INTRODUCTION
In my last post I covered the concept of being Born Again. If you have given yourself to Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour you are now spiritually alive. To grow and prosper in your new Christian life you will need four things. They are, the Holy Spirit, the Bible, prayer and contact with other believers. In this post we will look at the Bible and its importance.
THE BIBLE IS THE WORD OF GOD
The Bible is no ordinary book. It claims to be the very Word of God. That means it is God’s unique, supernatural revelation of Himself to human beings. No other book, sacred or otherwise, has the Bible’s status.
The Bible claims of itself that it was written as men were filled and carried along by the Holy Spirit of God. Theologians refer to this as ‘the inspiration of the scriptures.’ By inspiration we mean God used the writer’s thoughts, writing skills and language to impart His message to all of mankind for all time. As a result the original documents penned by the original authors were without error. 2 Tim. 3:16, 2 Pt. 1:20&21
God’s Word is a spiritual book designed to aid our spiritual growth. Mt. 4:4, Jn. 6:63 The apostle Peter likens God’s Word to spiritual milk. 1 Pt.2:2
God’s Word tells us who He is, all that He has done for us, and how we should live to please Him.
WITHOUT GOD’S WORD THE BELIEVER CANNOT GROW
True believers in every generation have cherished God’s Word. If you know God loves you, you will love Him and His Word. Loving and obeying His Word will keep you a strong and healthy Christian. Ps. 119:165, John 14:21-23
What do the following verses tell us about God’s Word and the Christian life? Joshua 1:8, Ps. 1:1-3, James 1:22-25
FACTS ABOUT GOD’S WORD
- It is the truth. Only the truth can make us free. Ps. 119:45, Jn. 8:32, Jn. 17:17
- It is alive and active to bring change into our life. Heb. 4:12
- It protects us from sin. Ps. 119:11
- It is a weapon against the Devil. Mt. 4:3-11, Eph. 6:10-17
- It is spiritual food. Just as we must eat every day to maintain physical health, so to must we ‘eat’ God’s word every day. 1 Pt. 2:2 Read Exodus chapter 16. It talks about God supernaturally providing bread for His people every day. He supplied it, but they had to go out and collect it. This is a good parallel to Bible reading. God gives the supernatural food (His Word), but we must collect and consume it (by reading it) for ourselves.
HOW TO READ THE BIBLE
MAKE time every day. If you don’t make time, you will not have time.
FIND a place free of distractions.
INVITE the Holy Spirit to help you understand what you read.
START in the New Testament.
READ the ENTIRE PASSAGE. Don’t stop reading at the end of the chapter if the author has not finished their point.
ASK questions. After reading a section, ask yourself what it was about. What did it say about God, human nature, sin, the Christian life, etc.
REMEMBER the things you didn’t understand and ask a more mature believer about it later, or “Google” it.
EXPECT spiritual opposition. Anything and everything will come up to distract you from reading.
ENJOY. Bible reading is not a race. Take your time and take it in.
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