Based on 2 Timothy 2:15-26
Introduction
The peace of the Lord be with you and your household. We give thanks to the eternal God, the Almighty, our Creator, our Maker and Sustainer, for the time He grants us to expose ourselves once more to the power of His Word and to the power of His Holy Spirit.
In this teaching we continue our study of the instructions the apostle Paul gives to Timothy — the last ones contained in the second epistle — and we now arrive at the fourth of them. It is important to keep in mind that the purpose of these instructions, in Paul’s heart, was to secure that Timothy would be able to continue, to remain firm in the ministry he had begun as a very young man at the apostle’s side. This second epistle therefore has a formative character; its purpose is not to lay down instructions for the immediate future, but for a much longer one to come.
By the time Timothy received this letter, he was no longer the young man Paul had taken with him from Iconium during the second apostolic journey. The entire second journey had already passed, and the apostle had also completed the third. Paul had been imprisoned for two years in Caesarea, and now found himself a prisoner in Rome. A considerable amount of time had gone by: Timothy was no longer the youth of seventeen, eighteen, nineteen, or twenty who had been brought onto the apostle’s ministry team; he was now a man past thirty.
And yet the trait Timothy developed throughout this whole time is that he remained constantly at the apostle’s side. Whenever he was separated from him for ministry reasons, the separation was always brief. That is why Timothy knew, with precision, exactly what needed to be done, what needed to be said, and everything concerning the ministry. But now the apostle, after two years imprisoned in Caesarea Maritima and another two years imprisoned in Rome — that is, after four years apart from Timothy — was aware that his final days were drawing near. For this reason, Paul wanted these instructions in 2 Timothy to leave behind the assurance that Timothy would continue on the path laid out for him. He was, in effect, establishing the protocol by which Timothy was to govern himself for the rest of his life, since a good deal of time still lay ahead of him.
Thus, in chapter 1 we find the first instruction: that Timothy should stir up, or rekindle, the gift of God that was in him. In chapter 2, verse 1, the second instruction: to be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. In that same chapter 2, verse 3, the third instruction: to endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. And near the end of that same chapter we find the fourth instruction, in verse 15:
“Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15, NKJV)
Although the statement of the instruction is contained in this verse, the apostle continues developing it through verse 26.
A Personal and Non-Transferable Responsibility
This fourth instruction is exceedingly important because, while the previous three deal with doctrinal elements of a more general nature — rekindling the gift, being strong in grace, enduring hardship as a good soldier — this fourth instruction carries a particular emphasis, one that is far more personal and individual. It is Timothy’s responsibility, and no one else’s: the personal, individual responsibility to present himself to God approved, to present himself as a worker who has nothing of which to be ashamed, and to present himself as a worker who rightly divides the word of truth.
As we study Timothy’s case, we do so not merely to know the history of what happened to him, but, by extension, to study what applies to us — men and women upon whom the end of this age has come. And what applies to us is exactly the same, because this is not a charge given only to Timothy, with no bearing on anyone else. It is a responsibility that reaches every one of us, without exception, whether with a recognized ministry like Timothy’s or without one, since all of us, in one way or another, carry a ministry from the Lord.
It is an individual, personal, singular responsibility — one in which no one can take our place or even help us fulfill it. To strive with diligence to present ourselves to God approved, as workers who have nothing of which to be ashamed, who rightly divide the word of truth, is the task of every single one of us. It is a responsibility that cannot be evaded or delegated; to set it aside would amount to renouncing the life of faith, and renouncing the life of faith means entering into a process of apostasy, with the risk of forfeiting eternal life and salvation as well.
This is of the utmost importance, because everything does not reduce to simply accepting that Christ Jesus is the Son of God, as though that alone secured everything for us. There is a charge that the Spirit of God entrusts to us. What, then, is the purpose of the life of faith and of a ministry? The purpose of the life of faith is to present ourselves to God approved.
“Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’” (Matthew 7:22, NKJV)
In line with what we are studying, we must understand that the purpose of the life of faith is not simply to do, not simply to be busy, not simply the deeds and the acts; what matters most, above all things, is that our lives be pleasing to the Lord.
The example left for us at the baptism of Christ Jesus is telling: when He was baptized, a voice from heaven declared that He was the beloved Son in whom the Father took delight — a voice repeated on three occasions throughout His ministry. That is exactly what God wants from each one of us: that He might say the same of us, that we are His beloved children, in whom He takes delight.
