AND THAT FROM CHILDHOOD YOU HAVE
KNOWN: kai hoti apo brephous (ta) hiera grammata oidas (2SRAI):
(2Ti 1:5; 1Sa 2:18; 2Chr 34:3; Ps 71:17; Pr 8:17; 22:6; Eccl 12:1; Lk
1:15;2:40)
from infancy (NET)
from a babe (ASV, Young's Literal)
a very young child (Wuest)
Childhood (1025)
(brephos) meant a babe and in classical Greek referred to a babe
at the breast. Thus the idea is literally “from infancy.” Peter uses the
same term to exhort his readers to
like newborn
babes,
long for the pure milk of the word, that by it you may grow in respect
to salvation (see note
1 Peter 2:2)
It was at the
knees of his “grandmother Lois, and [his] mother Eunice” (see note
2 Timothy 1:5)
that Timothy appears to be led to saving faith, and it was in their
lives that he first saw the power of the gospel to produce genuine
godliness. By Jewish custom children were taught God's Law at a very
early age, and were encouraged to commit it to memory.
Barclay
(critique)
adds that
It was the glory of the Jews that their children from their earliest
days were trained in the law. They claimed that their children learned
the law even from their swaddling clothes and drank it in with their
mother’s milk. They claimed that the law was so imprinted on the heart
and mind of a Jewish child that he would sooner forget his own name than
he would forget it.
Have
known
(1492)
(oida) is
perfect tense
and conveys that idea that Timothy's knowledge of the "Sacred Writings"
began in earliest childhood and continues through the present time. He
cannot recall a period when he had not known the sacred writings.
Mt Henry
adds that
The age of children is the learning age; and those who would get true
learning must get it out of the scriptures.
In Timothy's case the teaching was
clearly effectual for "true learning". May all Scriptural teaching to
young ones be so effectual.
Albert Barnes adds that...
The Jewish writings abound with lessons on this subject. Rabbi Judah
says, “The boy of five years of age ought to apply to the study of the
sacred Scriptures.” Rabbi Solomon, on (Dt
11:19) says, “When
the boy begins to talk, his father ought to converse with him in the
sacred language, and to teach him the law; if he does not do that, he
seems to bury him.
Spurgeon
adds
Babes receive impressions long before
we are aware of the fact. A special vantage-ground is lost when even
babyhood is left uncultured. The Holy Scripture may be learned by
children as soon as they are capable of understanding anything. It is a
very remarkable fact, which I have heard asserted by many teachers, that
children will learn to read out of the Bible better than from any other
book....Give us the first seven years of a child, with God’s grace, and
we may defy the world, the flesh, and the devil to ruin that immortal
soul. (The
Biblical Illustrator)
Why should parents be diligent to
assure that from
childhood
their offspring know the
sacred
writings?
Contemplate these illustrations:
It is more easy; anything taken when
it is young is more easily wrought upon. A twig is easily bent; a
disease taken in the beginning is easily cured, when everything by delay
grows worse. When the fingers are grown stiff, it is ill learning to
play on the lute. An old disease is hardly cured. The longer a tree
grows, the harder it is to pull up. The further a nail is driven, the
harder it is to pull it out again. The acting of sin strengthens the
habit, and when sin is become habitual, connatural, and customary, it is
hardly cured (Jer
13:23).(T. Hall,
The Biblical Illustrator)
Daniel Webster stated that
from the time that, at my mother’s
feet, or on my father’s knee, I first learned to lisp verses from the
sacred writings, they have been my daily study and vigilant
contemplation. If there be anything in my style or thoughts to be
commended, the credit is due to my kind parents in instilling into my
mind an early love of the Scriptures.
Begin to train them early
To fear and love the Lord,
To carry on life's pathway
God's lamp, His holy Word
--Fennema
><> ><> ><>
As a teenager, J. Stephen Conn sensed
God calling him to be a preacher. But he felt a certain disadvantage.
