When I was about 19 years old I ran across this passage, 1 Corinthians 11:21: “For as you eat, each of you goes ahead without waiting for anybody else. One remains hungry, another gets drunk.” Shortly after reading that passage, I proudly announced to a group of friends, “Did you know that the Bible teaches that you should wait for everyone else to get their food before eating?” They stared at me curiously since I had made such a grand statement about such a small matter. But none of them knew the Bible any better than I did so it was difficult for them to critique my unsolicited knowledge. Later that evening I went back to find the passage I had quoted, and I checked the context. The passage isn’t really about table manners as much as it is about manners regarding the Lord’s Supper. I had highjacked the verse and made it say what I thought it should say. I was embarrassed.

This “highjacking” of God’s Word happens a lot. People look in the Bible to see if they can make it say what they want it to say instead of what God wants it to say. The result is confusion and false teaching. God doesn’t want to be misunderstood or have his words taken out of context any more than we do. In his Word, he says exactly what he wants us to know. When we change that, we misrepresent him to ourselves and others. There is too much at stake. Many have lost their eternal salvation because they followed teachers who used the Bible but who were not really telling what it says. Mature Christians work hard at handling God’s Word correctly.

The apostle Paul told his young pastor friend Timothy this very same thing. Timothy was responsible for teaching a lot of people in and around Ephesus. If he misused God’s Word it would affect many souls. So Paul impressed on Timothy that before teaching he had to slow down and study God’s Word well, so that he would not misrepresent God and later become ashamed of it. Look at how Paul said it:

2 Timothy 2:15
Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.

Points to ponder

1. Why do you think Paul said that when Timothy was teaching he was presenting himself to God?