The First Component: Presenting Yourself Approved to God
This raises the question we cannot avoid: How is a person approved by God? How is His approval obtained? In the minds of many people, the idea prevails that in order to be approved by God, one must do this, do that, do and keep doing — as though everything depended on works. And here we come precisely to the confrontation the Spirit of God sets before each one of us: no, it is not a matter of doing.
We are not saying that acts of faith are unimportant, nor that works do not exist. Of course they exist, because James teaches clearly that faith without works is dead. Works are the evidence, in us, that we have been approved by God; but we cannot claim that it is the works themselves that make us accepted or pleasing to the Lord.
“But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6, NKJV)
This has nothing to do, first of all, with works: they are the manifestation of a favor we have already obtained beforehand in Christ Jesus. Remember the case of Cain and Abel: both offered works, yet only Abel was approved, while Cain was disapproved. How, then, is God’s approval attained? Verse 15 itself reveals it, and the three components of this instruction all turn on the last of them: the word of truth.
What is it that makes a man or a woman approved by God? That they have the word of truth in themselves. The apostle Paul, by the Spirit of God, coined an expression found only in his letters to Timothy and to Titus, an expression that appears nowhere else in his writings: sound doctrine. According to verse 15, the word of truth is nothing other than sound doctrine.
What makes a man or a woman approved by God is that they have sound doctrine. If a man does not have sound doctrine, he cannot be approved by God; if a woman does not have sound doctrine, she cannot be approved by God — no matter what she does, no matter what she says. It is essential that we understand this: salvation arises from accepting the word of the Lord, from recognizing it, from living according to it. That is what makes us children of God, and nothing else. We cannot claim to acknowledge that Christ Jesus is the Son of God without knowing and walking according to the word He established.
To show how important this declaration is to the apostle, notice how he uses it elsewhere:
“Knowing this: that the law is not made for a righteous person, but for the lawless and insubordinate… and if there is any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine” (1 Timothy 1:9-10, NKJV)
Sound doctrine is what sets the plumb line; it determines what belongs to God and what does not. It is the only way to know what is wheat and what is tares, what is holy and what is profane, what belongs to God and what is apostasy. It is the spiritual element that establishes the difference.
“If anyone teaches otherwise and does not consent to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which accords with godliness” (1 Timothy 6:3, NKJV)
“Hold fast the pattern of sound words which you have heard from me, in faith and love which are in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 1:13, NKJV)
“For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers” (2 Timothy 4:3, NKJV)
This expression — sound doctrine — appears repeatedly in both epistles to Timothy, and in the letter to Titus as well. What is it, then, that makes a man or a woman approved by God? That they have received sound doctrine, that they have embraced it, and that they walk according to it. Our works count for nothing if we have not embraced sound doctrine, and this is something we must understand deeply, because on it depends whether we are a Cain or an Abel. It does not depend on how many hours we devote to religious activity, nor even on reading or preaching the word; if we have not embraced it, if we do not walk according to it, there is, in truth, no approval from God. We may hold to many religious definitions — many of them rooted in religious philosophy — but that is not what the word of the Lord demands of each one of us.
It is worth noting, as well, a revealing detail about the original language: the term translated “sound” comes, in the original Greek, from the same root that also gives us the word “hygiene.” Translated quite literally, we could read “hygienic doctrine” — doctrine that is not contaminated.
“But shun profane and idle babblings, for they will increase to more ungodliness. And their message will spread like cancer. Hymenaeus and Philetus are of this sort, who have strayed concerning the truth, saying that the resurrection is already past; and they overthrow the faith of some” (2 Timothy 2:16-18, NKJV)
Here we see how important the purity of doctrine is: the apostle exhorts us to shun “profane and idle babblings,” which for our purposes would amount to religious philosophy. The word of God does not admit human logic; the word of God is lived by faith, for the just shall live by faith, and it is by that faith that we live from justice to justice.
In Acts 17 we find an example worthy of imitation. When the apostle Paul was driven out of Philippi and Thessalonica, he arrived in Berea, and the sacred writer notes that the Bereans were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica — a spiritual nobility, not one of lineage, political rank, or wealth — because they searched the Scriptures to see whether what Paul taught was so. Many of us, however, have accepted and live according to what we have heard, rather than according to what the word of the Lord has established.
