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Why Should We Study Scripture or Doctrine?

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20130613_whystudydoctrine

(The following notes are adapted from BLB’s FAQ section)

Some think that the study of Scripture, theology, or doctrine does not matter. “Love God and love people. That’s all that matters,” they might say. But is this true? Is this really all that matters?

Perhaps a true love for God will draw us to His Word. If we love Him then we will desire to know Him, discerning the difference between truths and heresies.

“If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?”
(Psalms 11:3)

If we have no solid base, if we know not the words of our Lord, nor comprehend their meaning, we shall surely be laid flat when the gales of false teaching assail us. Without the conscientious study of what God has shown us all, Truth escapes us and the only thing that remains is falsehood.

There is a cancer in the world.

It drives men insane and causes them to call idiocy “reason” and reason “irrational.” Men claim to be lovers of logic, and yet embrace atheism, relativism, pantheism, and innumerable doctrines of self-deification. Men glorify the art of observation, but fail to see what lies directly in front of themselves. They exalt theory over fact. Being correct is in current favor over being right. They claim world-love on a grand scale, but behind the facade lies self-infatuation on a grander scale.

So then, what are we to do?

We who would claim the existence of God. Of absolutes. Of a holy standard. We who would dare to believe that a god-man beat the king of death and now reigns with authority on High. What are we to do? How can we sturdy ourselves for the onslaught from the mockers and scorners that shall surely come? There are but two ways. The first is by honest, consistent prayer and supplication to the Lord who is ultimately in control of all things. The second is knowledge of and about that Lord and the things He has shown is Scripture (His loving revelation of Truth to us).

Without knowledge of God, His creation, His desires, His work throughout time, and His standard, the unhappy fellow who professes belief in the Christian God will never keep his balance above the world and will surely fall in. On the other hand, only the one who studies and loves the Word of God will be firm enough in his stance to weather the buffets of those trying to pull him into the world, and even pull the occasional fellow out. And as our Lord tells us, it is our sworn duty to pull that fellow out; so it is thus also our duty to know and study God.

Know the Word.

“that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about by every wind of doctrine” (Ephesians 4:14) and “always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you” (1 Peter 3:15).

Once the necessity for the study of God has been established, we proceed into the realm of methodology. In what way should the student of God’s revelation to man go about his study? Would it be intelligent and reasonable to accumulate as much knowledge as possible, and yet leave it a mere jumble of un- or partially-related facts? Or should one integrate the learned information into a well-ordered system?

If a man has a jigsaw puzzle of a thousand pieces and he refuses to put it together, he will have a very difficult time trying to figure out what the whole picture is. Now if he organizes the fragments and puts all the pieces together, he shall be able to see the whole picture as well as focus on the details, which he now sees in relationship to the whole. Even better, he will realize which pieces are missing whereas before, he could only guess.

And so it is with theology. We have piles of Scripture containing vast quantities of information. It is when people refuse to systematize that information that heresy is born. If we are to find the Truth in God’s revealed will, we must come to it from a perspective of order.

Comments

  1. Chris,

    Thank you for the post “Why Should We Study Scripture or Doctrine”. As Paul wrote to Timothy, “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.” (2 Timothy 3:16~NLT).
    Therefore, we MUST study ALL scripture, and praise be to the Almighty, most of us are blessed to have His Word in ample availability. This is why we need to not only take full advantage of the time we have to learn of God through systematic study, but we need to be working with those ministries (such as BLB)who not only seek to provide the whole word to the whole world, but also provide study aides and guidance on becoming a true student of the word.

  2. Reading God’s word is alot easier and better for you than reading man’s opinion about God’s word. However most Christians prefer to listen to man’s opinion above opening up the bible to see what it really says.

    To me this is like preferring to watch someone eat Lobster and have them tell you how it tastes when you could just eat it and experience it for yourself.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    “There are times when solitude is better than society, and silence is wiser than speech. We should be better Christians if we were more alone, waiting upon God, and gathering through meditation on His Word spiritual strength for labour in his service. We ought to muse upon the things of God, because we thus get the real nutriment out of them. . . . Why is it that some Christians, although they hear many sermons, make but slow advances in the divine life? Because they neglect their closets, and do not thoughtfully meditate on God’s Word. They love the wheat, but they do not grind it; they would have the corn, but they will not go forth into the fields to gather it; the fruit hangs upon the tree, but they will not pluck it; the water flows at their feet, but they will not stoop to drink it. From such folly deliver us, O Lord. . . .”
    ― Charles H. Spurgeon

  3. As I read the blog It made me realize how I’ve paid more attention to what I heard at church and what others were saying about the bible rather than reading it to learn for myself what it was really about. I just recently started reading the bible to learn more about it.

  4. Brothers and Sisters,

    Why should we study the scriptures?

    Because God has asked and commanded us to.
    2 Tim 2:15 – “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

    We see that studying helps us fall more in love with God and His son Jesus Christ as the person who authored today’s blog.

    When you fall in love with someone you want to spend time with them. Learn about them and find out what they like and do not like. So it goes with us who believe in God the Father and His son the Lord Jesus Christ.

    I like what our brother King David wrote, in Psalm 119:11 “Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You.”

    How did King David hide the word in himself? By studing the word of God and praying and praising HIM!

    Throughout the Psalms we see that David love our Father Yahweh and this close relationship he had grew even deeper by studing our Fathers word.

