Utility of the Scriptures

"All Scripture is inspired by God, and useful to teach, to convince, to correct, to instruct in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect and perfectly prepared for every good work" 2 Timothy 3: 16,17

Holy Scripture was given by God for our profit and our blessing. If it dwells in us, it is the source of everything, thoughts first, words and actions afterwards. It is useful for :

- Teaching : "All this was written so that you believed that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you have life by his name" (John 20:31). All the miracles performed by the Lord Jesus are not transcribed in the Scriptures, but each evangelist, led by the Holy Spirit, brings back many. Some people say that to believe God, they would have to witness a miracle, but John shows that the testimony of the gospels is sufficient to bring them to the faith.

- Convince : "All this I have written to you that you may know that you have eternal life, you who believe in the name of the Son of God" (1 John 5:13). Scripture itself convinces us of the divine nature of the teachings it brings. An authentic Christian might doubt his salvation, but that is not what God desires. On the contrary, the Bible gives the assurance that we have eternal life, if we believe in the name of the Son of God. This eternal life is a gift from God that does not depend on the thoughts, feelings or experiences of a Christian.

- Correct : "All these things came to them as types, and they were written to serve as a warning to us that the ends of ages have attained" (1 Cor 10:11). If God describes in his Word the journey of the people of Israel from Egypt, the land of slavery, to Canaan, a country of promise, it is to show us that today we face the same obstacles : covetousness , idolatry, fornication, complaints ... Serious warning !

- To instruct in righteousness : "All that was written before was done for our instruction, that we may hope through patience and consolation of the Scriptures." (Rom. 15.4) Nothing is useless or frivolous in the Scriptures. By their means we receive "instruction in wisdom, justice, righteous judgment, and righteousness" (Prov 1: 3). Thus the Christian, being "accomplished and perfectly prepared for every good work", will live a righteous life as a man of God.

Source (To pleasing the Lord)