Introduction: This evening I want to begin a little series that I have labeled “A Series of Queries.” It is really a brief look at some of the questions Jesus posed to His hearers throughout His earthly ministry. It was not unusual for Jesus to answer a question with a question, and this He did not to be evasive but to draw His listener’s into the truth, and causes them to see something about themselves, that may have never previously dawned upon their souls.
The first of these questions is one that is recurrent throughout the gospels; the question is simply this, “Have ye not read?”
Illus: A couple of years ago my friend John asked me to run him to Manchester airport. It was very early in the morning, and it was still dark, and he asked me which direction I had come to Congleton. I told him I came by Knypersley. At which point he began to caution me about my return journey. He revealed that he had recently received a speeding ticket on that stretch of road for doing 40 mph in a 30 mph zone. And then he added, with a sense of injustice, that they had recently changed the speed limit on that part of the road, but there were no signs to tell you. Well, on the way back I took heed to his caution, but as I approached the part of the road Brother John spoke of lo and behold here was a great big sign saying 30 mph, then another, and another and then a speed camera. The question that could have been asked of John was, “Have Ye Not Read?” Evidently he was driving through paying absolutely no attention to the signage.
Isn’t that how we are though? In life we plunder on giving little heed to the Word of God, yet Jesus says, “Have ye not read?”
You know what is interesting is that each time Jesus asked this question He asked it of the religious leaders of his day. We would expect a minister to have read his Bible wouldn’t we? Yet, it was to the rabbis, the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the Chief Priests, Scribes and Elders that Jesus posed this question. “Have Ye Not Read…” Here were people who should have known better, who should have read and been up to speed with the things of God, but they were ignorant and in the dark on a whole host of topic, all of which God had revealed His will on.
They misunderstood the nature of the Sabbath. We see that in our opening text.They thought that the principle took priority over the peiople, but Jesus taught that the Sabbath was given to serve men and not vice versa. He said, “Have ye not read…?
They misunderstood God’s will on divorce. Matthew 19:3-5. They had read the Pentateuch on the matter, but it seems they never got as far as Malachi, hence they took a liberal position on the matter failing to notice that God was against it. Jesus said “Have ye not read?”
They denied the resurrection. Matthew 22:23-33. But again, Jesus said, “Have ye not read?”
They misunderstood the nature of the Messiah, they never considered the possibility that He might be rejected of Israel. Mark 12:10. Again, “Have ye not read?”
My dear friends, God is going to hold us to account for what we have read, and He is even going to hold us to account for what we have not read, because with the privilege of possessing a copy of the Scriptures comes the responsibility to read them and to know them.
Have ye not read? Have ye not read? Have ye not read?
I. The Devil Reads the Bible – Matthew 4:1-11.
A. Do you see the Devil quoting Scripture there? Do you see how knowledgeable he was of the purpose and person of Christ?
1. He really misquoted it, but to do that, and to do it as skillfully as he did, you really have to read it.
2. How important it is that we do at least as well as the devil in reading our Bibles!
3. You see, here is the trouble with Christianity today, we will listen to every Joe who says He is a prophet, who claims to have sopme new revelation from God, and all the while ignore the one, ands only revelation we really have from God in the form of the Scriptures.
4. That is why Christianity is so messed up today. That is wht Christians are so readily taken in today, they are ignorant of the Bible.
5. Have ye not read?
6. Surely if our enemy would read it, we should read it also.
7. In so doing we will save ourselves from a world of falsehood and temptation.
B. Do you know what God said through his prophet Hosea? Listen now: “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.” (Hos 4:6a)
1.That is the truth.
2. Ignorance and laziness are two of the greatest enemies of your sou.
3. You know what Solomon said, “Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.” (Prov 29:18)
a. A lot of preachers take that word “vision” and they make it to mean aspiration or desire after souls.
b. That is not what the word is speaking about – it is talking about revelation, it is talking about the Word of God, that is even clear from the contrast in the verse, the writer contrasts those who keep the law with those who ignore it, and he sees one as blessed and the other as perishing.
c. Blessing comes through the reading of God’s Word. Have ye not read?
II. The Bible Is The Means Of Grace That Brings Salvation.
A. Without the Scriptures you cannot be saved – see 2Tim 3:15
1. What would we know about the human condition was it not for the Word of God?
2. We would know nothing of the depravity of man, we would have no nothing of the grace of God, we would have no knowledge of the Saviour.
3. Salvation comes only to those who believe the Word.
4. We hear a lot of spurious testimonies today – I have heard some of these personally, people who have visions of Jesus, people who hear voices in their head, people who experience strange things and out oif these experiences they assume they are saved.
5. You had best do better than that, because our salvation must be a response to the Word of God, to the Gospel, and the question that will be asked of every soul is, ”Have ye not read?”
B. You see the Bible is very clear about this:
1. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. (Rom 10:17)
2. “Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.” (1Peter 1:23)
3. “The word of God increased; and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly; and a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith.” (Acts 6:7)
4. “But the word of God grew and multiplied.” (Acts 12:24)
5. “So mightily grew the word of God and prevailed.” (Acts 19:20)
6. “And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” (Eph 6:17)
7. “For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.” (1Thess 2:13)
8. “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.” (Rom 1:16)
C. No one was ever saved apart from the Bible.
1. I do not care what they say, or how they testify, or how real their experience was – apart from the Scriptures there is no quickening source for the dead spirits of men.
