Firewall

The Plan

I started this blog post about two weeks ago.  Typically, these emerge out of my time with the Lord in my quiet time or my Bible study.  I will review my journal and look for something that really grabbed my attention.  Then I will go back to the passage to make sure that I am not misrepresenting the text.

When I turned to 2 Timothy 3:14 – 17 to review and check what I had written in my journal something happened that I hope has happened to you.  I was pulled into the text.  It would not let go of me.  In fact I have been thinking about this passage, well actually the entire chapter, for the past couple of weeks.

The Structure
In the NASB the first two words in 2 Timothy 3:14 are, “You, however…”  If you have been reading this blog much you will know that one of the things to which we continually return is the importance of observation in our engagement with the Bible.  Structure is incredibly powerful in aiding our observation of a text.  Here, Paul, uses a strong, emphatic contrast.  That contrast, begs the question, “What is Paul contrasting here?”  That question, of course, forces us to go back and reexamine the first part of the chapter.

When we look back there are several stunning elements in those previous verses that lend enormous weight to 2 Timothy 3:14 – 17.

In the next few days we will examine this in some detail.  In the meantime take some time, look at 2 Timothy 3, jot down your thoughts, and let’s compare notes.