“Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Tim. 2:15).

The work of preaching the gospel may not call for a lot of physical labor, but it is still work. Much of this work involves diligent Bible study. In the King James Version, the verse begins as, “Study to shew thyself approved unto God.” To be approved and unashamed, the preacher must be able to “rightly divide” or “handle accurately” the word of truth. The ability to make right or accurate use of the word can only be gained through study.

The phrase “rightly dividing” is translated from the Greek word orthotomeo. This is a compound word: orthos means “straight” (as in an orthodontist straightening one’s teeth) and temno means “to cut.” The word literally means “to cut straight” or “to make a straight cut.”

Think of a crew constructing a highway through a mountainous wooded terrain. The timber needs to be cleared away and the hills need to be cut away to create as straight and level a road as possible. This is the preacher’s task. False doctrines and misunderstandings must be cleared away. The message of the gospel is relatively easy to understand, but it must be made familiar to those who are hearing it for the first time, allowing them to find the straight and narrow path.

There are many who seek to pervert “the straight ways of the Lord” (Acts 13:10). Faithful preachers must be scrupulously straightforward with God’s word. When a listener tells a preacher, “That was easy to understand,” the preacher knows he has done his job. He has rightly divided the word of truth. 

The pulpit is never a place to show off one’s worldly intelligence or scholarly vocabulary (1 Cor. 2:1-5). Such efforts showcase the preacher (performer), not the gospel. There is nothing wrong with a preacher getting a degree of higher education or receiving training in public speaking. However, he must do so with godly fear – remembering his goal of being an approved and unashamed workman at God’s disposal. The gospel saves (Rom. 1:16), not the ability of the speaker. The word of God cuts the hearts of sinners (Acts 2:37), not the polished performance of the pulpiteer.

Preaching that causes listeners to become more enamored with the speaker than the message is not good preaching. Let’s cut it straight in our preaching and teaching.