Purpose and Value of Bible Study
(Fifty Days of Consecration #7)
1 Timothy 4:1-16[1]
5-1-05
Intro
I want to begin this morning by sharing with you some results from a Bible knowledge test published by the Vancouver Sun.
Here are some of the answers given by people who said they knew the Bible.
1. Noah’s wife was Joan of Ark.
2. The seventh commandment is “Thou shalt not admit
adultery.”
3. The epistles were wives of the apostles.
4. A Christian should have only one wife. This is
called monotony.
5. Lot’s wife was a pillar of salt by day and a ball
of fire by night.[2]
As you might imagine some of those mistakes could be quite consequential. There is a lot of difference between “Thou shalt not commit adultery” and “Thou shalt not admit adultery.”
This morning we will not have time to address the multitude of Bible verses commending the necessity of hiding God’s Word in our hearts and living according to His word. “Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.”[3] Our eternal well-being depends heavily upon our attitudes toward the revealed word of God. The process of letting God’s word dwell in us richly[4] involves more than Bible study. Prayer, fasting, meditation, and all the other disciples we are studying during this Fifty Days of Consecration are interrelated and depend heavily upon one another. Our focus this morning will be upon the objectives of Bible study and how it functions in relationship to the other disciplines.
What is Bible study? It is more than reading the Bible; but it includes that for sure. It is different from meditating upon Scripture although Bible study never reaches its ultimate purpose until the verses are applied to daily life through prayer, meditation, and obedience. “Meditation is devotional; study is analytical. Meditation will relish a word; study will explicate it. Although meditation and study often overlap, they constitute two distinct experiences. Study provides a certain objective framework within which meditation can successfully function.”[5] There is much to be gained by becoming established in both Bible study and meditation. Bible study may involve discussion and interaction with others about Scripture. But when the proper preparation for the discussion is lacking there can really be little more than ignorance informing ignorance. Everybody is entitled to an opinion and most everybody has one. But an informed opinion is much more helpful than an uninformed one. Bible study is a more objective approach to Scripture in which through disciplined examination of Scripture we seek to discover exactly what is being communicated.
I. The Immediate Goal of Bible study is UNDERSTANDING.
In Acts 8 Philip encountered an Ethiopian Eunuch reading from Isaiah 53. Do you remember the question Philip asked the man when he heard him reading his Bible? Acts 8:30 "Do you understand what you are reading?" It’s good to read the Bible—and that was an important beginning for this Ethiopian. But he was not understanding what he was reading. The good news is –he at least knew he wasn’t understanding it and had enough humility to acknowledge that and be teachable.
But notice How God gave him understanding. Could the Holy Spirit have simply revealed it to him directly? Could the Holy Spirit have given him a vision or dream and in the dream explained Isaiah 53 to him? Could God have sent an angel to explain it to him? I think we would all agree that the answer to all those questions is yes—God can do anything. But the issue is not what God can do but what He has chosen to do. 2 Cor 5:18-21 “Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, 19 that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.” 20 Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God. NKJV
Before Phillip could help the Eunuch understand the passage, he had to understand it himself. The immediate goal of Bible study is understanding. That usually comes through the Body of Christ.
Ezra 7:8-10
8 Ezra arrived in Jerusalem in the fifth month of the seventh year of the king. 9 He had begun his journey from Babylon on the first day of the first month, and he arrived in Jerusalem on the first day of the fifth month, for the gracious hand of his God was on him. 10 For Ezra had devoted himself to the study and observance of the Law of the LORD, and to teaching its decrees and laws in Israel.
According to verse 10 why was the gracious hand on Ezra? “devoted himself to the study and observance”
Now turn with me to Neh 8:1-8 “all the people assembled as one man in the square before the Water Gate. They told Ezra the scribe to bring out the Book of the Law of Moses, which the LORD had commanded for Israel. 2 So on the first day of the seventh month Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly, which was made up of men and women and all who were able to understand. 3 He read it aloud from daybreak till noon as he faced the square before the Water Gate in the presence of the men, women and others who could understand. And all the people listened attentively to the Book of the Law. 4 Ezra the scribe stood on a high wooden platform built for the occasion. Beside him on his right stood Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah and Maaseiah; and on his left were Pedaiah, Mishael, Malkijah, Hashum, Hashbaddanah, Zechariah and Meshullam. 5 Ezra opened the book. All the people could see him because he was standing above them; and as he opened it, the people all stood up. 6 Ezra praised the LORD, the great God; and all the people lifted their hands and responded, "Amen! Amen!" Then they bowed down and worshiped the LORD with their faces to the ground.
