At first glance it would seem totally unnecessary to discuss reasons for studying God's Word. One might assume that, upon conversion, the most natural thing for a new believer to do would be to begin a lifelong study of that book which originally brought him to Christ. But personal observation, as well as church history, proves the facts to be quite the opposite. The truth is most Christians know very little about the Bible! Here then are some sound reasons for studying the Scriptures.
First, the Bible should be studied because of its Author. Often God is thought of as a Creator, a Redeemer, a Shepherd, a Judge, etc. This is correct thinking, of course, for he does indeed function in all these roles. But there is one great accomplishment of God, which is almost always left off the divine attribute lists compiled by men. This wonderful but forgotten role is that of Author! God has written a book, and that profound and priceless book is the Bible. As testified to by any human author, the nicest thing one can say to an author is, "Oh, yes, I have read your book."
It is a tragic but true fact that many of the Christians who will someday (along with all believers) stand before the judgement seat of Christ will be sadly forced to admit that, while they were saved by heeding the salvation message in God's book, they nevertheless failed to take the time to read it. Therefore, if for no other reason, the Bible should be carefully read to allow the believer to proclaim to Christ on that day: "Lord, there were many things I did not do on earth that I should have done, as well as other things I did do that I should not have, but one thing I did--I read Your book!"
Second, the Bible should be studied because of the often-repeated command to read it:
"This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success" (Jos 1:9).
"Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth" (2 Tim 2:15).
"But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. Especially to be noted is this last verse. Jesus said every word" (Matt 4:4).
Third, the Bible should be studied because the Bible is God's chosen way to accomplish His divine will. Sinners are saved through the message of the Bible. "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? As it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things! But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report? So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" (Rom 10:13-17).
On the Day of Pentecost Peter preached the gospel. "But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words" (Acts 2:14). There was good success. "Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do" (Acts 2:37)? Peter told them what to do and 3,000 were added to the church.
Saints are sanctified through the message of the Bible. "Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth" (John 17:17). "Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word. With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments. Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee" (Ps 119:9-11). "If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you" (John 15:7).
Fourth, the Bible should be studied because the Enemy, the Devil has read it. During the account in Matthew 4, Christ is tempted three times by the devil. On each occasion the Saviour answered Satan with the phrase, "It is written" and then proceeded to quote from the Word of God as found in the book of Deuteronomy. But what is almost always overlooked is the fact that the phrase "it is written" is repeated four times in Matthew 4, and that the fourth time it is the devil using it to quote Scripture to Christ! Note the background at this point. "Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, and saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone" (Matt 4:5-6).
Here Satan quotes from Psalm 91:11-12. It, of course, is taken completely out of context, but how did Satan know about it in the first place? The answer is painfully obvious. One day when the devil had nothing better to do, he must have sat down and studied Psalm 91. Many Christians today have probably never even read this Psalm, but the devil apparently has it memorized! Thus, we need to read God's Word lest Satan get an advantage upon us.
Fifth, the Bible should be studied because of the example of Paul. Paul was arguably the greatest Christian that ever lived. His spiritual accomplishments are nothing short of staggering. Here was a man who made the first three missionary journeys, who founded and pastored many Bible-believing local churches, who wrote more than half of the New Testament, who on five occasions saw the resurrected Christ, and who was at least once was actually caught up into the third heaven itself! But then he was arrested, condemned to death, and placed in prison. Note carefully his final words to Timothy just prior to his execution. "For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing. The cloak that I left at Troas with Carpus, when thou comest, bring with thee, and the books, but especially the parchments" (2 Tim 4:6-8, 13).
What were these parchments? They were his copies of the Old Testament scrolls. The point to be made here is that in spite of all his marvellous achievements, the old apostle still felt he could profit from studying the Word of God on the eve of his death.
Sixth, the Bible should be studied because the Bible alone provides answers to life's three great questions. These questions have been pondered by every generation:
Where did I come from? The Bible says that we came from the hand of God. "And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them" (Gen 1:26-27). "Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people. and the sheep of his pasture" (Ps 100:3).
Why am I here? The Bible says we are here to fear God and keep His commandments. "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man" (Eccl 12:13). "Thou are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created" (Rev 4:11).
Where am I going? I am going to heaven. "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God" (John 3:16-18).
Moreover, I am going through the Valley. "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever" (Ps 23:1, 6).
