Preached in Markham Baptist Church, June 20, 2004.

CELEBRATING THE SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINES:
A CALL TO THE BIBLE

2 Timothy 3

Would you like a cup of tea?  You would?  Wonderful.  The kettle has jut boiled and I’ll pour it for you.  There you are (pouring only hot water into the cup) What do you mean I’ve forgotten something?  Of course, do you like milk and sugar?  O, you mean the tea bag!  How silly of me. You can’t have a cup of tea without putting in the tea bag.  (put the tea bag in quickly and out) There you are.  What’s wrong?  It wasn’t in long enough for you?  Here let me fix that for you.

Well that’s all in fun, and all of this, believe it or not brings us to the last of our series focusing on the spiritual disciplines, the discipline of Bible reading.

I went through all of that with the tea to demonstrate the fact that just as the tea bag is an essential ingredient for making tea, so Bible reading is an essential ingredient for the Christian life.  In order to feed our eternal souls we have to take in eternal food, that is the Word of God.  Unfortunately many of us are starving our souls because we are reading our Bible so little and so infrequently.  Many of us are weak in the faith because we do not spend the time to drink in the goodness of God’s word.  And like weak tea, it’s not very appealing. 

Now our text today shows us how important and essential God’s word is for living a Christian life.

Paul is writing to Timothy and he tells the young pastor about the last days.  And make no mistake about it, we are in the last days.  As your read the description of the last days in verses 1-9, I don’t need to convince you that we live in the days that Paul is describing.  People now, in our age, are "lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, arrogant, abusive” and so on.  This describes our age. 

Paul says these are “distressing times” (verse 1).  And indeed they are. Not only because all of this is going on in the world but what makes it distressing is that all of this that Paul is describing is going on in the church!  These people Paul describes are in the church - in verse 5 they “holding on to the outward form of godliness”  - they are going to church, going through the rituals – “but denying its power” – they have no relationship with the living God.  Now don’t get to thinking, “Yeah I know some people like that”.  That’s deflection, we have to ask ourselves, are we like this?  These people have the outward show without the inward reality.  All ritual but no relationship.

Thankfully Timothy, Paul says in verse 10, you have received good teaching and he goes on to say that his teachers match what they have taught with action.  So Paul goes on to talk about his conduct, his aim in life. (verses 10-13)

So what does Paul advice Timothy to do in the face of such distressful times?  We wait breathlessly. What will Paul offer to Timothy to resist this awful situation? A new spiritual gift?  A special prayer?  A new revelation?

And then we discover it.  It’s not something new at all.  Paul says in verse 14, “Continue in what you have learned because you know “from whom you learned it”  They are faithful people, not people who say one thing and do another – AND because you hold in your hands the sacred writings.  That is Scripture. 

So Paul says, for the time in which you live, for the distressful times, stick to scripture, read it, immerse yourself in it.  Don’t abandon it.

Why?  Now Timothy is given the reasons for why he must continue with Scripture.  Why he must study it and preach it.  And what follows are five benefits of reading the Bible:

First, we need to read the Bible because it is “able to instruct you for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.”  - verse 15. 

It was Dr. James Simpson, the man who discovered chloroform who was asked, “What is your greatest discovery?”  And he said, “My greatest discovery is that I am a great sinner who has a great Saviour.”  That’s a great discovery.  Some of the most learned, intelligent people in the world live their whole lives and never make that discovery!  Can you think of a greater discovery?  Do you know where you can discover this?  In your Bible! 

What a wonderful benefit to reading your Bible to discover that we can have eternal life, that we can be in full and vibrant relationship with our Creator even though we have fallen short of all that He intended for us.  That He has provided a Saviour for us in His Son is more than just a benefit it is the greatest discovery you can make for it will effect you for eternity.   All of this is discovered in reading Scripture.

But not only this, but, we read in verse 16 that all Scripture is “inspired by God.”  Now that’s a poor translation of the Greek.  The NIV has it better and says that “all Scripture is God-breathed.”  That’s what the Greek says there and that is significant for it reflects the fact that God-breathed all of Scripture.  It means that all Scripture, “originated in God’s mind, was communicated from God’s mouth by God’s breath or Spirit.”¹

The prophets used to say, “The mouth of the Lord has spoken it,” so we don’t refer to this as Paul’s word, or Nehemiah’s word, or Matthew’s word.  It is God’s Word, for God spoke it, He breathed it out.  All Scripture is God-breathed.  Just as God breathed into Adam’s nostrils and made him a living soul, “so God breathed out the Scriptures and they became a living revelation.”²

And this is one of the benefits of reading Scripture.  We aren’t merely reading a word of Paul or a John or Mark.  We are reading God’s actual words.  God has spoken and He gives it to us in our hands.  