Because he had been saved when he was 7 years old, he would never be
able to hold an audience spellbound with stories of a wicked past. So he
asked God for permission to backslide—just long enough to get some
experience in a life of sin to “enhance” his preaching later on. Deep
within he knew that God would not answer such a request, so he decided
just to preach the Bible without a dramatic testimony. Some time later
Conn wrote, “For the past 11 years I’ve been pastoring a church. I
realize now what a great testimony I really have. God not only has the
power to deliver from sin, He has the even greater power to keep from
sin. God not only saved my soul—He saved my entire life!” (from Our
Daily Bread)
><> ><> ><>
Children can surely come to know the
Lord Jesus Christ as amply testified by the following well known
believers...
Polycarp, the great church
father, was nine when he was saved. Matthew Henry was eleven.
Jonathan Edwards, America’s greatest theologian, was seven. Hymn
writer Isaac Watts was nine. Evangelist Henry Drummond, Moody’s
friend, was nine. E. Stanley Jones, the great Methodist
missionary statesman, was moved to be a missionary when he was eight
years old. He saw a picture of a big tiger standing beside a small
Indian boy, and underneath was the caption, “Who will tell me about
Jesus?” And Stanley Jones said, “I will.” Corrie ten Boom asked
Christ to be her Savior at age five. W. A. Criswell, the famous
Southern Baptist pastor, was saved when he was ten, but he felt God
calling him into ministry even earlier. “I had been thinking about being
a preacher for years, since I was six,” he recalled. “I knew I wasn’t
converted yet, hadn’t been saved. But I knew God wanted me to be a
preacher. ”Hymnist Philip Bliss was twelve years old when he made
his public confession of Christ. William Booth, founder of
the Salvation Army, was fifteen. Dr. Harry Ironside
was thirteen. Count Nickolaus Ludwig Zinzendorf, who gave rise to
modern Protestant missions, was saved at age four.
><> ><> ><>
Returning to his friend’s home after
conducting meetings in a town in England, D. L. Moody was asked by his
host, “How many were converted tonight in the meeting?” “Two and a
half,” replied Moody. “What do you mean?” asked his friend. “Were there
two adults and a child?” “No,” said the evangelist, “it was two children
and an adult. The children have given their lives to Christ in their
youth, while the adult has come with half of his life.” (More Real
Stories for the Soul. 2000.. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers)
><> ><> ><>
THE SACRED WRITINGS: (ta) hiera
grammata: (Da 10:21; Mt
22:29; Lk 24:27;24:32 24:45 Acts 17:2; Ro 1:2; 16:26; 1Cor 15:3;15:4 2Pe
1:20;1:21)
Sacred (2413)
(hieros) meant pertaining to that which is holy or of
transcendent purity. Hieros was used in secular Greek of that
“belonging to or connected with the gods” and thus meant “holy,
hallowed, consecrated” describing earthly things devoted or dedicated by
man to a god or to the service of a god.
Writings
(1121)
(gramma from grapho = engrave, write) in singular means
that which is written and can refer to a letter (ie, a character) or to
any writing, document or record. Here with the modification of
sacred (hieros) grammata refers to the Old Testament Scriptures.
Here Paul applies
hieros to the Scriptures or the
sacred
writings,
this exact term being found in the writings of Josephus and Philo and
there also referring to the Old Testament Scriptures. Among Greek
speaking Jews, of which there were many in the time of the early church,
the Jewish Scriptures (OT) were often referred to as hieros grammata
(sacred writings).
Sacred
points to the esteem and veneration in which the Hebrew Scriptures were
held by the Jews and the Christian churches and which gave Timothy the
knowledge of divine things. And God will use such men as vessels of
honor. It is thus not surprising to read that the famous missionary
physician
David Livingstone
gained a New Testament in Sunday School when only age nine by
repeating the 119th Psalm on two successive evenings with only five
errors.
John Quincy
Adams once wrote that...
