2 Timothy 3:14

2Ti_3:14-15

Continue thou in the things which thou hast learned.

Service must be constant and faithful

Gods servants must continue constant in the truth received. They must not play fast and loose, be off and on; but they must be still the same, like well-tuned bells, which have the same note in foul weather as they have in fair (Job_1:21), we must hold fast the truth (1Th_5:21), abide in it and walk in it (Rev_3:3).

1. This constancy is a note of sincerity, then are we Christs disciples indeed, when we abide in the truth (Joh_8:32; Job_2:3), when no storms nor tempests can remove us from it, but we stand like Mount Sion, which never moves, and, like seasoned timber, never warps nor yields.

2. All the promises of heaven and happiness run only to such as are faithful to the death (Rev_2:10), endure to the end (Mat_24:13), and continue in faith (Rom_2:7; Mat_10:22; Col_1:22-23; Heb_3:6; Heb_3:14).

3. Lay a good foundation, dig deep; he that will build high, must lay levy. Our learning doth not hinder but further the work of the Spirit in our souls. Timothy, that had a plentiful measure of the Spirit (for he was an Evangelist), yet must give himself to reading and meditation still. As Moses was faithful, and would not part with a hoof to Pharaoh, so we must not part with a tittle of Gods truth to His enemies; for all truths, even the least, are precious; truth is like gold, which is glorious in the ray and spangle, as well as in the wedge. As it is in practicals, he that makes no conscience of little sins, will quickly be drawn to greater; so it is true, and holds in doctrinals, lie that admits of a little error, will soon be drawn to a greater. Though every truth be not fundamental, yet every truth is a guard to the foundation, the outer skin of an apple lies remote from the heart, yet if you pluck that off the heart will soon be rotten. The linger is not a vital part, but a gangrene in the finger will, in a short time, reach to the very vitals and corrupt the blood with the spirits. Not only the garment of truth, but the fringes thereof are useful, and must be preserved (Num_15:38-40). We experimentally see that those who forsake truth, in discipline, quickly fall to errors in doctrine. We shall hardly find a man that errs in the one, to be found in the other. As therefore we must count no sin small, so we must esteem no error small; for the least truth of Gods kingdom doth in its place uphold the whole kingdom of His truth.

4. If you preserve the truth it will preserve you in the hour of temptation, as Solomon says of wisdom (Pro_4:8).

5. It is a great honour to a person or nation to be the conservators and preservers of the truths of God. It is not only our duty, but our glory. There are many spiritual cheaters abroad; the greater will our honour be in maintaining Gods truth against them all. Say not I am but one, and a weak one too, but remember what great things the Lord did by Athanasius and Luther. (T. Hall, B. D.)

The excellency of the teacher makes the doctrine the more taking

This we see even in human and moral learning, the Platonic doctrine grew famous because it was professed by Socrates, and the Peripatetic by Aristotle. The scholars of Pythagoras did so confide in the dictates of their master, that when any one asked them a reason of what they held, they would give no other answer but Our master said so. Young ministers should suspect their own judgments when they vary from a holy, aged Calvin Beza, and all the churches of God. As young lawyers and physicians observe the principles and practices of the serious and grave professors of their way, especially when grounded on maxims and rules of art, so should young divines. It ill becomes a young raw physician to contradict a whole college of physicians, or a puny lawyer a bench of judges, or a young divine a whole assembly of divines. (T. Hall, B. D.)

Continuance in the faith

I. The things in which we are to continue.

1. We must learn those things in which we are to continue.

2. The things in which we are commanded to continue are the things of which we have been assured.

II. In what respects we are to continue in them.

1. We must continue in the belief of them.

2. We must continue to profess that truth which we believe.

3. We must continue in the practical improvement of the truth. What is the chaff to the wheat? Such is every other doctrine to the doctrine of the Bible; and its energy and effects are proportioned to its excellency, when it is received with faith and love. (G. Lawson, D. D.)

The necessity of correct belief

Comprehensively, we may say that there are two things to be noticed in this passage: first, that the proper use and end of all religious know ledge is the promotion of good conduct and character; and, secondly, that there is a definite and important relation between certain truths and certain moral results. The same fruits will not follow as well from one set of principles as from another. Right belief has much to do with right conduct. Believing is the basis of all instruction and education. Every parent, every teacher, every moralist, as well as every preacher of righteousness, holds that human life and conduct will largely depend upon the things that men are taught to believe. There has sprung up a popular notion that it makes no difference what a man believes concerning religion if only he be sincere. There is just enough truth in the phrase, in some of its applications, to make it plausible, and to give it currency. And so it has come to be a proverb. When it is said, It matters little what a mans creed is if his life be right, if it meant, It matters little what a mans head knowledge is, so that he is sound in his heart, and by sincerity is intended, not sincerity in belief, but sincerity in life or godliness, a great truth is expressed--a truth that is not enough recognised. In education it is of great importance what sort of truth you employ, for some kinds of teaching are a great deal more likely to produce godliness than others. But, whatever the teaching has been, if the man is a good man, however strange it may appear that such a creed should have such a disciple, however far he may be from the average results which ordinarily follow the teaching of such things as he believes, his godliness is to be acknowledged in spite of the beliefs. There are thousands that are not half as good as they ought to be, considering the things that they believe. A mans creed does not necessarily make him good. And there are thousands that are better than their creeds. But generally this maxim does not mean sincerity of life in the form of godliness; it means that it does not matter what a man believes, so that he only believes it sincerely. The first question then, that arises, is this: What are we to understand by a mans belief? Do we understand by it simply those things of which he has an intellectual conception? Do they amount to a belief? Truth that touches a man not merely through a cold perception, but through some warm feeling--that is the kind of truth the Scripture teaches to constitute belief. It may be intellectually conceived; but no moral truth and no social truth is ever presented so as to be believed, unless it be presented in such a way as to carry sympathy and feeling with it--and that is not the case with all kinds of truth. Physical truths, scientific truths, do not touch the feelings, and do not need to. Arithmetic deals with truths that have no relation directly, except with the understanding. They never come with desire, sorrow, pity, or emotion of any sort. Bat all truths that relate to dispositions in men, to moral duties--they never stop with the understanding, but touch the feeling as well. A man cannot be said to believe a moral truth unless he believes it so that he carries some emotion with it. And, in this respect, it makes great difference what a man believes. Let us, then, look at this a little in the light of the experience of men in this world. In regard to the truths of the physical economy of the globe, does it make any difference what a man believes? Would it make any difference to a machinist whether he thought lead was as good for tools as steel? Would it make any difference to a man in respect to the industries of life if he thought that a triangle was as good as a circular wheel in machinery? In respect to the quality of substances, the forms of substances, the combination of substances, and the nature of motive powers, does success depend upon sincere believing or on right believing? Suppose a man should think that it made no difference what he believed, and should say to himself, I wish to raise corn, but I have not the seed; so I will take some ashes and plant them; and I believe sincerely that they are as good as corn, would he have a crop of corn? What would his sincerity avail? Take one thing further. There are affectional and social truths. Does it make no difference what a man believes in respect to these? Is there no difference between pride, vanity, and selfishness on the one hand, and tenderness, sympathy, and love on the other? As it is with the lower forms of moral truth, so experience teaches us it is with the higher forms of moral truth. There is a definite and heaven-appointed connection between the things a man holds to be true, and the results that follow in that mans mind. All truths are not alike important, and all truths do not show the effects of being believed or rejected with equal rapidity. There are many truths which bear such a relation to our every-day life, that the fruit of believing or rejecting appears almost at once. These are spring truths, that come up and bear fruit early in the season. There are other truths that require time for working out their results. They are summer truths, and the fruit of belief or disbelief does not ripen till July or August. Other truths, in respect to showing the results of belief or disbelief, are like late autumnal fruits, that require the whole winter to develop their proper juices. Thus it is a matter of great importance whether a man believes in his obligation to God or not; whether he believes that he is sinful or not; whether he believes in the necessity of the influence of the Spirit in regeneration. A mans belief is not the only thing that works upon him. There is a great mistake in saying that as a man believes so is he, if you mean that his character depends upon his belief in any technical theological truth. What a man is depends in a great measure upon his father and mother, and brothers and sisters, and friends; that is, it depends partly on the things that he believes, and partly upon the influences that are working upon him in the family, in the society, and in the party to which he belongs. There are a thousand and one circumstances that have much to do with what a man is; and his character is not formed alone by his technical beliefs. Let us apply the foregoing reasonings and explanations to the more important truths which we are appointed to preach. We preach, then, that this life is a very transient scene; that we are strangers and pilgrims here; that we are started here to be transplanted; that we are undergoing a process of education in this life with reference to a life to come. We are taught in the Word of God that all men are sin-struck, and that every man that lives needs the grace, and forbearance, and forgiveness of God, and moral renovation at the hands of God. If a man believes that he is good enough, of course he becomes listless, and heedless, and inattentive. If another man by his side believes that he is sinful, and needs to be born again, with what a constantly quickened and watchful conscience must he needs live! and how, with all his moral power, must he perpetually strive to live a godly life? Does it make no difference what a man believes in respect to the character of God, the nature of the Divine government in this world, its claims upon us, and our obligations under it? What, then, is the application, finally, of this? It is just this: that, according to the tenour of the passage from which our text is taken, it makes all the difference in the world which you believe in respect to those truths that are connected with godliness--with purity of thought, purity of motive, purity of disposition. You must believe right about them. If there are any truths to be indifferent about, they are those that relate to your worldly good; and if there are any truths that you cannot afford to be indifferent about, they are those that relate to your character, to your immortality, and to the eternity that awaits you. Indeed, your character and destiny depend upon your beliefs in truth. If, then, any of you have hitherto been reading the Word of God as a book of curiosity, I beseech you remember that it is not made known to you for the purpose of curiosity. It is made known to you to be your guide from sin, from sorrow, from earthly trouble, toward immortality, and toward glory. Now when I sit in my house, where there is no gale, and with no ship, and read my chart out of curiosity, I read it as you sometimes read your Bible. You say, Here is the headland of depravity; and there is a lighthouse--born again; and here is the channel of duty. And yet every one of you has charge of a ship--the human soul. Evil passions are fierce winds that are driving it. This Bible is Gods chart for you to steer by, to keep you from the bottom of the sea, and to show you where the harbour is, and how to reach it without running on rocks or bars. Is is the book of life; it is the book of everlasting life; so take heed how to read it. In reading it, see that you have the truth, and not the mere semblance of it. You cannot live without it. (H. W. Beecher.)

Value of personal conviction

Without this subjective conviction of the heart, it would not have been possible for Timothy to hold out in the things he had learned, amid so many persecutions. (Van Oosterzee.)

Continue

The capital word in this injunction is doubtless continue. Timothys teachers had been his grandmother Lois, his mother Eunice, and the apostle Paul himself. From his childhood he had been taught in the Scriptures, and now the apostle urges him to remain steadfast in his early teaching. But was such an exhortation consistent with the greater light that would come to the young learner as he grew older and increased in knowledge? Might he not have occasion to change his beliefs, to revise his creed, as he made intellectual advancement? Let us see if he was right. What relation should subsist between the things learned and the increasing light of greater knowledge? It should be kept in mind that, notwithstanding much shifting of positions in human thought, the essence of religion remains unchanged; it is fundamentally the same. There are those who seem to think that greater light will revolutionise all our beliefs, and that therefore it is folly to cling so tenaciously to the old orthodox positions in religion or anything else. Suppose for a moment that this were true. Then there could be no certainty, no assurance. We should not dare to pin our faith to anything in religion or science or common sense. Even those mathematical truths that have been so confidently held as axioms would stand on an insecure foundation, for who knows that further research might not shatter them, and raze to the ground the proud superstructure? Besides, these progressive thinkers themselves, who advocate certain theories with so much gusto, are guilty of folly; for, according to their own hypothesis, new light may change their beliefs, and prove them but the phantoms of a day. Do you see where this theory, that all our knowledge is in a fluctuating state, subject to constant change, will land us? In the harbour of nowhere? Let those who will sail tor that port. Many of us prefer a definite destination after the voyage of life is over, and a more reliable guiding star while it lasts. But let us look around us for analogies. Are there not many things that abide amid all changes? The zephyrs still blow softly on the blushing cheek, the storm still howls, the stars still twinkle, the waves still roll and dash upon the shore, men still breathe and eat and sleep and love, as they did in the olden times; that is, the fundamental things continue. And the like is true of the principles of Christianity; amid all fluctuations the foundation of God standeth sure, and we still have hope as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast. (Christian Globe.)

Things learnt at school

1. First among these special lessons of a public school, I will place the value of time. I know not how to express my sense of what we all owe to what I may call a life of compulsory order. Every little duty of the day has, with us, its place and its time.

2. I will mention as one of the lessons of a place like this, the forming a right estimate of yourselves. It is one of the greatest benefits of this kind of education, that it leaves you in no doubt as to your comparative powers and attainments. Be not presumptuous, be not arrogant, be not self-confident. Take a just, not a fanciful, estimate of yourselves, both ways.

3. A third important lesson learned here is, the necessity and the power of adapting yourselves to a variety of persons and circumstances.

4. A fourth lesson here learned is the meaning of a social as opposed to a selfish life.

5. There is a fifth thing taught here, as it can scarcely be but by a system of public education, and that is the great lesson of the consequences of actions.

6. All these things are true, and capable of much enforcement, but I hasten to that chief lesson of all, without which all else would be poor indeed--I mean, the Divine aspect of life; its relation to God Himself through Christ, as our present help, our one hope and object, the very stay and strength and life of our life. That surely is the meaning of all our meetings for worship. (Dean Vaughan.)

Continue in the things learnt

What are the things that you have learnt--what are the lessons that I would write upon your hearts in letters that the fire of experience shall bring to the light?

1. The dignity of work. Try to realise how much you owe to the labours of others who have gone before you, and try to labour for others in your turn. Do not be mere triflers and spendthrifts. Lay one stone, if it be one only, in the temple of human progress. Seek to learn something and to do something that is good.

2. The sovereignty of conscience. The age in which we live is democratic. Vox populi vox Dei is its watchword. Let me warn you against that great and fruitful error. There is no Divinity in numbers. God reveals Himself not to the many, but to the few. The greatest crime ever wrought was wrought by one who desired to do the peoples pleasure. You may sympathise with the people as much as you like, you may hold it right that the will of the people should be done; but nothing that the people say or do can alter by one baits breadth the law of right and wrong for you.

3. The duty of philanthropy. Every generation has its own duties and responsibilities. Nobody can tell why certain questions arise at a particular time and come to the fore; it is Gods will. And there can be no doubt that the distinguishing duty of your generation will be to soften and hallow the lives of the toiling poor.

