The goal of every Christian should be: “sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear”
We are invited, through the prophet Isaiah, “‘Come now, and let us reason together,’ Says the Lord” (1:18). Paul is said to have “reasoned” with those that he strove to convert (Ac. 17:2, 17; 18:4; 18:19; 24:25). He even proclaims to Festus that he speaks “words of truth and reason” (Ac. 26:25). God has given us a mind with which He expects us to think and reason. Peter, in referring to the writings of Paul, says that in them there “are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures” (2 Pet. 3:16). Solomon says, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction” (Pr. 1:7). If we fear the Lord and think and reason in a logical, intellectually honest way about Scripture, we won’t twist His Word. Because we won’t care about anything but submission to His will, we will share the sentiment of Peter’s proclamation: “If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God” (1 Pet. 4:11).
With the understanding of what Paul assures Timothy, that “all Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Tim. 3:16, 17), we will seek to be like the Bereans, who “were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so” (Ac. 17:11).
The goal of every Christian should be: “sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear” (1 Pet. 3:15). Life is full of times when truth is challenged and under attack. It becomes important to be able to represent God’s word with authority, when we discuss, argue, and debate with others. We also run into times when we struggle as individuals to grapple with certain topics or passages. As we strive for spiritual maturity, it becomes increasingly important to be able to articulate what we believe, so that it may solidify into a true conviction. God has given us each other as resources in growth, “as iron sharpens iron” (Pr. 27:17). When Philip asked the eunuch if he understood what he was reading in Isaiah, he answered with, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” (Ac. 8:31).
Let us keep in mind what Paul told Timothy in 2 Timothy 2: “Remind them of these things, charging them before the Lord not to strive about words to no profit, to the ruin of the hearers. Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (14, 15). “But avoid foolish and ignorant disputes, knowing that they generate strife. And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will” (23-26).
Let us grow as a family in speaking to one another about spiritual and eternal things. Let us sharpen one another like iron sharpens iron.
-Cary Gillis D.Min. March 12, 2021
Iron Sharpening
