2 Timothy 3:15
2 Timothy 3:1515From infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.
When pressed on scripture sufficiency, JWs often pivot to Timothy's upbringing: he was taught "from infancy" by his grandmother Lois and his mother Eunice (), so the verse is cited to prove you need human teachers to understand the Bible — and therefore you need the Governing Body as the modern teacher. The 1981 Watchtower put the claim in its strongest form: "unless we are in touch with this channel of communication that God is using, we will not progress along the road to life, no matter how much Bible reading we do."
Paul's own words separate the roles cleanly. He does not say "the holy writings plus the teachers are able to make you wise for salvation." He says "the holy writings… are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus." The saving power is in the writings. Lois and Eunice are honoured in because they faithfully pointed Timothy to the text — not because they stood as an interpretive authority between Timothy and the text.
The distinction is gentle but decisive. A teacher who directs you to scripture is doing what any good teacher does. A teacher who says "you cannot understand scripture without me" is claiming a role scripture never assigns. The next verse (, NWT) says scripture makes the person of God "fully competent, completely equipped for every good work." If scripture is sufficient for full competence, the 1981 Watchtower's claim that Bible reading alone cannot save you directly contradicts Paul. Ask kindly: "Does your organisation point you to scripture the way Lois did — or does it stand between you and the text?"