DOCTRINE & DISCIPLINES OF THE BIBLE II
In the earlier lessons of this series, we considered what Scripture teaches about its origin, truthfulness, authority, and sufficiency. We then turned to the practices of reading and studying the Bible. Now we come to a responsibility that connects doctrine and discipline: handling God’s Word rightly.
Paul urged Timothy to be “a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15, ESV). Timothy taught the church, so his responsibility carried particular weight. Yet every believer benefits from learning to read accurately. Whether we are teaching a group, speaking with a friend, or seeking to obey a passage ourselves, we should care about what Scripture actually says.
Over these three days, we will consider how to study with care, live under the Word we study, and speak its truth faithfully to others. Read each day’s passages in your ESV Bible before beginning the lesson.
Day One: Set Your Heart to Study
Read: Ezra 7:6–10; 2 Timothy 2:14–19; and Psalm 119:17–24.
Ezra 7:10 tells us that Ezra set his heart to study the Law of the Lord, to do it, and to teach it in Israel. Before he instructed others, he gave sustained attention to the Word and committed himself to obeying it. His preparation was more than collecting information for a lesson. He intended to live under what he taught.
In 2 Timothy 2, Paul’s instruction to handle the Word rightly appears amid warnings about quarrels and speech that harms hearers. Accuracy matters because words affect people. We can confuse someone by using a verse out of context, pressing a personal opinion as though God had commanded it, or speaking with certainty when a passage needs more study.
Rightly handling the Word begins with a willingness to be taught. We bring our questions and experiences to Scripture, but we do not come as its judges. We read the passage in its setting, consider what its writer meant, and ask how it fits with the rest of Scripture. Then we respond to what God has said.
Prayer belongs in this work. The psalmist prayed, “Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law” (Psalm 119:18, ESV). We can ask God for understanding before we begin and continue praying when a passage is difficult. Prayer expresses our dependence on Him as we pay attention to the words He has given.
Kevin DeYoung writes that God’s Word can be trusted “to speak what is true, command what is right, and provide us with what is good.” Because we trust the One who speaks, we have good reason to examine a passage closely, including when it challenges an opinion we have held for a long time.
Study questions
- What three commitments do you find in Ezra 7:10? Why does their order matter?
- What concerns surround Paul’s instruction in 2 Timothy 2:15? According to verses 14–19, how can the way we use words affect others?
- What does the writer of Psalm 119 ask God to do? What does this prayer teach you about approaching Scripture?
- Think of a passage you often quote or hear quoted. Read its entire chapter. What do you learn about its setting that you had not noticed before?
- Is there a biblical teaching you find difficult to receive? What would it look like to study it carefully and humbly?
Put it into practice: Choose a paragraph from 2 Timothy 2. Read the whole chapter first. Write down who is speaking, who is addressed, and how your paragraph connects to the verses around it. Record any questions before consulting a study note or commentary.
Pray: Ask God to make you a patient student of His Word and a willing recipient of its correction.
Day Two: Do What You Have Learned
Read: Deuteronomy 17:18–20; Hebrews 5:11–14; and James 1:22–25.
God instructed Israel’s future king to keep a copy of the law and read it throughout his life. He was to learn to fear the Lord and obey His commands. That instruction belonged to the king in a particular setting, yet it shows us that position and responsibility did not lessen his need for sustained attention to God’s Word.
The writer of Hebrews warned his first readers that they had become dull of hearing. They needed to grow in maturity and discernment through practice. His warning gives us reason to ask whether we are continuing to listen and learn. Familiarity with biblical words is not always the same as understanding them or living by them.
James presses the matter further. Hearing the Word without doing it is like looking in a mirror and then forgetting what we saw. We may take careful notes and still turn away from the correction a passage brings. Scripture may expose unbelief, challenge an attitude, or call us to seek forgiveness. We need to stay with its teaching long enough to respond.
Donald S. Whitney describes meditation as “deep thinking on the truths and spiritual realities revealed in Scripture.” He connects that reflection with understanding, application, and prayer. We can carry a passage into the day, consider what it teaches, and pray about the obedience it calls for.
