{"id":90879,"date":"2021-03-12T22:55:00","date_gmt":"2021-03-13T03:55:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/keriritenour.com\/grace\/workman\/"},"modified":"2023-10-08T00:01:26","modified_gmt":"2023-10-08T04:01:26","slug":"workman","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/keriritenour.com\/grace\/workman\/","title":{"rendered":"Workman"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">2\nTimothy 2:15: Study to shew thyself approved unto\nGod, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of\ntruth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Since every Christian is personally responsible to God for his behavior, he cannot afford to become the intellectual or spiritual slave of someone else.&nbsp; Every child of God is a believer-priest and copies of the Bible in their original languages are available to all.&nbsp; What is expected of the believer in relation to God\u2019s Word?&nbsp; To determine the Biblical answer, we look to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\n<li>Historical Context: 2 Timothy 1:1 identifies the author of the Book of 2\nTimothy as the Apostle Paul, written in approximately 67 A.D., shortly before\nthe Apostle Paul was put to death.&nbsp;\nImprisoned yet again, the Apostle Paul felt lonely and abandoned.\nRecognizing that his earthly life was likely coming to a soon end, 2 Timothy is\nessentially Paul\u2019s \u201clast words.\u201d Paul looked past his own circumstances to\nexpress concern for the churches and specifically for Timothy. Paul wanted to\nuse his last words to encourage Timothy, and all other believers, to remain\npassionate for Christ and to remain firm in sound doctrine (2 Timothy\n1:1-2:13). Paul reminds Timothy to avoid ungodly beliefs and practices and to\nflee from anything immoral (2 Timothy 2:14-26). In the end times there will be\nboth intense persecution and apostasy from the Christian faith (2 Timothy\n3:1-17). Paul closes with an intense plea for believers to stand firm in the\nfaith and to finish the race strong (2 Timothy 4:1-8) \u2013 this progression is of\ncritical importance not only to the advancement of Christianity, but to the\nadvancement of the individual Christian as to personal fulfillment and\ntemporal\/eternal reward.&nbsp; [The desire to live a Godly life coupled with the by-product\nof wanting to exercise your spiritual gift is a natural leading of the Holy\nSpirit in your life.&nbsp; Proving ineffective\nas a Christian in relation to these two desires is generally due to three\nissues: 1) a misunderstanding of God\u2019s personal nature directed at you in the\npersonal sense; 2) lack of Biblical study which leads to misunderstanding of\nGod\u2019s intent, negatively impacting both your desire to continue as well fruits\nof your labor; 3) lack of motivation which inhibits a believer\u2019s diligence and\ndedication \u2013 most likely due to an imbalance of affection and\/or possessions.&nbsp; You have to make a decision as to how you\nspend your time, you will certainly be called to account for such.]&nbsp; <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\n<li>Grammatical Usage:&nbsp; \u201cStudy\u201d in the\nGreek is \u201cspoudazo\u201d meaning, \u201c\u2026<strong>hasten<\/strong>\nto do a thing\u2026to <strong>exert<\/strong> onself, <strong>endeavor<\/strong>\u201d [three\ndistinct words conveying three distinct actions: get to it, work at it, keep at\nit]; \u201capproved\u201d in the Greek is \u201cdokimos\u201d meaning, \u201cto receive <strong>after it is tried<\/strong>.\u201d&nbsp; [The word is used of\ncoins and metals in Gen. 23:16 while in Zech. 13:9 the association with coins\nand metal continues as they are cast into a furnace to see if it is an\n\u201capproved\u201d metal.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\n<li>Literal Application: \u201cApply\nyourself with diligence in order to commend yourself to God as a worker who has\nno need to be ashamed because you are always correctly exegeting the Word of\nTruth.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\n<li>Contextual\nInterpretation: Paul\u2019s reference to a\nworkman rightly dividing the Word of God has to do with a common metaphor of\nthe day in which a stone mason cuts stones fair ad straight to fit into their\nplaces in a building.&nbsp; The stone cutter\nin a quarry in the quarry identified his work by signing or marking it with his\npersonal identification.&nbsp; If all the\nstones were cut properly, in keeping with specifications, they would fit\nperfectly when assembled.&nbsp; If not the\nerror would be detected at the building site and the culprit would be exposed\nand shamed.&nbsp; In this sense, Paul is\ntelling Timothy that the Word of God is so perfect in its authorship that when\neach passage is exegeted properly it fits into the total picture.