My Responsibility Toward Truth

What is my responsibility toward this most precious of possessions? Probably no verse in the entire Bible sums it up better than 2 Timothy 2:15:

Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

Where the NKJV says "be diligent," the KJV version says "study." Either version gives the idea that I am to apply myself in a regular and consistent manner to the study of the truth. Paul refers to those who do so as "workers," implying that it takes effort. To what purpose am I to be a diligent worker? So that I may "rightly divide" God's Word.

What does it mean to "rightly divide the word of truth"? At its most basic level, it is knowing which parts of it apply to me and which parts don't. A perfect example of this is the Old Testament (OT) law. The OT law was a covenant law between God and a specific people: the Jews. It was also temporary until Christ came (please see the previous post entitled "The Value of Truth" for a discussion of this). No part of the OT law (including the 10 Commandments)has any bearing on my relationship with God . . . it doesn't apply to me (I'm not a Jew) and it was "nailed to the cross" when the New Testament was put in force by the blood of Christ (Colossians 2:13-14). Does that mean, then, that the Old Testament has no value? Absolutely not, and I plan on discussing that in a later post.

"Rightly dividing the word" also implies that I understand the nature of the prophecies contained in it. More simply, I need to understand which prophecies have been fulfilled and which are yet to be fulfilled. Paul addresses this is in 2 Timothy 2:16-18. There were some in Paul's day who were saying falsely that the final resurrection had already occurred. This was a symptom of the misunderstanding of (or failure to rightly divide) the inspired Word. What was the result? The teachings of these men was "overthrowing the faith of some". So I can see that failure to understand prophecy in Scripture can not only place my soul in danger, but the souls of others, as well.

Finally, "rightly dividing the word" means that I take the Word for what it says rather than making it say what I want it to say. It has been said that a person can make the Bible say anything he/she wants it to. This is certainly true when one takes Scripture out of context and applies his/her own "interpretation" to it. However, the Scripture addresses this phenomenon and its consequences. In 2 Peter 3, Peter tells us about those who will mock Christians for believing that Jesus will come again. He goes on to explain that Christ's delay in coming is out of His desire for all to come to repentance, but that when He does come there will be judgment and destruction of the earth. He reminds his readers that Paul had written to them about the same things, but note what he says about some who read Paul's words (emphasis mine):

. . . and consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation—as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you, as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures (2 Peter 3:15-16).

Peter says there are people who are untaught and unstable who will twist the Scriptures to make them say what they want them to say. Yet what is their end result? Their destruction. Certainly being able to "rightly divide the word of truth" is a grave responsibility.

In conclusion, what will be the end result if I am diligent in learning how to rightly divide the Word? The Scriptures say that I will be "approved of God." The idea here is that I will be acceptable to God in my handling of His Word. His Word will then be able to guide me to salvation and to being a faithful and obedient child in His family.