So great is my veneration for the
Bible that the earlier my children begin to read it, the more confident
my hope that they will prove useful citizens, and respectful members of
society.
Spurgeon
adds
I lay stress upon that word
Holy Scriptures.
One of the first objects of the Sabbath-school should be to teach the
children great reverence for these
holy
writings, these inspired Scriptures. The Jews esteemed the Old Testament
beyond all price; and though unfortunately many of them fell into a
superstitious reverence for the letter and lost the spirit of it, yet
were they much to be commended for their profound regard to the holy
oracles. Especially is this feeling of reverence needed nowadays.
Observe that Timothy was taught, not only to reverence holy
things in general, but especially to know the Scriptures. Suppose we get
the children together on Sabbath days, and then amuse them and make the
hours to pass away pleasantly; or instruct them, as we do in the
week-days, in the elements of a moral education, what have we done? We
have done nothing worthy of the day, or of the Church of God. (The
Biblical Illustrator)
><>><>><>
Homemade Religion - The idea
is becoming increasingly popular—people thinking they can believe in
Jesus while accepting unbiblical teaching. Although professing to have a
relationship with Jesus Christ, some feel it's okay to also follow the
teachings of Buddha or Krishna. They feel that having an additional
belief is simply another step toward spiritual fulfillment.
Chuck Colson, who has examined this trend, says that "instead of
adhering to a specific set of doctrines, they feel free to pick and
choose from all the various belief systems, or to create their own
tailor-made religion." He cites studies to show that people claiming to
be followers of Jesus Christ have embraced reincarnation, astrology, and
communication with the dead.
This is dangerous ground. The true believer knows that Jesus Christ is
the only way to God (Acts 4:12), and that the Bible, God's inspired
Word, is the only true source of instruction (2Ti 3:15,16). All beliefs
and practices relating to spirituality must be based on biblical
truth—not on how appealing they may sound.
Don't trust a homemade religion that contains a little of this and a
little of that. Make your faith all about Jesus, and test everything by
God's Word. Then you can't go wrong. — Dave Branon
(Our
Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by
permission. All rights reserved)
The Bible is a lamp from God,
A sword of truth and light;
It searches heart and soul and mind,
And helps us know what's right. —Bosch
Examine all teaching in the light of God's Word.
><>><>><>
Godly Grandmothers - A little
boy described grandmothers like this:
"A grandmother is a lady who
has no children of her own, so she loves everybody else's.
Grandmas don't have to do anything but be there. If they take you
for a walk, they slow down past leaves and caterpillars. . . .
They can answer questions like why dogs hate cats and why God
isn't married. When they read to you, they don't skip parts or
mind if it's the same story again. Everyone should have a
grandmother because they are the only grown-ups who have time for
you."
Timothy is a prime example of how a young life can be greatly influenced
by a grandmother, especially if she is a godly woman. He held a position
of great responsibility in leading the congregation at Ephesus. It was a
difficult assignment for a young man who was timid by nature. To help
his young protégé stand firm, the apostle Paul reminded him of the faith
of his grandmother Lois (2Ti 1:5). It isn't hard to imagine her playing
with him when he was little, teaching him Scripture passages, putting
him to bed with hugs and kisses and childlike prayers, and in the
process nurturing the faith of her grandson.
God is a wise Father who knows how to help grandmothers--and all of
us--to influence young lives. — Haddon W. Robinson
(Our
Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by
permission. All rights reserved)
TIPS FOR GRANDMOTHERS
Pray for your grandchildren.
Play with your grandchildren.
Pass on your faith to your grandchildren.
If you want your influence to last, put Christ first.
WHICH ARE ABLE TO GIVE YOU THE
WISDOM: ta dunamena (PPPNPA) se sophisai (AAN):
Able (1410)
(dunamai) means to have power by virtue of inherent ability,
referring to the inherent ability of the Scriptures to give wisdom (cf
"the gospel...the power
of God for salvation"
Ro 1:16).
They are able to do what NO secular writings can do.
