Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.
It is to God, not to man, that we are to diligently study in order to show ourselves approved. What is man that we should be mindful of what man thinks of us? Too often the gospel truth to which we hold fast, is foolishness to the world of men and can also be distorted by the finite thinking of many theologians. It is also the God-breathed Scripture, which is His inerrant Word of Truth that is to be the focus of our study and not the wise philosophies or limited scope of mortal man’s understanding. Through the study of His Word, we should make every effort to discover the beautiful gems of wisdom that are found within its pages. Indeed, it is the Spirit of Truth that has been sent to guide us into all truth and that truth is to be discovered within the pages of the wonderful revelation of God’s plans and purposes that has been given to man by divine decree. But what does it mean to rightly divide this Word of truth? What does it mean to rightly divide the Scriptures of God? Well, we are to accurately handle the content of the Bible. We are to correctly learn and teach all that has been revealed to man in God’s Word, to correctly interpret the Scriptures. We are to rightly divide the Word of truth! Scripture should not be taken out of context nor twisted to say what we would like it to say, or even think it says! The Word of God is one unified whole which unveils the unchanging nature and character of God and the devastating effects of sin, which is a concept that threads throughout the Word. It also spans from creation to the eternal ages to come, and contains God’s wider plan of salvation as well as identifying the arch enemy of God and men as the fallen angel, Satan. But is also distinguishes between many important concepts and periods of time. For instance, being saved must be differentiated from growing in the Christian life, and passages that were specifically written to Israel should not be confused with those that were written to the Church. The pre-Cross doctrine must stand in contrast with the post-Cross teachings and literal passages must not be twisted into spiritual passages, and vice versa. Scripture is its own interpreter, and the Holy Spirit becomes the teacher of the believer that is walking in spirit and truth, so let us do our best to present ourselves to God as one that is approved, workers who do not need to be ashamed, rightly handling the Word of truth. A “people pleaser” is defined as a person who feels a strong urge to please others, even at their own expense. Who in their life hasn’t wanted to please someone else?! I’m guilty of it myself, so don’t feel bad or judged. However, this verse should remind us of whom we should be seeking to please…God. We should not work so hard to please other people, but more so to please the Lord. There are many distractions that this world has to offer. Distractions that can turn our attention from our true purpose. Our challenge is not only to just be approved by God, but to work hard enough to be worthy of being approved. It’s okay to please people who are important in your life; just make sure you’re not trying to please the wrong people. And definitely work harder to please the Lord.
Spiritual Steve 