some of you are going to realize you have had it wrong.

And I do not say that so you will feel shame or embarrassment or failure. My hope is that hearing why God gave us the Scriptures will actually encourage and inspire you — that instead of thinking I am a total screw-up, you will find yourself wanting to come to the Scriptures and put the Bible in its proper place in your life, because God has a very specific reason for it.

The Text: 2 Timothy 3:16–17

“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”

This is the fourth week of our series on the Scriptures, and we have started with this passage every week.

In week one we looked at that first phrase and saw how all of Scripture — every part — was breathed out by God, who worked through forty different authors, using their unique stories, backgrounds, and personalities to produce this comprehensive book: a collection spanning fifteen hundred years and sixty-six books.

But that can sound mystical and strange — an invisible God writing through human authors. So in week two we looked at whether the Scriptures are reliable, and walked through six pieces of evidence that we can trust this book.

And last week we saw how God gathered it all into thirty-nine books we call the Old Testament and twenty-seven we call the New Testament, and why we can trust that we have exactly what God wants us to read.

Through all of that, we never stopped to ask why. We have been asking how. Today we ask why God gave us this book.

Where I Would Have Pointed a Month Ago

A month ago, if you had asked me to answer that question from this passage, I would have taken you to verse 16 — to the words teaching, reproof, correction, and training in righteousness — and said, there it is.

The more I have studied it, the more convinced I am that that is not the purpose. Let me explain.

Teaching

It is obvious that I love to teach, and I believe the Bible teaches us a great deal. It teaches us about God. About Jesus — his coming, his death, his resurrection. About life and relationships. As we discussed when we covered the canon, Scripture is sufficient to teach us about life and doctrine.

But I do not think teaching is the primary purpose.

Picture a spectrum of views about the Bible, running from high to low.

At the high end you have someone like me, who believes the Bible is the inerrant word of God — without error in the original documents. Coming down, you find someone who says the Bible is from God, but because he used human authors there are errors in it, and though we cannot pinpoint them, we must read carefully. Lower still, someone says it is not from God at all but from human authors with good intentions. And at the bottom, someone says the whole thing is nonsense — a myth used to manipulate and control the masses, and we should be rid of it.

Now, someone with a high view reads that Jesus died on the cross for our sins and believes exactly that — which is why you hear me teach it here regularly.

Someone with a lower view might say, I am not comfortable with that, because that would make God the Father guilty of cosmic child abuse, and I could not worship a God like that. But when I look at the story of Jesus and see what he endured and how he persevered, that teaches me how to persevere through hard things.

Notice: both the high view and the low view think the Bible is teaching them something. They come at it completely differently, and both say, yes, I can learn from this.

Which is precisely why I do not believe teaching is the primary purpose. Because anyone can learn something from it, take that lesson, and walk away satisfied. And if that is all the Bible is for, then God has not accomplished what he actually wants to accomplish.

Reproof and correction

The word reproof can also be translated rebuke or refute. If you are like me, you wonder how that differs from correction.

The connotation around correction is restoration or improvement — think of correcting your posture. Yes, it identifies something wrong, but the aim is to get you to a better place.

Think of it this way. If you are a parent and your young child runs into the street, when you shout at them, that is the reproof — you are getting their attention. Then you pull them back into the yard, get down at their level, hug them, and explain. That is the correction — changing things so it does not happen again.

One gets your attention. The other resets your direction.

What I find interesting is how many of us do not want to let the Bible reprove or correct us. What I have discovered is that many of us want to reprove and correct the Bible.

We bring our biases, our culture, and our sense of what seems right. We read something that confronts us and think, I do not think so — and then set about explaining it away.

It is a version of what one of our founding fathers famously did: he took a Bible, cut it apart, kept the portions he judged authentic, pasted those together, and discarded the rest.

Most of us do not have the nerve to do that with actual scissors. But we do it in our hearts and minds. I do not really like that one, so we will set it aside. That may have been fine for their day, but it is not for us anymore.

God says these Scriptures are meant to reprove you, refute where you are wrong, and help you see where you need correcting and improving.

Augustine made this point centuries ago in one of his sermons. His argument, in essence, was that the Scriptures are holy, truthful, and blameless — so when we go astray, we have no grounds for blaming Scripture. If we have misunderstood it, the fault is ours. When we understand rightly, we are right. And when we have gone wrong, we do not get to declare the Scripture wrong. It stands straight and upright precisely so we can return to it and be corrected.