4. How shall you do this? What shall be your motive power in this great work? It shall be the fourth--the last--of the principles which I have impressed upon you, and which I leave with you as a legacy of remembrance--the paramount value of religion. I thank God, said Lord Russell on the scaffold--I thank God for having given me a religious education; for even when I forgot it most, it still hung about me and gave me checks. May it be so with you! May religion be your guide, controlling, inspiring, leading you ever to a higher and diviner life! (J. E. C. Welldon, M. A.)

Pauls charge to Timothy

Yield to the influence of authority in doctrine and life. But continue thou in the things which thou hast heard and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them. This advice is strangely unlike what we are accustomed to hear. Our time is impatient of authority. The new Timothy is exhorted to be perfectly unbiassed in the formation of his religious opinions. He must go back to the sources of things, if he can; if he cannot, he must improvise opinions, and thereafter be his own authority. Unverified personal impressions, and conclusions hastily reached, are better than the testimony of the wisest and most faithful witnesses touching the doctrines and duties and experiences of Christs religion. To Paul it seemed far otherwise. He would have Timothy strongly biassed in favour of the teaching which he received in youth, by the Christian character of those who taught him. Grandmother Lois and mother Eunice gave the testimony of experts. They knew whereof they affirmed. Religion was not to them a matter of opinion merely, it was a life. Their faith was unfeigned. It had power to rule their lives. Why should not their teachings take on an authoritative quality from their lives? The limits of authority must be carefully set. Discriminations must be made. Profane and old wives fables must be avoided. But the authoritative teaching of a holy life is not to be disregarded because unholy lives assume to be authoritative. Mental freedom is to be coveted; but the freedom which assumes that each age must begin anew the study of the ways of God with men is too great. (Monday Club Sermons.)

From a child thou hast known the Holy Scriptures.

The Holy Scriptures

So here what a largo encomium and high commendation the Holy Ghost gives of the Scriptures, even such as is given to no other book in the world besides.

1. He commends them in respect of one special property and adjunct, viz, their holiness. The holy Scriptures.

2. From their effects: they are able to make us wise unto salvation.

3. From their authority, utility, perfection.

Now the Scriptures are called holy in five respects.

1. In respect of their Author and principal cause--viz., the most holy God.

2. In respect of the penmen and instrumental cause: they were holy men of God (2Pe_1:21).

3. In respect of their matter: they treat of the holy things of God; they teach nothing that is impure or profane. They teach us holiness in doctrine and practice.

4. in respect of their end and effect--viz., our sanctification (Joh_17:17). By reading, hearing, and meditating on Gods Word the Holy Ghost doth sanctify us (Psa_19:8-9).

5. By way of distinction and opposition; they are called holy to distinguish them not only from human and profane, but also from all ecclesiastical writings.

1. This must teach us to bring pure minds to the reading, hearing, and handling of Gods holy Word.

2. Take heed of profaning the holy Scriptures by playing with thorn, or making jests out of them.

3. Love the Scriptures for their purity; as God is to be loved for His purity, so is His Word.

Many love it for the history, or for novelty, but a gracious soul loves it for its purity, because it arms him against sin, directs him in Gods ways, enables him for duty, discovers to him the snares of sin and Satan, and so makes him wiser than his enemies. The Word of God alone is able to make us wise unto salvation (Psa_19:7; Luk_16:28; Luk_16:19; Joh_5:39; Joh_20:31; Jam_1:22; Jam_1:25). No other knowledge can bring us to salvation, but only the know-lodge of the holy Scripture. The Word of God cannot save nor profit us without faith. Such is our blindness, deadness, dulness, yea, enmity against the Word, that without faith we cannot see, conceive, or receive it (1Co_2:14; Rom_1:16; Heb_4:2; Joh_3:19-20). If a man offer us never so good an alms, yet unless we have an eye to see it, with a hand and heart to receive it, we are never the better for the tender of it.

1. Observe. Parents ought to instruct their children betimes in the Word of God. It is good seasoning the vessel betimes with goodness. It is a singular mercy to have good parents, and specially a good mother, for she being much about her children hath many opportunities of dropping good things into her little Lemuels, as Bathsheba did into Solomon (Pro_31:1). The mothers of the kings of Israel are constantly mentioned, and as they were good or evil, so were their children. But at what ago would you have parents begin to teach their children? So soon as over they begin to learn wickedness, we should teach them goodness; so soon as ever they begin to curse and swear, we should teach thorn to bless and pray. There are many reasons why youth should be seasoned betimes with good principles.

1. In respect of that natural rudeness and ignorance which cleaves so close unto them (Ecc_3:18; Job_11:12; Jer_4:22; Jer_10:14). We are all by nature like wild ass colts, unteachable, untractable.

2. The Lord oft blesses this seasoning in youth with good success.

3. It is usually blessed with continuance and perseverance; such as are good young are oft good long; what the vessel is first seasoned withal it will have a taste of it a long time after.

4. This is an excellent means to propagate goodness to posterity. As we see here, Timothys grandmother teacheth his mother, and his mother teacheth him, and he teacheth the Church of God, etc. So if you teach your children, they will teach their children, and thou mayest be a means to propagate Gods truth and honour from one generation to another. So that you may comfort yourselves when you come to die that yet your piety shall not die, but shall survive in your posterity, who shall stand up in your stead to profess Gods name and truth before a sinful world.

5. Such well-bred and timely-taught children are usually great comforts and ornaments to their parents (Pro_23:15-16; Pro_23:24-25), as we see in Abol, Joseph, Samuel, Josiah (2Ch_34:3), Obadiah (1Ki_18:18; 1Ki_18:12), David, Daniel, Jeremy.

6. Children are the seminary and nursery, of the Church and commonwealth; now, as our seminaries and seed-plots are, such is the nation; as the parents, house, and school are, such are towns and cities.

7. Youth is most teachable and tractable, like soft wax or clay fit to be formed and framed to anything, ready to take any impression. Like a tender twig you may bend it which way you please, but let it grow to be a tree, and you may sooner break it than bend it. We should therefore take this fit season of seasoning youth betimes with saving truths, and killing the weeds of sin which begin to appear in their lives. No creature so wild but it may be tamed if taken whilst young. We see those that would teach or tame horses, lions, hawks, dogs, bears, they begin with them betimes; the horse is broken whilst a colt, and the lion tamed whilst it is a whelp, etc. As in the Ark there was the rod and manna, so in every well ordered family there must be the manna of instruction and the rod of correction. It must stir up young persons to devote the flower and best of their days unto God, who is the best of beings. Show me any that can show better title to thy youth than God can do, and let him take it. He gives the best wages, and so deserves the best work; godliness hath the promise (Pro_22:4; Mat_6:33; 1Ti_4:8). And if we serve Him in our good days, He will help us in our evil ones; if we spend our youth in His service, He will support us and supply us in our old age (Isa_46:3-4). If it were in our power, yet we may in no wise deal so disingenuously with our God as to give the devil the marrow of our youth, and reserve the dry bones of our old age for God. It is no wisdom to lay the greatest load on the weakest horse. Old age (though in itself it be a blessing) yet is accompanied with many troubles, sicknesses, and diseases; they are the dregs, the lees, the winter of our days. As all rivers meet in the sea, so all diseases meet in old age--hence it is called the evil day (Ecc_12:3-5), etc. Then the eyes grow dim, the ears deaf, the hands tremble, and the legs are feeble, and the memory fails. (T. Hall, B. D.)

Religion in youth

1. It is more easy; anything taken when it is young is more easily wrought upon. A twig is easily bent; a disease taken in the beginning is easily cured, when everything by delay grows worse. When the fingers are grown stiff, it is ill learning to play on the lute. An old disease is hardly cured. The longer a tree grows, the harder it is to pull up. The further a nail is driven, the harder it is to pull it out again. The acting of sin strengthens the habit, and when sin is become habitual, connatural, and customary, it is hardly cured (Jer_13:23; Isa_26:10).

2. It is more fruitful; we shall do more good, and receive more good; to him that hath shall be given. We shall bring forth much penitential fruit, which will bring much glory to God, and in glorifying Him lieth our glory (Job_15:8). Suppose a man should never repent till he were old and ready to die; though such a man may be saved, yet his graces are not so conspicuous, nor can he do that good, nor bring that glory to God as a young man that begins betimes to serve Him. It is a thrifty course to be an early convert; the sooner we submit to the Spirits conduct the better, the more peace and liberty we shall attain.

3. It is more beautiful and lovely. Everything is beautiful in its season (Ecc_3:11); now Gods usual season for repentance is when we are young.

4. We shall resemble the servants of God; all their obedience hath been prompt and speedy. They are endued with the wisdom which is from above, which is easily entreated to any goodness.

5. Consider the shortness and uncertainty of our days. It is a notable spur to speedy repentance; for as presumption of long life doth harden men, so realising of death, and looking on it as present, doth quicken and awaken men. Now our life in Scripture is compared to a span that is soon measured (Psa_39:5); to a tale that is soon told (Psa_90:9); to a vapour that quickly vanisheth (Jam_4:14); like a flower that soon fades (Isa_40:6-8; Job_14:2; Psa_102:11; Psa_103:15; Jam_1:10; 1Pe_1:24); like a post or a weavers shuttle that fly speedily (Job_7:6; Job_9:25).

6. The seasons of grace are short; time itself is short; but opportunity is much shorter. Every day in the year is not a fair day, and every day in the week is not a market day. Grace is not every days offer, and therefore we should walk in the light whilst we have the light.

7. In this we may learn wisdom from the men of the world. The smith strikes whilst his iron is hot; the husbandman makes hay whilst the sun shines. The mariner observes his wind and tide, the lawyer his terms, the chapman his fairs and markets, and the gardener his seasons. Yea, shall the stork, the crane, and the swallow know the time of their coming, and shall we not know the day of our visitation? (Jer_8:7). Doth the bee lose no fair day, and doth the ant in summer provide for winter? (Pro_6:8). And shall not we in the summer of youth provide for the winter of old age?

8. Neglecting the day of our visitation increaseth wrath, and provokes the Lord to cut off young persons in the flower of their days. If a man should every day be adding sticks to the fire, and oil to the flame, it must needs make the fire very terrible at last. (T. Hall, B. D.)

The Christian education of the young

1. From a child thou hast known the holy Scriptures. That must have been a privilege of no slight importance in the estimation of Paul, which he considered worthy of peculiar mention, at such a time, and in his dying charge to his most beloved friend and companion. And when Timothy himself traced back the course of his life to his earlier years--when the memory of those youthful days rose upon his melting mind, as he perused the apostles touching allusion, he too would most readily acknowledge the gracious hand of providence in having thus blessed him with the inestimable advantages of an early religious education. Men, who deem themselves philosophers, may sneer at the knowledge of a child, and the piety of a child, thinking it impossible that childhood can intelligently either know or love God. How soon can it comprehend the meaning of a fathers authoritative and commanding frown, or the checking and controlling, yet affectionate smile of a mother! And, by the very simple process of combining these perceptions, and comparing in order to elevate them, how soon it may be taught to form some idea of a Being whose authoritative laws are similar, though vastly superior, to those of a father, and yet whose surpassing love, infinitely transcending that of a mother, shall endure when hers may have waxed cold, or waned utterly away, or been hid behind the darkness of the tomb!

II. Consider what is the advantage of being trained to know the holy Scriptures. This Paul declares to be, that they are able to make us wise unto salvation. It might be shown, had we at present scope for the investigation, that the wisdom of the world is wholly ineffectual for accomplishing the moral regeneration of man; nay, effectual only, or at least chiefly, in cultivating and enlarging his capacity of evil. It is the knowledge of the holy Scriptures, and that alone, which can make men wise unto salvation. Results so strikingly different must proceed from originating principles not less diametrically opposed. Let us, therefore, briefly examine some of the leading principles of the wisdom of the world, marking the contrast between them and those of the Scriptures. Now, the main intention of the worlds wisdom is, to fit men for living on this earth; that of the Scriptures, to prepare them for heaven. Plans constructed upon such very different principles, and for such very different ends, begin to diverge at their very commencement. The world trains children to a similarity with itself--with its pride, its luxury, its self-indulgence, its vanity, and its self-approbation; the Scripture principle is, the nurture and admonition of the Lord, self-denial, humility, acknowledgment of sin, and dependence upon God alone for help. The world inculcates the love of gain, as a ruling object; the Bible declares that the love of money is the root of all evil. The world is loud in its praises of these who acquire advancement and distinction in life; Christianity teaches us to be content with such things as we have, threatens the fall of the mighty and the proud, and pronounces a blessing upon the meek, the lowly, and the humble. The world allows, nay, inculcates, selfishness; Christianity bids us seek not our own welfare only, but also that of others. The world approves a bold, contentious spirit, as one likely to force it jostling way through all opposition; Scripture says, The servant of the Lord must not strive. The world allows dissimulation, selfish delusion, petty fraud, and all the thousand knaveries of common life and business; Christianity requires that the whole life and conduct should be characterised by the very transparency of truth, as ever in the presence of the God of truth and holiness.

III. We come now to offer some remarks on the principle of this saving wisdom--that by which it is accomplished, viz., Through faith which is in Christ Jesus. (W. M. Hetherington, M. A.)

Knowledge of Bible in youth

David Livingstone gained a New Testament in the Sabbath school when nine years old by repeating the 119th Psalm on two successive evenings with only five errors. (W. G. Blaikie.)

John Wesleys estimate of the Bible

I am a creature of a day, passing through life as an arrow through the air. I am a spirit, coming from God, and returning to God: just hovering over the great gulf; a few moments hence, I am no more seen; I drop into an unchangeable eternity! I want to know one thing--the way to heaven; how to land safe on that happy shore. God Himself has condescended to teach the way. He hath written it down in a book. Oh, give me that book! At any price, give me the book of God! I have it: here is knowledge enough for me. Let me be a man of one book. Here, then, I am, far from the busy ways of men. I sit down alone; only God is here. In His presence I open, I read His book; for this end--to find the way to heaven.

The Bible and the family

One evening a man, who resided in Southwark, attended a missionarys meeting for the special purpose of lauding Paine and Voltaire as writers whose moral sentiments surpassed in beauty anything of the kind found in the Bible. What this objector to the gospel had to say was listened to with deference, and then he was asked if ever he had read the volume he contemned. Yes, he had read the Bible in common with other books. Have you a family? asked the missionary who was presiding over the little assembly. Yes, the speaker possessed a wife and little ones. Which, then, would he recommend to them--the life companion who was dear to him and the children whom he loved--Infidelity or Christianity? The company may have looked curiously to see what shape the infidels answer would assume, but they could little have suspected what its import would be. What was their astonishment when the champion of unbelief of a few minutes before burst into tears, and then cried, I never heard that kind of argument before. I would rather give them the Bible than any infidel book. (G. H. Pike.)

