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Why
Should I Read The Holy Bible?
Faith Community Church, Pipestone, MN
October 14, 2001
Matthew 4:4; But he [Jesus] answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
The Lord wants His people to delight in the Law of the Lord. Psalm 1 provides a challenge to every believer;
•To be separated from the world. Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful, Psalm 1:1.
• To be saturated with the Word. But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper, Psalm 1:2-3.
The Bible ministers to the whole person; body, soul and spirit. Reading the Bible will bring spiritual prosperity to your soul as well as emotional, mental and physical blessings. In this light, the psalmist wrote, He sent his word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions. Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men! Psalm 107:20-21. The Apostle John affirmed this same truth; Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth, III John 2.
I. Read The Bible Because It Is Uniquely
Popular
A. The Bible reveals
that it is the Word (Words) of God.
The Bible claims every word is inspired; All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, II Timothy 3:16. The Greek word for scripture in II Timothy 3:16 is graphe and means “the writings.’The idea is that the words that were actually written down by the human authors (40 writers over a period of 1600 years) were given by God to them. Thoughts were not written down, but words were; Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but [the words] which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual, I Corinthians 2:13. This is why the best English translations of the Bible are word-for-word translations of the Hebrew and Greek rather than thought-for-thought translations from the Hebrew and Greek. At times, the Biblical writers themselves did not understand what they were writing, Daniel 7:15-16; 8:27; 12:8-9; I Peter 1:10-12. Therefore, how could the human writers put God’s thoughts into their own words if they did not understand what they were writing? The Lord had to dictate to them every word and every word is God-breathed, cf., II Timothy 3:16; II Peter 1:21; II Samuel 23:2; Ezra 1:1; Acts 1:16. Our Lord Jesus Christ taught that every word of the Hebrew Scriptures (the Old Testament) was inspired, i.e., proceeded out of the mouth of God; But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God, Matthew 4:4.
B. History has demonstrated that the Bible is the indestructible true Word of God.
The Roman Emperor Diocletian (A.D. 245-313) decreed in A.D. 303 that every Bible should be destroyed. He had been told that if he could destroy the Bible, he would destroy Christianity because “Christians are a people of the Book.’Feeling he had succeeded, Diocletian raised a column with the inscription in Latin;’Extincto nomene Christianorum’(the name of Christian is extinguished). Yet Constantine succeeded him and in the year A.D. 312 replaced the pagan symbols with the symbol of the cross. This remarkable change took place in less than ten years.
Fourteen hundred years after Constantine, the French atheist Voltaire (1694-1778) boasted, “One hundred years from my day there will not be a Bible in the earth except one that is looked upon by an antiquarian curiosity seeker.’Twenty years after the death of Volatire, the Geneva Bible Society purchased his house for printing the Bible. It later became the Paris headquarters for the British and Foreign Bible Society, which stored and distributed Bibles throughout Europe. The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever, Isaiah 40:8.
The Bible itself teaches its indestructibility as the true Word of God, Isaiah 40:8; 55:11; 59:21; Matthew 5:18; 24:35; Luke 16:17. So why is the Bible so popular today? Because when people read it, they know that it is the Word of God and they know that it is true. Also, when people read the Bible, their hunger and thirst for God is satisfied.
II. Read The Bible Because It Is Uniquely Powerful
The Bible is powerful not only because it is God’s Words and true, but also because it creates an impact upon the reader’s heart, mind, soul, spirit and life for good. The Bible is powerful because it speaks to man’s fallen condition. By nature, man is spiritually dead in sins and trespasses, Ephesians 2:1.
A. The Bible is living and makes the sinner alive spiritually.
Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Psalm 119:25; Psalm 143:10-11. The old English word ‘to quicken’ means ‘to make alive.’ The Bible also indicates that the Holy Spirit working through the Word quickens the sinner, John 6:63; II Corinthians 3:6; I Timothy 6:13.
B. The Bible is powerful and is the power of God unto salvation for the sinner.
Romans 1:16 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. Cf., Hebrews 4:12; Luke 4:32. The Bible’s power is seen in its ability to transform lives. Through the power of the Word of God, sinners are transformed into saints. The basic meaning of the word ‘saint’ is consecration (set apart from the world and set aside for service) and purity. Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed thereto according to thy word, Psalm 119:9, Cf., Jeremiah 23:29; John 17:17; I Peter 2:2
The Apostle Paul relates his transformation through the Word’s power in I Timothy 1:12-15;And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry; Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love, which is in Christ Jesus. This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. William E. Gladstone, the great Prime Minister of England, stated: “My only hope for the world is in bringing the human mind into contact with divine revelation.” The nineteenth-century evangelist, D.L. Moody, pointed out: “The Bible was not given to increase our knowledge. It was given to change our lives.” Why is the Bible so uniquely powerful? Because when people read the Bible, its Words bring the human spirit to life. When people read the Bible, its Words transform human lives.
III. Read The Bible Because It Is Uniquely Practical
A. The Bible is a manual for life; God has spoken to us through divine revelation.
The Bible reveals to us how we are to live our lives in a fallen world under God’s sovereignty. It has been said that men do not reject the Bible because it contradicts itself, but because it contradicts them. Many great men have seen the value of studying God’s Word, the Bible. Samuel B. Morse said, “I like to study the Guide Book to the country where I am going.’ And George Washington affirmed, “It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and the Bible.”
B. The Bible is a love letter from God; God speaks to us through Jesus Christ.
The main point of the Bible is to show us how to enter into a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. This relationship with the Lord is a loving relationship; For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life, John 3:16. God’s love, as revealed through the Bible, is a divine love that melts the hard heart of the sinner; But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us, Romans 5:8. Martin Luther called John 3:16 “the heart of the Bible; the Gospel in miniature” It’s so simple a child can understand it; yet it condenses the deep and marvelous truths of redemption into those few pungent words:
Why is the Bible so uniquely practical? Because the Bible is a manual for life; aiding each person to distinguish right from wrong, good from evil, and righteousness from wickedness. It conveys that evil is overcome with good. The Bible is a love letter from God; helping the sinner to understand God’s mercy, grace and forgiveness through Jesus Christ, our Lord. It does not reveal a religion but a relationship brought about through redemption.
Life Application
According to Psalm 1, the person who reads and studies the Bible daily, will first produce fruit. The psalmist says; And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season, Psalm 1:3a. The Christian has the promise that his/her life will bear fruit for God and God’s Kingdom.
Secondly, the believer has the promise that he/she will have the strength to persevere in one’s walk with the Lord. The promise to the person, who delights in the Law of the Lord, is that he shall be like a tree ... whose leaf shall not wither, Psalm 1:3b.
Thirdly, the psalmist says that the person, who delights in the Word of God, shall prosper in whatever he does, Psalm 1:3c. The Lord will bless us;
• in our relationship with Himself, • in our relationships with other people,
• in our life vocation, • in our transformation to the character of Christ,
• in our labour for the Kingdom of God, • in our passion for souls.