Able is
present tense pointing to the continuous and abiding power resident in
these writings. An intellectual apprehension of the truth of Scripture
does not assure salvation. Scripture has no magical power that
guarantees personal salvation to those who know its contents.
In First Thessalonians Paul
emphasizes the "ability" of God's Word to "energize" those who are
willing to believe it writing...
we
also constantly thank God that when you (Thessalonians) received from us
the word of God's message, you accepted it not as the word of men, but
for what it really is, the word of God, which also performs its work
(energeo ~ energizes) in you who believe (present
tense). (see
note
1Thessalonians 2:13)
In Romans Paul explains that..
For
I am not ashamed
of the gospel, for it is the
power (dunamis)
of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also
to the Greek. (see note
Romans 1:16)
Writing to the church at Colossae
Paul teaches a similar truth about the power of God's Word...
(The
Gospel) which has come to you, just as in all the world also it is
constantly bearing
fruit
and increasing (What is bearing fruit? The Gospel of God which is
utilized by the Spirit of God), even as it has been doing in you also
since the day you heard of it (the Gospel) and understood the grace of
God in truth (See note
Colossians 1:6)
Give
wisdom
(4679)(sophizo
from .sophós cp
sophia) means to make wise. Wisdom by
itself is not the end and is of no eternal value, unless it leads to
relationship with Messiah. An important distinction needs to be made
here for Jesus while in Jerusalem warned the Jews that
You search the Scriptures, because you think that IN THEM you
have eternal life and it is these that bear witness of Me (Jn
5:39)
The point Jesus
was making is that the Jews had searched the
sacred
writings
but failed to gain the wisdom that pointed to salvation in the
Messiah. Why did they fail to gain this wisdom? Jesus told them
you are
unwilling to come to Me, that you may have life. (Jn
5:40)
To avoid the false
trust against which Jesus warned—of trusting the KNOWLEDGE of
Scripture alone to give eternal life — Paul, like his Lord,
makes clear that the words in
sacred
writings
do not in themselves have power to save but rather that the wisdom they
impart leads to salvation through faith. Even to this day the reading of
the Torah in the synagogue is accompanied by great ceremony, but
tragically although they search the
sacred
writings
they fail to receive the inherent "wisdom that leads to salvation
through faith in" the Messiah, because as Jesus said, they are
"unwilling to come to" Him. Timothy although a Jew (mother Jewish,
father Greek) was willing "to come to" Him.
Dear reader
have you like the Jews searched the sacred writings, yet failed to
surrender to the Sacred Writer, "the Word" Who "became flesh...full of
grace and truth"? (Jn
1:14) To reiterate,
the Scriptures do not save, but they are able to make a man wise unto
salvation. Children may know the Scriptures, and yet not be children of
God.
Marvin Vincent has an interesting note
on "able
to give...the wisdom"
--
To give thee understanding of that which lies behind the letter; to
enable thee to detect in the O. T. books various hidden allusions to
Christ; to draw from the O. T. the mystery of messianic salvation, and
to interpret the O. T. with Christ as the key.
The study of the
Scriptures as valuable as this pursuit is will not save the soul unless
there is faith in
Christ...the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.
(see note
Romans 10:4)
As John Wesley
says
How much more are the Old and New Testament together able, in God's
hand, to make us more abundantly wise unto salvation!
Guzik comments
many people are wise in many different things - wise for cars, wise for
money, wise for health, wise for cooking, wise for computers - but are
we also wise for salvation? This is the most important
wisdom one can ever have! Where does this wisdom come from? The Holy
Scriptures, In and of itself, the Bible does not save us - but it is
only through the Bible that we can receive God’s truth about Jesus, and
put faith in Him.
THAT LEADS TO SALVATION THROUGH FAITH
IN CHRIST JESUS: eis soterian dia pisteos tes en Christo Iesou:
(Ps 19:7; Jn 5:39;5:40 Act 10:43; 13:29;13:38, 39 1Pe 1:10, 11, 12; 1Jn
5:11,12 Rev 19:10)
That
leads
(1519)
(eis) is a preposition of motion into any place or thing.
