Derek Thomas: A Book In His Hand, a Burden On His Back

thank you very much it's wonderful to be here first time for me to be in I don't even know where I am but San Francisco whatever this is this is this is brand new for me I thought I caught a glimpse of Alcatraz yesterday thought it'd be a good place to retire I I do have to draw attention to the fact that I'm my mother taught me never to put my hands in my pocket in public but I had I'm just recovering from rotator cuff surgery I'm supposed to be wearing this brace which you might have seen me wearing earlier but my surgeon flew to Argentina today for a vacation so he knows nothing about it so I think if I hold my hand in my pocket I'm okay I I do have a text my text is second Timothy three and I'm gonna pick it up at verse 10 and reading through into the fourth chapter in this case the chapter division is a little awkward and the first verses of chapter 4 most certainly apply to what has gone before so if you have a Bible with you and if you don't I'm not sure what you're doing here but there is a Reformation Study Bible that you can purchase in four or five different formats from cheap too expensive but turn with me to second Timothy 3 and beginning at verse 10 this is God's holy and inerrant word you and this is Paul speaking to Timothy in particular you however have followed my teaching my conduct my aim in life my faith my patience my love my steadfastness my persecutions and sufferings that happened to me at Antioch at Iconium and at Lystra which persecutions I endured yet from them all the Lord rescued me indeed all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted while evil people and imposters will go on from bad to worse deceiving and being deceived but as for you continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus all Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching for reproof for correction and for training in righteousness that the man of God may be complete equipped for every good work I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus who is to judge the living and the dead and by his appearing and his kingdom preach the word be ready in season and out of season reprove rebuke and exhort with complete patience and teaching I will pause in the reading there as I walked through the wilderness of this world this is John Bunyan in his marvellous allegory pilgrims progress an allegory about the progress of a pilgrim of a Christian from this world to the next and we meet him clothed in rags a book in his hand and a burden upon his back and he's crying out what shall I do to be saved a bunion is no doubt drawing in part from a variety of sources the prophet Isaiah the rags in which he is dressed the good book in his hand the burden upon his back the cry what shall I do to be saved the Philippian jailer in act 16 comes to mind here's a man who's under a conviction of sin here's a man of whom Jesus spoke in the upper room discourse in John 16 that when the Holy Spirit the comforter the Advocate comes the personal representative agent of the Lord Jesus Jesus is going away but he's coming to them again at Pentecost in the person of the Holy Spirit who will represent Jesus and apply all that Jesus's comp list when he when he comes Jesus says he will convict the world of sin and righteousness and judgment to come of sin and righteousness and judgment to come the role of the Bible in convicting an individual of sin of so impinging upon the conscience of an individual like Augustine reading from Romans 14 hearing hearing children play a little game in which he heard the words Tolly Leggett take up and read and he and he reads in Romans 14 about himself his profligate life his last nests and the Holy Spirit convicts him or Luther wrestling as he was as an Augustinian monk with with the meaning of the verses in Romans chapter 1 that the just shall live by faith that therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith and the Holy Spirit convicting him convicting him of his sin convicting him of his inability convicting him of the sheer bondage of his will or Paul in Romans 7 but when he writes if it had not been for the law I would not have known sin I was once alive apart from the law but when the commandment came sin came alive and I died that's Paul's experience so here we are and Ligonier ministries in this conference together as we spend these couple of days together a pilgrims progress begins with this image of a man with a burden upon his back he's got a book in his hand it's the Bible it's a Word of God it's the inerrant Word of God the truth of God how is this burden to be removed as he makes his journey from from the city of destruction to to the celestial city this this book in all of its dimensions threatening convicting encouraging reassuring teaching guiding as a road map on this this journey which is the Christian life this road trip of all road trips it's what Paul is talking about here to Timothy this is deeply significant as we turn now to to get a window on the role of the Bible the role of Scripture in the Christian pilgrimage deeply significant because Paul is addressing a future without the Apostle a future without Paul what would the church do without the Ministry of the Apostles without a word from the Lord through the instrumentality of apostles as plenipotentiaries of God some what's Paul's answer Paul's answer is Scripture Paul's answer is this book this good book in your hand here's an image it's a it's a little a little selfie it's you holding a Bible it's you holding up the Reformation Study Bible it's it's an image of what the Christian life is from from the removal of its of the burden that is upon the on the back of this man as the Bible brings and comes and brings conviction of sin to to the final entry into the celestial City every step of the journey through the help and ministry of this one book the Bible the scriptures the