Hello again, friends. I'm your host, Wayne Shepherd. Welcome you back to Encounter God's Truth. We're sharing significant thoughts that will help guide you through this new year. Today, we're going to listen to Dr. John Whitcomb, our founder and a Bible scholar for seven decades. He developed this presentation called The Importance of Biblical Theology. This subject is sorely needed in today's world. Many of us are seriously concerned with the trends in our culture that are pulling us away from the standards of God's truth. The amazing reality is that the Apostle Paul, writing by inspiration, anticipated such temptations and gave us the remedy for dealing with them. Coming now to teach us is Dr. Whitcomb. Later, he'll take us to the pastoral epistles for guidance. But he begins by turning to Acts chapter 19, verse 8, with a look at Paul at the school of Tyrannus. Our teaching today reinforces the concept that God's word is true from the beginning to the end. Friends, I invite you to consider the amazing ministry the Apostle Paul had in the city of Ephesus, which is today the western part of the nation of Turkey. This is his third missionary journey. And when he arrived at this great metropolitan area in Ephesus, the first thing he did, which he always tried to do, was to enter the synagogue of the Jews, to give them first the opportunity to believe in Christ as their Messiah and their Lord through Israel. Salvation, remember, Jesus said to the Samaritan woman, salvation is of the Jews. Even though he was an apostle to the Gentiles, he had a great burden as a Jewish believer himself to reach these dear chosen people of God with the gospel. So we read in Acts 19, verse eight, And he entered the synagogue. See, when the temple was destroyed back there in 586 by Nebuchadnezzar, when the Jews came back from Babylon, they built a second temple. But during that period of 70 years in Babylon, they had to gather together and have little worship places in their homes. Synagogues, they were called. Places of gathering to listen to the law of the Lord. Now listen to what happened. All over the Roman Empire, there were synagogues. places where Jews would gather to be taught the word of the Lord. So he entered the synagogue and continued speaking out boldly for three months. That's amazing that the Jews in that synagogue would tolerate the apostle Paul that long. Usually they threw him out after a couple of weeks. Now listen to this. He was reasoning and persuading them about the kingdom of God. In the great synagogue there in Ephesus, for three whole months, Paul taught them about the kingdom of God. You know, I'll never forget how I was taught about the kingdom of God by my professor of theology when I went to theological seminary years and years ago. Alva J. McLean spent much of his life preparing a magnificent book on the greatness of the kingdom. What is the kingdom? We need to understand that, don't we? Because when Jesus rose from the dead, look what he taught the apostles in Acts chapter one. It says he appeared to them over a period of 40 days and speaking of the things concerning the kingdom of God. Wouldn't you like to have a tape recording of those messages? the kingdom that is coming to this earth, thy kingdom come, thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven, with Jesus as the King of kings and Lord of lords for a thousand years. And of course, spiritually speaking, we enter the kingdom by faith right now. We're counted as members of that kingdom program, which we'll be functioning as kings and priests under Christ for a thousand years. But the kingdom has a certain aspect to it now. Every born again Christian has been transferred into the spiritual authority and identity of kingdom citizens. Now, it becomes at times a little complicated to see exactly what God is going to do in that kingdom. So he spent three months there talking about that. But how sad, how sad. Look what happened. Some were becoming hardened and disobedient. That's Acts 19, 9. Speaking evil of the way. You remember Jesus said, I'm the way, the true, and the life. Can you imagine Jews doing that? Speaking evil of the way before the multitude. Well, instead of saying, well, I'll just modify my message so we can have unity and peace here. He did what? He did the right thing. He separated from these people and started his own school. See what he did? He withdrew from them. and took away the disciples who were willing to be taught. How many there were, we don't know. Maybe at the beginning, only a handful. What did he do with these disciples? He reasoned daily in the school of Tyrannus. Apparently, there in Ephesus, there was a schoolhouse available at certain hours in the afternoon, maybe, owned by a man named Tyrannus. And he perhaps rented that building. We don't know how that happened, or how many hours a day he could use it. But look what he did. He did this for two solid years. Can you imagine what those lectures might have been like? One theologian estimates he may have taught for over 3,000 hours. My, what I would give for a set of those tapes, for those lectures, going obviously through the whole Old Testament, the prophecies of Jesus. You remember the two on the road to Emmaus? Jesus said, oh, fools of the slow of heart to believe all the prophets have spoken. And beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he spoke to them of the things concerning himself. That, friends, is the dynamic of Bible study, Christ-centered messages, and how the kingdom functions with Christ as the King of kings and Lord of lords. Two full years. Now, what was the result of that? This is shocking. This is astounding. Listen. This took place for two years so that all who lived in Asia That's the whole province of which Ephesus was a major city. All who heard in Asia heard the word of the Lord both Jews and Greeks. Now how could that be? May I suggest how this chain reaction occurred? This is a dynamic, of course, of the Great Commission Jesus had given in Matthew 28 