Nevertheless, I might be going to hell. "And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire" (Rev 20:15).
Seventh, the Bible should be studied because we'll never have the opportunity to apply many of its verses after we leave this earth. There will be no opportunity to apply 1 Corinthians 10:13 in heaven. "There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it." Reason: In heaven there will be no temptation.
There will be no opportunity to apply 1 John 1:9 in heaven. "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." Reason: In heaven there will be no sin.
There will be no opportunity to apply Philippians 4:19 in heaven. "But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus." Reason: In heaven there will be no need.
There will be no opportunity to apply John 14:1-3 in heaven. "Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also." Reason: In heaven there will be no sorrow.
There will be no opportunity to apply Psalm 23:4 in heaven. "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me." Reason: In heaven there will be no death.
Eighth, the Bible should be studied because the only ultimate proof for our faith is the Bible. To introduce the eighth and final reason for studying God's Word, the following imaginary situation is proposed. Often the unbeliever hurls the following accusation at the believer: "Oh, you Christians-you're all alike! You're so dogmatic. You think you alone are right and everybody else is dead wrong. How can you possibly be so sure what you believe is true?"
This question, though often asked in a scoffing manner, is nevertheless a fair one. How does the child of God know his faith is the only correct one? Let us suppose that you are invited to an important social function in your hometown. Attending this gathering are people from all over the world. As the introductions are being made, it slowly dawns upon you that the only professing Christian there is you. You are subsequently introduced to a Buddhist, a Confucianist, a Shintoist, a Moslem, and others--all belonging to various non-Christian religions.
After a pleasant dinner, the conversation gradually turns to matters of religion. Your hostess, realizing this subject to be of general interest suddenly announces: "I have a wonderful idea! Since everyone here seems to have a great interest in religion, may I suggest that we share with one another by doing the following: Each person will be allowed to speak uninterrupted for ten minutes on the subject, 'Why I feel my faith is the right one.' "
The group quickly agrees with this unique and provocative idea. Then with no warning she suddenly turns to you and exclaims, "You go first!" All talk immediately ceases. Every eye is fixed on you. Every ear is turned to pick up your first words. What would you say? How would you start? Let us quickly list a few arguments, which you should not use.
You should not say, "I know I'm right because I feel I'm right! Christ lives in my heart!" This, of course, is a wonderful truth experienced by all believers, but it would not convince the Buddhist, who would doubtless feels that he was right too.
You should not say, "I know I'm right because Christianity has more followers in this world than any other religion." This is simply not true today. Actually, the sad truth is that evangelical Bible-believing Christianity is a distinct minority in the world today. The Moslem would doubtless quickly point this out to you.
You should not say. "I know I'm right because Christianity is the oldest of all religions." Ultimately, of course, this is true. But the Confucianist might contend that Confucius presented his teachings centuries before the Bethlehem scene. Of course, he would not understand the eternal existence of our Lord Jesus Christ.
These then are arguments you should not use. What should you say? In reality you would have at your disposal only one single argument. But that argument, that weapon used in the right way, would be more than enough to overwhelmingly convince any honest and sincere listener at that social gathering. That wonderful weapon, that unanswerable argument, is one's own personal copy of the Bible! What could you say? Well, you could hold up your Bible and confidently proclaim the following: "Look at this! I know I'm right because the Author of my faith has given me a Book which is completely unlike any of the books of your faiths."
You could then continue (until your time ran out) by pointing out the unity, the indestructibility, and the universal influence of the Bible. You could discuss its historical, scientific, and prophetical accuracy. Finally, you might relate exciting examples of perhaps the greatest single proof of the supernatural nature of the Bible, that is, its marvellous life-transforming power!
Of course, it must be pointed out that neither the Word of God nor the God of the Word can be scientifically analysed in a laboratory test tube. The divine Creator still desires and demands faith on the part of his Creation. (Heb 11:1-6.)
But he has presented us with a heavenly textbook to aid us in this needed faith. In fact, the Gospel of John was specifically written "...that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name" (John 20:31).
Why study the Bible? Because of its Author. Because of the often-repeated command to read it. Because the Bible is God's chosen way to accomplish his divine will. Because our enemy the devil has read it. Because of the example of Paul. Because the Bible alone provides answers to life's three great questions. Because we'll never have the opportunity to apply many of its verses after we leave this earth. Because the only ultimate proof for our faith is the Bible. That's why.
