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There’s 1 Problem with The Bible

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I’ve always had a special interest in the Bible.
As a child, I always wanted to carry a Bible to Church.
I would always go to Sunday School carrying my little Precious Moments Bible (don’t judge me!).
I would struggle to find the right passage when the teacher began to talk.
But,
I always had my Bible with me.
As I got a little older, I always enjoyed hearing the stories of the Bible.
They were so exciting, so full of adventure.
The Bible seemed to have endless great stories.
While I never understood the real point to these stories,
I always enjoyed the Bible.
The problem with the Bible during parts of my life…..
My unwillingness to apply it.
The problem with the Bible for the Church in general….
Our unwillingness to apply it.
It’s great that we know the stories.
It’s great that we filled up our sticker chart in Sunday School.
It’s great that we can remember the characters from the stories.
It’s great that we buy custom Bible covers to carry our Bible in.
It’s great that we put it on our coffee table when company comes.
It’s not great that we often fail to apply the Bible to our lives.
It’s not great that we allow the divine book of God to have no place in our lives.
It’s not great that we hear the stories, but don’t believe them enough for them to effect us.
It’s not great that we don’t take the time to let the words of the Bible transform us.
So, there is one problem with the Bible…
It’s just a problem of our doing..
It’s in our application of it.

Don’t just read it,
APPLY IT.
2 Timothy 3:16 “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness…”
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6 responses to “There’s 1 Problem with The Bible”

  1. Benjamin Davenport Avatar
    Benjamin Davenport

    Great post! Definitely appreciate, “It’s not great that we hear the stories, but don’t believe them enough for them to [a]ffect us.” I’d say that the prerequisite to application of the Bible is to *believe* it. I have little trouble mentally assenting that the events in the Bible are historical and accurate. Where I fail is to believe in the implications of the Bible’s history: that GOD is *trustworthy*. This is so essential to our applying the Bible, because if we fail to accept that God will fulfill the promises that He has made, we won’t apply Scripture to our lives. We will merely have a form of godliness but deny its power. (2 Tim. 3:5) We must not fall victim to practical deism: God is not aloof, and He is not unwilling to work with us, in us, and through us, and He is speaking to us through His Word, the Bible!

    Reply
  2. Jonathan Pearson Avatar
    Jonathan Pearson

    @ Benjamin…. Completely agree with you. The first step to applying the Bible (outside of actually reading it) is believing that it is God’s Word and has the power to change us. We have to believe that God is faithful. Thanks for reading and sharing!

    Reply
  3. Sam Gaines Avatar
    Sam Gaines

    Great post, Jonathan. That book is worthless if it stays on the table, in our arm, in front of our eyes, or anywhere else, and never enters our hearts. Also, we have to consider the whole of it; it’s too tempting to proof-text everything and everyone, and much mischief can occur because of that. (Not that quoting the Bible is wrong; just that it should be done with great care.)

    This may be a crude analogy, but here goes: I really enjoy wine. I could open a bottle and just start quaffing, but I’d miss the all the joy of savoring the nose, observing the color, slowly rolling that first sip across my tongue and down my throat, then pausing to consider it. But that’s just wine. I think of Scripture as something to be savored all the more deeply, to be taken slowly and carefully weighed, examining my own heart against its overall guidance and direction. It’s not easy, and I fail to understand it very often. But I keep going back, and little by little, the Spirit of God works the power of those words into my heart, etching them into my memory, launching thoughts I keep coming back to throughout the day. And if I’m adrift, I’m amazed at how often God brings brothers and sisters across my path with a timely word from Scripture (He’s done that very thing with you, Jonathan!).

    Great post, and thanks for rekindling that fire for God’s Word in us.

    Reply
    1. Jonathan Pearson Avatar
      Jonathan Pearson

      Thanks for all your kind words! I completely agree with what you’re saying. Great analogy too BTW!

      Reply
  4. MB Avatar
    MB

    Totally agree with this post. I’m a small group leader for preschools at church and you would not believe how much these children can grasp even at 4. My church makes children applying biblical truths a priority. I wish I had this growing up. They don’t just learn stories. They learn truths, like Jesus is God, God controls everything, God is able, etc. You can’t teach them everything at age 4, but wow, they learn so much! And this is done for all age groups, so by the time they are adults, they will have learned how to apply these truth. I certainly did not have that when I was younger and I wish I did. Maybe things would be easier for me now.

    Reply
    1. Jack Avatar
      Jack

      Very good post indeed. Perhaps where we fail as a church is we stop challenging adults at *their* level with applying the truths of the Bible. We can produce “knowledge” in people and perhaps provide a well-thought-out argument, but that’s where it stays. There has to be a reason why, statistically speaking, the church world looks just like the regular world.

      “We” the church have to be doing our job, but “I” the member also have to be doing my job of being actively engaged and not just attending a show.

      Reply

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