"Continue In What You Have Learned" 2 Timothy 3:14-4-5

St. John's - East Moline 10/21/07

In the 1996 movie "Fly Away Home" a young girl onto whom an orphaned nest of Canadian Geese had imprinted, discovers that if her geese do not learn to migrate their wings will be clipped so that they can never fly again. With the help of her father the girl teaches the young geese to migrate by leading them in an ultra-light aircraft. The amazing thing about migratory birds like these is that once they have learned that flight plan they will never forget it. By continuing in what they have learned they are able to make their journey safely and without becoming lost.

We could learn a lot from these birds, couldn't we? Each year I hear the hurt and frustration of parents who have raised their children in the faith, imprinted the love of the Lord on them, and taught them to know the difference between right and wrong, only to see them go off to college or out into the world where they wander away from the plan and end up lost and floundering.

Maybe even some of you are feeling a little lost, yourselves, somewhat uncertain of where you are going and what you are supposed to be doing with your life. Maybe your world seems to have become dangerous and unfamiliar to you, and your faith is not what it once was. And what about the Christian Church of today, and our own Lutheran Church. Everything used to be so familiar and solid. We knew what we believed and why. We knew that we could go anywhere, walk into any LCMS congregation and it was home, but all that seems to have changed.

Too many of us have wandered away and our church seems to be getting lost.

So that we may again be set on course and sour on the wings of an eagle in our heavenward journey, St. Paul writes: "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..." Brothers and sisters in Christ God has imprinted Himself on you in your baptism, and now calls you to continue in what you have learned...

I. Because It Comes From God.

All around us are people with opinions, and it doesn't take a lot of prompting to get them to share them with us. But what good are the opinions, and ever changing philosophies of men? Today's wisdom quickly becomes tomorrow's ignorance. Anything that has its source in sinful man cannot be trusted. And that hold's true of all man-made religion as well. It cannot solve our problems of sin, death, and separation from God. The only religion that can deliver us from these is the one that comes from God himself. The only absolute truths are those which come from God himself. And in the end, the only opinion that matters is God's. This is why St. Paul directs Timothy and us to continue in what we have learned and cling to the Holy Scriptures. We have God's assurance that what we have learned is from God himself. Paul writes: "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness."

A. That which we cling to for life, hope, and strength in the battles of life is the very breath of God. Contrary to popular critical opinion, this is not the collection of a bunch of ignorant dreamers, pouring out their foolish thoughts on the page, but as St. Peter attests, "...no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit." (2 Pet. 1:20-21)

This book is more than paper and ink, it is God's chosen instrument for communicating His gifts to us. It has the power to kill the flesh with every harsh word of law, and the power to give spiritual life with every beautiful word of Gospel. In the same way that Jesus breathed on His disciples so that they might receive the Holy Spirit, when we read, hear, and meditate upon this book, the breath of God, the Holy Spirit comes upon us. It is "the living and enduring Word of God..." through which we have been "born again" (1 Pet. 1:23), the "word of truth" through which we are "sanctified" (John 17:17) and the "word of Christ" through which "faith comes" (Rom. 10:17)

B. The Word, this Word, reveals the mind and will of God. In it we learn about God's hatred for sin, our sin, and about His boundless love for us. We learn about the punishment we deserve, and the gift of grace and forgiveness He has bestowed upon us. We learn what it is to be dead in sin, and made alive in Christ. We learn what God wants us to do, and what He has done and will do for us. All of it is here, the entire flight plan that leads us to our heavenly home through Christ. And so God calls you to continue in what you have learned through this Word...

II. Because It Brings You To Salvation.

Because of sin, we are all born as enemies of God. Our greatest need is to be brought back, and restored as His children. But this is not something that we can do for ourselves. If I had all the money in the world, I could not buy my way back to God. If I were the best person in the world, I could not earn my way back to God. If I were the smartest person in the world, I could not find my way back to God. So why do we fall into the trap of building our lives on, and clinging to such things. This is where the Lord himself draws us back to himself.

A. The Word makes us wise unto salvation, as we hear in our epistle, "from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures which are able to make you wise unto salvation."

This wisdom begins with the revelation of our true fallen condition. It no longer allows us to deceive ourselves into thinking that we are good people who deserve God's love. As the Word reflects the pure and Holy will of God, it unmasks all our pretense of being holy people, and declares all our works to be as filthy rags apart from faith. It shows us that we are sinners who are deserving of nothing but God's anger and punishment.

But then the wisdom continues as we come to know the love of God in His Son Jesus Christ. In the Word we see that God does not punish us as our sins deserve, but that He is gracious and forgiving, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. Here, He shows us the way to be brought back to Him. As Jesus said, "I am the way and the truth and the life, no one comes unto the Father except through me." All of this is written so that we may come to believe that Jesus is the Son of God, who lived, died and rose again in victory for us, and that by believing we could have life in His name. It is where we are made wise unto salvation. Not only that...

B. The Word is, also, the instrument of God's call.

As we confess with Luther, "I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ my Lord, or come to Him, but the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts and sanctified and kept me in the true faith..." The Bible is not a dead thing, a collection of teachings upon which you are called to make a decision to believe or not believe. Because it is God's Word it is powerful and effective. Through it the Holy Spirit actually changes hearts and lives, and draws us into God's family.

Finally, God calls you, today, to continue in what you have learned from His Word...

III. Because It Equips You To Live For God.

The apostle writes in our epistle: "it is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." Once we have been brought to faith through God's Word, and have been made wise unto salvation, it is only natural that we should want to live for Christ and fulfill God's will. But how can we know what God's will is?

The unbelieving world is no place to look, because it's standards are not like God's. Your own heart cannot really be trusted either, since there is still that part of you that clings to sin, and does not want to be deprived of certain lusts. This is why so many "people will not put up with sound teaching, but to suit their own desires gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear" so many who "turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths." There is only one way that you can know what God wants for you.

A. As we continue in what we have learned He instructs us though His Word. It tells us what kind of life meets God's approval. It tells us that we cannot even begin to please God until we believe in His Son Jesus Christ. It tells us that unless we remain connected to Christ the true vine, we cannot possibly bear fruit to God's glory. It gives us the ten commandments, in which God outlines the "dos" and "don'ts" of a god pleasing life. The Bible summarizes our Christian duty saying, "you shall the love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind, and you shall love your neighbor as yourself." It teaches, rebukes, and corrects us, and enlightens us to the mind and will of God. But more than that...

B. The Word equips us to live for God. The word is not only for Sunday, to be used within the safety of this building. It is for life, seven days a week. It is as the apostle describes in his letter to the Philippians where we receive the "full armor of God". Through the Word we are made holy, united with Christ, and armed for battle as soldiers of the cross.

Concl.: What a wonderful gift has been given to us in God's Word! Let us continue in what we have learned because we know it comes from God, it saves us and equips us or every good work. Amen.