Teaching and Reproof

The Bible exposes our sin in order to bring us to repentance, that we may enjoy God’s forgiveness and new life in Christ. Today, Sinclair Ferguson outlines the work of Scripture in teaching and reproving us.

Right at the end of yesterday’s podcast, I said that the Word of God isn’t inert and powerless. Paul actually says, “It is at work in you believers.” And if you’ve been a Christian for some time, you’ll probably be familiar with the Old Testament version of that statement, when God says that the Word that goes out of His mouth will not return to Him empty, but it shall accomplish that which He purposes and shall succeed in the thing for which He sent it. That’s Isaiah 55:11. And if you’re not familiar with it, it’s a verse worth memorizing. But when the Word of God works, what does it accomplish? That question brings Paul’s important words to Timothy to mind, I think, doesn’t it? I mean, what he says in 2 Timothy 3:16–17 about the Scriptures being breathed out by God and profitable.

The Greek word he uses there means “useful.” “Profitable,” in that sense. Paul uses it very rarely, but interestingly, always in the Pastoral Letters, the letters he wrote to the pastors Timothy and Titus. And here he is telling Timothy, and through Timothy ourselves, something very important. If something has a specific use, then we need to understand what that use is. So what’s the Word of God for? What’s it useful for? What does it accomplish? Well, Paul says several things: doctrine, or teaching; reproof, or convicting us of our faults; correction; and then for child training and righteousness. And Paul says, “When that is accomplished by the Word, we’ll be competent Christians equipped to serve the Lord in any and every situation.”

So, God’s Word teaches us doctrine. I hardly need to emphasize that again, because it’s really emphasized in everything that has the Ligonier name on it, isn’t it? Every message, every article in Tabletalk, every conference, every question-and-answer session, every podcast, everything is rooted in the notion that we are transformed by the renewing of our minds through the teaching of Scripture. Scripture works and God changes us through its teaching.

But then Paul adds a second word. The Word of God has another use: reproof. In other words, if we’re going to be healthy Christians, we’re going to need God’s treatment of our lives, some spiritual surgery, perhaps, dealing with the malignancies in our lives. So God’s Word is like a surgeon’s scalpel, whether He holds it in His hand or operates it by some providential means. And that’s the kind of healing that causes pain before it brings cure. So, God’s Word can hurt in order to heal.

In fact, it needs to hurt because we need to discover what’s wrong to experience conviction, reproof—that is, being made aware of our sin in order that we may learn our need of Jesus Christ. Paul isn’t just thinking here of how Timothy became a Christian. He repented years before. Remember how Martin Luther says in the very first of his famous Ninety-Five Theses that when our Lord Jesus Christ said “Repent,” He meant that the whole of the Christian life should be repentance. I wish every Christian understood that. Yes, repentance begins at conversion, but it’s not just a thing of the past. It goes through the rest of our lives. And that’s why we need the Word of God to continue to reprove us. Because the Christian life is an ongoing cycle of discovering our sinfulness in order that we may seek Christ, in order that we may experience God’s grace, in order that we may turn away from sin. And then as we grow and God’s Word does its work in us, we realize our sin goes down even deeper than we ever imagined. And it is exposed to us, we confess it, we receive forgiveness, and on and on. We live the Christian life convicted of our sin, confessing our sin, repenting of our sin, and enjoying forgiveness. That’s why when you’re reading the Bible, you should always hold it up as a mirror of your own soul and ask yourself, “Is there something amiss? Lord, are You pointing out my sin here?” And even saying, “Lord, it hurts to see how much I have failed You. Help me to turn to You again for Your forgiveness and turn away from my sin.” I wonder if even as I say that, God is touching your conscience. If that’s the case, then the Word of God is reproving you to bring you to repentance that you may enjoy His forgiveness and new life. I hope that’s the case.