The Number One Student

5.21.2010

Romans 2.21b "...do you not teach yourself?"

What impact does the Scripture have upon us? What difference does it make in our lives? Are we better for it, or worse? Can we just quote chapter and verse or do we really live it? As Paul asked the Romans in his rhetorical argument, "...do you not teach yourself?"

The number one student in my life is me. When it all ends at the foot of God’s throne, I will only have to give account for me. I won’t be able to hide behind anyone, nor will I be responsible for any other life – I will have to give God an accounting of my life and how I used the gifts He gave, what I did with my time, and what I did with His word. Paul, did you not teach yourself?

The tenor, tone, and teaching of the Bible are directed at the core of my being which is surrounded by the decay of my fallen self. The teaching of the Bible is to make a difference in how I live; it's my tech guide, my owner’s manual; the Instruction booklet. Paul told his young disciple Timothy in 2 Timothy 3.16, 17: All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work. (2 Ti 3:16-17 ESV) The question I have to ask over and over is: is it working? Christian, do you not teach yourself?

My life is my testimony whether I like it or not. How I respond to others and what I say will testify to what I really believe, and what I really think about myself. If my life isn’t becoming increasingly godlier day after day then I have two reasons only: 1. the Scripture isn’t working; or 2. I’m not. The question to both of those reasons is: WHY? Do you not teach yourself or do you hide behind a religious façade and cover your wickedness with a cloak of spirituality?

Father in Heaven,

Help me this day to live as You intend and according to all the things You have given me to succeed in godliness as a child of Yours. I pray for a teachable heart and a repentant spirit that I may learn from You and grow ever increasingly into the man You’ve created me to be – because of Jesus I pray, amen.