Wednesday, January 25, 2017
Do I Really Have to Read the Bible?
BFGFC Sunday Service | January 22, 2017
If your answer is YES: Do you read regularly read your Bible? Do you give importance to your daily time for Bible reading?
If your answer is NO: Why not?
If your answer is I’M NOT SURE
or YES, BUT… :
Here are four biblical reasons
that tells us Yes, you really have to read the Bible!
#1:
In Matthew 4:1-11, we read how Jesus used the Scripture to fend off
the attacks/lies/temptations brought about by Satan.
Jesus knew the Scriptures by
heart. His storeroom of Scripture is so well-stocked that he was able to draw
out the appropriate Scripture to fight off the temptation at just the right
moment.
Like Jesus, we need to be strong in the
Word so we can fight against the attacks of the enemy. Ephesians 6:10-17 tells
us that we are in a spiritual battle (v.12) and so we are commanded to put on
the full armor of God (v.11,13). Part
of that armor is the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God (v.17). It
is our offensive weapon, and we would do well to always have it with us – not
physically, but stored carefully in our hearts and minds (Psalm 119:11). You
can’t go in a battle just wearing defensive armor; you’ve got to bring
something to fight the enemy with!
Satan also knows and can
quote Scripture. He knows it enough to use it to make the temptation seem like
it’s coming from God. If we are not
strong in the Word, we will be deceived! You should know how to handle your
weapon. And make sure you know your weapon well enough to know when it is being
used the wrong way (out of context).
Notice how Jesus fought
temptation: He did not enter into an argument or a discussion with the devil
regarding Scripture and doctrine. He just spoke them out, with authority.
“Every servant of God must
be doubly careful. By the same craftiness [Satan] tries to get men to put on a
big show and get Scriptural support to back it up… There is no good thing that
can result from a religious argument.”[3]
Our attitude and motive for
reading the Bible is important. When we read the Bible, read it for yourself
first, with an open heart and mind to see what needs to be changed in you. Beware
of reading it for the wrong reasons (i.e. pride, superiority, false sense of
righteousness). Don’t misinterpret the terms “rebuke” and “correct” in 2
Timothy 3:16: “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching,
rebuking (conviction), correcting (restoration to an upright or right state,
character improvement[4]), and
training in righteousness.”
God’s Word is a weapon to be
used to fight the enemy – Satan and his cohorts. It is not to be used to attack
people, nor should it be used to put a person [his dignity and personality]
down - unless it is to bring him down on his knees in true repentance so that
he may be uplifted and transformed through it. God’s Word is to bring healing and transformation, not to inflict
more injury to an already injured person. God’s Word is to bring life to the
spirit, not kill it.
#2:
“The Spirit gives life; the
flesh counts for nothing. The words I
have spoken to you are spirit and they are life.” John
6:63
God’s Word is a life-giving
spirit that brings life (vitality) to our spirit. In short, God’s Word is life!
This is the zoe life, the most absolute, highest and
best kind of life there is. The same kind of life Jesus was referring to in
John 10:10. The zoe life is the life we receive from God when we first started
to believe in Jesus (John 3:15 “that
everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.”). It is different from
the bios life. Zoe is life intensive,
whereas bios is life extensive.[5]
The bios life pertains to a) the
period/duration of life (1 Pet. 4:3); b) the manner of life in regard to its
moral conduct (1 Tim. 2:2, 1 John 2:16); and c) the means of life: livelihood,
maintenance, living (Mark 12:44, Lk 8:43, 15:12, 30, 21:4, 1 Jn 3:17)[6].
People tend to have more regard for the bios life than of the zoe life. But in John 6:27, Jesus tells us to do vice
versa: “Do not work for food that spoils,
but for food that endures to eternal life (zoe), which the Son of Man
will give you.”
What is this food that
endures to eternal life? It is God’s Word! Jesus is the Word of God (Rev.
19:13). He is also the Bread of God which has come down from heaven (6:32-33,
38), the Living Bread (6:51) and the Bread of Life (6:35, 48). If we want to
live the zoe life, we have to regularly feed on the Living Bread because “he who feeds on me will live because of me…
he who feeds on this bread will live forever ” (John 6:57-58).
“The life that he gives, he
maintains.”[7]
What happens when we stop
eating? We will get sick, become malnourished, and eventually die. The same
goes with our spirit. We need to make sure that our spirit-man is getting daily
and proper nutrition from the Word of God.
