Study to Shew Thyself Approved

"Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth" (II Timothy 2:15).

As this verse points out, If we are going to be pleasing to God, we are going to need to study. From II Timothy 3:16-17, it is clear that the subject is to be the scriptures. They provide everything we need to be perfect and throughly equipped fo every good work.

A man has no reason to be ashamed if he is properly dividing (understanding), the word of God. We find that herisies identify those who are approved and those who are not according to ! Corinthians 11:19. What we believe is critical to our relationship to God.

There are several things one can do to aid in understanding what we read. First, simply reading the entire passage repeatedly will help to establish an overall understanding, preparing for more indepth learning.

Getting the entire context helps prevent distorting understanding. Isolating small passages opens the door for misunderstanding.

Using other passages to help understand the one being studied is important, as they frequently modify our understanding of a passage.

Getting definitions of words as they were originally used clarifies what passages mean. Since the Bible was not originally written in English, It is occasionally helpful to research the exact meanings of the original language.

Observing punctuation can significantly change understanding by clarifying how the sentences were assembled. Frequently verses start in the middle of a sentence and reading the entire sentence changes the meaning.

Recognizing that, as I Corinthians 2:14 tells us, "The natural man recieveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned", we understand that we must alow the Spirit to teach us. He will do so in his time. Don't try to force understanding.