Beat Back Temptation

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Beat Back Temptation

December 7, 2011

By Mike Watson, Small Groups Pastor

In 1971, the acclaimed musical, Fiddler on the Roof, was made into what has become a cinematic classic. The movie centered on Tevye, an impoverished dairyman who was a Hasidic Jew living in a world that was chasing away the fiber of tradition that held his own world together. Even in the face of such incredible change, Tevye retains a robust wit and humor. Throughout the heart-wrenching transitions on the political, emotional, religious, and familial fronts that Tevye has to cope with, the viewer witnesses him have multiple conversations with God as he wrestles with anxiety and doubt. The conversations and questionings are surprisingly light-hearted. There is no doubt that Tevye is a deeply spiritual man. He repeatedly quotes the “Good Book” throughout the movie when having conversations about the changing landscape that is pressing in on the residents of his village. There is only one problem. None of what he says is in the “Good Book” is right. Here are a couple of quotes to give you a flavor for what we’re talking about.

Tevye: “As the good book says, when a poor man eats a chicken, one of them is sick.”



Tevye: “As the good book says, if you spit in the air, it lands on your face.”

Mendel: “Where does the book say that?” Tevye: “Well, it doesn’t say that exactly, but somewhere there is something about a chicken.”

According to recent research, the number of Bibles printed in the United States alone is so staggering that George Gallup states that there is no way to even make a rough estimate of the total number of published. 92% of American households own at least one Bible, with the typical household owning three. Still with the proliferation of Bible ownership, only 59% of Americans read the Bible at least occasionally in the year 2000. That rate has declined since then. The numbers get bleaker still when we move from Bible reading to Bible knowledge. Only half of the adults polled could name even one of the four Gospels. Only 42% could name five of the Ten Commandments. Despite the popular Christmas carol, only 70% of the adults surveyed could name the town in which Jesus was born. Almost 4 out of every 10 adults thought the entire Bible, Old Testament and all, was written several decades after Jesus’ death and resurrection. 75% of Americans polled believed that the Bible actually says that God helps those that help themselves. All of this begs the question, are we in danger of having the same relationship with the Bible that the fictional Tevye displayed? Even more dire – because the Bible, according to 2 Timothy 3:16, is inspired by God and useful for the teaching, correcting, and training of the believer so that they may be equipped for every good work – are we in danger of squandering the power extended to us by God for doing battle with the evil that rages against us? Let’s take a closer look at what 2 Timothy 3:16 – 17 mean for us as believers.

LEARN As we’ve noted in previous study guides, this letter from Paul is the last before his death. Due to a series of desertions and betrayals from those in his company, Paul is left alone and in prison. He writes a final letter to the man in ministry to whom he is the closest – his son in the faith, Timothy. Timothy is serving as the pastoral leader for the church in Ephesus. Part of his charge, we know from Paul’s first letter, involved refuting rampant false teaching that was threatening the spiritual and relational health of the Ephesian congregation. While Paul’s first letter dealt with the unique issues Timothy was facing specifically, this final letter deals more directly with Timothy himself. Paul offers words of affirmation and encouragement to Timothy, along with final reminders for how he can continue develop as a man of God. This is the background that informs our passage.