    Why should we study God’s word?
    So we can be transformed by the renewing of our minds. Romans 12:2 So we can know the perfect will of our Father and His son.

    So we,the church, can be washed by the water of the word like it says in Eph 5:26 “that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word,”

    So we know where to walk in our daily lives like David wrote in the Psalm 119:105 “Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.”

    God loves us soooooooo very, very, very much that He gave lives so we could have His word to study. Like Jesus and the prophets of old and the men and women of God’s kingdom that gave their lives so we today can read and learn and fall more in love with Him who first loved us!

    Let’s keep studing and learning and loving Yahweh, Jesus and the saints and the unsaved! Amen? AMEN in Jesus’ name

    Your Brother,
    Andybob

    • Amen Andybob. In the fornt of my bible I have written I read this book to know Jesus. How are we to love some one if we do not know Him.

      Also God’s word is about God. Reading His word puts us in the right perspective. That all was created for Him.

      Reading God’s word and knowing correct doctrine creates a renewing awe of our Lord & Master!

  5. Amen Chris to this message.

    John 14:26, John 15:26, John 16:13-14

    Too little of our time is spent to know the One who is our Teacher, the Christ Matthew 23:8-10, Isaiah 30:18-21. As a result there is an inability to depend on Jesus Chirst to know the Helper, the Spirit of Truth, the Holy Spirit whom Jesus Christ sends into our hearts upon confession of sin and belief in Jesus Christ as Lord.

    Joshua was to depend on the priest Eleazer. Eleazer would learn to understand the will of God through the use of the Urim and Thummim. Numbers 27:18-21.

    Jesus Christ has opened a better way for us by His blood, a living way through the curtain, that is His body into the very presence of God. Hebrews 10:19-20.

    This is pointed to by Abram’s offering in Genesis 15:9-11 and Genesis 15:17-18.

    Abram’s sacrifices of a cow, a goat and a ram, a dove and a pigeon are cut in half and lined up in two rows Genesis 15:9-10. This points us to the body of Christ broken for us. Hebrews 10:20.

    In Genesis 15:17-18 we see as it was dark, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch appear between the two animals. Then and there the Lord God makes a covenant between Himself and Abram.

    Jesus body was broken, torn by the nails on the cross, in order for His blood to be shed that He might by His blood, and it alone, bring us into the Holiest.

    What is the smoking fire pot? but the substitution of sin and burnt offerings by He who says “Lo, I have come into the world to do Your will O God.” “In sin offerings and burnt offerings you had no pleasure.” Hebrews 10:5-7

    God’s pleasure was the Son of God in the person of Jesus Christ replacing the sin and burnt offering.

    The two rows of sacrificed animals bodies points us to the curtain or veil being torn in two. Mark 15:38. This was the veil separating the Holy Place where the tabernacle containing the 10 commandements & mercy seat rested in the temple under the old covenant.

    The torch of fire reminds us not only of the fire of God’s wrath upon Jesus for mans sins “From on high, He sent fire into my bones, He made it descend” Lamentations 1:13,

    BUT more still according to Genesis 15:18 “On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram” the flaming torch passing between the peices of sacrifice points us to the new covenant in Christ’s blood, where the Lord Jesus sends the Holy Spirit into a believer’s heart. The new birth.

    The Holy Spirit is the one who refines a child of God within as the child depends on Jesus Christ as his High Priest, and Lord.

    The Holy Spirit is the one who enables a child of God to know the will of God as the child depends on Jesus Christ as his High Priest and Teacher. Contrast this with Numbers 27:21.

    The Christ is our Teacher and the Holy Spirit who proceeds from God, whom the Lord Jesus sent from the Father is our guide, our Helper. John 15:26

    Contrast this with a work of the flesh, not of God’s Spirit in Jeremiah 34:18-20.

    The Holy Spirit is to be our guide but it is to Jesus Christ to whom we must look.

    We are to depend on Jesus Christ as High Priest and Teacher and God. Matthew 23:8-10, Isaiah 30:18-21, Revelation 1:7-8. Looking at Jesus Christ we are to learn God’s will from the Holy Spirit, not any longer an earthly priest and the Urim and Thummim.

    I give thanks for your words Tess, as separation from the world through sanctification, time alone with God in word and in prayer, by the Lord Jesus’ lowly heart enables us to know His voice and understand His direction.

    We need to come in an attitude of belief and deep reverence before God and Jesus Christ with the expectation of these 3 verses, being wrought in our hearts by God. John 14:26, John 15:26, John 16:13-14.

    When we are in unbelief of God’s promise by His Son Jesus Christ of the promised Helper to be sent to dwell in our hearts, there is no fire torch between the rows of flesh and a covenant has not been inacted between God and man, as man did not come according to God’s terms.

    This is a work of the flesh in sin as described in Jeremiah 34:18-20. In such God has no pleasure.

    In Christ, Amen

    Mark H NZ

    • Hi Mark, thank you for sharing your beautiful peice on why we should read the bible. I did not understsad your last 2 pragraghs regarding unbelief and sins of the flesh. Could you expound on this please. God bless

  6. His Word is My Substance and in it I have found My Way, My Life, My Daddy, and My Saviors Voice….

    John 14:26 (is my testimony)He is my teacher….

    “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.

    Thanks be to you My Christ for your sacrifice so I May Live and Live Fully….
    Amen

  7. The method by which we understand the Bible is to rightly divide the word of truth (II Timothy 2:15).