The Bible and the light of God

Lord Byron and Mr. Hobhouse explored together a cavern in Greece. They lost themselves in its abysses, and the guide confessed in alarm that he knew not how to recover the outlet. They roved in a state of despair from cave to cell. They climbed up narrow apertures, but found no way of escape. Their last torch was consuming; they were totally ignorant of their whereabouts, and all around was darkness. By chance they discerned through the gloom what proved to be a ray of light gleaming towards them. They hastened to follow it and arrived at the mouth of the cave. Would that all the torches which are blinding men to the light of God would burn out, and that speedily! Blessed be darkness and despair if through them men discern the beams which shine from heaven and reveal salvation. (H. Batchelor.)

Education of the youths

A lady was once talking with an archbishop upon the subject of juvenile education, and, after some time, the lady said, Well, my lord arch bishop, as for myself, I have made up my mind never to put my child under religious instruction until he has arrived at years of discretion. He replied, If you neglect your child all that time, the devil will not.

Early and lasting impressions

In our great museums you see stone slabs with the marks of rain that fell hundreds of years before Adam lived, and the footprint of some wild bird that passed across the beach in those olden times. The passing shower and the light foot left their prints on the soft sediment; then ages went on, and it has hardened into stone; and there they remain, and will remain for evermore. That is like a mans spirit; in the childish days so soft, so susceptible to all impressions, so joyous to receive new ideas, treasuring them all up, gathering them all into itself, retaining them all for ever. (A. Maclaren, D. D.)

Which are able to make thee wise unto salvation.--

The Scriptures and Christ

Christ is the central theme of the Bibles prophecies. The hope of Christ echoes through its Psalms. Every page gains new meaning when brought into relation with Christ. In the great light houses along our coast reflectors of immense power are placed around the lamps. They are composed sometimes of as many as a thousand pieces of highly polished crystal. Each of these sends out its own image of the central light. All combine to form the refulgent beam that shines a score of miles across the sea. So from each separate part of the Bible Christ is in some way reflected, and when we recognise Him throughout, it is all bright with interest and truth.

The saving use of the Bible

There are many people to whom the Bible does not amount to much. If they merely look at the outside beauty, why, it will no more lead them to Christ than the Koran of Mahomet, or Washingtons farewell address, or the Shaster of the Hindoos. It is the inward light of Gods Word you must get or die. I came up to the Church of the Madeleine, in Paris, and looked at the doors, which were the most wonderfully constructed I ever saw, and I could have stayed there for a whole week; but I had only a little time, so having glanced at the wonderful carving on the doors, I passed in, and looked at the radiant altars and the sculptured dome. Alas, that so many stop at the outside door of Gods holy Word, looking at the rhetorical beauties, instead of going in and looking at the altars of sacrifice, and the dome of Gods mercy and salvation that hovers over every penitent and believing soul. Oh, my friends, if you merely want to study the laws of language, do not go to the Bible. It was not made for that. Take Howes Elements of Criticism--it will be better than the Bible for that. If you want to study metaphysics, better than the Bible will be the writings of William Hamilton. But if you want to know how to have sin pardoned, and at last to gain the blessedness of heaven, search the Scriptures, for in them ye have eternal life. (T. De Witt Talmage, D. D.)

Wise unto salvation through faith

The addition is remarkable. St. Pauls experience had taught him that without that faith the study of the sacred writings might lead only to endless questionings and logomachies. Targums and the Talmud remain as if to show how profitless such a study might become. (E. H. Plumptre, D. D.)

The faith-torch

Faith in Christ is, as it were, a torch, by the light of which we can first read aright and understand the dim colonnades and mysterious inscriptions in the ancient venerable temple of the Old Covenant. (Van Oosterzee.)

Wise unto salvation

I. That the scriptures are able to make wise unto salvation. The Scriptures do, indeed, contain the truth that makes wise to salvation, but it is by faith that is in Christ Jesus. It is when the Scriptures are believed, when they are received in the love of them, that man becomes a partaker of a blessing. Here it may be said, what strange language!--believe the Scriptures!--why, we always believed them! Those who utter such observations may imagine they believe, but they never believed faith worketh by love--faith purifies the heart--faith overcomes the world--faith is not a fancy--faith is not something floating through the mind of man, but it is of the operation of God. If, then, a man is careless about his soul, he does not believe; if he thinks more highly of the testimony of the world than he does of the testimony of his God, he does not believe; if he depends on his own poor doings, and makes them the ground of his hope, he does not believe; for other foundation can no man lay than that which is laid, Christ Jesus. If a man neglects the various relative duties of life, and spends his time and money in satisfying in any way the lusts and desires of his flesh, that man, whatever he may be, or whatever he may say, does not believe.

II. That Timothy was instructed in these scriptures from his youth. Here we have a direct answer given to those who would withhold from the young the book of God. No man of sense, or common understanding, or ordinary feeling, would withhold a medicine from his sick child, in consequence of that child being unable to ascertain the nature of the medicine, or calculate the effect of its operation. (P. Roe, M. A.)

The blessedness of children Scripturally taught

I. What the holy Scriptures can do. Make thee wise unto salvation. Exceedingly high praise: can be affirmed of no other book. Were the Bible a book to teach men the art of becoming rich, many would read it who now refuse; all that will be rich would then study their Bibles as diligently as their ledgers. If it taught men to be philosophers, another class would read it more than they commonly do. If it were a mere road book, many would consult it who now do not as they pursue the road of life. But the Bible proposes to make men rich towards God, wise unto salvation, pilgrims on the way to heaven. It teaches the best means of attaining the best end; and that is true wisdom.

II. How the holy Scriptures produce such great effects. Through faith which is in Christ Jesus. The Scriptures do not work as a kind of charm. It is not by having the Bible in the house, nor in the school, nor in the church; but it is by having the Bible in the heart, its contents heard, read, marked, learned, and inwardly digested--that they make us wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. The infidel can read them and scoff; the poet can read them and only admire their sublimity; the historical student can consult them only as ancient records; the formalist can read them just to get through a certain stated portion; yea, wicked persons have read them for bad purposes--to copy the sins which the Scriptures hold up to abhorrence. Of all such it may be said that the Word preached or read did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it. The Word profits when we hear as Lydia heard, whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul. Therefore the study of the Scripture should always be connected with prayer for Divine grace.

III. The advantage of knowing the holy Scriptures, if possible, even from early youth. From a child; there is the time when Scriptural instruction should begin. The word here rendered child, denotes childhood in its infantile stage. To early education, blessed of God in His own time and way, the Church has owed some of her greatest ornaments. Augustin, who made a noble stand for the gospel in the fifth century, always attributed his conversion to the prayers, the tears, and the instructions of his mother, Monica. God, in fact, appears to have remarkably honoured Christian mothers, whether they stood singly, or were supported in their endeavours to imbue their childrens minds with Holy Scripture. Dr. Doddridge, one of the most eminently pious men among the Nonconformists in this country, used to relate that his mother taught him the histories of the Old and New Testament before he could read, by the aid of some Dutch tiles in the chimney of the room where they usually sat; and her religious instructions were the means of making good impressions upon his mind that were never obliterated. (J. Hambleton, M. A.)

First duty of parents

1. Paul found Timothy, in their earliest acquaintance, a person who, though young in years, was fitted to enter the world in situations of great trust and confidence.

2. Paul had to think of Timothy, whilst employed in the onerous duties of his vocation, as one whose bodily constitution was sickly, and hence as one who was liable to severe illness or early death.

3. Paul had to experience the contemplation of being shortly separated from Timothy, having before his own eyes the certain prospect of martyrdom. Yet, in all his reflections, arising from the various circumstances attending his connection with this beloved disciple, one sufficient consolation filled St. Pauls affectionate heart. He knew that Timothy, even from his childhood, had known the Holy Scriptures; and this knowledge relieved him from all apprehension and anxious pain about his beloved friend. He could confidently trust him in the world; he could bear to lose him out of it; and he could with comfort leave him in it, when his own expected death arrived.

And you who have children of your own, or are in any way entrusted with the guardianship of the young, will find that those three cases which I have cited concerning Paul and Timothy, may minutely represent your connection with the rising members of the human family.

1. In the first place, many a parents heart is often anxiously burdened with a conviction that soon the world must be opened to a son or a daughter; that the veil of domestic virtue and innocence, which has hitherto screened these childrens eyes from a sight of the vanity and wickedness which exist in the highway of life, must be rent asunder; and that the allurements of pleasure, the fascinations of sin, the temptations of gain, the suggestions of ambition, will all assail their inexperienced feelings, with a force to which their own natural inclinations will only lend congenial aid; and this will be so, even with these who have been most carefully and religiously trained. How, then, are parents to defend their offspring, and how are the young to be secured from the corrupting influence of the ordeal through which, in entering the world, these inexperienced ones must necessarily pass? Shall they be supplied with money, to save them from the thirst of gain, when it will give them the means also of indulging in sinful pleasure? Shall they be highly educated, and taught all that the accumulated learning of the philosopher has discovered, when this may fill the head without cleansing one affection of a naturally depraved heart? Shall they be shut out from the world, when the devil has already taken possession of them in those bosom lusts and appetites which human flesh and spirit universally inherit along with breath? All these resources, and all which are like unto them, are useless, vain, and idle; and the only effectual fortification against the seductions of this world, which it is the duty of all men to enter and purify by a good example, is that Divine knowledge acquired in childhood, which Timothy, when a child, had been taught by a holy mother. Armed with this instruction, the parent may trust his child to the duties of life; and youth may boldly go into the world, to bless and be blessed by contact with its evil influences, to which he will neither conform nor yield.

2. It is the sad lot of many parents to see, in the early life of those for whom a mothers pangs bare been borne, the blighting shadow of infirmity, or the ravages of violent disease, appear, with ominous warning that sickness and death are no respecters of age. Even in the contemplation of a sickly or a dying child, there is a consolatory reaction from the grief which the spectacle presents, if father and mother can then conscientiously feel that, even from a child, their dear one had known the Holy Scriptures, whatever else they might have omitted in their instructions; and that whether renewed health come, or death carry off their treasure, they have thus made their young one wise unto salvation, through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

3. Parents constantly have the prospect before them of separation, by their own deaths, from those who, naturally, owe their lives to them. It were well, therefore, that they should make provision for this day of consternation and account. To leave riches without righteousness is the poorest of all inheritances; and poverty, though accompanied by patience and decency, will be no excuse for the want of that holiness which springeth only of faith. Happy only, therefore, can be the death of that parent, be he rich or poor, high or low, who can say, with his last breath, to each of his offspring, From a child thou hast known the Holy Scriptures. (A. Garry, M. A.)

Wisdom unto salvation

(To children.) I am going to say something to you to-day about Timothy, and something about the knowledge which, St. Paul says, Timothy had from childhood. That the soul be without knowledge, it is not good. All knowledge is good, but the knowledge of the Holy Scriptures is the best; for the Holy Scriptures are able to do for us what all other things are not able to do--to make us wise unto salvation. How is it that man manages the wind, the water, the steam, the lightning, though once he was a little babe, knowing nothing and able to do nothing? Just because he gels knowledge and wisdom; by knowledge and by wisdom he can do all these things. If you get knowledge, and by knowledge wisdom, you may become like angels; but if you get knowledge and do not use it rightly, if you do not fear God and serve Him, if you lie, and steal, do you think you will be like angels? Oh I there are a great many children brought up to be wise in this world, but the greater number are allowed to be foolish. God says, Wisdom is the principal thing, therefore get wisdom, get it at any price, and do not part with it for anything. Remember, wisdom is of two kinds--wisdom for this world, and wisdom for the world to come. We have a short life here, but we will have a long eternity there. We have a very nice world here, but there is a beautiful world there. Timothy had wisdom for this world, and wisdom for the other world, too. Children, the way to be wise with the wisdom that is from God is to know the Scripture; the other wisdom will teach you about this world: how to get food for the body, which comes out of the ground; clothes for the body, they come out of the ground; a house for the body, and that comes out of the ground; how to get money, and it comes out of the ground. Look up; your treasure is above, not in the ground. The wisdom for this world we get out of the works of God; the wisdom for the next world we get out of the Word of God. The wisdom from the Word of God teaches us how to get bread for the soul--that is Jesus--raiment for the soul, shelter for the soul. All these we have in Jesus Christ; and this we know, and Jesus we know, by the Scriptures. So, then, the way to be wise unto salvation is to know the Scriptures. In order to understand the Scriptures we must have a new heart, and when we have a new heart we become wise unto salvation. The Scriptures make us wise unto salvation, because they tell us what salvation is, and where salvation is. And where is it, children? I know where the light is--it is in the sun; I know where the water is--it is in the ocean; I know where nourish ment is--it is in food. But salvation, which is the best thing, and the sweetest thing, is not in the sun nor in the ocean, is not in the moon nor in the stars. Where--where is it?--in what place can we find it? There is nothing so good, nothing so great, nothing so lasting, nothing so enriching as salvation. Those who get it will never suffer, never sin, never sorrow, never die. This salvation is a grand thing! with it, you will be rich; without it, you will be poor. It will make you like God in holiness and happiness. Oh! salvation! where is it? It is in Jesus. I remember reading about a little boy who went to sea. One night a great storm arose, and the storm lifted up the waves very high, and the wind raged, so that the sails were torn; the masts were carried away, and the ship was tossed about like a cork on the waters; and then a great wave came and dashed the ship upon the rocks, and every one on board, big and little--all, all--went like a stone to the bottom! Two or three days after the body of a boy was found lying on the shore. He was in a sailors dress; and when they searched his clothes they felt something hard in his bosom. It was a Bible! with the name of the Sunday-school where he got it, and the name of the teacher who gave it to him written in it; and the book had marks of being much read. Children, if that boy loved that book, and read it; if he knew Jesus and loved Him, though the night was dark and the sea was stormy, he had light in his mind and peace in his heart; and he has now a life that will never end, and a treasure that will never be spent. Though his body was dashed on the wild shore, his spirit will be with God in heaven for ever. Millions of such children are waiting in heaven for the morning of the resurrection, when they will get their bodies out of their little graves, and Jesus will change them, and make them like His own glorious body, and they shalt live and reign with Him for ever and ever. Would it not be a sad thing if any of you who are now hearing about Jesus should be lost! His blood can wash you; His Spirit can sanctify you. Go to Him--trust in Him--or you will perish. (J. Gregg, D. D.)

The sufficiency of Holy Scripture

I. The glorious purpose which God intended holy scripture to accomplish. To make them wise. The very statement of such an object is fitted to commend the book that is to accomplish it to our appreciation and our love. What is there, that can be compared with wisdom? It is the greatest acquisition that immortal man can make. But to be made wise unto salvation must be the supreme end and aim of all wisdom, worthy of the name. For if man be pregnant with immortality, to have meetness for heaven must be the chief end of man during the days of his pilgrimage here below. Salvation through Christ Jesus. The end so glorious, how sure and simple the way! Faith which is in Christ Jesus.