And just as we will die without oxygen, we will die if we don’t continually
expose ourselves to God’s Word and breathe in his life-giving Spirit as we
partake of His Word.
“Jesus said to them, ‘I tell
you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood,
you have no life in you.” John 6:53
“It is fatal to withdraw
fellowship with Christ or to depart from his word.”[8]
As we feast on God’s Word, the Spirit breathes life into the dead areas
in our life that needs to be revived.
So if you want a revival, start reading the Bible! (#revivaliscoming, #revivalthroughtheWord)
#3:
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give
you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am
gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke
is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew
11:28-30
Three invitations Jesus
offered in this verse:
- · Come to me
- · Take my yoke
- · Learn from [KJV: of] me
Our souls constantly grow
weary from the never-ending toil and labor needed in this world in order to
survive. If we don’t take time to give our souls proper care (i.e. nutrition,
rest), we will be most vulnerable to Satan’s attacks.
Satan will try to take
advantage of our psychological, mental, and emotional state. The attack may
come during a good season in our life, usually after a victory, when everything
is at a high and we think, “Nothing can bring me down” (“Satan’s style is to tempt & bait first then bring the whole empire
down.”[9])
Or he can attack during a low point in our life, sticking the knife of despair
further and taking advantage of the doubts and questions we have (“The attack has a much better chance of
success when the man’s whole inner world is drab and cold and empty.”[10])
Remember Jesus? He was also
attacked in this area. He was tempted by Satan to jump off a cliff (suicide! Matt.4:5-6). Satan wanted Jesus
gone, without having accomplished His mission. But Jesus was strong in the Word
so He was able to fight off the temptation.
We must find strength in the
Word of God daily.
Jesus offers us much-needed
rest that only He can give[11].
We will find rest for our weary souls if we take Him up on His invitations.
When we come to Him regularly for prayer and reading and study of His Word, we
will get what He promised us: a much needed rest for our souls.
“If you continue in my Word, then you are my disciples indeed.” John 8:31
God speaks to us through His
Word. As His disciples, we need to regularly
commune and partake of His Word in order for us to know His will, His marching
orders for us: what He wants us to do and how He wants us to do it.
According to verse 25, here
are four things we must do when reading
the Bible:
- Look intently : Read and study the Word
- Continue : Regularly
- Not forgetting : Memorize, meditate, record (devotional journal)
- Doing it : Apply the Word
THE BFGFC
TOLLE LEGE CHALLENGE:
Tolle Lege comes from the conversion scene in St. Augustine’s Confessions,
written around 397. The phrase is Latin for “take up and read” where Augustine took up Paul’s letter to the
Romans and read a passage which changed his life.
So do I really have to read
my Bible? Yes, definitely! Tolle Lege! Take
up and read, because a well-trained,
well-nourished, and well-rested disciple of Christ is what our God deserves
to have in His army, working and fighting alongside Him in the task of building
His Kingdom.
Are you up for the
challenge?
- · Commit to daily Bible Reading.
- · Finish reading the OT / NT / entire Bible this year.
- · Commit to weekly Scripture memorization.
- · Commit to writing regularly on my devotional journal.
- · Commit to take notes in all services.
- · Commit to share & witness Jesus and what you have learned from His Word (so that others may also hear the Word, be blessed and encouraged by it, and be drawn into a flourishing relationship with Jesus themselves).
#bfgfctollelegechallenge2017
#tollelege
#strongintheWord
#challengeaccepted
[1] Ness, Alex W. Th.D. Kingdom Principles, p.5
[2] Ibid. p.11
[3] Ibid. p.5
[4] Strong-Lite Dictionary
[5] Vine’s Expository: Life
[6] Ibid.
[7] Vine’s Expository: Life:
Zoe (John 6:35,63)
[8] Full Life Study Bible
Notes: John 6:54
[9] Ness, Alex W. Th.D. Kingdom Principles, p.12
[10] C.S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters, p.43
[11] “My soul finds rest in God
alone…” Psalm 62:1
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Binondo Full Gospel Family Center is a community church in Binondo, Manila. We are an empowered, nurturing community, reconciling to Christ every person, household and oikos, discipling them for the glory of God.
0 comments:
Post a Comment