ETS ACADEMY · LESSON 1

Week 1: Read Scripture responsibly

Teaching points

Start with what is on the page: A verse is part of a conversation. Before asking what it means for your situation, identify the speaker or writer, the audience, the subject, and the surrounding argument. In 2 Timothy, Paul instructs Timothy about faithful ministry amid difficulty and misleading teaching. Read 3:10–17 together. Notice the movement from Paul’s example and suffering to Timothy’s continued learning and the usefulness of Scripture. The familiar statements about Scripture belong within that call to perseverance.
Move from observation to meaning: Observation describes what the text says: repeated words, contrasts, commands, reasons, and outcomes. Interpretation explains how those details fit together. Application asks how a faithful reader should respond. Your experience may help you notice a question, but it cannot determine the meaning by itself. A useful test is whether you can point to words in the paragraph that support your explanation. If the explanation depends entirely on a story outside the passage, return to the text.
Explain before you apply: Exposition is explaining a passage clearly to someone else. You do not need to sound like a professor. Say what the writer communicates, show where you see it, and suggest an appropriate response. For example, 2 Timothy 3:16–17 connects Scripture with teaching, correction, and preparation for good work. A faithful application might be to invite correction from Scripture while preparing to serve. It would be a stretch to turn this passage into a guarantee that every personal business plan will succeed.
Practice lab: A friend reads 2 Timothy 3:17 and says, “If I believe hard enough, I will never need training or advice.” Work together to test that claim against verses 10–17. Read the passage twice. Underline the evidence before proposing a correction.
Worked example: Observation: Scripture is described as useful for several kinds of formation. Meaning: Scripture equips God’s servant for good work. Application: bring one recurring behavior under the passage’s instruction and seek help practicing it.

Read in Scripture

2 Timothy 2:14–18 and 3:10–17

Reflect

Write three observations that another reader could verify in the passage.
Explain the paragraph’s main point in two sentences. What evidence supports it?
Write one application and one claim the passage does not establish.
When have you used a verse before checking its context?
How can you remain open to correction without becoming afraid to interpret Scripture?
Which comes first: identifying the context or deciding how a verse supports your plan?
Is “I will study for ten minutes after breakfast” the meaning of 2 Timothy 3:16–17?
What makes an explanation accountable to the text?

Put it into practice

Study James 1:19–27 for 15 minutes on two different days. Record observations on the first day and meaning plus one action on the second. Tell your partner what changed when you read the full paragraph.
Choose an action, deadline, and accountability partner. Save your responses in your journal.

Framework supplied by Mareneo “Reno” Flournoy. Expanded teaching and exercises prepared with AI assistance for Jesus Generation Movement. Sources and credits →