inerrant Word of God so it's here and and you all know this text verse 16 that all scripture not not parts of scripture not not the bits that inspire you not the bits that you highlight but all structure the bits that you don't highlight the first eight chapters of Chronicles a list of names all Scripture is breathed out by God theopneustos the feel new stick I made that up the Theo pannu stick character of the Word of God it's like well you folks don't know anything about it maybe you do in San Francisco think so I think it was Bob Godfrey who says that the coldest winter that he ever spent was a summer in San Francisco now there are parts of the world actually there are parts of this country where we're in wintertime when you breathe out you can see your breath I don't know you can do this in California somebody was telling me last week at the Shepherd's conference that in Alaska you breathe out and you can see ice crystals well that's the image here the Bible is the product it's what you get when God breathes out when he exhales and you can see your breath steam the water vapor when God breathes out when he exhales you know we talked about the inspiration of the Bible actually it should be the expiration of the Bible except that we use the word expire to mean that somebody is dead but but literally it's a it's a doctrine here of the expiration of the Bible God breathes out and what have you got Bible all Scripture is breathed out by God an unprofitable what's it profitable for and that's where I want to focus my time with you today now I want to say four things I want to be conscious of the clock because my good friend Steve Lawson broke a record today he was short I think he's sick that we may need the help of a doctor I think he's got the case of the brevity's he actually finished on time today what's the Bible for I want to suggest four things first of all and since we're in verse 16 I mean let me stay here although I'm gonna go back and then four words but first of all to equip pilgrims to equip pilgrims that the man of God all Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching reproof correction training in righteousness that the man of God men of God here is a technical phrase from the Old Testament meaning of meaning a prophet he's he's actually speaking to Timothy as a man of God as as a successor to the Apostle Paul as a preacher that the man of God may be complete equipped for every good work the Bible equips the Saints in four ways for teaching for instructing for the mind cognitively in what you think in how you think in your world view in your presuppositions in the in the logical flow of the way in which you draw deductions the the Bible is is is for instruction it's for your mind when I was a young Christian and I became a Christian over 40 years ago in 1971 someone put into my hands I became a Christian through reading John starts basic Christianity I wasn't raised in a Christian home never attended church till I was 18 years avail didn't possess a Bible had never read it but I read John starts basic Christianity and I was within two three days I was converted I I got a burden on my back and lost it in three days so someone put into my hands another little booklet that John start wrote it was called your mind matters just a little booklet your mind matters there was there was a tendency then it hasn't gone away that church was about experience Christianity was about experience you come to church you leave your brain at the door pick it up as you go out and whatever happens between between the call to worship and the benediction if there is indeed a call to worship on the benediction it's nothing to do with the brain it's it's a it's a it's a hardwired route route to the affections and isn't it interesting that Paul says the very opposite here he says the first thing the first use of Scripture is for the mind for teaching you can always tell and churches where you say now open your Bibles and nothing happens I love to hear the holy sound of the rustling leaves of pages of the Bible I love to see people take notes I love it when people say at the door what was your third point now as a preacher I think and maybe I maybe I didn't get the third point across very well but the fact that they're asking was the third point because they need to write it down because they're thinking be not some 32b not like the horse or the mule that has to be golden but use your minds use your minds think what are you thinking how are you thinking the Bible is to equip the Saints in teaching and instructing and then for a proof perhaps to rebuke or perhaps to convict and it seems to me that Paul is addressing here not so much the mind but the conscience the moral arbiter of what is right and wrong in a chord with the objectivity of the truth of God the will and then for correction and and some some think that what Paul has in view here is not the mind or the will or the conscience but rather now the affections and then in training for training in righteousness as though as though this is a more general idea of of the entire transformation of a lifestyle your mind your conscience your affections your entire lifestyle conformed by scripture informed by Scripture and conformed to scripture as it molds as it shapes as it encourages you to mortify and cut off right arm so first few weeks I preached in a robe and the first few weeks first Sunday I appeared with that without my right arm some dear sweet lady at the door said to me did you get your arm amputated this week as though I would be in the pulpit on the Sunday what is scripture doing to you right now my friend I don't mean this very minute or though perhaps that but I mean now in this period in your life what's it what's it shaping what's it molding what what's it encouraging you to mortify what is it saying to you you need to you need to encourage to grow in terms of the fruits of the spirit Lord