2 Timothy 2:15
Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
Let us consider the idea of rightly dividing the word of truth.
Recently, I had a discussion about Matthew 7:1 and whether or not it is acceptable for a Christian to judge another person. The problem is that the question is fraught with issues in itself. What does the person mean when they ask about judging?
Let’s start with Matthew 7:1, “Judge not, that you be not judged.”
If we stop at this verse, there is a deep misunderstanding of what Jesus is teaching, so let us consider the next verse as well:
Matthew 7:2
For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.
There is enough in this passage to understand by context what Jesus is teaching about judging. Many stop at His first two words, “Judge not” in verse 1 as though that was the sum of the message.
There is another passage in which we can make the same mistake – Romans 2:1-11. It begins, “Therefore you are inexcusable, O man, whoever you are who judge …” As with Jesus’ words in Matthew, we have to be careful not to simply pluck a phrase from the larger passage and call it understanding. Taken together, these opening words of Romans 2 and “judge not” from Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 7, one may think the New Testament makes a case that we must never judge the actions of another as right or wrong.
Let us hear the whole matter. Paul has a more complete thought in Romans 2 that essentially builds on our Lord’s teaching in Matthew 7:
Therefore you are inexcusable, O man, whoever you are who judge, for in whatever you judge another you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things. But we know that the judgment of God is according to truth against those who practice such things. And do you think this, O man, you who judge those practicing such things, and doing the same, that you will escape the judgment of God? Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance? But in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who “will render to each one according to his deeds”: eternal life to those who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor, and immortality; but to those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness—indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish, on every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek; but glory, honor, and peace to everyone who works what is good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For there is no partiality with God. Romans 2:1-11
See this previous article, What Goes Around Comes Around.
Now let’s recall an event in the life of King David. He had taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite and, ultimately, had him murdered at the front of the battle to hide his sin. It is worth reading all of 2 Samuel 11 & 12, but the key context for us is found in 2 Samuel 12:5-6:
So David’s anger was greatly aroused against the man, and he said to Nathan, “As Yahweh lives, the man who has done this shall surely die! And he shall restore fourfold for the lamb, because he did this thing and because he had no pity.”
David wasn’t in error to judge between right and wrong — but he was too quick to utterly condemn another man for the very sin he was committing. This resonates through Matthew 7:1-5:
”Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
I want to return to our original verse, 2 Timothy 2:15, “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”
The KJV translates this passage this way, “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” The Greek word in this passage is spoudazo, a verb.
The same Greek word appears in 2 Peter 1:15 as be careful, “Moreover I will be careful to ensure that you always have a reminder of these things after my decease.”
It seems only reasonable to notice that though the KJV translates spoudazo as study in 2 Timothy 2:15, the same translation renders the Greek word as ‘do thy diligence’ just two chapters later in 2 Timothy 4:9,21.
For your own study, the verb spoudazo is found in Galatians 2:10; Ephesians 4:3; 1 Thessalonians 2:17; 2 Timothy 2:15; 2 Timothy 4:9,21; Titus 3:12; Hebrews 4:11; 2 Peter 1:10,15; and 2 Peter 3:14. It is translated as diligent, diligence, forward to do (KJV), eager to do, endeavoring, study (KJV), do your utmost, let us labor (KJV), and be careful.
The Noun, spoude is found in Mark 6:25; Luke 1:39; Romans 12:8,11; 2 Corinthians 7:11,12; 2 Corinthans 8;7,8,16; Hebrews 6:11; Jude 3. It is translated as diligence, haste, in business (KJV), carefulness (KJV), care, forwardness (KJV), and earnest care.
What do we learn from this? We learn that we need to know what the words mean in the original language and that even those definitions are impacted by the context of their use.
To rightly divide the word of truth, God’s Word, we need to be diligent. This certainly implies earnest Bible study, but it is more than that. We must not put our trust in a single word or sentence in our favorite translation. Oftentimes, just a little more reading around that word or sentence will supply adequate context for our understanding. If not, we must look to other passages with the same language or message to fill in the details.
Finally, if you cannot look into the original language, it is important to compare various translations. It will generally become evident when one translation has made a mistake or has language that we no longer use or understand. The Bible is never wrong and if we strive to understand it with careful comparative study, we will know the truth God means for us to learn.
“Test all things; hold fast what is good.” 1 Thessalonians 5:21