Many of us study the Bible every day. If we’re not, we should be. But why do we study the Word of God? Many of us frankly enjoy learning more “things” about scripture: more data, a fascinating Hebrew word picture, the meaning in the original Greek or Hebrew, some historical tie-in to what we’re reading, and so on. I do, too. But here’s where I caution us as well.
Many of you love the scripture, as I do, that prompts us to “grow in grace and knowledge…” (2 Peter 3:18). Some use the verse that says “Study to show yourself approved unto God…” (2 Timothy 2:15). Actually the word “study” in the King James Version of 2 Tim 2:15 is an old English word meaning “be diligent”. The Greek word there actually has nothing to do with Bible Study directly. But as you’ll see, we must study and we must know why we study. It’s far more than just gaining more knowledge.
Our modern learning system comes from Socrates, Plato and Aristotle – – the Academy, where students were expected to just have new information funneled into their brains while one speaks and everyone else listens. But the learning system in Jesus’ day was far different. Disciples didn’t just learn the words their rabbi was teaching – they watched their actions and copied their reactions to everyday situations. They learned by doing and watching a life. It wasn’t enough to pore over the scrolls by themselves. Their teachers were like a parent running alongside a young child learning to ride his bike for the first time without training wheels. They were in the thick of learning by doing and watching – not just studying documents. The goal was to create a bond between teacher and student. The goal was a deep relationship.
What am I getting at? The goal of Bible study goes far beyond knowing what’s in the Book. It’s about coming to know the Author of the book. Not just coming to know about Him, but to know HIM, directly and personally. Holy Scripture is Yeshua (Jesus) in writing. When we read it, we should be hearing his voice. Everything you read, study or hear should be helping us have a closer walk with our Beloved Savior. To know him, and help as many as possible to come to really know Him, is my overriding mission in life, as Paul teaches us in Philippians 3:
“Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead” (Philippians 3:8-11).
Notice also these words in the Gospel of John: “And the Father Himself, who sent Me, has testified of Me. You have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His form. But you do not have His word abiding in you, because whom He sent, Him you do not believe. You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. [then He tells us the point of searching scriptures] But you are not willing to come to me that you may have life” (John 5:37-40).
Knowledge – in the Biblical sense – should not be knowledge for knowledge sake, but to transform us. We should focus on the transformation, not just on the information. Information is to help in the transformation. Sure, 2 Peter 3:18 says we are to “grow in the grace and knowledge”, but of what? Finish the verse: “Of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ…” – 2 Peter 3:18.
ALL knowledge from Bible study should result in knowing Him more than ever before. It also should result in having a closer relationship with him and with all those made in his image. That’s ultimately what the two greatest commandments are: to love God with all your being and heart and soul – and to love fellow mankind as your own self. all our learning should be pointing to that goal: greater love, a closer relationship with our Maker and fellow humans – no matter where they live, no matter their nationality or skin color, no matter what they’ve been in the past. If they are a believer, or a potential believer, we are to love them as we love one another and our Maker. When you’re thrilled with new information, ask yourself: how is this helping me draw closer to my Maker and to my fellow humans?
Study to come to Christ. Study to know Him better. Study to love God and mankind better. And so remember: the reason we do Bible study is to come to know Him (Philippians 3:9-11). It is to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:18). We study the book to come to know its author better. So we search the scripture, for there’s life there, and He is our Life. We study to find Him, to come to Him, to learn about Him and to be like Him as He comes into our lives and lives again in us.
*Condensed, with permission, from the Blog posting of October 26, 2013 on lightontherock.org
Do you particularly enjoy the parables of Jesus – or do you wish you understood them better? Either way our new book is for you!
This new book is a practical but carefully researched commentary on all the parables. It gives many insights into the stories and their meanings through historical facts and other information that can enrich and transform your understanding of them. But this book is not just a commentary – it focuses on the living lessons of the parables themselves.
The City on a Hill is available on our sister-site in different formats (including PDF so you can read it on any electronic device).
The book is written from a nondenominational perspective, is completely free and free of advertising. You do not need to give an email address or any other information to download the book (just click on the download link on the LivingWithFaith.org “Downloads” page and enjoy). And if you enjoy the book and find it profitable, please feel free to make a copy of the file and pass it, or the URL, along to your friends and others you know who may find the book helpful.
Scripture: Hebrews 4:12: “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”
Something to think about: Does it hurt to study the Bible? It should do, occasionally! Hebrews 4:12 makes it clear that one of the primary reasons the word of God is given to us is as an effective “Sword of the Spirit” (see also Ephesians 6:17) which cuts deep within us. The word of God is a source of encouragement and help at all times, but if we are reading the Bible purely for comfort or inspiration, we are missing one of its great purposes. The word is also a sword which is intended to be wielded (on both errant doctrines and on ourselves where we err). If we are not seeking to be corrected as well as encouraged as we study, we are essentially just polishing the sword. Study tactically!
“We see so much more when we are willing to change our point of view.”
Reading an email, letter or other message is psychologically simple – we know that someone is addressing us and we “hear” the words of the message as though the person were speaking directly to us. But there is an interesting psychological phenomenon that occurs when we read anything written in the “third person.” Whether it is a novel, a story, a news report or even much of the Bible itself, our minds change gear and we look at the story from a different perspective.
