Who is Ready to be an Approved Workman?

December 24, 2000

"Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman who needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth" (2 Timothy 2:15).

These are the words of the apostle Paul to Timothy, a young preacher whom Paul lovingly called "my own son in the faith" (1 Timothy 1:2; cf 2 Timothy 1:2; 2:1). Paul was concerned about the many trials that would befall Timothy in his work as an evangelist. Of particular concern was the opposition of false teachers (1 Timothy 1:18-20; 4:1-5) and the apostasy of the brethren (1 Timothy 6:20-21; 2 Timothy 4:1-5). Paul knew the only way to overcome these hardships was to remain faithful to God's Word (1 Timothy 4:16; 2 Timothy 3:15-17).

How many of us prepare ourselves for the Devil's daily onslaught by keeping our nose in The Book? Are we prepared to answer life's challenges with a "thus saith the Lord" or "it is written"? These words were the shield of faith for the prophets of old and the preachers of the New Testament. I have been privileged to travel to many parts of this great country and associate with many fine brethren. At many congregations, not only is a count kept of the attendance of each service, but there is also a record of "daily Bible readers". Invariably, the number of daily Bible readers is a pittance when compared to the total number of members in the local body. How can the church be prepared to fight the Devil when we have no experience in using our divine weaponry? Every part of the armor of God involves God's Word (Ephesians 6:10-20). The Bereans were said to be more noble than they of Thessalonica because they "received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the Scriptures daily" (Acts 17:11).

In a January, 1999, article for The Messenger (published by ETSOP), brother Robert R. Taylor, Jr., told of his decision to begin a regimen of daily Bible reading. In the early 1950's, he began reading 12 chapters each day: 3 in the Old Testament, 4 in the gospels, and 5 in the New Testament epistles. At the time of writing that article, he had read the Old Testament 46 times and the New Testament 549 times.

Given the importance of daily Bible reading, here are some ideas given by brother Taylor on how much we can accomplish with just a few minutes a day given for Bible study.

1. Three chapters a day and five on Sunday will put one through the entire Bible in a year.
2. Three chapters a day in the Old Testament and three chapters in the New Testament will put one through the Old Testament once and the New Testament four times.
3. Three chapters a day in the Old Testament and nine in the New Testament will put one through the Old Testament once and the New Testament every month.

If you need more than a general framework of daily Bible reading, we have daily Bible reading schedules available for anyone who would like to read through the Bible in a year. Another plan I have mentioned is to simply divide the number of pages in your Bible by the number of days in the year, or divide the number of pages in the New Testament by 30. We made an attempt a year to two ago to read the New Testament in its entirety in the first month of the year. My daily Bible reading is not what it ought to be. Will you join me in dedicating more time each day to daily Bible reading? How many of us will make a habit of reading God's Word each day? Let's see how many can read through the New Testament in the month of January. It will be time well spent and our Lord will be pleased. Who knows? We might even learn something new! ;-)