3:15 from childhood. According to custom, the Jewish parent was to begin instructing a child in the law when the child reached five years of age.

you have been acquainted with the sacred writings. The false teachers have been misinterpreting the Old Testament (1 Tim. 1:7; Titus 3:9). Timothy needs to remember the proper instruction he received at the hands of his mother and grandmother. The “sacred writings” here are the books of the Old Testament. The New Testament did not yet exist as a collection. Indeed, some of the New Testament books had probably not yet been written.

salvation . . . in Christ Jesus. The Old Testament, interpreted properly, leads one to understand the central role of Jesus Christ in God’s overall plan for His Creation.