Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of truth. 2 Timothy 2:15
Pretty much every religious organization, including some of the far-out cults, claims to rightly divide the Word of Truth. Obviously, they are not all right; in fact most are not right. The JWs, for example, wrote their own blasphemous perversion of the Bible so they could make that claim. Rightly dividing the Word of truth is critical, because the Scriptures are God’s revelation of Himself to us. If we are wrong in this, we distort or miss entirely what God would have us to know.
Rightly dividing the Word of truth produces an accurate Gospel message. This message is of a free and full salvation by grace alone, and not of any works. It is a message of a present possession and an eternal blessing: Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth My Word, and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life (John 5:24). Rightly dividing the Word of truth also produces a clear distinction between those who are truly saved and those who have only a profession or a religion: Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are His (2 Timothy 2:19).
Rightly dividing the Word of truth produces a correct understanding of the difference between our standing before God and our state as a Christian. Our standing is perfect, and the Scriptures are filled with proofs that God declares it so. Consider the following verses: But God, who is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ (by grace ye are saved), and hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 2:4-6). This perfect standing is the result of the work of Christ and is perfect and entire from the very moment that Christ is received by faith. On the other hand, our state is our walk as a Christian, and can be (and often is) far below the perfect standing that we have. Because we are still dwelling in sinful bodies in a sinful world, we are affected by the world, the flesh, and the devil. That is why the Scriptures exhort us to be the spiritual servants of Christ that our Lord desires us to be: If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God (Colossians 3: 1).
Rightly dividing the Word of truth will also give us an accurate picture of God’s dealings with humanity, and of His plans for our future. Our understanding of the different dispensations that are identified in the Scriptures is essential to our correctly grasping God’s purposes for us today, as contrasted with His dealings with people in earlier dispensations.
Rightly dividing the Word of truth will also allow us to differentiate between the Rapture of the saints and the return of Christ in His kingdom, along with other prophetic truths. It permits us to avoid such errors as those who claim, for example, that the return of the Lord was accomplished at Pentecost, or at the conversion or the death of the believer, or at the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in AD 70.
Carefully studying the Scriptures, and carefully comparing one Scripture with another, we can rightly divide the Word of truth, and know that we are receiving God’s message to us. -Jim MacIntosh