Paul the Apostle wrote this to his faithful helper Timothy and I pass it on to you all as it is such good advice to everyone who considers themselves or is trying to be a good Christian.
In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage--with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.
1. Do you preach the word to others ? - obviously to do so you must first be well learned and grounded in it yourself. One of the best ways of learning the word is to teach the bible to others. You don’t have to have even read the whole bible to do that (but you should be heading toward learning it all and preferrably in league with others such as with a good bible study group or at minimum by using a Study Bible.) - teach what you do know.
Ground yourself well in one of its books and pass on its principles for a good life to others. Some of my suggestions - "Timothy 1 & 2" - the Apostle Pauls encouragement to his life long friend and helper Timothy. Paul knows his days are near end and passes on some important lessons to his beloved Brother in Christ.
In the bible we often hear of Paul’s associate Timothy and know that he was very active in encouraging God’s word and work - in "Timothy" Paul encourages him further. Let it encourage you all and use it to encourage, and rebuke others by its principles.
Another good book for such teaching is "James". The brother of Jesus gives us instruction here in how to live a Godly life. Learn it well and pass it on. Good common sense advice that anyone could bring improvement into their lives by following. Teach these principles to your children and friends as there is much to be learned and in so doing you will find yourselves making improvements in your own life and better grounding yourselves in the word.
2. Paul also admonishes us to pay careful attention as those will come along who try to lead us astray by bending and quoting - using out of context the good doctrines of the Bible for their own desires, purposes and agendas.
Follow the word in its letter, and most importantly learn proper direction and proper context. Get a feeling for the overall flow of the Word. Don’t be mislead (or mislead) by bending it to your own personal inclinations or adhere to it when done by others. Infact rebuke them when possible. There are many examples of "Smorgas Board" religion out there today (pick and choose the parts you like, and ignor the rest.) Don’t fall prey to it. I know some areas are tough, and they are supposed to be, it does not mean you can ignor or delete them putting together your own brand of God’s Instructions.
Unfortunately God’s instructions you don’t like, are probably the ones you need most. Just make yourself aware of them- the Holy Spirit will do the rest. It won’t happen overnite but it will eventually lead you there. I have often found similarities in the gym. The exercises I liked the best were the ones using muscle groups that were already well formed. Those I hated were the ones I was the worst at, and needed the most. Let the Holy Spirit lead you to working on those things you would otherwise ignor.
The overlying principle for the whole Bible is one of Love and Compassion for all. Adhering to God’s word and Honoring Him.
When ever you see someone bending its doctrines to move in a different direction you can be sure they are inserting some personal agenda.
As Paul admonishes Timothy - Go forth and preach the Word and be careful of those who would mislead you.
† Yours in Christ †
Dennis C.
Christian Fellowship
Cocoa Beach, Florida
