Preparation for perilous days

Paul's next strategy for surviving the savage days ahead is this:

But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.  (II Timothy 3:14-15)

Continue in what you have learned.

Stay the course.

Stay focused.

Paul is telling Timothy (and us) to make certain we don't get distracted by outside forces. We see in our world today that there are individuals and groups who seem wholesome but turn out to be potentially dangerous. How to resist them? Continue in what we have been taught. To resist the forces of evil, we must be alert, and in communication with our Lord.

 “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” (Matthew 26:41)

How to tell the difference between the wholesome and the dangerous? Training:

But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil. (Hebrews 5:14) 

If we are studying math, we may understand a concept when the teacher explains it in class, but we may forget by the time we take the test . . . . unless we practice what we learn. We train ourselves to understand and remember. To distinguish good from evil, we must have discernment (wisdom) and we can ask God to give this to us. (James 1:5)

Our Savior said:

“I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves." (Matthew 10:16)

The world is full of "wolves" who are purposefully hostile to us as believers. Jesus said that to be like Him in a godless world, we need to combine the wisdom of the serpent with the harmlessness of the dove. I don't want to go down a rabbit trail here, but I know that some people are turned off by the "be as shrewd as snakes" portion of Jesus' words here. But He is obviously not, as a holy God, telling us to stoop to deception or dishonesty. He's laying down a general principle -- as we take the gospel to a hostile world (and as we prepare for perilous times) we must be wise to avoid the traps set for us, and we must be innocent, serving the Lord blamelessly.

Being successful at living a godly life means that we have to strike a balance between the dove and the serpent. We can be gentle without being pushovers. We can be kind without being taken advantage of. We must be aware of the unscrupulous strategies of the enemy, but we must stick to the high road. Peter makes this very clear in his letter:

Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us. (I Peter 2:12)

Alright, now let's climb back out of Br'er Rabbit's hole and get back to Paul - he is developing a survival plan for the last days. Paul's strategy depends upon one main foundation: a proper understanding of the Word of God. Verse fourteen finds him reminding Timothy that he can pull confidence from the Word to handle days of difficulty. In verse fifteen, Paul reminds him of his spiritual heritage:

and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. (v 15)

Paul says, "Timothy, don't forget that the Bible brings you wisdom that leads to salvation." In short, God's Word saves us. It saves us by the words that were written down, "the holy Scriptures." There is wisdom and discernment in those words, "able to make you wise." God's Word reveals the gospel to us, "wise for salvation." That gospel produces faith in us, "through faith in Christ Jesus."

In other words, everything we need to know about going to heaven can be found in our Bible. Everything we need to know about surviving the last, tumultuous, perilous days can be found there, in our Bible. Nothing is missing and no one needs to add anything.

Our Bible is not an encyclopedia; it doesn't cover every possible topic in our world. Even though it is scientifically correct, the Bible is not a science book. Even though the historical events it details have been proven again and again by ancient texts and archeology, the Bible is not a history text. But it does tell us everything we need to know about the most important topic in the world: how to know God and have a relationship with Him. 

Paul says that Timothy's knowledge of the Word began in infancy. His godly grandmother and mother, Lois and Eunice. They started teaching him the truth when he was a baby. Just as they prayed for Timothy, sang to him, and taught him scripture, so moms and dads and grandparents today must do the same for their kids and grandkids today. 

The Bible will produce in us a godly, growing, fruitful life; a life full of love and patterned on Jesus Christ; an eternal life with Him. Truly, this is an important strategy for the dangerous days to come - stay focused, and have a wealth of knowledge and understanding of the Scriptures.