2Timothy 3:16
¹⁶ All Scripture is given by inspiration of Yahweh, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, ¹⁷ that the man of Yahweh may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.
Most people, regardless of doctrine or denomination (or lack thereof), are familiar with this verse in 2Timothy.

But do we fully understand the significance of the very first word?
“All”
Three letters, one small word…
What is so significant about it?
Here is the definition of the word all:
all;  adjective; \ ˈȯl  \
Definition of all
1: the whole amount, quantity, or extent of
2: every member or individual component of all
3: the whole number or sum of
4: Every

We must ‘see’ the whole of scripture to know truth.
Most people in the world actually apply this verse as “Some scripture is given…”
It is possible to isolate and extract individual verses in the bible and use them to create false doctrine or false beliefs.
How is this possible IF “All scripture is given…”?
The answer to this question lies in the definition of the word all.
Our understanding of scripture must be the sum of all the parts.
It must be all inclusive.

How are we to sort it out?
How are we to know if we are in error, or if we are adhering to the overall truth of the whole of scripture?
Yahweh told us how to do this, very early in the scriptures.
Dueteronomy 13:3-4
“…for Yahweh your Elohim is testing you, to find out whether you love Yahweh your Elohim with all your heart and with all your soul. 5 Yahweh your Elohim you will follow and Him you will fear. His commands you will keep, to His voice you will listen, Him you will serve and to Him you will cling.”
Every life, every decade, every year, every hour, every minute, every second, every situation, every circumstance falls within the realm of this test.
What we do in each and every moment will be evaluated based on the criteria of this test.
Will we love Yahweh with our whole heart?
Will we follow Yahweh?
Will we fear Yahweh?
Will we keep His commands?
Will we listen to His voice?
Will we serve Him?
Will we cling to Him?

Tick, tick, tick…
Second by second, all that we believe, think, say, and do is a test.
What is the purpose of this test?
Yahweh is sorting out who are His and who are not His.
We are auditioning for His Kingdom.
Is this just some wonky idea I have created in my own mind?
No, we are told exactly this in the scriptures.
The book of Ecclesiastes sums it up for us.
Ecclesiastes 12:13-14
13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. 14 For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.

Verse 13 tells us what our goal is:
1. Fear Yahweh
2. Keep His commandments
Verse 14 better explains this life is our audition for His Kingdom:
1. Yahweh is watching and evaluating every single work (the things we believe, think, say, and do)
2. Each of these things, moment by moment, will be judged
3. Not only the obvious things, but even our secret thoughts and actions
4. Whether good or evil, all will be considered.

I for one am motivated to do well on my test.
I want to have a successful audition.
What is the prize?  Eternal life and a place in His Kingdom.
Revelation 22:14
14 Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city.

The entire book of Deuteronomy, the final words of the Torah, remind us over and over again of our purpose, of our test, of our audition.
Deuteronomy 6:1-5
6 “Now this is the commandment, and these are the statutes and judgments which Yahweh your Elohim has commanded to teach you, that you may observe them in the land which you are crossing over to possess, 2 that you may fear Yahweh your Elohim, to keep all His statutes and His commandments which I command you, you and your son and your grandson, all the days of your life, and that your days may be prolonged. 3 Therefore hear, O Israel, and be careful to observe it,that it may be well with you, and that you may multiply greatly as Yahweh your Elohim of your fathers has promised you—‘a land flowing with milk and honey.’ 4 “Hear, O Yisra’ĕl: יהוה our Elohim, יהוה is one! 5 You shall love Yahweh your Elohim with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.”

Deuteronomy 6:17
^17 “You shall diligently keep the commandments of Yahweh your Elohim, His testimonies, and His statutes which He has commanded you. ¹⁸ And you shall do what is right and good in the sight of Yahweh, that it may be well with you…”

Deuteronomy 7:9-11
⁹ “Therefore know that Yahweh your Elohim, He is Yahweh, the faithful Elohim who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments; ¹⁰ and He repays those who hate Him to their face, to destroy them. He will not be slack with him who hates Him; He will repay him to his face. ¹¹ Therefore you shall keep the commandment, the statutes, and the judgments which I command you today, to observe them.”

Deuteronomy 8:1
“Every commandment which I command you today you must be careful to observe, that you may live and multiply…”

Deuteronomy 8:6
“Therefore you shall keep the commandments of Yahweh your Elohim, to walk in His ways and to fear Him.”

Deuteronomy 10:12-13, 16-17
¹² “And now, Israel, what does Yahweh your Elohim require of you, but to fear Yahweh your Elohim, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, to serve Yahweh your Elohim with all your heart and with all your soul, ¹³ and to keep the commandments of Yahweh your Elohim and His statutes which I command you today for your good? 
¹⁶ Therefore circumcise the foreskin of your heart, and be stiff-necked no longer. ¹⁷ For Yahweh your Elohim is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality nor takes a bribe.”

Deuteronomy 11:1
“Therefore you shall love Yahweh your Elohim, and keep His charge, His statutes, His judgments, and His commandments always.”

Deuteronomy 11:8
⁸ “Therefore you shall keep every commandment which I command you today, that you may be strong…”

Deuteronomy 11:18-20
¹⁸ “Therefore you shall lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. ¹⁹ You shall teach them to your children, speaking of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. ²⁰ And you shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates…”

Deuteronomy 11:26-28
²⁶ “Behold, I set before you today a blessing and a curse: ²⁷ the blessing, if you obey the commandments of Yahweh your Elohim which I command you today; ²⁸ and the curse, if you do not obey the commandments of Yahweh your Elohim, but turn aside from the way which I command you today…”

Deuteronomy 11:32
32 And you shall be careful to observe all the statutes and judgments which I set before you today.

