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2 Timothy 3:16-17 The Benefits of the Word of God

Intro. Last Sunday I shared with you a message about the Word of God and salvation. The Bible teaches that Gods Word is
absolutely essential in the salvation of a soul. We must hear or read the good news of salvation, receive it, and believe it in
order to be saved.
Both Peter and James wrote that we are born again by the Word of God, which is compared to the seed of new life. So
we believers must do all we can to get the Word of God out to others in the community, and around the world. But once you
become a Christian, the Word of God continues to have a vital role in your Christian life. You cannot be the Christian that God
would have you to be without giving the Word of God priority in your life.
In v.16 of our text, the apostle Paul says that the Scriptures are profitable in a number of ways. Yet there are many
people who are not reading, hearing, and receiving the Word of God because they are too busy & preoccupied with other
things they must consider more profitable, such as making money, or pursuing pleasure. Well I want to tell you this morning
that there is nothing that you can do that is more profitable than learning and applying the Word of God to your life. Thats
because knowing Gods Word will affect every other realm of life.
I have even taught a course of study on how the Bible can improve your physical health! Paul tells us here in our
main Scripture text some of the ways in which the Bible is profitable in the life of a believer. But I am not going to limit myself
to what Paul says here. There are several other benefits of the Word of God, if we will only receive it, and put it into practice in
our lives.
So this morning I am going to share with you 7 benefits of the Word of God in a Christians life. I hope to convince
you of this, and challenge you to be more diligent to read and study the Word of God on your own, and to be faithful to come
to church to hear the Word taught and preached. After all, we tend to do things that we perceive are beneficial. So lets see
this morning the first benefit:
I. RIGHT THINKING
Notice that Paul says in v.16 of our main text that the Bible is profitable for doctrine.... The word
translated doctrine (didaskalia) means teaching and instruction. We obtain right-thinking through good
teaching from the Bible. This is something we need, because in our fallen, sinful state, our way of thinking is
messed up.
In Ephesians 4:17 the apostle Paul wrote, This I say, therefore, that you should no longer walk as the
rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind. There Paul gives an important truth: wrong thinking leads
to wrong living. And right thinking leads to right living. So we need a change of mind.
Romans 12:2 says, And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your
mind.... 1 No doubt, learning the teachings of the Bible goes a long way toward accomplishment of that
renewing of your mind.
1 Ephesians 4:23 says something similar, "And be renewed in the spirit of your mind." Learning the Word
of God is of great benefit for our way of thinking. For example, it gives us wisdom.
Psalm 119:98 says, Your commands make me wiser than my enemies. It gives us soundness of mind.
2 Timothy 1:7 says, For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound
mind. No doubt, learning Gods Word is a major factor in obtaining a sound mind from the Lord. Furthermore, it
gives us a noble mind.
In Colossians 3:2 Paul wrote, Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.
Php. 4:8 says, Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, meditate on
these things. When you read the Bible, you are setting your mind on things above, on good things.
If we are going to live lives that are blessed of God, we need to get our minds out of the gutter and on the
heights of glory! Another benefit of Gods Word is it:
II. IT CONVICTS AND CORRECTS
V.16 of 2 Timothy 3 also says that the Bible is profitable for reproof. The Bible not only teaches us what
is right, it also teaches us whats wrong. It is a good source given by God to reprimand us. We cannot rely upon
our own thinking about right and wrong. We tend to justify our actions, and society tends to justify some of the
things that the Bible calls sin. So much of ethical instruction in schools and elsewhere is relative & situational,
and based on What do you think is right or wrong? or What is right for you?
Yet all through the Bible God teaches us that we cannot rely upon our own thinking regarding right and
wrong. Deuteronomy 12:8 says, You shall not at all do as we are doing here today every man doing whatever
is right in his own eyes. Judges 17:6 explains the moral failure of the people of Israel by saying, In those days
there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes. We are not to do what is right in our
own eyes, but what is right in the eyes of the Lord.
We need an objective standard of right & wrong. You cant even rely upon your conscience, because the
Bible teaches that our consciences can be trained wrongly, or they can be damaged. So the fact is, we need to
measure our lives by the standard of the Word of God. Psalms 119:9 says, How shall a young man cleanse his
way? The answer is given, By taking heed according to Your word.
I remember in the days of my youth it was largely the Bible that convicted me of what was wrong in my
life. The Bible was largely instrumental in cleaning up the sin in my life. So the Bible is indeed profitable for
reproof. That means that as a believer, when I get into sin, the Bible convicts me that what I am doing is wrong.
Thats one reason why I preach the Bible, including what it says about sin. Arent you glad that the Bible doesnt
just expose our sin and failures? It also is profitable for correction. That word (epanorthosis) means,
restoration to an upright or right state; a correction, improvement of life or character.

The Bible is here to show us when we stray off course how to get back on course, how to get right. The
Bible shows us how to live right. Jesus said in John 17:17, Sanctify them by Your truth. Let me give you a third
way the Bible is profitable.
III. IT BESTOWS FREEDOM
Jesus said in John 17:17, ...your word is truth. He also said in John 8:32, And you shall know the truth,
and the truth shall make you free. The truth of the Word of God brings freedom. But many people wrongly think,
The Bible is too restrictive. I dont want to have to live by the Bible. I want to be free to do whatever I want to
do. Yet the so-called freedom to do wrong actually leads to bondage. As an Well, let me tell you about two
different trains. One train wants to be free to go anywhere it wants.
It says, those narrow railroad tracks are too restrictive to me. The other train knows that it had better
stay on the path of the railroad tracts. So the train that wants its socalled freedom jumps off the track, heading
wherever it wants. Guess what happens? It gets stuck. It cant go anywhere. The other train just keeps on going
down the track. Now tell me, which train has the most freedom?
Even so, the person who is most free is the one who learns the truth of God, and willingly lives by that
truth. Now let me tell you two ways that the Word of God give freedom. First of all, it gives freedom: A. From the
Power of Sin - Jesus said in that same context, in John 8:34, Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is
a slave of sin. The guiding rails of the Word of God are not intended to destroy true freedom, but to keep you
from getting stuck in the slavery of sin. Many people have become slaves to alcohol, or drugs, or sexual
immorality, or gambling, or lying, and they cant seem to stop! The sin has a way of enslaving us, but the truth of
the Word of God has a way of setting us free from the power of sin. B. From Religious Bondage - Many people are
slaves to some manmade or devil inspired religion. Some believers are slaves to standards of behavior that are
manmade, not God given. In Mark 7:13 Jesus told the Pharisees that they were Making the word of God of none
effect through your tradition....

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