After spending the first part of chapter 3 describing the continual gravitation of mankind toward sins of self-indulgence, Paul turns the corner and begins to contrast the spiritual path of growth that Timothy is to pursue, though it will likely lead to persecution. Verses 13 – 15 explain the contrast this way: “But evil men and imposters will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. You, however, continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.” The difference between Timothy and the evil men and imposters is their differing foundations of belief. In the early verses of chapter 3, Paul reveals that the foundation for making decisions and living life for the evil men is love of self and sinful indulgence to whatever feels right at the time. For Timothy, though, Paul makes a straight path to the fact that Timothy’s foundation was to continue in the things he had been taught and grounded in. Namely, Paul directs Timothy’s focus back to the sacred writings. This unique description of the Old Testament that Timothy would have studied as a child (used only here in the Bible) places the emphasis on the nature of the Bible. It is not just wisdom literature or an advice column; it’s the Word of God with the power to transform lives. This is the point that Paul is seeking to drive home to Timothy as he encourages him to continue to put into daily practice that which he is learning. But Paul continues. “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.” (verses 16 – 17) In this incredible pronouncement of the nature and character of Scripture, Paul seeks to remind Timothy about the power of Scripture to guide him in not only his own development, but in the way he pastors others. Scripture is distinctive because it finds its life and power in person of God, who, literally translated, breathed it. That is what makes the Bible distinctive over any other literature in history. Precisely because of its holy power, Paul lists four uses for which Scripture can accomplish great things. First, Paul states that the Bible is profitable for teaching. Plainly stating it, that means the Bible is the reliable source for Christian doctrine and belief. For Timothy that was a critical point due to the creeping false doctrine that was claiming new believers under his care. The Bible is the source for correct thinking and living according to the will of God. Second, Paul states that Scripture is useful for reproof. Reproof can certainly refer to exposing the false claims of the false teachers that Timothy had to confront. However, there is also a possibility for reproof in regard to one’s individual conduct. Whether challenging one’s false doctrine or confronting one’s actions that lie in contradiction to the gospel, Scripture is able to expose the falsehood with the light of truth. Third, Paul points out the ability of Scripture to correct. This is the second half of reproof. Where reproof (or rebuke in other translations) confronts that which is incongruent with the gospel, correction provides the new path back to wholeness and right belief. The fourth use of Scripture in this passage is for training in righteousness. This use refers to the developmental nature of Scripture to discipline the believer toward conformity to the image of God. It has in mind specifically the personal conduct of one living out their faith. The actual words used by Paul carry with them the connotation of raising children. The Apostle is reminding Timothy that Scripture teaches us from spiritual infancy into maturity in the manner in which we live. Verse 17 closes the chapter as Paul reveals the reason why all of this is necessary – so that the man of God (or any follower of Christ) can be equipped for the tasks to which God directs him. Our usefulness in service to God is enhanced as we are stretched and developed as Scripture is increasingly a part of our lives.

LIVE Just as Paul points out the central importance of Scripture in Timothy’s life, we as believers have an equal need for its prominence in our own lives. There is an attitude among believers in many cases that the reading of the Bible is an option in their walk with Christ. Nothing could be further from the truth! It is one of the major ways that God speaks to us and trains us in godliness. It helps us to ferret out lies from truth and reorients our thinking Godward. As we continue in our Spiritual Warfare series and think of the ways in which Satan seeks to undo us as a believers, it is impossible not to recognize that a tremendous amount of our vulnerability lies in either our ignorance of what God’s Word actually says or the atrophy our spiritual muscles incur due to their lack of use on a consistent basis. As Paul

describes the Word of God as the Sword of the Spirit in Ephesians 6:18, we can understand that, just like an actual sword, unless it is taken out of its sheath, it doesn’t do much good. We’ll never know what’s in the Word of God unless we read the Word of God. We’ll never understand the hard parts we don’t understand unless we TRY to understand them. There are no short-cuts to becoming a student of God’s Word. With that in mind, it bears asking yourself what your current attitude toward the Bible really is? Is it an option that you can turn to when you need a quick answer to a hardship? Do you have one on your coffee table because it’s supposed to be there? Or, do you, like Paul, understand that it is the gift of God to reveal Himself and His will to those who love Him and invest their time in opening themselves up to hearing what He has to say to them?

LEAD As believers, we have a unique ability to convey our love and passion for the Word of God to those around us. As the Bible takes deeper root in our lives, the natural byproduct is its increase in our daily conversation and decision-making. As you consider your current Bible study habits and desires, the questions below will help guide your conversations and processing. 1. Describe the first time you really had an interest in studying the Bible. What event in your life opened the door to your doing that? 2. When you read the Bible, do you have a plan for doing so? What would be the benefits of having a plan? 3. In the past, what blockades have derailed your attempts to read the Bible regularly? How can you overcome those in the future? 4. When you read a passage in the Bible you don’t quite understand, what do you do about it? 5. How has the Bible helped protect you from something that would have been foolish or caused you pain? 6. What in a person’s life lets you know that they take the Bible seriously? 7. Do you feel like reading the Bible is an optional add-on to being a Christian? 8. Where do you prefer to read the Bible? Are some locations more helpful for you than others? 9. When you read Scripture, how easy is it for you to apply what you read? 10. Describe a time that your training in righteousness, to use Paul’s words, as a result of your time in God’s Word helped prepare you for a situation.