Figuratively eis marks the object or point toward which anything
ends marking that which any person inclines toward or becomes, in this
case salvation
Salvation (4991)
(soteria
from
soter = Savior in turn from
sozo = save, rescue, deliver)
(Click in depth discussion of related terms
soter and
sozo) describes the rescue or
deliverance from danger, destruction and peril. Salvation is
a broader term in Greek than we often think of in English. Other
concepts that are inherent in soteria include restoration to a
state of safety, soundness, health and well being as well as
preservation from danger of destruction.
(1) A physical deliverance
- rescue from danger deliverance, preservation, safety. For example the
writer of Hebrews records that...
By faith Noah, being warned by God
about things not yet seen, in reverence prepared an ark for the
salvation (soteria) of his household, by which he condemned the
world, and became an heir of the righteousness which is according to
faith. (see note
Hebrews 11:7)
Paul to all those on the ship bound
for Rome "Therefore I encourage you to take some food, for this is for
your preservation (soteria) for not a hair from the head of any
of you shall perish." (Acts
27:34)
Paul to the saints at Philippi "For I
know that this shall turn out for my deliverance through your prayers
and the provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ" (see note
Philippians 1:19)
(2) A religious technical term
describing safety of the soul and so in a spiritual sense referring to
salvation
(The preaching of John the Baptist
was) To give to His people the knowledge of salvation (soteria)
by the forgiveness of their sins (Luke
1:77)
And Jesus said to him (Zacchaeus),
"Today salvation (soteria) has come to this house, because he,
too, is a son of Abraham." (Luke
19:9)
And there is salvation
(soteria) in no one else (other that Messiah); for there is no other
name under heaven that has been given among men, by which we must be
saved (sozo). (Acts
4:12)
Brethren, sons of Abraham's family,
and those among you who fear God, to us the word of this salvation
(soteria) (the gospel) is sent out. (Acts
13:26)
Following after Paul and us (Luke, et
al), she (a certain slave-girl having a spirit of divination) kept
crying out, saying, "These men are bond-servants of the Most High God,
who are proclaiming to you the way of salvation. (Acts
16:17)
For I am not ashamed of the gospel,
for it is the power of God for salvation (soteria) to
everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. (see note
Romans 1:16)
for with the heart man believes,
resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting
in salvation. (see note
Romans 10:10)
The sorrow that is according to the
will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to
salvation (soteria); but the sorrow of the world produces death. (2Corinthians
7:10)
So then, my beloved, just as you have
always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my
absence, work out your salvation (soteria) with fear and
trembling (see note
Philippians 2:12)
For this reason I endure all things
for the sake of those who are chosen, that they also may obtain the
salvation (soteria) which is in Christ Jesus and with it eternal
glory. (see note
2 Timothy 2:10)
from childhood you (Timothy) have
known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that
leads to salvation (soteria) through faith which is in Christ
Jesus. (see note
2 Timothy 3:15)
Are they not all ministering spirits,
sent out to render service for the sake of those who will inherit
salvation (soteria)? (see note
Hebrews 1:14)
For it was fitting for Him, for whom
are all things, and through whom are all things, in bringing many sons
to glory, to perfect the author of their salvation (soteria)
through sufferings. (see note
Hebrews 2:10)
And having been made perfect, He
became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation
(soteria) (see note
Hebrews 5:9)
But, beloved, we are convinced of
better things concerning you, and things that accompany salvation
(soteria) , though we are speaking in this way. (see note
Hebrews 6:9)
(3) A Messianic deliverance
at the end of this present age.
Christ also, having been offered once
to bear the sins of many, shall appear a second time for salvation
(soteria) without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him.
