Sufficient and Profitable (32)
In his ministry, Timothy would have to deal with many people who are enemies of the Christian faith. Since we have already referred to it several times, we will not repeat Paul's description of these "men of depraved minds" (3:8). But besides what he has said in 3:1-13, Paul adds in 4:3-4 to his description of the kind of people that Timothy would have to face: "For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths."
It is in such a context that Paul charges Timothy to "Preach the Word" (4:2).29 He must do it "in season and out of season," whether the times are favorable or unfavorable. This is a remarkable charge, and very instructive for our time. Can you not see what Paul is saying? He tells Timothy that the Scripture is useful and sufficient to equip the minister "for every good work." And then he adds that the Bible is sufficient, that it is the answer, even when the people refuses to listen to the Bible!
To paraphrase, Paul is telling Timothy, "Terrible times are coming, when all kinds of evil people will roam the earth and the church. When this happens, Timothy, just continue in what you have learned and become convinced of. I am referring to the Scripture that you have known since you were an infant. It will carry you through these terrible times; it will secure your faith in God and maintain your holy character. Moreover, this same Bible will function as an adequate equipment with which you can teach and correct others. Now, the time will come when people don't want to hear what the Bible has to say. But you must preach the word of God, whether the times are favorable or unfavorable. Even when people refuse to listen to the Bible, preach the Bible some more – 'keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry' (4:5). Even when your preaching ministry is not welcomed, just keep on doing what you are supposed to do."
But Paul does not say, "If the people refuse to listen to Bible preaching, then you must accommodate them and reach them where they are. You must dilute the message somewhat so that you will not offend them right away. You must make your church seeker-friendly so that even those who hate the Bible will come in and feel comfortable, and that even those who gather around themselves teachers who will say what they want to hear will somehow accept you. If they don't like the Bible, maybe you can make your sermons shorter, or not preach at all. Maybe you can play the kind of music that they will enjoy. And if you will open a coffee shop inside the church, then it will make the church experience even more enjoyable for people."
Many churches have strayed far from what the apostle prescribes. He says, "If people don't want to hear the Bible, keep on preaching it. Discharge all the duties of your ministry." The Bible is sufficient for everyone – to teach children, to equip ministers, and to confront hardened apostates and hostile detractors.
Notes
29 See Vincent Cheung, Preach the Word.
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Sufficient and Profitable (31)
Our passage and its subsequent verses (3:16-4:5) show that Timothy's task is very much a ministry of the word of God. One of the main ways that God reaches the world through his ministers is by preaching, and in our passage, preaching is evidently the primary solution to be applied against all the problems and people that Paul has just described. The question, then, is whether the Bible supplies the necessary materials that a minister needs in his ministry of preaching.
To this, Paul writes that "All Scripture is God-breathed and useful…so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work" (v. 16) The verse hints at no exception, and the unmistakable assertion is that the Bible is sufficient for whatever the minister needs to accomplish. That is, whatever is the minister's duty to do, he can take the Bible and apply it to the need, and it would be an adequate solution.
It follows that extra-biblical materials are unnecessary. In his ministry, it is never necessary for the minister to have studied the disciplines of psychology, sociology, physics, biology, astronomy, or even secular history and contemporary culture. At this point, we are not saying anything about whether these can be helpful to the ministry, but we echo Paul's triple emphasis that the Bible is sufficient for the minister, so that he may be complete, and thoroughly equipped for every good work. And this means that no supplemental knowledge is necessary. To assert otherwise is to deny the sufficiency of the equipment that divine inspiration insists to be sufficient.
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Sufficient and Profitable (30)
As I mentioned earlier, the "man of God" in verse 17 is mainly referring to Timothy as a minister or preacher, instead of a Christian in general. Of course, much of what applies to a minister will also apply to any Christian, and what is sufficient for a preacher should also be sufficient for any believer. Nevertheless, Paul is indeed addressing some pressing problems relative to Timothy's situation as a minister, and since we cannot spare time to give a full exposition, we can consider only the primary emphasis of the verse.
