Doug Van Meter - 21 January 2024
Rightly Handling the Word of Truth (2 Timothy 2:15)
One of the challenges faced by conservative, evangelical churches in our day is the mishandling of Scripture. When Paul wrote to Timothy, instructing him to “rightly handle the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15), he was cautioning his readers to handle God’s word with care. He was exhorting his readers to handle God’s word with care by accurately interpreting it and appropriately applying it in their lives. The Bible is not to be treated as a talisman but as God’s self-revelation, which leads us to God’s full and final revelation in Jesus Christ.
Scripture References: 2 Timothy 2:15
From Series: "Rightly Handling the Word of Truth"
A series examining some of the most misapplied verses of Scripture.
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Sadly, Christians too often fail to rightly divide the word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15). Sometimes, the Bible is treated as a mantra or talisman, and such irresponsibility dishonours the Lord, confuses Christians, and strengthens the unbelief of sceptics.
In other words, sometimes the favourite verses of Christians can be woefully misunderstood and harmfully misapplied.
Africa’s Most Popular Bible Verses
I was recently reminded of this by an article in Christianity Today.
The article was the result of a survey of Christians throughout Africa asking for their favourite, “go to” verses. The article then asked various Christian leaders in Africa how they assessed the choices; that is, their views concerning why the verses were so popular in Africa. It was interesting reading their responses.
According to the YouVersion Bible app, the following were the ten most popular—read, shared, and bookmarked—verses in the Bible.
- Jeremiah 29:11—For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.
- Philippians 4:6—Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
- Isaiah 41:10—Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
- Romans 12:2—Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
- Romans 8:28—And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
- John 1:1—In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
- Matthew 6:33—But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
- 2 Timothy 1:7—For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.
- Philippians 4:13—I can do all things through him who strengthens me.
- Joshua 1:9—Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”
Now don’t misunderstand me. Each of these verses is God’s word and therefore precious. Each of these texts is truthful and relevant. But I found myself wondering why these verses are so popular. Why are they so favoured? Are there unique political, social, economic, or other cultural factors that would drive their textual popularity? For instance, why did no Psalms or Proverbs make the list? I don’t have any definitive answers to offer, but I want to share what some African voices thought.
Some African Christian leaders shared their thoughts as to why these verses are so popular. Each of these leaders is affiliated with Langham Partnership.
One leader opined, “The verses in the list summarize the needs and aspirations of Christians in Africa: Hope in God’s promises, trust in God’s provisions, and security in the midst of uncertainties.” Another suggested that they “show the social context and the people’s common experiences. For instance, Christians in times of political unrest and economic suffering often find comfort in memorization of Scriptures that speak to hope both now and in the future.”
I found this response most thoughtful:
It is likely that these verses feature prominently in Africa because of the challenging socioeconomic and sociopolitical circumstances in many African countries.
Many Christians are enduring hardships, and they resort to God’s promises to provide security, provision, prosperity, and protection. We struggle against many societal ills, such as corruption, as well as other issues, including spiritual oppression and false teachings. We generally have a transactional relationship with God, and most of these verses would be taken as promises—rewards for good religious conduct.
Most do not know how to interpret the Bible for themselves and so rely on what they hear from pastors. Given the rise of neo-Pentecostalism in Africa and the reality that approximately 85 percent of pastors do not have formal training, the popular verses would include those on this list. Unfortunately, this means that biblical literacy tends to be shallow in many contexts, and the “harder” truths that lead to spiritual maturity tend to be ignored since they are not meeting a felt need.
As I contemplated this, I thought it would be helpful to consider each of these verses in turn, with several goals.
First, we will at least touch on how our experience(s) will drive us to certain texts of Scripture. Second, we will seek to learn what these verses mean, for they will only help the, when we know what they mean. Third, we want to move beyond what might be the hindrances of familiarity. We frequently assume we know what Scripture means when, in fact, we do not. Fourth, rightly interpreting these verses will equip us with the knowledge to help others who may be guilty of mishandling them, thus dishonouring God and his word, as well as setting themselves up for spiritual disappointment.
Jeremiah 29:11 is a great truth, too often applied in an individualistic way, missing the contextual point and the theological centre. In other words, this verse teaches that there are serious consequences to disobeying God’s word. It teaches that God disciplines his people and that, in that discipline, there is hope. Rather than claiming this verse as you head off to a new school year, assuming that everything is going to be happy and easy, it helps you to face trials knowing that, though life is hard, God is good. Though you may have that verse as a bumper sticker on your car, you might still have a fender bender, with passing motorists giving you angry looks as they crawl by you.