(see note
Hebrews 9:28)
And this do (do what? express agape
love which is unconditional), knowing the time, that it is already the
hour for you to awaken from sleep; for now salvation (soteria) is
nearer to us than when we believed. (see note
Romans 13:11)
(cf notes
1Thessalonians 5:9;
Hebrews 9:28;
1 Peter 5:5;
5:10;
Revelation 12:10)
But since we are of the day, let us
be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a
helmet, the hope of salvation (soteria). For God has not destined
us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation (soteria) through our
Lord Jesus Christ (see note
1Thess 5:8;
5:9)
(Those "born again to a living hope")
are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation
(soteria) ready to be revealed in the last time." (see note
1 Peter 1:5)
And I heard a loud voice in heaven,
saying, "Now the salvation (soteria) , and the power, and the
kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the
accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, who accuses them before
our God day and night. (see note
Revelation 12:10)
After these things I heard, as it
were, a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, "Hallelujah!
Salvation (soteria) and glory and power belong to our God. (see
note
Revelation 19:1)
The idea of salvation is
that the power of God rescues people from the penalty of sin, which is
spiritual death which is followed by eternal separation from the
presence of His Glory. Salvation delivers the believer from the
power of sin (see discussion on Romans 6-8 beginning at
Romans 6:1;
6:2;
6:3)
Salvation
carried tremendous meaning in Paul’s day, the most basic being “deliverance,”
and it was applied to personal and national deliverance. The emperor was
looked on as a "savior" as was the physician who healed you of illness.
It is interesting that Collin's
(secular) dictionary defines salvation as
"the act of preserving or the state
of being preserved from harm...deliverance by redemption from the power
of sin and from the penalties ensuing from it."!
In short, this so great a
salvation is not just escape from the penalty of sin but
includes the ideas of safety, deliverance from slavery and preservation
from danger or destruction.
It is important to
note that salvation by faith is not a NT truth previously unrevealed but
in fact is clearly present in the sacred writings.
For example, Paul
repeatedly quoted Genesis 15:6 in the NT emphasizing that when Abraham
believed in the LORD...He
reckoned (credited, accounted) it to him as righteousness. (Ge
15:6, cf notes
Romans 4:1;
4:2;
4:3)
Paul
referring to (Gen
12:3) says that
the Scripture (here he personifies the Old Testament as a "preacher of
the gospel") foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith,
preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, "ALL THE NATIONS
SHALL BE BLESSED IN YOU. (Gal
3:8)
Peter in telling
the Gentile Cornelius about Jesus referenced the OT saying that
Of Him (Jesus) all the prophets (referring to the Old Testament
writings) bear witness that through His Name everyone who believes in
Him receives forgiveness of sins. (Acts
10:43)
Note: For
Paul's Scriptural definition of the Gospel (1Co 15:1, 2, 3, 4,
5,6, 7, 8) and discussion see
notes
1Corinthians 15:1
1Corinthians 15:2
1Corinthians 15:3
1Corinthians 15:4
1Corinthians 15:5
1Corinthians 15:6
1Corinthians 15:7
1Corinthians 15:8
Through
(1223)
(dia) is a preposition which in this verse serves as a marker of
the means by which one event (faith in Christ Jesus) makes another event
(salvation) possible
Faith
(4102)
(pistis)
is synonymous with trust or belief and is the
conviction of the truth of anything, but in Scripture usually speaks of
belief respecting man's relationship to God and divine things,
generally with the included idea of trust and holy fervor born of faith
and joined with it.
Faith
is a firm
persuasion or belief in the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Pistis
is not just a mental assent but is a firm conviction and surrender to
the truth of the Gospel which is evident by a moral conduct that arises
from that surrender. In sum, faith shows itself to be genuine saving
faith by producing a changed life (cf 2Cor 5:17).
As pistis relates to God, it is the
conviction that God exists and is the Creator and Ruler of all things
well as the Provider and Bestower of eternal salvation through Christ.
