DILIGENT BIBLE STUDY 2 Timothy 2:15 15 Be diligent [study] to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth. AMP Study & be eager & do your utmost to present yourself to God approved (tested by trial), a workman who has no cause to be ashamed, correctly analyzing & accurately dividing [rightly handling & skillfully teaching] the Word of Truth. A. According to some, God has chosen ONLY certain people to study & teach His word. 1. All others are required ONLY to listen & follow their teachers. 2. This fallacy is based on a misapplication of the very word of truth they claim to accurately understand & teach. B. It is true that God once equipped teachers w/ miraculous abilities to do their teaching. 1. But those special abilities & knowledge came through the apostles. 2 Timothy 1:5-6 6 For this reason I remind you to kindle afresh the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. (1 Tim 4:14-16; SIMON SAW Acts 8:18). 1. But Paul was not suggesting (2 Tim 2:15) that Christians should not study for themselves. a. That would be like saying, only teachers in medical schools should study medicine. But if you re only going to practice medicine, then it is not required that you study medicine. b. But still, Christians have a tendency to let preachers or other studious individuals become their primary source of Bible knowledge. 1
C. In the gospel age God deals with us directly through the word of His Son (Heb 1:1-2). Hebrews 1:1-2 1 God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, 2 in these last days has spoken to US in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world. 1. YOUR salvation depends on YOU continuing in the word of Christ & knowing the truth. John 8:31-32 31 So Jesus was saying to those JEWS who had believed Him, "If YOU continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free." [So each one of us needs to be diligent to be a workman, to NOT be ashamed, & to handle accurately the word of truth.] I. GOD EXPECTS US TO UNDERSTAND HIS WRITTEN WILL (SCRIPTURE) A. Paul commanded us to take personal responsibility for knowing God s will. 1. Read Ephesians 5:1-17, emphasizing the personal pronouns. a. Did you have any trouble understanding that? Did you need a preacher to explain that to you? 2. Read Ephesians 3:1-6, emphasizing the personal pronouns. a. Now since we have been entrusted with the ability to know the will of God & to understand the insight of an apostle, 2
why then do you think people put so much emphasis on preachers today who only have access to the same Word of God that everyone else has access to. Could it be that people really don t want to do their own study (2 Tim 2:15)? B. Peter told us that some of Paul s writings are hard to understand (2 Pet 3:15-16). 1. In other words it will take a lot of mental energy to understand the wisdom God had given the apostle Paul. 2. But notice that Peter didn t say it was impossible to understand Paul. 3. And if we don t try to understand Paul, we may end up like those (2 Pet 3:16) who are untaught & unstable, & who distort the Scriptures to their own destruction. a. What s missing in our lives today is that family time with the Bible; the quiet evenings next to a lamp - reading the sacred text to our wives & children. b. The habitual reading of God s word each & every day without fail. 4. It has just become too easy to just listen to someone teach us, & to invest no time of our own in Bible study. C. Jesus just took it for granted that His fellow Jews should have studied the Scriptures. Matthew 21:42 (After the Parable of the Landowner) 42 Jesus said to them, "Did you never read in the Scriptures (Psa 118), 'THE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED, THIS BECAME THE CHIEF CORNER stone; THIS CAME ABOUT FROM THE LORD, & IT IS MARVELOUS IN OUR EYES'? (Matthew 22:28-29; Luke 10:25-26; 18:18-20). 3
John 5:38-39 38 And ye have not his word abiding in you: for whom he hath sent, him ye believe not. 39 Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me. [Jesus didn t put it entirely on the religious elite to explain the Word of God to the people. He expected the people to show some incentive & to apply themselves to understanding the Scripture to rightly divide the word of truth.] II. GOD EXPECTS US TO BE COMPLETE & EQUIPPED FOR EVERY GOOD WORK A. The Bible contains everything we need to know about God & how to serve God, so that we can stand justified at His judgment & to go to heaven. 2 Timothy 3:15 15 and that from childhood you have known the [Holy Scripture] sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. 1. Timothy s mother & grandmother are not mentioned in this verse, but that s who Paul was talking about. 2. They are the ones who gave Timothy the wisdom that leads to salvation. 3. They taught him the Scripture! 2 Timothy 1:5 5 For I am mindful of the sincere faith within you, which first dwelt in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am sure that it is in you as well. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 16 All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; 17 so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work. 4
4. Scripture contains ALL the teaching we need. 5. It tells us when something is sinful it is for reproof. 6. It tells us how to change what is wrong it is for correction. 7. It is our training manual for spiritual growth it is for training in righteousness. 8. It will complete us AND equip us for every good work the Lord would have us do. B. David sheds some light on the responsibility we have to know God s word. Psalms 1:1-3 1 How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers! 2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord, & in His law he meditates day & night. 3 He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season & its leaf does not wither; & in whatever he does, he prospers. 1. A tree that is always near the source of its life will be strong & fruitful. 2. The child of God who is complete & equipped for every good work, is one who is near God s word at all times. 3. His delight is in the Law of the Lord, & in His law he meditates day & night. [Bible study is little like physical exercise, i.e., you don t benefit from someone else s exercise.] III. GOD EXPECTS US TO WORK OUT OUR OWN SALVATION IN FEAR & TREMBLING A. Paul reminded the Philippians that they each had a personal responsibility in their own salvation (Phil 2:12). 5
Philippians 2:12 12 So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear & trembling; 1. The teacher is gone. The preacher is out of town. Paul that is. Now what? 2. Obey! Work out your salvation in humble & fearful respect for God. 3. And they were NOT going to get that done without a lot of study on their own. 4. The Philippian jailor was going to have to get up on Sunday morning & bring a lesson to the church. a. Which meant that he was going to have to study to show himself approved to God (2 Tim 2:15). 5. Should we leave something as important as our salvation up to someone else? a. The Bereans searched the Scriptures daily to make sure Paul was being truthful (Acts 17:11). b. Paul commanded the Corinthians to examine & prove themselves (2 Cor 13:5). [And this all goes back to our text (2 Tim 2:15). It wasn t just for the preacher Timothy.] IV. THE CONSEQUENCES IF WE DO NOT STUDY GOD S WORD A. Trusting others to teach can cause us to be easy prey for false teachers (2 Tim 3:6; Ti 1:10-11). 6
Jude 3-4 3 Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints. 4 For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness & deny our only Master & Lord, Jesus Christ. 1. The best tactic of a false teacher is to convince the saints not to do their own study. 2. Today, many are kept in the darkness of ignorance by trusting someone to tell them everything they need to know. B. Hosea foretold the doom Israel, & he gave the reason for it. Hosea 4:6 6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being My priest. Since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children. 1. The point is, when we depend on others for our knowledge of God s will we can easily be led away from God. a. Sincere people can teach error. b. They can be negligent in their study. c. They can be followers of other men. d. They may teach some truth, but they may fail or refuse to teach the whole counsel of God. 7
CLOSING A. Remember (2 Tim 2:15), & never forget that this command applies to you & how you respond to it will influence your eternal destiny (heaven or hell). John 12:48 48 "He who rejects Me & does not receive My sayings, has one who judges him; the word I spoke is what will judge him at the last day. Matthew 7:21 21 "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. 1. It s just reasonable to want to do all that is in our power to prepare for eternity. 2. It s just human nature to want someone do that for us.. A man was seated on a park bench when a little boy of five sat down beside him & started winding what appeared to be a most prized possession a watch. My, what a pretty watch, remarked the man. Does it tell you the time? No sir, replied the boy; you gotta look at it. The word of truth is right here, but we have to look at it to get the benefit. 8