Having been in ministry many years and somewhat unfortunately have had many addresses due to the military, college and jobs. I have had great concern about the great amount of biblical illiteracy in a land of millions of churches and hundreds, if not thousands, of bible colleges and seminaries. I have heard many things from people that they cannot prove from Scripture, but they hold to them as if they were written by Moses or the Apostles or was in red letters in their version of the Word.
Today we have people buying into many outright lies because of Scripture twisting and ignorance of the teacher and the ones being taught. I have always been concerned about sound doctrine, but as I see some of my family stray from God and one even involved with a famous ministry that is trying to retrieve stolen truth from the New Age movement, which is really “giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils” I am even more concerned. (1 Timothy 4:1) You would not seek to retrieve your favorite candy bar if you accidentally dropped it in a fresh cow pie. Neither should you seek truth in a cesspool of bad theology.
Most cults are just groups who took parts of God’s Word and drug it through a cesspool. There is no need to retrieve what the Church never lost. You cannot take the truth from the true Church because it is the pillar and ground of truth. (1 Timothy 3:15) The Church may need to be awakened or revived to practice the truth, but the truth or faith was once delivered to the saints in the infallible Word of God. (Jude 1:3)
I believe that the bulk of the issue is that Christians do not study the Word. They merely skim it looking for assurance of salvation, comfort in need, assurance of forgiveness or loop holes to justify their particular sin they call their conviction. Biblical conviction is not a preference. Indeed, I Timothy 3:15 that speaks of the church being the pillar and ground of truth starts out with saying “that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God,” There are rules in the house. Anyone grow up in a home where there were no rules? While some rules may have different applications due to age, most were in effect regardless of age or gender. Too many of us think God is double-minded. If I taught my daughter to be chaste and not drink or smoke, but on my son’s eighteenth birthday I took him to a brothel with a fifth of whiskey and a box of cigars you would think me a horrible parent and inconsistent. God is not like that. Paul even said in 1 Corinthians 11:16 that no matter what you think the churches of God only have one way to do it. A point to ponder.
For the sake of time, I want to exegete just one verse that we often quote, but may not sense the full meaning of it or the depth of its implications. Indeed, it is what so many fall to false teachings when it is usually very easy to find the error and stand against it.
2 Timothy 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
Study
From G4710; to use speed, that is, to make effort, be prompt or earnest: - do (give) diligence, be diligent (forward), endeavour, labour, study.
Show - From G3488 and G2476; to stand beside, that is, (transitively) to exhibit, proffer, (specifically) recommend, (figuratively) substantiate; or (intransitively) to be at hand (or ready), aid: - assist, bring before, command, commend, give presently, present, prove, provide, shew, stand (before, by, here, up, with), yield.
I see this like standing beside your science project in high school waiting for questions or to have your findings challenged. A PhD candidate has to stand by and defend his thesis to a panel.
Thyself - The genitive case from G4571 and G846, with the dative and accusative of the same with contractions, respectively, of (with, to) thyself: - thee, thine own self, (thou) thy (-self).
You, not your pastor or teacher. You have to show yourself approved. God will be asking you why you believed something or did something and there will be no pointing fingers at others. It is on you to to know sound doctrine and practice it.
Approved - From G1380; properly acceptable (current after assayal), that is, approved: - approved, tried.
Like an assayer proving your gold sample is legitimate or fool’s gold. Like the customer saying the cake, dress or whatever you made for them is acceptable. You may like it and other’s have expressed compliments, but unless the customer is happy it is not approved.
Unto God – In college, my tests answers were given to get the grade or approval of the professor. In life, we have bosses and spouses we have to seek their approval of our work or actions. When it comes to the Word, it is God and only God we have to stand approved before, not our family, church affiliation or the culture. There are people in wrong church affiliations holding doctrine that is not approved by the Word and ultimately not approved before God.
A workman - From G2041; a toiler; figuratively a teacher: - labourer, worker (-men).
We are called to be workers in the kingdom. Being this is directed to Timothy, his labor was to be a pastor-teacher. We are all teachers of the Word by our lives, but are we teaching the right thing?
That needeth not to be ashamed - From G1 (as a negative particle) and a presumed derivative of a compound of G1909 and G153; not ashamed, that is, (by implication) irreprehensible: - that neededth not to be ashamed. Reprehensible - Deserving rebuke or censure. Worthy of reprehension; culpable; censurable; blamable.
Rightly dividing - From a compound of G3717 and the base of G5114; to make a straight cut, that is, (figuratively) to dissect (expound) correctly (the divine message): - rightly divide.
The Holy Spirit is able to divide asunder or make a cut between the soul and spirit, joints and marrow, discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. That is some really fine cutting. No surgeon is as good as that. The Holy Spirit was sent to lead us into all truth so He can can rightly divide or make a straight cut in any verse or even a word as He was used to verbal-plenary inspire the Word. That means every word in the fullness of its meaning was inspired and He will show us the meaning if we do more than skim the Word.
Word of Truth – al-ay'-thi-a From G227; truth: - true, X truly, truth, verity.
All truth is God’s truth and His Word is what we need to know and follow, not false prophets.
You may say, Brother, I have not been to bible college and did not learn some of the things you did. True, but I learned more in the library in my own study than in some of my classes. We live in the Information Age so you can do the word studies like I just did. I looked and there appears to be concordances for the other versions. I only use the King James and a Strong’s concordance and I still have a Theological Word Book. If you are not Net savvy, you can still find some old school resources out there. Besides, if you are saved, we have the same Holy Spirit to teach us.
When I was with the Baptists it was found that most of the cults got converts from folks of a Baptist background. Some of the New Age and other Charismatic cults may well be getting some from the Assembly of God. Indeed, some of this may be invading both pews and pulpits in our ranks. This should not happen. We are to be people of the Word, but unless we are true Bereans the enemy can twist the Word into vain jangling and we can be deceived. We need to heed Paul’s warning.
Ephesians 4:14 That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;
If you need to start out with milk, do so, but study so you can handle strong meat lest you be led astray into a buffet of theological salmonella and botulism. Maranatha!!
Greek definitions are from the Strong's Concordance that is part of e-Sword.
