(This is part one of a series; look for part two in three weeks.)
For many years we here at the Brookes Bible Institute have claimed this as our key verse. It is a part of our mission statement and intricately a part of everything that we do here at this school founded almost 100 years ago. There are many truths that can be taken from this advice that the aging apostle Paul gave to his youthful charge. Today, I will just focus on one of the key words. Paul told Timothy to study. This is in direct opposition in the context from those that utter “profane and vain babblings.” Those that just talk to here themselves speak, or worse, those that promulgate vain repetitions and nonsensical, mystical incantations. What was Timothy to study? From both the immediate context and the context of the remainder of the book, it is the Word of God. Timothy was commended for his understanding of the Holy Scriptures, which make one wise unto salvation (3:15). Also the writings of Paul, Timothy was to commit to faithful men who are able to teach (2:2). This gives us both the Old and New Testaments that are in view of what Timothy was to study.
The Brookes Bible Institute has had the desire since 1909 to commit to faithful men and women those things which have been learned in that faithful study. With foundations built by men like James Hall Brookes and his prodigy C.I. Scofield, and great teachers at this institute like Ken Wuest, J.H. Gauss and Robert Rill, these men have passed this learning on to this next generation, and we must now do likewise!
If we are to be workmen that are not ashamed, then it will only come through the diligent and systematic study of the Word of God. We cannot look to men who simply enjoy hearing the sound of their own voice. We cannot simply follow along with whatever the world is teaching. We must study and teach God’s word. As the scribe Ezra was preparing to lead a group of Jews back to the Holy land from Babylon Ezra 7:10 tells us that Ezra had “prepared in his heart to seek the law of the Lord, and to do it, and to teach in Israel…” How can we teach without being ashamed, unless we have first studied. As a scribe, Ezra certainly knew what it meant to diligently study. May we follow Ezra’s example and Paul’s exhortation, to study God’s Word to show ourselves approved.
In His Majesty’s Service,
Benjamin D. Olson