Reading the Bible for Growth and Edification, Part 2

May, 2008

by: Jack Hughes

In the last Calvary Review we started to look at reading the Bible for spiritual growth and edification. Over the years, many have confided in me that they just can’t seem to maintain faithful patterns of Bible reading, study, and meditation. Often this stems from their unfruitful times in the Word. Their times in the Word are boring. They are scared to admit it for it sounds blasphemous. Nevertheless, it is their experience. They keep trying, because they talk to others who seem to get a shot of adrenalin from every verse their eyes fall upon. They observe people smiling, rejoicing, moaning with conviction as if the Bible was actually “living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart,” (Heb. 4:12). But when they take up the Book of books in their hands, it seems to turn to stone. “Are those who seem to get so much out of the Bible acting?,” they ask themselves with exasperation. “Is there something wrong with me?” they muse with concern. They want to have thrilling times in the Word – if it is possible, but they aren’t quite sure how to get there.

Like everything in the Christian life, it all begins with becoming a Christian. Not merely claiming to be a Christian, but actually being born again by grace, through faith, in the person and work of Jesus Christ. This is the first step to having terrific times in the Word. As Jesus said to Nicodemus in Jn. 3:7, “you must be born again.” If you aren’t absolutely certain about your standing with the Lord, I would encourage you to read the previous Calvary Review before continuing. If you don’t know Jesus Christ in a saving way, if you only know about Jesus and intellectually affirm who He is and what He has done but have not been transformed by grace, Bible reading isn’t your problem. Your problem is Hell and the wrath of God. You must be born again, only then can you read for spiritual edification and growth.

Perhaps you are truly saved, but you still need help. Now what? If you were saved later in life you probably remember the thrill and excitement of reading your Bible as a newborn babe in Christ. It was as if every verse leapt from the pages of Scripture and struck your heart with joy. This is a common experience, a normal experience. Listening to testimonies of people at baptism you hear them explain how salvation made the Bible come alive like never before. Every time they opened the Book of books it was a safari adventure to find new truths deep in the jungle of Scripture. But maybe, after a time, your passion for the Word has faded, fizzled out or died. What’s wrong?

If you grew up in a Christian home, it’s possible you can’t ever remember a time when Bible reading was all that thrilling and exciting. You know you are saved, and maybe you read your Bible faithfully, but it is more out of habit and duty than as a pleasurable exercise in being blessed. Either way, you now find yourself in the valley of Bible reading boredom. What is the problem? This leads us to our second fundamental principle in reading the Bible for spiritual growth and edification.

In order to have thrilling times in the Word you must have your sins confessed

Did you see this one coming? I hope so, but if not, let me explain. Reading the Bible for growth and edification is a spiritual discipline. This means you need to be spiritual when you read your Bible. What does it mean to be spiritual? It means you are walking in the spirit (Gal. 5:16-23). It means you are filled with the Holy Spirit (Eph. 5:18). It means you are right with God (I Jn. 1:9). Trusting God (Prov. 3:5-6). Living by God’s grace (Tit. 2:11-14). Living by faith (II Cor. 5:7). It means there is no unconfessed in your life that you are aware of (Psa. 139:23-24). This is what it means to be spiritual. It means to have a right standing with God, to be living for the glory of God (I Cor. 10:31). Does this describe you?

Often times people rationalize their sinful behavior. They have a favorite sin, a pet sin that gives them something they want. They are quick to get rid of all the sins they don’t enjoy, but their pet sin is pampered, fed, and protected from the executing sword of repentance and confession. There is the man who cheats on his taxes every year. He knows he is breaking the law, deceiving the government, but he doesn’t care. In fact he gets pleasure from knowing he has deceived them and enjoys the money he has stolen from the IRS. Maybe he eases the guilt of his criminal behavior by giving some of the money he has saved to the church. Another copies songs illegally from a friend or the internet. He knows he is stealing from the artist who made those songs but he doesn’t care. He likes the songs and likes the money he has saved by stealing them. Take any sin, overeating, worry, anger, looking at pornography, an unwillingness to forgive and that sin can be turned into a pet sin. Sound familiar?

The fact is, pet sins are idols which we honor in place of God. We usually don’t think of them that way, but that is the ugly truth. Maybe right now you are thinking of your pet sin. You know what it is. You see it right now in your mind’s eye. There it is — your idol! The sin you love more than God. The sin that gives you pleasure, power, or wealth. You bow down to it, serve it, worship it, feed it with your passions, fantasies, and lusts. Protect it at all costs. Do you wonder why the spiritual discipline of Bible reading has lost its blessing in your life? You are walking in the flesh. You have turned your back on God. You have quenched the Holy Spirit. You are fleshly, not spiritual. Believer, hear me now. Don’t delay, don’t let Satan tempt you to procrastinate any longer. Don’t let the temporary pleasures of your pet sin dupe you into trading a drop of pleasure for a mountain of misery. Remember Christ died to free you from that sin. He was beaten, scourged, slapped, mocked, wore a crown of thorns, was nailed to a cross so you could walk in newness of life. Look at Him there, hanging on the tree, blood dripping down his beaten face! Hear your Savior cry out in anguish, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken me?” He is suffering for your sin, the sin you now protect and serve!

