RIGHTLY DIVIDING THE WORD: 2ND Tim. 2:15
Today I’ll talk for a little while about rightly dividing the WORD. And let me say here at the very beginning that I’m certainly not a Bible scholar by any means, but I do believe that God has given us His Word and we’re to be careful not to try and make His Word fit what we may have heard down through the years just because we may have heard or been taught certain things about the Bible according to what Grandpa may have said.
Listen as I read today’s text found in 2nd Tim. 2:15 -- Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
Paul says to “study”, those of you that study the Word, know that many times its very tiring, but if your handling Gods Word its necessary, we want to know what the Word says and what its message is.
Ecclesiastes 12: 12 --much study is a weariness of the flesh.
Paul also says; Study to shew thyself approved unto God, notice, approved unto God, not approved unto man.
Galatians 1: 10 For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.
-- rightly dividing the word of truth. Well if there is a way to “rightly divide the Word, there must be a way to “wrongly” divide the Word.
It is of most importance that you and I understand the Bible. Because it’s God’s Word, revealing God’s will, there is nothing more important in our life than to understand what it says.
Since the Bible was given to reveal the truth and not to hide it, then God’s desire is that we understand it. There are some events that are to take place in the future that nobody fully understands all the details at this time. That comes under
Deut. 29:29 The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever,--
Paul was writing this to young Timothy, who was at the time pasturing the church at Ephesus.
There were some problems there in the early church at Ephesus, problems that Paul knew of and told to Timothy, but problems that Timothy was going to have to see to himself.
In 2 Timothy 1:7-8 Paul was encouraging Timothy not to be afraid of his opposition, but to be willing to endure afflictions for the sake of the gospel.
2 Timothy 1:7 –8 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. 8 Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God;--
I’m sure young Timothy was filled with apprehension and fear.
So in 2 Timothy 2:14, Paul tells him to remind the people of God’s truths, because they were a lot of disagreement among the people there in the Church at Ephesus.
While the church was being persecuted from the outside, the people of the Church were experiencing discord among one another because of different views on various matters to do with Gods will and Word, and little trivial matters like many see today.
Paul tells him in 1st tim 1:13 Hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.
In chapter 2, Paul uses some analogies to get the idea across: to be strong, to endure hardness like a good soldier; to follow the rules just like an athlete has to do in order not to be disqualified, and to work like a farmer does, that is, enjoying the fruits of his labor.
They needed to concentrate on matters of life and death, time and eternity, judgment and reward – the “things” about which Paul had just been writing – instead of striving over words.
These were not the only problems at Ephesus. Paul spoke about members who were blasphemers, others who were teaching false doctrines, and as our text says, some were misapplying the Scriptures either knowingly or unknowingly.
To rightly divide the Word means that we must be consistent, that we must allow the Scriptures to harmonize with other scriptures, and that we not deviate from it to suit anyone’s beliefs, even our own.
To not rightly divide the word is to open us up to all kind of problems.
For instance; Taking Scripture out of context to teach personal beliefs.
If every body believed what the Bible says there’d not be different Denominations of Churches did you know that?
Some denominations teach, “water baptism” in order to be saved.
I just wonder how the saved thief on the cross-got in, because he surely couldn’t come down from the cross to be Baptist, the Lord Jesus said in Luke 23: 43 And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.
And then there are other denominations that say that a person can be lost again after they’ve been saved. But if they believe the word and not apply their Church doctrine, then they’d have to admit that their Church doctrine is not what the Bible teaches, and yet, they can even read what the Word say’s and still stay with their Church doctrine.
1 John 5: 13 These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life,
John 6:37 All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.
These dear deceived people have been fed bad doctrine so long they believe it, and no matter how much they read the Word their not going to change, not even when the Word tells them. They’d rather stay where they’re at, and be fed bad doctrine than to admit their wrong and get to a good Bible believing Church.
Let me say that I’m a Baptist, but I was a Christian before I became a Baptist, if I should find another Denomination that was closer to the truth of the Word, I’d join it, but so far that’s not happened.
