For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the actual words of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is unacquainted with the word of righteousness, for he is an infant. But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to distinguish between good and evil. Hebrew 5:12-14
Revivals, Great Awakenings, souls saved and churches that grow all begin with the Word of God. If the church is not preaching from the Bible it is not growing. Of course gimmicks can bring about temporary excitement and growth, but in the long run gimmicks will not keep people in church. Teaching a false gospel that is sensually pleasing or that appeals to pride and human arrogance can have some success, but the foundation is rotten and no real fruit can ever come from it.
The Word of God found in the Holy Bible begins and ends with Jesus. He is the foundation that a church and Christian life can be built upon. Our Lord and Savior makes very clear that He is the only foundation, and that foundation is revealed and built and taught throughout the Bible.
And everyone who hears these words of Mine, and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. Matthew 7:26
For no one can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 3:11
Christians who neglect reading the Bible leave themselves spiritually weak and malnourished. I am not judging anyone, but I am speaking from experience. The times I have neglected reading God’s word have left me weak. Yet when I have been faithful in reading the Bible I have been at my strongest spiritually. If you can’t read the Bible for some reason, then listen to it through audio Bibles. Find some way to get the Word of God into your heart and mind.
One important overlooked aspect of reading God’s Word is that it keeps us from sinning.
I have treasured Your word in my heart,
So that I may not sin against You. Psalm 119:11
Ignorance of God’s Word can lead us into sin. On the Reddit Bible web site I constantly see foolish questions asked about sin that are answered in the Bible. Instead of asking these basic questions about Christian behavior on a social media site they should be opening their Bibles and increasing their understanding of God’s Word and His will for us.
Regarding sin, we too often think of sin as something done against us or against others. Yet all sin is ultimately committed against God. If we truly considered that every sin we commit from the smallest to largest sinful act is not against others but directly against God, it would completely change our casual attitude toward sin. Knowledge of God’s Word can protect us when we put away our ignorance and walk in the wisdom and power of God.
Too many people think that they just don’t have the time to read the Bible. Yet we make time for everything else. From our favorite TV shows and movies, to reading other books. Activities of all sorts fill our lives yet we cannot seem to carve out a half hour or even fifteen minutes to read God’s Word in a twenty-four hour day.
Then there is another set of reasons for the neglect of Scripture, in the multiplication of other forms of literature. People have so many other books to read now, that they have not much time for reading their Bibles, or if they have, they think they have not. No literature will ever take the place of the old Book. Why, even looked at as a mere literary product there is nothing in the world like it! And no religious literature, sermons, treatises, still less magazines and periodicals, will do for Christian men what the Bible will do for them. You make a tremendous mistake, for your own souls' sake, if your religious reading consists in what people have said and thought about Scripture, more than in the Scripture itself. —Alexander MacLaren
Christians too often are willing to read other books, even books about the Bible, while neglecting the ‘old Book’ itself as Mr. MacLaren states. Or the Christian believes it is enough for the pastor or Bible teacher to do their Bible reading for them. They think the Sunday sermon is enough. But how do you know whether the pastor’s sermon or that book about the Bible is accurate?
On occasion I have found that even my favorite Bible teachers and preachers are in error in some point of Scripture or doctrine. How did I know? Because I have read and studied Scripture for myself and have been doing so for about fifty years now.
I remember one Sunday School class that our preacher was teaching many years ago. The pastor was promoting some teaching material from our denomination and it was not only utter nonsense, it was completely unscriptural. What did I do? I opened the Bible and gave him not my opinion, or something I had heard, but the Word itself. He could only try to refute me from our church’s stance using the material, but not from the Bible. I remember another time when I was a young salesman and one of my managers who was a teacher in a cult was trying to tell me that Jesus was not God but just a man. I pointed out scriptural support for the fact Jesus was not just a man but also God. He was taken aback by the Scripture but returned the next day with the ridiculous reply that the scripture I pointed out about Christ’s godhood was not in the “original Bible” saying that an entire chapter of the book of Matthew was not supposed to be in the Bible.
How can we refute false teaching, cultist ideas, and deceptive doctrines if we do not know the Scriptures for ourselves? How can we avoid being taken in by cults if we never read and understand the Bible?
It is an important and serious matter to read and understand God’s Word. And it is a dangerous practice to let others tell us what they think scripture says without holding up their ideas to the revealing light of God’s Word.
Please set aside time to read the Bible. And ask the Holy Spirit to help you understand God’s Word. One of the best things you will ever do for yourself and others is to become fluent and grow in the knowledge and wisdom of God found in the Holy Bible.
All Scripture is inspired by God and beneficial for teaching, for rebuke, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man or woman of God may be fully capable, equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17