Philippians 4:13 is a frequent “go to” verse for athletes. Just before I ran a marathon recently, some wag in the church sent me a message: “Go strong. Phil 4:13.” He followed this with a cheeky smiley face. I wrote back facetiously, “I’m feeling nervous, so I’ll be wearing my Philippians 4:13 bracelet!” This was all the n good humour, but too many disabuse this text, ripping it out of context and, again, make it all about themself rather than about devotedly and sacrificially and contentedly serving Jesus Christ.
Our goal is far greater than merely being polemical. Though sometimes necessary in the church, iconoclasm can be exhausting and less than edifying. Our desire is that, while seeking to rescue glorious texts from a man-centred, prosperity-plagued enslavement, and cultural baggage, we will at the same time be better equipped to rightly interpret and helpfully apply the word of truth. Paul wanted this for Timothy, and God wants it for us.
Losing Your Head by Rightly Handling the Word
Paul wrote his last inspired epistle to his young friend, Timothy. His head would soon be severed from his shoulders. He was passing the baton to his disciple.
Timothy was pastoring in a challenging situation. From Paul’s first epistle to Timothy, we are aware that the church at Ephesus was being assaulted with false teaching, false gospels, and temptations to factionalism. Timothy would suffer as he persevered in his ministry. Yet he must and would persevere by God’s grace (2:1–7). Timothy’s assurance of perseverance in gospel ministry—his encouragement that the church would persevere—was grounded in God’s faithfulness (2:8–13).
Paul then exhorted Timothy that, amid a flood of falsehood, foes, folly, and fables, he must be motivated by one thing: being approved by God. And how would he do this? What was required of the Christian who would be approved rather than ashamed before the Lord? He must cling to the truth of God’s word. He must handle it rightly. For only God’s word is sufficient for spiritual success.
One of the challenges faced by contemporary conservative, evangelical church is to mishandle Scriptures. In fact, one of the most popular approaches to Scripture today is what is known as dispensationalism. When this system of biblical interpretation was gaining much momentum, C. I. Scofield wrote a book called Rightly Dividing the Word of Truth. He argued that dividing Scripture into seven dispensations was the only way to rightly divide the truth in terms of 2 Timothy 2:15. In fact, as I came to learn many years ago, he was wronglydividing the word of truth resulting in what Keith Mathison called “wrongly dividing the people of God.” This is no minor error, as can be seen in our day with Christians divided on how we should respond to the tragedy in Israel-Palestine.
So what did Paul mean when he wrote to Timothy, instructing him to rightly handle the word of truth? Essentially, 2 Timothy 2:15 teaches us that God’s word is to be handled with care.
Paul told Timothy to be earnest and to put all his effort into being able to stand before the Lord without shame for the way he handled God’s truth.
“Rightly handling” translates the Greek word orthotomeō, which means “to make a straight cut.” This is what God’s words does: It shows us what is straight in accordance with God’s standard, and it therefore reveals that which is crooked.
This is the point of this series: to help us stay focused on God’s word and to cut a straight line with our life by doing so. It is about handling God’s word with care by accurately interpreting it and appropriately applying it in our (and others’) lives. As we understand, for example, that Philippians 4:13 is about contentment rather than conquest on the right field we will live in such a way that all of the World Cup trophies could never bring about. When we rightly understand that the exhortation of Philippians 4:6 to not be anxious is not teaching us that concern is necessarily sinful, but rather that prayer is more needful, we will stop wrongly guilting ourselves and others, thus forming a spiritual atmosphere of both transparency and triumphant peace.
So, in this series may we learn to treat the Bible with great respect, pay attention to the author’s intent, pay attention to the context of the passage, pay attention to the meaning of the words, pay attention to the larger flow of Scripture (not contradicting previous passages, etc.), and, finally, see that, regardless of the text, in some way it points us to our hope, to our Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Bible is not to be treated as a talisman or a spiritual mantra but as God’s self-revelation, leading us to the full and final revelation in Jesus Christ.
As we rightly handle the word of God, we will find ourselves remembering Jesus (v. 8) and we will be equipped to relay this truth to all who will listen and learn (vv. 9–10). And those who do listen and learn will then be equipped to live for the Lord with the assurance they will stand before God, accepted in Christ and approved before him.
AMEN