Dr. Jason Allen greeted new students, faculty, and guests with an exposition of 2 Timothy 2:15, stating that the passage was applicable to everyone in attendance.
In addition to there being a confessional and instructional expectation in this passage, Allen noted, “There is a ministerial expectation, which broadens the application to all of us, right? You are here to some degree in a ministerial role or preparing for a ministerial role directly or indirectly. And to fulfill a ministry calling is to fulfill the calling of preaching, teaching, sharing, and counseling the text. When done right, much good comes. When done wrong, catastrophe follows.”
Allen then broke the passage down into three parts: “Being diligent to present yourself approved unto God;” “As a workman who does not need to be ashamed;” and “Accurately handling the word of truth.”
To the first section, Allen challenged all in attendance to avoid the pitfall of starting strongly and then slowly digressing in one’s ministry. He encouraged the audience to persist in this effort. In proclaiming the Word of God, Allen said to not “just open the Book like you would any other book;” rather find oneself approved by God in his proper handling of the Word throughout one’s ministry.
Secondly, when the apostle Paul referred to Timothy being an unashamed workman in verse 15, Allen noted, “Your position before Christ as a minister is fixed based upon the work of Christ. But, our ability to stand before God and God’s people without shame, as it relates to our handling of the text, correlates to how faithfully we handle it….if we are sloppy with the text, evidently there is ministerial shame to bear.”
In explaining the third part of the passage, Allen said as a pastor progresses in his ministry, he should also be growing in his handling of God’s Word.
“With each passing year of studying the Word, of being trained and mentored, there ought to be a deepening and growing sense of confidence that you can stand before God’s people, lead a Bible study, talk to your friend about Scripture – and you do that in such a way that you know you have treated the text seriously and have been faithful to the best of your ability to study it.”
Allen concluded with points of application for the text that included: Study, interpretation, preaching and teaching the text must be a pastor’s number one priority; he should work to avoid sloppy exegesis of the text; a pastor should avoid eisegesis – reading something into the text that’s not there; and he should be careful to avoid Bible studies that ask, “What does the Bible mean to you?” Rather, he should ask, “What does the text mean, and how does it apply to you and me?”
