Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15)
Biblical Illiteracy
“My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children” (Hosea 4:6).
Study after study in the last quarter-century has revealed that American Christians increasingly don’t read their Bibles, don’t engage their Bibles, and don’t know their Bibles. It’s obvious: We are living in a post-biblically literate culture.
In his recent book Religious Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know—and Doesn’t, Stephen Prothero writes, “The Gospel of John instructs Christians to ‘search the scriptures’ . . . , but little searching, and even less finding is being done.” Prothero reports that more than 10 percent of Americans believe that Joan of Arc was Noah’s wife. Only 50 percent can name one of the four Gospels and less than half can name the first book of the Bible.
George Guthrie, Bible professor and author wrote: “For several years I have been conducting brief biblical literacy exams at the beginning of my New Testament Survey course. The questions on the exam are straightforward, multiple-choice queries such as: Which of these books is from the New Testament? Whom did Pontius Pilate release during Jesus’ trial? How many temptations did Jesus experience in the wilderness? Where would you look in the Bible to find the Sermon on the Mount? Last fall the average score on the exam was 57 percent. The averages from classes over the past few years have ranged between 50 percent and 70 percent, but most of the time the average is closer to 50 percent. This is not unique to my students but is consistent with what other professors are finding at top Christian universities all over the United States. Our students, even those coming out of the church, simply are no longer grounded in the basics of the Bible’s story.”
Consider that a 2009 Nielsen Report showed that the average American watches 153 hours of television per month (about 5 hours per day; up 20 percent over a decade ago), and television sets are on in the average household for a whopping 8 hours 21 minutes per day. Hours more are spent online. It is little wonder that we struggle to find time and emotional/mental/spiritual space for reading the Bible. We are going to have to start turning off and tuning out in order to make room in our lives and hearts for God’s Word. If we will give just one-tenth the time the average American spends watching TV each day, we can read through the Bible in a year’s time.
LifeWay Research study found that only 45 percent of those who regularly attend church read the Bible more than once a week. Over 40 percent of the people attending are reading their Bibles occasionally—maybe once or twice a month, if at all. In fact, 18 percent of attenders say they never read the Bible.
“Ask one hundred church members if they have read the Bible today, and eighty-four of them will say no. Ask them if they have read the Bible at least once in the past week, and sixty-eight of them will say no. Even more disconcerting, ask those one hundred church members if reading or studying the Bible has made any significant difference in the way they live their lives. Only thirty-seven out of one hundred will say yes.
“One of the greatest tragedies in the American church is that we have Literate Believers who are Illiterate of the Bible.”
The Shallow End of the Pool
I was never taught to swim. I learned that the hard way when I was a child. I was with my cousins at the local public pool. I watched in wonder as both of my cousins jumped into the pool without any assistance from the wall or railing. I thought it looked like fun, and I didn’t know I couldn’t swim. So, I too, jumped into the deep end. It wasn’t long before I was close to drowning. Luckily, my cousin noticed I wasn’t coming back up and she grabbed me and asked, “Can you swim?” Well it was a little late to be asking that question. She and her brother and myself all assumed I could. But I couldn’t. And to this day I still refuse to leave the security of the wall of the pool. If God wanted me to swim, he would have given me gills.
I feel that we have forsaken the shallow end of the pool and pushed people into the deep end of the pool and left them to drown. We have come to expect certain spiritual maturity and spiritual expectation from people and yet we haven’t taught them how to read the instruction manual. Without proper training and instruction we only get marginal returns on little investment.
I would dare say that Bible reading trumps all other disciplines, including prayer. How else can you pray effectively and efficiently without learning it from the Bible? How else can you learn about fasting without scriptural basis? How can you know God’s plan for your finances without the Bible? How can you know about God without the Bible? I would say it would be impossible.
The Purpose of Study
Every Christian can know the Bible. It is God’s desire for every believer to know and understand the Word of God. Christians should not be handicapped in their ability to read and study the Bible. To know truth, attain joy, have victory and, grow spiritually you must be able to read, study and understand the Bible.
Before we can know the purpose of studying the Bible, we need to look at the characteristics of the Bible.
The Bible is Inspired of God
Inspiration can be defined as the process by which God directed individuals, incorporating their abilities and styles, to produce His message to humanity.
“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16).
The word inspiration in the Greek can be translated God-breathed: “All scripture is God-breathed..”
“For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost” (2 Peter 1:21).
The Bible is Infallible
Therefore, if God inspired all of Scripture, then it is without mistakes. Because God is perfect, the original autographs, the original transmissions of Scripture, must also be perfect.