Deuteronomy 12:32
“Whatever I command you, you must take care to do—you are not to add to it or take away from it.”

Deuteronomy 13:18
“…because you have listened to the voice of Yahweh your Elohim, to keep all His commandments which I command you today, to do what is right in the eyes of Yahweh your Elohim.”

Deuteronomy 15:5
“…5 only if you carefully obey the voice of Yahweh your Elohim, to observe with care all these commandments which I command you today.”

Deuteronomy 26:16-19
“This day Yahweh your Elohim commands you to observe these statutes and judgments; therefore you shall be careful to observe them with all your heart and with all your soul. 17 Today you have proclaimed Yahweh your Elohim, and that you will walk in His ways and keep His statutes, His commandments, and His judgments, and that you will obey His voice. 18 Also today Yahweh your Elohim has proclaimed you to be His special people, just as He promised you, that you should keep all His commandments, 19 and that He will set you high above all nations which He has made, in praise, in name, and in honor, and that you may be a holy people to Yahweh your Elohim, just as He has spoken.”

Deuteronomy 27:1
“Keep all the commandments which I command you today.”

Deuteronomy 27:9-10
9 Then Moses and the priests, the Levites, spoke to all Israel, saying, “Take heed and listen, O Israel: This day you have become the people of Yahweh your Elohim. 10 Therefore you shall obey the voice of Yahweh your Elohim, and observe His commandments and His statutes which I command you today.”

Deuteronomy 27:26
26 ‘Cursed is the one who does not confirm all the words of this law by observing them.’
“And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’ ”

Deuteronomy 28:1-2
“Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of Yahweh your Elohim, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that Yahweh your Elohim will set you high above all nations of the earth. 2 And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of Yahweh your Elohim…”

Deuteronomy 28:9
9 “Yahweh your Elohim will establish you as a holy people to Himself, just as He has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of Yahweh your Elohim and walk in His ways.”

Deuteronomy 28:13-14
“…if you heed the commandments of Yahweh your Elohim, which I command you today, and are careful to observe them. 14 So you shall not turn aside from any of the words which I command you this day, to the right or the left…”

Deuteronomy 28:15
15 “But it shall come to pass, if you do not obey the voice of Yahweh your Elohim, to observe carefully all His commandments and His statutes which I command you today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you…”

Deuteronomy 28:58-59
58 “If you do not carefully observe all the words of this law that are written in this book, that you may fear this glorious and awesome name, Yahweh your Elohim, 59 then Yahweh will bring upon you and your descendants extraordinary plagues—great and prolonged plagues—and serious and prolonged sicknesses.”

Deuteronomy 29:29
29 “The secret things belong to Yahweh your Elohim, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.”

Deuteronomy 30:8-9
8 And you will again obey the voice of Yahweh your Elohim and do all His commandments which I command you today. 9 Yahweh your Elohim will make you abound in all the work of your hand, in the fruit of your body, in the increase of your livestock, and in the produce of your land for good.

Deuteronomy 30:15
15 “See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil, 16 in that I command you today to love Yahweh your Elohim, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments, His statutes, and His judgments, that you may live and multiply; and Yahweh your Elohim will bless you…”

Deuteronomy 30:19-20
19 I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; 20 that you may love Yahweh your Elohim, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days…

Deuteronomy 32:46-47
“…“Set your hearts on all the words which I testify among you today, which you shall command your children to be careful to observe—all the words of this law. 47 For it is not a futile thing for you, because it is your life, and by this word you shall prolong your days in the land…”

An argument could be made that this is the overall theme of the Book of Deuteronomy – to insure we clearly understand the task that has been placed before us, individually and as a covenant nation of people who want to belong to Yahweh.
We are being tested, and we should all make this test our primary concern, as it is the purpose of our life.
It is the duty of all mankind.

Back to the idea of this study…
All scripture?
Or some scripture?
Do our beliefs, thoughts, actions, and words fall within the boundaries of the whole of scripture?
Or have we taken some (not all) scripture and used it to create a doctrine or belief system that causes us to deviate from the Words of Yahweh?
Why is it even possible for this to occur?
Why would Yahweh allow His Word to contain statements that might lead us to create false doctrine?
Because it is a test.
Will we cling to Him and His words?
Or will we depart from Him and His words, justifying our departure by claiming it came from scripture?
Paul’s writings are used to create a lawless doctrine for mainstream Christianity.
Following these ideas seem to make sense if we only use SOME scriptures – but we need to remember the test that Yah gave us.
Will we cling to His voice and the things He said?
Or will we be swayed into lawlessness by misunderstanding and twisting Paul’s writings along with the whole of scripture?
Peter warns us to not make this mistake:
2Peter 3:14-17
14 “Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless; 15 and consider that the longsuffering of our Elohim is salvation—as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you, 16 as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures. 17 You therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked…”

In the end, we MUST cling the the words of Yah.
We must not adopt doctrine that opposes the things Yahweh said to us.
Bits and pieces of scripture allow us to do so, but only if we forget about our test.

Before we end this study, let’s talk about Messiah’s sacrifice and forgiveness.
Am I trying to teach that we earn our way into the Kingdom through obedience to Yah’s commands?
No, that is not what I’m saying.  This is not possible.
We must begin our race by coming to Yeshua Messiah.
We cannot be righteous as He is righteous without His sacrifice and forgiveness.
The standard is not to be perfect in the law.
The goal is for us to value and cherish Yah’s instructions to us, even if we are not perfect in them.
Messiah told us this:
John 14:15
 “If you love Me, keep My commandments.”
Yahweh and Yeshua Messiah want us to love Them.
What is their standard to know if we do?
Keeping the commandments as best we can.
Not for legalistic reasons, but because we have submitted our hearts and our will to Him.