One Application of the Concept of Training in Righteousness

Some years ago I wrote two short pieces: Aging While Christian and Aging Gracefully and Gratefully. Then recently, our pastor spent two weeks on Psalm 71 and other appropriate passages.
Our notes from his messages follow, as well as  my vintage pieces.

I connect these, as all pertain to aging as believers.

My notes on Psalm 71 state it deals with the concerns of old age, the reality of life, seeing trials through seasoned eyes.

Knowing the true, tested faithfulness of God, the psalmist is facing yet another difficulty. Having experienced God's loyal love, he turns to God when again encountering enemies. We are not exempt from trials any more than the psalmist was.

We need to have a settled principle of life, confidence in our refuge/rock/fortress, to deal with situations one by one, turning toward and trusting God. God is faithful. Our settled faith is based on the nature of God. We need to do deep spiritual thinking in anticipation.

Our pastor commented on the importance of our being able to do as the psalmist here, to say as the psalmist: "For You are my hope, O Lord God, You are my confidence from my youth. By You I have been sustained from my birth; You are He who took me from my mother's womb; my praise is continually of You" (71:5-6; NASB).

We need to begin trusting truly in Him from our youth, developing over time the trust of the psalmist, who also declares: "O God, You have taught me from my youth, and I will still declare Your wondrous deeds" (71:17; NASB).

Then when we are older and face difficulties, as surely we will, it is with confidence in His proven faithfulness that we can cry out: "Do not cast me out in the time of old age; do not forsake me when my strength fails," knowing He will not fail us (71:9; NASB).

Even as the psalmist was aging, he still faced enemies, as will we. What is our response?

"But as for me, I will hope continually, and I will praise You yet more and more. My mouth shall tell of your righteousness and of Your salvation all day long; for I do not know the sum of them. I will come with the mighty deeds of the Lord GOD; I will make mention of Your righteousness, Yours alone" (71:14-16; NASB).

If we have experienced His faithfulness, as the psalmist did, we will say as he did: "You who have shown me many troubles and distresses, will revive me again, and will bring me up from the depths of the earth.... I will also praise You with a harp, even Your truth, O my God; to You I will sing praises with the lyre, O Holy One of Israel. My lips will shout with joy when I sing praises to You; and my soul, which You have redeemed" (71:20, 22-23; NASB).

And from another sermon by Pastor Don Green, "As the People of God Age" (my husband Garry took notes). We need to be on the path to get to the end, to be prepared for challenges and for opportunities, meeting challenges with faith. Believers are not exempt from aging, and have to deal with things in weakness. We may not have an easy retirement; not entitled to ease at any time in life, c.f. John 16:33. Meeting opportunities with faith; don't stop running the race before you finish the race. Time to step up and have influence and pass on knowledge and experience, c.f. Prov. 16:31. Older believers can know God has been faithful, c.f. 1 Cor. 15:58.

Aging While Christian (English Standard Version Scripture references)--a vintage piece

Psalm 92:12-15: "The righteous flourish like the palm trees and grow like a cedar in Lebanon. They are planted in the house of the LORD; they flourish in the courts of our God. They still bear fruit in old age; they are ever full of sap and green, to declare that the LORD is upright; he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him."

2 Corinthians 4:7-10: "But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies."

2 Corinthians 4:16-5:9: ""So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being  renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen, but to the things which are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things which are unseen are eternal.

For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling, if indeed by putting it on we may not be found naked. For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened--not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.

So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So whether we are at home of away, we make it our aim to please him."

Aging gracefully and gratefully--a second vintage piece

"Aging gracefully" seems to mean adapting to changes in our bodies--or someone else's.

Aging gracefully is more than a physical thing for believers.

Aging gracefully means aging within the grace of God; holding fast to the Father with both hands--trust and obedience; holding fast to the Word in flesh and the Word in print; holding fast to the Spirit who holds fast to us--our seal of present and future glorification (Christ-likeness).

"Aging gratefully" means facing the truth of His Word and embracing it (here I quoted 2 Corinthians 4:16-5:9; see that in previous piece.)

How Scripture Profits Us (Part 5)

Paul wrote to Timothy, "All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness" (2 Tim. 3:16; NASB).

So far I have looked at "All Scripture," "profitable for teaching," "profitable for reproof," and "profitable for correction." Now we look at "profitable for training in righteousness."

