Reading the Bible for Growth and Edification, Part 1

April, 2008

by: Jack Hughes

I think we have all experienced the great “So what?,” when reading our Bibles. Bible reading can be like eating nutritious food you don’t like the taste of or like exercising when you are out of shape. We know it is good for us, but we don’t like it. Why? Because it is a discipline, hard work, a practice we must relentlessly pursue, a practice which our flesh, Satan, and the world do not want us to engage in. Bible reading is sometimes like doing self surgery – with no anesthetic. It can be painful. Other times we just don’t see any results. This is discouraging. And because we don’t enjoy it, it is difficult to keep up the practice. We know Bible reading is supposed to be a great spiritual blessing, but at times it is like chewing on wood pulp. We aren’t edified. Reading isn’t fun or engaging. We don’t understand how the text applies to our lives.

The Bible speaks to ancient people in extinct cultures. We are modern people in a technologically advanced culture. The things they had to deal with, like the Amorites, Perizzites, and Philistines, don’t even exist today. God isn’t working like He did back then as far as we can tell. We don’t know why. He isn’t parting the Red Sea, raising the dead, and adding new books to the Bible. It seems in ancient times God worked hard to communicate to man through visions, dreams, prophecies, miracles, and theophanies, like the burning bush or the Shekinah glory in the temple. But now He seems to be hiding, silent, far away. We long to hear from God, to hear His opinions about the things we are facing in our lives, but when we read the Bible it seems irrelevant, ancient, out dated, and hard to understand. We want to know God. We want to know His will for our lives, our marriages, career choices, and problems in this age. Oh if He would just speak to us and tell us what to do, we would do it, but instead He has left us an ancient book that we can’t seem to understand.

In addition to these frustrations there is something that really bothers us. We often hear people discuss their times in the Word and they are thrilled, amazed, blessed beyond measure. Their Bible reading is rich, wonderful, and full of encouragement. You can see it on their faces and hear it in their voices. They love Bible reading! It is medicine for their soul, direction for their life, hope for their future. In it they hear their loving Savior speak to them directly, addressing their problems, trials, and the temptations they face. This is where the frustration comes in. You have the same Bible they do, but your experience is nothing like theirs. Why is this? You don’t know what to do. You wish someone would help you get to where they are at.

Whatever you do, don’t give up! Help is here! In fact we are going to spend several Calvary Review articles helping you get the most out of your Bible reading. You will have to be patient because I can’t tell you everything you need to know in one short Calvary Review article, but work to apply what you learn and each month your Bible reading should grow richer and more wonderful than you could ever imagine. While there may be times when we don’t get much from reading our Bibles, this should be the exception and not the norm. Most Christians should experience thrilling times in the Word. You need to get to the place in your life where reading your Bible is like sitting in a hot tub on a cold wintery day. God wants you to get to that place. You can get to that place. You must get to that place! You need to get to where Jeremiah was when he wrote in Jer. 15:16, “Your words were found and I ate them, And Your words became for me a joy and the delight of my heart; For I have been called by Your name, O Lord God of hosts.”

Think of the different skills you have. You know how to read. You can look at these symbols, called letters, and gain understanding from them. You know what each letter is, what groups of letters mean, and what the little symbols called punctuation marks mean. Though you may come across a word now that you don’t know, like “theophanies,” reading for the most part is easy. Maybe you know how to type. You don’t even have to look at the keyboard. You just think about what you want to say and your mind tells your fingers what to do. Typing is second nature to you. Maybe you can drive a car. There are a lot of things to remember when driving a car, lots of rules you have to obey. But when you have learned these things driving is for the most part very easy. Now what do you suppose I am “driving at?”

There are things you need to know, learn, and practice in order to have blessed times in the Word. I am going to tell you these things. With each Calvary Review they will accumulate. When they do, you may start to feel overloaded with information. In fact you may feel like it is too hard. Satan will surely suggest to you that it is too hard and that you should give up. He will try to discourage you from reading your Bible because he doesn’t want you to be close to God. He doesn’t want you to fall in love with Jesus or to become more like Jesus. He doesn’t want you growing in godliness and being blessed by God’s precious and magnificent promises. He knows that the primary means by which people are changed into the image of Christ is through the Word of God. But hear me when I say this -- learning how to have thrilling times in the Word is easier than learning how to read and write. It is easier than learning how to type. It is easier than learning how to drive a car. You can do it! It is not too hard, complex, or out of reach. It is easy and with a little effort and practice you will soon be one of those people who is thrilled about their times in the Word. So let’s get started.