through the Scriptures through your word mold me shape me conform me more and more and more to the likeness of the Lord Jesus where is this pilgrimage going this journey from from the city of destruction to the celestial city where is this pilgrimage going with this road trip where are we going what have you said as the deaths destination point on your on your spiritual GPS where are you going Lord through the Scriptures mold me in every way and conform me to the pattern of your son but we might be conformed to the image of Christ so the first thing is that the Bible is to equip to st. it equips secondly to sustain the church to sustain the church now go back to verses 10 through 15 remember the context here that the objective reality of Scripture as the breathed out Word of God is something that was confirmed to Timothy experimentally he says for example in verse 10 you however have followed my teaching in verse 14 he says but as for you continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed when did Timothy learned that well he saw it in his family he saw it in his grandmother Lois remember in Chapter one of this epistle verse 5 of chapter one I am reminded of your sincere faith a faith that that that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now I am sure dwells in you as well he saw it in his mother he saw it in his grandma where did he learn the value and meaning and importance and significance of Scripture of the word of God in his mother in his grandmother his mother in a you know what we might call a mixed marriage Jew Gentile with all of the yes tensions and difficulties and stresses that that inevitably would bring along in various circumstances and he watched his and saw how scripture molded and shaped her into a woman of God and he saw it in Paul Timothy is the companion of the Apostle Paul Timothy would followed Paul and been at his side and watched him and learned from him even been imprisoned for a season at the end of the book of Hebrews we learned that Timothy has been released released from prison he suffered for the gospel and and he saw in the life of the Apostle Paul how scripture molds and shapes and conforms he saw it in his mother Calvin says he drank in godliness with his mother's milk and he saw it in Paul's sufferings he saw how the Word of God impacts and encourages and convicts and and and provides focus and resolution and determination and he saw it up close and personal and his family in the Apostle Paul remember what Jesus says in the Upper Room how do we abide abide in me abide in me and my words in you how do you abide in Christ how do you say close to to Jesus by having the Word of God dwell richly in you by faith Thomas Watson said think in every line that you read that God is speaking to you think in every line that you read that God is speaking to you what's the Bible for it is to equip the Saints what is what is the Bible for well it's to sustain the church and and Timothy had seen that in in his parents and in Paul and in the Ministry of the Apostle Paul it's seen the use of the Bible as the Bible had been passed from one generation to another sustaining growing encouraging motivating challenging and in the third place what is the Bible for well look at verse 15 to make Christ known to make Christ's known how from childhood you've been acquainted with the sacred writings which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Jesus Christ our Lord what is the Bible about what's it for well it's for one principal thing it's for many things but it's for one principal thing to make Jesus known to tell you about Christ to tell you about how you can get rid of this burden to tell you how you can get rid of these filthy rags that you are wearing and be clothed with the perfect righteousness of Christ to go from unbelief to faith to go from from vanity and lostness to an assurance of your relationship with your heavenly father so that you can call it abba father to have a certainty that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord you remember on the Emmaus Road that's such a definitive moment I think in the history of redemptive history in in that moment when Clopas and his companion and and they're discouraged and Luke describes them that they're looking down there they're discouraged they're emotionally psychologically discouraged Jesus has been crucified and and buried and this and there's even talk that he's been raised but this is just women talking this is what Luke says now and then they're conscious of the the the sound of shuffling feet someone has someone has joined them as they make their journey that 12 mile journey to to Emmaus seven mile journey to Emmaus and remember those words after this a little bit of interrogation and Jesus Jesus asked them why you sad why you why you why are you so glum what's what's wrong and and they say to him where have you been what planet are you on don't you know what's happened in Jerusalem in these past few days and beginning with Moses and in all of the prophets he expounded to them the things concerning himself I would like to have been on that journey I'd make sure I had my iPhone and the recorder button was going I want to know what passages he went to what passages in Moses genesis 3:15 of course of course but the seed of the woman would would crush the head of Satan where else did he go the suffering servant songs and Isaiah Isaiah 53 was wounded for our transgressions bruised for our iniquities the chastisement of our peace was laid upon him by stripes were healed all we like sheep have gone astray the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all of course he went there Oh surely he went there Psalms Psalm 110 the Lord said to my lord sit thou at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool scripture needs to be read from beginning to end with Christ at the very center of it what does that mean and this is what Paul says