also. If you teach somebody everything the Bible says about Jesus, the Lord Jesus, he'll be so thrilled, he'll take the message to somebody else, his family, his neighbors, and they in turn will take the message to somebody else, family and neighbors, a chain reaction. One on one, two on two, four by four. And this has been calculated frequently. If you just tell the gospel carefully, To one person a week, in the time of a whole year, look how many people have been won. Not necessarily to the Savior, but they've been won to the point of listening to what Jesus has done and who he is. And the message spreads. Not everybody believed, you see, but everybody heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks. My, what a powerful outreach that became. And I say, Lord, in whatever situation I find myself, help me to be careful to be sure that I'm telling somebody what you told me, that I may so excite them and thrill them and fill them with joy at hearing something about Jesus Christ and about salvation and eternal life, that they will just automatically, intuitively go out and tell somebody else what they've learned. Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could say something like this? And so this particular Bible school or this particular church or this particular home where believers live was so used of God that the message went out and people all over that area heard the word of the Lord. What a joyous privilege that would be to be part of the great commission of our Lord Jesus Christ wherever he puts us on this planet Earth. The Apostle Paul elaborated on what it means to be a part of that Great Commission work of our Lord Jesus Christ. Listen now as Dr. Wickham explains further from 2 Timothy chapter 2. Friends, I invite you to listen to one of my favorite verses of the New Testament. If I have a life verse, this might be it. It's the Apostle Paul's application of the Great Commission of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, something serious is going to be mentioned here. That's why he introduces it with a very strong statement to his favorite disciple, Timothy, in the last letter he ever wrote. "'You therefore, my son,' said Paul to Timothy, "'be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.'" Something you need strength to do. Skip down to the third verse. Listen to this. suffer hardship with me as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. Something is going to be requiring strength and courage. What is it? Now listen here. The things, verse two, the things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, these entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. You say, what do you mean that's Paul's application of the Great Commission of Jesus? Well, if you turn back to Matthew 28, the last couple verses of the book Gospel of Matthew, you'll hear what the Lord Jesus Christ told us to do. Here's His great commission. Now listen carefully. And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit now listen to what we're supposed to do now teaching them that is all the nations of the world everybody in the world to observe what? all that I commanded you the whole Bible I mean the whole Bible ultimately came from Jesus through the Holy Spirit and lo I am with you always. Well, thank you, Lord, because what you told us is impossible. How can I teach everybody in the world everything you said? Impossible. But God says, dear child, listen to me. I'm with you. Ah, that's the difference. Paul, you know, said, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. But I can't do anything without him. Without me, Jesus said, you can do nothing. Watch the connection. You and Jesus, I and Jesus together doing the Great Commission. teaching them to do what? To observe all that I commanded you. And lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." What a commission that is! So the Apostle Paul, implementing that, for his favorite disciple, puts it in different terms, but the same basic thought. Now listen carefully. He said to Timothy, 2 Timothy 2.2, the things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses. He had many fellow servants like Silas and Barnabas and so forth that went with him in his missionary journeys, you remember. These Entrust to faithful men, not just some of them, not just the most popular things, the easy things, the most pleasant things. The things, everything that I taught you, you are to do what? Entrust to faithful men, not just everybody, to faithful men. You say, what are faithful men? Answer, men who will be able to teach others also. You see, here's the chain reaction that sweeps the world of mankind. Each one, teach one, teach one. You say, Lord, help me to implement that in my life. Beginning, of course, with my own family, my own children, grandchildren, help me in any way possible to give them materials, helps, Bible study materials, to understand what you meant by what you said in the only book you've ever written, The Great Commission of the Lord Jesus Christ, Implemented, Supplemented, Explained by the Apostle Paul. Now, Paul, of course, is referring back to what he had just said to Timothy in chapter one. He said, for this reason, Timothy, I suffer these things, but I'm not ashamed. 