A.The apostle Paul wrote two letters to the evangelist Timothy to encourage him in his work of preaching the word of God.
1.Both of these letters give a heavy emphasis on the importance of teaching and the use of words.
2.Timothy was to be especially careful about handling the word of God.Notice 2Timothy 2:15 – "Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.”
B.From these two letters, let us consider the contrasting ways of handling words accurately versus handling them inaccurately.
II.ACCURATE AND INACCURATE HANDLING OF WORDS
A.1Timothy 1:3-5 – "As I urged you upon my departure for Macedonia, remain on at Ephesus so that you may instruct certain men not to teach strange doctrines, nor to pay attention to myths and endless genealogies, which give rise to mere speculation rather than furthering the administration of God which is by faith.But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.”
1.Accurate handling: Giving instruction that provokes love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith
a.The greatest and most enduring quality of a Christian is love (1Cor. 13:13).Love is the greatest commandment (Mark 12:29-31), and to know God is to know love (1John 4:8, 16).
b.The goal of teaching God’s word is to create a pure heart, a good conscience, and a sincere faith in the hearer so that the hearer can learn to practice love.
2.Inaccurate handling: Teaching strange doctrines, myths, and endless genealogies, which give rise to mere speculation rather than furthering the administration of God which is by faith
a.Strange teachings that lead to speculation only create confusion, and they do not fulfill the purpose of teaching God’s word.They only serve to elevate the false teacher.
b.It is unwise to give attention to such teachings because they erode a person’s faith.
B.1Timothy 4:6-7a – "In pointing out these things to the brethren, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, constantly nourished on the words of the faith and of the sound doctrine which you have been following.But have nothing to do with worldly fables fit only for old women.”
1.Accurate handling: Pointing out and following the words of the faith and sound doctrine
a.Accurately handing the word of truth makes one to be a good servant of Christ.It is Christ’s will that His preachers constantly remind His disciples of the Lord’s commandments (2Tim. 2:14; Titus 3:1).
b.As a servant of Christ accurately handles God’s word, he also builds up his own faith.
2.Inaccurate handling: Teaching worldly fables
a.Worldly fables provide no benefit to a servant of Christ, but rather they tend to deceive people into believing lies and contradicting the truth.
b.The phrase "fit for old women” does not mean that it is acceptable for old women to indulge in worldly fables nor does it intend to degrade old women.It is simply acknowledging a tendency of some women to be gossips and busybodies (see 1Tim. 5:13).
C.1Timothy 6:20-21 – "O Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you, avoiding worldly and empty chatter and the opposing arguments of what is falsely called ‘knowledge’ – which some have professed and thus gone astray from the faith. Grace be with you.”
1.Accurate handling: Guarding the word of God
a.The word of God is a priceless treasure that has been entrusted to men who are not to hoard it to themselves but rather share it with others (see 2Cor.4:7).
b.Notice 2Timothy 1:13-14 – "Retain the standard of sound words which you have heard from me, in the faith and love which are in Christ Jesus.Guard, through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, the treasure which has been entrusted to you.”
2.Inaccurate handling: Accepting worldly, empty chatter and the opposing arguments of what is falsely called "knowledge”
a.Contradictory arguments and false knowledge threaten the treasure that is entrusted to Christ’s servants.It is not that the truth is endangered, but rather it is that the hearers and believers of the truth are in danger of being led astray.
b.Notice Colossians 2:8 – "See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.”
D.2Timothy 2:14-18 – "Remind them of these things, and solemnly charge them in the presence of God not to wrangle about words, which is useless and leads to the ruin of the hearers.Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.But avoid worldly and empty chatter, for it will lead to further ungodliness, and their talk will spread like gangrene.Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, men who have gone astray from the truth saying that the resurrection has already taken place, and they upset the faith of some.”
1.Accurate handling: Working diligently to understand the word of truth
a.Understanding is obtained through desire, prayer, and study (Matt. 7:7-11; Jas. 1:5-7).
b.The ability to handle the word of truth accurately eliminates the need for shame, for a person who has this ability knows how to speak and behave in every circumstance.
2.Inaccurate handling: Wrangling about words; accepting worldly, empty chatter that leads to further ungodliness
a.Undue bickering over individual word definitions can take a person’s focus away from the whole meaning of a passage of Scripture and rob him of his understanding.
b.Again, we see that worldly, empty chatter can be very harmful to Christians.In the example of Hymenaeus and Philetus, they had even upset the faith of some believers.
E.2Timothy 3:13-17 – "But evil men and impostors will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.You, however, continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.”
1.Accurate handling: Continuing in the Scriptures
a.Only by learning and practicing the Scripture can one accurately handle the word of truth, for it is God’s word that has come to us by inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
b.Only the Scripture can equip the man of God to work for Christ.
2.Inaccurate handling: Practicing deception
a.Whereas the Scripture is profitable for many good works, deception is good for nothing.
b.Deception is the weapon of Satan and has been since the beginning of the world (Gen. 3).
F.2Timothy 4:1-4 – "I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction.For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths.”
1.Accurate handling: Preaching the word of God in season and out of season; reproving, rebuking, and exhorting with great patience and instruction
a.The word of God is accurately handled when it is given without bias and without fear of rejection.Even the hard and unpopular messages must be preached.
b.Only a patient person with the heart of a teacher will be able to carry out this charge.
2.Inaccurate handling: Accumulating teachers in accordance with one’s own desires; turning away from the truth and turning aside to myths
a.Many people only want to hear the parts of God’s word with which they agree.Furthermore, they will exchange the truth of God for myths that please them.
b.Such an inaccurate handling of words does not lead to understanding, faith, and salvation.
III.CONCLUSION
A.These passages of Scripture prove that working in words is a serious endeavor.No one should assume the role of a teacher who cannot accurately handle the word of truth (see Jas. 3:1-2).
B."Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.” (Prov. 18:21)