So the Bible does reprove us and correct us. But again — I do not think that is the primary purpose. There is something more.

Training in righteousness

The last phrase is training — and notice it does not simply say training. It says training in righteousness.

It is training us to live like Jesus lived and love like Jesus loved. Training us to become more like him.

Just as a triathlete has to train their body to handle the swim, the bike, and the run, God wants to train us into the image of Jesus.

Now I think we are getting closer. But I still do not think we are quite there.

The Purpose Is in Verse 17

Why did God give us the Scriptures? “That the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”

The purpose is that the man and woman of God may be complete.

But what does complete mean?

One translation I use nearly every week in my study renders it capable — and their translator notes point out that the word is positioned in the sentence for special emphasis. It carries the sense of complete, competent, able to meet all demands.

In other words: whatever gets thrown at it, it is up to the task. It can handle it.

God wants to build in you that kind of capability. When the doctor says it is cancer, you can handle it. When someone says I need help, you can handle it. When someone says I just need someone to listen to me, you can handle it.

But the Greek dictionary behind that translation goes one step further. The word for complete is also the word for perfect.

So let me ask the most basic Sunday school question ever uttered in church history. Who is the only person who has ever lived who is complete and perfect?

Thank you.

So now — what is this verse actually saying?

The purpose of the Scriptures is that the man and woman of God may be like Jesus. That they may be complete and perfect, like the one who was able to handle everything thrown at him.

The way I would put it: the purpose of the Scriptures is to reveal Christ to us, and to reveal Christ in us.

Part One: Revealing Christ to Us

The purpose is not merely to teach us about Christ. It goes further — it reveals him to us.

Some of you know we have what we call our approach to Scripture, and you can walk through it on our website. We believe God gave the Scriptures to point us to Christ. So we say: the Old Testament points to Jesus, the four Gospels present Jesus, and the rest of the New Testament proclaims him.

That is what we want to do here. Point to him. Present him. Proclaim him.

We saw this last week discussing the canon. What we call the Old Testament, the Jewish people call the Tanakh — structured differently, into Law, Prophets, and Writings, but essentially the same content we have today. And after his resurrection, Jesus tells people that the Law, the Prophets, and the Writings all point to him.

Paul backs this up in 1 Corinthians 15. He says he delivered to them as of first importance what he also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures.

Twice in one sentence. That is Paul’s way of saying: this book is all about Jesus. About his coming, his death, his resurrection. It is about the gospel.

Which tells me two things.

If the Bible is about Jesus, it is not about you

I believe the Bible is for you. It is not about you.

As you read it, it will teach you, reprove you, correct you, and train you. But it is not about you.

Here is an example I have used before. Some people read David and Goliath and cast themselves as David, with whatever they are facing as their Goliath.

But if the Bible exists to reveal Christ, then even that story is revealing Christ. Jesus comes from the line of David, and much of what David faced pointed forward to him. And what emerges over the sweep of Scripture is that Jesus, the true David, slew the giant of sin so we could be free.

It is far more about him than about us.

If the Bible is about Jesus, the Bible is not God

Some people end up replacing their relationship with God with the Scriptures themselves.

I knew a man in college who became convinced he had to spend three, four, five hours a day reading Scripture — and that if he failed, God would essentially remove him from the family and he would be destined for hell. In effect, he believed he had to read the Bible in order to be saved.

Now, I clearly want you reading the Scriptures. This is why we give away Bibles on our resource table, why I tell you to download one to your phone, why I urge you to read regularly and find a reading plan.

But it must not become a replacement for your relationship with God. The purpose of the Scriptures is to reveal Christ to us, not to replace Christ in us.

I knew a pastor who, without realizing it, almost always said the Bible says or what does the text say. That is not wrong — I use that language myself at times. But he never said God says. And if this Scripture is God-breathed, then this is God speaking through human authors to the people of that time and to us in ours.

We cannot let the Bible become a fourth member of the Trinity and end up as a barrier to the one true God. It is meant to be the funnel that draws us to him — because it is through the Scriptures that we see Jesus.

So do not let it become a replacement. And do not leave it on the shelf either. Let it draw you to the risen Christ.

