2 Timothy 3:13-17 …defining scripture

2 Timothy 3:13-17 (HCSB)

¹³ Evil people and impostors will become worse, deceiving and being deceived. 

Something “evil” or wicked is anything that stops something or someone from being able or capable of fulfilling their Divine purpose.

¹⁴ But as for you, continue in what you have learned and firmly believed. You know those who taught you, ¹⁵ and you know that from childhood you have known the sacred Scriptures, which are able to give you wisdom for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 

The is one thing blatantly obvious in this statement: Timothy would have been taught from the Tanakh, or what is labeled as the  “Old Testament”. Paul is telling Timothy to stand firm in his teachings that he had received as a child. The next verse tells why….

¹⁶ All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness, ¹⁷ so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

Following the Tanakh, or “Old Testament”, according to Paul, is what:
a) teaches a man
b) rebukes men
c) corrects men
d) trains men in righteousness

Should’nt the “church” of today be focused a little more on it?

Look at Romans 3:31 “Do we then cancel the law through faith? Absolutely not! On the contrary, we uphold the law.”

What is the “law”? The word “law” in Hebrew is Torah which means instructions. These are also called the Pentateuch and are the first 5 books of the Tanakh. These are what Paul is telling Timothy give him wisdom.