STR Ambassador
August 1st 2005, 05:01 PM
The Bible - A Meal or Fast Food? by Greg Koukl
I’ve been reading a lot of Bible lately—ten pages a day to be exact. I’m working my way through the Old Testament as part of a class assignment. In order to keep up, I’ve had to make my Bible reading the first thing on my agenda each morning.
I suspect my schedule is much like yours: hectic. It’s tempting to take a “fast food” approach to the Bible—grabbing something quick and eating it on the run. But I can’t do that with this assignment. I’ve had to sit down and take time for a civilized meal.
Two things stand out about this exercise. First, I found the time, in spite of my other obligations. I had no choice; I had to finish the class.
Second, I’ve been enjoying the meal. I have a sense of being nourished because I’m experiencing the Scripture the way the Holy Spirit gave it: as unified accounts, discussions with flow, context, order, and purpose. Entire passages are coming alive in a way the fast food approach could never accomplish.
This raises a question concerning “daily devotionals” that are so popular today, handbooks of short messages built around single verses, sometimes just phrases.
For many of us, these vignettes have become our primary source of daily nourishment. They’re inspirational and they’re quick, able to be wedged into the busiest schedule. But they come with a dangerous drawback.
By focusing only on pieces of the passage, we may actually miss the point of the passage. If we’re just reading snatches of text, what’s our guarantee that these inspirational feelings we experience aren’t just false hopes? The difference is critical. It’s the distinction between being spiritually nourished and empty calories.
We can’t know what God is talking about or teaching us by looking at an isolated sentence or phrase. And if we take the Scripture in a way God did not mean it, then the words lose their authority. Whatever feeling we may have had will have been based on fantasy—make-believe.
A reflection on a Bible passage from a devotional or a sermon may be edifying, encouraging, and uplifting. But if it’s not the message of the text—God’s message—it lacks authority even when the quote comes right out of the Bible.
I think you can see that this practice actually neutralizes the Word of God. It robs God’s Word of its authority and power. The entire reason we go to the Bible in the first place—to get God’s truth and apply it to our lives—is thwarted. Instead we get error.
This is why Paul tells Timothy, “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, handling accurately the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15).
Only when we are properly informed by God’s Word the way it is written—in its context—can we be transformed by it. Every piece becomes powerful when it’s working together with the whole as the Holy Spirit intended.
Stand to Reason - Training Christian ambassadors for the defense of the faith - www.str.org
I’ve been reading a lot of Bible lately—ten pages a day to be exact. I’m working my way through the Old Testament as part of a class assignment. In order to keep up, I’ve had to make my Bible reading the first thing on my agenda each morning.
I suspect my schedule is much like yours: hectic. It’s tempting to take a “fast food” approach to the Bible—grabbing something quick and eating it on the run. But I can’t do that with this assignment. I’ve had to sit down and take time for a civilized meal.
Two things stand out about this exercise. First, I found the time, in spite of my other obligations. I had no choice; I had to finish the class.
Second, I’ve been enjoying the meal. I have a sense of being nourished because I’m experiencing the Scripture the way the Holy Spirit gave it: as unified accounts, discussions with flow, context, order, and purpose. Entire passages are coming alive in a way the fast food approach could never accomplish.
This raises a question concerning “daily devotionals” that are so popular today, handbooks of short messages built around single verses, sometimes just phrases.
For many of us, these vignettes have become our primary source of daily nourishment. They’re inspirational and they’re quick, able to be wedged into the busiest schedule. But they come with a dangerous drawback.
By focusing only on pieces of the passage, we may actually miss the point of the passage. If we’re just reading snatches of text, what’s our guarantee that these inspirational feelings we experience aren’t just false hopes? The difference is critical. It’s the distinction between being spiritually nourished and empty calories.
We can’t know what God is talking about or teaching us by looking at an isolated sentence or phrase. And if we take the Scripture in a way God did not mean it, then the words lose their authority. Whatever feeling we may have had will have been based on fantasy—make-believe.
A reflection on a Bible passage from a devotional or a sermon may be edifying, encouraging, and uplifting. But if it’s not the message of the text—God’s message—it lacks authority even when the quote comes right out of the Bible.
I think you can see that this practice actually neutralizes the Word of God. It robs God’s Word of its authority and power. The entire reason we go to the Bible in the first place—to get God’s truth and apply it to our lives—is thwarted. Instead we get error.
This is why Paul tells Timothy, “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, handling accurately the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15).
Only when we are properly informed by God’s Word the way it is written—in its context—can we be transformed by it. Every piece becomes powerful when it’s working together with the whole as the Holy Spirit intended.
Stand to Reason - Training Christian ambassadors for the defense of the faith - www.str.org