“The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul: The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple” (Psalm 19:7).
The Bible is Inerrant
The Bible is infallible in total, but inerrant in its parts. This implies that the Scriptures are trustworthy down to the tiniest of details.
“Every word of God is pure: He is a shield unto them that put their trust in him. Add thou not unto his words, Lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar” (Proverbs 30:5–6)
The Bible is Complete
Nothing can be added, and nothing can be taken away from the Bible. The current Bible that we have is the complete Word of God. God is not going to add anything new the Bible, and He is not going to take anything out.
“For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: 19 And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book” (Revelation 22:18–19).
Benefits of Bible Study
1. Source of Truth
Jesus said in John 17:17, “Your word is truth.” “Truth about what?” Truth about God; man; sin; salvation; truth about life; death; truth about men; women; family; money; all truth is there. The Word of God is profitable for doctrine, or teaching. Our doctrine, or teaching, only comes from Scripture. Doubts and unbelief can be dissolved with truth. How can you distinguish between truth and error? It is by handling truth, searching and studying truth. You will not find truth in psychology or philosophy. Some will never come to knowledge of truth, because they don’t seek the source of truth. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life.”
2. Source of Joy
You can replace the word joy with happiness or blessing. Whatever you want to call it, the Scripture will give you joy. “Blessed are those who keep his testimonies, who seek him with their whole heart” (Ps. 119:2).
“Your words were found, and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart, for I am called by your name, O LORD, God of hosts.” (Jeremiah 15:16).
“Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them” (Ps. 119:165)
People who are easily offended, and have thin skin don’t spend much time reading or studying the Bible. Because if they did, they wouldn’t get so upset with others so much. Because those who spend time in Scripture are more offended with themselves, or harder on themselves than others. But when they encounter the love of God through the Scripture and His long-suffering and patience, they will in turn be patient with others. Their joy can’t be turned off by offense.
3. Source of Victory
Three times the devil tempted Jesus in the wilderness. Each time Jesus used Scripture to defeat that temptation. I don’t like to see the devil win. I don’t like seeing the world defeat me. I don’t like to see my flesh override my spiritual man. Knute Rockne used to say, “You can’t be beat, if you won’t be beat!” There’s not a reason why the devil should beat you up, or your flesh overcome your spirit. You have a weapon, and it’s not praise. Your weapon is the Sword of the Spirit!
“Your Word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You” (Ps. 119:11).
You can’t beat temptation and you can’t defeat the devil if you don’t pick up your sword and learn to use it. You are in a war; a fight to the death and you can’t win without your weapon. The devil knows the one thing that can keep him from defeating you is the Word of God (Ephesians 6:10-18).
4. Source of Spiritual Growth
“Like newborn babes, long for the pure milk of the Word, that by it you may grow in respect to salvation” (1 Peter 2:2).
Peter is saying that we should have an appetite for the Word of God, we should “long” for it. You cannot grow spiritually without the nourishing affects of Scripture. You must digest the Word of God to grow into a mature Christian.
“It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God’” (Matthew 4:4).
Daily, consistent intake of the Bible will grow your mind, your heart and spirit.
The writer of Hebrews says he has some “hard things” to say to them, but they can’t understand them. They should have been growing spiritually to understand those things, but they were behind. He goes on to says that “solid food” is for the the mature who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil (Heb. 5:11-14).
The mark of spiritual maturity is not how much you know, but how much you use.
Conclusion
Nineteenth Century preacher and writer, Bishop J.C. Ryle said this;
“Begin reading your Bible this very day. The way to do a thing is to do it, and the way to read the Bible is actually to read it. It is not meaning, or wishing, or resolving, or intending, or thinking about it; that will not advance you one step. You must positively read. . . . If you cannot read yourself, you must persuade somebody else to read to you. But one way or another, through eyes or ears, the words of Scripture must actually pass before your mind.”
Pastor J.H. Osborne wrote me a note one time that included this: “STUDY: Middle English (studie) from the Latin word “studetre”: to devote oneself to study from another Latin word: to beat-more at a contusion. To study is to beat and bruise a subject until you bring it’s life’s blood to the surface in the form of a contusion. Then and only then will you know its true heart and meaning. Study and beat that subject till it bleeds into your heart.”
It is the will of God that you read, study and understand the Bible. God doesn’t want you to be ignorant. And you can most certainly do it. Over the next several weeks we are going to attempt to help you, train you and lead you in how to study the Bible.
Lesson Two: The Principles of Study
Lesson Three: The Practice of Study