“All Scripture is God-breathed…” – 2 Timothy 3:16
Have you ever stopped to consider how controversial of a statement this is? All Scripture. Which Scripture? Our Scriptures? Only these 66 books? Even Psalm 137? Really? How about that part about Lot and his daughters? Wow! What about that time that Paul asks Timothy to bring him his coat? Did God need to breathe that part out? In fact, what does it mean for something to be God-breathed? Did God literally breathe out specific words to people? Wait, does God breathe? Did He stop breathing out scripture after He got to book 66? Why?
Ok. Some of you are thinking to yourself… “I wanted to read a devotional, and all I’m getting is a bunch of skeptical questions.” That’s fair. Just give me two more minutes. I bring these questions up because it is good for us to put ourselves in outsiders’ shoes now and again. I guess if you are reading this devotional, you already believe that statement to be true. You already bought into the God-breathed nature of Scripture… I want to ask “Why?” Why is it that the first few words of 2 Timothy 3:16, don’t sound crazy to you?
I guess that your answer is NOT that someone presented a compelling argument, and you became convinced of the truth. Not to say that there are not some very convincing reasons to believe in the God-breathed nature of the Scriptures, because there are! I just don’t know many people who have come to believe the Scriptures because of an argument. I guess that most of us if we were put on the spot and people asked, “Why do you believe that the Bible is God-breathed?” You would say something like, “Because the words have changed my life.” Your rationale would not be an argument, but an experience. You have had an experience with the Scriptures, that has been so powerful that you want everyone else to experience it as well.
Well, I think this is a wonderful answer! In fact, so does Paul. Remember the words that follow “All Scripture is God-breathed”? It says, “and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God p may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17). Paul’s rationale for the God-breathed nature of Scripture is that it has been found to be useful. That is beautiful! So, maybe, instead of getting into arguments about Scripture, let’s be people who constantly highlight how useful the Scriptures have been in our lives. Then maybe others will find that it is useful in their lives as well.
Josh Rose
Family Pastor