A case for
serious Bible study: Spiritual growth
Do your best to present yourself to God as
one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly
handles the word of truth.
The main way we know about God is
through Bible study. We hear preachers and would-be prophets giving all kinds
of messages, so it can be difficult to know what is truth and what is not.
What we know for sure, that can be
objectively verified, about God is written in the Bible.
This is why the Bible is so
important, and why its study is important. The best way to have a good
relationship with God is to study about Him in the Bible.
In the above
verse, The King James version says to Study to Shew thyself approved. The word
translated “Study” in the King James Version, and “Make every effort” in the
New International Version comes from a Greek word transliterated SPOUDAZO.
It means to
put in effort, to work at something, to be diligent in your efforts. It does
not mean passively reading it, or waiting for the spirit to mysteriously reveal
it to you. It means to do your best to make every effort to understand the
meaning. If you do this you will be able to handle the word of truth
accurately. “The phrase “word of truth” is a reference to the message of the
Bible.
Paul is telling Timothy, and the other
Christians there, that they should try their hardest to be the kind of children
God approves of, one that can handle the scriptures accurately.
If we handle
the scriptures accurately, meaning to interpret them accurately, we will grow
in our relationship with God, and we will be safe from false teachers.
There are
lots of preachers out there teaching bad stuff, and many twist the scriptures
around. If you don’t know what the bible says, you wont know if that preacher
is telling the truth or not, or if he is misinterpreting it.
For this
reason we should study our Bibles consistently. This does not mean to just read it passively without regard to
the meaning. It means to dig into it, meditate over it, pray over it. To get
the total meaning we must think through what we are reading, picking it apart
and asking as many questions as possible. You may find questions that you
cannot answer, but usually you will find an answer. The only question that
there is absolutely no answer for is the one not asked.
In studying
the Bible, we should understand exactly what it is we are studying. Basically,
the Bible is God’s love letter to you. It is a book where God reveals himself
to you. In a sense it is supernatural, but for the most part it is quiet
natural. We should use our minds, and every tool available, to get as much as
we can our of our studies. The Bible is the written word of God, which God has
inspired and preserved through the ages.
Since God has
given us this book, it only stands to reason that He would want us to
understand it correctly, or to handle it accurately.
Even so, it
is important to understand that the bible is not a rule book. It is not a
history book. It is not even a guide book on how to live our lives. It has all
those things in it, but basically it is a love letter from God to us.
It may be a good thing to listen to
teachers and preachers and so forth, but since we have this letter written to
us personally, I believe it is important to dig out the meaning for ourselves
individually.
The reason we do this is, as the
verse in Timothy says, “to show yourself approved.” This does not mean that God approves of you if you study the
Bible, or that His approval is conditional on our understanding every little
point just right. God approves of us if we believe in his son Jesus as our
savior. There is nothing we could do to earn salvation or anything else, that
is not what is being said.
He is saying
here, that we should be able to present ourselves to God as one approved, one
who can handle the word in the right way, which is the kind of Christian god
approves of or likes. This would be as opposed to people who do not handle it
accurately, and have false beliefs and lead others into false beliefs. It is
the believer who either benefits or suffers as the result of handling the “word
of truth.”
If we do this
we will be like a workman who does not need to be ashamed. A workman in any
field is judged by his work, and as a result, he can either feel pride or feel
shame. A workman who has done his job well has nothing to be ashamed of, but
gains his bosses blessing. In the same way, if we are a good workman when it
comes to the word of truth, we too will gain a blessing from God.
How do you
feel if your boss shows up and the work is not being done well? You might feel
ashamed. However, if the work is being done well, you know the boss will be
pleased, so there is no reason to feel anything negative. It is the same in our
Bible study. If we handle the word accurately, by studying, we will not be
misled or fall into error, and this is pleasing to God.
We should
also understand that the point of bible study is not that we are doing
something for God. Even though God blesses those that handle the word
accurately, God does not “need” for us to study the word to accomplish His
purposes. The real beneficiary is the student. The point of Bible study then is
to get to know God better and to develop our relationship with Him. It allows
us to better relate to God because we gain new understanding when we study.
This is what
Paul is talking about in the Timothy passage. The studying, or making every
effort, is not done to gain God’s approval, it is done to show that you are the
kind of child of God that God approves of.
Often people
may think of Bible study as something spiritual, but really, just like in any
endeavor, if it is to be done well it takes work. You will get out of your
Bible study what you put into it. Just like an athlete in training, the harder
he or she trains, the better athlete they will be.
It also works
better if you do it the right way. This is why it is important to have a good
system. There may be several good systems out there. The key is to find the one
that works best for you, but be sure you are using a system that works.
We should use
our minds, and this is what “make every effort” means. A lot of people use
their feelings to interpret scripture, and even attribute those feelings to a
spirit. Your feelings may or may not be right. Feelings do have their rightful
place, but it is in our minds that we learn truth. It is our minds that should
govern our lives.
We also may
have preconceived notions about things, things we have been taught since we
were children and so forth. These things may not be right either.
The key is to try
to be objective, and look honestly at what the words say. From there we can
interpret accurately.
Always
remember too, to keep it in context. This is why it is important to read the
bible in general, perhaps all the way through, several times, so you will have
an overall picture.
We need to
expose our minds to the scriptures every day. We need to keep pouring it in
there, and keep processing it, and then we will learn how to handle it
accurately.
