How well do we know the Bible? Perhaps you’ve heard folks lament for a return to the “good old days” when everyone in the church knew the Bible cover to cover. Such a day never existed. But brothers and sisters in days gone by did take the issue of Bible study more seriously than most do today.
I cringe when I hear young preachers and Bible majors scoff at the “unenlightened and uneducated” Christians of the nineteenth century. They might be interested to know that a reformer like Walter Scott believed that no one was qualified for the office of deacon who had not memorized the entire New Testament. Even if this contains an element of pious legend, there can be no doubt that Scott, Alexander Campbell, and many other men and women in the Lord’s church knew much of the New Testament verbatim. We come off poorly by comparison.
The first requisite to “being fed” is always feeding on the Word of God, not just showing up for an hour on Sunday and expecting a magical transformation. Many of you are doing well in staying with the reading.
Those of you who have fallen behind, get going. You can still catch up.
All of us need to consider what we are doing about increasing our knowledge of God’s Word. Are we reading the Bible at home? Are we talking about it with our children? Are we willing to take an extra hour or two each week to attend Bible classes? These are serious questions that demand answers. And as we think about where we stand in our familiarity with the Bible (and what we are going to do to improve), here’s a list to consider.
TOP 10 SIGNS
YOU MIGHT NOT BE READING YOUR BIBLE ENOUGH
10) The preacher announced the sermon is from Galatians…and you check the table of contents.
9) You think Abraham, Isaac & Jacob may have had a few hit songs during the 60’s.
8) You open to the Gospel of Luke and a WWII savings bond falls out.
7) Your favorite Old Testament patriarch is Hercules.
6) Your favorite Bible verse is “Cleanliness is next to godliness.”
5) You become frustrated because Charlton Heston isn’t listed in either the concordance or the table of contents.
4) Catching the kids reading the Song of Solomon, you demand: “Who gave you this stuff?
3) You think the Minor Prophets worked in the quarries.
2) You keep falling for it every time the preacher tells you to turn to First Condominiums.
1) The kids keep asking too many questions about your usual bedtime story: “Jonah the Shepherd Boy and His Ark of Many Colors.”