&nbsp; Tus the inner consistency of the Word of God\nis set forth.&nbsp; The careless exegete, like\nthe careless stone mason, will find his interpretations of some isolated\npassages are inconsistent with others, an embarrassment that he can avoid by\nthe kind of consistent study of the Word which approves the student unto\nGod.&nbsp; There are no contradictions in the\ndivine message \u2013 only careless stone masons.&nbsp;\nPaul charges Timothy get to studying, work at studying and keep studying\nthe Word of God.&nbsp; Why?&nbsp; Besides the practical personal and corporate\nanswers the Word provides to life\u2019s issues, it is also the path to being\ncommended or approved by God.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\n<li>Scriptural Comparison: Winning\nthe approval of God is a subject of Scripture.&nbsp;\nIn fact, this is the focal issue in the NT\u2019s use of the word group that\nthe translators render \u201capprove\u201d in modern versions.&nbsp; While the OT uses involve the paraphrase of a\nnumber of expressions, NT use is particularly significant and draws on a\ndistinctive Greek word group, so we want to compare: <strong>1<\/strong>) the Greek words; <strong>2<\/strong>)\nthe approval of people; <strong>3<\/strong>) the\napproval of God.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\n<li><strong>The Greek Words<\/strong>: the occurrences of\n\u201capprove\/approval\u201d in modern versions almost always signals the appearance in\nthe original of a distinctive Greek word group.&nbsp;\n\u201cDokimos\u201d, the noun, is used in the NT in the sense of recognition, of\nbeing officially approved and accepted.&nbsp;\nIt is found in Rom. 14:18; 16:10; 1 Cor. 11:19; 2 Cor. 10:18; 13:7; 2\nTim. 2:15; Jas. 1:12.&nbsp; \u201cDokimazo\u201d, the\nverb, implies putting to the test with a view to approving the genuine.&nbsp; That which has been tested is demonstrated to\nbe genuine.&nbsp; The verb is used 23 times in\nthe NT.&nbsp; What is important is the linkage\nof approval with testing; approval is earned after testing.&nbsp; Our character and our commitments emerge over\ntime.&nbsp; It is only on evidence provided by\nexperience and the passage of time that approval from God is extended.&nbsp; [Paul\u2019s big theme is\nfighting the good fight, running the race, don\u2019t falter, seek the prize \u2013\nagain, Scripture must match up with Scripture \u2013 like cut stones \u2013 they must fit\nwith one another.]\n<ul>\n<li><strong>The Approval of People<\/strong>: Time and experience\nprovide the evidence on which one can be approved.&nbsp; But the criterion by which a person is\nevaluated is also important.&nbsp; The NT\nwarns against trying to \u201cwin the approval of men,\u201d even when these persons are\nfellow believers (Gal. 1:10).&nbsp; There are\na number of reasons for this warning.&nbsp;\nChrist alone is our Master; it is He whom we are to serve (Gal.\n1:10).&nbsp; It is dangerous for us to even\ntry to evaluate ourselves as we often are blind to our own faults.&nbsp; Others can not see into the heart of another.&nbsp; Only God\u2019s evaluation or commendation counts\n(2 Cor. 10:18).&nbsp; As for the standards of\nunbelievers, Paul\u2019s pre-conversion approval of the stoning of Stephen shows how\nquestionable their standards were and are (Acts 8:1; 22:290)!&nbsp; Clearly the wrapped consciences of the\nunsaved will often lead them to overlook serious sin or even to approve of\nthose who today may be called \u201cbeautiful people,\u201d who\u2019s lifestyles deny\nrighteousness (Rom 1:32)&nbsp; [Christie Brinkly comes to mind as does Richard Roberts].<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The Approval of God<\/strong>: Since the approval of\nGod is so vital for us, what does the Bible say about winning it?&nbsp; Several NT passages link God\u2019s approval to a\nsubjective attitude and an objective standard.&nbsp;\n<strong>The subjective attitude is one of\ncommitment to serve Christ<\/strong> (Rom. 12:2; 14:18).&nbsp; <strong>The\nobjective standard is the Word of God<\/strong>.&nbsp;\nIn Romans, Paul writes of Jewish reliance on the law and the fact that\nthrough the Scriptures the Hebrew people knew God\u2019s will.&nbsp; They even approved of it as superior to both\nthe cultures around them as well as their own devices.&nbsp; But, in fact, the Jewish people failed to do\nwhat they knew to be the will of God (Rom. 2:17-29).&nbsp; Paul warns Timothy against chattering on in\ntheological disputes while drifting into ungodly behavior [Why we take our positions with humbleness].&nbsp; An approved workman \u201ccorrectly handles\nthe Word of Truth,\u201d demonstrating God\u2019s approval by turning away from\nwickedness (2 Tim. 2:14-19).&nbsp; Romans 12:1\n&amp; 2 sums it up: we are to commit ourselves to be living sacrifices,\ndedicated to pleasing God.