“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.” (2 Timothy 2:15, ESV)
The scripture for today gives a clear and concise explanation of what to do in order to be “approved” by God come Judgment Day. It begins by saying that you should “do your best to present yourself to God as one approved” (2 Timothy 2:15a). This means that your spiritual life should be of ultimate importance to you. In your desire to be faithful, doing your best means obeying God’s word and law and following the will of the Holy Spirit. The second part of this scripture implies that you should do nothing as you work for God that would make you “ashamed” to be in the presence of God. Finally, I want to focus on the third and last part of this verse. In this last section, the scripture demands that you “rightly handle the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15c). In a nutshell, this means that when you read and meditate on God’s word or on God’s truth that you do so with integrity.
There are many people who do not handle God’s word or God’s truth with integrity. They twist the meaning of scripture so to make their actions seem holy or less sinful. They read into the scriptures what they want to see. They ignore scriptures they don’t like and only focus on ones that agree with their ideas. There are so many ways to play around with scripture in order to make it fit your own biases instead of seeing scripture as God’s truth worth obeying.
In an article from a theological publication, a homosexual pastor wrote that God approves homosexuality. To support his claim, he wrote about 1 Samuel 20:17, which states, “Jonathan made David swear again by his love for him, for he loved him as he loved his own soul.” The homosexual pastor then made the claim that David and Jonathan must have had a homosexual relationship because of how this verse was written. Sadly, this interpretation shows the pastor’s bias. Nowhere does it say in scripture that David and Jonathan had a sexual relationship. David and Jonathan were very close, like brothers even. Several scriptures allude to this fact. But can’t a man love another man like a brother without a sexual relationship? Of course! I’ve loved other men in such a manner. Ask any soldier who has gone through war if he was closer to those in his company or foxhole than family and he will agree! Two men can love each other deeply, cherish each other’s company, without having a homosexual relationship! This homosexual pastor was playing around with scripture to justify his own lifestyle.
Now before you judge this pastor, realize that everyone is tempted to play around with scripture to justify his or her own biases. I’ve heard wife-beaters justify their violence using scripture. Several news articles I’ve read contained Christian people with psychological problems who explained away their murder of children as ways to “save the children” or “send them right to heaven”. One man who visited prostitutes explained to his pastor that his dalliances weren’t sinful. He claimed that since Old Testament patriarchs had multiple wives and concubines, so could he! There are many, many ways to play around with scripture to justify sin. That is why this scripture is adamant that to be faithful you must “rightly handle the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15). Too many Christians have failed to do so.
As I was viewing a book on my eBook reader recently, the following story was given:
“A New York enthusiast had a good collection of paintings, one of them being the Leaning Tower of Pisa, which hung over his writing desk. For a long time, he noticed that it persisted in hanging crooked despite the fact that he straightened it every morning. At last, he asked the housekeeper if she was responsible for its lopsided position each morning that he came to his office. “Why, yes,” she said, “I have to hang it crooked to make the tower hang straight. Does that sound strange?
That is exactly how a lot of people read the Bible. Many people twist the Word of God in order to justify their own opinions or actions, or doctrine to make them all appear right. Let us not twist the Scriptures to suit our own fancy. Let us be sure to hang the picture right!” (The Best Sermon Illustrations, p. 42-43).
Do you handle God’s truth rightly? When you read your Bible do you ignore passages that you don’t like? When you pray, do you argue with God about what is right when you know you’ve done wrong? When you hear a sermon that hits home, are you apt to get angry at the pastor for his interpretation of the truth? There are so many ways to twist scripture to suit your own biases. Don’t let that playing around with God’s truth cause your downfall and make you lose God’s approval. You won’t enjoy what comes next…..
There are many people who do not handle God’s word or God’s truth with integrity. They twist the meaning of scripture so to make their actions seem holy or less sinful. They read into the scriptures what they want to see. They ignore scriptures they don’t like and only focus on ones that agree with their ideas. There are so many ways to play around with scripture in order to make it fit your own biases instead of seeing scripture as God’s truth worth obeying.
In an article from a theological publication, a homosexual pastor wrote that God approves homosexuality. To support his claim, he wrote about 1 Samuel 20:17, which states, “Jonathan made David swear again by his love for him, for he loved him as he loved his own soul.” The homosexual pastor then made the claim that David and Jonathan must have had a homosexual relationship because of how this verse was written. Sadly, this interpretation shows the pastor’s bias. Nowhere does it say in scripture that David and Jonathan had a sexual relationship. David and Jonathan were very close, like brothers even. Several scriptures allude to this fact. But can’t a man love another man like a brother without a sexual relationship? Of course! I’ve loved other men in such a manner. Ask any soldier who has gone through war if he was closer to those in his company or foxhole than family and he will agree! Two men can love each other deeply, cherish each other’s company, without having a homosexual relationship! This homosexual pastor was playing around with scripture to justify his own lifestyle.
Now before you judge this pastor, realize that everyone is tempted to play around with scripture to justify his or her own biases. I’ve heard wife-beaters justify their violence using scripture. Several news articles I’ve read contained Christian people with psychological problems who explained away their murder of children as ways to “save the children” or “send them right to heaven”. One man who visited prostitutes explained to his pastor that his dalliances weren’t sinful. He claimed that since Old Testament patriarchs had multiple wives and concubines, so could he! There are many, many ways to play around with scripture to justify sin. That is why this scripture is adamant that to be faithful you must “rightly handle the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15). Too many Christians have failed to do so.
As I was viewing a book on my eBook reader recently, the following story was given:
“A New York enthusiast had a good collection of paintings, one of them being the Leaning Tower of Pisa, which hung over his writing desk. For a long time, he noticed that it persisted in hanging crooked despite the fact that he straightened it every morning. At last, he asked the housekeeper if she was responsible for its lopsided position each morning that he came to his office. “Why, yes,” she said, “I have to hang it crooked to make the tower hang straight. Does that sound strange?
That is exactly how a lot of people read the Bible. Many people twist the Word of God in order to justify their own opinions or actions, or doctrine to make them all appear right. Let us not twist the Scriptures to suit our own fancy. Let us be sure to hang the picture right!” (The Best Sermon Illustrations, p. 42-43).
Do you handle God’s truth rightly? When you read your Bible do you ignore passages that you don’t like? When you pray, do you argue with God about what is right when you know you’ve done wrong? When you hear a sermon that hits home, are you apt to get angry at the pastor for his interpretation of the truth? There are so many ways to twist scripture to suit your own biases. Don’t let that playing around with God’s truth cause your downfall and make you lose God’s approval. You won’t enjoy what comes next…..