10 Reasons to Study the Bible

1. The Bible yields sweet fruits to him that reads. Its depths are unfathomable, and its riches are unlimited (Romans 11:33).

2. A knowledge of Gospel truth is necessary before we can be made free from sin (John 8:32).

3. We cannot make clear to unsaved people what is not clear to ourselves. “The disciple is not above his teacher.” The blind must not lead the blind (Luke 6:39; Romans 2:19; II Peter 1:9).

4. The possession of a working knowledge of the Bible arms one for the warfare of life. “And take unto ourselves the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Ephesians 6:17).

5. A working knowledge of the Bible “furnishes the man of God to every good work.” There is a Bible message to cover every condition and problem of every human being. It can be used in every emergency from cradle to the grave (II Timothy 3:13-17).

6. The knowledge of the Bible enables one to be comforted and offers help to discouraged and distressed brethren. “Comfort one another with these words” (I Thessalonians 4:18).

7. Only by a knowledge of the Word of God can you feed your soul. “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by everyword that proceedeth out of the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4).

8. A lack of Bible knowledge will make you a workman that needeth to be ashamed, because you do not know how to handle aright the word of truth (II Timothy 2:15).

9. A knowledge of the Bible is the only safeguard against fatal error. “...Do ye not therefore err, because ye know not the scriptures, neither the power of God?” (Mark 12:24).

10. We cannot be the parents we ought to be without nurturing our children in the chastening and admonition of the Lord (Ephesians 6:4).

Author Unknown

“Let Us Be Noble”

Thoughts on Bible Study

The Hebrews writer stated: without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him (Hebrews 11:6). Knowledge of God can come in one of two ways: the natural revelation, which is the creation and the special revelation, which is the Bible. Regarding the natural revelation the Psalmist said, “The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament sheweth his handiwork” (Psalms 19:1). Also, Paul stated: the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen,  being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse (Romans 1:20). From the foregoing we learn that it is possible to know some things about God, however this knowledge is insufficient for salvation. For this cause God has given us the special revelation—the Bible. The faith spoken of by Paul comes from this source: “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17). “The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul: The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple” (Psalms 19:7). Since the Bible is the source of saving faith, it is the most important book man has ever been privileged to read. This article is designed to encourage devoted Bible study so Bible devotion can be perfected. There are many difficult problems with which we must deal with in this life. When seeking answers to these problems, the world often turns to manmade philosophies and self-help books with the results often leading to more complicated problems. The only answer to a better life today and eternal life in the future is by living a life of faith as the Bible directs. With this in mind let us prayerfully consider the following. The Bible is the only all-sufficient guide to all of our spiritual needs. We are told that God “hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue” (II Peter 1:3). There are many things that are attributed to the Word of God. Notice the following:

  1. The Word will be our standard in the Day of Judgment, it will be that by which we shall be judged (John 12:48).
  2. The Word has the power to cleanse us (John 15:3).
  3. The Word is an agent in sanctification (John 17:17).
  4. By abiding in the Word we become true disciples (John 8:31).
  5. The use of the Word brings knowledge which in turn brings freedom from sin (John 8:32).
  6. The Word produces faith (Romans 10:17).
  7. The Word exerts an influence in the lives of people which can increase and grow in its effect (Acts 6:7; 12:24).
  8. Through the Word Christians are able to comfort sorrowing loved ones (I Thessalonians 4:18).
  9. The Word is able to pierce the inner- most self of man (Hebrews 4:12).
  10. By having the Word living and abiding in us, our prayers will be more effective (John 15:7).
  11. The directing of one’s life should be left to the power of the Word (Matthew 4:4).
  12. It is through the Word that we are begotten again unto salvation (I Peter 1:23; James 1:18).
  13. The Word is God’s instrument of reconciliation (II Corinthians 5:19).
  14. The Word is able to save sinners (James 1:21; Acts 11:14).
  15. The Word, which is the Gospel, is also said to save (Romans 1:16; I Corinthians 15:2).
  16. Finally, the Word is able to produce growth to maturity in Christ (I Peter 2:2).

Bruce Stulting

 

What Happens When I Read My Bible?

