Morning Thoughts - by Elder Philip Conley

Morning Thoughts

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

This morning, if there is one commandment of the Lord greatly lacking on our part, it would probably be this one. There are people that pray, go to church, etc. One might ask, "But there are many that do not, right?" That is unfortunately true, but the ones that do not go to church and pray almost assuredly do not study the Word of God. Then, even many of the ones that do pray and attend services do not study either. Some of us may even study but none of us study as much or thoroughly as we should. Indeed, this is a commandment that is hard to fulfill and live by.

Notice what we are to study. Paul told Timothy to study. What does he have under consideration? It cannot be Gill, Hassell, Oliphant, Paine, or any of the other writers that we study from time to time (for they had not yet lived much less written). He can only have under consideration the written Word of God (Holy Scriptures that Lois and Eunice taught him). Something that I was charged with on the day of my
ordination was, "Whenever you read another man's writings, you might glean something from it, but always remember to study the Bible more than anything else. Study it first. Study it often. Other writings should make you think while reading them, ‘I should be studying the Bible right now.’ For, at the end of the day, it has to be ‘Thus saith the word of God.’"

These other works are not unprofitable. But, it can never be said of even the best of them that every word was written by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, reproof, correction, and instruction in righteousness. Study the Bible. How are we to study? I get asked this question a lot. It is my belief that there are two ways to study the Bible in CONJUNCTION WITH EACH OTHER. One should study the Bible TELESCOPICALLY and MICROSCOPICALLY.

That means that one should read the Bible chronologically to get the entire picture and scope of the Scriptures. Without this method, it is going to be hard to figure out how a certain verse, phrase, or passage harmonizes with the Bible as a whole. We know that they do harmonize, but our understanding will be lacking if we do not read it thoroughly like we should. I am always amazed when I talk to ministers that confess that there are parts of the Bible that they have never read! May the Lord never say of us, "Art thou ministers of the gospel and know not these things?" Next, one must study the Bible under a microscope to get the fine points, deep things, and tenses of the word. Study the words, letters, jots, and tittles to get more perfect understanding. These two must be done at the SAME TIME for one to fulfill the commandment of this verse.

Next, we are not doing this to be seen of men or praised of men. We are doing it to be approved unto God. He is the only one that we need concern ourselves with seeking. It should be our goal to try to live each day seeking approval for every step, thought, and action that we take. Notice it is our goal. We are told to be perfect like our Father is perfect. Finally, our study and approval leads us to rightly dividing the word of truth. This means to rightly apply things. We are not separating truth from error, for there is no error. We are seeking the correct teaching from the different parts.

It is not entirely too difficult to spot an unsound principle being sounded from the pulpit. However, it is much harder to spot a misplaced application being sounded from a particular text. Many times, I am sure that I have misapplied something but was never questioned about it since I trust that the principle I was presenting was true. However, we are not just sounding the correct principles but also the correct applications as well. When I first started this, many (myself included) may have thought that we lived up to this pretty well, but now I must confess that I do not study like I should. May we ever study more, pray more, and seek the Lord's advice for all of our wisdom and understanding.

In Hope,

Bro Philip