Focus On God's Word

"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)

"All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work." 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NKJV)



This morning I was reading 2 Timothy and something stood out to me. In his second letter to Timothy Paul encourages Timothy to focus on the Word of God. I especially like 2 Timothy 2:15 and how Paul talks about "the word of truth". What I noticed was that in this letter to Timothy, in addition to what Paul says in 2 Timothy 2:15 and 2 Timothy 3:16-17 about God's Word, there are several other things that Paul mentions to Timothy: striving {arguing} about words (2:14), profane {wicked} and idle babblings {useless discussions} (2:16), and foolish and ignorant disputes (2:23). It seemed to me that Paul was telling Timothy to stay focused on God's Word and keep away from these other things.

Paul does not just say something like, "Hey Timothy, study and stay with God's Word because I said so" but Paul gives some good reasons for what he is saying. Paul calls God's Word the truth in 2 Timothy 2:15 and he then goes on in 2 Timothy 3:16-17 to list the things that God's Word is good for: doctrine, reproof, correction, and instruction in righteousness. He then further says how this will enable the man of God to be complete and ready for every good work.

In contrast to this Paul also mentions the results of focusing on these other things of striving {arguing} about words, profane {wicked} and idle babblings {useless discussions}, and foolish and ignorant disputes. Paul said that these things: will ruin the hearers (2:14), increase to more ungodliness, their message will spread like cancer (2:16-17), and they generate strife (2:23). When you compare these results with the results of focusing on God's Word it is easy to see where we need to spend our time! By staying focused on God's Word and avoiding all of the other things we hear we will be ready for every good work.