II. The sufficiency of holy Scripture to accomplish this glorious object. Inspiration of God: have you weighed the expression? What thanks we owe to our gracious Father, that He has not left us an imperfect, mutilated, shifting, and uncertain standard, but has given us a standard that in itself remains complete and unchangeable as His own eternal throne!

III. The fitness of holy Scripture to accomplish that purpose even in one of the little lambs of the flock of christ. The Word of God is of all the books that the world contains the most suited to a childs mind and a childs heart. I thank Thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that Thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes; even so Father, for so it seemed good in Thy sight. (H. Stowell, M. A.)

The gift of the Scriptures, and how it should be improved

I. What you owe to the Scriptures in a way of privilege. Is truth valuable?--they are called the Word of truth. Is righteousness valuable?--they are called the Word of righteousness. Is grace valuable?--they are called the Word of His grace. Is life valuable?--they are called the Word of life. Is salvation valuable?--they are called the Word of this salvation.

1. Let us view these Scriptures as inspired. They claim no less a pre-eminence for themselves. And how delightful is it, in a world of uncertainties, conjectures, and errors, to find something concerning which we may say, Well, this is truth, upon which we may rely secure. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My words shall not pass away.

2. Let us view these Scriptures as preserved.

3. Let us view these Scriptures as translated. The first translation of the Scriptures was the Septuagint, executed by a number of learned men at Alexandria, who translated the Scriptures of the Old Testament into Greek. This was peculiarly overruled by the providence of God. Alexander, by his victories and dominion, was the means of spreading the knowledge of the Greek language, and thus the Scriptures could be easily read; and thus an expectation was commonly entertained of a future Messiah and Benefactor. The New Testament was, also, soon translated into several languages; hut it was a long time before the Bible was translated into our own language. When Elizabeth came to the throne, by an act of grace she opened the prisons, and a number of the citizens addressed her, thanking her for her generosity; but ventured piously and ingeniously to say, May it please your Majesty, there are four very excellent and worthy men who have been denied to walk abroad in the English tongue--Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John; and from that time they have been allowed to walk at liberty, and to speak to you in your own tongue, in public and private, of the wonderful works of God.

4. Let us view these Scriptures as printed. A certain writer says, when London Bridge was first built, a copy of the Scriptures would cost nearly as much as one of the arches; and the whole of a labourers work through life would not have been sufficient to have furnished him with a copy l How is it now? Now, you see, by means of this invention, they may be multiplied to any degree; and every family, yea, every individual, may be in possession of a Bible, either by donation or by easy purchase.

5. Let us view the Scriptures as expounded. Now we owe much to many of those who have thus written.

6. Let us view the Scriptures as preached. Nothing in the communication of knowledge has ever yet been found like a living address from man to man. Nothing can produce so much impression and effect.

7. Let us view the Scriptures as experienced. There are many who have the Scriptures without them, but not in them. There are many who have the Scriptures in their own country, in their churches, in their houses, in their hands, and some of them even in their mouths, hut not in their hearts. But there are others to whom they are as a well of water, springing up into everlasting life.

II. What you owe to the Scriptures in a way of duty.

1. Surely you owe nothing less than to peruse them, and to value them, as David did. He said, I rejoice at Thy Word as those who find great spoil. I esteem the words of Thy mouth, says Job, more than my necessary food. And, says David, The law of Thy mouth is better unto me than thousands of gold and silver. And what said the celebrated Robert Boyle?--I would prefer a single twig of the tree of life to all the riches of the world. But let it be remembered that the Scriptures will not profit unless they are mixed with faith in them that hear them.

2. What less can this duty be than to understand them.

3. Surely this duty cannot be less than the practising of what the Scriptures teach. If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them: and even faith, without works, is dead, being alone. We read of obeying the truth, and of walking in the truth.

4. Surely this duty cannot include less than your distributing them. The Scriptures were designed for all. The Scriptures are not given you as a blessing only to enjoy, but as a talent, also, to employ. (W. Jay.)

The Sunday-school and the Scriptures

I. The work of Gods grace in Timothy commenced with early instruction--From a child thou hast known the Holy Scriptures.

1. Note the time for instruction. The expression, from a child, might be better understood if we read it, from a very child; or, as the Revised Version has it, from a babe. Babes receive impressions long before we are aware of the fact. A special vantage-ground is lost when even babyhood is left uncultured. The Holy Scripture may be learned by children as soon as they are capable of understanding anything. It is a very remarkable fact, which I have heard asserted by many teachers, that children will learn to read out of the Bible better than from any other book. I scarcely know why: it may, perhaps, be on account of the simplicity of the language; but I believe it is so. A Biblical fact will often be grasped when an incident of common history is forgotten. There is an adaptation in the Bible for human beings of all ages, and therefore it has a fitness for children. Give us the first seven years of a child, with Gods grace, and we may defy the world, the flesh, and the devil to ruin that immortal soul.

2. It is well to note the admirable selection of instructors. We are not at a loss to tell who instructed youthful Timothy. When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also. Nowadays, since the world has in it, alas! so few of Christian mothers and grandmothers, the Church has thought it wise to supplement the instruction of home by teaching held under her fostering wing. I regard this as a very blessed institution.

3. Note the subject of the instruction. From a child thou hast known the Holy Scriptures: he was lead to treat the book of God with great reverence. I lay stress upon that word Holy Scriptures. One of the first objects of the Sabbath-school should be to teach the children great reverence for these holy writings, these inspired Scriptures. The Jews esteemed the Old Testament beyond all price; and though unfortunately many of them fell into a superstitious reverence for the letter and lost the spirit of it, yet were they much to be commended for their profound regard to the holy oracles. Especially is this feeling of reverence needed nowadays. Observe that Timothy was taught, not only to reverence holy things in general, but especially to know the Scriptures. Suppose we get the children together on Sabbath days, and then amuse them and make the hours to pass away pleasantly; or instruct them, as we do in the week-days, in the elements of a moral education, what have we done? We have done nothing worthy of the day, or of the Church of God.

4. Once more upon this point: it appears that young Timothy was so taught as a child that the teaching was effectual. Thou hast known the Holy Scriptures, says Paul.

II. That this work was quickened by a saving faith. The Scriptures do not save, but they are able to make a man wise unto salvation. Children may know the Scriptures, and yet not be children of God.

1. Faith in Jesus Christ is that grace which brings immediate salvation. Many children are called of God so early that they cannot precisely tell when they were converted. You could not have told this morning, by observation, the moment when the sun rose, but it did rise; and there was a time when it was below the horizon, and another time when it had risen above it. The moment, whether we see it or not, in which a child is really saved, is when he believes in the Lord Jesus Christ.

2. Notice, that by this faith in Christ Jesus we continue and advance in salvation. The moment we believe in Christ we are saved; but we are not at once as wise as we may be, and hope to be.

3. Observe, that the text gives us a plain intimation that by faith knowledge is turned into wisdom. Exceedingly practical is the difference between knowledge and wisdom. See it in the text. Knowledge is power, but wisdom is the application of that power to practical ends. Knowledge may be bullion, but wisdom is the minted gold, fit for circulation among men.

4. Learn yet again, that faith finds her wisdom in the use of knowledge conferred by the Scriptures. Faith never finds her wisdom in the thoughts of men, nor in pretended revelations; but she resorts to the inspired writings for her guidance. This is the well from which she drinks, the manna on which she feeds. Faith takes the Lord Jesus to be her wisdom. The knowledge of Christ is to her the most excellent of the sciences.

III. That sound instruction in Holy Scripture, when quickened by a living faith, creates a solid character. The man who from a child has known the Holy Scriptures, when he obtains faith in Christ will be grounded and settled upon the abiding principles of the unchanging Word of God.

IV. As this early teaching creates a fine solid character, so will it produce great usefulness. (C. H. Spurgeon.)

True Wisdom

The apostle here refers to the Old Testament Scriptures; showing that there was no want of conformity, but the reverse, between those Scriptures and the doctrines he bad preached. What advantage had the Jew? Chiefly that to him belonged the oracles of God. It was a great privilege which Timothy in his childhood had--that he could read, and did read, the holy writings: a great privilege, in like manner, it is, that the entire Bible, the canon in its complete state, with the superaddition of the New Testament, is given to us and to our children, and to all that are afar off, and to as many as the Lord our God shall call.

I. THE HOLY WRITINGS. Will you mark the force and emphasis of the word? It is not the print; it is the writings. The Scriptures then were not produced by types and blocks, by the modern mode of producing copies; each copy was written by the hand of man. But it is very delightful to reflect that the exact transcript, the pure and spotless copy of the things written down by the hand of Moses and David, and Isaiah, and John, and St. Paul have come down in their clearness and certainty to us. We know what the writings are to which St. Paul specifically and in this chapter exclusively refers. The Book of Genesis--the details of the fall, and the deluge, and the call of Abraham; Exodus--the emancipation from Egypt and the Decalogue; Leviticus--the laws and ordinances of the Levitical Church; Numbers--their movements and acts; Deuteronomy--a reiteration, or going over again; Joshua--the pictures of the conquest; Judges--the early difficulties and confusions; Samuel--the development of the regal character, the examples and achievements of Saul and David; and so on, through the historical books, to the Psalms and the prophets. In relation to all there we are certain that we have the exact copies, because the Jews preserved them with an unsurpassed care and vigilance, with an interest and a concern which amounted even to superstition. In addition to these, as I have said, we have as the holy writings the four Gospels, the facts of our Lords life and death and resurrection--the Acts of the Apostles, the early triumph of the faith--the Epistles, opening doctrine, enforcing precepts, explaining ordinances--and to put the crown and diadem upon the head, as it were, of the entire person, the whole body of revelation, that great and marvellous book called the Revelation. Wonderful writings! An amazing richness and extent and vastness and variety and plenitude of truth and fact, of history and prophecy, of doctrine, of knowledge and of wisdom, opened and poured forth from these gushing fountains. But holy writings. Mark that word: holy, as emanating directly from God, as being the fruit and product of immediate and miraculous inspiration. And we have the strong affirmation, All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works. And in this sense, of an immediate dictation from Heaven, a Divine breathing from above, the afflatus of the Holy Ghost, the writers being full of the Holy Ghost--in this sense, as a communication from the infinite and uncreated Mind, as a product of the wisdom and intelligence of Heaven, I take the book to be the holy writings, to have a style of its own, an authorship of its own, a permanence of its own. A holy book, as the product and emanation of the thrice holy God, and as having in all the parts and branches of it a holy tendency. It is a revelation of God; and God here makes Himself manifest as holy, in connection with the exhortation, Be ye holy, for I am holy. In every part of it we see sin punished--virtue, obedience fostered; above all, in the great manifestation of Christ--in His sacrifice, sufferings, and death, that God might be just and the justifier of him that believeth in Jesus, we behold ineffable justice; and in the example of the Lord Jesus, which we are required to follow, putting our foot into His footprints, there is the same demand. It is a book marvellously adapted to the wants of a fallen and guilty world--preserving from presumption, on the one hand, and from despondency, on the other--that we sin not; but if we are overtaken by transgression, there is the sacrifice and the propitiation. And as actually producing holiness--as being the cause of this beautiful product, the root (if I may so say) of this sweet and lovely and Divine flower; for the law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. Men are good in proportion as they direct themselves to the study of the Scripture, and as they walk according to its rules. I cannot tell, Jonathan Edwards says, how it comes to pass, but so it is, that the more I read the Scriptures, and the more I familiarise myself with the Divine contents of the heavenly book, the more pure, the more peaceful, the more benevolent, and the more happy I find myself. Why, it is cause and effect. If you put yourself in contact with the cause, the effect will be sure to follow; and you may know that the men who are wise in the Scriptures, and who love the Scriptures, are in the same proportion and degree holy men. The Scriptures help them in their walk with God, in the maintenance and preservation of their piety, in its noblest, sweetest, most elevated and pure aspirations and desires. The Bible, the Holy Bible, is the source and fountain of the light and life and power of the Church.

II. The Holy Scriptures are able to make us wise unto salvation. Are able. There is a power, then, affirmed respecting them. They are true, genuine. If put to the proof they will demonstrate their capacity. They are able,as supplying the information by the light of which we may be saved. It is said in the Old Testament--As the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: so shall My Word be. It is said in the New Testament, My Word is quick and powerful, sharper than a two-edged sword. It is able, as it brings the likeness of Christ into me, and is accompanied by the enlightenment, influence, and grace of the Spirit; for the Spirit who dictated and indited these heavenly communications abides in the Church, and diffuses His unction and grace upon the understandings and hearts of men, where by, in His light seeing light, they discern the meaning of the expressions and the principles, and are able to appropriate, apply, and bring them home. Wise. Be upon your guard if any man is going to make you wise. The first thing the devil did was to persuade Eve that he could make her wise. Somebody arises with a new doctrine and a new interpretation--something which is to enlighten the eyes: be upon your guard, to say the least. Yet be wise in respect to the truth which is in Jesus; wise in respect to what is good--simple in respect to what is evil; in malice children--in understanding men. The Bible will make men wise. Even the uneducated, what is called by Isaiah the wayfaring man, though a fool, shall not err in the rudiments and elements, in the great salutary, refreshing, and saving principles. But if you want to be wise up to the full measure--to know the exact meaning of every book, the time of its being written, the purpose for which it was written, the literature associated with every book of the whole Bible, why, it is a vast range of knowledge, and it is marvellous how every kind and variety of knowledge can be made to bear upon the elucidation of the inspired books, so that they come out manifested and revealed in their own light and lustre, amid the unbounded and universal intelligence of men. But wise unto salvation. If you know the holy writings, and are acquainted with the book, you can answer for yourselves the marvellous questions--How am I to be saved? How is sin to be forgiven, transgression blotted out? How am I to regain the ancient position, and to be dealt with as though I had never sinned? The holy writings furnish you with the answer. By being sprinkled from an evil conscience by the blood of the Immanuel, cleansed from all sin by the blood of the Son of God. Faith in Him brings home the light upon this subject. I can know nothing of all this, except by the holy writings. And this is the chief wisdom. You may be wise in the world to get money; you may be wise in philosophy and science, and deep in literature; you may be wise in frivolities and gaieties and fashions and adornments. What will your wisdom amount to? What is it in comparison with wisdom unto salvation?

III. It is By faith in Christ Jesus. We are not directed by the apostle to exalt the holy writings against Christ, or Christ against the holy writings, as if there were any competition between the two. It is Christ as revealed in the holy writings. Yet it is not that we are wise unto salvation by faith in the holy writings, but by faith in Christ Jesus, the living Christ. The holy writings tell me that the anointed Saviour, the Son of God, has done the work, completed the great and wonderful achievement which the Bible ascribes to Him; and my soul by faith cordially accepts the testimony and reposes upon the truth.

