Monday October 17, 2022

Hello friends, it is very chilly this morning in Joliet, Illinois. The weather is getting colder, that is for sure. I am not a fan of winter...but I'm also not a fan of super hot weather, I guess I'm just a difficult person! Anyway, this upcoming Sunday, I am continuing the "Doctrine" series. We will be looking at 2nd Timothy Ch. 3 vs. 14-17.
2nd Tim 3: 14-17
14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, 15 and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Can you take a wild stab at the doctrine we will be talking about??? Hopefully it's pretty clear that we will be looking at the inspiration of scripture. I will also be taking about the idea of salvation. While writing this sermon, I kept asking myself: in order to come to a saving knowledge of Christ, must a person must believe that scripture is inspired. Perhaps that is a strange question, perhaps it isn't. I've never really thought about it before, so I had to think long and hard about the answer. Think of it this way: an average person, sitting in a church service, having never been taught anything about God or the Bible, but they are listening to a sermon and feel compelled (via the Holy Spirit) to surrender their life to Christ. They know nothing about theology, they just know that they now want to live for Jesus, they have a kernel sized amount of faith that Christ died for their sins. Would we ask that person, before having them ask Christ into their life, if they believe that scripture is inspired? I think we can agree that the answer is "no." Learning this comes after the initial salvation experience...but, of course, that does not mean a person must not come to understand that scripture is, indeed, inspired.  It's a difficult question, and I'm not sure we can fully understand, as finite humans. We trust the Lord that His plan for salvation was in place before humanity was created, it's not up to us to work out all of the details-we trust and obey, that is our job!