And that from a child thou hast known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. 2 Timothy 3:15
The scientific world became abuzz a few years ago with the news that after 100 years of searching, an international team of physicists has claimed to have discovered the existence of Einstein’s gravitational waves. This, they said, marked one of the biggest astrophysical discoveries of the past century. The experts say those who discovered those gravitational waves are almost certain to receive a Nobel prize, because of the tremendous importance of the discovery. As far as the scientific world is concerned, the extent of their knowledge and wisdom has taken a huge leap forward. Personally, my life has not changed much since the discovery was announced, and neither has yours. The announcement is important to only a few people. But there is one source of wisdom that can transform the lives of all who receive it: the holy Scriptures. Timothy was wise unto salvation, because of what he had learned from the holy Scriptures.
A famous quotation from Stephen Hawking, an English theoretical physicist, cosmologist, author, and atheist was posted a few years ago on Facebook. It said the Bible was a fairy tale for those who are afraid of the dark. In his excellent response, Professor John Lennox declared: ‘Atheism is a fairy tale for those who are afraid of the light’. For all of his credentials, Hawking was not as wise man; the Word of God identifies him as a fool. Not only did he deny the existence of God, and the validity of the Scriptures, but he shut himself out from the salvation that the Scriptures would reveal to him. He was, according to Prof. Lennox, afraid of the light. Because the Scriptures do bring us the light. When we think of the Scriptures that Timothy learned from his childhood, we think only of the Old Testament, because that is all that was available then. And yet, that Old Testament contained everything that he needed to make him wise unto salvation. It is what Philip the evangelist used to preach to the Ethiopian eunuch (Acts 8:35). Today, we have the completed canon of Scripture, and are thankful for all that it tells us. And we are thankful for the salvation that we have received from those Scriptures.
The truth in our text of being saved through faith is also contained in Ephesians 2:8: For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God. This verse carries with it the wonderful completeness of God’s salvation: not only were we saved eternally at the moment we first trusted in Christ, but we are being saved daily as the Word of God transforms our lives into conformity with Christ and preserves us from the contamination of the world. In addition, it fills us with the eager anticipation of the end of our salvation, the entrance into Heaven’s glories when our physical life ends or when our Lord returns.
Being wise unto salvation is the only wisdom worth having. -Jim MacIntosh