Note again the problems and the people that Paul has brought up so far. He mentions people who are "lovers of themselves," "lovers of money," "not lovers of the good," "lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God," and "having a form of godliness but denying its power," they are "evil men and imposters" who are "deceiving and being deceived."
Against the "terrible times" (3:1) in which Timothy must live, Paul reminds him that it would be enough if he would "continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of" since infancy. When Paul says this, he of course has in mind Timothy's ministerial duties and difficulties. Thus "the sacred writings" that Timothy has learned since he was an infant would be sufficient to sustain him, both as a Christian and as a minister, in these "terrible times." The Scripture is sufficient to sustain the minister as an individual believer, so that he would become and remain the opposite of these evil men that Paul has just described.
Then, Paul adds that by the Scripture, "the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work" (v. 17). Although the Scripture is certainly sufficient for an individual's sanctification, here the "good work" mainly refers to what Timothy must do as a minister. Paul is saying that the Scripture is also sufficient to equip Timothy for his ministry to other people.
Thus the Bible is not only sufficient to train and sustain the minister, but it is also sufficient to be used by the minister. Just how he ought to use the Scripture in ministry to others is a topic we will reserve for the section on the utility of Scripture (see v. 16). Right now, we will briefly consider the implications of Scripture being sufficient to equip the minister for every good work.
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Sufficient and Profitable (29)
Parents who think that religion is too difficult or boring for children betray a fundamental ignorance of both religion and children. God declares that the biblical religion is an appropriate topic of conversation all the time. These children were expected to learn about God, Egypt, slavery, freedom, grace, power, prayer, and rituals, as well as the prohibitions against such things as homosexuality and bestiality. If taught properly from the Bible, and if taught within the framework of the whole Christian worldview, no topic is too mature for children to hear about.
As for the parents whose lives never generate religious questions from their children at all, they are most likely not Christians in the first place. They are just false converts trying to avoid acting like true believers. For if they indeed perceive religion as a matter of salvation or damnation rather than a matter of mere preference and mental well-being, then doubtless they would earnestly teach the whole counsel of God to their children, and practice the faith before them.
Now, even if the children have been properly instructed from infancy, there will come a time when the world will challenge and oppose what they have been taught. Their faith will be tested. As Paul writes in our passage, "everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted" (2 Timothy 3:12). The solution is just to "continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of" (v. 14). The Bible is sufficient to teach even infants, and if they will continue in what they have learned, it will see them through persecution and unfavorable times.
Finally, for the Bible to be sufficient to teach children also implies that extra-biblical materials are unnecessary to achieve the desired outcome. It is unnecessary to supplement dogmatic verbal instructions with cartoons, puppets, toys, and all kinds of gimmicks. The correct method is to immerse the children in biblical teachings, and enforce them with discipline.
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Against this biblical method of early dogmatic religious immersion, many professing Christians say that they prefer to wait until their children become older, so that they can study the various religions and philosophies, and then "decide for themselves." This kind of thinking, of course, has been adopted from the parenting philosophy of unbelievers, although it is never actually practiced by them. Rather, the children are immersed in their anti-biblical beliefs and values instead. And when "Christian" parents try to avoid teaching their children religion, what do these children end up learning? Whether right or wrong, biblical or anti-biblical, the children will not learn nothing until they become teenagers or adults – they will not live in spiritual suspension.
Parents withhold biblical indoctrination from their children in direct defiance against God's commands. This should be enough to condemn the neglect, which is a form of spiritual child abuse. And as mentioned above, it is often deliberately practiced, and even believed to be a superior form of parenting. So not only do they disobey God, but these parents think that they know better than he does how to love and raise their children.
This practice of withholding biblical teachings from the children betrays another problem. Just as clearly as the above, this one also calls into question the personal faith of the parents. Part of the biblical method of total religious immersion has to do with answering the children's questions about the faith of the parents. As God states in Exodus:
"Obey these instructions as a lasting ordinance for you and your descendants. When you enter the land that the LORD will give you as he promised, observe this ceremony. And when your children ask you, 'What does this ceremony mean to you?' then tell them, 'It is the Passover sacrifice to the LORD, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt and spared our homes when he struck down the Egyptians.'" Then the people bowed down and worshiped. (12:24-27; see also 13:14-16)
If the parents practice their faith at all, religious questions from children are unavoidable. Do the parents go to church, receive communion, read the Bible, make petitions to God, preach the gospel to their neighbors? If they do any of these things, then the children are going to ask about them. They will say, "What is this place? Why do we go to church? What are you reading? Can I read it? Who do you talk to when you bow your head like that? And who is this Jesus you were talking about with Uncle Bob?"
