The Word You Can Trust

II Timothy 3:12 Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.  But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through in Christ. 

Many of us know the verses which follow these, which are the final verses of the chapter: where scripture comes from and what it is good for.  Like with many well-known passages, we skip over the preceding context.  The chapter begins with an extended description of the godlessness of the last days.  But as followers of Christ we are to be distinctly different.  Despite people getting worse and life getting tough, we are to remember “what we have learned” and “from whom we learned it.” Timothy had learned the Old Testament and how it related to the unveiling new revelation being given through Paul and the other apostles and writers of Scripture.  Since God was the source and those who loved him were the vessels, he could trust in scripture despite what things looked like and felt like around him. The same is true for us today: we know Who is speaking; He loves us dearly; trust Him and His Word.