2 Timothy 1, verse 12, I'm not ashamed, for I know whom I believed, and am convinced that he, Jesus, is able to guard what I've entrusted to him until that day. Therefore, he says to Timothy, retain the standard of sound words which you have heard from me in the faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. Guard through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us the treasure which has been entrusted to you. Now, Paul, in his last letter writing from prison, you remember, in Rome, where he was to die, adds this sad footnote in 2 Timothy 1.15. He said to Timothy, you are aware of the fact that all who are in Asia turned away from me and named some people. How sad. He spent several years, I remember, started a whole school of theology, the school of Tyrannus, and taught everything God has said in the Bible to those disciples who are willing to learn and listen. Well, what does it mean then when he says, all they of Asia have turned away from me? They hadn't lost their salvation. but they lost their respect for him, his standards, his absolute unswerving obedience to God's word. They had become more relaxed, more liberal in their thinking. You remember how the Apostle John accused them of leaving their first love, Revelation chapter two. How sad. Friends, the mark of a true disciple is not necessarily how popular or How many thousands of people look up to you? No. You may end with only a handful of people who say, Sir, I agree with you. I stand with you in your handling of God's precious word. We're not proud or arrogant of the fact, friends, we don't go around trying to make enemies or make things difficult for people. We just say, Lord, help me graciously, patiently, prayerfully to commit to people who are teachable. who are open to God's Word, everything you've entrusted to me. That's sort of one of my mottos, friends. Everything you learn, tell somebody else. Prayerfully, patiently, prayerfully, tell somebody else who will be willing to listen. What a joy it is to have a disciple like Paul had in Timothy, who will do that. So Paul then went on to explain how to do this to Timothy. 2 Timothy 2, verse 15. Here it is. Are you ready, friend? Be diligent. to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed. My, well, what do I have to do to have that blessing, to have that assurance? Answer, handling accurately the word of truth. Pray to God to help you find exactly what each verse, each word of the Bible means. Have a concordance, have a good Bible dictionary, have a good Bible, a study Bible with cross-references. Look up verses. The Bible, remember, is its own best interpreter, not what some scholar has said necessarily. We don't despise Bible scholars. Some of them are helpful. Many pastors are very helpful. But the main thing is you yourself, even if you're not a pastor or a teacher, search the scriptures daily to see if these things are so. So you will not be ashamed because you've done what? You've handled accurately the word of truth and teach others also. that they might, in a chain reaction around the world, reach every person on this planet with the true gospel of ours, the Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. The true gospel, of course, is at the heart of true theology. But what are some more of these things that we are to teach to faithful men who shall be able to teach others also? Dr. Whitcomb returns now to explain more about the substance of biblical theology and about the dangers of turning away from it. He looks back at 2 Timothy chapter 1, leading us back into chapter 2. Wayne, we're so aware, aren't we, of the gradual and yet almost universal decline of spiritual discernment in Christian theology. Second Law of Ecclesiastical Thermodynamics is a word I sometimes, we're drifting down, not up. And therefore, we need special help at a time like this to be faithful to the Lord. Listen to what Paul said to his favorite disciple, Timothy, in his last letter. Second Timothy, chapter one, verse eight. Do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, said Paul to Timothy, or of me, his prisoner. He's in prison, remember, in Rome, ready to die for his faith. But join with me in suffering for the gospel according to the power of God. In Satan's world, friend, with billions of people with sin natures, someone who stands faithfully, even graciously, for the truth, will suffer for it some way or other. Isn't that sad? But listen now, here's the good news. Chapter 1 of 2 Timothy, verse 9. He saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, thank God for that, but according to His own purpose and grace, which is granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity. Look how this worked out in history. and now has been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus. He has appeared. 2,000 years he appeared in Bethlehem. He appeared in the Holy Land. Unbelievable, amazing, astounding. God meant what he said thousands of years earlier. He would send his son all the way back to Genesis 3.15 who would crush the serpent, Satan. And what has he done? He has abolished death. and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. Friends, death is not the end of everything. It may be for animals, but not for humans that bear the image and likeness of God. Spiritual death is the problem, not just physical death. And Jesus came to abolish death. How? By the cross, the payment on the cross. That's the gospel. Now, listen carefully. Here's where we come into this, friends. Verse 11, for which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle and a teacher. What a privilege he had to reflect the light of Jesus into people's lives. Did he have to pay a price for that? He sure did. For this reason, I also suffer these things. Remember, he's in prison, ready to be executed. But I'm not ashamed, just like he said to Timothy, don't be ashamed. Verse eight, I'm not ashamed. For I know whom, not just what, I know whom I have believed and I'm convinced that he, God is able to guard What I have entrusted to Him until that day, my eternal destiny, my hope and expectation of heaven, I can't manage it myself. I can't make it work out myself. I've entrusted my soul to Him until that day. So Timothy, what are we supposed to do in the light of that? Careful now, careful, listen. Verse 13, retain, hold fast, the what? The standard of sound words, healthy words, divinely inspired words. All scripture is given by inspiration of God, dear friends, all of it, from Genesis to Revelation. Which you have heard from me, says Paul to Timothy, in the faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. And therefore, in the light of that, what is Timothy to do? What must you and I do? Guard through the Holy Spirit, not in your own wisdom, by