YOU LIVE WHAT YOU BELIEVE

By Akin Ojumu

Cognition leads to conviction. What you know becomes what you believe, and what you believe becomes a conviction. Life imitates theology. People live within the framework of their convictions. We go from cognition to conviction and then to affection. The ship of our lives is piloted by our beliefs.

A sound cognition of Scriptures produces a healthy conviction. A healthy conviction yields a wholesome affection. Without an accurate interpretation and sound understanding of the Bible, our faith in God shrivels and our love for God becomes lukewarm.

For this reason, every true follower of Christ must study the Scriptures diligently and persistently. And it is also what the Bible commands.

2 Timothy 2:15

King James Bible

“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

English Standard Version

“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.”

NASB 1995

“Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.”

NASB 1977

“Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, handling accurately the word of truth.”

New American Standard Bible

“Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a worker who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.”

New King James Version

“Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

New International Version

“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.”

Berean Standard Bible

“Make every effort to present yourself approved to God, an unashamed workman who accurately handles the word of truth.”

Berean Literal Bible

“Hasten to present yourself approved to God, a workman not ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.”

Legacy Standard Bible

“Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.”

New Living Translation

“Work hard so you can present yourself to God and receive his approval. Be a good worker, one who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly explains the word of truth.”

In order to accurately interpret and properly understand what a Bible text means, the text must be interpreted historically, grammatically, and contextually. Every time you read a Bible passage, you must ask yourself the question:

(1) What did the author originally have in mind when he wrote this?

(2) What message was he trying to pass across?

(3) What did it mean to the people to whom he wrote?

(4) What is the context?

(5) What do the words mean and how were they used in the original language?

Because we don’t ask these questions, what most people end up doing is give the Bible a cursory or brief scanning as a fulfilment of all righteousness. As a result, they draw wrong conclusions and develop erroneous understanding of the Bible.

Answering the above often requires an understanding of Biblical languages. Since the books of the Bible were translated from other languages, knowing what the passages we read say in the original language significantly improves our interpretation. This is because every language has its own cultural and linguistic nuances that are often lost in translation.

You don’t have to be a pastor to want to study Biblical languages. Acquiring a basic understanding of Hebrew and Greek is not the exclusive preserves of theologians. Even as a layman, a rudimentary knowledge of Biblical languages will go a long way in enhancing our grasp of Scriptures.  

Don’t just read the Bible, study it. Study prayerfully and reverentially. Ask the Holy Spirit for understanding. He is the Spirit of truth that was promised to guide us into all truth. The Holy Spirit inspired men to write the Bible, solicit His assistance to figure out what you are studying.

Study the Bible contextually. Do not rip Bible verses out of context or form doctrinally opinion from isolated Bible texts. No Bible verse can be understood out of its proper context. You don’t read chapter 8 of Things Fall Apart and simply expect to know everything about the book. In order to understand a Bible verse, you must read the surrounding verses and chapters. It’s the only way you are ever going to grasp the theme, purpose, and specific issues the text is addressing.

It's hubris to think you can, all on your own, understand the Bible without the help of the gifted men endowed with the spiritual gift of teaching the Word of God. There are Bible scholars out there who are great expositors of Scripture. These are the gifted men God has given to the Church today.

Seek the help of these gifted expositors by reading their writings and listening to their teachings. And I’m referring to gifted teachers of the Word like John F. MacArthur, R.C. Sproul, Alistair Begg, Albert Mohler, etc. These are respectable and reliable Bible teachers who actually speak and understand the Bible languages and are unlike the fly by night Realms and Portals charlatans who populate the pulpits today. Many of these gifted Bible expositors are experts in the cultural and linguistic nuances of ancient Jewish and Greek people.

I do what I preach – well, I try. Having first acknowledged to myself my limitations in the knowledge of Scriptures, I proceeded on a path of self-education. Since I can’t afford to pay my way through the good Seminaries, I embarked on a mission of autodidactism. I invest in books, and I also freeload on online resources from trustworthy sources such as the aforementioned gifted men.

And the result of all of this is?

Well, Philippians 3:12, is all I can say.