IV. Timothy when a child knew this. Ah! his mother taught him, and his grandmother--his mother Eunice and his grandmother Lois. Oh, sweet child! oh, beautiful teachers! How they taught him! and how he listened! For when Paul says, From a child thou hast known the Holy Scriptures, he means not merely the speculative and theoretical doctrines, but the experimental and practical had taken possession of his heart and enlightened his mind. Mothers! hear this. Early education, which is the most permanent in its effects, and the most influential upon character, depends mainly and chiefly upon the mother. Search into the Scriptures, then, and let it be said of you that you know them; that you have a measure of understanding, and that you take means perpetually for its improvement and advance. And those wire teach the children of others voluntarily are greatly to be commended. It is a service acceptable and well-pleasing to God. (James Stratten.)

Upon reading the Scriptures

I. The obligations we are under to apply ourselves to the knowledge of the holy scriptures.

II. The great advantage that will attend this study. Iii. The particular happiness of an early education in this knowledge.

IV. Some rules for direction in this duty.

1. We must read the Scriptures frequently, because from hence we shall receive the greatest assistances in understanding them.

2. We must read them with attention. Without this, indeed, barely to run over the words of Scripture in a negligent, cursory manner, is a profane disregard to the Almighty Author, whose name they bear.

3. We must read them with reverence.

(1) By reverence I understand that humility of mind which is due from us to our great Creator, that submission and subjection of our hearts and understandings to His Divine will, which disposes us readily to comply with whatsoever He proposes to us, whether it concerns our faith or practice.

(2) But besides this reverence to God the author, there is a farther instance of our humility to be shown, in not being too hasty or peremptory of ourselves to determine the meaning and sense of the Holy Scriptures.

4. We must read them without prejudice. A fault we shall never avoid unless we observe the former rule, and approach those sacred oracles with reverence and humility, with an open heart, and a teachable disposition. (J. Rogers, D. D.)

Through faith which is in Christ Jesus.--

Faith in Christ the key to the Bible

Faith in Christ is the key which will unlock and give access to the treasures of saving wisdom which are laid up in the Old Testament. The Bible is an organised whole, and Christ and the Cross of Christ are wrought into the structure of it, although they do not always meet the eye. He who by faith sees Christ and Him crucified in the Scriptures is in immediate possession of the ground-plan of the holy volume. He will observe how the original promise respecting the seed of the woman was a germ of hope planted in the earth, which, by constant accretions from new prophecies and new types, had expanded itself into full blossom when the Virgin-born appeared to fulfil it. He will observe how, as the ages rolled away, the light of revelation grew brighter, and how the prophets, in the greater spirituality of their religious precepts, and the greater explicitness of their predictions, were many steps in advance of the law. He will observe how, from the sacrifice of Abel downwards, every victim which fell at the altar of Jehovah prefigured the great sacrifice of the death of Christ. And in reciting the Psalms he will feel that the Spirit of Christ, which was in those sweet psalmists of Israel, testified darkly beforehand of the sufferings of Christ and the glory which should follow. Thus the whole of Scripture is welded together in the counsel and design of God; and we know that, as regards man, that counsel and design is all bound up in one word--Christ. He was the Lamb slain in the counsels of eternity from the foundation of the world; and accordingly in every chant of Gods holy prophets, which have been since the world began, there has always been an undersong of Him, an undersong which may be caught by every spiritual ear. (Dean Goulburn.)

The Bible in early youth

From the time that, at my mothers feet, or on my fathers knee, I first learned to lisp verses from the sacred writings, they have been my daily study and vigilant contemplation. If there be anything in my style or thoughts to be commended, the credit is due to my kind parents in instilling into my mind an early love of the Scriptures. (Daniel Webster.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

2Ti 3:14-15. But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned — That is, continue to believe and obey them; and hast been assured of — Namely, of their absolute certainty and infinite importance; knowing of whom thou hast learned them — And what convincing evidence I have given thee that I have been commissioned by God to attest and teach them. And that from a child — Απο βρεφους, from an infant; thou hast known the Holy Scriptures — Of the Old Testament, which only were extant when Timothy was an infant. The apostle calls them holy or sacred Scriptures, or writings, because they were given by inspiration of the Holy Ghost, through the instrumentality of holy men, because they treat on holy things, contain holy doctrines, precepts, and promises, and are designed and calculated to make people holy. It must be remembered, that Timothy’s mother and grandmother, being pious Jewish women, had trained him up from his childhood in the knowledge and belief of the writings of Moses and the prophets. And their care in thus instructing him, being commended by the apostle, shows us that little children ought to be made acquainted with the Scriptures as early as possible; and that they may derive much benefit even from that imperfect knowledge of them, and of the principles of religion, which they are capable of attaining in their tenderest years. Which are able to make thee wise unto salvation — Even the Scriptures of the Old Testament were able to make men thus wise, through faith in the Messiah, before he came. How much more are those of the Old and New Testaments, taken together, able, in God’s hand, to make us more abundantly wise unto salvation, through faith in him actually come, even such a salvation as was not known before Jesus was glorified? See 1Pe 1:10-12.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

3. So he should also be true, according to the Scriptures, inspired to furnish and qualify the minister of God, 2Ti_3:14-17.

14. But—Resuming Timothy’s contrast of character over against the errorists.

Knowing of whom—The whom is plural, referring not (as Alford) to Timothy’s parents, but to Paul and the original apostolic eye and ear witnesses of the doings and teachings of Christ. This perfect preservation of the original type was the bulwark of the Church of St. Paul and Timothy against the Gnostics and all other heretics. And when that doctrine was recorded in the apostolic writings and became the rule of faith, it is the bulwark alike to the present day, against all innovations and variations, whether of Romanism or Rationalism.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

CRITICAL AND EXPLANATORY NOTES

2Ti_3:14. Knowing of whom.—R.V. margin, “Gr. what persons.” The apostle does not take the sole credit of the discipleship of Timothy, whose “faith does not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.”

2Ti_3:15. From a child.—R.V. “a babe,” from earliest infancy. The Holy Scriptures.—R.V. “the sacred writings.” A comprehensive term including, like our Lord’s threefold division in Luk_24:44, all the Jewish canonical Scriptures.

2Ti_3:16. All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable.—R.V. “Every scripture inspired of God is also profitable.” Note that the “scripture” of this verse is not the same as the “sacred writings” of 2Ti_3:15. Here it is simply “every writing inspired of God.” The inbreathing of the Holy Ghost is the condition of its being profitable. For correction.—Setting upright again something that was out of the perpendicular. For instruction.—Fatherly discipline or process of education, often by chastisement or severe methods. The word of God does not always speak smooth things to us.

2Ti_3:17. Throughly furnished.—Completely fitted out, as a soldier with full accoutrements, or a workman with tools.

MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.—2Ti_3:14-17

The Use of the Bible in the Christian Life.

I. Instruction in the Bible from earliest youth imposes fidelity to its teachings (vers.14, 15).—Timothy had been taught the Scriptures from his childhood. The reverence of his Jewish mother for the word of God was transferred to her child, and his early life was impregnated with the spirit and teaching of the Old Testament. In the study thus early begun, and still further developed as the years sped on, Timothy is urged to continue. Childhood is the most impressionable age, and instructions then received are never forgotten. Nothing makes so lasting an impression on the young mind as the word of God.

II. The most accurate knowledge of the Bible will not save the soul apart from faith in Christ.—“Which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus” (2Ti_3:15). It is a good thing to drill the young mind in a knowledge of the word of God and to store it with memory texts, but care should be taken to show how all scripture reveals Christ and leads to Christ. The knowledge of the Bible makes us wise in knowing Christ as our Saviour. He who has not faith has not the true wisdom. The Jews knew the Bible well, but they remained ignorant because they rejected Christ.

III. The Bible is a collection of Divinely inspired writings.—“All scripture is given by inspiration of God” (2Ti_3:16). R.V. “Every scripture inspired of God.” As most of the New Testament books were written when Paul wrote this his latest epistle, they are included in the clause. Knapp defines inspiration as, “An extraordinary Divine agency upon teachers whilst giving instruction, oral or written, by which they were taught how and what they should speak or write.” The Bible is true because it is God-inspired. The same cannot be said of any other book. A learned infidel who examined the Bible for himself, and came to the irresistible conclusion of its Divine authorship, said, “It would have been as easy for a mole to have written Sir Isaac Newton’s treatise on optics as for uninspired men to have written the Bible.”

IV. The prime use of the Bible is to teach authoritative truth and mould the Christian life.—

1. The study of Divine truth disciplines the mind and heart. “Is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness” (2Ti_3:16). Doctrine and reproof embrace the speculative parts of divinity, correction and instruction the practical. The devout and diligent study of the Bible is a mental and moral discipline. Every man is definitely the better for close and thoughtful contact with the word of God. Queen Elizabeth said, “I walk many times in the pleasant fields of the Holy Scriptures, where I pick up the goodliest herbs of sentences by pruning, eat them by reading, digest them by musing, and lay them up at length in the high seat of memory by gathering them together, so that, having tasted their sweetness, I may less perceive the bitterness of life.”

2. The study of Divine truth is a moral equipment for the highest service. “That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works” (2Ti_3:17). The man of God loves the book of God; by its study he is more fully perfected in his moral character, and out of its treasury he is accoutred for all the requirements of his work. The best work is done by the man who knows his Bible best.

Lessons.—

1. The Bible is the God-inspired book.

2. The young should be taught to know and love the Bible.

3. The Bible supplies the best armour and weapons for the Christian warrior.

GERM NOTES ON THE VERSES

2Ti_3:15. The Importance of Early Instruction in the Bible.

I. The advantage of a knowledge of the Scriptures.—

1. They communicate truths of immense value.

2. These truths cannot be obtained but by Divine Revelation 3. Their knowledge is the noblest improvement of the mind.

II. The Holy Scriptures are made effectual to salvation.—

1. They discover the method of salvation.

2. They make men wise unto salvation through faith.—P. Hutchison.

2Ti_3:16-17. The Inspiration and Utility of the Scriptures.

I. The inspiration of the Scriptures.—

1. What is inspiration? The infallible record of an infallible Revelation 2. The object of inspiration. To give certainty to that written under its guidance.

II. The utility of the Scriptures.—

1. As an unvarying standard of doctrine.

2. Useful in the confutation of all religious error.

3. Useful as an infallible standard of right and wrong.

4. Useful for instruction in righteousness.—Homiletic Monthly.

Inspiration

I. The breath of God is in the Holy Scriptures, but only the man of God can have fellowship with it.

II. By this fellowship with God the man of God becomes complete.

III. By this fellowship with God the man of God gains complete fitness for every good work.—Preacher’s Magazine.

The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.

Chapter 34

THE PERILS OF RATIONALISM AND THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF A LIFELONG CONTACT WITH TRUTH-THE PROPERTIES OF INSPIRED WRITINGS. - 2Ti_3:14-17

FOR the second time in this paragraph the Apostle puts his faithful disciple in marked contrast to the heretical teachers. A few lines before, after comparing the latter to the Egyptian magicians, he continues, "But thou (συ) didst follow my teaching." And in the passage before us, after saying that "evil men and impostors shall wax worse and worse," he continues, "But abide thou (συ δενε) in the things which thou hast learned." Here there is a double contrast; first between Timothy and the impostors, and secondly between his abiding in the truth and their going away from it, and so from bad to worse, first as deceivers and then as being deceived. They begin by being seducers and end in being dupes, and the dupes (very often) of their own deceptions; for deceit commonly leads to self-deceit. Such a result may well act as a warning to Timothy and those committed to his charge of the peril of trifling with the fundamentals of religious truth.

The articles of the Christian faith are not like the commodities in a bazaar from which one can pick and choose at pleasure, and of which one can take three or four without in any way affecting ones relation to the remainder, or reject three or four, without in any way affecting the security of ones hold upon those which one decides to take. With regard to the truths of religion, our right to pick and choose has very strict limits. When the system as a whole has presented its credentials to the reason and the conscience, and these have decided that the bearer of such credentials must be the representative of a Divine Being, then the attempt to pick and choose among the details of the system becomes perilous work. To reject this or that item, as being mere fringe and setting rather than a constituent element, or as being at any rate unessential, may be to endanger the whole structure. We may be leaving an impregnable position for an exposed and untenable one, or be exchanging a secure platform for an inclined plane, on which we shall find no lasting resting place until the bottom is reached. And this was what the men, against whom Timothy is warned, had done.

They had left the sure position, and were sometimes sliding, sometimes running, further and further away from the truth.

In other words, there is a right and a wrong use of reason in matters of faith. The wrong use is sometimes spoken of as "Rationalism," and (adopting that term as convenient) the following clear statement, borrowed from another writer, will show in a striking way where it was that St. Paul wished Timothy to part company with the principles of his opponents. "As regards Revealed Truth," wrote J. H. Newman in 1835, "it is not Rationalism to set about to ascertain, by the exercise of reason, what things are attainable by reason, and what are not; nor, in the absence of an express Revelation, to inquire into the truths of Religion, as they come to us by nature; nor to determine what proofs are necessary for the acceptance of a Revelation, if it be given; nor to reject a Revelation on the plea of insufficient proof; nor, after recognizing it as Divine, to investigate the meaning of its declarations, and to interpret its language; nor to use its doctrines, as far as they can be fairly used, in inquiring into its divinity; nor to compare and connect them with our previous knowledge, with a view of making them parts of a whole; nor to bring them into dependence on each other, to trace their mutual relations, and to pursue them to their legitimate issues. This is not Rationalism. But it is Rationalism to accept the Revelation, and then to explain it away; to speak of it as the Word of God, and to treat it as the word of man; to refuse to let it speak for itself; to claim to be told the why and the how of Gods dealings with us, as therein described; and to assign to Him a motive and a scope of our own; to stumble at the partial knowledge which He may give us of them; to put aside what is obscure, as if it had not been said at all; to accept one half of what has been told us, and not the other half; to assume that the contents of Revelation are also its proof; to frame some gratuitous hypothesis about them, and then to garble, gloss, and color them, to trim, clip, pare away and twist them, to order to bring them into conformity with the idea to which we have subjected them."

Timothy is to abide in those things which he has "learned and been assured of." He has experienced the result which St. Luke wished to produce in Theophilus when he wrote his Gospel: he has attained to "full knowledge of the certainty concerning the things wherein he had been instructed." {Luk_1:4} And he is not to allow the wild teaching of his opponents, thoroughly discredited as it is and will be by equally wild conduct, to shake his security. Not everything that is disputed is disputable, nor everything that is doubted doubtful. And if the fruits of the two kinds of teaching do not fully convince him of the necessity of abiding by the old truths rather than by the suggestions of these innovators, let him remember those from whom be first learnt the truths of the Gospel, -his grandmother Lois, his mother Eunice, and the Apostle himself. When it comes to a question of the authority of the teachers, which group will he choose? Those who established him in the faith, or those who are trying to seduce men away from it?