As faith relates to Christ it represents a strong and welcome conviction
or belief that Jesus is the Messiah, through Whom we obtain eternal
salvation and entrance into the Kingdom of Heaven. Stated another way,
eternal salvation comes only through belief in Jesus Christ and
no other way.
Wayne Grudem defines faith
that saves one's soul...
Saving faith is trust in Jesus
Christ as a living person for forgiveness of sins and for eternal life
with God. This definition emphasizes that saving faith is not just a
belief in facts but personal trust in Jesus to save me... The definition
emphasizes personal trust in Christ, not just belief in facts about
Christ. Because saving faith in Scripture involves this personal trust,
the word "trust" is a better word to use in contemporary culture than
the word "faith" or "belief." The reason is that we can "believe"
something to be true with no personal commitment or dependence involved
in it. (Grudem,
W. A. Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine
Zondervan) (Bolding
added)
Biblical faith is not synonymous with mental
assent or acquiescence which by itself is a superficial faith at best
and not genuine (saving) faith. For example, the apostle John
distinguishes two types of belief (using the related verb pisteuo
but still illustrating a truth relevant to the discussion of the noun
pistis), one of which is only superficial...
22 When therefore He was raised from
the dead, His disciples remembered that He said this; and they
believed (pisteuo) the Scripture and the word which Jesus had
spoken. (Morris in
Defenders Study Bible
writes "Note the superior category of faith of the disciples to that
of the "many" (John 2:23) who believed "when they saw the miracles,"
(John 2:23) but soon fell away. The disciples did not believe because of
the miracles but because of the Scripture and Jesus' words. It is far
better to place one's faith in God's Word than in signs and wonders.")
23 Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many
believed (pisteuo) in His name, beholding His signs which He was
doing. (Note that their belief was associated with His signs)
24 But Jesus, on His part, was not entrusting (pisteuo) Himself
to them, for He knew all men (Morris in
Defenders Study Bible
writes "Although many in the Jerusalem crowd "believed in his name
when they saw the miracles" (John 2:23), Jesus did not "believe" in them
because He knew their hearts and knew their outward faith in Him was
only superficial)
25 and because He did not need anyone to bear witness concerning man for
He Himself knew what was in man. (The (The
Ryrie Study Bible notes
that "The contrast is between people who put their trust (pisteuo,
Gk.) in Jesus, and Jesus, who does not put His trust in people because
He knows their motives and thoughts. Enthusiasm for the spectacular
is present in them, but Jesus looks for genuine faith."
Bolding added) (John 2:22-25)
In another example of belief that fell
short
of genuine saving belief John records that when Jesus spoke to the Jews
"who had believed him" (John 8:31) but as their subsequent
actions demonstrated their belief was not genuine for Jesus accused them
declaring "you are seeking to kill Me" (John 8:40) and after
several heated exchanges, these same "believing" Jews "fulfilled
prophecy" and indeed sought to kill Jesus, picking "up stones to
throw at Him; but Jesus hid Himself, and went out of the temple."
(John 8:59).
True faith that saves one's soul includes
at least three main elements (1) firm persuasion or firm conviction,
(2)
a
surrender to that truth and
(3) a conduct emanating from that
surrender. In sum, faith shows itself genuine by a changed life. (Click
here
for W E Vine's similar definition of faith)
The highly respected theologian
Louis Berkhof defines genuine faith in essentially the same way
noting that it includes an
intellectual element (notitia), which is "a positive recognition of
the truth"; an emotional element (assensus), which includes "a
deep conviction of the truth"; and a volitional element (fiducia),
which involves "a personal trust in Christ as Savior and Lord,
including a surrender … to Christ." (Louis
Berkhof, Systematic Theology. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1939)
Charles
Swindoll commenting on faith and obedience in John 3:36
concludes that...
