I've had the pleasure of sharing my testimony with a family member recently and having on-going conversations about the Christian faith with him. When I asked how he was doing with his Bible reading, he confided that it wasn't going so well. He said that the Bible was too hard for him to understand so he was just reading Guideposts.
I get it. I didn't want to embarrass or admonish him; I just want to come alongside of him, finding ways to encourage him and help explain how important God's Word is for the believer. It's our lifeblood.
Listen to these encouraging, instruction-filled words from the Apostle Paul to young Pastor Timothy, these words are written for all of us:
"Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil people and imposters will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived, But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from who you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work."
Not only does this passage support the doctrine of the sufficiency of Scripture, but it shows us that Scripture has the power to bring us to faith in Christ, to teach us, correct us, train us in right living, make us mature, discern false teachings, equip us for every thing we do for the kingdom of God.
The Word has the power to transform the life of the believer. We must make every effort to get it in us.
Here's some biblical, practical points on how to do this:
1.) Make sure we are in a "gospel-centered" church where we can sit under sound teaching including the core doctrines of the Christian faith. How do you know if the church is gospel-centered, abiding by these doctrines? Because a church can read from the Bible, but still deny the supernatural components of the faith, like the resurrection, Jesus coming in flesh, and miracles.
Look at the church's website or ask them for a copy of their statement of faith - what they believe. It should be specific, unless they are hiding something to be seeker friendly. A good standard to follow is the Apostles' Creed. I love to recite this each day; it summarizes the gospel. There's also the Nicene Creed and Athanasian Creed, affirming that Christ is not a created being and the Doctrine of the Trinity respectively.
Creeds are not extra biblical materials; they are confessions that articulate the basics of the Christian faith. Creeds were not established by our church fathers in times of refreshment, but when destructive heresies threatened to poison the church, much like today. They were put in place to protect us - sadly, throughout history, most people did not own a Bible and had to depend on the church leaders to protect them from the wolves.
2.) Get a study Bible with a built in commentary and/or get a good lay-person commentary. I like how one pastor responded when a church member asked him what translation of the Bible they should use. The pastor said, "The translation that says, 'Love your enemies.'"
3.) In our gospel-centered churches, participate in a Bible study. We need to study the Bible on our own, but also with our church family. Iron sharpens iron. This is not a Bible study where we go around the circle and tell what the verse means to each of us, no, we examine the Scriptures together and see what it means to God and what he is saying to us. ( Acts 17:10-15 )
Tonight Pastor Atkins will begin a new Bible study at our church Harvest Ministries on Ezekiel 40-48, "Vision of the New Temple" - you are welcome to join us at 6:00 to share a meal with the study beginning at 7:00. 909 Blue Ridge Blvd., if you're in the Roanoke/Botetourt County area.
It's funny because the first time I remember reading through the Book of Ezekiel when I finished I said to myself that has to be the strangest book in the entire Bible. I think it's mostly associated with the Valley of Dry Bones, but an ironic thing is that as strange as it was to me, one of my favorite verses now comes from this book. One I pray more than any other for my unsaved loved ones because that's another important reason to read the Bible: It's the best prayers we can pray. All of it - not just the Psalms.
Ezekiel 36:26-27: "And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statues and be careful to obey my rules."
God's saving initiative.
Right there in the Bible's strangest book, God gives us his most precious promise.
I'm excited to learn more tonight.
Because the Bible is our lifeblood.
💜
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