Now look at your pet sin. See it for the black scorpion that it is. See that it has charmed you, deceived and deluded you. It has stung you with its deadly poison so that you have lost your mind. Worship a sin Christ died for?! Gasp with horror. You are worshiping a vile creature in place of the Creator. See how it has made you spiritually sick. Now at once, do not delay, reach for swords “confession” and “repentance.” Strike! Strike again! Hack that sin to pieces. Drop to your knees before a holy God. Confess your sin. Beg Him who shed His blood for you to deliver you from your sin sick delirium caused by the sting of that deadly foe. Confess your desire for forbidden fruit, ungodly pleasure, power, or wealth. Ask God to wash you in the blood of Christ. I Jn. 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Do that right now. Confess your sin and keep on confessing every time you even think of doing evil. Jesus is the great Shepherd, the Physician of souls, He will rescue you from your idolatry.

Now, with your sins confessed, go to a quiet place. Open the Book. Ask God, with the Psalmist in Psa. 119:17-18, “Deal bountifully with Your servant, that I may live and keep Your word. Open my eyes, that I may behold Wonderful things from Your law.” Pray like that with your sins confessed and God will never refuse you. Read the Book. Listen to the God of creation speaking to you! The Scriptures have once again come alive. The Holy Spirit is working. The Book is no longer stone but flesh, life, joy, and blessing. Believer, if you want to read the Bible for spiritual growth and edification, always come to the Word with your heart turned towards God.

In order to have thrilling times in the Word you must believe the Bible is the very Word of God, without error, infallible, and unlike any other book

Is this what you believe about the Bible? Many do not. Maybe you have doubts about the reliability of God’s Word. You know there are many translations of the Bible. You have heard we don’t have the original manuscripts of the Bible either, and that those who copied the Bible through the centuries made mistakes. You constantly read and hear scientists scoff at a young age of the earth, at the stories of Adam and Eve and the Flood. You read about things in the Bible which you have never seen, which seem fanciful, fictitious. How could someone live 969 years? How could an ax head float?

We don’t have time to address all of these issues in detail but if you want a detailed answer go to the Calvary Bible Church website, click on “classes,” and listen to the series entitled “The Doctrine of the Bible.” But let me answer these questions briefly. First, the Bible is by far the most reliable ancient book in the world. There is no other book that has so many ancient manuscripts to verify its validity. Early Christians quoted the Bible so frequently that the entire Bible itself could be reassembled from the writings of those who quoted from it.

Second, there are many translations of the Bible. The reason is that the Bible was originally written in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. The Bible needs to be translated so people who speak different languages can understand it. In translating the original languages into another language there are different synonyms that can be used, different ways of trying to communicate what the original language says and means. Sometimes translations differ because the translators have different purposes of philosophies of translation. One might want to write a paraphrase for easy reading. Another desires a strict literal translation. Still another wants a translation at the sixth grade level with easy to read English. Yes, there are different translations but all faithful, literal translations reveal the mind of God and the intent of the original languages.

Third, it is true that ancient copyists made mistakes when copying the Bible by hand. This is to be expected. Thus when all the ancient manuscripts are compared there is about a 2% variation. However, 1.5% of those variations are easily spotted and corrected. Things like misspellings, repeated words or lines, transposed letters, etc. This leaves one half of one percent difference in the ancient texts. Yet these differences do not corrupt any doctrine or truth of the Bible. We may not know if the text should read “flees” or “flies” but no eternal truth is at stake. Therefore, for all intents and purposes, the original text of the Bible has been preserved without error. All that God wants us to know is preserved.

Fourth, the world has always attacked the Word of God. Though many scientists today believe the Bible implicitly, many do not. Some say certain “scientific facts” prove the Bible is wrong. All you need to do is study the history of science and you will discover that each generation is dogmatically certain that what they believe is true, but with each generation scientists change their minds. Facts can’t change. Truths can’t change. Yet scientists views, which they claim to be facts, change. The Bible says “let God be found true, though every man be a liar.” God never changes. Therefore His Word, the Bible, never changes. God is the only one who knows everything and is never wrong.

It comes down to this, are you going to rest the assurance of your eternal soul on the ever changing opinions of sin cursed men, or the Word of God? Realize that the authors of Scripture, the prophets, Jesus, and the apostles claimed the Bible was true, the very Word of God. They believed and taught that Adam and Eve were real people, that God created the earth in six literal twenty-four hour periods, that there was a literal flood in the days of Noah, a literal ark, etc. If you deny the reliability of the Bible, you call God, the authors of Scripture, the prophets, Jesus, and the apostles liars. If Jesus is a liar, then He is a sinner and if Jesus is a sinner, then you are hopelessly lost. Don’t let Satan tempt you to doubt God’s Word. It will hinder you from reading the Word of God for spiritual growth and edification. We have more to say on this subject, but for now I leave you with the words Jesus prayed to the Father in Jn. 17:17, “Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.”