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How to study your Bible (4)
'PRESERVE MY LIFE ACCORDING TO YOUR WORD.' PSALM 119:37
Understand these facts:
1) Bible study can be dangerous if you just study it without living it. 'Knowledge puffs up' (1 Corinthians 8:1 NIV). This Greek word 'puffs' is all about being inflated, like a hot-air balloon. Satan knew the Scriptures so well that he could quote them to Jesus in the wilderness but knowing the Bible isn't enough. Satan was filled with pride; it's what got him kicked out of heaven! Studying the Scriptures should keep you humble, dependent on God, and give you the right approach to life.
2) Knowledge must lead to action. God doesn't suggest things. He doesn't say, 'Please, won't you consider doing this?' or 'it would be nice if you did this'. Jesus said, 'Everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock' (Matthew 7:24 NIV). When the storm came, the wise man's life built on the rock stood firm while the foolish man's (the one who didn't practice what he knew) came crashing down.
3) Knowledge increases your responsibility. In the Spiderman movie Uncle Ben said to Spiderman 'with great power comes great responsibility' and the same is true of the Bible. If you're serious about studying your Bible, you'll have greater knowledge and you're then expected to put that into practice. 'Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins' (James 4:17 NIV). So, if you're not planning on applying the lessons you receive from your Bible study, you'd be better not to study it at all. You're just heaping up more judgment for yourself! That just about sums it up!
written by Bob Gass
'PRESERVE MY LIFE ACCORDING TO YOUR WORD.' PSALM 119:37
Understand these facts:
1) Bible study can be dangerous if you just study it without living it. 'Knowledge puffs up' (1 Corinthians 8:1 NIV). This Greek word 'puffs' is all about being inflated, like a hot-air balloon. Satan knew the Scriptures so well that he could quote them to Jesus in the wilderness but knowing the Bible isn't enough. Satan was filled with pride; it's what got him kicked out of heaven! Studying the Scriptures should keep you humble, dependent on God, and give you the right approach to life.
2) Knowledge must lead to action. God doesn't suggest things. He doesn't say, 'Please, won't you consider doing this?' or 'it would be nice if you did this'. Jesus said, 'Everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock' (Matthew 7:24 NIV). When the storm came, the wise man's life built on the rock stood firm while the foolish man's (the one who didn't practice what he knew) came crashing down.
3) Knowledge increases your responsibility. In the Spiderman movie Uncle Ben said to Spiderman 'with great power comes great responsibility' and the same is true of the Bible. If you're serious about studying your Bible, you'll have greater knowledge and you're then expected to put that into practice. 'Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins' (James 4:17 NIV). So, if you're not planning on applying the lessons you receive from your Bible study, you'd be better not to study it at all. You're just heaping up more judgment for yourself! That just about sums it up!
written by Bob Gass
