I was reading in 2 Timothy earlier today and just stopped on a passage that is well known to many people, but I started thinking about it seriously today.
2 Timothy 3:16-17 says:
"All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work."
I started wondering whether we actually believe that in the church today. And, then, if we do believe it, do we live like we do.
I think we do believe this - we believe that all Scripture is from God and that it is useful. But, I'm not sure we always live that out. We can say it and we do say it often, but too many times our actions don't line up with what we say.
Think about it for a moment. If ALL of Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, why do we seem to pick certain parts of it that we will do our best to make a reality in our lives and ignore other parts? I know that as fallen humanity we will never be able to perfectly live it, but should we not at least be applying all parts equally to our lives.
If we are going to tell other Christians that they should not be judging others, should we not also be loving our enemies and those who seek to do us harm? If we are going to say that we love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength, should we not also be following Jesus' example of being a servant to all? If we are going to listen to Jesus' teaching on how to pray, should we not also be taking the Great Commission - the command to take the message of the Gospel to the world - seriously and not just leaving that task to a special few who are called to be missionaries?
I wonder how we have made these distinctions. And I don't think we have done this on purpose. Some of them just sound and seem easier than others. But, if all Scripture is God-breathed, then it is all just as important.
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