With worship at the center, we can now move to the next most important devotion – devotion to the word. In Acts 2:42 we see that the early church was devoted to “The Apostle’s teaching”. What is meant by that?
The Apostle’s teaching consisted of the preaching of the Old Testament in light of Jesus (See Peter’s sermon in Acts chapter 1), a retelling of the life and teachings of Jesus, and most importantly the explaining of Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection – the Gospel. What does this mean for Christians 2000 years later?
It means that we are to devote ourselves to the scripture. The New Testament is made up of the Apostle’s teaching and we must return to this on a regular basis in order to grow as a follower of Jesus.
Reflection Question: How were you first introduced to the Bible and how Christians are to relate to the scripture in their daily lives?
When working with a new Christian, I always use the Navigator hand as a helpful illustration for how Christians should relate with the scripture on a regular basis.
Hear: Growing Christians are people who regularly hear the word of God taught and discussed. This usually happens while listening to sermons and participating in Bible study discussions. Encourage a new disciple to attend Sunday mornings and to be a part of a weekly small group.
The Bible is designed to be experienced in community. Only encountering the Bible through our myopic lens leads to a mishandling of the word. Every cult leader became so in large part because they interpreted the Bible in isolation.
Additional ways to “hear” the Bible taught or discussed include reading what others have said in commentaries and other books. These are especially helpful in allowing us to hear the Bible in the context of how the Bible has been interpreted through the ages.
Read: This may seem obvious but often times people approach the Bible with such a focus that they only read a few verses at a time and end up taking the verses out of the context in which it was intended. We can protect ourselves from this by reading larger blocks of the scripture – entire books of the Bible, the Bible in a year, etc.
The end goal is that every time we look at a verse of scripture, we are interpreting that verse in the context of a chapter, a book, a testament, and ultimately the entire Bible. John Calvin wrote that we should “let scripture interpret scripture”. A view of the Bible at 30,000 feet will go a long way to keeping us from reshaping the Bible in our own image.
Study: While all of us have intentionally focused our mind on a particular body of knowledge for the purpose of learning it, many Christians fail to apply those same techniques to the Bible. Hearing and Reading are one thing, but Studying seems reserved for the professional.
It is essential that we help to turn this around in our churches. Biblical illiteracy in our current culture is downright dangerous for a Christian. A lifetime of scripture study will go a long way to knowing Christ to the fullest and living that knowledge out among those God has placed in our life. So how do you go about studying the Bible?
Reflection Question: What techniques do you currently use to study the Bible?
Much like you would go about studying anything else. Outlining, reading and rereading, diagramming, drawing images, reading aloud. Every learner is different so every Christian needs to figure out what study methods work best for them. Here is one of my favorites.
I encourage people to read and reread a portion of scripture. For example, pick a book in the Bible that you want to study. Read the whole book a few times then read the first chapter every day for a week, writing down your questions and insights. Do the same for the second chapter in the second week of study, perhaps reading the entire book a few times along the way.
This is very helpful in getting a 30,000 foot view of the book that will then facilitate proper interpretation of individual verses. You’ll be really surprised at the rich insights that you’ll get in these individual verses because you have a better grasp of the author’s intent and overall flow of the book.
Whether you use this method of study or another, you’ll naturally move to the next finger on the hand – memorize.
Memorize: All this hearing, reading and studying leads to a large storehouse of scriptural truth that is available for the Holy Spirit to bring to mind as we go through our lives. In Ephesians 6 the word of God is described as the “sword of the Spirit”.
It’s interesting to me that the word is not the sword of the Christian but of the Spirit. This means that for the Spirit to do it’s’ work both in us and in those around us we must have the word in us and be proclaiming it to others. This only happens if we have it (as the psalmist says) “hidden” in our heart (Psalm 119).
Memorization can be facilitated in a number of ways. Writing scriptures on cards and placing them in places that we will see everyday seems to be a common method among Christians. For some, carrying memory cards in a pack that fits in your pocket can also be helpful. It is most helpful when the person helping the new disciple memorizes verses along with them on some kind of regular basis.
Meditate: The purpose of the four fingers is to get to the thumb – Meditation. Christian meditation is having a conversation with God through his word. We expose ourselves to a portion of scripture and then ask the Spirit to help us understand it in light of our lives and the lives of those around us.
This can happen during a prayer time that we’ve set aside specifically for the purpose of thinking on God’s word or better yet while we are in the shower or in line at the video store. Our hope and prayer for the new disciple is that their experience with the scripture does not become compartmentalized (i.e. something they think about only at church or during their morning devotions), but instead is woven into their everyday experiences. In short, it will be a means for the disciple to worship God.
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