Jump Start # 654

2 Timothy 2:14 “Remind them of these things, and solemnly charge them in the presence of God not to wrangle about words, which is useless, and leads to the ruin of the hearers.”

Words are important to God. It was through the avenue of words that God communicated His will, law and wishes to mankind. God didn’t send videos. God didn’t use feelings. He didn’t use interpretative art. God used words. Words have meanings. Words can be copied, memorized and translated. John begins his gospel by referring to Jesus as “the Word.”

Here are few things I’ve discovered about God’s word. These come from the New American Standard version.

The N.T. contains 181,252 words (I didn’t count those myself but read that).

• The word “Heaven” is used 222 times in the N.T.
• The word “Hell” is used 13 times.
• The word “judgment” is found 71 times.
• The word “grace” is listed 122 times. (“Mercy” is found 59 times).
• The word “Christian” is used 3 times.
• The word “Jesus” is used 919 times.
• The word “love” is used 219 times.
• The word “joy” is found 60 times. (“Rejoice” is found 43 times).

Every word is important to God. Because a word is only used a few times does not mean that it is not important. But there is something to be said about what the N.T. writers wrote about. Words like heaven, grace, joy, love and Jesus fill their writings. I expect what they wrote about they also talked about. Their message was a message of good news. Hope and salvation had come into the world. The way some folks talk, you’d get the impression that the word “Hell” is the most used word in the Bible. It’s hard to get folks excited about bad news. Judgment, punishment and hell are part of the message, but they are not the theme of the message. We need to tell people about Jesus—that’s the message of the N.T. Those early writers talked more about Jesus than they did themselves. That’s something to think about, isn’t it? Could it be that we’ve gotten away from God’s word and got our own agendas about things?

Our passage today is not discrediting words. It’s about the spirit of fussing and arguing about words, especially concerning the law, that are not helpful. I’ve been in Bible classes like that. What a waste of time! It’s a battle of stubborn titans who are long on talk and short on doing. The atmosphere is discouraging. The time spent is not helpful. And we wonder why some don’t come? The study of words is amazing. Learning how the original words were used is a great study. More than all of these is grasping the concept that man shall live on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. Living on God’s word—that’s where it’s at. Letting the word of Christ richly dwell within your heart, now that’s something.

Have you noticed that when Jesus was tempted by Satan that He answered each temptation with the word of God? I doubt that Jesus had a Bible in His hand when He did that. The word was in His heart. A Bible in the hand is a great thing, but the Bible in the heart is where it’s at. Living by hope. Living as forgiven people. Rejoicing because Christ is our Lord and Savior. Knowing the will of God and what you can do to please God is amazing. Knowing that you are on the path that leads to Heaven is truly amazing. No guessing. No hoping. Knowing that the way of the cross leads home builds confidence and helps us to see what is really important.

Words—God’s words. Have you spent much time looking at God’s words? They are specific. They are given is a specific order. They can change your life. They are powerful. They are comforting and assuring.

Do you have a favorite verse? There are so many to choose from. There are so many good ones. The words of the Bible are God’s words. In time, they become our words as we live by them, trust them, use them, and stand upon them. His message becomes our message and in so doing, we become like His Son, Jesus.

Roger