1. In order to have thrilling times in the Word you must be saved from the wrath to come. “Yes, yes,” you say to yourself, “I am saved. I am a Christian. Let’s get on with it.” Wait! Hear me out. Please indulge me for a few paragraphs. All disciplines have foundational truths they are built upon. Edifying Bible reading is built upon the bedrock of being born again. If you aren’t saved, you not only won’t have thrilling times in the Word, you can’t have thrilling times in the Word. Still you may be thinking to yourself, “Okay, I agree with you, but I am a Christian. I grew up in a Christian family, went to Christian school, and go to church faithfully.” These things are good, but I have news for you, unbelievers do these things too. Does that surprise you?

Jesus taught about tares among the wheat and goats among the sheep. He taught in Mt. 7:21-23 that there will be sincere, religious, Christ professing people who faithfully serve in the church, who do things in Jesus’ name, who think they are going to heaven, but end up in Hell! Could you be one of those people? You need to ask yourself this question because Jesus describes them as “The many.”

In Lk. 13:24 Jesus said, “Strive to enter through the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able.” Notice these people are trying to get to Heaven, they want to get to Heaven, they think they are on their way to Heaven, but many don’t make it. Growing up in a Christian family, going to Christian school, attending church, calling yourself a Christian doesn’t make you a Christian. God is the one that rescues people from the fires of Hell. He is the one who causes people to be born again, transformed, changed into new creatures in Christ. The most important question you could ever ask yourself is, “Have I been born again and if not, how does one become born again?”

Since salvation from the consequences of sin is the most important question and a necessary prerequisite for thrilling times in the Word, let me ask you some questions in an attempt to help you answer this most important question. Be warned, giving the right answers to these questions doesn’t guarantee you are saved, nor does getting some of the questions wrong guarantee you are not saved. There are some questions you must get right, but others you can get wrong and still be truly saved from the wrath of God to come. I would encourage you to write down your answers on a piece of paper so you can review them later.

Here is the first question: “How did you become a Christian?” Answer this question giving the most important information, not all the details but what happened that saved you. Get to the event that caused you to be born again. “I became a Christian when…”

Second question: “Are you sure you are going to Heaven? If so, why?” Write down your answer. Don’t just think it, write it down. There is an important reason for writing your answers down which will become evident later.

Third question: “If you were to die (you will eventually) and stand before Jesus and He asked you, “Why should I let you into heaven?” How would you answer Him?” Write down your answer.

Fourth question: “What is the Gospel, the Good News, the truth you must know and believe in order to be saved?” Write down your answer in a clear, concise way.

Okay, are you ready to grade yourself? This may be a bit shocking but every answer to the question above is the same. They are all asking the same thing but in a different way. The first question asks how you became saved. Though the details are different for everyone there is only one way anyone gets saved. The second question asks how you know you are going to heaven. The answer to that question is the same as the first, third, and fourth questions. There is only one right answer. The third question asks how you would answer Jesus if He were to ask you why He should let you into Heaven. There is only one answer. Though the correct answer may be phrased in different ways, it is the same for the first three questions. You are saved by believing in the Gospel which is the fourth question. If all four of your answers are not essentially the same, it is very likely you are not born again.

The Apostle Paul in Rom. 1:16 says, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” When he says, “it is the power of God” what that means is that it is the only power of God for salvation. There is only one way to be saved and that is by believing in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Paul says the same thing to the Corinthians in I Cor. 1:18 where he says, “For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” Here “the word of the cross” is a synonym for the Gospel. Again Paul says it is “the power of God” to those who are being saved. People are only saved by believing in the Gospel. This is why the answers to all four questions must be the same.

So what is the Gospel, the word of the cross, which is the power of God for all who believe? A long explanation could be given but we will look at one of the Apostle Paul’s most concise definitions. It is found in I Cor. 15:1-4 where he writes, “Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.” Here is a clear, concise definition of the Gospel: 1) Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 2) He was buried, and 3) He was resurrected from the dead on the third day. This is the message Paul preached. This is the message the Corinthian believers received, stood on, held fast to, believed, and were saved by. Now, look at the answers you wrote down to the four questions above. Does each of your answers speak of believing in Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection? If not, then there is a very good chance you are not born again and because of that you will never have thrilling times reading your Bible until you are saved by grace through faith in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. So now what? If you answered the questions incorrectly, or you are not sure, please talk to one of the pastors or elders about your salvation. As Jesus told Nicodemus, “You must be born again!” Time is up but the promise of salvation remains. Until next time, keep reading your Bibles!