What Does "Study to Show Yourself Approved" Mean? (88)

The UnSunday Show

Welcome to episode 88 of The UnSunday Show. Today we're going to talk about 2 Timothy 2:15. This is another verse in a long list of verses that has been taken out of context and weaponized by institutional religion to mean something that it was never intended to mean. Here it is in the King James Version:
"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, KJV)
As a new believer years ago, I was told that this verse meant God expected me to stay on track with my study of the Bible as a demonstration to others that I was serious about my faith and that God approved of me because I was committed to the book, the Bible.
But this verse has nothing to do with the Bible or the practice of studying the Bible. After all, there weren't any Bibles when Paul penned this. Institutional religion gave us that interpretation and it has nothing to do with the context of the passage. But this passage does raise some questions and these are what I talk about in this episode:

1. What does 'study' mean?
2. What does 'approved unto God' mean?
3. What is the 'word of truth'?
4. And how do I know when I'm rightly dividing it?

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