Posted: October 15, 2009
A dear and close friend of mine asked me a tough question that I thought others might be asking as well, so I decided to answer it here in my blog. I hope this helps. It's not an exhaustive answer, but it’s an answer non the less.
The Question: “...IT IS ABOUT 2 TIMOTHY 2:15>>>>>>>THERE ARE SO MANY, MANY, MANY PEOPLE RIGHTLY DIVIDING THE WORD OF TRUTH, IF THEY ARE ALL RIGHTLY DIVIDING ,HOW COME THERE ARE SO MANY DIVISIONS IN WHAT THE WORD IS SAYING ???????
My short, non-exhaustive answer:
1. Many feel that they are wholeheartedly preaching the Truth -but- are clearly wrong in their preaching. They may be honestly mistaken because they spent "little to no time” studying. Perhaps they thought they already had a "good and proper" understanding of the verse/passage they were preaching. Unfortunately, I've been there before, repented, and try to catch myself when I'm being tempted to preach a particular passage without studying it through - no matter how familiar it is to me. There may be other reasons, but I know that this one is more common than most Pastors/preachers would ever admit.
2. Talk is cheap. Many feel that they are preaching the Truth, but, as I've personally experienced, we may dive deeper into a passage after we've preached it only to realize that there is a much deeper meaning and we only scratched the surface. (In moments like these, I many times preach the "deeper" version the following week.)
Still there are others that do a "google search" for a particular topic or word they want to preach on and they don't take the time to look at the context of the particular passage; they only see the "word or phrase" and automatically think it applies and so they use it - un-Biblically at that.
Still others don't even attempt to "rightly divide the Word of Truth" such as the "Bennie Henn's and Kenneth Copeland's of the world. Their fruit shows us that they are merely in "ministry" for selfish gain and want folks to "sow financial seeds" into it to help them buy their new Jet or vacation home.
3. Some are "Wolves" that intentionally deceive.
Ezekiel 22:27-28 gives us a great example of what the wolves/false prophets such as the ones listed above intentionally do.
"27 Her princes in her midst are like wolves y tearing the prey, shedding blood, destroying lives to get dishonest gain. 28 And a her prophets have smeared whitewash for them, seeing false visions and divining lies for them, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord God,’ when the Lord has not spoken."
so we see right here that many are sent as "intentional deceivers" from THE deceiver, the Devil.
Also, in Matthew 7:15, Jesus tells us "“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.”
Again, some intentionally deceive, they are called "wolves" by Jesus, and "dogs" by Paul in Philippians 3:2, either way, they claim to be walking in the light, but the Truth is not in them, it is far from their hearts.
So how can we determine if we are or aren't preaching, teaching, or taking Scripture in context?
1. STUDY God's Word!!!
One of the most effective ways is to STUDY!!! It seems that the Bible, which is the most important book that has ever been written, read, or published is the most understudied book in the world.
You would never go in for a final exam and expect to pass without studying, yet we constantly ask and expect God to bless our day while consistently neglecting the study of His Holy Word. We take advantage of His grace and mercy but still expect it to be available for us to abuse, I mean use whenever we need it. The abuse comment was meant as a joke, but it's more of a reality in our lives than most of us care to admit.
So, how are there so many that aren't "rightly dividing the Word of Truth"? Because the average Christian doesn't study it apart from Sunday and
maybe Wednesday.
2. Expose yourself to sound doctrine and Biblical teaching.
Be involved not only in your own local church/body of believers, but also read commentaries by some of the tried and proven Pastors/preachers of old.
You would be amazed how quickly you will grow as a result of reading what other Godly men have written about a particular passage you're studying. But even then, you must always trust what the Word of God says, not what a man twists it into.
3. Pray for wisdom and discernment.
James 1:5
"If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him."
It should be an amazing comfort that God will definitely give you wisdom if we ask Him and do not doubt (as we see in Jam. 1:6)!
Too often we don't receive the wisdom God wants us to have because we don't ask, we doubt, or we choose not to work/study in order to attain it. We must ask for God's help in learning and discerning the Scripture - if that is our goal.
I pray that it is your personal goal to rightly divide the Word of Truth, (the Bible) correctly teach it to others, and most importantly - to LIVE IT!
Tim Camp
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