Rebuking, correcting and training

“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17 NIV

Paul has written to Timothy encouraging him to understand the importance of keeping the teaching he has received from Paul about Jesus always in his mind. Paul has warned Timothy about what people are capable of based on what they have already seen people do. As the time draws closer to the return of Jesus, Paul believes that the manipulation from the enemy will become stronger.

The people who will be acting in ungodly ways, in the end times, will be the people who most of the members of society are modeling themselves after. They will be influential people who are able to sway others to think the way they are thinking. As this happens, those who are not strong in their faith may be easily convinced that the way they have been living, for Jesus, is not worth continuing or that it was wrong all along.

So Paul is encouraging Timothy to continue to live according to the scriptures, to adhere to them. Timothy’s life will be an example to others about how to live, he may have to talk with others about their behaviors, using scripture as the example, in a loving manner to guide them back onto the correct path. This was going to be a large task for Timothy to accomplish without his mentor Paul. Paul was approaching the end of his life and in this letter was explaining that he wanted Timothy to be as prepared to carry on as possible.

The scriptures are from God and are a manual for Timothy and for us on how to live. We, just like Timothy, can find teaching about how God wants us to behave, we can find conviction when we sin and then we can find the way to ask for forgiveness from God as we acknowledge and correct our behaviors.

Have you ever asked yourself how equipped you are to do God’s work? I find that when I ask that question of myself, I do not feel very equipped. The wonderful news is that I don’t have to rely only on myself in order to be equipped because God lives in me and as long as I am willing, He is able to work through me to do the work that needs done.

I pray that I am and you are always willing to follow the scriptures, to listen to sound teaching from the scriptures and continue to be willing to allow God to work through me and through you. There is a lot of recruitment of other believers that needs done and others will watch how we behave sometimes more than what we say. I encourage each of us to read scripture, study scripture and live according to the God-breathed scripture we have been given.