<\/p>\nQuestion: How can the Bible claim to be from the mouth of God when it contains so much\ntrivial information, such as Paul’s request to bring his cloak in II Timothy 4:13?\nSurely, these things cannot be inspired!\n
\n
Answer:<\/p>\nI. What superficially appears to be trivial may, upon deeper reflection, be a rich depository\nof truth.\n
II. Using II Timothy 4:13<\/p>\n
A. Why did Paul leave his cloak in Troas?<\/p>\n
1. Was he forced to flee and had no time to pick it up?<\/p>\n 2. Perhaps this indicates that Paul continued to be persecuted in his later\nyears.\n
B. Think of Paul’s sacrificial poverty.<\/p>\n 1. Paul was willing to spend and be spent for the cause of Christ – II\nCorinthians 12:15\n
2. Winter is coming and Paul’s one cloak is hundreds of miles away.<\/p>\n
3. Paul was not stranger to cold and nakedness – II Corinthians 11:27<\/p>\n
C. What happened to the saints in Rome?<\/p>\n 1. They had originally welcomed Paul enthusiastically, rushing out to meet\nhim as he approached Rome – Acts 28:15\n
2. Had many of them been scattered in the persecutions?<\/p>\n
3. Had some of them turned against Paul? – Philippians 1:15-17<\/p>\n 4. During Paul’s first trial, no one stood up for him in defense – II Timothy\n4:16\n 5. During the second time in Rome, only Luke was with him – II Timothy\n4:11\n
6. Perhaps the saints love had grown cold – Matthew 24:12<\/p>\n
D. Notice Paul’s fortitude<\/p>\n 1. No word of complaint. No whimpering. No brow-beating of neglectful\nbrethren. No pitiful solicitation of others.\n
III. No passage is meaningless or trivial.<\/p>\n
A. It may be trivial to us only because we have not dug deeply enough for meaning.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Short Talk Question: How can the Bible claim to be from the mouth of God when it contains so much trivial information, such as Paul’s request to bring his cloak in II Timothy 4:13? Surely, these things cannot be inspired! Answer: I. What superficially appears to be trivial may, upon deeper reflection, be a rich depository…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[32],"tags":[568,225],"class_list":["post-22754","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermon","tag-accuracy-of-the-bible","tag-inspiration"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":26385,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/biblical-infallibility-arguments-against-the-bible\/","url_meta":{"origin":22754,"position":0},"title":"Biblical Infallibility: Arguments Against the Bible","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 11, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Text: I Peter 1:22-25 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The arguments have not changed much over the years. Same given today as hundreds of years ago. II.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0All or Nothing \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Do we have to insist on total infallibility of the Scriptures? \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Some fear that one error would overthrow all of Christianity. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0C.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0However, if the writers\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":24177,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-weight-of-the-nails\/","url_meta":{"origin":22754,"position":1},"title":"The Weight of the Nails","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 27, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Text: Psalm 139 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0For a book as concise as the Bible, it contains a surprising amount of detail \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Detail that many ignore \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0So much detail that Reader\u2019s Digest once took it upon themselves to produce a condensed version of the Bible, for which they were justly ridiculed. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0C.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0I Corinthians\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":68758,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/pauls-letters-to-preachers\/","url_meta":{"origin":22754,"position":2},"title":"Paul’s Letters to Preachers","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 7, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"by Keith Sharp In denominational commentaries, the apostle Paul's letters to Timothy and Titus are grouped together as \"The Pastoral Epistles.\" The term \"pastor\" is found only once in the New Testament, in Ephesians 4:11 (KJV, NKJV, ASV, NASV). The word is translated as \"shepherds\" in the ESV. It is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":7987,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-there-a-passage-similar-to-an-idle-mind-is-the-devils-workplace\/","url_meta":{"origin":22754,"position":3},"title":"Is there a passage similar to “an idle mind is the devil’s workplace?”","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 9, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I am looking for a phrase in the Bible that is similar to the saying, \"An idle mind is the devil's workplace.\" Answer: In warning churches not to support young widows, Paul stated, \"And besides they learn to be idle, wandering about from house to house, and not only\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":56476,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/god-breathed\/","url_meta":{"origin":22754,"position":4},"title":"God Breathed","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 1, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"by Stan Cox In II Timothy 3, the apostle Paul penned a wonderful sentence that establishes both the precious nature of the words contained in our Bibles and their efficacy in ordering our lives as His servants. \"All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":81327,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/can-inspiration-of-the-bible-be-proven\/","url_meta":{"origin":22754,"position":5},"title":"Can inspiration of the Bible be proven?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 8, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I know II Timothy 3:16: \"All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.\" I had a discussion with a person who is not a member of the Church of Christ and, therefore, not a Christian. I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22754","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22754"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22754\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22754"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22754"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22754"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}