Part Two: Revealing Christ in Us

Verse 17 says the purpose is that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. God wants to work in you to make you complete — like Jesus.

Paul takes this further in Colossians 1:27–28. He says that God chose to make known among the Gentiles how great are the riches of the glory of this mystery.

Notice who is included: Gentiles — the people many assumed God did not want. God had called the Jewish people to be set apart, and many concluded everyone else was condemned. Instead, through Jesus, God is bringing Gentiles to himself. This gospel is for all people, all nations, all tribes, all races.

And what is this mystery being revealed? “Christ in you, the hope of glory.”

This is why, when we talk about living like Jesus lived and loving like Jesus loved, we close our gatherings by sending you out to go and be a blessing. Because as you follow Jesus, you reveal him to the world.

That is what God wants. And that is why he gave you the Scriptures.

So Get Into the Book

Now do you see why I encourage you to read the Scriptures regularly? Why I want you to own a Bible and not only open it on Sundays, but every day? Why I want us to be people of the book?

Because as you put the Bible in its proper place, God not only reveals Christ to you — the visible image of the invisible God, showing you God’s love — he also reveals Christ in you and through you.

Because going out to be a blessing is not merely going out to be nice. It is going out to represent Jesus.

So get into the Scriptures. If you need a reading plan, download one through a Bible app, or head to the resources page on our website where we have reading plans and other materials you can use. Just get in. Begin to discover God’s heart. Let God reveal Christ to you, so he can reveal Christ in you and through you, and you can go be that blessing.

Let Us Pray

Heavenly Father, help us to be people of the book, and let these holy Scriptures take their rightful place in our lives. Give us a high view of them, recognizing that you breathed these things out for us, that you have protected them, and that you have given us evidence they are reliable.

Create in us a hunger — that we would long to come to you, because we want you and we want what you have for us.

Forgive us when we have treated this book as though it were about us. Help us see instead that it is about you and your tremendous love for us. And then let it correct us. If there is anything in our lives that is not of you, speak to us. Reshape it. Remove it. So that what gets trained in us and carved out of us is the image of Jesus.

Because you, Jesus, came to this earth when you did not have to. You lived a sinless life, and then you died the death you did not deserve and we did — and then you rose again from the dead, and you did all of it on our behalf. So we say thank you.

Help us see Jesus revealed. And not only revealed to us — keep transforming our character and our inner person, so we become more and more like your Son, and give our lives to be a blessing to our classmates, our neighbors, our families, and our coworkers. So that wherever we go, we reveal Christ — because of who you are and what you have done in us and for us. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.

Come to the Table

I hope some of this was profitable, as verse 16 puts it — that the Bible taught us, and trained us in righteousness.

But I also recognize that some of you came in today with things going on, and this landed as correction, with the Holy Spirit reminding you of something.

I do not want you to feel beaten up. I want you encouraged — because God through his Spirit is saying, I love you, I want you, I have something better for you, and he is willing to correct.

That is why we come to the communion elements every week. They remind us that Jesus went to the cross and died in our place, for our sins. That is the rebuke: our sin was so evil that it deserved death. And that is the correction: he has restored us.

So as you come to these elements, let them remind you that Jesus — the one who affirmed the Scriptures because they are all about him — came for you.

If God needs to do some correcting, let him. If he wants to encourage you, let him. If you simply need to say, God, whatever you have for me — this is the time.

At any point during the song, come and take the elements. If you are joining online and have elements at home, partake whenever you are ready.

If you are not a follower of Jesus, I want you to know we are genuinely glad you are here. We started this church for you. But we also believe these elements say that the story of Jesus is part of who I am. So if you are not there yet, I would ask you to respectfully abstain. You do not need to impress anyone here — many of us were exactly where you are, so we understand, and nobody is going to look down on you for staying seated.

Instead of worrying about a wafer and some juice, talk to God. Spend the time praying: God, if it is true — if what the Scriptures reveal about Jesus dying on the cross for my sins is true — help me surrender my life and give myself to you. That is what God wants for you today.

But if you have already made that decision, come. Take the elements. Bring them back to your seat, or stand at the sides, or kneel, or stand and sing. This is our time to worship him, connect with him, and let him do in us what he wants — so he can then do through us what he desires.

Let us do this now in remembrance of him.