Rightly Dividing the Word of Truth
(2Ti 2:15) Study earnestly to present yourself approved to God, a workman that does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of Truth.
With so many teachings today from so many teachers how does one know that they are keeping on track with what the Bible teaches? No doubt most of today’s teachers use the bible as their text expounding of the verse and applying it to today's issues. “Well it must be correct, it’s in the word,” many will say emphatically. As a student of the bible now for over 20 years I can tell you coming to a correct conclusion on a matter is a little harder than one might lead onto. Now before you become alarmed the primary message of the bible is simple enough to read and understand regardless of background. Primary message? Those foundational truths that are easily lifted from the text. The simple song, “Jesus loves me this I know for the bible tells me so.” This is an example of what a foundational truth is.
Being that the author of the bible is God, one could easily understand that it is written on many levels. This ever unveiling aspect of God’s Word is to our benefit. How many times would you read through a novel if you got it all the first time? Well no worry here you can read through the bible 15,000 times and not get it all. This should keep us humble and posed that none of us have everything figured out. I myself have changed my stand of many secondary issues over the 20 years I have studied the bible. The more light I have on the matter the more I understand the truth of what God says. Let me state clearly that God’s Word does not change, our light or understanding of what it says changes. This fact is very common with all ministers. We all teach and preach out of the light we have on the matter at that given time. We are commanded as a responsibility and sign of maturity to study to show ourselves approved, rightly dividing the word of truth. Careful study is required to understand the messages of the bible. Yes I said messages. The bible is full of mysteries, types, parables, and shadows. Besides the obvious textual context etc., the bible is spiritually discerned meaning to understand it you must have the help of the Holy Spirit. So in order to understand the bible you will need to both spiritually and intellectually engage. To do one without the other is a wreck ready to happen.
Here is a couple helpful hints to keep you growing in truth during your personal study time. First, what is the context? Who is the author writing to? This might seem overly elementary but you would be surprise how many people read a scripture and interpret it without first finding the setting of the text. An example of this trying to use an Old Testament text to apply to a gentile Christian. Although we (Gentile Christians) can apply the OT to our daily lives we must be careful not to take up a doctrine or a truth that was written specifically for another audience, this could really confuse you to say it simply. Since I mentioned the term Gentile Christians let me explain. Unless you are a full blooded Jew that has become a believer you are a Gentile Christian. That is not to say that through salvation we become one new man, my point is understanding what God’s word is saying to you. You cannot take a scripture written to a Jew under the old covenant in a culture you have no understanding of the practices, ways, etc. and expect to make sense out of it. That is why God called Paul to reach the Gentiles. Paul was given a revelation of salvation to the Gentiles. It was built on grace and not law. That is a whole other matter. The second helpful point I want to make is to research the culture. Yes reading before and after the passage is a good idea. Finding out the context of the text will greatly help but equally important is to understand the customs, practices, and times. If possible put yourself there. Remember the bible was written in different settings and times. A good example of this is the New Testament. Much of what Jesus spoke about was directly in response to the day in which he lived. To make this matter even more complex throw in that Jesus was born under the law of Moses and came to fulfill it. Jesus even said he did not come for the gentiles but for the lost house of Israel. Do you think his message was influenced by his mission? Oh course it was, his primary audience was the religious leaders of his day and not the Gentiles. Peter clearly was called to be an apostle to the Jews and Paul clearly was called to be an apostle to the Gentiles is another strong factor to consider. Not that the whole bible is not applicable to us today but these factors do play into coming to a correct interpretation. The last pointer I want to leave you with is to be open to the Holy Spirit. After all he wrote the bible through people. The brilliance of the bible is the Holy Spirit wrote truth using the culture and times to reveal his message. When we apply steps one and two than the Holy Spirit has an easier time at showing us the eternal truth that is wrapped up in the context etc. This truth is what we are after. Let us humbly approach God’s Word with our prayer being Holy Spirit reveal to us the eternal truth of your word because we know that the scripture says you will know the truth and the truth will make you free.
