Whoa...what a chapter! This
particular chapter of Multiply really spoke to me in a very personal way.
I've never had a challenging time studying God's Word, but as I read through
this chapter, I realized, and was subsequently ashamed, that I have studied the
Bible, on occasion in the past, for the wrong reasons. At the time, our
study motivations are skewed because we aren't really focused on what having
the Holy Spirit dwell within us, through His word; rather, we are focused, for
example, on how to rationalize a decision, act, sin, or ____________ (insert
excuse here). I have a pretty good example of one of the motivations
which Francis Chan explained in this chapter.
It's been probably a year ago now, but
I was having a small group meeting at my house every Sunday afternoon. It
was a great time of fellowship with some wonderful friends--SIDEBAR...if you
aren't involved in some sort of small group, please join one or start one
yourself. SIDEBAR OVER.
Okay, everyone in the group would mutually agree on what study we were
going to do. The first several weeks were spent studying the book of
Romans. It was awesome!! Once we were done with the Romans study,
we agreed to one of those "Through the Bible in XX" studies.
Normally, you'll see these studies as one you complete in a year. Nope,
not us overachievers! The program we used was "The Bible in 90
Days." Yes, you read that right. We were to read the Bible in
90 days--3 months. It seemed like a pretty tall order at the time, but
achievable, we thought.
We all did well when it came to
reading the assigned Scriptures. I can say with confidence that we read
the Bible in 90 days. Ah, what an accomplishment! Let me be very
clear, I was excited to read through the entire Bible again; however, when we
were done, I did not feel anything more than I felt before we started.
You see, my motivation for this particular study was guilt. I was leading
the group (really we were all leading together), and I had an overwhelming sense
of guilt if I missed even one verse. I was motivated not by getting
closer to God and knowing Him in a more intimate way, I was motivated to get my
homework done. I acknowledge that this was a poor attitude to have for
this study, but the pressure was on full-court press to get the assignment done
and couldn't let the others down.
Now, there are a couple factors that
contributed to my not gaining much out of this study. First, I didn't
really let the Holy Spirit work in me as we studied and second, it was a very
tall order and the devil knew this and used it to his advantage. Any
reading plan which takes you through the Bible is great. Personally and
honestly, I think 90 days leaves little room to really let the Scriptures speak
to you. For example, I would come across a particular verse or verses and
really wanted to dwell on them, but I just needed to keep reading to make sure
I was done by our Sunday afternoon meeting. So, I would underline the
passage and keep on keeping on. I think it would have been great if I
prepared my heart and really let the Holy Spirit speak to me. So, to make
a long story short, I didn't prepare well enough to get anything out of this
study and instead did it because I would be guilty if I didn't finished the assigned
reading. Don't be like me.
Just as Francis Chan points out,
people read the Bible for different reasons; however, the true reason we should
read it is to "facilitate a relationship with God" (pg 99). To
be an effective disciple, you don't need to be a theologian, but you should
understand the Bible so that you can communicate it to others. I love the
Scripture Francis used in 1 Peter 2:1-2:
Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all
deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. Like newborn
babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in
your salvation.
I'm sure before you read that passage
in Multiply, you've either read it before or heard it spoke. It's really
a great parallel of how we should long for God's Word and presence just as
newborn babies long for milk to continue to grow and live. The Bible is
the perfect source for us to focus our attention on God and ultimately get
closer to Him every day we are on this earth. Don't fret about how much you read on a daily basis, either, as
long as you focus on God and His Word every day. Check out what Joshua
1:8 says:
Keep
this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and
night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will
be prosperous and successful.
Joshua had to be deliberate in his
reading of God's Word daily and make it a part of who he was by meditating on
it. The Hebrew word translated "meditate" means "to
mutter." It was the practice of the Jews to read Scripture out loud
and talk about it to themselves and to one another. This explains why God
warned Joshua that the book of the Law was not to depart out of his
mouth. I pray that if we are not already like Joshua in our study of
God's Word, we keep His Word on our lips and meditate on it day and night.
Right now, I'm studying the book of
Acts. For the first day of my study of Acts, chapter one, I prayed in
earnest for the Holy Spirit to open my eyes and ears to hear His Word and to
open my heart to receive whatever He intends for me to receive. For three
days I've focused on only the first eleven verses of Acts chapter one.
Because my motivation was to get closer to God (e.g. the right motivation), I
was able to really dig deeper into His Word and allow the Holy Spirit to speak
to me. As Francis eluded in Multiply (pg. 105), it is life-changing when
your daily reading is motivated on God and nothing else.
For the first time since the Barna
Group has been surveying religious topics (1984), there is no difference in
Bible reading and Bible skepticism with both at 19%. What does that
mean? It means that of those surveyed, 19% said that reading the Bible at
least 4 times a week and believe it is the actual or inspired Word of
God. Compare that to the skeptics, where also 19% believe "the Bible
is just another book of teachings written by men that contain stories and
advice." If you look back to three years ago, the skeptics made up
only 10% of the surveyed...it's nearly doubled!! Church, that's a decline
that is not meant for celebration. Furthermore, in just three years,
there has been a decline in the amount of people that view the Bible as sacred,
79% in 2014 compared to 86% in 2011. Here's another statistic...
88% of all households own an average of 4.7 Bibles.
Of those 88%, only 37% read them once a week or more. One question...what
is the other 51% doing with their 4.7 Bibles? Allowing them to collect
dust?
How about this statistic which is
directly related to this chapter of Multiply:
Only 56% of those that read the Bible say that it brings
them closer to God, compared to 64% in 2011.
I could go on and on with statistics,
but you can clearly see that there is an overwhelming decline in people's view
of the Bible, how often they read their Bible, and their motivation for
studying their Bible. Keep in mind, we're not just talking about the
churchless people; these statistics include those that say they are
Christians. You should be as alarmed as I am!
Church, we must--I say again--we must
ensure that our motivation for studying God's Word is completely rooted in a
desire to learn more about God, live a Godly life, facilitate a relationship
with God, exalt Jesus, and to prepare us for our God-given mission of reaching
the world with the love and saving grace of Jesus Christ. Don't succumb
to what I did during "The Bible in 90 Days" and study the Word
because you're guilty--this isn't a "Bible in 90 days"
situation...we're talking about eternal life or death. Be the salt and
light by being rightly motivated!
I watched one of the final sermons
presented by the late Dr. Howard Hendricks, Distinguished Professor Emeritus at
Dallas Theological Seminary, and he said that as Christians and disciples, we
should ask ourselves three questions every day before we go to sleep, based on
2 Timothy 2:15:
Do
your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not
need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.
1) Is the Lord well pleased?
2) Is the work well done?
3) Is the Word well used?
Jumping back to Joshua 1:8[b], do you
want to know what success looks like? If you can answer yes to each of
those three questions, then your ministry is successful. Remember,
though, that we must pick up our cross daily and follow Jesus (Matthew
16:24; Mark 8:34; Luke 14:27 and many more).
Yours in Christ,
Pastor Jeremy Meier