THE WORD OF GOD IS NOT BOUND
“Wherein I suffer trouble, as an evil doer, even unto bonds; but the word of God is not bound.” II Timothy 2:9
Paul knew what it was like to be persecuted for righteousness’ sake. From the very beginning and throughout his ministry, he was criticized and assaulted for his message of hope through Jesus Christ.
Our text says that he suffered “trouble, as an evil doer, even unto bonds.” He wrote these words to Timothy from prison where he was awaiting his execution. He was jailed on a number of occasions. He knew what it was like to be bound by chains and prison walls, unable to come and go as he desired. In spite of these hindrances and restrictions, Paul triumphantly declared, “but the word of God is not bound.” The Word of God may be assaulted, criticized, and denied, but it cannot be bound.
Just as the Living Word, Jesus Christ, was crucified and then raised from the dead, God’s Word cannot be contained. The Bible is not an ordinary Book; it is the very Word of God. Because of the miraculous power of Scripture, the Bible needs to be distributed in every available place, in every available nation, in every available language. Many people today are being reached, taught, and helped by the circulation of Scripture in countries that are theoretically closed to missionary activity. Tons of Bible literature is being shipped to those who live in spiritual darkness. We personally know of people who are actively serving the Lord who were converted by reading a gospel tract or portion of Scripture when there was no personal worker present to lead them to salvation.
The “word of God is not bound.” This underscores the need to give out gospel tracts and share the Word of God to those we have the opportunity to reach. Not only do we need to get God’s Word into the hands of those who need it, we also need to get God’s Word into our hearts and the hearts of those we care for. God’s Word has the power to work in the lives of those who hear it. His Word is not bound.
We have known of those who were reared in a Christian family and attended church as a child, who then turned to the world and a life of sin. They no longer attended church and did not read the Bible. But they later testified that the Scriptures they heard as a child began to convict them in their minds and drew them back to a place of repentance. The “word of God is not bound.”