here the Scriptures are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus and he's talking here principally about the Old Testament Scriptures now even at this stage we know from something Peter writes and and written before 2nd Timothy that already some of the things that Paul has written are already regarded as Scripture when Peter says in 2nd Peter that there are some things that are hard to be understood which which which wicked men rest to their own destruction as they do the other scriptures in other words Peter is placing placing some of Paul's writings on a power a recognition within the early church that some of Paul's writings are on the par with the Old Testament Scriptures but what are those scriptures principally about about Christ about the gospel about how faith in Jesus Christ and in him alone brings justification that those with burdens upon their back the burden of sin the burden of guilt the burden of the transgression of the law of God can have it removed by faith alone in Jesus Christ alone what's at the heart of the story of redemption in the Old Testament it's the gospel of Jesus Christ you see it in various ways in a in a principle and he sees in genesis 3:15 a conquering principle that one is coming who's going to conquer sin and skunker evil and conquer the forces of darkness and destroy them so that although that principle of darkness grows from a slithering serpent on the ground to a great red dragon in the book of Revelation Jesus conquers and he wins have a friend teaches missions loves to say about the book of Revelation that it's very simple Jesus wins you see in the Old Testament of an image of a seed the seed of the woman when you're reading a book like Ruth and it ends with that beautiful picture of Naomi with her grandson on her lap and that grandson is the father of the father of King David and who is King David but the father of the father of the father of the father of Jesus so that even even in the genealogical development of the narratives of the Old Testament it's about that conquering seed who is Christ when you see it in Leviticus wasn't it Gandhi who began to read the Old Testament but he stopped in the Book of Leviticus couldn't get any further couldn't get past all of those diseases and warts and and and it sings and scratchings in in Leviticus and missed missed the wood for the trees the principle of sacrifice and the principle of substitution that without the shedding of blood there can be no forgiveness well that well that principle of of rest and you see it in the creation story where is that rest going to find its fulfillment and it finds itself its fulfillment in the eternal wrath of the eternal Sabbath which is brought about by the rest of the gospel I love to think why why why is the Sabbath changed from the seventh day to the first day in the old you have work followed by rest and in the New Covenant you have rest followed by work as though it's as though the New Covenant is shaping for you the gospel itself rest followed by work if you've got an iPhone and on your calendar it starts on a Monday you need to change it because the Week starts on Sunday with a principle of God given gospel rest in Jesus Christ what is the function what is the function of scripture well it is to make Christ known to make Jesus known it's it's to equip the Saints and it's it's to to to help the church to sustain the church but it's also to make Christ known as you make this pilgrimage you find yourself in trouble you find yourself in trial you find self in difficulty you find yourself with job what's gonna help you say the Lord gave and the Lord has taken away blessed be the name of the Lord the assurance that I'm kept in the palms of Jesus hands and he will never let me go that things happen that I don't understand and things happen that I wish didn't happen but I know this one thing is true that Jesus loves me and gave himself for me and whatever else happens happens underneath the canopy of that umbrella of His divine and sovereign and eternal and unchanging love for me in the gospel well there's a fourth thing what is scripture for and it's to reach the world and you see it in the opening verses of chapter 4 charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus who is to judge the living and the dead and by his appearing and his kingdom preach the word be ready in season and out of season reprove rebuke exhort and complete with complete patience & and teaching and so on now there's a specific context here Paul is speaking to Timothy as a as a future preacher of the gospel but his word is is is relevant to every Christian what is the Bible for it's a call in a hostile world in a post-christian world in a in a world of late modernity or liquid modernity or post modernity whatever you want to call it it's a call to faithfulness it's a call to to endurance you know this you know this that in in verse 5 of chapter 4 as for you always be sober minded you know what happens when people are not sober when people drink too much they lose touch with reality they lose touch with what's important they they lose touch with rational cognitive thinking Paul is saying to Timothy keep your head keep your head above water in a hostile world in a dangerous world in an antagonistic world and how are you going to do that by holding fast to the integrity of God's Word written what is this charge to preach the word to live by the word to make a word known we need to be men and women of the word we need to be men and women of one book I have many books I love I'd be sorry to miss to be without them I probably read Lord of the Rings every year since 1968 there was a high school thing everybody was reading this this this Lord of the Rings by talking so I bought a copy summer vacation went into the bookstore in the local town bought a copy went home I didn't stop reading until I'd finished the book I love pilgrims progress we must