I talk a lot about the Word of God in my posts. So I decided to do a series of posts on the subject of the Scripture. Most Christians have a misunderstanding about what Scripture is, or of its place in the life of a believer. Without that foundational knowledge, you can never move on to the greater experiences of the faith.

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.
2 Timothy 2:15

This verse should set us on course in all that we do for the Lord. We should be seeking His approval. Not running after the fame of a large ministry or the acclaim of people. We should be doing our best to receive our approval from the only One whose opinion matters.

Do your best literally means to use speed, be prompt, and be earnest. This speaks about our priorities. How important is it to you to obtain God’s approval? As you look at the important matters of your life, where does God’s will fit in?

Present yourself is an interesting phrase in the Greek. It means to stand beside and exhibit yourself. Think about it. You need to take a step back from your life and view it from the outside.

How would someone else, watching you from a distance, classify your commitment to the Lord? What would your advice be to someone else who lives for God the way you do?

We need to put away the denials and excuses we use to justify our lack of relationship with the Lord. It’s time to step back and take a cold, hard look at our priorities and change whatever needs to be corrected.

Don’t be ashamed. God wants workmen who do not need to be ashamed about anything. This is a big problem in the church today – embarrassment over our walk with God.

We say that we’re all about winning the lost, yet we never speak to anyone about Christ. We say that Christ is Healer, yet few are healed. We’re afraid to speak up because we don’t want to offend anyone. Why? The world has no qualms with offending our beliefs 24/7. What’s the problem?

Correctly Handle. In the original text there’s no word and after the word ashamed. The reason you don’t need to be ashamed is that you correctly handle the word of truth.

The literal Greek of the phrase correctly handles is to make a straight cut with. The Word of God is a sharp sword. Would you trust your life to a surgeon who couldn’t cut a coupon out of a magazine? In the same way, the church needs to know how to handle the Word.

Why are we so ashamed sometimes? The answer is the same as the lawyer was given in the movie, A Few Good Men. “You can’t handle the truth!”

Questions: Have you felt embarrassed for being a Christian? How did you handle it?

© Nick Zaccardi 2016