Presented, April 10, 2005
HANDLING GOD’S WORD ACCURATELY
2 Timothy 2:15
On numerous occasions the importance of Bible study, prayer, worship and other “spiritual indicators” have been addressed. Continually, we need to remind ourselves of these things so that we will grow as we ought to. In our lesson today, we want to talk about Bible study. In our text, Paul told Timothy, “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Tim. 2:15). I will present this lesson with the assumption that we know how important it is that we “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18). What we want to notice today is some things that are necessary for our Bible study to be as profitable as possible. For some here I realize this is simple review, but for others this may be the first time you have heard some of these things. Regardless of your level of maturity, if we are to glean from God’s word all that he intended, we need to handle it accurately and it is with that in mind that this lesson is presented. To handle God’s word accurately we need to:
I. Faith in the Inspired Word of God
a. If we are to accurately handle the word of truth, we must FIRST respect it for what it is – God’s Word.
b. I am convinced one reason so many treat the Bible with such little regard (and I am talking about “believers”) is because they do not fully understand that what we have is actually God’s word. Man usually turns to the Bible as long as it agrees with what he wants or require minimal sacrifice, but as soon as it calls for a commitment or real sacrifice they suddenly dismiss it as either not inspired or not relevant. I have heard the Bible called a book of opinions, outdated, incomplete and various other terms used to justify rejecting its teachings.
c.
God’s word IS inspired. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 says it is – the word
literally means, “God breathed”. Paul notes that ALL writings inspired of Him
are profitable.
Do we show God’s word the respect it deserves? Nehemiah 8:5 – when the law was
read by Ezra on that occasion, we are told, “all the people stood up”
It is because of this that we find warnings such as Revelation 22:18,19;
Deuteronomy 12:32; Proverbs 30:5-6, “Every word of God is pure; He is a
shield to those who put their trust in Him. Do not add to His words, Lest He
rebuke you, and you be found a liar.”
d.
When one believes that the Bible is God’s message to us, he will approach
it with a reverence that will make handling it accurately more important.
Don’t forget the words of Jesus, John 12:48, “He who rejects Me, and does not
receive My words has that which judges him – the word that I have spoken will
judge him in the last day.”
II. A Desire to Know the Truth
a.
How much do we really want to know what God would have us to do?
There are many who DON’T want to know all of God’s word. There are some who are
fearful of what they will find out if they study, so they choose to live in
ignorance.
b. Jesus rebuked the religious leaders of His day because their ears were hard of hearing and they had closed their eyes (Matthew 13:14-15). Paul also quoted Isaiah 6:9-10 on an occasion while in Rome reasoning from scripture that Jesus was the Messiah. Some believed and others did not (Acts 28:25-28).
c. Paul warns that many will be lost because, “they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved” (2 Thessalonians 2:10)
d. Some want the preacher to tell them everything so that they don’t have to do the work themselves. While one MIGHT learn the truth like this, and there is something to be said about learning from those who ought to be teachers, there is inherent dangers – namely one might NOT learn the truth. Numerous passages warn of false teachers AND false learners such as 2 Timothy 4:3-5; 2 Peter 2:1-3. The truth is this, IF you rely on another to tell you the truth, is your love for His word as strong as it ought to be?
III. Remove Religious Prejudice –
a.
What is prejudice? It means to prejudge. It indicates that one
formulates an opinion or makes up his mind about something BEFORE he has all the
facts.
Prejudice is wrong – whether racial, national, gender, social and even ideas –
James 2:1-10 speaks of the sin of partiality.
b. Probably the biggest hindrance to using God’s word accurately is preconceived ideas. Many decide what they want to believe and then they TURN to God’s word to prove that.
c.
We have an example of this in Matthew 4:5-7 where Satan twists scripture
to tempt Christ.
2 Peter 3:16 speaks of untaught and unstable men twisting the scriptures to
their own destruction.
d. Today in the religious world, many will take straightforward scripture and say, “that’s not really what it means”. Several hundred years ago, protestant reformer, Martin Luther rejected the entire book of James calling it “an epistle of straw” because of its teaching against “faith only” (-Luther, Works of Martin Luther-The Philadelphia Edition, trans. C.M. Jacobs, vol. 6: Preface to the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1982), pp. 439-444. As cited in Bercot, David W., Will The Real Heretics Please Stand Up, (Scroll Publishing, 1989). P.112.)
e.
