Hast Thou Known

2 Tim 3:15 And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. 

Acts 16:1 Then came he to Derbe and Lystra: and, behold, a certain disciple was there, named Timotheus, the son of a certain woman, which was a Jewess, and believed

2 Tim 1:5 When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also.  

Paul tells us here that Timothy knew the holy scriptures since he was a child.  His mother and his grandmother were believing Jews and raised him in in a Christian home and taught him the scriptures.  Timothy was not a Christian simply because his mother and grandmother were.  He was a Christian because he was raised up according to the Scriptures and taught the Holy Scriptures of God.  He came to know the truth about salvation through the Holy Scriptures.

Timothy obviously did not have the entire Bible in its complete form as we do today since the New Testament was still being written at this time.  But he did have the Old Testament scriptures.  Now let me ask you a question before we get started here.  Does it say that Timothy had the scriptures?  Yes.  Do you think Timothy had the originals?  No he did not.  Does it say that Timothy only had the basic ideas or principles of the Old Testament and not the actual inspired Words of God?  No!  It says that Timothy had the scriptures!  And if you don't believe that Timothy had preserved and inerrant copies of the OT scriptures then you don't believe the Bible because that's what the Bible says!

OK, now that I have gotten rid of all the non Bible-believers, let's get on with this.

2 Tim 3:15 And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. 

Wisdom is not just knowing something, but being able to apply that knowledge to avoid evil or to attempt good.  Timothy had been raised in the scriptures and became wise to salvation.  Since Timothy only had the Old Testament he was only able to learn about 99% of what he needed to know about salvation.  In fact, 99% of what you need to know about salvation can be learned in the first 3 chapters of the Bible.  Surprised?  You shouldn't be too shocked.  God knew most people wouldn't make it past the first 3 chapters anyway, so He had to work fast to catch people.  Let's take a look at the 99% of the plan of salvation that you can learn in Gen 1-3.

#1 Thou must know the God of the Bible

Gen 1:1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. 

There is one God and He is the Creator of everything.  It doesn't matter what Muhammed, Buddha or anyone else says, there is one God and He is the God of the Bible.

Gen 2:7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. 

No matter what your college professor or your high school or middle school teachers taught you, or what Hollywood or CBS, CNN, NBC, ABC or any of the others have said...God created man and breathed into his nostrils and man became a living soul!  God is your Creator and He didn't have to rely on evolution to help Him out!  And as your Creator, God has the right to be your Commander and your Judge!

Gen 2:16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: 
17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. 

God made the perfect place to live for Adam and Eve.  He gave them everything.  They could do anything they wanted all day and night and were to enjoy life to the fullest.  However, He gave them one command which, as the Creator and Commander, God had every right to do.  God told them not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil or they would die.  Most people today do not like to be told no.  They don't like thinking that there is someone in control of their life except themselves.  And just the thought of a God that has told them that they can't do something just makes them mad and they reject God because He has laid down some laws for them.  The problem with this is, people are too fixated on this part and they don't think about all the good things God has for them.  And they don't understand that God is Holy and Righteous and this is His world and His creation and He can do what He pleases.  Thankfully He loved us enough to provide us a way to be on His side.

#2 Hast thou known that thou art a sinner?

Gen 3:6  And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. 

We can see that we are all sinners because of this one event.  Even if you have deluded yourself into thinking that you are not a sinner, the first 3 chapters of the Bible will prove you wrong.  Because Adam and Eve took of the fruit of that tree and ate it, they were comdemned to a physical death as God said in Gen 2:17.  The way you know that you are also a sinner is because you will die someday.  There is not one person on this earth who can honestly say to himself that he will not die someday.  We all know that we are going to die someday, and the reason for our death is because of sin.  

Gen 3:7a And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; 

Whether people want to admit it or not there is shame in being naked.  Adam and Eve were naked before they ate that fruit but they just didn't know it because they didn't know right from wrong until they ate that fruit.  It was then that they realized they were naked and they knew it is wrong to be naked.

Gen 3:7b and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons. 8 And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden. 9 And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? 10 And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. 

Now that they had covered themselves, in man's eyes they were no longer naked.  They knew that being uncovered was wrong so they covered themselves to cover up what they had done.  They fashioned their own righteousness.  But their righteousness was no good in front of God, and they knew that as soon as God showed up in the garden.  

This is true for us today as well.  Many people are trying to sew their own fig leaf righteousness.  People take the sacraments, they give to charity, they join "do-gooder" clubs, they join churches, they tithe, they get baptized, but all of this is the same as the self righteousness of Adam and Eve.  It won't stand up in front of God.

Gen 3:9  And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? 10 And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. 11  And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat? 12 And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. 13 And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat. 

And there you have a perfect picture of your typical American.  It wasn't my fault.  It was my parent's fault, I had a rough childhood, I'm a minority, I'm the victim.  And on and on we can go.  Instead of accepting the consequences of our own actions we blame others just like Adam and Eve.  Instead of blaming others or blaming God why don't we take a look at ourselves and just admit that we are the problem?  Hast thou know that THOU art a sinner?  "Well maybe I'll just blame it on Adam and Eve."  Well go ahead, but let me ask you this.  Do you honestly think you would have done differently?  Until you are making the right decisions every day of your life, you can't honestly say that you wouldn't have eaten that fruit.  Don't blame Adam and Eve.  Take a look in the mirror and realize that you are just as much at fault as Adam and Eve.  If they hadn't been the first to sin, someone else would have.  And maybe it would have been you.

#3 Hast thou known that there is a provision?

Gen 3:21  Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them. 

God knew that Adam and Eve's coats of fig leaves were no good.  God provided them His own righteousness.  He shed the blood of an animal (possibly a lamb) and made coats of His righteousness to cover them.  God provided the righteousness and He applied the righteousness to them.  

God has done the same thing for us.  He has provided His righteousness for us through His Son Jesus Christ.  And this is the final part of what we must know from the scriptures to be wise unto salvation.  The last 1% is a small number, but it is the biggest and most important part.

2 Tim 3:15 And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. 

Jesus Christ is our way to receive God's righteousness to cover ourselves, to erase our sinful nature and to bring us into fellowship with Him.  You can continue to live your life fashioning your own fig leaf covering which will not be good enough in the end, or you can accept the perfect sacrifice and covering that God Himself provided you.  Will you accept Jesus today and give up your own attempts at self righteousness?