Good morning to you my precious friends.

2 Timothy 2 verse 15 says “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.”

It is to God not to man that we are to diligently study in order to show ourselves approved. What is man that we should be mindful of what man thinks of us – too often the gospel truth, to which we hold fast, is foolishness to the world of men and can also be distorted by the restricted thinking of many theologians.

The word of God is to be the focus of our study and not the wise philosophies or limited scope of mortal man’s understanding, but the God-breathed Scripture, which is His inerrant Word of Truth. Through the study of God’s Word, we should make every effort to discover the beautiful gems of wisdom that are found within its pages.

After commenting about false teachers in verse 14, Paul urges Timothy to view himself as a worker seeking to please God. Any worker or servant should desire to satisfy the expectations of his or her boss. Timothy was to view his work for God in the same way. He was not serving to please other people, but to please the Lord. Paul knew well the many ways the world can distract a Christian's focus. These worldly forces might try to distract Timothy's attention by making people happy, rather than viewing the Lord as the One to please.

Timothy's challenge is not only to be approved, but to be a worker "who has no need to be ashamed." Paul had already spoken of not being ashamed on three occasions in the previous chapter (2 Timothy 1:8, 12, 16). During times of suffering, Paul felt the need to emphasize boldness in faith to those tempted to avoid hardship and persecution. His boldness involved "rightly handling the word of truth." In contrast with the false teachers who argued over words, Timothy had learned the Scriptures from his youth and was to handle it accurately.

In verse 14, Paul condemned pointless bickering. He commends deeper study. Putting these two ideas together gives us an accurate picture of what Christian discernment is meant to look like. We need to study diligently, not only to defend the faith, but to know the difference between something worth battling over, and something which is just a distracting argument.

Let us break down the Key Parts of verse 15

#1 “Do your best…”
Matthew 5:48 reminds us that “You must be perfect as your Heavenly Father is perfect”. But in this temporary flesh in a fallen world, we might slip on occasion, and if so, we must repent and get back on the narrow path. But we are charged to “do our best.” The trouble with most people is not that their best for God isn’t good enough. It is that they are not giving God their best.

#2 “…to present yourself to God as one approved,”
You are already “one approved” if you are a believer in Christ. The question is always, “will we act like it?” Our best effort is required to live up to the standard of approval that our Father has given us. He has chosen to make us righteous. It is right to seek to live unto God as a result of the Holy Spirit given to us.

#3 “a worker who does not need to be ashamed…”
Being ashamed has characterized humanity since the fall (Genesis 3:7). Jesus in Luke 9:26 diagnosed those who would not bear their cross daily and follow Him as “ashamed of Him”. He said of them that He would be ashamed at His second coming. We are to be “workers” for the Lord, always abounding in this work. We will not be ashamed if what we say we believe and how we live lines up with each other.

#4 “…who correctly handles the word of truth.”
The worker for the Lord is to teach God’s Word properly and with proper interpretation, and also to “handle” the word of truth is to understand the truth and live accordingly. The opposite would be to know the truth but fail to live up to it, betraying our lack of true belief.

So to rightly divide the word of truth – we must accurately handle the content of the Bible.

Scripture should not be taken out of context nor twisted to say what we would like it to say - or even think it says! God’s Word is one unified whole, which unveils the unchanging nature and character of God and the devastating effects of sin, which is a concept that threads throughout the Word. The command is to apply ourselves daily to study God's Word/His truth. We must not just skim through it, but we are to be diligent in studying God's Word. We must read it, meditate on it day and night and ponder in our hearts, what God is trying to reveal to us.

It is in the Word of God where we gain spiritual wisdom, revelation, insight, understanding, knowledge and spiritual direction for ourselves and in our efforts to pass it on in our service to others.

Precious people of God, STUDY THE WORD OF GOD to present yourself to God as one approved, workers who do not need to be ashamed, by rightly handling the word of truth.

Let us pray:

Loving heavenly Father, thank You for Your Word of truth and the grace that it contains. Lord I pray that by Your grace I may walk in spirit and truth as I search the scriptures daily to discover what Your Holy Spirit would teach me... Give me understanding of Your Word and guide me into all truth I pray - and give me a teachable spirit, in Jesus name, AMEN.

Much love from Maurice and Margaret.