Who is Scripture Meant For

Sometimes people take Scripture out of context and say “It is speaking about me” when really it was directed to a specific person or people group at a specific moment in time and dealing with very specific issues. The Bible, being God’s Word, is the life instruction manual for those who believe with some hints on His plans for all; and how His creation will be dealt with in the final days. It is also a History book that tells us how others relationships with God and the world sometimes did not equal good times. Yes, lessons can be learned from all Scripture but we cannot just pick and choose what we believe pertains to us and ignore the rest. That is why reading and understanding Scripture is very important when it comes to how we, as Christians, present it to the lost. Case in point, when Paul wrote His letters to believers in specific towns and specific people, not everything can be translated into our daily walk with Christ. Take for instance 2 Timothy 3 10-17, where he gives a final charge to Timothy.
10 You, however, know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance, 11 persecutions, sufferings—what kinds of things happened to me in Antioch, Iconium and Lystra, the persecutions I endured. Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them. 12 In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, 13 while evildoers and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. 14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, 15 and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.  
The first thing we see in this charge is that Paul is reminding Timothy about himself and some of his persecutions. He says these to give hope to Timothy so as he faces adversity he understands that God, through the Holy Spirit, is with him. Verse twelve is for all Christians because we will suffer persecution at the hand of those who are against us. There is hope as the evildoer will get what is deserved, though it may take a while. 
Here is that part that definitely pertains to all Christians, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work (2 timothy 3 16-17).” This is where we get in the picture. Understanding this puts us in the right frame of mind to be in Christ and not just believe.
ISSUE: Not every Christian was raised with a firm spiritual foundation in Christ. Timothy was (v.15). He also lived a life in Christ his whole life; while not many today can say that they paid attention to Jesus since birth. Timothy grew up with the understanding that faith in Jesus saved Him. Some do not see that until it is almost too late.
What happened and how can we translate it to work? Through the early 1900s the Bible was a part of everything that happened. It was read as bedtime stories and taught in school. Prayer, praise and worship, and forgiveness were a part of everyday life. We have lost this when free thinking individuals no longer wanted to hear about an-all powerful being who controlled their lives. They were probably also tired of waiting for Jesus to return. So, we lost the truth in Jesus. A resurgence occurred when misinterpretations allowed people to believe they could be saved then continue to live in their sinful ways.  We say that early Hebrew worship practices and even practices during the time of a directly after Jesus are outdated. The traditions of man created by the Popes and early councils were created for control of the masses and attempts to rid the “new religion of Jesus” of all things Jewish. They would have had to remove the truth about Jesus to fully accomplish that one.
SOLUTION: What can we do? Get back into the Whole Word and see the truth of it. Do not be picky and create a doctrine using totally disconnected verses (i.e. Prosperity Gospel). Reach into the ancient writings and understand the difference between traditions created by man versus worship deemed righteous by God.  
Christ, through knowledge of His good works in us by the Word prepares us to do good works through our growing faith. This excerpt from 2 Timothy is an example of Scripture speaking directly to Christians; but more specifically Timothy and in retrospect Pastors, Elders, and Deacons, and not the whole world.
In Conclusion: Do not confuse all Scripture to mean something directly to our function as a Christian, we need all of it to understand where we came from, what we are doing now, and where we go from here.
 
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