The "Salutary Uses" of the Scripture

The Receptive Life: Learning How to Receive All of the Gifts That Only the Triune God Can Give

10/15/21 • 7 min

Welcome to our new vlogcast series, How to Read, Understand and Make Use of the Scriptures.

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NIV)

As the Apostle Paul declares, all of Scripture is useful for ...

proclaiming right teaching about the Triune God
rebuking and refuting the false teaching of the devil and his agents of deception
correcting wrong living
encouraging, exhorting and training in right living
and they always point to the person and work of Jesus for the forgiveness of sins

For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope. (Romans 15:4 NIV)

The Holy Spirit Helps Us Answer the Two Main Questions

If you feel like the Bible is an intimidating, overwhelming, daunting and closed book, take heart! We don't read the Scriptures alone.

As we open the Bible, we have the promise that the Holy Spirit will be the Real Teacher. The very One who gave "God-/Breathed Words" to the prophets, evangelists and apostles, will help us understand and make use of the Scriptures.

He will open our minds and help us answer two basic questions:

What does this portion of Scripture mean? What is God saying in and through the words of the text? What is the content of the words and sentences and paragraphs? What’s the context of His revelation? How do I interpret the text and find the Triune God’s one intended meaning?
How does God want to apply these words to me? What gift do these words offer? What work does God want to do through them? Does He want to reveal/convict me of my sin? Does He want to reveal and offer the forgiveness of sins in Jesus? What is the Scripture’s “salutary use” for my life?

As the Psalmist prays, "Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law." (Psalm 119:18)

Paul

Here's a list of links to help you navigate through past videos or other digital resources:

email vlog (sign up)
paulwarndt.com
new ekklesia site (video resources in a "netflix" format)
"eXPlain it" portal (digital resources in curriculum format)

10/15/21 • 7 min

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