&nbsp; We no longer\nconform to the unsaved lifestyle, but conform our entire perspective on life\naccording to God\u2019s Word which stipulates right, wrong and the attitude with\nwhich we engage with God and others.&nbsp; Then,\nPaul stipulates, \u201cwe will be able to test and to approve what God\u2019s will\nis.\u201d&nbsp; Paul\u2019s point is a vital one: the\nWord of God \u2013 through which we come to know God\u2019s will \u2013 must itself be put to\nthe test by us.&nbsp; We put Scripture to the\ntest by acting on what it says.&nbsp; When we\ndo this, we experience God\u2019s good, pleasing, and perfect will.&nbsp; When we do God\u2019s will, he will be able to approve\nof us as His good workers who have no need to be ashamed.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\n<li>Conclusion: It is easy to\nget side-tracked in the Christian life. We have to keep our eyes on the prize \u2013\nbeing rewarded in Heaven by Jesus Christ (2 Timothy 4:8). We must strive to\navoid both false doctrine and ungodly practices. This can only be accomplished\nby being grounded in our knowledge of God\u2019s Word and firm in our refusal to\naccept anything that is unbiblical.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>2 Timothy 2:15: Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. Since every Christian is personally responsible to God for his behavior, he cannot afford to become the intellectual or spiritual slave of someone else.&nbsp; Every child of God is a believer-priest [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[526,536],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Workman - Grace Evangelical Free Church<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Workman - Grace Evangelical Free Church\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"2 Timothy 2:15: Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. Since every Christian is personally responsible to God for his behavior, he cannot afford to become the intellectual or spiritual slave of someone else.&nbsp; Every child of God is a believer-priest [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/keriritenour.com\/grace\/workman\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Grace Evangelical Free Church\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-03-13T03:55:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-10-08T04:01:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Tony Raker\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Tony Raker\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/keriritenour.com\/grace\/workman\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/keriritenour.com\/grace\/workman\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Tony Raker\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/keriritenour.com\/grace\/#\/schema\/person\/6785bcea471ae92fb3660d811c5c74ef\"},\"headline\":\"Workman\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-03-13T03:55:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-10-08T04:01:26+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/keriritenour.com\/grace\/workman\/\"},\"wordCount\":1600,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/keriritenour.com\/grace\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"Issues &amp; Answers\",\"Work\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/keriritenour.com\/grace\/workman\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/keriritenour.com\/grace\/workman\/\",\"name\":\"Workman - Grace Evangelical Free Church\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/keriritenour.com\/grace\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2021-03-13T03:55:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-10-08T04:01:26+00:00\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/keriritenour.com\/grace\/workman\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/keriritenour.com\/grace\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/keriritenour.com\/grace\/\",\"name\":\"Grace Evangelical Free Church\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/keriritenour.com\/grace\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/keriritenour.com\/grace\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/keriritenour.com\/grace\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Grace Evangelical Free Church\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/keriritenour.com\/grace\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/keriritenour.com\/grace\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/keriritenour.com\/grace\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/gefc-logo-full-color-rgb.svg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/keriritenour.com\/grace\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/gefc-logo-full-color-rgb.svg\",\"width\":514,\"height\":259,\"caption\":\"Grace