One place to consider is 2 Peter 1:2-11: "Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus Christ our Lord; seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust. Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in in your moral excellence, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins. Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things you will never stumble; for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied for you."

Our training in righteousness is possible, because, as Peter wrote, "His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence."

What does our training involve? "Applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love."

We are to apply all diligence at all levels: faith, moral excellence, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love, with each of those qualities building on the other.

"For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins. Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things you will never stumble; for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied for you."

Who does not desire to be more useful and fruitful and have a greater true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ?

Who wants to be blind spiritually, short-sighted, or forgetful regarding their purification from their former sins?

Diligence and practice are key. But we are not alone in these.

See what Paul wrote to the Philippians: "So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure" (2:12-13).

See what the author of Hebrews stated: "For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is an infant. But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil" (5:12-14).

As the writer of Hebrews would later state: "All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteouesness" (12:11).

God is at work as we work--as we practice to discern, to accept His discipline, to anticipate the eventual yield of the peaceful fruit of righteousness.

(In John 15:1-2, 4-5, Jesus says, "I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit.... Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me, and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing."

And Paul in Galatians 5:22-23a says, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.")

How Scripture Profits Us (Part 4)

Paul wrote to Timothy, "All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness" (2 Tim. 3:16; NASB)

This post is the fourth in a series. The first dealt with "All Scripture," the second with "profitable for teaching," and the third, "profitable for reproof."

How does "profitable for correction" differ from "profitable for reproof"? Let's look at some passages.

In Leviticus 26, the Lord lays out rewards for obedience and punishments for disobedience. Beginning with verse 11, there is a series of "if"s and "in spite of"s. In these we find the following: "If in spite of these things you do not accept my correction but continue to be hostile toward me, I myself will be hostile toward you and will afflict you for your sins seven times over" (26:23; NIV).

In Job, Eliphaz speaks to Job: "Blessed is the one whom God corrects; so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty" (5:17; NIV).

Job responds to Eliphaz: "Teach me, and I will be quiet; show me where I have been wrong. How painful are honest words! But what do your arguments prove? Do you mean to correct what I say, and treat my desperate words as wind?" (6:24-26; NIV).

Later, Elihu speaks to Job: "God is mighty, but despises no one; he is mighty and firm in his purpose. He does not keep the wicked alive but gives the afflicted their rights. He does not take his eyes off the righteous; he enthrones them with kings and exalts them forever. But if people are bound in chains, held fast by cords of affliction, he tells them what they have done--that they have sinned arrogantly. He makes them listen to correction and commands them to repent of their evil" (36:5-210; NIV). Elihu assumed that Job needed harsh correction because of hidden sin, having sinned arrogantly.

Elihu continues in Job 37:10-13; NASB: "From the breath of God ice is made and the expanse of the water is frozen. Also with moisture He loads the thick cloud; He disperses the cloud of His lightening. It changes direction, turning around with His guidance, that it may do whatever He commands on the face of the inhabited earth. Whether for correction, or for lovingkindness, He causes it to happen." So God uses even weather as an instrument of correction.

In the last chapters of Job, God speaks to Job: "Will the one who contends with the Almighty correct him? Let him who accuses God answer Him" (40:2; NIV).

Job rightly replies: "Then Job answered the LORD: 'I am unworthy--how can I reply to you? I put my hand over my mouth. I spoke once, but I have no answer--twice, but I will say no more'" (40:4-5; NIV).

In Proverbs 3:11-12; NASB: "My son, do not reject the discipline of the LORD or loathe His reproof; for whom the LORD loves He reproves, even as a father corrects the son in whom he delights." See the Lord as Father when He corrects us.

In Proverbs 6:20-23; NIV: "My son, keep your father's command and do not forsake your mother's teaching. Bind them always on your neck; fasten them around your neck. When you walk, they will guide you; when you sleep, they will watch over you; when you awake, they will speak to you. For this command is a lamp, this teaching is a light, and instruction and correction are the way to life."

Later, in Proverbs 9:7-8; NASB: "He who corrects a scoffer gets dishonor for himself, and he who reproves a wicked man gets insults for himself. Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you; reprove a wise man and he will love you." This is a warning of sorts as to what responses to expect to words of correction.

Further, in Proverbs 10:17; NIV: "Whoever heeds discipline shows the way to life, but whoever ignores correction leads others astray." Our behavior influences others.

And in Proverbs 12:1; NIV: "Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but whoever hates correction is stupid."