And do these parents ever exhibit an integrity that would intrigue their children? "Mother, why did you give the money back when the person at the store gave you too much change?" Or, what do these parents say when they tell their children not to lie, and they ask, "Why"? The answer will either be God-centered or man-centered. It will be based on either biblical revelation and absolute moral laws, or pragmatic concerns and mere convenience. The children will be indoctrinated one way or the other.
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From the beginning, God's people have always emphasized the passing on of their faith to future generations. As God says regarding Abraham in Genesis 18:19, "For I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing what is right and just, so that the LORD will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him."
The Jews heavily stress the early religious education of children. There are several essential characteristics about their method. First, it involves complete immersion:
Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates. (Deuteronomy 6:4-9; see also 11:18-20)
Every situation and every time of the day provides the context to teach their children the Scripture.
Moreover, they are not encouraged to be original and creative, to come up with their own answers to spiritual things, or to explore the various options offered by the pagan nations around them. Instead, they are told what to believe, how to behave, and what to avoid and oppose. They are not taught to "think for themselves,"26 as if sinful children can answer the ultimate questions apart from revelation, or as if they could dictate to God how God ought to be worshiped. No, they are taught to think what God tells them to think.
This method of education is very much a passing on of bare facts and knowledge, a method that the contemporary western mind detest, which is also why the average knowledge and intelligence of the contemporary western mind seems to have plummeted to an irrecoverable low.
As Hendriksen writes:
As to methodology, the Israelites were not, as a rule, afflicted with memorization-phobia. To a certain extent, necessity even demanded and common sense dictated that committing to memory receive its prominent place in the system of education (Is. 28:10). At times this method may have received undue emphasis, just as today it certainly receives too little emphasis.
The notion that educators should merely ask questions to which no one except the child (!) has the right to supply answers was favored only by men like Eli ("Why do you do such things?" I Sam. 2:23), who failed miserably in the task of bringing up his children. God demanded that when questions were asked, definite answers should be given (Ex. 13:8; Deut. 6:7; 6:20-25; 11:19; Josh. 12:26-28); that children should be taught Jehovah's statutes; that a body of truth with respect to the words and deeds of Jehovah should be handed down from generation to generation.27
The strength and weakness of this method is the same – it is only as good as the contents of what is taught. But when what is so rigidly taught is in fact the very word and mind of God, no other method and no human ingenuity can rival its power and excellence. It is the only appropriate method to teach a perfect book. Thus the Bible is to be dogmatically impressed upon children, both in systematic programs and daily conversations, rather than creatively subverted by modern theories, which encourage children to give their wicked and foolish hearts full expression.28 This does not need to be done in an overbearing and annoying manner, but when properly performed, it can be very natural and pleasant.
Notes
26 Unbelievers have influenced Christians to teach this way when it comes to religion, but this is not how they teach evolution.
27 William Hendriksen, Exposition of The Pastoral Epistles (Baker Books, 1957), p. 298.
28 For more on theories of education, see Vincent Cheung, Preach the Word, and Gordon Clark, A Christian Philosophy of Education.
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In verse 15, Paul says to Timothy, "from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures" (NIV). Another good translation would be "from an infant." The word refers to an unborn child in Luke 1:41 and 44, where it is translated "baby" or "babe." In Luke 2:12 and 16, the word refers to someone who has just been born.
It is translated "newborn babies" in Acts 7:19. There the context is Pharaoh's command to kill all the male children born to the Hebrews (Exodus 1:16). The command seems to demand immediate action, as the midwives were supposed to observe the gender of the babies right "on the delivery stool." The mother of Moses hid him for three months after he was born (2:2). The text is clear that, relative to Pharaoh's command, she was not permitted to wait that long. It is possible that the word includes slightly older children in Luke 18:15, but it remains that the word refers to very small children.