  1. The word works effectually in me (I Thessalonians 2:18)
  2. The word teaches, reproves, corrects me (II Timothy 3:16)
  3. The word cleanses me (Ephesians 5:26)
  4. The word strengthens me (I John 2:14; Acts 20:32)
  5. The word gives me faith (Romans 10:17)
  6. The word gives me joy (Jeremiah 15:16)
  7. The word gives me heavenly life (John 6:63)

Author Unknown

The All Powerful Gospel

God’s word was given to man by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit (II Timothy 3:16). First Corinthians 2:10-13 tells us how. Paul says that the inspired word furnishes man completely unto every good work (II Timothy 3:17), while Peter informs us that God’s divine power hath granted unto us all things which pertain unto life and godliness (II Peter 1:3). This inspired word is all powerful (Hebrews 4:12) and when obeyed, will save man from his sins (Romans 1:16; James 1:21; I Peter 1:22-23). To obtain salvation, man must be obedient to the word (Hebrews 5:8-9). When sinful man rejects the Gospel, the power of God unto salvation (Romans 1:16), there is nothing else to offer. 

On one occasion a rich (Mark 10:22), young (Matthew 19:20), ruler (Luke 18:18) came to Jesus asking him the greatest question man can ask, “Good teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life” (Mark 10:17)? Because the young man lived under the law of Moses the Master referred him to the teaching of Moses (Mark 10:19). The ruler replied, “Teacher, all these things have I observed from my youth” (Mark 10:20). Jesus did not challenge or deny the statement, but loving him (Mark 10:21) told him, “One thing thou lackest: go sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me” (Mark 10:21). Upon receiving the answer to his question (Mark 10:17) the rich young ruler’s “countenance fell...and he went away sorrowful: for he was one that had great possessions” (Mark 10:22).  

The great lesson from this incident (in the life of our Lord) is that when the question had been asked, the answer given and rejected, Jesus stood and watched the young man walk away lost. Jesus did not call him back and change his instructions so the terms would be acceptable. After the terms of divine inspiration had been given, the choice was the ruler’s: obey and be saved, reject and be lost.  

The word given by inspiration cannot be changed by man or for man (I Corinthians 4:6; II John 9; Revelation 22:18-19). Whether it concerns the way of salvation, discipline, marriage, divorce and remarriage, instrumental music in worship, purity of life, etc. God’s word will be THE standard of judgment (John 12:48-49).  

When men reject the word of God there is nothing else to offer. To change God’s word or make man’s word authority in religion is to lead man into perdition (Jeremiah 10:23; Proverbs 14:12; Matthew 15:7-9).  

It is the word of God only, and only the word of God that can lead man unto salvation.

Thomas F. Eaves, Sr.

 

“That Ye May Know”

These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God (I John 5:13). 

Confidence (John 5:14) and assurance (I John 3:19) are products of the above verse. They are the birthright of the faithful (Hebrews 12:14-16). Radiating from confidence and assurance is hope. It means: “favorable and confident expectation. It has to do with the unseen future, Romans 8:24,25. Hope (a) the happy anticipation of good (the most frequent significance) e.g., Titus 1:2; I Peter. 1:21; (b) the ground upon which hope is based, Acts 16:19; Colossians 1:27, ‘Christ in you the hope of glory;’ (c) the object upon which the hope is fixed, e.g., I Timothy 1:1” (W. E. Vine, An Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, p. 232). 

We may conclude that if one cannot know his salvation, it is then impossible to have confidence, assurance, and thereby hope. Without these we are no better off than the alien sinner (Ephesians 2:12). 

How sad when men are so self-willed, contentious and hard-hearted that they will deny the simple and plain teaching of 1 John 5:13. Assuredly it is pride and willful ignorance gone to seed! But, as if denying these spiritual blessings were not enough, some must publicly teach contrary to I John 5:13. Lamentably, they must be marked for the false teachers they are (II Thessalonians 3:14-16). 

We understand better why some are always troubled, perplexed, and distraught. They are sure of nothing and trust not the promises of Christ. Such is nothing less than refusing to take Christ at His Word. It is disbelief! 

Assuredly, the “eternal life” of I John 5:13 for the earthly pilgrim is in promise. It is yet to be and it is conditional (Revelation 2:10), but we have no more evidence what will be than we do of that which has been. It all rests on the truthfulness of Christ’s Word. We know our alien sins are forgiven by the same evidence that gives us knowledge pertaining to our eternal inheritance (Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38; I Peter 3:21; I John 1:7; 2:3- 5, 29; 3:19-21; 5:11-14; II Timothy 1:12; I Corinthians 15:58). How then is it possible to know the one and not the other? We might as well declare that one cannot know he is lost as to teach that one cannot know he is saved! The evidence for knowing either one comes from the same divine standard—the Bible (II Timothy 3:16-17; II Peter 1:3-11). To all the doubters, we say with James and Peter: “Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the ngrafted word, which is able to save your souls.… Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator” (James 1:21; I Peter 4:19). 

With these sentiments in mind, we can, with confidence, sing: “I know that my Redeemer lives, and ever prays for me; I know eternal life He gives, From sin and sorrow free. I know that unto sinful men His saving grace is nigh; I know that he will come again to take me home on high.” 

