Are you Approved?

2Tim. 2:15
Study and do your best to present yourself to God approved, a workman [tested by trial] who
has no reason to be ashamed, accurately handling and skilfully teaching the word of truth.
The word study is either a noun or verb. As a noun, it refers to the devotion of time and attention to
gaining knowledge of a subject, or a detailed investigation and analysis of a subject or situation; as a
verb, it is to devote time and attention to gaining knowledge in a field or subject, it can also mean to
look closely with the aim of observation and gaining knowledge. Many are Christians today that are
oblivious of the responsibilities imposed on them by the virtue of being a child of God, therefore you
find gross misbehaviour from those that professed to have given their lives to Jesus. It is obvious
however, from our memory verse that without the understanding of our rights and responsivities as
Christians, we would not be approved by the Lord neither will we be able to rightly preach the saving
grace that Christ purchased for all as a gospel, nor see Him in glory.
I suppose the lack of thorough study and understanding of the Word of God is the reason there are so
many unstable brethren in our churches today who are easily swayed by all manner of doctrines,
especially those that does not saddle them with responsibilities. Many have believed in lies,
conjectures and innuendos which suggests that God is the only One that has responsibility to the
Christian.
Acts 17:11
They found that the Jews of Berea were of more noble character and much more open minded
than those of Thessalonica. They were hungry to learn and eagerly received the word. Every
day they opened the scrolls of Scripture to search and examine them, to verify that what Paul
taught them was true.
When a fellow studies the scriptures personally, aside from debugging what they have heard, their
knowledge of God will increase as is their understanding of what they can and cannot expect of God. It
is for example easy for the story of David to be referenced by a preacher and get people excited, but
it takes studying the lives of people like Abraham and Job to understand that sacrificial giving and
affliction are part of the package and will lead to the blessings being hungered for, just as Jesus
alluded in Matt.16:24
Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If you truly want to follow me, you should at once completely
reject and disown your own life. And you must be willing to share my cross and experience it
as your own, as you continually surrender to my ways”
Your approval to God is not based on your service, offerings, the payment of your tithe or any outward
exercise for that matter,( while they are needed for the body of Christ to grow), it is premised of your
personal knowledge and interaction with Him. That will help you understand that He is the God of
individual and not of the multitude. Even though His call was to the whole world, a careful analysis
will reveal to a studious fellow that He addressed Himself to an individual (John 3:16; John 7:37 and
Rev.3:20).
Anyone that understands the scriptures on the back of their personal study, knows that things
happening nowadays in both the Church and world are signs of the end times, today for example, there
are all manner of people professing to be preachers of the gospel, but their conduct and mannerism
points to the contrary; all the world today, nations rising against each other resulting in wanton
destruction of lives and properties and evil is no longer being done in secret but openly, the list goes
on and on.
Matt.24.11-13
And many lying prophets will arise, deceiving multitudes and leading them away from the path
of truth. There will be such an increase of the sin of lawlessness that those whose hearts once
burned with passion for God and others will grow cold. But hold your hope firmly to the end
and you will experience life and deliverance.
Are you approved of the Lord, have you studied and continues to study the Word of God including
especially hearkening to the instructions therein? It will be a mere and useless exercise if all you did
was to study but not hearken, for it is in following through, the Word, that ultimate approval rests