If we are to accurately handle the word of God we need to approach it
with an open mind as did the Bereans in Acts 17:11 and with an attitude as Jesus
taught in Matthew 28:20 – “teaching them to observe all thing I have commanded
you.”
We need the attitude of Paul in Acts 9:6 where having been struck blind on the
road to Damascus he asks, “Lord, what do you want me to do?” No strings
attached just a simple desire to obey
IV. Use Common Sense
a. God gave us the ability to think for a reason. He expects us to use the abilities he has blessed us with in everything, including as we study His word.
b. There are some who believe that the common man cannot understand God’s word without divine or theological help. That is NOT taught in God’s word.
i. Jesus went to the common man to teach
ii. Paul said, “Do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is” (Eph. 5:17)
c.
With that in mind, if we are to properly use God’s word – we need to use
the common sense God gave us. That does NOT mean that we blindly follow what we
think we ought to do, but we DO need to think!
Hebrews 5:14 speaks of those who have matured to the point that they can “discern
both good and evil”
For example, Hebrews 7:14 says, “For it is evident that our Lord arose from
Judah, of which tribe Moses spoke nothing concerning priesthood.”
When 1 John 3:9 says, the Christian “cannot sin”. Common sense tells us that
“cannot” does not mean it is impossible to sin, but something we are not
permitted to do.
What does common sense tell you Mark 16:16 means?
When two passages seem to contradict one another, if we use common sense and a
little research, we can usually come up with an explanation that harmonizes the
two texts.
d. We can go a long way in adequately using God’s word if we keep common sense in mind.
V. Know the Background of the Text
a. One reason there are so many different doctrinal beliefs today is because of the abuse of scripture. We live in a society of ‘sound bytes’ where short clips are all that is presented. Many minds are swayed with only bits and pieces of a story. Such is the case if an entity has an agenda in presenting its facts. While this may be the norm in politics and society, it has NO place in religion. Yet, there are many who will take a verse by itself to justify an idea that is not supported either in the Bible as a whole or within the context it is presented.
b. In Nehemiah 8:8, as true worship was being restored, scripture was read and Ezra and the priests gave “the sense” of the passage.
c. Context is so important in handling God’s word accurately. We need to know 1) the subject being addressed in the text (both immediate as well as the broad text), 2) who was it written to, 3) to whom was it written, 4) are there other circumstances to consider, etc?
d.
Associated with this is an understanding of the actual words in the
original language being used. There are many times that an English word does
not adequately portray the idea of the word in the text.
For example – the word baptize in our language can mean to immerse, pour or
sprinkle. But in the original language, the actual word is immerse. Therefore,
we understand that to be the ONLY proper way to baptize.
e. Ephesians 2:8-9; James 2:24 do NOT contradict each other. Is there a logical explanation? The answer is yes! Our salvation involves BOTH faith and works. Note how neither text says we need one without the other. James is NOT saying faith is not important – in fact he said the opposite. Paul is not saying we don’t need to do anything, but that we DO need faith.
f. With a little effort, we can accurately handle the Bible.
VI. Mental Industry
a. Finally, We HAVE TO study God’s word. What I mean by this is that to properly understand and apply God’s word DOES take effort. We cannot expect to read it once and know everything we need to know. The wonderful thing about the Bible is its simplicity and its depth. There is enough there to read it a thousand times and still learn from it.
b. Again Acts 17:11 speaks of the Bereans SEARCHING the scriptures. They put forth effort to understand.
c. Our text in the KJV says, “Study to show thyself approved unto God”. The NKJV and other versions say, “Be diligent”. The idea of diligence is putting forth effort. When it comes to God’s word – that means STUDY, STUDY, STUDY!
d. If we want to adequately understand God’s word, we have to work at it. I once heard of a woman approaching a preacher by saying, “I’d give my life to know the Bible as well as you do”. The preacher responded, “that’s what it will take”.
What about you, how much time are you putting into God’s word? It is my hope that we all have the desire to “rightly divide the word of truth” and that we are willing to work at it. The more effort you put into studying God’s word, the stronger you will become as a Christian. Think about it.
(Developed from lessons found in God Amid the Shadows, Leslie Thomas, 1944)