Instead of "from infancy" or "from an infant," a number translations say "from childhood" or "from a child." The first definition in Merriam-Webster for "child" is "an unborn or recently born person," and the second is "a young person especially between infancy and youth," but does not exclude the infant. To use "child," therefore, is not necessarily wrong, but unless it is understood that the meaning is a very young child, it is more clear and precise to use "infancy" or "infant" in our verse (2 Timothy 3:15).
Jewish children were taught the Scripture at a very early age, probably as soon as they could understand language. In fact, it is probable that they learned language itself from the Scripture. It is suggested that the uncommon phrase for Scripture, translated "the sacred writings" in our verse, could signify that Timothy learned to read and write with the Bible as his textbook. But whether this is what this verse implies, it is clear from the Old Testament that the Jews were commanded to diligently educate their children in the Scripture.
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b. Sufficient for Whom?
Since the Bible is the word of God, and since God has the right, power, and wisdom to define our needs and meet those needs, Christians correctly assume that the Bible is for everyone. By this we mean that every person should learn from the Bible what his needs are and then derive from it the wisdom to satisfy those needs, and that he should learn from the Bible what his duties are and draw from it the strength to fulfill them.
Regardless of times and cultures, the Bible wields absolute authority over every human being. Every person must believe it, obey it, and then be judged by it. In it is the message that saves some for heaven and condemns all others to an endless hell. Anyone who would approach God must come to him through faith in the Bible. It rules over mankind, and in it is written the fate of the world. Whether we are referring to believers or unbelievers, they are behaving exactly in the manner that the Bible says they would, and their respective destinies will also be exactly what the Bible predicts. No one is exempt, and no one can escape – you either fall upon the Rock and be broken, or the Rock falls on you and crushes you to powder.
Sinners scoff at the notion that humankind could be ruled by a book, but as the Scripture says, the wisdom of God sounds foolish to those who are heading toward damnation, not that God is foolish, but that sinners are too stupid and deceived to recognize true wisdom. Moreover, as we have already mentioned more than once, since the Bible is the exact and direct revelation of God, to say that the Bible rules the world is to say that God rules the world. There is no difference.
With such power and relevance, of course the Bible is sufficient for every person. Why, then, do we still ask the question, "Sufficient for whom?" Even if it was necessary to ask before, now that we have stated a general answer that covers every person, do we need to go any further?
For the most general purposes, we may indeed stop at this point, since there is no exception to what we have said. However, the Bible itself acknowledges different categories of people, and provides specific information about them and instructions directed toward them. It addresses kings, judges, and others in authority, outlining both their powers and duties. It speaks to husbands and wives, distinguishing their roles and ranks in the home. It mentions different types of sinners, such as murderers, thieves, and homosexuals, commanding them to repent of their evil deeds, to believe in the gospel, and then to change their behavior.
In other words, although the Bible is sufficient for every person, and although every person needs the Bible, paying attention to the specific instructions in Scripture about different groups of people enable us to make deliberate and effective applications. Now, to list all the different groups specified in Scripture would require one to go through the whole Bible. We will deal with only those mentioned and implied in our passage and surrounding verses.
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Then, Paul writes that "All Scripture…is useful…so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work" (v. 16-17). The NIV obscures the triple emphasis on the sufficiency of Scripture in this verse. The NKJ is better – it says, "that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work."
The word "complete" can mean "adequate," "fitted," and "capable" (ESV: "competent"). The KJV has "perfect," which carries the same meanings in old English. The word translated "thoroughly equipped" or "fully furnished" is even more descriptive in the original. Together with "every good work," Paul is obviously making a special effort to stress the sufficiency of Scripture. It is enough. It is complete. You need nothing else.
Verse 17 is mainly referring to Timothy in his capacity as a minister – that is, a "man of God." So the Scripture is sufficient to fully equipped Timothy for every "good work" that he would need to perform in ministry. However, we must not isolate this statement from its surrounding verses. Paul also makes a contrast between Timothy and the evil men that he has been describing. In verses 1-13, Paul mentions people who are, among other things, "lovers of themselves," "lovers of money," "lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God," "having a form of godliness but denying its power," "evil men and imposters" who are "deceiving and being deceived." And it is against this background that Paul says to Timothy, "But as for you, continued in what you have learned and become convinced of," and by this he means "the sacred writings" (v. 15) and "All Scripture" (v. 16).
