Reading the Bible for Growth and Edification, Part 3

June, 2008

by: Jack Hughes

How do you read the Bible for growth and edification? This is the subject at hand. Many do not get much out of their Bible reading. They may be faithful to keep at it but to them it is a cold routine, a formality that they engage in because they know it is the right thing to do. Others can’t even discipline themselves to read their Bible on a consistent basis. They can read the morning paper, their favorite magazines, or watch TV, but Bible reading falls to the wayside. Why? Because to many Bible reading is boring, old and outdated. They read, but it doesn’t seem to profit them spiritually or in any other way for that matter. Thus it is hard to consistently read what we are deeply disinterested in. Yet the problem is not with the Bible, but with the reader, their walk with the Lord, how they read the Bible, or what they look for as they read. They haven’t been trained to read the Bible for spiritual growth and edification. So that is what this series of Calvary Review articles is addressing. Up to this point we have learned several important steps we must take.

In order to have thrilling times in the Word you must truly be saved

Without Christ and the indwelling Holy Spirit you will never profit from reading your Bible.

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

You may actually be saved, but sin hinders our ability to profit from the Word. Sin grieves the Holy Spirit and causes us to walk in the flesh. Therefore it is necessary that we keep our sins confessed before spending time in the Word.

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

If you do not believe what God says in His Word, your unbelief will rob you of the spiritual growth and edification which comes from reading the Word in faith. You will forever be doubting and second guessing God. All profitable Bible reading must be accompanied by faith. Having reviewed, let us press on!

In order to have thrilling times in the Word you must remember that the Bible is not a history book but a theology book

The word “theology” is a compound word. The Greek word “theos” is the word for “God,” and the word “ology” means “the study of.” Put them together and you have “The study of God.” When we read a history book we read of events that happened in the past. The past is fixed. We can’t change it. However, we can learn from history. Many have pointed out that those who do not learn from the mistakes of history are doomed to repeat them. Yet the Bible is not a history book but a book about God.

Many people assume that because the Bible speaks at great lengths about historical events it is a history book. This is like saying the Bible is a cookbook because it contains a certain number of recipes. The Bible was written to teach us about God, His will for our lives, and His plans for the future. One of the ways God communicates these things to us is through historical events. Why? Because in those events God, His will, and His plan for the future are revealed.

If you are reading a narrative portion of the Bible and you think to yourself, “These are things that happened a long time ago to people, cultures, and problems I don’t face today,” the Bible will be about as exciting as a trip to the city garbage dump. If you have read the Bible like a history book, you have probably been a bit frustrated because there are many significant historical events that are left out. Some events, which to us are insignificant, have great importance to God. We may wonder why God put certain things in the Bible and left certain things out. Even if we are history buffs we will be disappointed with the Bible as a history book.

Consider the Book of Ruth which tells of a romantic story between an elderly Jewish man and a Moabite widow? Why is that included in the Bible and yet there is only a brief mention of the battle of Carchemish? The battle of Carchemish was one of the greatest battles of the ancient near eastern world. Egypt, the then world power, along with Assyrians, went to battle against the Chaldean empire, and were overthrown. While the battle of Carchemish is a very significant historical event, it isn’t as significant to God’s revelation of Himself, His will, or His plan for the future as the story of Ruth. The story of Ruth shows a critical link in the line of the Messiah. Thus the love story of Ruth is included, the battle of Carchemish left out. Once you understand the Bible is not a history book you begin to look at the Bible in a different way. You begin to read the Bible, especially the narrative portions, for what they teach you about God, His will, and His plan for the future. God never changes. What is true about God at Creation is true about God today. The way He works changes, but His character and nature never change. Therefore to discover something about God in the first chapter of Genesis is to discover something about the God we worship today. With the under-standing that the Bible is God’s revelation of Himself, Bible reading becomes more adventurous, practical, and theological.

But how do we extract information about God from the text as we read? One of the ways is to ask the right questions as you read the ancient text. Start with these: 1) What does the text teach me about God? 2) What does the text teach me about God’s will for my life or His plan for the future? Or 3) What does the text teach me about how God relates to man? Questions like these will cause you to see the grand theme of the Bible – God.