7 The Levites-Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan and Pelaiah-instructed the people in the Law while the people were standing there. 8 They read from the Book of the Law of God, making it clear and giving the meaning so that the people could understand what was being read.
Reading is good—but reading with understanding is better. And sometimes it takes some effort to get at the meaning. I realize that the Holy Spirit must enlighten us or we’ll never get it. Intellect alone (without the involvement of the Holy Spirit) can never, never grasp the truths of the Bible as revealed by God. But that is half the story. Prov 25:2 “It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, But the glory of kings is to search out a matter.” (NKJV) I guarantee you Paul was a studious man[6] as well as a man of the Spirit. Ezra was a studious man as well as a man of the Spirit.
The Pharisees of Jesus time are a prime example of what can happen when the Bible is studies with the wrong motives of heart—with a purely intellectual approach—and with not real intent to do what it tells us to do.[7] But we should not allow that to blind us to the people of God who studied out of a pure heart. Jesus studied the Scripture from his youth; even the Son of God studied. Timothy studied the Scripture from his youth.[8]
We had better be teaching our kids the Word of God—with understanding.
I have been in the Pentecostal movement forty years. Sadly I have met a number of people who thought obedience to the Spirit was made more possible by ignorance. The reasoning is usually founded upon the value of being like a little child. No question about it—Jesus instructed us to become like a little child.[9] But his focus was not their ignorance but their teachable attitude of heart.
We are people of the Spirit. Do we really need to spend hours upon hours studying the Scripture when we have the Holy Spirit to lead us into all truth?[10] Is it a good use of our time to learn Bible stories and study the meaning of words and try to understand exactly what this verse or that verse means? Can’t God just lead us without all that effort? Yes, but probably won’t.
Is it easier to have faith when you don’t know so much? It might be easier to get emotionally excited—but genuine faith is based on truth. John 8:31-32 “To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, ‘If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’” To hold to His teaching—we need to know what it is. Freedom comes in knowing the truth and responding to it in obedience (John 8:32).
Look at what Jesus says about this issue of understanding in the Parable of the Sower. Matt 13:19 “When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed sown along the path. Now here is the contrast to that. Matt 13:23 “But the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown."
Our lives should involve a diligent search for truth and wisdom. Listen to the call given in Proverbs 2:1-6 to pursue understanding. “My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, 2 turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding, 3 and if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, 4 and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, 5 then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God. 6 For the LORD gives wisdom,and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.
Further down in that chapter (verse 9-12) we read. “Then you will understand what is right and just and fair--every good path. 10 For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul. 11 Discretion will protect you, and understanding will guard you. 12 Wisdom will save you from the ways of wicked men…”
We’ve talked about immediate goal of Bible study—get understanding of message being sent. But then we need to see beyond that goal.
II. The Ultimate Goal is OBEDIENCE (operating according to that understanding)[11].
I want you to see how Bible Study provides FRAMEWORK for all the other disciplines.
Certainly a house is more than the wooden studs and rafters that make up its structure.
But without that frame—all you have is a pile of building supplies. You can even have a pretty big mess if you just dump all the stuff on a site with no structure.
Without gaining understanding of Scripture thru Bible study—you can have a lot of spiritual stuff—you can even point out how pretty the brick is and how the roofing shingles are just the right color to match the brick—but it’s usefulness is very limited without the framework being established.
I want to illustrate how study informs prayer and fasting and how it provides the right framework for meditation. When we meditate we need to mediate with understanding.