Therefore, Paul is not only telling Timothy that the Bible is sufficient to equip him as a minister to effect sanctification in others, but he is also saying that the Bible can make him the opposite of these evil people that he has just described. That is, if Timothy will persist in following its teachings, the Bible will make him into a lover of God rather than a lover of pleasure, and he will have the power and reality of godliness rather than a mere appearance of it. Rather than "deceiving and being deceived," he will be able to save himself as well as those who hear him (1 Timothy 4:16).
Paul applies the sufficiency of Scripture to "training in righteousness" and "every good work." Scripture is thus a complete and sufficient revelation of God's will in that it can always show us the right path, that is, the path that leads to righteousness. Many people struggle with the sufficiency of Scripture, constantly complaining about what the Bible does not tell them, because they want it to point out the path to prosperity, a favorable outcome, or some other effect that they desire. But Paul's point is that if Scripture is perfectly followed, then we will never do anything that is sinful, and all that we do will be "good work" in the sight of God.
Of course, with the remaining sinfulness even in believers, perfect obedience to Scripture is not attained in this life, but the point is that the needed information to define perfect righteousness for every situation, and every area of life and thought, is indeed contained in Scripture. The Bible is sufficient for sanctification. This means that it can cause us to grow in knowledge and holiness, and shield us from deception and contamination. If we sin, if we fail, and if we do not know the right way, it is never because the Bible lacks the relevant warnings and instructions.
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This message is clear, specific, and exclusive, for Paul says that the wisdom Scripture provides leads us to salvation "through faith in Christ Jesus" (v. 15). And throughout his letters, Paul leaves no doubt as to what he means by "faith in Christ Jesus." Not only must a person believe in the grace of God and the atonement of Christ, but this faith must exclude dependence on anything else. In addition, this is a faith that God sovereignly gives to his chosen ones – it is not something that a wicked and unbelieving person can just all of a sudden decide to generate by himself.
Human wisdom will try to add to this faith good works, sacred rituals, infused grace, and whatever else they can imagine, but then they are back to "having a form of godliness but denying its power." Any salvation message that demands more or less than "faith in Christ Jesus" spells damnation for those who preach and follow it (see Galatians 1:8-9). It is the biblical "life and doctrine" that will "save both yourself and your hearers" (1 Timothy 4:16).
According to some, the way of salvation is so simple even from a human and natural perspective that even "fools shall not err therein" (Isaiah 35:8, KJV), in the sense that even fools can understand the gospel and will not make a mistake about it. However, the verse is saying exactly the opposite: "And a highway will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness. The unclean will not journey on it; it will be for those who walk in that Way; wicked fools will not go about on it" (NIV). That is, "the Way" (Acts 9:2, 19:9, 23, 24:14, 22) is reserved for those whom God has chosen and Christ has redeemed, so that the unclean and the fools will not enter into it, and will not even stumble upon it or wander into it by mistake.
Spiritual fools can never find salvation by themselves. It is so far from their reach that they will not even stumble across it. All are spiritual fools by nature, but the Bible can make one wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.25 Thus the Bible is sufficient for salvation.
Notes
25 In connection to 2 Timothy 3:15, please also see my On Good and Evil, where I correct an anti-intellectual misinterpretation of John 5:39-40.
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a. Sufficient for What?
Paul says that "the sacred writings" (NASB, ESV) are "able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus" (2 Timothy 3:15). Salvation is one of Scripture's chief concerns, and Paul affirms that it is "able" to give us the answer on this all-important topic. It asks the question, "If you, O LORD, kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could stand?" (Psalm 130:3). And then it answers, "But with you there is forgiveness" (v. 4). It tells us how God could be at the same time "just and the one who justifies" sinners (Romans 3:26).
