Dr. Dan Hayden •
In Romans 1:22, the Bible says, “Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools.” Now isn’t that something! They thought that they were so wise – yet they were really being foolish. Sounds like a lot of kids I know!
Wisdom is not how smart you are. You can be a genius in your field of study, and still be a fool. You see, wisdom is applying what you know in a way that is consistent with God’s truth. If you take what you know and apply it in the right way, then you are exercising wisdom.
In 2 Timothy 3:14-15, Paul is instructing Timothy; and he says,
“But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and has been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them, and that from a child thou has known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus”.
Now there is nothing more important than being saved from your sin, because if you’re not saved – then you will be condemned forever, and that’s an awesome thought. So, how do you get saved? Well, here’s what Paul told Timothy: “The holy scriptures…are able to make thee wise unto salvation”.
The word “wise” here is the Greek verb sophizo, which is related to the word sophia, which means “wisdom.” We have it in our word “philosophy.” “Philo” means “to love,” and “Sophia” is wisdom. So philo/Sophia is “to love wisdom.” Therefore the verb means “to make wise; to think skillfully.”
The point here is this: If you want to be wise about salvation, then you have to get your information from the Holy Scriptures. And Scripture tells us that salvation is through faith in Christ Jesus. So, there you have it! Every other thought about how you can be saved is foolish. It’s the Holy Scriptures that make you wise unto salvation. ■