There is a little doubt about the word "of whom thou hast learned them." The "whom" is probably plural (παρανων) but a reading which makes it singular (παρανος) is strongly supported. The plural must include all Timothys chief instructors in the faith, especially the earliest, as is clear from the nature of the case and from what follows. If the singular is adopted, we must refer it to St. Paul, in accordance with "the things which thou hast heard from me the same commit thou to faithful men" (2Ti_2:2). It is possible that the words just quoted have influenced the reading in the passage under consideration, and have caused the substitution of the singular for the plural.

But there is a further consideration. There are not only the character of the doctrine on each side, and the fruits of the doctrine on each side, and the teachers of whom Timothy has had personal experience, and about whose knowledge and trustworthiness he can judge; there is also the fact that from his tenderest infancy he has had the blessing of being in contact with the truth, first as it is revealed in the Old Testament, and then as it is still further revealed in the Gospel. The responsibilities of those who from their earliest days have been allowed to grow in the knowledge of God and of His government of the world, are far greater than the responsibilities of those who have had no opportunity of acquiring this knowledge until late in life.

Old habits of thought and conduct are not extinguished by baptism; and the false opinion and vicious behavior of many of those who are vexing, or will hereafter vex, the Church in Ephesus, may be traced to influences which had become dominant in them long before they came into contact with Gods revealed law. No such allowance can be made for Timothy. He has had the inestimable privilege of knowing the sacred writings from his earliest childhood. It will be his own fault if they do not "make him wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus."

The expression "sacred writings" (ιεραμματα) occurs nowhere else in the New Testament. The usual expression is "the scriptures" (αι γραφαι); and once {Rom_1:2} we have "holy scriptures" (γραφαι αγιαι). Here both substantive and adjective are unusual. The adjective occurs in only one other passage in the New Testament, a passage which throws light upon this one. "Know ye not that they who perform the sacred rites, from the sacred place get their food?" ("Speakers Commentary," on 1Co_9:13) And just as in that passage "the sacred rites" are the Jewish sacrifices, and "the sacred place" the Jewish temple, so here "the sacred writings" are the Jewish Scriptures. It is utterly improbable that any Christian writings are included. How could Timothy have known any of these from infancy? Even at the time when St. Paul wrote this farewell letter, there was little Christian literature, excepting his own Epistles: and he was not likely to speak of them as "sacred writings," or to include them under one expression with the Old Testament Scriptures. The suggestion that Christian writings are included, or are mainly intended, seems to be made with the intention of insinuating that this letter cannot have been written by the Apostle, but by some one of a later age. But would even a writer of the second century have made such a blunder as to represent Timothy as knowing Christian literature from his childhood?

With the use of the substantive "writings"; (γραμματα) in this passage, should be compared the use of the same word in Christs discourse at Jerusalem after the miracle at the pool of Bethesda, where he shows the Jews how hopeless their unbelief is, and how vain their appeal to Moses, who is really their accuser. "But if ye believe not his writings (γραμματα) how shall ye believe My words?" The Jews had had two opportunities of knowing and accepting the truth; the writings of Moses, and the words of Jesus. So also Timothy had had two sets of instructors; the holy women who had brought him up, whose work had been completed by the Apostle, and the sacred writings. If the authority of the former should seem to be open to question, there could be no doubt of the sufficiency of the latter. They "are able to make him wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus."

It must be observed that the Apostle uses the present tense and not the past (δυναμενα) in expressing the power of the sacred writings in communicating a saving wisdom to him who uses them aright. This power was not exhausted when the young Timothy was brought to the ampler truths of the Gospel. However far advanced he may be in sacred knowledge, he will still find that they are able to make him increase in the wisdom which enlightens and saves souls.

But Scripture confers this life-giving wisdom in no mechanical manner. It is not a charm, which has a magical effect upon every one who reads it. The most diligent study of the sacred writings will do nothing for the salvation of a man who does not prosecute his researches in something more than the mere spirit of curious enquiry. Therefore St. Paul adds, "through faith which is in Christ Jesus": It is-when this is added to the soul of the enquirer that the sacred writings of the Old Covenant have their illuminating power; without it, so far from leading to the salvation won for us by Christ, they may keep those who study them away from the truth, as in the case of the Jews to this day. The pillar of fire becomes a pillar of cloud, and what should have been for wealth becomes an occasion of falling.

"Every scripture inspired of God is also profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for instruction which is in righteousness." This is the Revisers rendering. Besides one or two smaller changes, they have made two important alterations of the A.V.

(1) They have substituted "every scripture" for "all scripture," without allowing the old rendering even a place in the margin.

(2) They have inserted the "is" (which must be supplied somewhere in the sentence) after instead of before "inspired by God"; thus making "inspired by God" an epithet of Scripture and not something stated respecting it. "Every scripture inspired by God is also profitable," instead of "is inspired of God and profitable": but they allow the latter rendering a place in the margin.

This treatment of the passage appears to be very satisfactory, so far as the second of these two points is concerned. Certainty is not attainable in either. Yet, as regards the second, the probabilities are greatly in favor of the Apostles meaning that "inspired scripture is also profitable," rather than "scripture is inspired and profitable." But with regard to the first point, it may be doubted whether the balance is so decidedly against the translation "all scripture" as to warrant its exclusion. No doubt the absence of the article in the Greek (πασα γραφη and not πασα η γραφη) is against the old rendering; but it is by no means conclusive, as other instances both in the New Testament and in classical Greek prove. Nevertheless, there is the further fact that in the New Testament "the scripture" generally means a particular passage of Scripture. {Luk_4:21; Joh_19:24; Joh_19:28; Joh_19:36-37; Act_8:32; Act_8:35} When Scripture as a whole is meant, the word is commonly used in the plural, "the scriptures". {Mat_21:42; Mar_12:24 Joh_5:39} In the passage before us the meaning is not seriously affected by the change. It matters little whether we say "the whole of scripture," or "every passage of scripture." "Every scripture inspired by God is also profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for discipline (παιδεια) which is in righteousness": i.e. , is of use both for doctrinal and for practical purposes, for informing both faith and conduct. It is because it is "inspired by God," because Gods Spirit breathes through the whole of it, making every passage of it to be a portion of a living whole, that Scripture possesses this unique utility. And if the Apostle can say this of the Old Testament, much more may we affirm it of the New Testament. From the two together, everything that a Christian ought to believe, everything that a Christian ought to do, may be learned. But while this declaration of the Apostle assures us that there is no passage in Holy Writ, which, when properly handled, does not yield Divine instruction for the guidance of our minds, and hearts, and wills, yet it gives no encouragement to hard-and-fast theories as to the manner in which the Spirit of God operated upon the authors of the sacred writings. Inspiration is no mechanical process. It is altogether misleading to speak of it as Divine dictation, which would reduce inspired writers to mere machines. There are certain things which it clearly does not do.

1. While it governs the substance of what is written, it does not govern the language word by word. We have no reasons for believing in verbal inspiration, and have many reasons for not believing in it. For no one believes that copyists and printers are miraculously preserved from making verbal mistakes. Is it, then, reasonable to suppose that God would work a miracle to produce what He takes no care to preserve. Of the countless various readings, which are the words which are inspired?

1. Inspiration does not preserve the inspired writers from every kind of mistake. That it guards them from error in respect to matters of faith and morality, we may well believe; but whether it does more than this remains to be proved. On the other hand it can be proved that it does not preserve them from mistakes in grammar; for there is plenty of unquestionably bad grammar in the Bible. Look for instance at the Greek of Mar_6:8-9; Act_15:22; Act_19:34; Eph_4:2; Col_3:16; Rev_7:9; etc., etc. And it may be doubted whether inspiration preserves the inspired writer from all possibility of error as regards matters of fact, as to whether there were two men healed or only one; as to whether the healing took place as Christ entered the city or as he left it; as to whether the prophecy quoted comes from Jeremiah or Zechariah, and

2. the like. Can there be any reasonable doubt that St. Matthew has made a slip in writing "Zechariah the son of Barachiah" instead of "Zechariah the son of Jehoiada?" And is there any honest method of bringing St. Stephens speech into complete harmony with statements in the Old Testament respecting all the facts mentioned? Must we not suppose that there is error on one side or the other? If, as is quite certain, inspiration does not make a man a grammatical scholar, or give him a perfect literary style, ought we to conclude that it will make him a faultless historian or chronologer? A Divine Revelation through a series of inspired writers has been granted in order to save our souls. We have no right to assume that it has been granted in order to save us trouble. Those saving truths about God and our relations to Him, which we could never have discovered without a revelation, we may expect to find set forth without taint of error in the sacred writings. But facts of geology, or history, or physiology, which our own intelligence and industry can discover, we ought not to expect to find accurately set forth for us in the Bible: and we ought to require very full evidence before deciding that in such matters inspired writers may be regarded as infallible. St. Luke tells us in the Preface to his Gospel that he took great pains to obtain the best information. Need he have done so, if inspiration protected him from all possibility of mistake?

Inspiration does not override and overwhelm the inspired writers personal characteristics. There appears to be no such thing as an inspired style. The style of St. John is as different from that of St. Paul as the style of Bishop Butler is from that of Jeremy Taylor. Each inspired writer uses the language, and the illustrations, and the arguments that are natural and familiar to him. If he has an argumentative mind, he argues his points; if he has not, he states them without argument. If he has literary skill, he exhibits it; if he has none, inspiration does not give it to him. "No inspiration theory can stand for a moment which does not leave room for the personal agency and individual peculiarities of the sacred authors and the exercise of their natural faculties in writing" (Schaff, "Apostolic Christianity," p. 608).

What inspiration has not done in these various particulars is manifest to every one who studies the sacred writings. What it has done is scarcely less manifest, and is certainly much more generally recognized. It has produced writings which are absolutely without a parallel in the literature of the world. Even as regards literary merits they have few rivals. But it is not in their literary beauty that their unique character consists. It lies rather in their lofty spirituality; their inexhaustible capacities for instruction and consolation; their boundless adaptability to all ages and circumstances; above all, in their ceaseless power of satisfying the noblest cravings and aspirations of the human heart. Other writings are profitable for knowledge, for advancement, for amusement, for delight, for wealth. But these "make wise unto salvation." They produce that discipline which has its sphere in righteousness. They have power to instruct the ignorant, to convict the guilty, to reclaim the fallen, to school all in holiness; that all may be complete as men of God, "furnished completely unto every good work."

William Robertson Nicoll, ed., The Expositor's Bible (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1887–1910) — public domain. 65 of 66 books (1 Corinthians is not separately keyed, as that volume carries no machine-parseable verse references); section-level commentary keyed to the opening verse. Introductory and overview sections not keyed to a specific passage are excluded.

3:14-15 from childhood: Timothy’s Jewish grandmother and mother, Lois and Eunice (see Acts 16:1-3), provided his education in the Old Testament Scriptures (see 2 Tim 1:5), and their lives reinforced their teaching. • The Old Testament Scriptures give the wisdom to receive . . . Christ Jesus. In turn, Jesus Christ is needed to understand the Old Testament Scriptures fully.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

2Ti 3:14. Σὺ δὲ, but thou) Whatever they may do. He takes up again what he began to say at 2Ti 3:10.—ἐπιστώθης) πίστοω, I make sure a thing on the mind: ἐν οἷς ἐπιστώθης, in which thou hast been rendered πιστὸς, faithful and firm (thou hast been assured) [out of the Scripture, 2Ti 3:15.—V. g.] Comp. LXX., Psa 78:8; Psa 78:37, where πιστοῦσθαι corresponds to נאמן.—εἰδὼς—καὶ ὄτι οἶδας, knowing—and because thou hast known) A double Ætiology [assigning of a reason; see Append.], of which the first part is to be referred to in those things which thou hast learned, the second to thou hast been rendered faithful (assured). A similar construction, διὰ—καὶ ὅτι, occurs, Joh 2:24-25: also ἐπιγνοὺς—καὶ ὅτι, Act 22:29.—παρὰ τίνος, from whom) from Paul, an approved teacher, 2Ti 3:10-11.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

2Ti_3:14. To the good testimony given to] Timothy by Paul in 2Ti_3:10, there is added the exhortation to stand stedfast in the truth.

σὺ δέ] said in opposition to the heretics.

μένε ἐν οἷς ἔμαθες] μένε, see 1Ti_2:15; Joh_8:31.

ἐν οἷς is equivalent to ἐν τούτοις, ἅ.

Ἔμαθες] comp. 2Ti_2:2.

καί] (sc. ἅ not ἐν οἶς, as Heydenreich suggests) ἐπιστώθης] not = quae tibi concredita sunt (Beza, Luther: and is entrusted to thee); for πιστόω does not mean entrust to, but confirmare. It is rightly interpreted by the Greek expositors, with whom also de Wette and Wiesinger agree; Theophylact: μετὰ πληροφορίας ἔμαθες; properly, of which thou hast been assured, i.e. of which thou hast been convinced for certain;[53] it serves to give more force to ἔμαθες (Wiesinger), by declaring that Timothy was also convinced of the truth of what he learnt (so, too, van Oosterzee, Plitt, Hofmann).

To strengthen the exhortation, Paul reminds Timothy of those from whom he learnt the truths of the gospel: ΕἸΔῺς ΠΑΡᾺ ΤΊΝΩΝ ἜΜΑΘΕς] ΕἸΔῺς, see 2Ti_2:23.

ΠΑΡᾺ ΤΊΝΩΝ] With the usual reading ΠΑΡᾺ ΤΊΝΟς, which Hofmann prefers, ΤΊΝΟς is not, as some think, Christ, but the apostle as teacher; but still it would be strange for Paul not to name himself directly and without periphrasis, as he usually does when speaking of himself; comp. 2Ti_2:2. If ΤΊΝΩΝ be the correct reading, then these teachers cannot be the ΠΟΛΛΟῚ ΜΆΡΤΥΡΕς mentioned in 2Ti_2:2 (Matthies), nor Paul and Barnabas (according to Act_16:1 comp. with Act_14:6 ff., Grotius); but only, as is shown by ἈΠῸ ΒΡΈΦΟΥς following, the grandmother and mother of Timothy, whose faith the apostle expressly mentions, 2Ti_1:5 (so, too, van Oosterzee and Plitt).

Timothy had already been instructed in the truth of the gospel before Paul met with him, nay, even before this instruction he had been carefully made acquainted with the holy Scriptures. This very fact, that from childhood he had been under the influence of divine truth and been nourished by the bread of life, was to be an incentive to him to adhere faithfully to this word of truth.

[53] In classic Greek πιστόω occurs specially in connection with ὅρκῳ; thus Thucydides, iv. 88: καὶ πιστώσαντες αὐτὸν τοῖς ὅρκοις, i.e. after they had made sure of him by oath = after they had made him swear. Comp. also Hom. Od. i. 21. 218; also 2Ma_7:24; 2Ma_12:25.

