Passing On The Legacy Of Faith

Lord God, Fill Me with a Spirit of Discipleship and Commitment, so that I may follow the path of the Cross Date: Saturday, March 27 Title: Passing On the Legacy of Faith The Bible Passage: 2 Timothy 3:10-17 Key Words: “All Scripture is God-breathed… so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16) A friend of mine grumbled about the disadvantages of being raised up in a Christian home. His earliest childhood memories were in Sunday school. Going to church is a weekly routine. He felt that his professed faith was ‘borrowed’ from his parents’ personal walk with God. Sometimes, familiarity breeds contempt… and boredom. There comes a time when he needs to work through his personal relationship with God and truly ‘owns’ the faith. But let us not forget the priceless advantages of a godly upbringing. The legacy of faithfulness and love from Christ-centered families is the most precious inheritance. Nearing the end of his life, the apostle Paul said to young Timothy, “Continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it” (v14). From whom did Timothy learn the Holy Scriptures since infancy? (v15) We have a clue that the sincere faith within him first dwelt in his mother Eunice and his grandmother Lois (2 Timothy 1:5). One reason why Timothy should hold firmly to the Scriptures is because the lives of these women gave credibility to what they taught him. They practiced what they preached. What an awesome privilege and responsibility for parents to instruct their children in the ways of God through word and deed! It’s not just theoretical “head knowledge”. The Spirit-inspired Word of God enables us to be wise unto salvation through faith in Christ and useful in equipping us for every kind of good work (v16). The effect is an intensely practical ‘training in righteousness’. Don’t neglect the God-breathed Scriptures. Pass on a legacy of faithfulness. Lord, Thy Word is truth. In an age of deception, only the truth gives us strength to live a godly life in Christ and press on in times of difficulty.

2 Timothy 3:10-17 Paul's Charge to Timothy 10

You, however, know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance, 11persecutions, sufferings—what kinds of things happened to me in Antioch, Iconium and Lystra, the persecutions I endured. Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them. 12In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, 13while evil men and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. 14But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, 15and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.