Our effort matters, but we cannot produce spiritual growth by our skill as readers. David Mathis writes, “The great end of our habits of grace is knowing and enjoying him.” We return to Scripture to know Christ more deeply and depend on God to change us through the truth we hear.
Study questions
- Why was Israel’s future king instructed to read the law throughout his life? Which parts of Deuteronomy 17:18–20 describe his particular responsibility?
- What concerns does the writer of Hebrews raise in Hebrews 5:11–14? How does he describe growing discernment?
- What does James say is missing when someone hears the Word but does not do it?
- What truth from a recent Bible reading have you understood but delayed putting into practice?
- How might meditation help you carry the passage’s meaning into your day without inventing a new meaning for it?
Put it into practice: Return to the paragraph you studied on Day One. Summarize its main point in one or two sentences. Then write down one response that follows from that point. Revisit the passage later today and pray about that response.
Pray: Ask the Lord to give you both understanding and a willing heart to obey.
Day Three: Speak the Truth with Care
Read: Acts 17:10–12; Ephesians 4:11–16; and 1 Corinthians 12:27–29.
God has given teachers to help equip His people. Hearing Scripture preached, studying with other believers, and asking thoughtful questions can help us recognize something we have missed. The Bereans provide a good example: they received Paul’s message and examined the Scriptures to see whether what they heard was so. We can appreciate faithful teachers while remaining responsible to test their teaching by the Bible.
Not every Christian has the same role in the church. Paul describes different gifts and responsibilities among its members. Yet women who know the Word have opportunities to speak its truth appropriately to children, friends, and those they disciple. The setting may be a classroom, a conversation over a meal, or a moment when someone asks for counsel. In each setting, we should speak with care.
That care sometimes requires restraint. We might recognize a familiar phrase without remembering the passage around it. We may want to claim a promise made to someone in different circumstances as a guarantee for our own. We might also be tempted to give a confident answer where Scripture has not spoken with that level of detail. It can serve another person well to say, “I need to study that passage more carefully.”
When you consult a book or study guide, ask whether it helps you understand Scripture in context. Does it treat biblical teaching as authoritative? Does it direct you to Christ and the truth of the gospel? We need not be afraid of questions, but we should examine the answers. Our aim is to help one another grow in a sound understanding of the truth and in love for Christ.
Ezra’s pattern remains a helpful one: study the Word, do what it says, and teach it with care when God gives the opportunity. The purpose is to pass on His truth faithfully so that others, too, may know and follow Christ.
Study questions
- How did the Bereans respond to the teaching they heard in Acts 17:10–12?
- According to Ephesians 4:11–16, why has God given teachers to the church? What kind of growth does Paul describe?
- What does 1 Corinthians 12:27–29 teach about differing roles among believers?
- Where has God given you an appropriate opportunity to share biblical truth with someone?
- Is there a verse you have used to encourage others without studying its context? Read the chapter and consider whether you have represented the passage accurately.
- When would it be wise for you to say, “I need to study that more carefully,” before offering an explanation?
Put it into practice: Choose one biblical truth you might share with a friend or someone you disciple. Locate the passage, read its surrounding verses, and write a brief explanation of what it means. Then consider how you could speak it with accuracy and compassion.
A prayer for faithful study
Lord, open my eyes to Your Word. Give me patience to understand it, humility to receive correction, and willingness to obey. Help me speak carefully when I share Scripture with others. Make me a faithful hearer and doer of Your Word. Amen.
God has spoken, and His Word directs us to Jesus Christ. Let us keep studying with open Bibles and teachable hearts. As we grow in understanding, may we also grow in obedience and in our care for the people with whom we share His truth.
Won’t you join me at the table?
Sources quoted: Kevin DeYoung, Taking God at His Word and “3 Things We Must Believe about God’s Word”; Donald S. Whitney, Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life, chapter 3; David Mathis, Habits of Grace and “Growth Is Not the Goal.”