To “do your best” takes diligence. To “present yourself to God” signifies a sense of personal accountability. And to present yourself to God “as one approved” suggests faithfulness.
The word “approved” (dokimos in the Greek) was often used of coins and metals. For coins to be acceptable, they needed to have the proper weight and not be counterfeits — true, or faithful, to the proper standard.
In what ways must Bible teachers be faithful?
Since 2 Timothy 2:15 deals with correctly handling the word of truth, consider faithfulness in the following ways for teachers. Determine if you pass His test of approval.
- faithful to God’s call on your life to teach – taking it serious enough to invest the necessary time and effort
- faithful to God’s Word in the way you study and prepare to teach – seeking to arrive at His intent, not mere personal opinions or biases
- faithful to God Himself to stay true to His character and ways – sorting out seeming inconsistencies or contradictions against the whole counsel of God
When we think of “one approved” we think of those faithful stewards of whom God will say, “Well done, good and faithful servant!” (Matt. 25:21). Is that you?