The Proclaimer

Seeking God's Approval            

The apostle Paul writes, “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Tim. 2:15).  No statement in the Bible more fitly sums up what the life of the Christian is all about than this one by Paul.  This passage identifies our allegiance and reminds us that it is God we should seek to please, not the world (James 4:4), not even our loved ones (Matt. 10:35-37), and especially not ourselves.  In other words, the Lord must come first in our lives. 

Jesus denounces those that would seek to justify themselves in the sight of men (Luke 16:15).  He even condemns those that would engage in acts of worship and benevolence that they might have the glory of men (Matt. 6:1-16).  Jesus makes it clear that before anyone can follow Him and be His disciple he must first deny himself (Matt. 16:24).  Setting aside our own desires, we must humbly subject ourselves to the rule of Christ.  It matters not what others think or how much resistance there is, we “must obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29). 

To acquire God’s approval we must be diligent in “rightly dividing” or “handling aright the word of truth.”  We must understand that God has revealed His word in its entirety through the Scriptures (2 Tim. 3:16, 17).  What God has written adequately produces a faith that leads to life eternal, for He has “given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness” (2 Peter 1:3).  This means we must limit all that we teach and practice to that which is authorized in God’s Holy Writ (Col. 3:17). 

God has always expected man to do exactly as He commands.  Of those living under the Law of Moses, God required, “Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish from it, that ye may keep the commandments of Jehovah your God which I command you” (Deut. 4:2).  This principle is carried over to the New Covenant as the apostle Paul tells the Corinthians they should learn “not to go beyond things which are written” (1 Cor. 4:6).  John says, “Whosoever goeth onward and abideth not in the teaching of Christ, hath not God” (2 John 9).  If we are to “handle aright the word of truth” we simply cannot add to or subtract from that which God has revealed in His written word (see Rev. 22:18, 19).

This means we must properly respect the authority of Scripture in all that we teach and practice.  Such respect for authority demands our recognition of the specific purview of God’s commands.  That means the specificity of the command limits the authority of that command.  This results in the silence of Scripture being restrictive rather than permissive.  As Peter expressed it, “If any man speaks, speaking as it were oracles of God” (1 Peter 4:11).  Speaking where God hasn’t spoken puts us outside the limits of God’s authority. 

For instance, Paul writes that acceptable worship to God is “singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord” (Eph. 5:19), and “singing with grace in your hearts unto God” (Col. 3:19).  There are only two types of music: vocal and instrumental. These commands authorize singing.  Instrumental music is simply not mentioned in these passages.  In fact, the New Testament is silent in regard to the use of instruments in the worship of God.  Consequently, the use of instruments in worship is simply not authorized.  It’s often said, “It doesn’t say not to.”  But actually it does, for when God authorizes singing He excludes all other types of music as being acceptable in worship.

                                                                     -- Clark Dugger

The Proclaimer