Although all religious groups devote some time to the study of the Bible, not all of them emphasize it. In fact, some groups have been known to discourage their members from reading and studying on their own while others print up booklets with selected texts that are used, which means that many important texts and certain pertinent topics may never receive the attention they are due.
So why do the churches of Christ place so much emphasis on studying the entire Bible? First of all, if God did not intend for all of His Divine Revelation to be considered, then why did He not only inspire it to be written but preserve it so that we have it in these current times?
Second, when He gave His Law to Moses, He included a warning not to add to or take away from what He had given them (Deut 4:2). When we only study certain portions of the Word, we have, in effect, taken away other portions. In other words, the sum of God’s Word is truth (Ps. 119:160).
Especially, the entire New Testament needs to be scrutinized closely because it comprises the covenant that we live under. Paul told the elders at Ephesus that he had not shunned to declare to them the whole counsel of God (Acts 20:27). This emphasis on thorough Bible study was necessary so that Paul would be free from the blood of all men (Acts 20:26). In other words, people need to know all of God’s Word so that they can keep it all and be saved.
Although we are not under the Old Testament, it provides the background and the basis for what is taught in the New. The things recorded there were written for our learning (Rom. 15:4). Probably, we emphasize the New more, since it is our covenant, but we try to avoid neglecting the Old. In what ways are we profited by a thorough study of the Scriptures?
1. We must study the Bible thoroughly for our own spiritual profit. To begin with, one gains important information that cannot be found anywhere else. Our society, including its literature and small and big screen entertainment venues, draws frequently from the Bible. If for no other purpose, a person ought to know the Bible because of the place it has in our culture, but this is the least of the reasons for study.
It is the only place where one can find truth—spiritual truth. One can find some truth in just about every location, but only in the Bible can we find everything we need. “Buy the truth, and do not sell it…” (Pr. 23: 23). A person can find error everywhere, but only the love of truth can save (2 Thess. 2:10)—if what is learned is put into practice.
When Peter arrived at the household of Cornelius, the centurion and his family were eagerly waiting because they had been promised that the apostle would tell them words by which they would be saved (Acts 11:14). Jesus came to seek and to save the lost (Luke 19:10), and everything about His life and teachings is recorded so that very thing can occur in every generation.
Jesus taught that He came to give people a more abundant life (John 10:10). Yet today many have no sense of purpose for their own existence because they do not know what is available to them. All the spiritual blessings that God can provide for us on this earth are ours through Christ. The Bible provides meaning and direction in our life.
The Word is that by which we shall be judged (John 12:48). Nothing else can prepare us for that day, allowing us to choose the right and avoid the wrong, as the Bible can. Those who study and apply the Scriptures shall be prepared for that Significant Day and will hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
2. We must study the Bible thoroughly for the pro-fit of others. If we are living by the New Testament and enjoying the abundant life, others cannot help but notice. They will want to know how we choose the moral positions we hold. They will want to know the secret of our peace and strength in the face of trials. Inquiries afford us opportunities to praise God and His Word, by which we are able to endure. Jesus said to let our light so shine before men so that they would see our good works and glorify the Father in heaven (Matt. 5:14-16).
People are going to ask questions whether or not they know us very well. Knowing the Word of God thoroughly enables us to give them a factual, honest, and Biblical answer. We can also explain the virtues of knowing God and His Word. God has imparted wisdom, and it is available to all who look for it. Others will profit from it in their lives even if they do not obey the gospel. They will want Biblical morality upheld in their neighborhoods, their schools, their communities, and in the country. Christian influence is what has made this nation great, and when we depart from it, as we are in the process of doing, we will eventually fall, as every other ungodly nation has. We should never underestimate the importance of the positive pressure of Christianity.
But the greatest value to others of Christians knowing the Bible is that we can teach them about salvation. Most people probably assume that what they hear is generally correct—“just believe in God” in some sort of vague, general way, and that is sufficient for salvation. Never mind actually reading the Scriptures and offering up to Him worship in spirit and in truth (John 4:23-24); people are told to just pray, “Lord, forgive me,” which is not what the Bible teaches about obtaining salvation. When people ask us for our thoughts, are we prepared to open the Bible and show them the truth? If not, why not?
Furthermore, most have been taught the popular error, “once saved, always saved”; therefore, they are convinced that it does not matter all that much what they do afterward. They can meet with fellow Christians or not, learn the Scriptures or not, and participate in sin—“moderately,” of course—and still be saved. This is the prevailing attitude in society; who will explain otherwise unless we do?
3. We must study the Bible thoroughly because doing so pleases God (Heb. 11:6). God is looking for those who are willing to seek Him diligently—not those who are interested in a casual relationship. We come to know Him by delving into the Word, wherein He has revealed Himself to us. We cannot get that information through osmosis or simply memorizing John 3:16, as if that was all that God wanted us to know about Him. People want to be spiritual and saved without putting forth any effort, but there are no shortcuts to heaven.
Imagine Moses speaking to God at the burning bush, going to Egypt to deliver the Israelites from bondage, and then crossing the Red Sea with the nation. After finally being freed from their life of bitterness, God begins to give Moses His Law to deliver to the people. Is it possible that Moses would say, “Wait a minute, please, Lord. Don’t think we don’t appreciate what you have done, but I don’t think we want to know this much about You.” But isn’t that what people are doing today? Most people know that Jesus suffered terribly on the cross and died for their sins, but they, in effect, say (when they refuse to study His Word diligently): “Lord, we’re not THAT grateful and we don’t want to know quite this much about You.”
