Why Should I Study the Bible

How do we communicate with others?

Is communication important?

If communication is important between us, then wouldn’t communication between us and God be even more important.

How does God communicate with us?

Every relationship is built on Communication. It is impossible to be friends with a rock, because a rock doesn’t have a personality— you cannot communicate with it. You cannot have a relationship with the universe, because the univers is not a who but a what; it’s a thing, not a person. But God is alive. And God is personal; he is a community of persons. Therefore, you can have a genuine relationship with hui,. Like every other relationship, this one is based on communication and the related practices of speaking and listening.

God wants to Speak to you, and God does speak to you. First, God speaks to you and to everyone else through what he has created. The bible tells us that “the heavens declare the glory of god, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork” (Psalm 19:1) All that God has created declares that he exists, that he is the Creator and that he is glorious. God also speaks through our created consciences, which reminds us there are objective standards of right and wrong, of good and evil. The second chapter of Romans speaks of unbelievers who “show that the work of the law is written on the hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them.” (Romans 2:15-16)

While God speaks broadly to all humanity through his creation and through our consciences, he also speaks uniquely and personally, and he does this through the Bible. In the Bible, God speaks to us of his purposes and intentions and reveals to us things we cannot learn by looking at the world or listening to our consciences. Where creation and conscience provide general knowledge of God’s existence and God’s law, the Bible provides clear and specific communication about his nature and his plan.

A healthy Christian loves to hear from God through the Bible. He is constantly taking in God’s Word— reading it alone, reading it with friends, reading it with family, reading it as it is woven into good books, hearing it read aloud in worship services, pondering it as he remembers it--- consuming it in anyway he can.

Lets look to the nature of the bible and see why we need to dedicate ourselves to it. WE will look at what the Bible is and then reflect on what it does.

To Know God

The Ultimate Goal of studying the Bible is to KNOW the God of the Bible

While we can know somehting of Gods character by observing his creation (Romans 1:20), we cannot experience intimate realitnship with God apart from regular reading of the Scriptures.

in his early years, the prophet Samuel heard the voice of God but did not recognize the divine source of that voice. Why? 1 Samuel 3:7. Samuel could not know God because he had not yet recieved his Word

Unlike Samuel we have the privilege to have God’s complete Word available to us. And because we have God’s Word we can know God in an intimate relationship. Even beyond the benefits of wisdom and strength that we gain from the Bible, our main pursuit ought to be the knowledge of God, as God speaks through Jeremiah 9:23-24.

To Know God’s Will

We find that God Desires for us to be SANCTIFIED

Just as we cannot know the person of God apart from his Word, we also cannot know the will of God apart from his Word. While all people have some understanding of how God wants us to live (Romans 1:14-16) because of our sin, we could not know the full will of God had he not revealed it in Scripture.

In the Scriptures, we discover how God wants us to RELATE to HIM: In Loving Worship and Reverence (Exodus 20:2-7, Matthew 22:37). We also Discover How God wants us to RELATE to One Another: In Mutual Love that Reflects His Character (Leviticus 19:12, Matthew 22:39) We find that God desires for us to be sanctified, to flee from sexual immorality (1Thessalonians 4:3), to be thankful for in all circumstances (1 Thessalonians 5:18), to serve others in humility (Ephesians 6:6) and to suffer for his name (1 Peter 2:15)

To Become Godly

AS we come to understand the character and will of God, we will be TRANSFORMED by the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:1-2) On our own, left in our sinful state, we could not know how to please God (Romans 8:8). But once we know form Gods Word how we may please him and look like Him, we can begin to look more and more like God and less and less like the world.

Paul told Timothy that all Scripture is useful for “Training in Righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16) This means that every single bit of Scripture for Genesis to Revelation is help for making us more like God. As we behold God’s glory revealed in his Word, we begin to reflect that glory a the Spirit transforms us ( 2 Corinthians 3:18)

To Bear Fruit

Paul also told Timothy that all Scripture is useful for equipping us for every good work ( 2 Timothy 3:17 ) Studying the Word makes us fruitful children who abound in good works and guide others to know him.

This is also the connection that David makes at the begining of the book of Psalms (Psalm 1:2-3) Those who meditate on the Word bear fruit of the Word. It’s no suprise , then, that Jesus says Matthew 13:23

Knowing the Bible is a prerequisite for fruit bearing. Without the seed of the Word stored in our hearts, we cannot bear fruit for God.

To Defend Yourself

Studying the Word not only equips us positively to grow in Godliness and bear fruit for God, but also equips us to fend iff the ATTACK of Satan, the Spiritual Enemy of God and God’s People. AT the end of his list of Spiritual armor in Ephesians 6:17, Paul writes… The Word of God functions like a sharp sword that cuts through the binding lies of the enemy

This is how Jesus employed the Bible Against Satan in the Wilderness (Matthew 4:1-11) When the enemy tempted him to redirect worship away from God, Jesus did not try to fight back with logic or eloquence. Instead, he went immediately to the most potent counterattack and quoted Deuteronomy 6:13

To Fuel Prayers

One of the greatest difficulties we have with prayer is that as soon as we begin, we dont know what to pray for. Adter a short laundry list of basic requests, we run out of things to say. The truth is that God has given us an entire library containing a wealth of praises, thanksgivings, and requests to fill our prayers. The Bible is meant to be the foundation and source of confidence for our Prayers ( 1 John 5:14-15)

In this way, the Word of God works like fuel for our Prayers. Just as steady doses of fuel will increase the intensity and duration of fire, a consistent study of the Word will increase passion and endurance in our Prayer life.

To Fuel Your Joy

While Bible Study Requires diligence and effort, the study of God’s Word is not meant to be merely endured but thoroughly enjoyed. By the Power of the Spirit, we can experience God’s Word fro what it really is (Psalm 119:162) So the study of God’s Word is not futile busy work; it a joyful treasure hunt for God’s Purpose

Closer

There are countless benefits found in the Bible. And yet these benefits only come to us as we diligently apply our minds and hearts to the study of God’s Word. God does not transfer the benefits of knowing the Bible automatically to us when we are saved. Instead, these benefits become ours as we read, observe, interpret and apply the Bible.