It is also worth mentioning a passage that has frequently been misinterpreted:
“For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way” (2 Thessalonians 2:7, NKJV)
People often ask who or what “He who restrains” is, and around this question many interpretations have arisen that stray from the knowledge of the word of God. What restrains the mystery of lawlessness is precisely sound doctrine, because it is the only thing that can mark the difference between what is holy and what is profane, between what belongs to God and what does not. When sound doctrine is taken away, the standard of comparison disappears, and — as the apostle himself warns later in this same letter to Timothy — men who love themselves will rise up, following their own desires, establishing apostasy, and sadly many will follow after them.
This is the first component of the fourth instruction, and we already know the course that has been set before us: to be approved, we must know sound doctrine.
The Second Component: As a Worker Who Does Not Need to Be Ashamed
We turn now to the second component of the instruction: presenting ourselves “as a worker who does not need to be ashamed.” How could a man or woman of God be put to shame? Someone might answer at once: through sin. But that is not the precise answer, because sin, quite simply, removes a person entirely from grace; what Paul is telling Timothy is that, even while remaining within grace, it is possible to have something of which to be ashamed.
What, then, would be the only way this could happen? The apostle himself declares it:
“Nevertheless the solid foundation of God stands, having this seal: “The Lord knows those who are His,” and, “Let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity”” (2 Timothy 2:19, NKJV)
Here the apostle presents two elements: the seal on the foundation of God consists, first, of the Lord’s knowledge of those who are His, and second, of the departure from iniquity by everyone who names the name of the Lord. The answer to our question lies in this second element: let us depart from all iniquity.
And what is iniquity? Many of us have never clearly defined this term, even though we have read it many times in both the Old and New Testaments. Its definition is found in the book of Genesis:
“Now Cain talked with Abel his brother; and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him” (Genesis 4:8, NKJV)
“My punishment is greater than I can bear!” (Genesis 4:13, NKJV)
Here we find what iniquity is. Yes, iniquity is wickedness; yes, iniquity is sin; but, more precisely, iniquity is rising up against someone. In Cain’s case, he rose up physically, attacked, and killed. That is iniquity. Yet we must also understand that slandering someone, criticizing someone, speaking against someone behind their back, tearing down another person’s reputation or honor — that, too, is iniquity, for it is another way of rising up against a brother or sister who is not present to answer for himself or herself.
This is confirmed in the words of Christ Jesus recorded in the Sermon on the Mount:
“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’ But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell fire” (Matthew 5:21-22, NKJV)
Groundless anger against a brother — which, as we have seen, amounts to iniquity — is placed by Christ Jesus on the same level of gravity as murder.
The question that follows is this: How is it possible for a Cain to exist among us? How is it possible that we cultivate Cain’s conduct and attitude within the environments of faith? And this cannot be excused as “constructive criticism,” because whatever is said behind someone’s back is not, in truth, constructive. What would be constructive is going to that person and telling them directly what we feel or think; doing it behind their back and calling it “constructive” is a deception. Many times we fail to realize that we are cultivating and multiplying iniquity within our own environments of faith.
This, then, is the second component of the fourth instruction: presenting ourselves as workers who have nothing of which to be ashamed — that is, who depart from all iniquity, from speaking against someone who is not present, from rising up against an absent brother or sister. This is cause for shame in spiritual terms. A person carrying this kind of shame tends to hide, to withdraw, and it is precisely in that hiding that demonic forces gain greater influence within a person’s life. There is no growth, no approval possible, because God does not approve of someone who speaks against another or rises up against another person.
This, too, is a personal, singular, individual, and non-transferable responsibility; no one can fulfill it in our place. It is not enough to say, “Pray for me, because I have this conduct of iniquity, because I walk in iniquity; pray that the Lord will help me.” If we are not aware that we are speaking against another person, it is a sign that demonic forces are at work, taking hold of a place within our lives, even while we confess the name of the Lord. It is essential that we take up the responsibility that is ours.