Part of handling it accurately is to
ask questions. In a sense it is good to have a healthy dose of skepticism. It
is not that you enter the Bible with a skeptical attitude, but look at
teachings and beliefs with skepticism.
Don’t ever
let anyone tell you its wrong to question the bible or to question anything. In
the Bible there is the story of “doubting Thomas” who would not believe Jesus
had risen from the dead unless he saw Jesus for himself. What did Jesus say to
him?
Jesus didn’t get
mad, he let Thomas see what he needed to see.
This is the
same response God has to us when we ask questions. We may not get a message
written in the sky, but if we search and study, we will find the answer
eventually.
Now to return to the passage in
Timothy, let us see exactly what Paul meant by what he wrote. We should look at
the context.
The context
here is basically chapter two. Paul is writing to Timothy who is a young
pastor. It applies to us as believers as well. The context is teaching others
to grow spiritually and maintaining one’s own spiritual life.
In the first
couple of verses he encourages Timothy to stay strong and to pass the word
along to others. Notice in verse one he says to “be strong in the grace that is
in Christ Jesus.” We cannot be strong by ourselves. It is a matter of faith to
be strong in Christ, realizing that it is Christ who makes us strong.
Then Paul
starts talking about being a good Christian. The kind that God approves of
which is one that is growing in the spirit.
In Verses
three through five he gives analogies of what it takes to be a good Christian,
one who is growing in God and developing his spirit by handling the word
accurately. Remember, God didn’t save you so you could just sit there and wait
for the next bus to heaven, and he didn’t save you so you could try real hard
to prove that you are saved. He didn’t save you so you could screw up so he
could condemn you. God saved you so that you could have a personal relationship
with Him.
When we are
able to handle the word accurately, we are then able to actually have and enjoy
that relationship that God has provided. These are not conditions of salvation,
they are just word pictures of how one is to develop a relationship with God.
He continues
the analogy in verses three and for, talking about the soldier enduring hardship.
A soldier endures with loyalty and focused. We are to keep focused on the word
of truth like a good soldier would.
In verse
five, he switches to the analogy of an athlete. He says an athlete only wins if
he competes according to the rules. Every sport has rules, it has boundaries
and if you are going to win you have to compete according to the rules. So he is saying if you want to grow as a
Christian, you have to follow the rules. He is saying you can’t take shortcuts,
you have to go through the process of growing. This means doing the work of
studying, putting the time in.
He then moves
on in verse six to the analogy of a farmer. The farmer gets his share of the
produce even though someone else owns the field. The farmer plants his seeds
and reaps a crop. It does not happen over night, it takes time for the plants
to grow and produce the fruit. Even though everything belongs to God, if we
handle the things He has given us well, we will receive part of the crop.
The same is
true in studying the scriptures. Our learning will not happen over night, but
we will reap the rewards if we put in the effort.
The common
theme among the three analogies, the soldier, the athlete and the farmer, is
that it takes an effort to grow spiritually. It takes effort to learn how to
handle the word accurately. The message is, it takes work to grow, but the
rewards are great. Remember he is not
talking about salvation here, that is not the issue at all. The issue is
growing spiritually, to become the kind of person that can accurately handle
the word. This is the kind of person who knows the truth.
If we
accurately handle the word, you could say then you know how to use it, and this
leads to victory in all kinds of areas. It makes us stronger Christians and
happier Christians.
When you do
put the time in, and learn to handle the word accurately, things will start to
click. One day you will be reading along, and suddenly something you read last
week will pop into your head. Then maybe you will recall a word study you did
the day before, and suddenly the pieces fit and you have a new revelation. This
new revelation is good because it is based on the facts of the Bible and not on
feelings that may or may not be valid.
As Paul
continues, in verse seven he encourages Timothy to keep remembering these
things. He notes in verses eight through ten that he himself has done these
things so that he can handle the word accurately.
Verses 11
through 13 are like a short poem, which in essence is teaching the rule of
cause and effect. It is not salvation by works, but he is saying that if we put
in the effort we will get the results.
In verse 13
he says even if we are faithless Jesus will remain faithful to us. This is to
say that even when we fail, God will still love us. He always gives us another
chance, even if we blow it when trying to handle the word accurately.
From there he
says to keep this in mind, and to avoid quarrelling about words. There is
nothing as emotional as religion, and people want to be right so bad, that they
will even go to war with people who disagree with them. Paul is not saying to
agree with people who oppose you, but he is saying that it is best to not get
into arguments with them.
Instead of
arguing over words, or over what the Bible means, we should do what verse 15 says, which is to do your best to find the truth
in the word. Arguing doesn’t do anyone any good, but working to find the truth
does good, and if you do that you will be able to present yourself to God as
one approved.
How does one
become approved? He does by developing the relationship with God The workman is
a word picture It is like being a workman who does not need to be ashamed
because he works hard and he has the tools and knows how to use them.
In the three
analogies, the soldier, the athlete and the farmer, really all win approval the
same way. They win their approval by doing their best. The soldier by being
loyal, the athlete by following the rules and the farmer by working at his
crops, all reap their reward. They key is that they all did whatever was
necessary.
All of this
goes to make the point of verse 15. Paul is saying that we should do our best
to “rightly divide” the word of truth.
The Greek word for “rightly divide” is a word that a carpenter might use, meaning to make a cut in something accurately. It is to divide something. It means to correctly interpret the scriptures.
If we correctly handle the word by learning to study diligently, we will be able to understand things about God. We will then be able to apply these things to our lives and our relationship with God will flourish