Why Study the Bible?

In the 1930s, Lewis Sperry Chafer, president of Dallas Theological Seminary said,

Systematic Theology, the greatest of the sciences, has fallen upon evil days. Between the rejection and ridicule of it by the so-called progressives and the neglect and abridgment of it by the orthodox, it, as a potent influence, is approaching the point of extinction. It is a significant act that of the upwards of two score accredited and notable works on Systematic Theology which have been produced in this and other countries, an exceedingly small portion is now in print and the demand for these works is negligible.

That was in the 30s. Back when Christians were supposedly “more Christian” and less worldly than they are today. What would Chafer think if he saw the Christians of today? The fact is we’re looking at a steep academic decline in Christianity amongst the laypeople. Pastors are pastors, theologians are theologians, and seminarians are seminarians. I’m not addressing them. I’m addressing the average “Joe Sunday School.”

What does your study life look like? I don’t hear the term “daily devotions” too much anymore, but when I was growing up back in the 90s I heard it all the time. We were basically force fed the idea of sitting down for 15 min and reading the Bible everyday. There’s nothing wrong with that, its perfectly healthy. The problem is, we were never encouraged to take it beyond that (I’m referring to the Christian culture I was surrounded by, I’m not talking about my parents). And well, it’s a no wonder people don’t really know Scripture anymore besides what’s on the surface. Most Christians can partially defend themselves by just quoting Scripture, but they seemingly can’t exegete. Quoting Scripture is good, but if you don’t know how Scripture works, how can you use it to its fullest?

Let me make two examples of this, so you don’t get the wrong idea about what I’m saying. First is the idea of a sword in the hands of a novice. Sure, he can cut, he can block, he may even kill, but is that sword being used to its utmost? No. Picking up a sword does not make one a swordsman.

Second, think about how the Jewish Rabbinical system worked in Jesus’ time. At the age of 4, children were entered into seminaries. Until the age of 12, they did nothing but memorize the Torah. They were not taught application, only memorization. If they chose to continue the Rabbinical path, they then spent their life from their 12^th until their 30^th year memorizing the rest of the Old Testament, and also learning how to apply Law.

Now lets take those two perspectives and set them against our own lives. How many of us are stuck in the 4-12 year old range? How many of us are novices with our swords? Sure, we can swing it around, but can we wield it? To the one who picks up a sword with interest, he trains, and trains, and trains. This doesn’t mean picking up a sword and swinging it wildly day in and day out. It means practicing, working with skilled teachers, and just straight-up hard work. There is an interest, a drive, a passion to become the most he can become, to become the most skilled with his weapon. To the Jew, memorizing the Torah wasn’t enough. It was about learning how to use it, bonding oneself with a Rabbi for daily instruction, and reading the Targums and Midrash to familiarize oneself with perspectives on Scripture.

How well do we mirror these practices? One of the big issues in today’s society is people’s perspective on homosexuality. If someone were to confront you on this issue and say that Paul in Romans 1:26-28 was speaking of Greek pederasty or of heterosexuals performing homosexual acts, how would you respond? Are you familiar with five simple Greek words that would disprove the entire position? If not, why?

One opposition to this idea is that of being opposed to doctrine itself. In Rob Bell’s book, Velvet Elvis, he puts forth the idea that doctrine is like a brick wall, keeping people out instead of inviting them in to jump on the trampoline. He maintains the perspective that Christianity is about the experience, not about doctrine and facts. But, can I ask you one thing? What does it take to be considered a “mature” Christian? Can you give one qualification? The fact is, the Bible only gives one. Just one. In Hebrews 5:9-6:2 the author states that his audience is unable to understand the teaching of Christ’s priesthood through Melchizedek. It is solid food, for the mature Christian. He states that his audience is immature, only able to handle milk, but not meat. What is his point here? His point is that only through knowledge comes maturity. You cannot become mature by only drinking milk. He then gives a list of “elementary teachings:” “repentance from dead works and of faith toward God,

of instruction about washings and laying on of hands, and the resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment.”

Now think about your own personal study. Think about what your pastor preaches, and what your Sunday School teacher teaches. How much of your intake is made up of these three things? We should instead be “pressing on to maturity,” by taking in more than just milk. How do I suggest you do that? Here’s some ways I think can help you.

1)    Partner yourself in someway with someone more knowledgeable than you. A person, not a book or a video. Someone who went to Bible college, at least. Develop a mentoring relationship with that person, and through their guidance, develop your understanding of God’s Word.

2)    Pick up a book that’s a tad too hard for you. Its like lifting weights. If you lift the same amount all the time, your muscles will condition themselves only to lift that much, and won’t grow. By reading things that are harder than the usual, you force yourself to understand them, even if the progress is slow. Don’t lean on pastoral books, either. Pastors like John Piper and Tim Keller are certainly great influences, but they didn’t get where they are by only reading men who write like themselves. Aim for scholarly works, not [only] Christian living.

3)    Get yourself a “starter set” of Christian study materials. For starters, I would look at a Bible dictionary, a good Strong’s Concordance (not the mini ones), and a book on doctrine or theology (Wayne Grudem’s Bible Doctrine is a good start). If you want to push a little harder, some must haves are an interlinear Greek- English New Testament, and an unabridged Systematic Theology. If you want to kick it into overdrive, subscribe to a theological journal. These are usually published by seminaries, and are rough sailing (some examples are Bibliotheca Sacra, Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society or JETS. Master’s seminary, Trinity, and Westminster all have their own as well).

4)    Start collecting commentaries. A lot of good ones out there from very easy all the way to completely unreadable :D. If you’re doing daily devotions, add a commentary. If you want to push yourself add two- one that is more focused on grammar and one that is more focused on application. If you’re one of the many people that don’t often read your Bible, then get a commentary to follow what your pastor is teaching. It’s a good way to prepare yourself for each Sunday. (Also, start reading your Bible!)

Those should be some good starter steps for you. My urge for you is to not be wholly satisfied with just reading Scripture. The Bible is a living, breathing document, not just words on a page. It requires thought and striving on the behalf of the reader. Never be fully satisfied with just reading the Bible daily, but have a thirst to grow stronger, smarter, and more mature in the handling of what God has given us.

Peace be with you,

Mike

Ps. Just so you don’t think I’m talking down to you, for those of us that are mature, I’m urging you to not become an old kung-fu monk. I love kung fu movies, and every one seems to have an old man that lives in the mountains with a long white fu-manchu who has reached some kind of kung-fu enlightenment. And what’s he always doing? Training his butt off? Nope, he’s always sitting around drinking or meditating. Or both. The idea here is that he’s gotten to some kind of invincible stage where he doesn’t need to train anymore, so he just meditates all day and then beats up people who come to bother him for training. Lets not be like that. We should never get to the point where we say, “I’ve done my work, let me rest.” While our minds are still intact, we should always be training, lest we become rusty. I have trouble with this. I get to points where I say, "Man, I've been studying a lot lately. What else is there to learn right now? Not much, let's take a break." And, things go downhill from there. So, don’t become an old kung-fu monk. :)