Often that is possible with a simple reading of Scripture because the passage is very easy to understand. But not all Scripture is easy to understand. Peter wrote, “Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him. 16 He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction. 17 Therefore, dear friends, since you already know this, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of lawless men and fall from your secure position.” (2 Peter 3:15-18)
We must be freed from an either / or mentality about objective study of Scripture and the more subjective disciplines of prayer and meditation.[12] The subjective should inform the objective and visa versa. I turn an ear toward heaven when I study. I ask the Holy Spirit to guide me and teach me. When I think I am subjectively hearing God—I test it against objective knowledge of this more sure word of prophesy[13] (Bible).
Let me take a moment to describe some of the interaction of the subjective (personal experience) and the more objective (disciplined analysis of Scripture) as we form our understanding of truth. When I was fourteen years old I had an experience that radically changed my perception of reality. I had not grown up in church and had virtually no Bible knowledge. But one evening I attended an evangelistic church meeting. I didn’t understand much of what the country preacher was saying. But somehow I began to realize that the wrongs I had done left me guilty and accountable before Almighty God. I became deeply convicted of my sin. Therefore, when I heard that Jesus had made a way for me to be forgiven and made right before God, I responded with repentance. The supernatural experience that then occurred (of being born again) had a profound effect on how I would approach the Bible from that moment on. When I come to Scripture I come with that experience as part of my preunderstanding of reality. The person who has not experienced the supernatural may come with a different preunderstanding of reality. The important thing for each of us is to approach the Bible with openness to truth. If my study of Scripture clearly indicated that there is no such thing as a personal encounter with the living God, I would have to reexamine my interpretation of that experience. I celebrate my new birth because not only does my subjective experience verify it;[14] but my study of Scripture also indicates it as well.
Everyone approaches the Bible with some set of preunderstandings and presuppositions. No one interprets Scripture with total objectivity. It is impossible to even write secular history with total objectivity. Because of the incidents and ideas already embraced by the individual, that person will interpret events and write history out of his or her own perspective, personality and emphasis. That is simply a fact of life. Therefore, the best thing we can do when we approach Scripture is to honestly acknowledge that fact.
A key to growing in the knowledge of the Lord is a willingness to allow the message given in the Bible to correct our misinterpretations of life experiences and to allow our experiences with the Lord to enable us to better understand and apply the message given in the Bible. In other words, we have to learn how to operate in an on-going cycle where our study and analysis of Scripture is enlightened by our experiences with the Holy Spirit. And then in turn our experiences are interpreted by an understanding of the Bible.
It’s not an either/or situation. Neither is sufficient without the other. I must learn to allow my objective study of Scripture to inform my subjective experiences in the Spirit and I must allow my subjective experience in the Spirit to properly inform my objective study of Scripture. The process should progressively lead to greater understanding and knowledge of God’s will and ways. This is called a hermeneutical spiral.[15]
As we establish our Bible Institute here at Grace Chapel, I would like to offer a college course in the basics of Hermeneutics where we can deal with these type issues more thoroughly. Time does not allow for that now. But if we can understand the cycle I have described it will be helpful.
Let me share with you one example in the book of Daniel that illustrates how Bible study informs other spiritual disciples so that the whole process is effective. Turn with me to Daniel 9. Follow as we read verses 1-4. “In the first year of Darius son of Xerxes (a Mede by descent), who was made ruler over the Babylonian kingdom- 2 in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, understood from the Scriptures, according to the word of the LORD given to Jeremiah the prophet, that the desolation of Jerusalem would last seventy years. 3 So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and petition, in fasting, and in sackcloth and ashes.
4 I prayed to the LORD my God and confessed: "O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with all who love him and obey his commands…”
What is Daniel’s ultimate objective here? Advancing the kingdom & purposes of God!
Now watch how that happens through a combination of the disciplines we have been talking about.
How does Daniel know what to pray? How does he avoid praying amiss (James 4:3)?
Verse 2 “I, Daniel, understood from the Scriptures, according to the word of the LORD given to Jeremiah the prophet…” His whole prayer is based upon what he learned through Bible Study. He prays effectively because he is praying according to God’s will.[16] He knows God’s will because He studied the word.
