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

The UnSunday Show

The UnSunday Show asks honest questions about the origin and validity of institutional church rules, traditions, and practices. These religious rules and practices lead us away from the simplicity of the gospel and into an exhausting performance-based experience that is designed to perpetuate itself by placing ever increasing demands on its people and are of no value in Christ. If you're exhausted from trying to keep all the religious rules that have been placed on you, listen in to these conversations as we rediscover the freedom we've been given, apart from religion and empty religious obligation.

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

September 17, 2023 • Mike Adams • Episode 88

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:

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

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