Gentlemen, welcome to Resolute.
Resolute exists to disciple and develop men to lead. And it is our goal to put great tools and content in your hands to help you and the men that gather with you to have solid discussions with other men around great biblical topics.
While we have a number of different series for men, this series is designed to help us understand how to study the Bible because I believe there is no greater gift you can give a man than the gift of knowing how to read and understand the Bible. Because if a man can learn to discover the truth of the Bible, on his own, he will discover the riches of God and the man God designed him to be.
When I began my journey with Jesus Christ I wanted nothing more than to be able to navigate the mysteries of the Bible. Often, when we approach the Bible for the first time it can be a little overwhelming since it is like no other book we have ever read. While most books simply read from beginning to end usually with a single theme or story, the Bible does not read this way. It is over 40 authors, writing over thousands of years, within numerous cultural contexts, and often showered with religious jargon and hard to understand cultural concepts that are foreign to us. But I believe we can overcome this challenge. Within this short five lesson series, you are going to discover principles that will overcome the five great challenges we encounter when reading and trying to understand the Bible. The challenges are:
The purpose of reading the Bible.
The plot of the Bible.
The method for studying the Bible.
Building a Bible reading habit.
And the tools and types of Bibles.
Each of these lessons will arm you with a better understanding of how to study the Bible.
I don’t know about you, but there is nothing like a moment you don’t know where you are going. While I am an adventurous guy, there is something about that moment you realize you may not know where you are or where you are going. There is something that happens in the pit of my stomach that is a little unnerving.
But, for me, there is this survival instinct that takes hold. And because I love to figure things out, this sets my mind on a path of processing at high speed. I begin to look at the situation from every angle and considering my options. My decision-making process is moving at hyper speed, often without ever speaking a word. Often, I am trying to locate markers in my mind that will help me find my way through the situation.
Today as we look to God’s Word in your handbook, you will notice a text from 2 Timothy 3:16-17. Here is how it reads.
16 “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (Slide)
While this text is short, it is perhaps one the most insightful in the Bible on the reason we study the Bible. Paul, who wrote this to a young protégé Timothy, was giving him instruction on the importance of God’s Word. And he points out four ways we profit from God’s Word as we travel the road of life. First, we profit from Teaching (Slide). God is the instructor his word in the Bible instructs us. It is God’s introduction manual for showing us the road. Second, we profit from Reproof (Slide). Everyone needs feedback once in a while, and while it may not always feel like profit in the moment, God’s Word provides the best life feedback. Reproof simply makes us better men, and this is God’s way of showing us when we get off the road that leads to life. Third, we profit from Correction (Slide). Correction show us how to get back on the road, and since we know that we are all sinful, we all need correction! And fourth, and finally, we profit from Training (Slide). This is where the Bible is proactive in showing us how to stay on the road.
I believe Paul is pointing out something very valuable. He is pointing out the rich value and profit he had found in his own life after decades of investment in God’s Word, and he wants Timothy as well as us to see the profound riches.
Dwight Moody in reference to the power of God’s Word once said.
The Bible will keep you from sin, or sin will keep you from the Bible. Dwight L. Moody (Slide)
Great quote, right?
But now turn let’s turn to the next page of your handbook as we join a Resolute men’s group and explore one more point. A point that is the most critical in this text and the ultimate reason for studying the Bible.
Now the part I love most about this text is verse 17. It reads, “that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” (Slide)
I think one of the things that slips our mind when we read the Bible, is that the Bible is God’s objective truth to the world. That God’s Word for thousands of years was simply and only his audible voice. And while we get to enjoy reading it in a book that we can hold in our hands today, this was not the case for the first-century church. The Bible was not even widely distributed until the printing press was invented. So, what we get to hold in our hands, to the early church was revered and passed down orally to others through teachers. And followers took God’s Word very seriously when it was read in public meetings.
Today our Bibles are a compilation of 66 different books bound into one. Books recounting real historical events and God’s interaction with mankind. And I think we often have a distant understanding that this book is God’s breath to us.
I love the image that Paul chooses to describe God and his word in this phrase “All scripture is breathed out by God.”
It paints a picture of three things for me.
First, it paints a picture that God is actively breathing (Slide) words to us so that we can have the oxygen we need for our spiritual life. And the basic oxygen of our life is His Word.
Second, it paints the picture that We are lifeless without Scripture (Slide). We are dead without inhaling God’s Word.
Third, it paints a picture of an Active breathing process (Slide) and assumes that we need to be always breathing. In fact, each of us just took a breath which sustained us for another moment as a living being. And so we should always have a regular intake of God’s Word as a spiritual being.
But there is more in this text that cannot be overlooked.
It is found in verse 17, which is critical for our understanding on why we read the Bible. Paul here is telling us the purpose of God’s Word to Timothy, the church, and a man’s life. It reads, “that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” (Slide) The purpose of God’s Word is to guide us toward transformation and empowerment. It is God’s instruction manual for me to so that I can become the man God designed me to be. The purpose of reading God’s Word is personal change.
Every time we pick up this book God is teaching, reproving, correcting, and training me to become the man that He wants me to be. He is not just teaching, reproving, correcting and training because he enjoys telling me what to do. He is doing this so that he can shape, mold, carve, and chisel me into his child. He is chiseling away the old man so that he can expose the new man, and the Spirit of God that lives in each and every one of us. So do not miss this – every time you pick up this book remember the purpose of reading God’s Word is personal change.
Watchman Nee said it this way, “When preparing to study the Bible you must ensure that the person is right.” (Slide)
So as you and I read God’s Word we should be reading the text with great anticipation and an undying focus on the fact that it is us that changes. not God. Not his Word but me. The only person that is need of constant change is me – man. For God is unchanging and his word is unchanging.
But let me clarify what “complete & equipped” does and does not mean. Because sometimes being a little more precise will help us catch the purpose.
First, complete and equipped does imply that the Bible is Essential (Slide) for direction. It gives us direction for our spiritual life that we will not find in the opinions of the world. It is God’s supernatural perspective given to us for use in the natural world. There we can conclude that the Bible is not an accessory for shelves but rather words that give us purpose in life.
Second, complete and equipped does imply that the Bible is Everything (Slide) we need for living a godly life. This means if we never read another book, we would have everything for spiritual direction we would every need.
Third, complete and equipped does not imply that we Worship (Slide) the Bible. This is a tragic mistake that some make. Instead of understanding that the Bible is a guide for worshipping God, some people, unfortunately, worship the Bible. And while the Bible is full of process, methodology, theology, and profound principles we do not worship these things. We worship God through his Word.
Fourth, complete and equipped does not imply that the Bible is Exhaustive (slide) on every topic or issue. While we would love the Bible to speak to each and every issue of our life is may not speak to your specific life circumstance. But you will find guiding principles that will help you. For example, I have encountered many men, who are desperately searching for their vocational purpose in life. And while the Bible may not speak to this specifically for you we know that your ultimate purpose is to worship and glorify God and that God knit you together uniquely to accomplish his purpose in you, so only you can discover his purpose in your life.
So, in the end, the purpose of reading the Bible is personal change that results in God being glorified.
H. A. Ironside said it this way, “The Word is for cleansing as well as for instruction, and if it keeps going through you it will have a marvelous effect upon your mind and heart and life. It will cleanse and purify you and fit you to be a real worker for the Lord Jesus Christ.” H.A. Ironside (Slide)
