Christian: Please Read Your Bible Daily

I remember talking with the late Al Collins (A wonderful man and mentor) who taught Old Testament at Houston Baptist College folllowing an exam on which I was the only one in the class that day who scored a perfect score on the test. It was a kind of, "Let's see what these students know" test given at the beginning of the semester. This class was required of all students and I think was a kind of "dumbed down" class for non-religion majors. I think he was a little surprised.

He asked me what, besides the fact I got all the answers correct, I thought was the reason for that score. Reflecting for a minute I replied, "Dr. Collins, don't think I'm being critical but I think anyone who had attended Sunday School all their growing up could have aced that test . . . it just didn't seem that hard."

His response was, "I agree but our experience has been that students, even ministerial students, apparently don't pay attention in Sunday School or never attended in the first place." Then he added, "I am afraid your going to be bored in this class." Well, I wasn't bored because Al was not boring.

I mention this to say, that I believe more Bible "facts" were learned at an early age in Sunday School classes taught by laymen than in our denominationally affiliated Colleges and Universities. Now, before my University friends get apoplexy let me add that is the way it should be.

Let me make clear that for me the Bible is the very word of God. In my view the Scripture is our final authority for faith and practice. All life decisions are to be informed by the Scripture.
By the time a Christian student gets to the University they should be ready to talk about what the Bible means by what it says and how that impacts (should impact) our lives and culture and not trying to "catch-up" on their basic Bible facts. By the way, this is also true for the Christian young adult who chooses not to go on to University studies.

It is difficult for me to see how a person who does not have a grounding in the facts about and in the Bible can adequately understand what the Bible means. When I taught college classes in Bible for non-bible/religion majors I used to tell them in my introduction to the class, "We will not be discussing in this class what the Bible means until we have learned what the Bible says."
It was not unusual for me to respond to a person asking something like, "When the Bible says, you name the subject, what does that mean?" by asking, "Where in the Bible does it say that?" If they know then we talk about it if they do not I suggest maybe they find where it talks about that particular subject and then we'll talk.

It is possible I missed a teaching moments but I think what I actually did was point them to a better learning experience. It was Paul's advice when he suggested that in Berea the people "searched the Scriptures." That search in and of it self is a terrific learning moment.

As a Christian it is absolutely essential that you know what they Bible says. Years ago when I was preaching a revival meeting in Sumiton, Alabama I met a young man (older youth) who had memorized the entire Bible. He was simply amazing. You could give him Chapter and verse and he could start quoting the Bible at that point.  He was simply amazing. I tried for a week to trip him up and just couldn’t.  Early on in the week I asked him how he learned to do that. His answer, “Well, I just read the Bible over and over again instead of reading other stuff.”

Now I think he was especially gifted in regard to his mind’s ability ot organize and recall information but he is a great example of learning by simply reading. My grandparents were considered Bible Scholars in their day because of the grasp they had on “what the Bible says.” They were not always right on what they Bible meant but they were virtually always right on what the Bible said. How did that happen? Did they go the college (My grandfather did attend Decatur College for a while but dropped out in the depression)? Not really. What they did was give priority to just reading the Bible regularly.

So, what am I saying? I am saying that for the Christian knowing what the Bible actually says is absolutely vital to spiritual maturity and the development of a biblical world view.  If we want the “words of our mouth and the meditation of our hears to be acceptable O God” we are going to need to hide His word in our hearts. That will happen only through reading the Bible or listening to it be read.
 
It begins with Parents making Bible reading a priority in their lives. We parents need to not only privately read and study the Bible, we need to do it where our children can see what we are doing.  By the way, I know it is popular these days to read your Bible on your phone or tablet and even preachers are preaching from their tablets. I have one complaint with that, no one knows what you are really doing.

The dad who carries his Bible (a leather bound book) in his hand or has it in his lap as he reads the Scripture is making a quiet statement to those around him (particular his children) that reading the Bible is a priority in his life. In so doing we set the example and teach our children of the importance of the Word of God in worship. Our children naturally mimic us. Most of us men learned to shave by watching our fathers and many will learn the importance of the Bible to their lives by what Dad does with his Bible. I am not sure what carrying a tablet or taking out a phone says.

Don’t misunderstand me at this point. I, in my personal study of God’s word frequently us electronic Bible study aids. In fact I have hundreds if not thousands of dollars invested in it. It also fits on a tablet and because of the “Cloud” I can access it via my phone. My point is, I want to model the importance of the Word of God, the Bible in my life, and that can not be done by carrying a tablet or phone around. It requires something that is easily identified as a Bible.

We have to make sure that in our Sunday School and Bible classes we teach the facts of the Bible. It is fine to teach facts about the Bible but we must teach the facts of the Bible. The difference here is daylight and darkness. The facts about the Bible essentially encompasses how the Bible came to us in the form that we now have it. The facts in the Bible constitute what the Bible actually says. The former is of interest and the later is essential.

Teachers at all levels need to have a Bible in hand as they stand before a class and teach. That includes from the cradle to the grave. I remember being in a conference with Jack Hyles, then pastor of the First Baptist Church in Hammond, Indiana in which he made such an assertion. A lady who clearly was a “Nursery Worker” challenged him at the point of reading the Bible to babies as the rocked them. She asserted, “Those tiny babies can’t understand a word you read them.”  Dr. Hyles responded, “You read the Bible to them. They may not understand what you are reading but the Holy Spirit speaks baby language.”

I do not purpose here to talk about how to study the Bible. I’ll save that for another day. All I want to do today s make as strong an appeal to Christians simply to read their Bibles. I believe God will speak more often than not to the reader of the Bible than the person caught up in the study of Biblical minutia. I will say, that when it comes to Bible study I suggest in the strongest possible terms that every Christian’s daily Bible study include reading one chapter of the Book of Proverbs and three chapters of the Book of Psalms.  Proverbs will reinforce how you live and Psalms will remind you that God cares for you.

All I am asking you to do is read your Bible and learn the Bible facts. God will more often than not speak to you through His word as you are engaged in your daily Bible reading schedule than in any other way.  Lessons learned through Bible reading will avoid the need for many lessons learned through the school of hard knocks.