Welcome, friends, to another
broadcast of Morsels for Zion's Poor. When teachers of religion
desire to take aim at persuading their followers to study the
Scriptures, they usually roll out 2 Timothy 2.15, which says,
Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth
not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. It's rather
an oddity that a verse which plainly teaches the necessity
of rightly dividing, that is, accurately or plainly setting
forth the Word, would be one of those whose meaning is so
greatly and often misconstrued. Now, while it is a noble endeavor
to study the Scriptures, the word which is translated as study
here does not mean to spend time in scholarly pursuit of knowledge.
Rather, the meaning of study here literally means to hasten,
make haste, to exert oneself, endeavor, or give diligence.
So the clear teaching of the passage is that we should give
diligence to present ourselves as not counterfeit unto the Lord. A very similar passage is found
in Romans 12.1. I beseech you, therefore, brethren,
by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living
sacrifice holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable
service. And be not conformed to this
world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind,
that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect
will of God. And then again in Romans 14,
18, For he that in these things serveth Christ is acceptable
to God, and approved of men. We're admonished in this passage
to be diligent in our effort to serve the Lord. Now, while
an understanding of the outworking of God's grace prevents us from
the error of thinking that we can earn favor by our endeavors
to be faithful to Him, or that we would even desire to do so,
it does not preclude the concept of putting forth effort which
is intended to glorify Him who gave Himself for us. Grace is
not the enemy of effort and diligence. Rather, diligence is the result
and trophy of grace. Intentions of effort are worthy
of note, but are not a replacement for diligence and discipline.
Good intentions are a placebo for the flesh. We must not allow
ourselves to sleep on this enchanted ground. The Scriptures are full
of exhortations and admonitions to the people of God to be up
and busy, to be overcomers and watchmen. There is sin to be
wrestled with. There are principalities and
powers which are to be fought. There are imaginations which
must be cast down. There are winds of doctrine which
blow God's people to and fro. For the enemies of the cross
have declared their intentions. Will we not arise and put on
the whole armor of God? Will we sit idly by as false
prophets decimate the flock of God? Must I be carried to the
skies on flowery beds of ease, while others fought to win the
prize and sail through bloody seas? We do not labor in the
power of the flesh, but we labor in the power of Him who has all
power. As our text says, we are workmen who have no reason to
be ashamed. We are the children of light.
Then let us put on the armor of light and flee the darkness.
Leave others to their excuses. Let us watch and be sober. Now
we are brought to another very clear admonition that follows
very closely to the first, rightly dividing the word of truth. There
is no way to fulfill the first part of this verse without attending
to the second. In fact, it is only by an accurate
discernment of the truth that one can properly understand what
it means to give diligence. Some would make it a work of
the flesh, others would ignore it altogether. Rightly dividing
literally means to cut straight or proceed on a straight path.
I believe we get something of the idea by something the Lord
said. No man, having put his hand to the plow and looking
back, is fit for the kingdom of God. The implication is that
if a man takes his eyes off the work in front of him, he will
go astray or not plow a straight road. We must be those who speak
clearly concerning the word of God. We must guard against fanciful
explanations of simple truths or the tendency to twist the
word to fit our doctrinal understanding, support our pet causes, or justify
our ungodly actions. We cannot possibly understand
completely every verse in the Holy Writ. Sometimes we must
admit our ignorance of it rather than plowing a furrow that must
be filled in at a later time. There are enough fools who empty
their minds before the multitudes without us joining their numbers.
I am convinced that there is no person nor groups of people
who know all the answers. However, we must be plain spoken
about those things we do know. Pray for grace to be silent about
those we don't and the wisdom to know the difference. Brother
Ralph Barnard once said, the Bible doesn't always mean what
it says, it means what it means. Oh, for the spiritual wisdom
to know what it means, and grace to practice what it clearly tells
us. Such is to speak clearly, rightly, dividing the word of
truth. This is the work of God, and we will rejoice in it. For
a free CD containing 15 of these radio broadcasts, send an email
to forthepoor at windstream.net.