The Third Component: Rightly Dividing the Word of Truth
We come now to the third component of this fourth instruction: “rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15). What does it mean to rightly divide the word of truth? Let us begin by understanding what it means to divide, or to trace, a straight line. A farmer plows a furrow, and anyone who has stood in a freshly plowed field knows that those furrows form perfect lines, often traced without any cord to guide the oxen or the plow. Farmers have developed a technique so refined that, with no external guide, the line runs straight, without swerving to one side or the other.
That is exactly what the apostle is asking for: rightly dividing the word of truth means keeping a straight line in the exposition of the word. And here the question immediately arises: how is this achieved? Must one study hermeneutics? Must one study homiletics in order to rightly divide the word of truth? We must answer, no. Timothy did not study hermeneutics or homiletics; Timothy did not attend a Bible institute or a theological institution that could be credited as the source of his ability to rightly divide the word of truth.
How, then, can a man or woman of faith rightly divide the word of truth? The answer is: by knowing the work of the cross. Often, when we set out to preach and present the word, we end up speaking of almost everything except the work of the cross, except Christ Jesus, except what it means that Christ Jesus took our place on the cross, except the resurrection of Christ Jesus, except what the word of the Lord teaches about baptism in water, about baptism in the Holy Spirit, about justification, about sanctification, and about what the word of the Lord establishes concerning eternal life and salvation.
We preach and we speak, yet what we speak of least is sound doctrine — precisely because many of us do not know it; the great majority of us have only general references to the gospel, references to Jesus, references to what happened on the cross of Calvary, without walking according to what the word establishes about what it means that Christ Jesus took our place on the cross of Calvary.
How can we rightly divide the word of truth if we do not know it, if we have not studied it, if we do not understand what the Lord is saying to us through it? Rightly dividing the word of truth is likewise an individual, personal, non-transferable responsibility; we cannot delegate it or hand it off to someone else, nor can we say, “Brother, pastor, pray for me, that I might rightly divide the word of truth.” If we do not sit down to read it, if we do not sit down to know it, if we do not make it the foundation of our lives, we will never be able to rightly divide the word of truth. We could study hermeneutics, we could study homiletics, we could become skilled at building outlines, we could have good diction and eloquence, and still not become workers who rightly divide the word of truth. The only way is to know the word — the word of the Lord.
This is illustrated clearly in the first letter to the Corinthians:
“For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of no effect. For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God… Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has God not made foolish the wisdom of this world?… For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God” (1 Corinthians 1:17-24, NKJV)
Do we truly know the foolishness of the gospel, or do we prefer to live under a philosophy grounded in human logic? God did not call the apostle to preach human wisdom; if we wish to rightly divide the word of truth, theological and academic studies, by themselves, will not help us at all, because this does not depend on human knowledge.
“Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 16:17, NKJV)
To rightly divide the word of truth, we need the power of the Spirit of God, who opens our understanding — not only so that we might comprehend it, but, above all things, so that we might walk according to it.
Conclusion
We have studied the fourth instruction that the apostle Paul, by the Spirit of God, delivers to Timothy: to strive with diligence to present himself to God approved, as a worker who has nothing of which to be ashamed, who rightly divides the word of truth. This instruction is made up of three inseparable elements: presenting ourselves to God approved through the knowledge and practice of sound doctrine; presenting ourselves as workers who have nothing of which to be ashamed, by departing from all iniquity; and presenting ourselves as workers who rightly divide the word of truth, through a deep knowledge of the work of the cross of Christ Jesus.
This is a responsibility that, today, by the Spirit of God, is entrusted to each one of us — a non-transferable responsibility that no one can carry out in our place. Only we ourselves can strive, with diligence, to present ourselves to God approved.
May the Lord bless you. The peace of the Lord be with you. Amen.
Review Questions
1. What are the three components of the fourth instruction Paul gives to Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:15, and why are they inseparable from one another?
2. According to this chapter, what is sound doctrine, and why is it — rather than works alone — what determines God’s approval over a person’s life?
3. Drawing on the definition of iniquity found in the case of Cain, in what ways might we, without realizing it, be cultivating this same conduct within our own environments of faith?
4. Why does this chapter maintain that rightly dividing the word of truth does not depend primarily on academic study, hermeneutics, or homiletics, but on knowing the work of the cross?
5. Why is this instruction described as a “personal, individual, and non-transferable” responsibility, and what implications does this carry for your own life of faith?