God planned mankind’s redemption from the foundation of the world, and He prepared the kingdom (the church) for all who trust in Him and obey Him. If someone paid off our mortgage, we would want to know all about him and see if there were any thing at all we could do for him. How much more ought we to desire to please God who has always acted in our best interests? He gave us life, period, and to those who please Him He is ready to give eternal life. Our mission in life should be to know Him and to please Him.
4. We must study the Bible thoroughly because Satan is defeated by it. Is there anyone who has ever showed such jealousy as Satan? It may be that he felt he did not receive the honor he deserved in heaven; therefore, he led a rebellion against God that ended up with him and his henchmen being thrown out. He does not know the meaning, however, of defeat. He has (perhaps, with the same motivation) determined to fight against God every step of the way.
After encouraging the first couple to sin, he convinced their son to murder his brother. It did not take long for him to entice the whole world into enjoying sinful pleasures so that they had no room for their Creator in their thoughts, so full of sin were their minds. God destroyed that world and will do so again (2 Peter 3:10-13) because the whole world lies under the sway of the evil one. (1 John 5:20).
Not only does he use the lusts of the flesh to great advantage in leading men away from God, he has made expert use of error—especially with regard to Christianity in general, and salvation and the church in particular. False information abides in the world, yet truth is in the Book, which is the reason people must devote themselves to knowing it thoroughly. Satan is neither distressed nor disturbed by the gold crosses people wear around their necks. What frightens him is a knowledgeable Christian who knows the Word and can set forth the truth convincingly (1 Peter 3:15).
The Bible, known and lived, will profit all,
Makes Satan angry, but doth God enthrall.
The history of the Israelite people is one of peaks and valleys. They had blessings beyond measure from God and at times served Him faithfully, yet they often failed by revolting against God and worshipping idols. It was during a time of great wickedness that Jeremiah was called to deliver God’s message to the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem. It was Jeremiah who foretold the destruction of Jerusalem and the deportation of the Jews to Babylon (Jer. 16:10-13).
The message Jeremiah spoke to the Israelites was not his own, but the oracles of God.
Then the Lord put forth His hand, and touched my mouth. And the Lord said unto me, Behold, I have put My words in thy mouth (1:9).
If the people rejected the words of Jeremiah, they were rejecting the Words of God. This is exactly what they did; so God deported them to Babylon for seventy years of captivity. “And this whole land shall be a desolation, and an astonishment, and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon for seventy years” (25:11).
Speaking the utterances, oracles, of God did not put Jeremiah in favor with the people. There was a conspiracy against his life.
But I was like a lamb or an ox that is brought to the slaughter; and I knew not that they had devised devices against me, saying, Let us destroy the tree with the fruit thereof, and let us cut him off from the land of the living, that his name may be no more remembered (11:19).
The men of Anathoth desired to kill Jeremiah so his name would be forgotten, but their names are the ones that have vanished from history.
Jeremiah was obligated, legally bound, to speak the words that God gave him. There is no less an obligation to us in speaking the “oracles of God.” Peter said:
If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen (1 Peter 4:11).
In matters of religion, one must speak the words God has given us in the Scriptures. When man faithfully reveals the oracles God has given in the Book of Books, the Bible, God is glorified, honored, exalted, hallowed, and revered.
As in Jeremiah’s time, when God’s Word is proclaimed today, people often fail to respond. Resentment and hostility for the message can cause hatred toward the messenger.
Bitterness toward the message does not lessen the obligation of the messenger to faithfully communicate the oracles of God. This was the attitude of Jeremiah and must be the attitude of Christians. Even in the face of death, one is committed to trust in God and “teach no other doctrine” (1 Tim. 1:3).
During Isaiah’s day the attitude was one of rebellion. The people did not desire truth, the oracles of God; so they sought out men who would speak lies and deceit. God said:
That this is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of the LORD: Which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits (Isa. 30:9-10).
Sadly, this is the norm for many today concerning God’s Word. They seek men who speak pleasing things to the ear and entertain them with false religion, making them believe that all is good. These are teachers with charisma who use the Bible as an ornament to beguile and destroy the souls of men, all because there is no love for the oracles of God.
Let everyone prepare his heart to receive and follow the utterances that God has given us in His Word, the Bible.
—via the Beacon
(Bellview Church of Christ, Dec. 29, 2008)
STUDY
Michael Hatcher
Bible study is one of the most important, if not the most important things in this world. When Jesus asked the apostles if they were also going to leave Him, Peter said, “Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life” (John 6:68). These “words of eternal life” are recorded for us in the Bible. These words are so important that they determine our eternal destiny (John 12:48). By our obedience or disobedience to these words we shall be saved or lost (2 Cor. 5:10).
The instruction to Timothy teaches us the importance of Bible study. “Study to show thyself approved unto God…” (2 Tim. 2:15). To be approved of God, we must study. The only way to rightly divide God’s Word is to study. The phrase, rightly dividing, refers to properly understanding the Bible so we can explain it correctly.
Timothy’s mother and grandmother recognized the importance of Bible study; thus, they taught the Scriptures to him (2 Tim. 3:15). God commanded the Israelites to have His Word in their hearts and teach it to their children at all places and all times (Deut. 6:6-9; 11:18-20). Let us each make a determined effort to study God’s Word to our soul’s salvation.
—via the Beacon
(Bellview Church of Christ, Dec. 29, 2008)