Any Christian(?) singing the preceding song and at the same time declaring that we cannot know we are saved, is not aware of his inconsistency, is hypocritical, or mentally unstable. In any case, the Lord’s Word has little or no effect on his thinking. “A man that is an heretick after the first and second admonition reject; Knowing that he that is such is subverted, and sinneth, being condemned of himself” (Titus 3:10-11).

David P. Brown

Islam’s View of the Bible

The regard and view of the Bible from the standpoint of Islam needs to be understood on several fronts. First, it does not matter how men view the Scriptures, they are the inspired Word of God (II Timothy 3:16-17; I Peter 1:20-21). The Qur’an was written by a man who claimed to be a prophet, just as other religious organizations were born of men who claimed to have received some additional insight from God (Mormons, Jehovah Witnesses, et al.). The generic view/claim of the men who attempt to perpetrate these frauds is that something in the Bible needs to be corrected or altered for their newly emergent system to come into prominence. Of course, God has instructed them of this necessity (as this validates their mission). Their obedience to Scripture is only insofar as it serves their purpose and agrees with what they are proposing. 

Islam is no different in this respect, only so from the assertion that the Bible has many corrupted passages (which coincidentally are those that contradict the teaching or contrived “prophecy” of Muhammad), which in many instances is more evidence that the Qur’an is filled with self-contradictions. This is no clearer than in the efforts of Muslims to deny Biblical credibility while at the same time the Qur’an says that the books of Moses, Psalms, and the Gospels were all revelations from God. 

If Muhammad (a.d. 570-632), while alive, claimed to have received the revelation (the Qur’an) from Allah (which he did claim), it would logically force us to conclude that the Holy Scriptures (already in existence) could not have been subject to corruption at that time. Ask a Muslim when the Bible (which the Qur’an claim is from Allah) became corrupt if, since the Qur’an (which they also claim is from Allah) states that Allah’s words cannot be changed? 

The Word of the Lord is to last forever, as Jesus stated: “the scripture cannot be broken” (John 10:35). The Greek word, luo, for broken here means “to loose, dissolve, sever, break (or) demolish.” This same Greek word is translated broken in Acts 27:41 and used of the breaking up of the ship in which Paul was a passenger. A ship may be broken up (destroyed, dissolved, dissipated) but not the Word of God. 

The works of the devil can be destroyed but not the Scriptures: “To this end was the Son of God manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil” (I John 3:8b—luo is translated “destroy” in this passage).

Johnny Oxendine   

Are We to Judge?

Every false teacher and every one whose behavior is sinful tries to hide behind Matthew 7:1-4, actually behind a partial quotation and a misapplication of these verses. When these verses are cited by these workers of evil, usually all that is stated is: “Judge not.” In short, they say that any sort of criticism is contrary to God’s Word because Christ here condemned all judging. The only thing wrong with this is that it is totally self-contradictory and totally false.

First, as with many false doctrines it is self-contradictory. Here stand the false teachers and the impenitent sinners stating that all criticism is sinful, and yet they seem not to realize that they are self- condemned by the very principle that they advocate. They criticize and condemn those who would criticize or condemn them. They violate the very principle that they advocate. This is not unusual. Those who violate God’s Word try desperately to avoid the condemnation of that Word by seeing a different application and interpretation of that Word when it comes to themselves. Paraphrasing Peter in II Peter 3:16, these false teachers and sinful “wrest” this Scripture and others to their own destruction.

Second, neither the text before us, its context, or any other Scripture teaches what they want. The Lord does not condemn all judging either here or elsewhere in Scripture. It should be obvious from the text itself that Jesus here has a special kind of judgment under consideration which He condemns. Jesus describes this judgment as coming from someone who is in a worse condition than the one he condemns. Using the terminology found in the New King James Version, the one condemned has a “speck” in his eye while the one who is doing the condemning has a “plank” in his own eye. The Lord condemns the person who is unconcerned about his own sin while being more than eager to point out and condemn the sin in others. The Lord here condemns the judging done by the hypocrite and the double standard of hypocrisy. The self-righteous hypocrite is wrong because he magnifies the sin of others while ignoring the glaring sins of his own life.

Notice the verse which follows our text: “Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye” (Matthew 7:5). In this statement, Jesus makes it clear that He is not condemning all judging for in this verse He tells us what we must do regarding the sin we observe in the lives of those around us. Jesus says that we must first deal with our own sin, and then we will be able to see clearly enough to help others rid themselves of sin. The lesson before us is: sin must be dealt with in our own lives before we can help others deal with their sins. Do not ignore our own sins and then concentrate on the sin of others. The same standard, God’s Word, applies to all.