2. Have ye not read?
III. Reading Is Essential To The Growth of the Christian –1Peter 2:2
A. How interesting that the Scriptures compare themselves to milk, bread, meat and honey.
1. Job said, “I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food.” (Job 23:12)
2. "Thy Words were found, and I did eat Them; and Thy Word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by Thy Name, O Lord God of hosts" (Jer. 15:16).
2. That is why Jesus said, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God”
B. Have ye not read?
1. What about your quiet time? What about your Bible reading? Are you keeping up with that?
2. Illus: The story is told of a devout father whose son was studying for the ministry. The son decided to go to Europe for an advanced degree, and the father worried that his simple faith would be spoiled by sophisticated, unbelieving professors. “Don’t let them take Jonah away from you,” he admonished, figuring the swallowed-by-a-great-fish story might be the first part of the Bible to go.
Two years later when the son returned, the father asked, “Do you still have Jonah in your Bible?”
The son laughed. “Jonah! That story isn’t even in your Bible!”
The father replied, “It certainly is! What do you mean?”
Again the son laughed and insisted, “It’s not in your Bible. Go ahead, show it to me.”
The old man fumbled through his Bible, looking for the Book of Jonah, but he couldn’t find it. At last he checked the table of contents for the proper page. When he turned there, he discovered the three pages comprising Jonah had been carefully cut from his Bible
“I did it before I went away,” said the son. “What’s the difference whether I lose the Book of Jonah through studying under non-believers or you lose it through neglect?”
C. Friends the greatest threat to your Christian life is not the attacks of the apostate upon your Bible but your personal neglect of your Bible.
1. You need a quiet time.
2. You need to read, not for a Sunday School lesson, or a children’s meeting, but for you.
3. You need to read it not only on Sundays when the pastor says, “Open your Bibles at . . .” but on Mondays. Tuesdays, Wednesdays, etc.
4. Have ye not read? Are you right with God? Do you have a daily quiet time?
a. The quiet time is basic to our faith.
b. Illus: D. L. Moody wrote on the fly-leaf of his Bible these words: "This book will keep me from sin, and sin will keep me from this Book."
c. Every day, some part of the day should be spent with God.
5. This was the instruction of God to Joshua when he took over the leadership of Israel.
a. “This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.” (Joshua 1:8).
6. This was the message of the Jewish Shema – See Deut 6:4-9
a. You know it doesn’t matter what area of your life you look at, there is always a reward for those who are constant and consistent in what they do.
b. We watch the great sports stars on the field of play and admire their skills. Some of that talent is natural, but a large part of it comes from consistent practice.
(i) Illus: Rebecca Addlington first British swimmer to win two Olympic Golds in 100 years! She trains from 6am to 8am, every day. From the age of 13 She swam 2500 km a year so as she could appear at Beijing.
c. We listen to great musicians, forgetting about the hours they spend in practice.
(i) Illus: Rachel - Baritone - not practicing - “You’ll not stay in orchestra” “That orchestra’s useless” - not surprised if they all practice like you do.
d. Are you a practicing Christian, do you spend regular time in the Word of God? Have ye not read?
e. The people at Berea were commended for being, “…more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” (Acts 17:11).
7. Perhaps you think you have not time to read the Bible every day.
a. Illus: A man once made this excuse to D. L. Moody. He answered, "My friend, if you are too busy to read the Bible every day you are busier than Almighty God ever intended any human being should be, and you had better let some things go and take time to read the Bible."
b. Illus: William E. Gladstone, one of our greatest prime ministers and a true Christian statesman, often came home from Parliament very late at night. But no matter how late, he arose at 6:30 in the morning and gave the first hour of every day to reading the Word of God and to prayer. He said, "Talk about the questions of the time! There is but one question-how to bring the truths of God’s Word, the Impregnable Rock of Holy Scripture, into vital contact with the minds and hearts of all classes of people."
c. Have ye not read?
IV. The Bible Will Be God’s Book on the Last Day – John 12:47-48
A. That is why Jesus said, “have ye not read?”
1. Ignorance is no excuse.
2. Bro. Jones found that out to his cost as he drove through Knypersley.
3. It doesn’t matter that he didn’t read the signs, the law still stands, and so it with God’s law.
a. That is why it is important we get the Bible out, that is why it is important we support missions.
4. But leaving that aspect aside, we need to understand that when we are judged of God, the one recurring question we will be asked is “Have ye not read?” and willing ignorance is no excuse.
Conclusion: “Have ye not read…?” How will you answer? Well, Lord, you see there was something good on TV. Oh, well, Lord I was busy visiting friends, and socialising. Well, Lord I found it hard to read, so I read newspapers, magazines, and pulp fiction instead.
Illus: Mormon missionary who had not read the Bible through. He wanted to be called an “elder” but he hadn’t even been born again. I pointed out to him that it was a requirement in our church that Sunday School teachers had read or were reading their way through the entire Bible. I asked him, “Don’t you think it is rather strange that hear are people who are charged with teaching 4 & 5 year old s and they have read the Bible through, but you who would claim the title elder, and pose as a missionary to an entire nation have not. I really said to him what Jesus said to the false teachers of His day, “Have ye not read…” and I found out very quickly that He didn’t have a proof text to answer with.
But are we any better? Some of us have been saved for decades, and we have never read through God’s Book. Some of us wish to teach others, but as Hebrews 5:12 puts it, “For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.” There is no excuse for that. This is baby stuff. We are not at the dizzy heights of theological thought in this issue, we are in the kindergarten. Have ye not read?
