Attempts at Honesty

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Quantity versus Quality

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qualityMy guess is that most Christians would agree that reading Scripture is a good thing. The fact that the Bible is a perennial best seller lends credence to this.

But what is the best way to read it? Should I keep to a reading schedule or take a little bit at a time. Do I want to focus on the quantity or the quality of my reading?

There is merit to the idea that we need to take in large chunks of Scripture so that we can get a sense of flow and an overview of the entire Bible. To do this, a plan to read the entire Bible in a one year period seems like a good idea.

The downside to this approach is that too often, I get so caught up in keeping up with the schedule that I miss opportunities for understanding along the way. When I get behind, it is too tempting to hit the little “Catch Up” button in my Bible software and I end up skipping over entire chapters.

It is a little bit like a road trip. I can be so focused on getting to my destination that I don’t notice interesting places along the way.

To help me with this, I have tried a new approach. Rather than using the Bible software in my tablet, which tracks my reading progress and reminds me when I am behind schedule, I am reading out of a paper Bible. I read and I make progress through the entire Bible, but I am on no particular schedule and whether I read a few verses or a few chapters, I do not allow myself to feel pressured to read the whole Bible in a certain time frame.

This has freed me up to stop and meditate on a verse or verses which gives them time to sink into my crowded and sometimes jumbled brain. If given enough time in my brain, they can then begin to affect my will and emotions.

For example, In reading Deuteronomy 10, two verses jumped out at me and I have been stuck on them for a day or two:

“And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments and statutes of the Lord, which I am commanding you today for your good?” (Deuteronomy 10:12–13, ESV)

There is a lot here:

  • I am reminded of the time when Jesus identified the two great commands in Matthew 22.
  • I am reminded that love and respect go hand-in-hand. If I do not respect the commands of God, my claim to love him must be called into question.
  • I am reminded that the commands of God are not to thwart my enjoyment of life, but to enhance it. They are not intended for my harm, but for my good.
  • I am reminded that to walk in all his ways requires effort on my part. I need to know them before I can walk in them.

My point is not to dissuade anyone from keeping to a plan. My point is to remind all of us that when Scripture is opened, it must be allowed sufficient exposure to penetrate our lives.

Whether we read a large or short portion is not the issue.

Allowing Scripture to do its work in us is the one and only issue.

A great reminder about Bible reading

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Bible ReadingI recently read Question 157 in the Westminster Larger Catechism which asks,”How is the word of God to be read?”

I found the answer to be both challenging and helpful. Here it is:

The holy scriptures are to be read with an high and reverent esteem of them; with a firm persuasion that they are the very word of God, and that he only can enable us to understand them; with desire to know, believe, and obey the will of God revealed in them; with diligence, and attention to the matter and scope of them; with meditation, application, self-denial, and prayer.

When I open my Bible to read it, is it with high and reverent esteem for the text? Or am I merely doing it out of a sense of obligation?

Am I conscious that it is the very word of God as I read it (even those boring bits that I have a tendency to skip over)?

Am I seeking the Holy Spirit to enlighten me as I read?

Am I reading with a desire to know, believe and obey the will of God that is revealed in the text?

Am I reading with diligence and attention to the matter or am I merely getting a check in the box?

Do I meditate on what I read so that it can be applied to my life?

Do I have an attitude of self-denial and prayer as I read?

Some of the time the answer to these questions is yes. There are times when I am engaged in the way the catechism prescribes. But too often, I am going through the motions and not very engaged.

I suppose the good news is that even if I am not fully present in my Bible reading, some good comes from the exercise. But how much better would it be to be fully present every time I take up the Bible to read it.

One of the most surprising statements in the answer to this question is the encouragement to self-denial. I had never thought of self-denial in the context of Bible reading. But a brief meditation on this reveals the wisdom in it.

One of the struggles of the 21st Century church is the tendency for the reader to stand in judgment on the text. When this happens, we find ways of explaining away the bits of Scripture that we don’t like. The antidote to this is self-denial.

If I approach the text with humility and self-denial the result will be much different than if I approach it with a sense of superiority and judgment.

I hope that you are encouraged and convicted by this reminder to take Bible reading seriously and to approach it with the right frame of mind.

There is a way that seems right to a man

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right wrongThere are very few Christian believers that would argue that the Bible is not important. It is part of our spiritual DNA to hold Scripture in high esteem. But do we really understand how vital it is to read and study Scripture on a regular basis?

One of the reasons it is important to read the Bible is highlighted in the verses from Proverbs quoted below. Left on our own, we are sure to go wrong. We need an outside perspective to keep us on track.