I realize that being a Baptist don’t save any body, and I do believe that there are people saved in other Denominations, but I don’t believe that there is any Denomination that is closer to the truth of the Word than the Baptist, and let me quickly add this, there’s some Baptist Churches that I wouldn’t attend either, the 1st time I heard a preacher take his text from something other than the O.K.J.V. I wouldn’t be back.
Does that mean that I’m some kind of “holier than thou”? No but the Word can not be improved on and its certainly not going to change, and neither are we.
And another truth of the Word that is misapplied today is the duty of the Deacons in the Churches.
In many Churches today some deacons seem to think that they have some kind of great authority, I’ve seen it my self, and this is a big problem in a lot of the Baptist Churches. Some deacons take it on them selves to spend the Churches money without ever coming before the Pastor and the Church.
Some even think they can tell the Pastor what to do.
I remember Brother Garland Sentell said one time, I’m sure many of you knew him, especially if your from the up state of S.C., he was talking about him and his Church, he said, “there never has been a possum up that tree”, talking about Deacons telling him how to operate the Church. brother Sentell was over my Deacon ordination, back in 83.
But according to the Word, the deacons are servants to that Church, they’re to take care of the Churches business, after the over site of the Pastor. The deacons have absolutely no authority at all.
Acts 6: 1-4 And in those days, when the number of the disciples *** was multiplied, there arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration.
2Then the twelve called the multitude of the disciples unto them, and said, It is not reason that we should leave the word of God, and serve tables.
3Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men*** of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business.
4But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word.
The deacons can present suggestions to the Pastor for him to consider, and if he thinks it’s a good idea, then it’s to be brought before the Church body to be voted on.
Even the Pastor is not to be an over lord of that assembly, he is the under shepherd of that flock of people that The Good Shepard has allowed him to pastor.
And now that I’ve got many of you good and mad let me say that GOD HAS NEVER CALLED A WOMEN TO BE A PREACHER OR A DEACON IN THE N.T. Church.
There was Prophetess in the O.T. but not in the Church.
The dear Christian ladies have many wonder things they do in the Church but Preaching is not among them, or teaching a men’s Bible class. She can teach the ladies class, and the children’s class, buts she’s not to usurp authority over the man.
1 Timothy 2: 12 But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence.
Now dear heart that comes from the Word that we’ve been talking about, I know many Godly ladies that know this Word and can helps us in many ways, and these dear ladies will be among the 1st to testify that a woman is not to be a deacon or preach or Pastor.
—We’re talking about, rightly dividing the word of truth.
How many of you have ever saw on T.V. some preacher that looks like a hippy?
You know, they’ll have their fancy necklaces on, they have long hair, their pacing out and back yelling aloud, asking the T.V. audience to plant a seed gift, that if you do you’ll receive all kind of wealth in return, listen dear heart, these liars are out to get in your pocket book, God is not in that at all, a true preacher is to preach the Word, not con people out of their money, and most of the time it’s the elderly people that’ll send him money, people that many times really need their money them selves.
Most of us have pictures in our homes that some artist has portrayed of the Lord Jesus, and just about all these pictures will have the Lord with long hair.
Remember, that Jesus is the Living Word and the Bible is the written Word, and the Lord Jesus would never do any thing contrary to what the written Word says.
We can be sure that Jesus did not have long hair because of what the written Word says.
1 Corinthians 11: 14 Doth not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him?
Some will say, what is long, long is to look like a woman.
I’ve been talking about “rightly dividing the Word” today. We must not take the Word out of its context, the Word TELLS US THAT TWO OR MORE IS A WITNESS, so to know if a certain doctrine is true it’ll be there more that once, I’m talking about foundational doctrine, we don’t need to find another verse to do with long hair, we can plainly understand what that means.
Matthew 18: 16But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.
And let me say that whenever we read a doctrinal statement in the Word for the first time, it will remain the same all through the Word; it will never deviate from the original meaning.
2 Timothy 2:15 “Study to show thyself approved unto God, not approved unto man,-a workman that needeth not to be ashamed…” The word “workman” is a word that is used for laborer.
It means that we as believers must be consistent, that we must allow the Scriptures to harmonize with themselves, and that we must not deviate from it to suit anyone’s beliefs, even our own.
If a person sincerely wants to know what the bible says and means, then he’ll except the truths it reveals, he’ll either say, “amen or O me”,