Think of it we have the actual word of God, we often pray that God would show us His will.  And that’s a good prayer, a fine prayer, we need to pray it, but we need to realize that often God has made His will plain to us in His word. 

So, when we ask God “God what is your will about marriage? Who do you want me to marry?’  God makes His will plain for you, He says in 2 Corinthians 6:14 “Do not be yoked together with unbelievers.” God makes His will plain – if you are a Christian don’t marry a non-Christian.

Or we ask, What is God’s will for our church?  And God makes it plain, He has designed the church to work together as a body, with every supporting ligament growing and building itself up in love as each part does it work” (Ephesians 4:16”) and again He makes His will plain for us in Matthew 28:19: “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.”  That is just a sampling of God’s will for his church.

Or what is God’s will for me and my wife?  God makes it plain, “Submit to one another out of reverence to Christ” (Ephesians 5:21)  “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.” (Ephesians 5:25).

This is God’s word.  Sometimes we run around and agonize looking for God’s will, looking for some great thunderous voice from heaven that will instruct us “Do this and do this”.  Understand it is very, very, very, very rare that God will communicate with us in such a way. Why?  Because He has already made His will plain for you and for me in His written word! 

I think many of us don’t read our Bibles because we have been led to believe that this is simply a book written by men with some sort of spiritual insight.  You see what happens, don’t you?  If this book is simply a word from a group of people who have been inspired, well, I might as well read the book of Mormon or the Koran for they all claim the exact same thing!  But, but if this is the word of the almighty, living God then it deserves my attention.  And that is what is being said here.  All Scripture is God-breathed. 

So when we read the Bible not only do we have the benefit of knowing about salvation, and have the benefit of hearing directly from God.  But the text goes on to say that Scripture is useful for teaching. Isn’t this true? I’ve already mentioned that we learn the way of salvation and all that God has provided for us in Christ.  But more we learn about God’s character, and the Bible unfolds the law of God, and we learn how to live in a way that is pleasing to God.

Do you know there are people who say, “I have accepted Christ as my Lord. God is the master of my life.”  And yet they place their Bible in the drawer and slam the drawer and say in effect to God, “God, I’ll do anything that you tell me to do, only don’t say a word to me and don’t tell me anything.”  Day after day, month after month many live their lives oblivious to the Word of God which could so greatly enrich their lives and make them usable to God.  

God’s word is useful for teaching. 

Then this, when we read God’s word there is the benefit of reproof and correction.  Reproof means to call attention to wrong things in our lives and correction means setting those wrong things right.  My friends we need this.  We need a God who will gently call to attention our wrongs, not because He’s a nit picker but because He loves us and wants us to be more like His Son.  So His word calls to attention those things that are wrong and then gently corrects us.  So when we read God say, “Be holy because as I am Holy” (Leviticus 11:44) we realize that He has given us a tool to do just that.  He has given us His word that rebukes and corrects.

I don’t know if you and your spouse have signals for when company is around.  I know of men with moustaches or with beards who have wives that will give them a signal when the have food in their beards.  I recently read of a woman who discovered that her voice sometimes becomes shrill when around large crowds.  She wanted to correct that, so her husband, whenever her voice became shrill would tuck his chin in against his chest as a sign for her to lower her voice. 

This is what God does for us. He knows that we can act in shrill ways sometimes.  Our behaviour is not what it should be, we aren’t being forgiving, we are holding on to bitterness, we are spreading gossip, we are harbouring lust.  He knows we will sin.  “And so He wants us to get into the habit of looking to Him on a regular basis through the study of Scripture.  If we do we will know that He will catch our eye and lead us in the way that we should go.” ³

You know that His desire for each of us is to have the character of His Son.  This does not happen automatically, it does not happen through wishful thinking.  It happens only as we allow God’s word into our lives through the reading of His word and allow Him to rebuke and correct.

This leads to the benefit of “training in righteousness.” This refers to the kind of training a tutor would give a child, a piano teacher would give a student.  Consistent, habitual training.  And this is a benefit we receive when we read the word of God.  God doesn’t often teach us one big lesson at a time, but rather little by little he trains us up so that we can be equipped for every good work.  

