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    Study to Show Yourself Approved
    Study to Show Yourself Approved
    Study to Show Yourself Approved
    Ebook105 pages1 hour

    Study to Show Yourself Approved

    By Larry Cochran

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    About this ebook

    Remind them of these things, and charge them before God not to quarrel about words, which does no good, but only ruins the hearers. 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.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherLulu.com
    Release dateJul 30, 2017
    ISBN9781387133567
    Study to Show Yourself Approved

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      Book preview

      Study to Show Yourself Approved - Larry Cochran

      Study to Show Yourself Approved

      Study

      To Show Yourself Approved

      Digging in and loving it

      __________

      Larry A. Cochran

      Study To Show Yourself Approved

      Copyright © 2017 by Larry A. Cochran

      All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without written permission from the author.

      ISBN 978-1-365-75363-3

      Printed in USA by Lulu Books

      Dedication

      As always, this book is first dedicate this to my God and Savior, Jesus Christ. I thank him for giving me a wonderful life with my wife, Angela, and son, Darice. We are a unit that moves closer to together as we grow stronger in Jesus Christ, our Lord.

      Table of Contents

      Foreword

      Preface

      Introduction

      Chapter 1

      Chapter 2

      Chapter 3

      Chapter 4

      Chapter 5

      Chapter 6

      Chapter 7

      Chapter 8

      Chapter 9

      Chapter 10

      Chapter 11

      Introduction

      A Worker Approved by God

      2 Timothy 2:14-21

      "Remind them of these things, and charge them before God not to quarrel about words, which does no good, but only ruins the hearers. 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. But avoid irreverent babble, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness, and their talk will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, who have swerved from the truth, saying that the resurrection has already happened. They are upsetting the faith of some. But God's firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: The Lord knows those who are his, and", Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity. Now in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, some for honorable use, some for dishonorable. Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work."

      I am a student of history, science, literature, and especially the bible. I love the reality of what has been left for us to think about on the printed page. All of these subjects draw my attention, but it is one in particular that keeps me awake at night looking deeply at its implications for life itself, it is the bible. I am amazed at the literary content that is found between its pages. I love the way that it has predicted the heart of man in terms of scientific achievement. I wonder about the prophetic findings from the past as they speak about my future. Every subject is found in the pages of the bible; however, they are all pointing to one single idea which is that there is a God and we are not him.

      The intent of the many authors of the books found in the bible is to give us a record of who God really is, what God has already done, what He has promised to do, and how all of this relates to us. We ought to always read the bible in terms of who God is and not who we think that we are. Paul was telling Timothy to study, not because he thought Timothy was some hotshot who did not make sure to validate what he was being taught, but it was much more than that. I think that the more we know about God in the context of who he is and what he wants from us, it becomes easier to live for him.

      I also like to think about the reality that Jesus Christ is the word, Jesus Christ is God, so then being conformed into the image of Christ as God has said that we should, requires an intimate relationship with his word. In order for us to be transformed by a renewing of our minds, there needs to be a considerable time spent studying the word of God in all-of its proper context and meaning. There is very little debate as to whether we should read the bible; there is much debate over the necessity of studying Gods’ word. We would rather rely on the pastor to deliver his commentary each service and not be concerned with whether or not what they preached was right.

      I think that Paul was warning Timothy about the scarceness of truth and doctrine from a biblical perspective. Too many professing Christians have walked away from a firm belief in the bible. As a matter of fact, the last Pew Research statistic showed that of the people who profess to be Christian less the 40% of them felt the bible was relevant and accurate. That is a staggering number of people who have never fully grasp the full appreciation for the main mechanism that God uses to transform us. Yes, the Holy Spirit is a big part of it, yet we have seemed to neglect even the discernment from the Holy Spirit concerning the truth. We have taken for granted that truth has become relative. The vast majority of professing Christians no longer believe that truth even matters. God was not trying to make our lives boring or painful through his word, he was pointing us in his own direction, and his direction is holy and pure.

      As I was washing dishes one morning, I began to think about the issue of motives and intent. It became apparent in my thinking that we can know the intent and motives of people, if we so choose to. God has said in his word that man looks at the outward appearances, but he looks at the heart alone. We know from scripture that it is out of the heart that all of life’s issues flow[1]. So, my conclusion was that we can know the intent and motives of a person by looking at their proximity to the love, life, and the will of God. The motives and intent of a person can be known clearly in the relationship that a man has with God in terms of  accepting God’s sovereign purposes, loving God and others, and life through Jesus Christ. The main way to establish any of these is to truly know and understand all of these in terms of who God has revealed himself to be in scripture. A right relationship with scripture is a very vital part of having right relationship with God through Jesus Christ and empowered by the Holy Spirit.

      One of the first things that have to be understood in order to have a right relationship to God is doctrine. This word is avoided by so many people because it has been abused by those who are supposed to be helping others properly understand it. Another word that is not highly favored in the modern day organization called church is theology. Just like doctrine is a word that scares people away from reading and studying the bible, theology is the other word that scares them. While they both sound very high and lofty, they are quite necessary for a proper understanding of who God is and who we are in relation to God. The bible actually puts God at the center of the conversation, but today’s church organization has placed us at the center of the bibles understanding. The fact that we are considered the central focus of scripture and not God automatically sets up for a clear misunderstanding of both doctrine and theology. Each of these words will be defined in simple terms as the discussions in this book are

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