Now watch how subjective revelation followed his studies. Dan 9:21-23 “while I was still in prayer, Gabriel, the man I had seen in the earlier vision, came to me in swift flight about the time of the evening sacrifice. 22 He instructed me and said to me, "Daniel, I have now come to give you insight and understanding. 23 As soon as you began to pray, an answer was given, which I have come to tell you, for you are highly esteemed. Therefore, consider the message and understand the vision…” His study is informing His prayer and then his study is informed through prayer.
Of the four activities that characterized the early Church (a church filled with spiritual power) the first is “And they continued steadfastly in the apostle’s doctrine...” (Acts 2:42). Substance of what believe is important. During Charismatic move of ‘70’s it got popular to minimize importance of doctrine. We’re tired of dry, dusty Bible study—we want some excitement in the Spirit. Much of that sentiment was warranted. But their mistake was to think in terms of either/or rather than both informing the other. Many people got into trouble because of minimizing the importance of Bible study.
Listen to the instruction Paul gave to Timothy about all this. 2 Tim 4:2-4 “Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage-with great patience and careful instruction. 3 For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 4 They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.
In 1 Tim 4 instruction was also given that can help us appreciate why Bible study is so essential to our long term success as a community of believers. Verses 1-2 “The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. 2 Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron.” Skip past the specific errors he lists and go to verse 7 “Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives’ tales; rather, train yourself to be godly.” There are certain disciplines and training that we give ourselves to in order to avoid error and live godly lives. We do that individually and we do it in community as well.[17]
I want to close by simply reading verses 11-16. “Command and teach these things. 12 Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity. 13 Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching. 14 Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through a prophetic message when the body of elders laid their hands on you. 15 Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress. 16 Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.[18]
How will you give Bible study its rightful place in your life? Let us pray.
Invitation
Richard Tow
Grace Chapel Foursquare Church
Springfield, MO
www.gracechapelchurch.org
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[1] Text was read at the beginning of the service. All Scripture Quotes from New International Version unless otherwise indicated.
[2] In an article entitled “Bible Study at an All Time High” taken from Ann Landers column. It was first printed in the Vancouver Sun. My source was http://www.7t.net/BusinessMatters/trans/991004-trans-bible_ignorance.html accessed 4-28-05.
[3] Matt. 4:4; Luke 4:4; Deut. 8:3
[4] Col. 3:16
[5] Richard J. Foster, Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth (New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1998) 64.
[6] Acts 22:3; 2Timothy 4:13
[7] Matthew 23:2-4
[8] 2Timothy 3:15
[9] Matthew 18:4; Mark 10:15; Luke 18:17
[10] John 16:13; 1John 2:27
[11] In this thought we include the transformation of character that occurs when we rightly divide and rightly apply the Word to our lives. Therefore what we become is a significant aspect of this ultimate goal (Eph. 4:11-16).
[12] In the 2nd service I illustrated this with the imagery of trying to use only one oar (on one side only) in a canoe rather than two (one on each side so that instead of going in circles it progresses forward).
[13] 2Peter 1:19-21. For example, in Acts 11:15-16 Peter is telling how he tested the current subjective experience using previous revelation (in this case Acts 1:5). Of course, at that time Acts 1:5 was not recognized as Scripture. But also see Luke 24:44-46; Acts 2:17; Matthew 12:2-5 (notice how Jesus draws doctrine from narrative portions of Scripture).
[14] Romans 8:16; John 1:12
[15] William Klein, Craig Blomberg and Robert Hubbard, Introduction to Biblical Interpretation (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, Inc., 1993) 114.
[16] Although we should always pray “Thy will be done” in the sense that we totally submit our will to God’s will, we should misuse that phrase as a cover for spiritual laziness. It is our responsibility to discover God’s will as revealed in Scripture and then execute that will on earth through prayer and obedience. Daniel is praying according to the will of God as discovered through his diligent Bible study.
[17] Acts 17:11
[18] A video clip from the movie “Luther” [Ch 4 (0:17:18) to (0:19:06)] can be used to introduce discussion about the importance of Bible study and how it relates to the Reformation.