“There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.” (Proverbs 14:12, ESV)

“There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.” (Proverbs 16:25, ESV)

“Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the heart.” (Proverbs 21:2, ESV)

A story from my past illustrates the need for perspective. When I was in my 20’s, I often rode my bicycle. The friends I rode with liked to go fast and I held my own when riding with them. As a result, I thought I would try my hand at racing. So I got my USCF license and registered for my first and only race.

The race was a multi lap event around the streets of Crystal Lake, Illinois. I learned that I was not prepared to compete with real racers. The leaders blew past me on the second or third lap. I was going to be a safety hazard for the riders who were much faster than me so I dropped out of the race. On that day, I got an unwanted dose of reality that gave me more accurate knowledge about my ability to race bicycles.

In my spiritual life, I can suffer from the same lack of perspective. I can think that I am doing very well, when I am not very well at all. There is a way that seems right to me, but I often find that it is not just a little off track, it is going in the wrong direction entirely.

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This is one of the reasons why Bible reading is so important. When I read about the failures of the Patriarchs and realize that I have similar tendencies, I am receiving instruction about the right way to go. When I read the Sermon on the Mount and understand that not only will I be judged for my actions, but for my motivations, I learn how far short I fall from God’s standard. Any time that I begin to think that I have arrived, a small dose of Scripture is sufficient to bring me back to reality. Consider it spiritual smelling salts.

These verses should also inform us that because of our inclination to go wrong, a healthy dose of self-doubt regarding our ability to understand and apply the Bible is advisable. Our first parents displayed the ability to distort what God said and if we are honest, we will admit that we share this with them. It is our nature to hear what we want to hear and avoid the rest.

All that is the bad news. The good news is that the Bible is able to break through my propensity to go wrong and set me on the right path. As the writer of Hebrews tells us:

“For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12, ESV)

God promises that if we read the Bible and are open to its instruction we will move from sure to go wrong to sure to go right.

Before you accuse me, take a look at yourself

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Finger PointI borrowed the title of this post from a song written by Bo Diddley and also recorded by Eric Clapton, but it seemed appropriate for my topic.

In responding to the cultural climate, unfortunately large segments of the church fall prey to one of two errors. One extreme is to acquiesce to the culture and thus ignore scriptural mandates and prohibitions. The other extreme is to loudly denounce those who refuse to acknowledge the authority of Scripture. Instead of these extremes, we need to allow Scripture to contend with the parts of our culture with which it disagrees and validate the parts of culture with which it agrees.

I take Scripture very seriously and where the author intended it to be taken literally, I seek to do so. But there is a danger of becoming like the Pharisees in that we can miss the work of God in another person’s life because of our prideful grandstanding on hot issues of the day. When we take scripture and use it to point the finger at others, we are in grave danger of misrepresenting both God and Scripture.

For example, in Romans 1:18, Paul writes,

“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.” (ESV)

Paul tells us that God’s wrath is upon those who suppress the truth.

The word suppress is in the present tense, it is an ongoing suppression of the truth. The problem is that we all suppress the truth to one extent or another. Because of this, we should be wary of denouncing other people who are openly hostile to God. In our rush to separate ourselves from a particular viewpoint, my may become angry and judgmental and as a result misrepresent the Jesus we worship.

The Gospel tells us that we are all tainted by sin and every part of us displays this taint. There is nothing that I do from completely pure motives. There is nothing that I do that is not alloyed with selfishness and pride. When I am giving ground to my selfishness and pride, I am actively suppressing the truth about myself and my God. Therefore, I should be reluctant to accuse anyone else.

In support of this idea, I would point to two places later on in Paul’s letter to the Romans. Romans 2:1 encourages us to stay away from judging others because we are prone to the same corruption that is displayed by those we would like to condemn. In Chapter 12 of Romans, Paul tells us that we are in need of transformation by the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:1-2). In other words, we are not thinking straight and need to have our minds reprogrammed.

Yes, in the United States, our culture is moving away from a Judeo/Christian ethic. There are decisions being made on moral issues that are contrary to Scripture. My intention is not to soft sell this or to make it seem like rebellion against God’s laws is acceptable or good. We need to live by and be open about God’s standards for human behavior.

That being said, we need to be careful in our denunciation because we are made of the same stuff. I know for a fact that I am no less a sinner than one who is openly hostile to Christ or Scripture.

What is interesting to me is that in the preaching of Jesus, I don’t see him denouncing anyone other than the hypocritical religious leaders. He simply offered them something better than what they already had. He offered them himself.

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