ARE YOU READING?

For more than fifty years, brother V. E. Howard asked repeatedly in his radio sermons, “Are you listening?” I would like to rephrase that question slightly and ask similarly, “Are you reading?” How many of you have ever read the Bible through from cover to cover? How often do you read the Bible?

Do you bring your Bible to class with you on Sundays and Wednesday nights? Have you noticed how few have their Bibles in these classes? If you have ever taught such a class and have made an effort to get the students in your class to bring their Bibles, you know how difficult this task is. I wonder how many of us in the church today are reading our Bibles outside of the church buildings.

I wonder how many of us read the Bible even when we prepare for class and how much we rely on supplemental material instead of the Bible even when we teach. I want to ask you, “Are you reading (the Bible)?”

The Bible must be read diligently by every member of the church. “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (II Timothy 2:15).

Nothing threatens the church today more than Bible ignorance! When we begin to rely on the writings of men (e.g. commentaries, workbooks, teacher’s guides, and other books) more than on the Book of God, we can easily be led astray. We need to be like the Bereans “in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so” (Acts 17:11). Let us look at four reasons why we should read the Bible diligently.

1. It is our Owner’s Manual. Every product comes with an owner’s manual which tells how the product is to be used. God made man. God breathed into man and he became a living soul (Genesis 2:7). God inspired (breathed into) a book, the Bible, which “is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works” (II Timothy 3:16-17).

When we violate our owner’s manual (I John 3:4), we will cause problems for ourselves (Galatians 6:7-8) and will ultimately be destroyed (Romans 6:23).

2. The Bible satisfies our hunger and provides for our spiritual health. Jesus stated, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4). A person who gives attention to food for the body and neglects his soul has deprived himself of that which is most important. When a person is born again (John 3:5), he has a natural hunger for spiritual food (I Peter 2:2). The Bible promised that this natural hunger will be satisfied (Mattjew 5:6). As Irving Jensen stated, “Hunger is a sign of health.

When we neglect the Bible, it is because we are not hungry for the things of God. Not being hungry, we cannot, therefore, be healthy, spiritually” (Enjoy Your Bible, 13).

3. The Bible is needed because of our responsibility to teach. Parents are supposed to teach their children about God and His Word (Ephesians 6:4; Deuteronomy 6:7). We cannot teach that which we do not know. Further, the faithful have the responsibility of teaching others “who shall be able to teach others also” (II Timothy 2:2). In addition, we are responsible for teaching the lost what they must do to be saved (Mat. 28:19-20). To teach we must study the Bible ourselves (II Timothy 2:15).

4. The Bible is the Book by which we will be judged. We know in advance the standard of our judgment (John 12:48). Our eternal destiny will be determined by whether or not we have lived by that standard (II Corinthians 5:10). We can prepare ourselves for judgment by reading the Bible and following its instructions.

The Bible is important to every child of God, “his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night” (Psalm 1:2). The psalmist realized the importance of God’s Word. He wrote:

O how love I thy law! it is my meditation all the day. Thou through thy commandments hast made me wiser than mine enemies: for they are ever with me. I have more understanding than all my teachers: for thy testimonies are my meditation. I understand more than the ancients, because I keep thy precepts. … How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth! Through thy precepts I get understanding: therefore I hate every false way (Psalm 119:97-104).

Are you reading?

Lester Kamp

Use or Lose

Most speakers and writers have certain favorite expressions to which they frequently give utterance and which come to be recognizable characteristics of their style. An analysis of the words of our Lord shows that he, too, was given to the repetition of sentiments one of which was, “Whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance; but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that which he hath” (Matthew 13:12).

This expression, or one similar in form, occurs several times in the books of the gospel, and in a variety of circumstances: (1) In the foregoing instance, it was used to justify parabolic teaching; (2) twice he utilized it in teaching about WHAT and HOW we are to hear; (3) it occurs also in connection with the condemnation of the one-talent man and still farther; (4) in the parable of the pounds. It is paradoxical but, nonetheless, a fundamental law of life, governing every aspect thereof. It is THE LAW OF ATROPHY. That which we use we have, all else we only appear to have (Luke 8:18). The principle is, Use or lose!

The unused manna of the wilderness wanderings bred worms and stank; food, when long stored, spoils; water unstirred becomes stagnant; and, muscles unexercised wither. The principle finds illustration in all the affairs of life. Skillful surgeons, talented artists, acute businessmen remain so only by their constant use of their faculties and neglect leads to loss of abilities formerly possessed. Through mental and moral exercise we keep our sensibilities of right and wrong strong (Hebrews 5:14), the alternative is moral stagnation (Ephesians 4:17-19). The Greeks excelled in mental and intellectual development in the ancient world but because they had not "learned Christ" (Ephians 4:20), they were in a state of moral decay.

To this sentiment the Lord directed attention in his figure of the fruitless tree and barren branches. “And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees; therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire” (Matthew 3:10). “I am the vine and ye are the branches. ... If a man abide not in me he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them and cast them into the fire, and they are burned”(John 15:5-6). Growth is of the essence of Christianity and its alternative is not only unproductivity, it is to lose the means by which growth is achieved. “Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speaking, as newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word that ye may grow thereby (I Peter 2:1-2). “But grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ” (II Peter 3:18).

The DIRECTION, the DUTY, and the DETAILS of Christian growth are clearly set out in these passages. There is a pragmatic method by which we may determine the progress and extent of growth. Am I daily adding to my store of biblical knowledge thus growing stronger and more mature in the Christian life? Am I more skillful in the word of righteousness, more adept in resisting false teachers and confuting their teaching? Have I been able to raise myself above the petty jealousies of the day, and do I exhibit a more patient and understanding attitude toward those in need of patience and tolerance rather than criticism and rebuke? Do I engage more actively and successfully in soul winning, and have I been able to bring others to the truth more effectively than I did a year ago?

Am I faithful and regular in attending all of the services of the church and do I manifest a more worshipful and reverent demeanor than before? Has my liberality increased to the point that there is no suspicion of covetousness in my heart and life?

These are reliable tests of growth in grace and in the knowledge of the truth to which all of us are enjoined. May we weigh them carefully.

Guy N. Woods

Gospel Advocate, 12/14/78