Just as ancient Greek plays had a protagonist (the hero) and one or more “antagonists” – those with whom the hero interacts or struggles – third person writing engages the mind in such a way that, without thinking about it, we automatically “identify with the hero.” In reading this type of writing it is not that we see ourselves as the hero so much as we accept the hero’s cause, we see things from his or her perspective and what the hero says to others usually carries our approval – we are thoroughly on the hero’s side.
What does this have to do with Bible reading and study? When we read a biblical story – for example, a description of one of the prophets delivering a message to ancient Israel – it’s easy to identify ourselves with the speaker and agree with his message, but do we identify with those to whom the message was sent? Ultimately, the depth of our understanding of much of the Bible – and our ability to be moved by it – lies in putting ourselves in the place of the original hearers, not the speakers. Does Paul write to the Corinthians? Put yourself in the place of the Corinthians – how does what Paul says apply to you personally? It’s as we think over and meditate on what the message of the Bible says to its recipients that it can have an impact on us.
Naturally, when we read the psalms of David or other prayers and hymns in the Bible we can identify with the speaker and it is often helpful to do so, but in those cases it is not “third person” literature – it is more like when we pray or write to someone. But in the case of biblical stories and narratives we need to remember which side of the events we should picture ourselves on, otherwise we are just reading a story.
It’s the simplest principle to apply, but in most cases we shouldn’t identify with our biblical heroes nearly so much as we should strive to identify with those to whom our heroes spoke.
The Book of Ecclesiastes is profound at many points, but it’s not exactly my first choice as an upbeat inspirational book. Solomon (presuming he was the author) tends to look at the “vanity” and meaningless aspects of life quite a bit in order to make his very valid points. But my perception of Ecclesiastes was adjusted recently while studying the book in the Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB) version. I usually use the ESV or NIV in my personal study, but in this case I was reading Ecclesiastes 11 in the HCSB on the BibleGateway site which provides free access to dozens of translations.
What particularly tweaked my interest was the title that the Holman Bible gave to this chapter. While chapter titles are not part of the inspired word, of course, they can sometimes help summarize what the text is saying. In this case, the HCSB titles Ecclesiastes 11 “Invest in Life” and I was almost surprised, when I thought about it, at the very positive theme of the chapter. I realized that my perceptions of Ecclesiastes itself had led me not to expect such a positive theme to run throughout a whole chapter of the book, but the HCSB translators are correct. Take a look at these verses from the chapter:
Ecclesiastes 11 - Invest in Life
“Send your bread on the surface of the waters, for after many days you may find it. Give a portion to seven or even to eight … In the morning sow your seed, and at evening do not let your hand rest, because you don’t know which will succeed, whether one or the other, or if both of them will be equally good. Light is sweet, and it is pleasing for the eyes to see the sun. Indeed, if a man lives many years, let him rejoice in them all …”
Certainly the chapter concludes with a sober assessment, as does the whole book of Ecclesiastes, but looking at it from the perspective of the title “Invest in Life,” I could not fail to see the “carpe diem” aspect of the chapter and its stress on using life’s opportunities. It’s a physical principle, but it applies spiritually, of course. How are we investing in spiritual life? (See the “Parable of the Ten Minas” in Luke 19:11-27.)
For example, seeing something in Ecclesiastes that I had not expected to find there made me think how often we can find “investment returns” in unexpected places in God’s word. Often in our personal study we tend to gravitate to those books and chapters where we know we will find encouragement or a positive message. Ecclesiastes 11 reminded me that I need to diversify my investment in my study of God’s word - just as the chapter reminds us we should diversify our investments in life. (For more information on Bible translations, see our articles: “Choosing a Bible Translation” and “Try a New Translation.“)
“… It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God’” (Matthew 4:4).
It’s hard to imagine plants growing without water, infants growing without food, or Christians growing without the word of God, but a 2012 study conducted by LifeWay Research and featured in Christianity Today found that only about 20% of self-identifying Christians said they read the Bible daily. A more recent Christianity Today survey found approximately the same situation.
Considering the words of Jesus recorded in Matthew 4:4, the survey results are surprising; yet they were carefully carried out and agree with other recent surveys which have also found a low level of ”Bible engagement” among many Christians.
The LifeWay research surveyed almost 3,000 Protestant churchgoers and discovered that while some 90 percent “desire to please and honor” God in everything they did, only 19 percent actually read the Bible every day. This number was almost the same as the percentage of Christians who said they “rarely or never” read the Bible, leaving a full 60% of people who fell somewhere between the extremes of daily or rarely looking at God’s word. Of these, about 25% indicated they read the Bible a “few” times a week, 14% said they read the Bible “once a week” and another 22 % “once a month” or “a few times a month.”
Using the simple analogy of physical nutrition, as we find in Matthew 4:4, we would have to conclude that while about 20% of Christians are well nourished, the majority are actually malnourished and many are starving. While physical malnutrition and starvation are almost always beyond the control of the individual affected, it is clear that – for whatever reason – spiritual malnutrition and even starvation are normally self chosen.
We pray for those in various parts of the world who do not have the word of God readily available, but it is sad to think that we should perhaps also pray for the great number of those in our own society who do have the word available, but who skip spiritual meals, don’t eat for long stretches or even slowly starve. The Lifeway and Christianity Today surveys should be reminders of our ongoing need for spiritual nourishment.
Recent Comments