Meyer — Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament — English translation by Peter Christie, edited by Frederick Crombie (T&T Clark, 1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

2Ti 3:14 . σὺ δὲ μένε : Both σύ and μένε are in strong contrast to the πονηροὶ ἄνθρωποι and προκόψουσιν of 2Ti 3:13 . The exhortation is illustrated by 2Jn 1:9 , πᾶς ὁ προάγων , καὶ μὴ μένων ἐν τῇ διδαχῇ τοῦ Χριστοῦ θεὸν οὐκ ἔχει . The conservatism here enjoined concerns more especially the fundamental ethical teaching common to the Old Covenant and the New. For the idiom, see note on 1Ti 2:15 .

ἐν οἶς ἔμαθες καὶ ἐπιστώθης : ἃ , supplied out of ἐν οἶς , is the direct object of ἔμαθες , and remoter object of ἐπιστώθης .

ἐπιστώθης : The Latin versions blunder here, quae … credita sunt tibi . This would be the translation of ἐπιστεύθης . πιστόομαί τι means to have received confirmation of the truth of a thing . Bengel, rendering “fidelis et firmus es redditus,” compares Psa 77 (78):8, οὐκ ἐπιστώθη μετὰ τοῦ θεοῦ τὸ πνεῦμα αὐτῆς , and 37, οὐδὲ ἐπιστώθησαν ἐν τῇ διαθήκῃ αὐτοῦ .

εἰδὼς παρὰ τίνων ἔμαθες : It has to be remembered that St. Paul is speaking of moral, not intellectual, authority. The truths for which St. Paul is contending were commended to Timothy by the sanction of the best and noblest personalities whom he had ever known or heard of. The characters of Timothy’s revered parent and teachers of Eunice, Lois, the prophets, and Paul, to enumerate them in the order in which they had touched his life had been moulded in a certain school of morals. Their characters had admittedly stood the test of life. What more cogent argument could Timothy have for the truth and reasonableness of their moral teaching?

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

But . . . thou--Whatever they may do. Resuming the thread begun at Ti2 3:10.

learned--from me and thy mother and grandmother (Ti2 1:5; Ti2 2:2).

assured of--from Scripture (Ti2 3:15).

of whom--plural, not singular, in the oldest manuscripts, "from what teachers." Not only from me, but from Lois and Eunice.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 14. But continue thou] No man, however well instructed in the things of God, or grounded in Divine grace, is out of the reach of temptation, apostasy, and final ruin; hence the necessity of watching unto prayer, depending upon God, continuing in the faith, and persevering unto the end.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

14 But as for thee, continue in those things which thou hast learned Although wickedness prevail, and push its way forward, he advises Timothy nevertheless to stand firm. And undoubtedly this is the actual trial of faith, when we offer unwearied resistance to all the contrivances of Satan, and do not alter our course for every wind that blows, but remain steadfast on the truth of God, as on a sure anchor.

Knowing from whom thou hast learned them This is said for the purpose of commending the certainty of the doctrine; for, if any one has been wrong instructed, he ought not to persevere in it. On the contrary, we ought to unlearn all that we have learned apart from Christ, if we wish to be his disciples; as, for example, it is the commencement of our pure instruction in the faith to reject and forget all the instruction of Popery. The Apostle therefore does not enjoin Timothy to defend indiscriminately the doctrine which has been delivered to him, but only that which he knows to be truth; by which he means, that he must make a selection. Besides, he does not claim this as a private individual, that what he has taught shall be reckoned to be a divine revelation; but he boldly asserts his own authority to Timothy, who, he was aware, knew that his fidelity and his calling had been proved. And if he was fully convinced that he had been taught by an Apostle of Christ, he concluded that therefore it was not a doctrine of man, but of Christ.

This passage teaches us, that we ought to be as careful to guard against obstinacy in matters that are uncertain, (such as all the doctrines of men are,) as to hold within unshaken firmness the truth of God. Besides, we learn from it, that faith ought to be accompanied by prudence, that it may distinguish between the word of God and the word of men, so that we may not adopt at random everything that is brought forward. Nothing is more inconsistent with the nature of faith than light credulity, which allows us to embrace everything indiscriminately, whatever it may be, and from whomsoever it proceeds; because it is the chief foundation of faith, to know that it has God for its author.

And which have been intrusted to thee When he adds, that the doctrine had been intrusted to Timothy, this gives (αὔξησιν) additional force to the exhortation; for to “commit a thing in trust” is something more than merely to deliver it. Now Timothy had not been taught as one of the common people, but in order that he might faithfully deliver into the hands of others what he had received.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

(14) But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned.—But Timothy, on the other hand, was to continue in the things he had learned. Evil teaching would become worse; the opposition to truth would, as the ages rolled on, become more intense; but Timothy and his successors must remember that there was to be no development in the fundamental doctrines of his most holy faith. He had (2Ti_3:10) fully known St. Paul’s doctrine—that doctrine which St. Paul had received directly from the Holy Spirit of God.

Knowing of whom thou hast learned them.—There is some doubt whether the Greek word rendered “whom” is in the singular or plural, the older authorities being nearly equally balanced. The reading here of the singular has been adopted with the Syriac versions, Chrysostom, Augustine, and the Vulgate. The reference then is to St. Paul. If the plural, were adopted, then the reference would probably be to St. Paul and Barnabas, or to some other distinguished teacher. Some commentators believe that Lois and Eunice are here alluded to, the pious mother and grandmother of Timothy. This, however, seems unlikely: for such a reminiscence, although a touching memory and one likely to appeal to his affection, would hardly be of that weighty and important character as to warrant its introduction into this solemn exhortation; besides, any reference to home and family reminiscences would be included in the next verse: “From a child thou hast known,” &c.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

14. But continue thou] ‘Thou’ emphatic; ‘continue,’ better abide, i.e. make no downward progress, go not astray: the construction of the next clause illustrates the brevity of the Greek use of the relative; lit. ‘in those things which thou didst learn, and as to which thou wert fully persuaded.’ The last verb occurs here only in N.T. But it is a good classical word.

which thou hast learned] The three past tenses of this verse are aorists, and should be rendered didst learn, wert assured, didst learn. A definite time is implied when the learning and the assurance came, in that early youth.

knowing of whom] ‘Knowing as thou dost’ as in 2Ti_2:23. The plural ‘of what persons’ should be read. Lois and Eunice must be understood, as in 2Ti_1:5.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And that from a child thou hast known the holy Scriptures,.... And therefore must know that the doctrines he had learned were agreeable to them; and so is another reason why he should continue in them. The Jews very early learned their children the holy Scripture. Philo the Jew says (w), "from their very infancy"; a phrase pretty much the same with this here used. It is a maxim with the Jews (x), that when a child was five years of age, it was proper to teach him the Scriptures. Timothy's mother being a Jewess, trained him up early in the knowledge of these writings, with which he became very conversant, and under divine influence and assistance, arrived to a large understanding of them; and it is a practice that highly becomes Christian parents; it is one part of the nurture and admonition of the Lord they should bring up their children in: the wise man's advice in Pro 22:6 is very good. From hence the apostle takes occasion to enter into a commendation of the sacred writings; and here, from the nature and character of them, calls them the

holy Scriptures; to distinguish them from profane writings; and that because the author of them is the Holy Spirit of God; and even the amanuenses of him, and the penmen of them, were holy men of God; the matter of them is holy, both law and Gospel; and the end of writing them is to promote holiness; the precepts, promises, and doctrines contained in them are calculated for that purpose; and even the account they give of the sins and failings of others, are for the admonition of men: and next these Scriptures are commended from the efficacy of them:

which are able to make thee wise unto salvation. Men are not wise of themselves; they are naturally without an understanding of spiritual things; and the things of the Spirit of God cannot be known by natural men, because they are spiritually discerned; particularly they are not wise in the business of salvation, of which either they are insensible themselves, and negligent; or foolishly build their hopes of it upon their civility, morality, legal righteousness, or an outward profession of religion: but the Scriptures are able to make men wise and knowing in this respect; for the Gospel is one part of the Scriptures, which is the Gospel of salvation, and shows unto men the way of salvation. The Scriptures testify largely of Christ, the Saviour; and give an ample account both of him, who is the able, willing, suitable, complete, and only Saviour, and of the salvation which is wrought by him; and describe the persons who do, and shall enjoy it: not that the bare reading of the Scriptures, or the hearing of them expounded, are able to make men wise in this way; but these, when accompanied with the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Christ, are; when he who endited the Scriptures removes the veil from their eyes, opens their understandings, and gives them light and knowledge in them: and then may persons be said to be wise unto salvation, when they not only have a scheme of it in their heads, but are in their hearts sensible of their need of it, and know that there is salvation in no other but in Christ; and when they look to him for it, to his righteousness for justification, to his blood for peace, pardon, and cleansing, to his sacrifice for atonement, and to his fulness of grace for a continual supply, and to him for eternal life and glory; when they rejoice in him and his salvation, and give him all the glory of it: the apostle adds,

through faith which is in Christ Jesus: wisdom to salvation lies not in the knowledge of the law the Jew boasted of; nor in the works of it, at least not in a trust and confidence in them for salvation; for by them there is no justification before God, nor acceptance with him, nor salvation: but true wisdom to salvation lies in faith, which is a spiritual knowledge of Christ, and a holy confidence in him; and that salvation which the Scriptures make men wise unto, is received and enjoyed through that faith, which has Christ for its author and object; which comes from him, and centres in him, and is a looking to him for eternal life.

(w) De Legat. ad Caium, p. 1022. (x) Pirke Abot, c. 5. sect. 21.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

14 But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them;

Ver. 14. But continue thou, &c.] Gr. μενε. Abide, keep thy station. Thou shalt surely be put to it, as that prophetic man in the ecclesiastical history went to the pillars a little before an earthquake, and bade them stand fast, for they should shortly be shaken.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of - To wit, the truths of religion. Timothy had been taught those truths when a child, and he had been confirmed in them by the instructions of Paul. Amidst the errors and seductions of false teachers, Paul now exhorts him to hold fast those doctrines, whoever might oppose them, or whatever might be the consequence; compare the notes at 2Ti 1:13.

Knowing of whom thou hast learned them - To wit, of his mother 2Ti 1:5, and of Paul; 2Ti 1:13. The reference seems to be particularly to the fact that he had learned these truths first from the lips of a mother (see 2Ti 3:15); and the doctrine taught here is, “that the fact that we have received the views of truth from a parent’s lips, is a strong motive for adhering to them.” It is not to be supposed, indeed, that this is the highest motive, or that we are always to adhere to the doctrines which have been taught us, if, on maturer examination, we are convinced they are erroneous; but that this is a strong reason for adhering to what we have been taught in early life. It is so, because:

(1)A parent has no motive for deceiving a child, and it cannot be supposed that he would teach him what he knew to be false;

(2)A parent usually has had much more experience, and much better opportunities of examining what is true, than his child has;

(3)There is a degree of respect which nature teaches us to be due to the sentiments of a parent.

A child should depart very slowly from the opinions held by a father or mother; and, when it is done, it should be only as the result of prolonged examination and prayer. These considerations should have the greater weight, if a parent has been eminent for piety, and especially if that parent has been removed to heaven. A child, standing by the grave of a pious father or mother, should reflect and pray much, before he deliberately adopts opinions which he knows that father or mother would regard as wrong.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned, &c. St. Paul here gives particular advice to his disciple, St. Timothy, who had been long since instructed in all the truths and mysteries of the Christian faith, who had received the gifts of the Holy Ghost, of prophecy, of interpreting the Scriptures, who was a priest, a bishop of Ephesus, the metropolis of Asia, whose office it was to instruct, direct, and convert others. He tells this great bishop, that the holy Scriptures are able, and may conduce or can instruct him unto salvation, (ver. 15.) unto his own salvation and that of others. (Witham) --- The apostle here entreats his disciple, an din him all future Christians, to adhere to the true deposit of doctrine. He teaches with Catholics, that all Scripture is profitable; but not with Protestants, that Scripture alone is necessary and sufficient.

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned; in the doctrines relating to faith, and the precepts relating to thy life as a minister, or as a Christian.

And hast been assured of; and hast assented to steadily, hitherto believing them.

Knowing of whom thou hast learned them; remembering that thou hast learned them of me the apostle of our Lord Jesus Christ, which is the same as from Christ himself.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Abide for continue, A.V Abide thou, etc. Be not like these juggling heretics, blown about by every wind of doctrine, and always seeking some new thing, but abide in the old truths which thou hast learnt from thy childhood. Hast been assured of (ejpistwqhv); only here in the New Testament, but found in RAPC 2Ma 7:24 and, 1Ki_1:36. In classical Greek it has the same sense as here (among others) "to be made sure of a thing." Of whom thou hast learned them (paranov emaqev, or, according to another reading of nearly equal authority, paranwn). If tinov is the right reading, it must refer either to God or to St. Paul. In favour of its referring to God is the expression in the Prophet Isaiah commented upon by our Lord in Joh_6:45, where para tou Patrov answers to paranov; the promise concerning the Comforter, "He shall teach you all things"; (Joh_14:26, etc.) and the very similar reasoning of St. John, when he is exhorting his "little children" to stand fast in the faith, in spite of those that seduced them: "Let that therefore abide in you which ye have heard from the beginning;" for "the anointing which ye have received of him, abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things,and even as it hath taught yon, abide in him"; (1Jn_2:24-28) and other similar passages. There would obviously be great force in reminding Timothy that he had received the gospel under the immediate teaching of the Holy Spirit, and that it would be a shameful thing for him to turn aside under the influence of those impostors. If tinwn does not refer to God, it must refer to St. Paul. If, on the other hand, tinwn is the true reading (which is less probable), it must refer to Lois and Eunice, which seems rather feeble.

Vers. 14, 15.

An admonition to Timothy to abide in the ways of truth.

Amidst all the seductions of the false teachers, the apostle urges Timothy to bold fast the doctrines which he had received in his early training.

I THE DUTY AND NECESSITY OF HOLDING FAST BY THE DIVINE VERITIES. "But do thou continue in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of.

1. The strength and comfort of an undoubting persuasion. Timothy was not to be moved away from the doctrines of the gospel either by persecutions or seductive arts. He found his strength and peace in them.

2. He had really learned them, unlike those ever learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth; for he had an experimental knowledge of them. He was, besides, fully assured of them, with "the full assurance of understanding." It is a very unbecoming attitude for a teacher of others to be sceptical in his opinions. He ought to affirm with certainty, and if he is fully assured, he has no right to surrender the truth.