not be the generation that loses touch with pilgrims progress and we are fast approaching that that that very thing but we must be men and women of one book I wonder if it could ever be said of us as as dr. Lawson reminded us of Spurgeon's worried about about bunion that if he pricked him his blood would be bib line I wonder I wonder if that could ever be said of us that we are men and women who are so steeped in Scripture that we so so loved Scripture oh how I love your law it is my meditation day and night it's sweeter to me than than the honeycomb you know I think of Timothy Timothy was timid shy you know when Paul left he wept he was that kind of person it's sooo Timothy that Paul says take a little wine for your stomach we're not going there it's just he was delicate but just that point now he had a delicate stomach you know there are people like that the kind of delicate there's always something wrong with them that kind of fragile and then at the end of Hebrews that astonishing little little nugget that the Timothy has been released released somewhere from prison what empowered him what equipped him what motivated him what challenged him what give him strength and courage the Word of God like a hammer that breaks the rockin pieces the Word of God that lights up a dark place the Word of God that is able to make us that is able to make us wise unto salvation through faith which is in Jesus Christ our Lord you and I well we're on a pilgrimage you and I from the city of destruction to the celestial City through many dangers and difficulties Vanity Fair's Slough Slough slough of despond it was Slough where I grew up by paths Meadows and delectable mountains and at every step of the way surrounded by hostile forces because we make this pilgrimage we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against principalities and powers against the rulers of the darkness of this world in a world of militant atheism it's not just atheism but but it's militant atheism as someone I'm reading a biography of of one of these militant atheists who had heard who is saying it I don't believe in God and I hate him what's going to equip our young folk our children our college students as they go out into the world on this pilgrimage on this journey on this road trip the power the transforming equipping power of the Word of God that brings us to Christ to union with him to fellowship with him to walk in his ways to follow him wherever he leads and to know that at every step of the journey he will never leave us nor forsake us but will bring us home oh my dear friends coming to conferences can be I'm I'm not sure if Ligonier ministries will forgive me for saying this so so here it correctly but coming to conferences can sometimes just be an excuse for our lack of time in the word we just want a quick fix it you know let me download an app to help me with this issue maybe if I go to a conference everything will be everything will be fine again so come to this conference this weekend and some of you I've seen you before you go to a lot of conferences let this be the conference that underlines something of fundamental importance that first and foremost you give yourself to the Word of God and to the Scriptures let me ask you some just some very practical questions are you reading the Bible are you reading the Bible every day you know when I was converted over 40 years ago it was the quiet time god bless that person who told me I needed to have a quiet time that that rhythm everyday spending time in the word whether it's in the morning or whether it's in the evening but but spending spending time in the word studying it reflecting on it letting it question you and shape you and mold you learn in it just begun a little you know we're in America so it's a program but I've just begun a little mentoring program in the church with young men getting some of the older men to mentor younger men one of the things I was insistent upon was that they learn a hundred Bible verses as part of that little program it's like having a hundred bullets one hundred arrows when you find yourself in a corner when you find yourself in need when you find yourself the raft and you reach for that arrow and and should I need to arms to do this okay I can't I can't let's say this is one now I need to use a different demonstration you reach for that you reach for that arrow and and let it go it's the arrow of the word of God well my brief was to speak about the pilgrimage of the journey that goes from the city of destruction to the celestial city equipped with a good book in your hand the inerrant infallible word of Almighty God Father we thank you we thank you for the scriptures that you breathed out and and Scripture came into being we thank you for the way in which it challenges it convicts thank you for its promises thank you for its consolations thank you for its sweetness for its nourishment thank you for its challenges that causes us to reach forth just a little more to run with perseverance the race that is set before us looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith grant O Lord this weekend as we covenant again with you that we might fall in love with the Scriptures Christ's gift to us on this road trip that leads to heaven we ask it for Jesus sake amen

Channel: Ligonier Ministries

Views: 13,144

Rating: 4.9099097 out of 5

Keywords: ligonier, ligonier ministries, ligonier conference, derek thomas, ligonier conference 2015, pilgrim's progress, pilgrims in progress, john bunyan pilgrims progress, john bunyan, derek w h thomas, Life life eternal life!, city of destruction, fleeing from sin, flee from sin, importance of the bible, bible, scripture, reformed theology, theology, practical theology, christian, evangelical, derek thomas sermon, need for a savior, soteriology, soteriology 101, jesus, christ

Id: kBZI25I7IcU

Length: 51min 29sec (3089 seconds)

Published: Thu Mar 26 2015