Science frequently uses natural reasoning and ordinary terminology to explain away the hand of God as He interacts with mankind. Without God, the more book learning that people get, the more ignorant they seem to become. It should come as no surprise that the Lord said that the last days would be plagued with people who could not see the truth due to their educated state (1 Timothy 6:20; Daniel 12:4; 2 Timothy 3:7). The reality is that the process of bringing a child into this world is a process that declares the handywork of God. It is God that works in the life and health of an unborn child to ensure that the child grows and matures properly. When men seek natural explanations for God’s work, they dismiss the miraculous involvement of God.
The apostle Paul knew that there would be times when Timothy, as a minister of the gospel, would have to rebuke or correct others. However, Timothy was not to rebuke others on a whim. In fact, Paul specifically laid out two premises which Timothy’s rebuke should follow: “with all longsuffering and doctrine.” Timothy was to rebuke others while suffering with them for a long time, thus longsuffering. He was to exhibit grace by offering others the opportunity to rectify their areas of failure. At the same time, he was to rebuke others with sound doctrine and not simply based upon mere opinion. This was going to be even more necessary as some would begin to depart from sound doctrine and practice (2 Timothy 4:3-4).