Let’s say you are reading Gen. 18-19 the story of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. The story is historically interesting but you might think to yourself, “Well, that happened a long time ago, angels don’t seem to be appearing today and God isn’t destroying cities with fire and brimstone. This has nothing to do with me.” However, if you read Gen. 18-19 with the questions above in mind you will see God’s patience with Abraham, His justice in requiring payment for sin, His mercy in agreeing to spare the city for only ten righteous, His grace in giving Lot an opportunity to convince others to flee, His holiness in turning Lot’s wife into a pillar of salt for her disobedience, His wrath in destroying Sodom, Gomorrah, and the cities of the plane with fire and brimstone. All of these attributes of God, and others, can be observed in the drama of the text. These are attributes God still possesses today and will always possess. These attributes have practical application for our life today. So as you read your Bible, seek God, His will, and His plan for the future.

In order to have thrilling times in the Word you must remember that God gave us the Bible so we could be saved and grow in the Word

We have already pointed out that you must be saved in order to experience spiritual growth and edification from God’s Word. Yet what I did not mention is that the Bible itself contains the message, the Gospel truth, that God uses to save us from the wrath to come. Peter, in I Pet. 1:23 says, “for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God.” Luke tells us in Acts 6:7, “The word of God kept on spreading; and the number of the disciples continued to increase greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were becoming obedient to the faith.” The Word of God is the means by which God saves sinners. Paul says in Rom. 10:17, “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.” If you do not know Christ as your Savior, if you have never experienced the transformation that comes with spiritual rebirth, you should read the Bible asking the same question the Philippian jailer asked, “What must I do to be saved?” Thus Bible reading for you would become a search for eternal life and forgiveness of sins.

Yet if you already know Christ as your Savior and you have been born again, you must read the Bible for your own spiritual edification. Paul said to the Thessalonians in I Thess. 2:13, “For this reason we also constantly thank God that when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but for what it really is, the word of God, which also performs its work in you who believe.” Speaking to Timothy Paul says, “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.” Texts like this teach us that all of God’s Word is profitable for our lives today. All of God’s Word is for living a righteous life today. So if our reading doesn’t produce encouragements to righteous living today, and a transformed life over the long haul, then something is wrong. The Bible is not a history book, it is not a book about religion, it is a book that transforms us from one glory to the next into the image of Christ (II Cor. 3:18).

In order to have thrilling times in the Word you must keep in mind that God gave us the Bible to reveal truth to us, not hide it

This may seem obvious, but it is an important truth to understand and apply. Some in their Bible reading are always looking for what the Bible does not say. They are looking for the hidden meaning, the spiritual meaning behind the plain words of the text. This is a very foolish and dangerous way to read the Bible. It is to believe that everything God wants us to know in His word is cloaked. The objective words of the text are ignored and subjective thoughts, feelings, or imagination steers the ship of our interpretation. Thus the plain meaning is ignored and our interpretation of the text rests on what our imagination supplies. This kind of Bible reading will quickly ship wreck us on the rocks of false doctrine. The axiom to remember is this, “If the plain meaning makes sense, seek no other sense.” This does not mean we are to ignore literary types like parables, or metaphor, as we read the Sacred Book. Yes, figures of speech do have a secondary spiritual meaning, but even the secondary meaning rests on the literal meaning of the text. If Jesus says, “I am the door” or “I am the bread of life,” we know He is using metaphor. Yet the meaning of the metaphor rests on the literal meaning. A door is a piece of wood you must go through to get from one place to another. In the same way, you must go through Jesus to get to Heaven. Bread was a food staple at that time. You had to eat bread to live physically. In the same way, you must receive Jesus, partake of Jesus, to live spiritually. Thus the literal meaning, even of figurative portions of the Bible, rest on the literal meaning of words. Thus we should come to the Word of God expecting to find truth apparent in the text.

Others miss the plain meaning of the text by obsessing on the minutia of syntax and grammar. It is as if you were to point a large tree out to them and ask, “What is this?” Immediately they approach the bark, pull out a magnifying glass, take out a pair of tweezers, and pinch off a small fragment of bark. Out of their backpack comes a microscope to examine the details of the bark. Then out of their backpack comes a portable test kit. Soon solutions are made up, the fragment of bark is dissolved in one solution, which is mixed with another, which has various chemicals added to it. Finally the man says, “It looks like we have carbon structure before us, some potassium, some nitrogen, and a slight bit of phosphorus, to form a cellulose compound.” Though the man may be correct in every respect, he misses the big idea – this is a tree! Thus his obsession with details blinds him from the obvious truth that he is looking at a tree. Detailed study is good, but not if it leads us away from the plain meaning of the text. There is more, but until next time, keep reading your Bible!