Handle Accurately the Word of Truth

I was 44 years old before I seriously considered an important task. I had never read through the whole Bible. When I was a teen, Mama gave me a copy of The Way, (youth version of the Living Bible paraphrase) and in January I would begin to read it through in a year. But it seems I always got bogged down, probably somewhere in Deuteronomy or Leviticus. I have much more appreciation for the beautiful details in these books now, but as a teen, I think this is where I stopped.

Why is it important to read the whole Bible? The Bible says we are to handle accurately, or to rightly divide the word of truth. (See 2 Tim 2:15.) Christian and I once visited the Federal Bureau of Printing and Engraving. One of the things that I have always remembered is a method that is used to teach federal agents how to identify counterfeit money -- handling the real thing. Agents touched, handled and examined real money so much that when the counterfeit came along, they could tell the difference. Just as federal agents can learn to identify counterfeit money by handling real money, we can learn to identify false doctrine by handling accurately the word of truth. When we hear, read and handle the Word of God, it is easier for us to recognize something that is not the Word of God.

In my 44th year, I began to read and reread the Bible. I love this book, and I have come to understand that I just won't fully understand all of the wonderful words it contains until Jesus comes. Nevertheless, having read and reread God's Word, I am more familiar with its contents.

When Glen and I lived in Charlotte, NC, Neal Hopper, a wise teacher would hold up the Bible each Sunday morning and say, "See, this is our standard. Don't take my word for it. When you hear something, hold it up to the Bible and see if it matches up." This has proved to be good advice that Glen has repeated to me over and over again over the years.

The Bible says in I John 2:19, "They went out from us, but they were not of us, for if they had been of us, they would have no doubt continued with us: but they went out from us that it might be made manifest that they were not all of us."

John MacArthur puts it like this:

Scripture clearly affirms that God is truth, that God speaks truth, and that God cannot lie. Scripture also affirms that Satan is a liar and the father of lies. He is in the business of deceiving people. God reveals Himself as truth and Satan is revealed as its antithesis. That particular dichotomy pervades every area of the universe. There is conflict between the holy angels and unholy demons. There is conflict on earth between the truth of God and the lies of Satan.

The people of God have always been plagued with false doctrine. They have endured the invasion of false prophets and teachers throughout the ages. Satan attempts to confuse the world by drowning it in a sea of deceit. It was Satan's misrepresentation of the truth to Eve that plunged the human race into sin (Gen. 3:1-6). The steady stream of false teaching has been so cumulative that is is wider and deeper now than it has ever been. False teaching about God, Christ, the Bible, and spiritual reality is pandemic. The father of lies works overtime to destroy the saving, sanctifying truth God has given to us in His Word. The effects of false teaching have been devastating and damning. That's why the Bible calls them destructive heresies (2 Pet. 2:1). I believe that as we get closer to the coming of Christ, these deceptions, lies and misrepresentations will increase. (1)

1 Avoiding Spiritual Counterfeiters, The Danger of False Teaching, by John MacArthur, posted at the Bible Bulliten Board, www.biblebb.com