the Holy Spirit's enabling, illuminating, enlightening instruction, guidance, encouragement. Guard through the Holy Spirit, who dwells in us, the treasure which has been entrusted to you. What a treasure, eternal life, through the finished work of Christ on the cross, his resurrection from the dead, his ascension to heaven, His session at the right hand of the Father in heaven, His promise to come again, night or day, moment by moment, are you ready? He can call us out of this world to Himself. That's the blessed, blessed hope, to be like Him when we see Him as He is. What a treasure God has entrusted to us. But you know, friends, He paid a price for this, didn't He? Not just that He was in prison, but all the disciples that He had made while He was in Asia, especially when he taught for two years, you remember, in the school of Tyrannus, night and day, I don't know how many hours a day, for two solid years. Listen to what he says, only a few years after he's been in prison. "'You are aware of the fact,' he said to Timothy, "'that all who are in Asia turned away from me.'" Wait a minute, all who are in Asia, what happened to all of his disciples? Well, they didn't lose their salvation, we may be sure of that. They lost their what? Their profound respect, appreciation of the kind of Christian life Paul lived. They were obviously once saved, they're always saved, but there was a drifting away, as we find, of course, in Revelation chapter two, the church at Ephesus had left their what? Their first love. Not just for Paul, but for the Lord Jesus, too. We see it everywhere around us, friends. People gradually compromising, drifting away, step by step, day by day, from the things that they had been taught, by which means they were saved, and entered permanently into the body of Bride of Christ. That's why, friends, we must face Him at the Bema, the Judgment Throne. Someday that'll happen, won't it? 1 Corinthians 3. We'll give an account to Him, not only of what we've done, what we've taught, what we've written, what we've said, but what we have done in our heart, in our soul, our conscience. The motives behind what we've done. Retain the standard of sound words, Timothy," said Paul. Guard that through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, the treasure which has been entrusted to you. What a treasure, the unspeakable gift of eternal life, the guarantee, friends, that not by works of righteousness, which we've done, but by His grace, we're saved. And I say, this is harder than ever, isn't it, to make clear to people in this world, as the church age obviously is coming to an end, but a time to be faithful, to be a light reflector into the deepening darkness of people around us. So what, friends, must we do in the light of what is going to happen in this world and in the Church? Paul says it, and this is my life verse, if any is, 2nd chapter, verse 1. You, therefore, my son, said Paul to Timothy, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. Something's going to happen here that he needs strength. Yes, in verse three, suffer hardship with me as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. Something's gonna be a battle or war here. What is this? The Great Commission, as Paul restates it. Second Timothy 2.2. These things, Timothy, which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, not just from me, these, these things, all these things, nothing but these things, entrust to whom? Not just everybody, but to faithful men. Well, who are faithful men? there are men who will be able to teach others also. There it is, friends, to multiply, to pass on the message one by one, day by day, until Jesus comes. Busy fulfilling the great commission to make disciples of all nations, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you. And Jesus said it, didn't he? Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. That's the voice of Dr. John Whitcomb teaching us today on Encounter God's Truth, a production of Whitcomb Ministries, which exists to declare timeless truths for changing times. Find us online at WhitcombMinistries.org. I'm Wayne Shepherd, thanking you for joining us as we prepare for another new year together. So, how do we carry out an effective ministry of multiplication, this effort to make an impact through sharing God's truth that we looked at today? I ask Dr. Whitcomb to offer his closing thoughts from the book of Titus, appropriate for the start of a new year. So Wayne, in these final days before the coming of Christ, listen to what Paul wrote to his disciple Titus. Titus 2.1, as for you, speak the things which are fitting for sound doctrine. Older men, tempered, dignified, sound in faith. Then down here in verse seven, in all these things show yourself to be an example of good deeds with purity in doctrine. Notice how many times he says doctrine, doctrine, truth, precious word of God. Titus 2.11, listen to this, for the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, thinking that the whole human race was the object of God's love, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for what? The blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of the great God and Savior, Christ Jesus. Think of how great he is, friends. Listen to this. He gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for himself a people for his own possessions, zealous for good deeds. Friend, is that your experience? Is that the basis for your hope? God bless you as you look to Jesus, who will supply every need now and forever. To study more biblical theology all year long, join us at sermonaudio.com slash Whitcomb, where you'll find hundreds of Dr. Whitcomb's messages and broadcasts, many of them on themes related to our program today. You can also keep up with news about our ministry and find items for your daily edification at facebook.com slash Whitcomb Ministries. We invite you back for more biblical encouragement next time, right here on Encounter God's Truth. Until then, may the Lord bless you this new year.