Why Should I Study the Bible?

This summer I had the opportunity to take one more class for college credit before starting my freshman year.  The class I chose is called Old Testament Literature and Interpretation, and I am currently one week in.  The major assignment for Week 1 was to write a post answering the question: why should I study the Bible?

  First and foremost, God gives us the Scripture for us to know Him.  Without His Word, we can know ABOUT Him, but we cannot KNOW Him or have an intimate relationship with Him.  Without an avenue to know God, we would be a truly desperate people.  God has made Himself accessible through a perfect, holy book, and invites us to sit at His feet and learn from Him.

  In order to come to God, we must believe that He is who He said He is (Hebrews 11:6), and we do this by receiving the Word of God (Romans 10:17).  We gain access to God through the Son (John 14:6), and the Scriptures tell us about this Savior who paved the way for us to know the Father.  The Word of God allows us to know the truth of our sin and His grace, and access freedom (John 8:32).

  The Bible does not just leave us with a wealth of knowledge, but its life and power have the ability to mold us into the image of Christ.  First, the Bible imparts the will of God.  We know His will by seeking the Scriptures.  There is not a single area of life that the principles found in God’s Word do not apply to.  The Scriptures teach us, bringing us along this journey of sanctification.  We become more godly people through the work of the Spirit through the Word. 

  Hand-in-hand with sanctification, the Scripture serves as a seed to help us grow and bear fruit. The idea that we are what we think about is rather true!  When we meditate on the Word of God, our life will naturally overflow from that.  When we are connected to the Source of growth, we flourish and bear fruit (John 15:5).

  An important Scripture passage that encompasses several of these concepts is 2 Timothy 3:16-17: “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.”

  We find in the Psalms that God’s Word is beyond compare to the finest gold or sweetest honey (Psalm 119:10).  We are not meant to simply tolerate God’s Word, but to enjoy it!  The Scripture is a source of joy to the believer.  Christ affirmed this in John 15:11: “These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.”  At Christ’s birth, the angels proclaimed “good tidings of great joy…for unto you is born…Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:10-11).  The message is clear: we have a Savior!  We can rejoice!

  Are you convinced yet?  I’m not done!

  One major theme in Scripture is PRAYER.  This is an important topic because prayer is our lifeline to God.  The tearing of the temple veil after Christ’s death symbolized direct access to the Father.  The Bible instructs us how to pray, and many passages provide examples that we can follow.  Praying the Scriptures is a wonderful thing to do.  If you are interested in doing this, the Psalms are a great place to start.

  Finally, the Word of God is a strong defense.  Jesus is a perfect example of using Scripture to combat temptation, when He quoted Old Testament passages in response to Satan’s temptation in the wilderness (Luke 4).  The Bible is also described as a weapon of warfare in Ephesians (6:17), as part of a suit of armor we don so we “may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil” (6:11).

  There are countless other reasons for studying the Scripture that I could give, but for the sake of your attention and the particulars of this assignment, this will suffice.  I highly encourage you to check out the book A Visual Theology Guide to the Bible: Seeing and Knowing God’s Word, by Tim Challies and Josh Byers, published last year by Zondervan (link to Amazon).  This is the textbook we are working through in the class, and was the basis for much of this post.

  Finally, let me say that although this post was an assignment, these interpretations and opinions were 100% my own, and I sincerely desire each one of you to dig into the Scriptures and get to know the Bible for yourself.  I purposefully gave many references instead of directly quoting them here, so you would go back on your own and see for yourself what the Bible says.  Jeremiah 29:13 tells us that those who seek will surely find, when they seek wholeheartedly.  God is available to you through the Scriptures!

*Note: all quoted Scripture was taken from the King James Version.