Paul's statement about Scripture is made in contrast against the people described in 3:1-13. Among other things, these people are "men of depraved minds" (v. 8). They are "evil men and imposters" who are "deceiving and being deceived" (v. 13), "having a form of godliness but denying its power" (v. 5). Therefore, as Paul affirms the sufficiency of Scripture when it comes to salvation, he is at the same time condemning any form of religion and lifestyle that is not derived from it. It is the Bible that will lead us to salvation, and that will make us different from these evil men.
Scripture is the light of salvation. The Bible supplies us with the categories and concepts of good and evil, law and sin, salvation and damnation, and then it gives us the truth on these subjects. Apart from it, man remains trapped in darkness. Without it, man remains caged in by his own foolish speculation, so that there is no salvation for those who reject its teachings.
Human philosophy has been a dismal failure. Even if man manages to come up with the right questions, he certainly does not have the answers within himself, and all his striving is nothing more than the outworking of his blindness and rebellion, leading only to despair, death, and damnation. Accordingly, it is spiritual treason for professing Christians to concede that there is some wisdom in every religion and philosophy. To be double-minded on this issue is to weaken and confuse the message of salvation.
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The point is that the Bible tells us about its own purposes and powers, what it is for and what it can do. The Bible tells us what are the important things in life and what questions we should ask about them, and then it answers those questions. And since the Bible is the very word and mind of God, it is God who is saying these things to us.
Therefore, the Bible should define both the questions and the answers. It is authoritative and sufficient to tell us what questions to ask and then to answer those questions. The Bible is sufficient because it is at the same time God's revelation of the right questions and God's revelation of the right answers to those questions. If the Bible does not address something, then who says we need to know it? But if there is no need to know it, then how can the Bible be insufficient if it does not address it? In contrast, human philosophy asks the wrong questions, and then it cannot even answer those wrong questions.
Those who go to the Bible only for the answers and not the questions betray a feigned reverence. They are not treating God as God, but as a mere expert that they wish to consult in order to attain their own goals. Underlying all of this is their rebellion and unbelief – they either refuse to let God define their goals or they doubt that God's will is better, or both.
In our example, the goal of making a profit is so dear to the person's heart that rather than letting Scripture challenge or modify it, he would even shield it from Scripture. The goal is tenaciously held, and not open to question – he only wishes to know how to attain it. It so drives his agenda that he never even thought to ask the Bible whether it is right, or whether he is thinking about it the right way.
Again, here we are not at all considering what the Bible says about wealth and stocks, but we are making the point that the Bible should define both our questions and our answers at the very beginning of our thinking. We also mentioned a question about whom to marry. Applying our point to this question, we are saying that rather than carrying to the Bible all that the person thinks that he knows about marriage and then demanding it to tell him whom to marry on such a basis, the person should start by learning what the Bible teaches about God and man, then men and women, Christ and the Church, and the marriage covenant in general. Then, instead of demanding the Bible to answer a question that it never asked, or at least not in the way and with the assumptions that this person asks his question, the answer as to whom he should marry should be a logical application of what the Bible teaches about marriage.
A person who pays no attention when the Bible talks about what marriage is cannot expect to rightly derive an answer from the Bible as to whom he should marry. But for one who starts with the Bible on the subject, the answer is easy – applying what Scripture says about marriage to what providence has arranged around a person often eliminates all other possibilities except one.24 Pastors and counselors sometimes assume that the Bible offers only general guidance on the subject, but this is not true. The Bible gives very specific criteria and instructions, and providence never confuses us with too many options.
Consistent with what we are teaching here, in what follows even the idea of sufficiency is derived from our passage, and the questions "Sufficient for what?" and "Sufficient for whom?" are also thus derived. Paul tells us that the Scripture is God-breathed, and on this basis, it is useful or profitable, and also sufficient. But he tells us more than this, since he also mentions for what and for whom the Scripture is sufficient.
Of course, to learn all that for which Scripture is sufficient, one must read the entire Bible and note all the topics, situations, and people that it addresses. But our project is much more modest – we will limit ourselves to 2 Timothy 3 and 4.
Notes
24 See Vincent Cheung, "Unfading Beauty" in Renewing the Mind.
(to be continued)