Further, in Proverbs 13:18;NIV: "Whoever disregards discipline comes to poverty and shame, but whoever heeds correction is honored."

Another warning comes in Proverbs 15:10; NIV: "Stern discipline awaits anyone who leaves the path; the one who hates correction will die."

Proverbs 15:12; NIV: "Mockers resent correction, so they avoid the wise."

Proverbs 15:31-32; NIV: "He who heeds life-giving correction will be at home among the wise. Those who disregard discipline despise themselves, but the one who heeds correction gains understanding."

Jeremiah also spoke several times on the matter of correction.

"'Your own wickedness will correct you, and your apostasies will reprove you; know therefore and see that it is evil and bitter for you to forsake the LORD your God, and the dread of me is not in you,' declares the LORD GOD of hosts" (12:19; NASB).

"O LORD, do not Your eyes look for truth? You have smitten them, but they did not weaken; You have consumed them, but they refused to take correction. They made their faces harder than the rock; they have refused to repent" (5:3; NASB).

"Correct me, O LORD, but with justice; not with Your anger, or you will bring me to nothing" (10:24; NASB).

God's promise through Jeremiah 46:28; NASB: "'O Jacob My servant, do not fear,' declares the LORD, 'for I am with you. For I will make a ruin of all the nations where I have driven you, yet I will not make a full end of you; but I will correct you properly and by no means leave you unpunished.'"

Judgement on Jerusalem: "Woe to her who is rebellious and defiled, the oppressing city! She listens to no voice, she accepts no correction. She does not trust in the LORD; she does not draw near to her God" (Zephaniah 3:1-3; ESV).

Habbakakkuk had this perspective on those God used: "Are You not from everlasting, O LORD my God, my Holy One? We will not dies. You, O LORD, have appointed them [the Chaldeans] to judge, and You, O ROCK, have established them to correct (1:12; NASB).

How Scripture Profits Us, Part 3

Paul wrote to Timothy, "All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness" (2 Timothy 3:16).

This post is the third in a series. The first dealt with "All Scripture" and the second with "profitable for teaching." Now we move on to the statement, "profitable for reproof."

Reproof has many benefits for those who are willing to receive it, and dire consequences for those who do not.

Profitable for reproof--Leviticus 19:17: "You shall not hate your fellow countryman in your heart; you may surely reprove your neighbor, but shall not incur sin because of him."

Profitable for reproof--Proverbs 1:23-30: "Turn at my reproof, behold I will pour out my spirit on you; I will make my words known to you. Because I called and you refused, I stretched out my hand and no one paid attention; and you neglected all my counsel and did not want my reproof; I will also laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your dread comes, when your dread comes like a storm and your calamity comes like a whirlwind, when distress and anguish come upon you. Then they will call on me, but I will not answer; they will seek me diligently but they will not find me, because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the LORD. They would not accept my counsel, they spurned all my reproof."

Profitable for reproof--Proverbs 3:12: "For whom the LORD loves He reproves, even as a father corrects the son in whom he delights."

Profitable for reproof--Proverbs 9:8: "Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you; reprove a wise man and he will love you."

Profitable for reproof--Proverbs 10:17: "He is on the path of life who heeds instruction, but he who ignores reproof goes astray."

Profitable for reproof--Proverbs 15:5: "A fool rejects his father's discipline, but he who regards reproof is sensible."

Profitable for reproof--Proverbs 15:10: "Grievous punishment is for him who forsakes the way; he who hates reproof will die."

Profitable for reproof--Proverbs 29:15: "The rod and reproof give wisdom, but a child who gets his own way brings shame to his mother."

Profitable for reproof--Isaiah 1:17: "Learn to do good, seek justice, reprove the ruthless, defend the orphan, plead for the widow."

Profitable for reproof--2 Timothy 4:2b: "reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction."

Profitable for reproof--Hebrews 12:4-11: "You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin; and you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons, 'MY SON, DO NOT REGARD LIGHTLY THE DISCIPLINE OF THE LORD, NOR FAINT WHEN YOU ARE REPROVED BY HIM; FOR THOSE WHOM THE LORD LOVES HE DISCIPLINES, AND HE SCOURGES EVERY SON WHOM HE RECEIVES.' It is for discipline that you endure; for God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much rather be subject to the Father of spirits, and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share in His holiness. All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness."

Profitable for reproof--Revelation 3:19: "Whom I love, I reprove and discipline; therefore be zealous and repent."