Those two words, training and equipped.  They bring to mind the fact that we Christians are involved in a Spiritual battle.  I spoke about this one night during the prayer week.  And how are we to prepare for the battle which we fight against the forces of evil in the spiritual world?  We are to read the Bible for it equips us for every good work.  It equips us to do battle with Satan and his forces.

So we see Jesus in the wilderness being tempted by Satan and what does he use to fight off temptation and consequently do every good work?  He uses the word of God.  He repeatedly fends off Satan by quoting Scripture. 

So these are all the wonderful benefits of reading God’s word – we learn the way of salvation, we learn God’s will, we are taught, rebuked and corrected and trained in doing what is right and holy. 

So how can we practice this spiritual discipline?

First READ IT. 

“Some joker has said that the worst dust storm in history would happen if all church members how were neglecting their Bible dusted them off simultaneously.” ⁴

Simply read it.  How?

1. Set a time each day to read it.  You set a time to eat, to feed your physical life, so set a time to feed your soul. I am amazed at Moslems who have to say their prayers three times a day.  And I think am I ever glad that I’m free from that bondage.  I can communicate with God anytime.  But do I?  While I am free from bondage do I abuse my freedom of not having to do it and by not doing it all?  So that I never communicate with God or allow him to communicate with me?     Set a time to read your Bible and stick to it.

2. Find a Bible reading plan.  There are many out there.  One example is "Daily Bread". 

If you read three chapters a day and five on Sunday you will read the Bible in a year.  If you read three Old Testament chapters a day and three New Chapters a day you will finish the Old Testament once and the New Testament four times in a year. 

3. Read the Bible daily.  Don’t think that the little bit of Bible you get on Sunday morning will see you through the week.  That’s wrong thinking.  You might as well think that you will only breath on Sunday and that will be enough oxygen for you for the week.  No you breath every day.  So with the Word of God, our spiritual lives need it’s life giving force every day. 

We read so many books about the Bible.  How much better it would be if we started reading the Bible!

4. Join a small group. 

Secondly, STUDY IT.

Not only read it.  But spend time studying it. Jerry Bridges has said, that reading the Bible gives us breadth, but studying God’s word gives us depth.

To study God’s word:

1.  Get a paper and pen.  Write down your thoughts, your questions and observations.

2.  Get yourself some tools to help you study.  I would suggest three.  A good Bible Dictionary, a Bible Commentary, and a Concordance. 

3.  Join a small group.

4.  Don’t plan to master it in a day or month or year. There are some tough things, some hard things said in this book.  But don’t give up, allow the word to linger in you and to wash over you.

Third, not only read it, not only study it, but MEDITATE ON IT.

How?

1.  Read a passage. Say a short prayer inviting God to speak to you. 

2.  Re-read the passage and allow a phrase or a word or a thought to speak to you.  Ask yourself, is there a promise to claim here? Is there a warning to listen to? Is there a truth to believe?  Is there a word to affirm me? 

3.  After you discovered that, pray it back to God.  Say Lord today you shown me this, thank you for teaching me this.  I will seek to live it today.

Fourthly, MEMORIZE IT.

How? 

1.  Use a translation that is memorization-friendly. 

2.  Choose a passage that's not too long.

3.  Write out the verse several times.

4.  Repeat it throughout the day. 

5.  Find someone to memorize with you – join a small group. 

This is so important.  Can imagine going into battle and with Satan and you are faced with temptation?  And the Holy Spirit goes to help you with the battle and he goes to your memory banks where your spiritual armour is stored and all he can find there is “God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son.”  Or “Jesus wept.”  Or the great commission. These are great swords, but they are not made for every battle.  Memorizing scripture allows us to be ready for the battle.

Finally in practicing this spiritual discipline - read it, study it, meditate on it, memorize it and finally this, APPLY IT.  So we have the word in James

“Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.  Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.  But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it – he will be blessed in what he does.”   James 1:22-25

If God is telling you to do something in His word then do it.  And don’t be afraid to talk about it with one another.  We need to be in the habit of asking each other, What have you gotten out of your Scripture reading lately?  Or Let me share with you something that I found in my reading of Scripture today.  How much more edifying our talk would be than the usual trivia about which we speak.

And join a small group.

My friends we have been given a great love letter from God.  That’s what the word of God is.  And like all love letters it needs to be opened and read if we are going to discover the love God has for us.  We need to read it with enthusiasm, it needs to be read again and again.  It needs to be treasured as the great gift that it is.

Copyright MBC and Tom Cullen - June 2004