Evangelical Free Church\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/keriritenour.com\/grace\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/keriritenour.com\/grace\/#\/schema\/person\/6785bcea471ae92fb3660d811c5c74ef\",\"name\":\"Tony Raker\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/keriritenour.com\/grace\/author\/pastor_admin\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Workman - Grace Evangelical Free Church","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Workman - Grace Evangelical Free Church","og_description":"2 Timothy 2:15: Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. Since every Christian is personally responsible to God for his behavior, he cannot afford to become the intellectual or spiritual slave of someone else.&nbsp; Every child of God is a believer-priest [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/keriritenour.com\/grace\/workman\/","og_site_name":"Grace Evangelical Free Church","article_published_time":"2021-03-13T03:55:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-10-08T04:01:26+00:00","author":"Tony Raker","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Tony Raker","Est. reading time":"7 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/keriritenour.com\/grace\/workman\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/keriritenour.com\/grace\/workman\/"},"author":{"name":"Tony Raker","@id":"https:\/\/keriritenour.com\/grace\/#\/schema\/person\/6785bcea471ae92fb3660d811c5c74ef"},"headline":"Workman","datePublished":"2021-03-13T03:55:00+00:00","dateModified":"2023-10-08T04:01:26+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/keriritenour.com\/grace\/workman\/"},"wordCount":1600,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/keriritenour.com\/grace\/#organization"},"articleSection":["Issues &amp; Answers","Work"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/keriritenour.com\/grace\/workman\/","url":"https:\/\/keriritenour.com\/grace\/workman\/","name":"Workman - Grace Evangelical Free Church","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/keriritenour.com\/grace\/#website"},"datePublished":"2021-03-13T03:55:00+00:00","dateModified":"2023-10-08T04:01:26+00:00","inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/keriritenour.com\/grace\/workman\/"]}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/keriritenour.com\/grace\/#website","url":"https:\/\/keriritenour.com\/grace\/","name":"Grace Evangelical Free Church","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/keriritenour.com\/grace\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/keriritenour.com\/grace\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/keriritenour.com\/grace\/#organization","name":"Grace Evangelical Free Church","url":"https:\/\/keriritenour.com\/grace\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/keriritenour.com\/grace\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/keriritenour.com\/grace\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/gefc-logo-full-color-rgb.svg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/keriritenour.com\/grace\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/gefc-logo-full-color-rgb.svg","width":514,"height":259,"caption":"Grace Evangelical Free Church"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/keriritenour.com\/grace\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/keriritenour.com\/grace\/#\/schema\/person\/6785bcea471ae92fb3660d811c5c74ef","name":"Tony Raker","url":"https:\/\/keriritenour.com\/grace\/author\/pastor_admin\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/keriritenour.com\/grace\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90879"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/keriritenour.com\/grace\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/keriritenour.com\/grace\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/keriritenour.com\/grace\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/keriritenour.com\/grace\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=90879"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/keriritenour.com\/grace\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90879\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":91408,"href":"https:\/\/keriritenour.com\/grace\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90879\/revisions\/91408"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/keriritenour.com\/grace\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=90879"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/keriritenour.com\/grace\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=90879"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/keriritenour.com\/grace\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=90879"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}