Why
So Few Christians Read The Bible
As Christians
have conversations with other Christians (or those who call / consider
themselves to be “Christians”), it often becomes clear that there is an uneven
understanding of who is the person called Jesus Christ. Usually both sides would agree that the story
of Jesus originated in the Holy Bible many centuries ago. However, unfortunately for many, that is where
the agreement ends. The differences can usually be traced to the degree to
which either or both of the Christians has spent time personally reading the
Bible.
Because the
term “Christian” is used quite broadly, it has come to be used to define a
group or person who “self-select” to use it to define themselves. The reasons
for selecting that term vary with each person.
But even so, many have not developed a strong attachment to either the
concept or the person of Jesus. There is
more than one reason for man’s reluctance to learn more about Jesus, and many
of those reasons are explained in the
Bible itself. They relate to the
influence and actions of God’s enemy Satan. That perspective will be discussed
in another post to this blog.
In another
light, some Christians have an interest in the concept of God, and even as
Jesus being the “Son of God”. But
frequently that interest or knowledge comes primarily from having heard and
become familiar with the Bible verse that says: “For God so loved the world,
that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him …(will have)
eternal life.” (John 3: 16) That might
be as close as they have come to actually reading the Bible. Further, one verse
is not enough. One verse does not inform the readers “what” they
are to believe about the Son of God.
While those
groups are likely to be significant in number, there are many others who
earnestly have sought to learn more about our Lord Jesus. Many have done so through their local
churches and / or Bible study groups, led by persons who are generally more
knowledgeable than themselves about Jesus. Unfortunately, the problem they
often encounter is the lack of the sufficiently critical Bible knowledge of
those who should be teaching them. Remember, the Holy Bible is the definitive
source of our knowledge of what God would have us know about Himself, His Son
Jesus, and His Plan for the Salvation of mankind. Teachers must lead others to Jesus through the
Bible using the knowledge, wisdom and guidance of the Holy Spirit.
To supplement
what Christians hear and learn from their places of worship, and what they hear
from others, it is important that they read for themselves what the Bible /
Word of God says. It confirms that each
of us has a soul and spirit that will aid us in understanding what God wants us
to know. But even so, don’t neglect the
opportunity to learn from others. One key example comes from the Bible itself.
Remember the
story about the Ethiopian eunuch who was sitting in his chariot, returning from
the Passover in Jerusalem, when he encountered difficulty understanding some
scriptures he was reading. The “angel of
the Lord” and the Holy Spirit sent Philip to explain the passages that he was
reading. For this blog post, the key
exchange between Philip and the eunuch took place when Philip asked him whether
he understood what he was reading. The eunuch’s response was: “How can I,
except some man should guide me?” (Acts 8: 26-40)
I used
another good example in a recent post describing the encounter our Lord Jesus
had with the Pharisee ruler of the Jews named Nicodemus. Even as educated as Nicodemus was in matters related to Israel’s
history and the Old Testament scriptures, Jesus had to reveal / explain to him
the concept of spiritual rebirth / being “born-again”. (John 3: 1-10)
Those lessons,
among other Bible Scriptures, remind us that regardless of how much we think we
already know, each of us can learn more of what God wants us to know from His
Word with the help of others.
Just as I
count on the insights of several others, I encourage you to do that too. The
key is: “What does the Bible say?” Further, the Bible carries a cohesive
message. Note that the Ethiopian Eunuch
was able to learn that the Old Testament scripture of Isaiah Chapter 53, was
making prophecy about the future suffering and death of our Lord Jesus. Remember, we are to learn from what was written earlier….but most
importantly, what does the Bible say. (Luke 24: 13-35; Romans 15: 4; 2 Timothy 3: 16-17)
If you
are a Christian whose church does not teach from the entire Bible scripture, I
would encourage you to ask them the simple question: “WHY?” If you read the entirety of God’s Word for yourself,
with the assistance of knowledgeable teachers, I’m convinced you would find it to be most enlightening. As I learned
from one of my teachers, you might begin with the guidance provided by Myles
Coverdale, the early Bible translator, who said: “It shall greatly help ye to understand the Scriptures if thou mark not
only what is spoken or written, but of whom and to whom, with what words, at
what time, where, to what intent, with what circumstances, considering what
goeth before and what followeth after. ” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myles_Coverdale
)
When
individuals come to believe God’s Word, and the role of His Son Jesus in our
lives, they find it hard to not want to learn more from their Bible.
Dr. W. A.
(Bill) Robinson
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