Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. 2Timothy 2:15 (NKJV)
I will be the first to admit that I have made my share of assumptions; I have at times taken for granted that the things I feel and the way I see is right, must be right. We should never put our trust in the way we feel; we will be misguided (Prov. 14:12 ). I have met several people (I was once one) who assume that Luke and Mark (writers of the Gospels according to Luke and Mark) were two of the twelve apostles? They were not; Luke was called the “beloved physician” and was a companion of the apostles and fellow believer in Jesus Christ. Mark was the cousin of Barnabas, a believer who’s Gospel is thought by some to be based on Peter’s recollections. Neither one of them were one of the twelve apostles.
Now you may think that not knowing who was and was not a member of the twelve apostles is not important. You may think that it is ok to just skim the scriptures and infer here and jump there; however this gives room for misinterpretations and false beliefs. Paul urged Timothy to be diligent in showing himself approved. He told him to rightly divide the word of truth. The word divide is translated from the word “Orthotomeo” (or-thot-om-eh'-o) a Greek term meaning, “to teach the truth directly and correctly”. Enable for Timothy to do this he had to lay aside assumptions and share the truth that he had heard of Paul and the apostles as well as Old Testament scripture.
Now we do not have the benefit of walking directly with Paul or the apostles, but we have been given the Holy Bible (Compilation of writings of man, divinely inspired by God) to guide us in sharing the word of truth. We must read and study the scriptures, we must lay aside our own assumptions; diving deep into God’s word, so that we may find the truth within. Only then can we share the truth that is found in Jesus Christ, both directly and correctly.
If we are to be effective we must make it a point to set aside time on a daily basis to learn and grow in the word of God. God’s word has been given us as a guide; an instruction manual or “how to” book of life (Psalms 119:105). It is of the utmost importance that we do not take it lightly; we should not assume that we will be given automatic knowledge and deep spiritual insight at conversion. We also need to realize that it is not the solely the job of pastors and ministers to study and share the word of God. We should follow the example of the believers in Berea; they were commended for searching the scripture daily, to assure that what was preached to them was not contrary to God’s word (Acts 17:10-11).
Do you read the word of God daily? Do you take time to study the word; digging deeper into the contextual meanings? There is no better time to start than today!
