We study the
Scriptures because they reveal to us the mind of God--His thoughts.
Contrary to the way many respond to the Word, God is not giving us His
opinion. What He is revealing to us is the truth. If I am going to
understand history, if I am going to understand the times in which I
live, if I am going to understand the importance of this day, I must be a
student of the Word. I cannot think right without doing so. Oh, I can
if I want rely on my finite analysis of things and elevate my opinion
above His, and even claim that I am brilliant for doing so, but the
infinite omniscient God is not, I assure you, impressed with my human
reasoning. Wisdom, true knowledge, discernment are found in His Word.
If I think His thoughts are foolishness, the reason is clear. "The
natural--unsaved--man can not understand the thoughts of God; they are
foolish to him because they are spiritually discerned." And such
spiritual discernment is crucial: "Sanctify them through Thy Word; Thy
Word is truth."
We study the Scriptures because they reveal to us the heart of God. The Word reveals to us what God loves and yes, like it or not, what God hates. Scripture clearly delineates both. If I am going to love right, I must know the heart of God. If I am going to fully comprehend His great love for me demonstrated in our Savior's loving sacrifice on the cross, I must be a student of the Word. Understanding such love is crucial to living a life of love.
We study the Scriptures in order to know the will of God. Life can have no meaningful purpose if it is not lived in accordance with His will. I must understand what is His will for His people corporately, and I must know what is His will for me as an individual on a daily basis. I have an indispensable role to play in the body of Christ. And He has a will for my life lived moment by moment that His Word explains to me. I must be a student of the Word to know His will.
I cannot think right without knowing the mind of God revealed in His Word. I cannot love right without understanding His heart as revealed in His Word. I cannot live right without knowing the will of God as revealed in His Word. Put another way, I will be spiritually weak and anemic without a steady diet of the milk and meat of the Word. I cannot grow spiritually without it. I cannot be strong in the Lord without it. I cannot win the spiritual warfare without skill in wielding "the Sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God."
And yet, I do not study the Word just to know His mind, His heart, and His will. I study the Word of God to know Him. "The Lord, the Lord God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and faithfulness; who keeps lovingkindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression, and sin; yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, visiting the iniquity of fathers on the children and on the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations."
To know Him is to love Him. To love Him is to obey Him. To obey Him is to abide in Him. To abide in Him is to have a sense of His presence, a desire for His will, a trust in His goodness, and a life that "bears much fruit"--a life that is becoming more and more like Him in my daily walk. To bear fruit is to live a fulfilled life that brings glory to His Name--to make the invisible God, full of grace and truth, visible to those around me.
It all begins with my relationship with the Scriptures, the place where He, the Living Word, has chosen to reveal His mind, His heart, and His will.
"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled." "O, taste and see, that the Lord is good!"
We study the Scriptures because they reveal to us the heart of God. The Word reveals to us what God loves and yes, like it or not, what God hates. Scripture clearly delineates both. If I am going to love right, I must know the heart of God. If I am going to fully comprehend His great love for me demonstrated in our Savior's loving sacrifice on the cross, I must be a student of the Word. Understanding such love is crucial to living a life of love.
We study the Scriptures in order to know the will of God. Life can have no meaningful purpose if it is not lived in accordance with His will. I must understand what is His will for His people corporately, and I must know what is His will for me as an individual on a daily basis. I have an indispensable role to play in the body of Christ. And He has a will for my life lived moment by moment that His Word explains to me. I must be a student of the Word to know His will.
I cannot think right without knowing the mind of God revealed in His Word. I cannot love right without understanding His heart as revealed in His Word. I cannot live right without knowing the will of God as revealed in His Word. Put another way, I will be spiritually weak and anemic without a steady diet of the milk and meat of the Word. I cannot grow spiritually without it. I cannot be strong in the Lord without it. I cannot win the spiritual warfare without skill in wielding "the Sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God."
And yet, I do not study the Word just to know His mind, His heart, and His will. I study the Word of God to know Him. "The Lord, the Lord God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and faithfulness; who keeps lovingkindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression, and sin; yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, visiting the iniquity of fathers on the children and on the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations."
To know Him is to love Him. To love Him is to obey Him. To obey Him is to abide in Him. To abide in Him is to have a sense of His presence, a desire for His will, a trust in His goodness, and a life that "bears much fruit"--a life that is becoming more and more like Him in my daily walk. To bear fruit is to live a fulfilled life that brings glory to His Name--to make the invisible God, full of grace and truth, visible to those around me.
It all begins with my relationship with the Scriptures, the place where He, the Living Word, has chosen to reveal His mind, His heart, and His will.
"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled." "O, taste and see, that the Lord is good!"
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