In Romans 2:1, Paul calls attention to this same sin among the Jews which Jesus identified and condemned in Matthew 7. “Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things.”

Further, Paul admonishes the “spiritual” who see a brother overtaken and overcome in sin to look to themselves when trying to bring the sinner back to faithfulness (Galatians 6:1). Sin in the lives of others should not be ignored. The presence of sin unrepented of brings death (Romans 5:12). Recognizing sin and its consequence is necessary to obey the instructions of Galatians 6:1. In other words, judging is required to obey this passage. Yet again, those that obey this command are cautioned not to overlook their own sin and/or ignore it, “considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.”

Looking again at Matthew 7, notice that Jesus in this very context rather than condemning all judgment required judgment of those who would obey Him. For example, He commands, “Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you” (7:6). Jesus is not talking here about literal dogs and swine. The pearls to which He refers are not literal. He is teaching us that we need to discern (i.e., distinguish, or judge, between those who will recognize the worth of the Word of God and those who will reject it, abuse it, and try to destroy it). To obey this command we must be able to judge others so we can tell who are the “dogs” and “swine.”

Jesus also warns us about false prophets in this same chapter of Matthew. “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves” (7:15). We must, therefore, be able to discern who these false teachers are. Jesus tells us how to make this judgment when He said, “Ye shall know them by their fruits” (7:16). In this passage judgment is far from condemned; it is absolutely necessary!

As we expand our view of God’s Word to include the remote context of Matthew 7:1-4, we observe that judging is again required. Those who would have us believe that Jesus condemned all judgment would have Jesus is contradicting Himself. In John 7:24 Jesus states, “Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.” Note that in the latter part of this statement Jesus said, “judge righteous judgment.” Righteous judgment is commanded.

It is, therefore, not optional. If we obey Christ, we will judge righteous judgment. The judgment Jesus requires of us is not according to outward appearance; things are not always how they appear. The judgment Jesus requires is righteous; that is, according to God’s Holy Word, the Divine Standard of right and wrong. “All thy commandments are righteousness” (Psa. 119:172).

Jesus commended the Ephesian church for their ability to make judgments regarding who were and who were not apostles. He said of them, “thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars” (Revelation 2:2). Jesus would not have commended them for what He previously had condemned. When Peter sinned, Paul rebuked him to his face (Galatians 2:11-14). This behavior on the part of Paul was the right thing for him to do. Nevertheless for this to be done necessitated judgment, the ability to know that what Peter had done was wrong. Peter’s behavior was sinful, and Paul rightly condemned it. In his discussion with the Corinthian church regarding the fornicator in their midst, Paul poses the question: “Do not ye judge them that are within?” (I Corinthians 5:21). According to the way this question is stated the correct answer is: “Yes, we are to judge those that are within the church.” The inspired solution for the sin in the congregation at Corinth required judging. Judgment was necessary to discern the sin and the sinner so they could be dealt with appropriately.

The truth is that Jesus does not condemn all judging in Matthew 7, or elsewhere. What is condemned is hypocritical, self-righteous judging that overlooks sin in one’s own life and concentrates on the sin of others. When the Word of God is obeyed and taught, sin will be reproved and rebuked and the way of righteousness will be commended. “Preach he word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine” (II Timothy 4:2). Righteous judgment is necessary to recognize and expose sin and to recognize and obey the Truth. Try as some might to protect their sinful practices and doctrines by twisting the meaning of God’s Word, one day we will all stand before God in judgment. All will be held accountable for their behavior according to the standard of God’s Word (John 12:48). It behooves us all to begin now making the right application of that Word to our lives.

When sin occurs in our lives we need to deal with it in the way that God tells us in His Word. When others care enough about us that they condemn the sin that exists in our lives, we should be grateful and apply the remedy demanded by God’s Word so we might be saved. Rather than looking for a way to avoid what God has said, we need to be willing to turn from our sin and obey God to have the forgiveness that He offers. Condemning those who would help us identify sin in our lives so we might remove it is foolish indeed. “Prove all things; hold fast that which is good” (I Thessalonians 5:21).

However, “He that justifieth the wicked, and he that condemneth the just, Even they both are abomination to the Lord” (Proverbs 17:15). Someone has well written, “Refusing to warn a person about his sin is just as unloving as refusing to warn him about a serious disease he may have. A person who does not warn a friend about his sin cannot claim love as his motive.”

When one runs to Matthew 7:1-5 to protect the false teacher and impenitent sinner in the body of Christ, he either does not understand the passage or he deliberately perverts it.”

Lester Kamp