The Importance of Bible Study

Posted on May 7, 2018 by .....

Deuteronomy 8:3 “And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live.”

We need to create the good habit of daily Bible reading. We either have good habits or bad habits. If we have not developed the good habit of daily Bible reading then we have developed the bad habit of NOT reading the Bible daily! Time is a factor in daily Bible reading. Lots of people say they do not have the time. Let’s look at the reality of time.

James 4:14 says “Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.” As you see James teaches us that our time on earth is brief, but a vapor in comparison to eternity. If we do not develop the good habit of daily Bible study our time on this earth will catch up with us. We will have spent our life on earth not utilizing the time we had for Christ. Many Christians will meet God never having read his Word through once. Wouldn’t that be a shame; to meet God, to meet Christ, knowing everything that was done for you, because He loved you, and you never having bothered to completely read His love letter to you?

WHY IS GOD’S WORD SO IMPORTANT? – Because it contains God’s mind and will for your life, because it is the only source of absolute truth in the world, and because it is the Divine authority for your life. (II Timothy 3:16-17 – All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.) God inspired men of old with His Holy Spirit from time to time, influencing them to speak or write His will to men. (II Peter 1:20-21 – Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.)

God’s Word is infallible in its entirety. (Psalm 19:7 – The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.) – The written Word of God is perfect for our faith and practice, it is perfect in making all who follow it wise unto salvation; it is perfect to trust, it is perfect to accept and it is perfect in its demonstration of the atonement, the righteousness, and the intercession of Christ on behalf of man.

God’s Word is inerrant in its parts. (Proverbs 30:5-6 – Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him. Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.) – God’s Word contains no errors or mistakes. There are erroneous versions of the Bible out there, but God has preserved for English speaking people a Bible we can rely on and use with confidence- and that is the King James Version of the Bible. Adam Clarke speaking about these verses in Proverbs we just sited, said “Everything that God has pronounced, every inspiration which the prophets have received, is pure, without mixture of error, without dross.”

God’s Word is complete. (Revelation 22:18-19 – For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.) – These verses are a solemn warning to those who would seek to tamper with and alter the Word of God. It is dire condemnation to them proclaimed in these verses if they add unto or they take away any words from the Holy Scriptures.

We need to examine and review some of the changing (the adding to and taking away) of God’s Word that is happening today. There are over 64 thousand less words in the other versions of the Bible compared to the King James Version.
In 1611, the King James Bible translation was finished. It took 54 scholars 6 years to translate the Bible into English. That is how careful and serious they took their work. We can rest assured that the King James Version of the Bible is the complete Word of God for us today.
People were warned not to alter God’s Word some 2,000 years ago in the passage sited above from the book of Revelations. God takes His Word very seriously and He expects us to take His Word very seriously as well.

God’s Word is authoritative and final. (Psalm 119:89 – For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven.) – Although things may happen on earth that go contrary to His Word; in Heaven it is firmly settled and kept pure for eternity.

God’s Word is totally sufficient for our needs. (Psalm 19:7-9 – The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether.) – “The law of the LORD is perfect” – the Hebrew word translated as “perfect” means perfectly complete, full and whole. So the Word of the Lord is perfect, complete, and whole. It is all sufficient to meet any and every need that arises. God’s word is sufficient to transform people completely from the inside out. This begins with our salvation and continues with our sanctification.

God’s Word will accomplish what it promises. (Isaiah 55:11 – So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.) The great preacher Charles Haddon Spurgeon had this comment on Isaiah 55:11 “So we are invited to trust in an effectual gospel which can by no means fall to the ground. We have no cunningly devised fable put before us, but the infallible truth of God who cannot lie. All things else may fail, but the promise of God will be fulfilled as surely as God is God.”

God’s Word is of extreme importance to all men. We need to be in the Word of God on a daily basis. It is the bread of life to a Christian. It should be a treasure to all of those who claim the name of Christ. We should read it, study it, meditate on it, pray it back to God, claim the promises found in it, memorize it and seek to live out it’s teachings in our life. We looked at some of the attributes of the Word of God to demonstrate it’s great importance and necessity to the life of a Christian. Judging by the amount of time you spend in the Word of God each day how much importance would someone surmise that you place on the Word of God? Examine yourself and seek to put the proper importance on the Word of God in your life. (Luke 4:4 – And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.)