I don’t know many people who love the feeling of conviction, especially when it’s heavy and makes you buckle at the knees. It’s uncomfortable and weighs you down until you either confront and accept it, or distract yourself and avoid it completely.
This happened to me on Sunday. It was just a regular church service, nothing out of the ordinary, and the text verses were 2 Timothy 3:16-17: “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.” He talked about how all Scripture is inspired by God, and broke down these two verses very simply about the Bible and what it’s actually for. Through the sermon I started feeling the whole ‘God’s trying to speak to me’ feeling- I can’t really put into words how it feels, but when it happens, you just know.
Now, this has happened to me a couple of times in the last several months, and often I have done the less ideal option of handling conviction, and successfully avoided it. This one was unavoidable, and I felt such a huge weight on my soul that I felt like I’d been knocked to my knees. I knew this time that I had to confront what was hitting me and accept it, so I did, and I feel led to share it here. Let me break it down for you.
2 Timothy 3:16 says, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.” Did you know that the word ‘inspired’ literally means ‘divinely breathed’? Every word of the Bible is the divine breath of God- the God who breathes the very life into us. Genesis 2:7 says, “And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” God breathed life into the first man, and in Ezekiel 37 the Lord tells Ezekiel to prophecy over a valley of dry bones. Ezekiel 37:6 says, “And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the LORD.” They were dead until God breathed life into them; He raised up an army from piles of bones! GOD BREATHES LIFE.
Verse 16 starts by saying that the Bible is alive, by the very breath of God Himself. It continues by saying Scripture is profitable (beneficial; useful), and then proceeds to tell us 4 ways in which it is profitable:
1. Doctrine. Doctrine is the truth of God’s Word, the foundation of our belief, dogma, the principles by which we ought to live. The Bible is profitable for doctrine because it has every truth God has revealed to us as Christians. It is the very core of our belief, and will benefit you if you read it. I admit that I have become very lazy in my walk with God; I’ve stopped reading my Bible and am very slack with prayer. This week I am taking the first steps to rectify that. I know what I believe, but I need it engrained even more in my mind and on my heart.
2. Reproof. Reproof is what is wrong, how we should not behave and conduct ourselves, and what causes our hearts to be pricked when we sin. The Bible is profitable for reproof because it tells us exactly what not to do, and why. It keeps us accountable and teaches us that we need to take the blame for what we do wrong. Proverbs 12:1 says, “Whoso loveth instruction loveth knowledge: but he that hateth reproof is brutish.” The word ‘brutish’ there literally means ‘course, cruel, stupid’. If you reject a constructive reprimand, you are, quite simply, stupid. Proverbs 15:5 echoes this, saying, “A fool despiseth his father’s instruction: but he that regardeth reproof is prudent.” Prudent means ‘cautious, considers consequences, taking thought for the future’. Folks, be humble and accept reproof. I say that to myself as much as anyone else, if not more- it’s been a weak spot of mine for a long time and I need to work on that.
3. Correction. We are all going to make mistakes, and when we do, we have to make it right- we correct it. When we sin, we break our fellowship with God. When Jesus died and the curtain tore, we were given direct access to God Himself and as Christians, we can live in constant communion (intimate connection in a deep and meaningful way) with Him. The issue, however, is our sin because when we sin, the communion is interrupted. Unconfessed sin or wrongs that need to be made right can hinder our relationship with God, according to Isaiah 59:1-2: “Behold, the LORD’S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.” But if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive them, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9), the with the correction made, communion with God will be restored. This is a huge thing in my life at the moment. Not necessarily unconfessed sin, but lack of effort on my part. My communion with God has been interrupted because I refused to listen to Him or read my Bible. I encourage you to search the Scriptures and find out what you need to do to correct the wrongs in your life, and again, I say that as much to myself as to you, my friends.
4. Instruction to righteousness. Proverbs 4:13 says, “Take fast hold of instruction; let her not go: keep her; for she is thy life.” God’s instruction is what we most need in life, we need to let Scripture be our instruction manual for life and allow it to show us how to handle every situation. Hear instruction, be wise, and don’t refuse it (Proverbs 8:33). A lot of us don’t like instruction, and would prefer to navigate life ourselves. We demonstrate that regularly by refusing to read instruction manuals for assembling something! But if we love and respect God’s instruction manual for us, He will help us navigate life as we walk side by side with Him daily.
This verse doesn’t only show us four ways in which the Bible is profitable, but it also shows us the order in which these things go so that it can be profitable to us. It shows us what is right, what is wrong, how to repair that which is wrong and make it right, and then how to stay right.
The whole point of verse 16 is shown in verse 17: “That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.” The Bible isn’t just for salvation- it teaches us how to live in a way that is pleasing to God, and it arms us and makes us ready for battles when the time comes. “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” – Ephesians 6:12. If we follow the instruction of the Bible, we will be fully equipped, because we don’t fight battles against man, but against evil, and the dark, spiritual forces.
Also you may have read the word ‘throughly’ as ‘thoroughly’, but it is actually throughly, which means to finish, to complete, to be fully furnished, completely ready. “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” – Philippians 1:6. God has begun a good work in us, and He will not stop until it is complete, and on that perfect day, we will be with Him forever, and the communion will never again be interrupted.
Friends, this has all be weighing heavy on my heart since hearing the message yesterday at church, and I don’t know who else needs to hear it or if anyone, like me, needs a nudge to get their life spiritually back on track. But I believe God asked me to share this, so I pray that it reaches the one He intends it for, just like it reached me yesterday.
Conviction is a tough thing. Along with this message, one of the songs we sang yesterday was Draw Me Nearer, and it’s a favourite of mine. I haven’t heard or sung it in a long time, but the words brought me to tears, and I’d like to share them with you before I finish.
I am Thine, O Lord, I have heard Thy voice,
And it told Thy love to me;
But I long to rise in the arms of faith,
And be closer drawn to Thee.
Refrain:
Draw me nearer, nearer, nearer, blessed Lord,
To the cross where Thou hast died;
Draw me nearer, nearer, nearer, blessed Lord,
To Thy precious, bleeding side.
Consecrate me now to Thy service, Lord,
By the pow’r of grace divine;
Let my soul look up with a steadfast hope,
And my will be lost in Thine. [Refrain]
Oh, the pure delight of a single hour
That before Thy throne I spend,
When I kneel in prayer, and with Thee, my God,
I commune as friend with friend! [Refrain]
There are depths of love that I cannot know
Till I cross the narrow sea;
There are heights of joy that I may not reach
Till I rest in peace with Thee. [Refrain]
I used to live in the peace of God, and I miss that. Today a friend and I decided to be accountability partners in our spiritual walks and encourage one another, and if you don’t have someone to walk the road with you, I encourage you to reach out and ask someone. I’ve got a lot of wrong in my life, and this is me declaring that I am determined to correct that. It’s never too late. Remember- the Bible is the divine breath of God, and it is life itself. And you can have that life yourself. Don’t walk away from conviction. Confront it, accept it, and own it. Let God work.
How are you and God going?
Love,
Julie
