Why Study the Bible? (Bible Study Part 1)
Why should we study the Bible? We have churches where the Bible is taught and there are plenty of online courses and books we can use to help us learn more about it. What more could we ask for? Well, even though all of these things are good and necessary, they should not replace our personal study of God’s Word. Here are a few reasons why this is so.
1. God commands us to study His Word.
II Timothy 2:15 says, “Study to shew thyself approved unto God…” It’s not telling us to listen to someone else’s study. Although, in other places the Bible does say that we are listen to others teach it. But, in this particular verse Paul is instructing us as individuals to learn what God has to say.
2. Bible study arms us with the Sword of truth.
If we never take the time to search the Scriptures than we won’t be equipped to fight Satan’s lies and deception. He comes at us with lies wrapped in just enough truth for us to swallow it. He is so cunning and sly. If the only diet of God’s Word that we receive comes from church than our sword will be ill equipped to fight off the devil’s tactics.
Notice that the Bible is the Sword. A sword is not a defensive weapon. It is an offensive one. It is meant to be used in attack against the enemy. The more that our mind is infused with the truths of the Bible, the more we will be able to discern and bring to light Satan’s lies.
3. Bible study prevents man worship.
There is a danger in completely depending on someone else to teach us the truths of God’s Word. I said this earlier, but I want to reiterate that this doesn’t mean that we don’t go to church and listen to our pastor teach us the Bible. That is very important. But, if we solely depend on him to feed us, than we will start looking to him and what he says instead of what the Bible says. All men are human. God never intended for us to become mindless Christians who cannot discern the Scriptures apart from the pastor’s teaching. This can then lead to the worship of the teacher. No one ever intends to do this, but again, Satan is so sly. We must first of all look completely to our Teacher, the Lord Jesus Christ, and then to the other teachers in our lives.
4. Last, but certainly not least, Bible study is our opportunity to get to know Jesus intimately.
Psalm 25:14 says, “The secret of the LORD is with them that fear him; and he will shew them his covenant.” Just think about that for a minute. Jesus has so many nuggets of truth that He wants to share with us. How can He do this if we are not spending time digging into His Word?
It takes a lot of time for a miner to find the gold or other mineral he is searching for. But, when he has found what he’s looking for, he would say it was worth all the effort! It also takes time to find the treasures in God’s Word. But, when you sit at the feet of Jesus and He teaches you something that you never knew before…well, there’s nothing like it!! It will not only make you want to come back for more, but it will also draw you closer to Him. He is definitely the treasure in the Bible that we all need.
In my next entry I will talk about the different ways that I have learned to study the Bible. If you have any ideas, please share them with me. I am by no means an expert, but I want to learn as much as I can. I look forward to hearing from you!
