Prepared for perilous times

Our final "prepper" strategy is found in verses 16 through 17 of our chapter:

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. (II Timothy 3:16-17)

The verses just before these spoke of how the Word of God contained everything we needed. These verses tell us why. They speak of the authority of God's Word. 

Why do we say that the Bible is all that we really need to read in order to go to heaven?

Paul tells us that all Scripture (he means both the Old and the New Testaments, because people were passing around and receiving instruction and inspiration from all of the epistles we find in our New Testament) is "God-breathed." Those two words sum up a literal translation of the Greek word "theopneustos." It means that God breathed out the words and Moses wrote them down. God breathed out words and David wrote them down. And Daniel, and Matthew, and others. I realize that there are many people who may disagree with me, and there are many who will argue the translators and their possible errors, etc., etc. But I believe in this view of the holy Scriptures. I believe this about the Bible I read. Moses wasn't inspired in the same way as William Shakespeare. Shakespeare was inspired to write wonderful plays. Moses wrote down the very words of God. It's totally different.

Paul tells us that because the Bible comes from God, it equips us to do every good work. The word carries with it the meaning of "completeness." The Word of God equips us and makes us complete. 

Our Bible is an extremely practical book and it can have a huge impact on our lives. Paul says the Bible is good for:

•  teaching - telling us what is right
•  rebuking - telling us when we are wrong
•  correcting - telling us how to "get right" in our relationship with God
•  training - telling us how to "stay right" and righteous

The result is that we are thoroughly equipped to do whatever God wants us to do. Just as a soldier needs the right equipment, and then he needs to know how to use it, we need to read and study and know the Bible. It will tell us everything we need to know.

Some people may scoff at our reliance upon the Word of God. They will tell us it's antiquated; they point to what they think are contradictions; they say it's hopelessly out of date and unnecessary. But we know better. We know that if we make God's Word the foundation of our lives, we will be able to believe and obey it, and even teach it to others. It will make us strong and give us confidence when trouble comes our way. Knowing the Bible now may save our lives later. We have all heard the stories of prisoners who remembered verses and passages of the Bible and were able to gain strength to survive. Some would find scraps of paper and painstakingly write their verses with blood on the scraps, to re-read them and to secretly share with other prisoners. 

We will never outgrow the Word of God.

It will make us complete, so that we can do what God has planned for us.

The world is going to get worse - so don't be surprised. Be prepared.

Tough times are coming - don't be frightened. Be prepared.

If we build our lives on God's Word, we may be persecuted but we will never be defeated.