In John 3:36 the one who "believes in
the Son has eternal life" as a present possession. But the one who "does
not obey the Son shall not see life." To disbelieve Christ is to
disobey Him. And logically, to believe in Christ is to
obey Him. As I have noted elsewhere, "This verse clearly indicates
that belief is not a matter of passive opinion, but decisive and
obedient action." (quoting J. Carl Laney)...Tragically many people are
convinced that it doesn't really matter what you believe, so long as you
are sincere. This reminds me of a Peanuts cartoon in which Charlie Brown
is returning from a disastrous baseball game. The caption read, "174 to
nothing! How could we lose when we were so sincere?" The reality is,
Charlie Brown, that it takes more than sincerity to win the game of
life. Many people are sincere about their beliefs, but they are
sincerely wrong!" (Swindoll,
C. R., & Zuck, R. B. Understanding Christian Theology.: Thomas Nelson
Publishers) (This book is
recommended if you are looking for a very readable, non-compromising
work on "systematic theology". Wayne Grudem's work noted above is
comparable.)
Note that faith
is only as good as its object which in this case is Christ Jesus,
the Way, the Truth and the Life.
Faith
in Christ is, as it were,
a torch, by the light of which we can first read aright and understand
the dim colonnades and mysterious inscriptions in the ancient venerable
temple of the Old Covenant. (Van Oosterzee -
The Biblical Illustrator)
><> ><> ><>
When missionary
John Paton
was translating the Scripture for
the South Sea islanders, he was unable to find a word in their
vocabulary for the concept of believing, trusting, or having faith. He
had no idea how he would convey that to them. One day while he was in
his hut translating, a native came running up the stairs into Paton's
study and flopped in a chair, exhausted. He said to Paton,
It's so good to rest my whole weight
in this chair.
John Paton
had his word: Faith is resting your whole weight on God. That
word went into the translation of their New Testament and helped bring
that civilization of natives to Christ. Believing is putting your whole
weight on God. If God said it, then it's true, and we're to believe it.
Nothing before, nothing behind,
The steps of faith
Fall on the seeming void, and find
The rock beneath -- Whittier
><> ><> ><>
Personal Application
(adapted from
Barnes):
(1) It is proper to teach the Bible to children at as early a period of
life as possible.
(2) that there is reason to hope that such instruction will not be
forgotten, but will have a salutary influence on their future lives. The
piety of Timothy is traced by the apostle to the fact that he had been
early taught to read the Scriptures, and a great proportion of those who
are in the church have been early made acquainted with the Bible.
(3) it is proper to teach the “Old” Testament to children - since this
was all that Timothy had, and this was made the means of his salvation.
(4) we may see the utility of Sunday schools. The great, and almost the
sole object of such schools is to teach the Bible, and from the view
which Paul had of the advantage to Timothy of having been early made
acquainted with the Bible, there can be no doubt that if Sunday-schools
had then been in existence, he would have been their hearty patron and
friend.
In addition we
learn
(1) that the plan of salvation may be learned from the Old Testament.
It is not as clearly revealed there as it is in the New, but “it is
there;” and if a man had only the Old Testament, he might find the way
to be saved. The Jew, then, has no excuse if he is not saved.
(2) the Scriptures have power. They are “able to make one wise to
salvation.” They are not a cold, tame, dead thing. There is no book that
has “power” as the Bible; none that is so efficient in moving the
hearts, and consciences, and intellects of mankind. There is no book
that has moved so many minds; none that has produced so deep and
permanent effects on the world.
(3) to find the way of salvation, is the best kind of wisdom; and none
are wise who do not make that the great object of life."
Matthew Henry
The scriptures we are to know are the holy scriptures; they come from
the holy God, were delivered by holy men, contain holy precepts, treat
of holy things, and were designed to make us holy and to lead us in the
way of holiness to happiness; being called the holy scriptures, they are
by this distinguished from profane writings of all sorts, and from those
that only treat morality, and common justice and honesty, but do not
meddle with holiness. If we would know the holy scriptures, we must read
and search them daily, as the noble Bereans did,
Acts 17:11
. They must not lie by us neglected, and seldom or never looked into.
