Lessons for Leaders
Lesson 20
“A Charge and a Champion”
2 Timothy 4:1-8
ID: Inductive Questions (Asking the text questions like who, what, where, when, why, & how?”)
CR: Cross References (Comparing Scripture to Scripture, understanding the vague by the clear.)
WS: Word Study (Understanding definition, theological meaning, and usages in other passages.)
The WORD: What does the Bible say?
Context: Read 2 Timothy 3:14-4:16 to pick up the context. Read the passage again in a more literal or
more dynamic translation than you usually use.
1. ID: (4:1) How is the Lord Jesus Christ described in this verse? How is that especially meaningful
to the next several verses?
2. ID: (4:2, 5) What things does Paul admonish Timothy to do? Which of these apply to the normal
church member?
3. WS: (4:2) What is the difference between preaching (kēryssō), convincing (elegchō), rebuking
(epitimaō), and exhorting (parakaleō)? (Hint: Comparing translations will be helpful.) In what kind
of situation would each be appropriate?
4. ID: (4:3-4) Why was it important to always be ready to preach, convince, rebuke, and exhort?
5. WS: (4:5) The word nēphō is translated “watchful”, “sober”, “steady”, and “clear minded” in
various translations. Do a word study. (1 Thessalonians 5:6, 8; 1 Peter 1:13; 4:7; 5:8)
6. ID/WS: (4:6-7) What do the metaphors in these verses teach us about how Paul viewed his life?
7. ID/CR: (16:8) What was laid up for Paul? (1Corinthians 9:25; Revelation 4:10) Who would give it
to him? When would he receive it? (References to “that day” and “appearing”)
The WALK: What should I do?
1.
2.
3.
4.
If Paul told you to “fulfill your ministry”, what would he want you to do?
When is the last time you did the “the work of an evangelist”?
How does the reality of a future judgment and rewards affect your priorities today?
How can we tell whether we love Christ’s appearing (compare with 4:10)? How can we increase
our eagerness for His coming?
5. CSBI: Do you remember times in this study when grammar, history, or literary forms have
affected our interpretation?
Going Beyond: 1. What crowns does the Bible talk about? (1 Cor. 9:24-25; 1 Thess. 2:19; 2 Tim. 4:8; James
1:12; Rev. 2:10; 1 Pet. 5:4) 2. What areas of theology are touched on in this passage?
 The Bible (Bibliology)  God (Theology Proper)  The Father (Paterology)
 The Lord Jesus Christ (Christology)  The Holy Spirit (Pneumatology)  Man (Anthropology)
 Salvation (Soteriology)  The Church (Ecclesiology)  Angels & Satan (Angelology)
 Future Things (eschatology)
Men’s Bible study
TULSA BIBLE CHURCH MEN’S MINISTRIES
Fall 2013/Spring 2014
Lessons for Leaders
Explaining Inerrancy: A Commentary on the
Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy by Dr. R.C. Sprouls (1980)
THE WORD OF GOD AND YOU
Discussion of inerrancy is merely an academic exercise unless it concerns the individual Christian on the level of his
growth in God. But this is precisely what it does. Confession of the full authority and inerrancy of Scripture should lead us
to increasing conformity to the image of Christ, which is the God-ordained goal of every Christian. The final Articles of
Affirmation and Denial deal with this matter, including the work of the Holy Spirit in helping the believer to understand
and apply the Scriptures to his or her life.
ARTICLE XVIII: INTERPRETATION
We affirm that the text of Scripture is to be interpreted by grammatico-historical exegesis, taking
account of its literary forms and devices, and that Scripture is to interpret Scripture.
We deny the legitimacy of any treatment of the text or quest for sources lying behind it that leads to
relativizing, dehistoricizing, or discounting its teaching, or rejecting its claims to authorship.
Article XVIII touches on some of the most basic principles of biblical interpretation. Though this article does
not spell out in detail a vast comprehensive system of hermeneutics, it nevertheless gives basic guidelines on
which the framers of the confession were able to agree.
The first is that the text of Scripture is to be interpreted by grammatico-historical exegesis. Grammaticohistorical is a technical term that refers to the process by which we take the structures and time periods of
the written texts seriously as we interpret them. Biblical interpreters are not given the license to spiritualize
or allegorize texts against the grammatical structure and form of the text itself. The Bible is not to be
reinterpreted to be brought into conformity with contemporary philosophies but is to be understood in its
intended meaning and word usage as it was written at the time it was composed. To hold to grammaticohistorical exegesis is to disallow the turning of the Bible into a wax nose that can be shaped and reshaped
according to modern conventions of thought. The Bible is to be interpreted as it was written, not
reinterpreted as we would like it to have been written according to the prejudices of our own era.
The second principle of the affirmation is that we are to take account of the literary forms and devices that
are found within the Scriptures themselves. This goes back to principles of interpretation espoused by
Luther and the Reformers. A verb is to be interpreted as a verb; a noun as a noun, a parable as a parable,
didactic literature as didactic literature, narrative history as narrative history, poetry as poetry, and the like.
To turn narrative history into poetry, or poetry into narrative history would be to violate the intended meaning
of the text. Thus, it is important for all biblical interpreters to be aware of the literary forms and grammatical
structures that are found within the Scripture. An analysis of these forms is proper and appropriate for any
correct interpretation of the text.
The third principle in the affirmation is that Scripture is to interpret Scripture. Historically, this principle is
called the “analogy of faith.” It rests on the previous affirmation that the Bible represents a unified,
consistent and coherent Word from God. Any interpretation of a passage that yields a meaning in direct
contradiction to another portion of Scripture is disallowed. It is when Scripture interprets Scripture that the
sovereignty of the Holy Spirit, the supreme interpreter of the Bible, is duly acknowledged. Arbitrarily setting
one part of Scripture against another would violate this principle. Scripture is to be interpreted therefore in
terms not only of its immediate context but also of the whole context of the Word of God.
The denial part of Article XVIII decries the propriety of critical analyses of the text that produce a
relativization of the Bible. This does not prohibit an appropriate quest for literary sources or even oral
sources that may be discerned through source criticism but draws a line as to the extent to which such
critical analysis can go. When the quest for sources produces a dehistoricizing of the Bible, a rejection of its
teaching or a rejection of the Bible’s own claims of authorship it has trespassed beyond its proper limits.
Men’s Bible study
TULSA BIBLE CHURCH MEN’S MINISTRIES
Fall 2013/Spring 2014
Lessons for Leaders
This does not prohibit the external examination of evidence to discover the authorship of books that go
unnamed in sacred Scriptures such as the epistle to the Hebrews. A search is even allowable for literary
traditions that may have been brought together by a final editor whose name is mentioned in Scripture. It is
never legitimate, however, to run counter to express biblical affirmations.
Men’s Bible study
TULSA BIBLE CHURCH MEN’S MINISTRIES
Fall 2013/Spring 2014