He said to them, “How unwise and slow you
are to believe in your hearts all that
the prophets have spoken! Didn’t the Messiah have to suffer these things and
enter into His glory?” Then beginning with
Moses and all the Prophets, He interpreted for them
the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures.
Luke 24:25-27
BIBLE STUDY WON’T CHANGE YOUR LIFE
OK, that
may be a bit of overstatement to get your attention, but just because you know
the
Bible doesn’t mean the Word will bear fruit in your life. It is possible to
know the Scriptures, read the Scriptures, revere the Scriptures, and
study the Scriptures and miss the point entirely.
Way too
often Bible study is more about us than Christ. We commonly begin with us at
the center and bring God into our world to address our already-defined needs
and problems.
We look at the Bible as a book of divine instruction, a manual for succeeding
in
life, or a map for making sure we get to heaven when we die. Studying the
Scripture like this will not result in life transformation. Why? Because
it is missing something. Better put, it is missing Someone.
Bible
study alone is not what transforms your life. Jesus transforms your life. It’s
possible
to amass great amounts of biblical knowledge, to impress people with your
mastery
of Bible trivia, to creatively apply the Bible in ways that seem so down to
earth and
practical, to dot your theological I’s and cross your exegetical T’s – and
still miss Jesus. Scary, isn’t it?
The
purpose of our Bible study is to know God and make Him known. The Bible unveils
Jesus Christ as the focal point of human history. All creation exists by Him,
through
Him, to Him, and for Him. Our Bible study should exist for Him too. That’s the
only
kind of Bible study that will change your life.
PAUSE AND REFLECT
▷ Why is
it important that all of the Bible is pointing to Christ?
▷ What is
the difference in knowing things about Jesus and actually knowing Him?
▷ Which
would you say best describes you: Knowing about Him or actually knowing Him?
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