II THE GROUNDS OF HIS CERTAINTY AND ASSURANCE. "Knowing of whom thou hast learned them; and that from a babe thou bast known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make thee wise to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

1. He had been taught sound doctrine by Lois and Eunice. It is, therefore, proper for parents to instruct children in doctrine from their earliest days.

2. He had been trained from his very infancy in the Holy Scriptures. It was, therefore, a right thing for him to be instructed in the Old Testament, since it was all the Scripture he could have had in his childhood.

3. The Scripture he studied was sufficient to lead him to Christ. "Through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

(1) This marks the means by which the salvation can be attained; for Christ is "the end of the Law for righteousness to every one that believeth". (Rom_10:4)

(2) The effect of the salvation is not merely to instruct, but to make wise in the highest sense giving spiritual wisdom and understanding in the knowledge of God"s will; for men are naturally without spiritual discernment.

(3) The salvation cannot be enjoyed without faith, resting upon the person of the Redeemer. T.C.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

From whom - Even from me a teacher approved of God.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

Ver. 14. But do thou (σὺ δὲ emphatic, in contrast to the deceivers in the preceding verse) continue in the things which thou didst learn (lit., in what things thou didst learn), and wert assured of—ἐπιστώθης—not, were committed to thee, as the Latin and Gothic versions, which would have required ἐπιστεύθης. Hesychius, ἐπιστώθη: επληροφορήθη, persuasus est, certum et exploratum habuit. (See much more to the same effect in Suicer, in voce.) The things had not only been learned by Timothy, but learned in such a way as to give them a firm place in his belief. Knowing of whom thou didst learn them—namely, of persons who were entitled to the fullest confidence, utterly incapable of practising the deceit, by which others are misled to their ruin. The reference must primarily be to his mother Lois, and his grandmother Eunice.

Patrick Fairbairn — An Exposition of Ezekiel (1851), Jonah (1849), and The Pastoral Epistles (1874) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The Purpose of Holy Scriptures.

v. 14. But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them;

v. 15. and that from a child thou hast known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

v. 16. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,

v. 17. that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.

These words place Timothy in direct opposition to the hypocrites and false teachers; for his faith and the work of his ministry are emphasized: Thou, however, remain in the things thou hast learned and hast been convinced of, knowing from whom thou hast learned. Timothy is not to think that there is any such thing as development of doctrine, advancement in the truth by means of human philosophy and investigation. He has learned the truth of the Word of God, and that truth is an eternal truth. Of this Gospel-message he has been made certain; as Paul had taught it, he had been so fully persuaded of its truth that his faith rested upon it as upon the most solid foundation. Moreover, Timothy knew who it was that had taught him, he was convinced beyond the shadow of a doubt that Paul was a teacher sent from God, who did not disseminate his own ideas and opinions, but knew exactly what the content of the Gospel was, namely, the message of redemption through the merits of Jesus Christ.

But Paul, in his great humility, does not take all the credit for Timothy’s instruction, but, as in chap 1, 5, refers also to other teachers: (Knowing) also that from infancy thou knowest the Holy Scriptures, that are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. From his earliest childhood, from his infancy, Timothy had enjoyed the glorious privilege of being instructed and trained in the words of salvation. The term used by the apostle is one which was commonly used to designate the writings of the Old Testament, as they were in use among the Jews at that time. Timothy’s grandmother, Lois, and his mother, Eunice, had taken special care to have the boy learn these writings, as was the custom among the faithful Jews in those days. The knowledge which Timothy had was taken from the Word of God and rested upon the Word of God; his learning had given him a thorough familiarity with the wonderful truths of God. Note that the instruction of Timothy in religion was not postponed to late childhood or youth, but was undertaken as soon as he was able to learn. No wonder that he had the knowledge which could give him the proper wisdom, namely, that which leads to salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. In the Word of Holy Writ there is the power of God unto salvation, because it teaches that Jesus is our Lord and Savior. Through this knowledge and certainty, however, which assures every individual believer that Christ is his Redeemer, he gains that knowledge which gives him salvation. The apostle expresses himself in such a manner as to imply that Timothy and every true Christian uses the Gospel continually. The joyful confidence of faith will remain firm and unmoved only if the Christian continues in the Word of the Lord day after day, always refreshing and deepening his knowledge, always providing new fuel for the lamp of his faith.

What the apostle has stated concerning the Holy Scriptures, of the power of God in them, of their glorious purpose and blessing, he now summarizes in a powerful sentence, which is a strong bulwark for the inspiration of the Old Testament. He writes: All Scripture, inspired by God, is also profitable. The term used by the apostle is so general that it seems to include not only the books of the Old Testament, as in use in the Jewish Church, but also the writings then being penned by inspiration of God, the gospels and the letters of the various apostles and evangelists. At any rate, there can be no doubt that the so-called Old Testament canon is the inspired Word of God. St. Paul writes that Scripture was inspired by God, not in the manner of a mechanical transmission, but in such a way that God breathed His holy Gospel, His Word, into the minds of the writers, incidentally making use of their intellect, of their mental ability and equipment, in producing a series of books which plainly show the peculiarities of the writers, and yet are, word for word, the product of God Himself.

Of this Scripture now, which has the unique distinction of having been inspired by God in the manner just indicated, the apostle writes that it is profitable for doctrine, for teaching. Its truths are so clear and simple that this Book is a text-book of the eternal truths for all time. It is profitable and therefore should be used for reproof, for the refutation of error, for the exposure of transgression. Because there are so many heresies that are continually arising, because false doctrine persists in rearing its head, therefore it is necessary that the Christian, and especially the teacher, be able to point out the falseness of all claims of that kind, from clear texts of the Bible itself. Holy Writ should be used for correction, for setting men right again after they have fallen, to bring them back to a normal condition. It is the duty of Christians to reveal the transgressions of God’s holy will, to insist upon the removal of sins and weaknesses, always, of course, in the manner prescribed by the Word of God. For instruction in righteousness Holy Writ should be used, it should enable a person to lead a life in thorough conformity with the righteousness of life that pleases God. The Word of God in this respect performs the function of a good schoolmaster, one that not only shows the right way, but also trains, encourages, urges the pupils on in their efforts to make headway. Day after day a Christian is sitting at the feet of the Holy Spirit, receiving from Him all the instructions which he needs to enable him to walk in the paths of rectitude.

In this way the final object of the Word of God in this life will be realized, namely, that perfect be the man of God, toward every good work fully equipped. It is not that the apostle is dreaming of moral perfection, but that he wants every Christian, and especially every Christian teacher, to live up to the requirements of his office and station according to God’s will. The man of God, every person that bears the honoring title of a man of God, every believer that has become the special property, the child of God, through faith in the merits of Jesus Christ, is here included. Thoroughly instructed, furnished, equipped toward every good work, that is the ideal which the apostle holds before our eyes. Believers find their greatest delight in performing the will of God, in doing such works as will please Him. That is the wonderful value and power of the inspired Word of God.

Summary

The apostle characterizes the errorists of the last days, also as to their methods, briefly sketches the lessons of his own tribulations, and gives a wonderful summary of the benefit and value of the inspired Word of God.

Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Several arguments are here made use of, by St. Paul, to press Timothy to the duty of perseverance in the doctrine of Christ, contained in the holy scriptures; the first is drawn from the authority of the person from whom he had received that doctrine, to wit, St. Paul himself, an inspired apostle of Jesus Christ.

Continue in the things which thou hast learned; that is, from me, and by me as an authorized apostle. All the servants of God, but especially the ministers of God, must continue constant in the faith, and steadfast in the truth received.

The second argument of Timothy’s adhering to the doctrine of the scriptures, is drawn from his long acquaintance with the scriptures, even from his childhood, yea, from his infancy: From a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, &c. And the argument lies thus, "Thou, O Timothy, hast learnt the scriptures from thy infancy; now what a shame would it be for thee, who hast been taught so early the true religion, to turn from it and forsake it; from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, from a suckling, as the word signifies."

From whence learn, That it is the duty of parents to instruct their children betimes in the holy and good word of God; we read before of the care that Timothy’s mother and grandmother took in that matter,

Observe, 2. The title given to the word of God, - the holy scriptures; they are holy in their author, holy in their matter, holy in their penman, holy in their end and design, which is to make us holy, Joh 16:17. The word of God is not only pure but purifying, not only clean but cleansing.

Observe, 3. the high commendation given of the word, It is able to make thee wise unto salvation; no knowledge can bring us to salvation without the knowledge of the holy scriptures; the philosophers will teach you moral wisdom, but not a word of salvation by a Redeemer, without whom our salvation is impossible; it is here added, -wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

Learn, thence, that the holy scriptures, though they instruct us in the way of salvation, yet cannot save us without faith in Christ Jesus.

William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

14–17. Continue thou. Refusing to heed the evil men, continue in the truth. Knowing of whom thou hast learned them. Of pious parents first, but more especially of Paul.

B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.

remain in the things that you have learned

Paul speaks of biblical instruction as if it were a place that Timothy could stay in. AT: "do not forget what you learned" or "continue doing what you have learned" (See: Metaphor)

the sacred writings. These are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus

Paul speaks of the sacred writings as if they were a person who could make someone else wise. AT: "that when you read the word of God, you can become wise so as to receive salvation from Christ Jesus by faith" (See: Personification)

translationWords

believe

holy

wise

save

faith

Jesus

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

14. τίνων. So אAC*GP d e g = ‘from what teachers,’ i.e. Lois and Eunice; the rec. text has τίνος = ‘from whom,’ i.e. St Paul himself, with CcD2EKL f and the remaining versions. The following clause shews, independently of MS. evidence, that τίνων is the true reading.

14. σὺ δὲ μἑνε κ.τ.λ., but, in contrast with all such, do thou abide in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of; ἐν οἶς ἔμαθες being for ἑν ἐκείνιος ἃ ἔμαθες. ἐπιστώθης is not equivalent to ἐπιστεύθης as the Vulgate et credita sunt tibi takes it; πιστοῦν (a LXX. word not found elsewhere in the N.T.) is to convince, to assure.

εἰδὼς παρὰ τίνων ἔμαθες, knowing, as thou dost, from whom thou learnedst them. The critical note shews that there has been a diversity of opinion as to the teachers of Timothy whom the Apostle had in his mind; but it seems plain from the next verse that the primary reference must be to Lois and Eunice, Timothy’s earliest instructors, although it is quite possible that St Paul may have also thought of himself as Timothy’s father in God.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

14.] But do thou continue in the things which (the object to ἔμαθες, and the remoter object to ἐπιστώθης, must, in the construction, be supplied out of the ἐν οἷς) thou learnedst (= ἤκουσας παρʼ ἐμοῦ, ch. 2:2) and wert convinced of (so Homer, Od. φ. 217 f., where Odysseus shews his scar,—εἰ δʼ ἄγε δὴ καὶ σῆμα ἀριφραδὲς ἄλλο τι δείξω, | ὄφρα μὲ εὖ γνῶτον, πιστωθῆτόν τʼ ἐνὶ θυμῷ, and Soph. Œd. Col. 1040, σὺ δʼ ἡμῖν, Οἰδίπους, | ἕκηλος αὐτοῦ μίμνε, πιστωθεὶς ὅτι | ἢν μὴ θάνω ʼγὼ πρόσθεν, οὐχὶ παύσομαι. The Vulg. ‘credita sunt tibi,’ followed by Luth., Beza, Calv., besides the Roman-Catholic expositors, would require ἐπιστεύθης, cf. 1Co 9:17 al.), knowing (as thou dost) from what teachers (viz. thy mother Lois and grandmother Eunice, ch. 1:5: cf. ἀπὸ βρέφους below: not Paul and Barnabas, as Grot., nor the πολλοὶ μάρτυρες of ch. 2:2. If the singular τίνος, then the Apostle must be meant) thou learnedst them, and (knowing) that (the Vulg. renders ὅτι quia, and thus breaks off the connexion with εἰδώς: and so also Luth., ‘und weil’ … Bengel (adding, ‘ætiologia duplex. Similis constr. διὰ … καὶ ὅτι, Joh 2:24,—ἐπιγνοὺς … καὶ ὅτι, Act 22:29’). But the other construction is much more natural) from a child (ἀπὸ πρώτης ἡλικίας, Chrys. The expression carries the learning back to his extreme infancy: see Ellic. here) thou hast known the (with or without the art., this will be the rendering) holy scriptures (of the O. T. This expression for the Scriptures, not elsewhere found in the N. T. (hardly, as Huther, Joh 7:15), is common in Josephus: see Wetst.: cf. also reff. 2 Macc.) which are able (not as Bengel, “ ‘quæ poterant:’ vis præteriti ex nosti redundat in participium:” for οἶδας is necessarily present in signification: ‘thou hast known … which were’ would be a solœcism) to make thee wise (reff. So Hes. Op. 647,—οὔτε τι ναυτιλίης σεσοφισμένος, οὔτε τι νηῶν: Diog. Laert. v. 90, in an epigram, ἀλλὰ διεψεύσθης, σεσοφισμένε) unto (towards the attainment of) salvation, by means of (the instrument whereby the σοφίσαι is to take place: not to be joined to σωτηρίαν, as Thl., Bengel, al.; not so much for lack of the art. τήν prefixed, as because the τῆς ἐν χ. Ἰησ. would thus become an unnatural expansion of the merely subordinate πίστεως) faith, namely that which (σωτηρία διὰ πίστεως being almost a technical phrase, it is best to keep πίστις here abstract, and then to particularize) is in (which rests upon, is reposed in) Christ Jesus.

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

14. σὺ δέ] returning to the appeal of 10 and to the thought of 2:16.

μένε] “remain loyal to,” “permane,” Vulg.; “persevera,” Ambros.; cf. Act 14:22 ἐμμένειν τῇ πίστει, Joh 8:31 ἐὰν ὑμεῖς μείνητε ἐν τῷ λόγῳ τῷ ἐμῷ, ἀληθῶς μαθηταί μου ἐστέ: perhaps also with a slight antithesis to προκόψουσι “remain stationary”; cf. 2Jn 1:9 πᾶς ὁ πρόαγων καὶ μὴ μένων ἐν τῇ διδαχῇ.

ἐπιστώθης] “wert assured of,” “confirmed in by experience”; cf. Clem. Rom. 1:42, παραγγελίας λαβόντες . . . καὶ πιστωθέντες ἐν τῷ λόγῳ τοῦ θεοῦ μετὰ πληροφορίας πνεύματος ἁγίου. Contrast Psa 77:8 and 37 οὐδὲ ἐπιστώθησαν ἐν τῇ διαθήκῃ αὐτοῦ.

τίνων] will include both the Apostle (10) and the home teachers (1:5), and, perhaps, the many witnesses of 2:2. For the reading, cf. Introd., p. xxxvii.

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Hast been assured of [επιστωθης] . N. T. o. Quito often in LXX So 2Sa 7:16, shall be established (of the house of David) : Psa 87:37, steadfast in his covenant.

Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.