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Is Scripture Study Required of Christians?
- 09/19/07
- 22
Yesterday I received a question from a reader of this site. The question was simple: “Is Scripture study required of Christians? Is it actually discussed in the Bible?” As I wrote an answer I felt that it might be valuable to think it through carefully and even to share the answer.
I’ll be the first to admit that my knowledge of Scripture is far less than encyclopedic. However, I am quite sure that if you were to read the Bible cover-to-cover you would not find a direct command from God saying “Thou shalt read the Bible daily.” However, as we will soon see, neither would He need to give Christians such a command.
When I think about this question I am led back to the question of assurance of salvation—whether or not a Christian can be certain that he is saved. I think I am led this way because the Bible is so central, so integral to the Christian life, that to feel no love for it, no desire to study it, must be a sign of spiritual malaise. I would certainly never say that a person who does not want to study the Bible or who does not enjoy studying the Bible is not a Christian. But I would venture to say that the Christian life is so dependent upon Scripture that a person who has no regard for the Bible and who shows little interest in it would have good reason to seriously consider his salvation. Such a person would do well to examine his soul to see if he really has come to know the Lord.
Let’s look to just a few reasons why we, as Christians, should desire to know and study the Bible.
The first reason is that God draws an undeniable link between our knowledge of the Bible and our ability to live in the way He desires we live. In the book 1 John the apostle writes, “And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. Whoever says ‘I know him’ but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked” (1 John 2:3-5). How are we to know how Christ walked and how are we to imitate Him if we do not study the record of His life? How are we to be obedient to Him but by studying the rule He has given to direct us? The Bible is the primary means God uses to teach us about Himself and to challenge us by the Holy Spirit. “And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual” (1 Corinthians 2:13). So to be people who are obedient to God and who do His will, we must first know His will as given to us in the Bible.
The second reason is that God tells us that our desire to learn about the Bible and its doctrine is a sign of spiritual health. In 1 John 4:6 we read, “We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error.” Those who are truly saved will long to be taught the Bible by skilled teachers and by the spiritual authorities God has placed in their lives. They will long to know the Word of God.
The third reason is that the Bible sets us free to glorify and enjoy God. “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32). The truth, as we learn it in the Bible, gives us freedom to honor God through our lives. It sets us free from legalistic attempts to please God and frees us from our false views of God. It sets us free to know God as He is and to worship Him as He is.
In the face of this testimony, knowing that the Bible is so central to the Christian life, does God need to command us to study it and treasure it? No! Christians should be drawn to the Bible the way a baby is drawn to his mother’s milk. It is the Bible that feeds us, that nourishes us, and that equips us as saints that bring glory and honor to God. As Simon Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life!” When we wish to live in a way that pleases God, we must turn to Him and He has revealed Himself in the Bible. A spiritually healthy Christian will read the Bible and will want to read the Bible.
Now I’d like to make a rather practical observation. Desiring to know and to study the Bible does not necessarily mean that we will always be overflowing with enthusiasm to do so. When we say that we desire to study the Bible we can mean two things. We can mean that we spring out of bed in the morning eager to rush to a comfortable chair and spend some time drinking in the Word of God. Though I think all Christians long to be like this, the sad fact is that very few are. However, even if we do not have an overflowing passion of this nature, we can still desire to read the Bible in a less passionate (but no less sincere) way, knowing that the Word feeds us, that it tends to our souls, and that we would be remiss to ignore times of Bible study. Even on days when our hearts are not pounding with excitement as we turn to our Scripture reading, we can still desire to read the Bible.
My encouragement is not to wait until your heart longs for nothing more than to study the Bible before you open the cover of the Book. Rather, commit today to beginning to take time every day to read it. Ask God to give you the discipline to do so. Commit to spending even just a few minutes reading its words and a few minutes more to seek ways you can apply it to your heart. God will speak to you through His Word and show you the infinite, eternal value of studying the Bible.
I am a follower of Jesus Christ, a husband to Aileen and a father to three young children. I worship and serve as a pastor at 
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Comments (22)
It does seem rather obvious, though I would argue that the pattern of Scripture study can vary greatly from Christian to Christian. Some people profit from a routine daily time in the word with a devotional guide. Others (myself included) take a less routine but still very dedicated and serious approach.
On another note: I have launched a new blog and want to start a discussion on Federal Vision. Please check out what I have written and contribute your own thoughts. http://prochristorege.wordpress.com
Joshua 1This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it.
Seems reasonable to conclude that God therefore commands Christians to read/study His full revelation (ie: the Bible), doesn’t it?
Romans 15:4For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.
Just came across this quote:
“The lack of scriptural knowledge is the source of all evils in the church.” (John Chrysostom)
I saw something on another blog a few days ago and would like to know how y’all would address it.
We talk about how Christians should spend time in the Bible often, if not daily, to study the scriptures. Until a few hundred years ago, however, most Christians didn’t have their own copy of the Bible. Today there are still untold legions of Christians who do not have a complete Bible if they have any portion of the scriptures at all.
Given that, how can we say it is so necessary?
ChrisB,
I think your point could be approached from many angles, but the overall argument seems to me to be a fallacy.
The angle that comes to mind is that of entertainment and time priorities. One hundred years ago, reading and family visits were the main source of entertainment. Churchgoing was an indelible part of most family’s lives. This generation did take in much more Christian teaching since churchgoing was one of the main social events of the week, and the flavor of society in general was much more Judeo-Christian.
More could be said, but I’ll leave it at that.
Mat 4:4 But he answered, “It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
Jesus prayed:Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. (Joh 17:17)
Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so. (Act 17:11)
And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified. (Act 20:32)
Col 3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.
2Ti 2:15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth. Note: some translations say “Study to show yourself approved unto God..”
For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil. (Heb 5:12-14)
And we have something more sure, the prophetic word, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. (2Pe 1:19-21)
Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, (Eph 6:14-17)
The spiritual man desires the word of God. It is his spiritual food and drink. Would the natural man ask, “Must I eat food? Where is it written that I must eat?” It is just so in the spiritual realm. Those who would continue to live spiritually must dine on God’s spiritual food, and this food is the word of God.
I have several comments. First to the post itself, Tim you make many good points. As can be see from some other commenter, there are even more places in scripture where there are both explicit commands to meditate upon the word of God or implicit ones based either on the example of those throughout scripture or the repeated emphasis on the benefits that come only through an increasing knowledge of God that can only come through the intake of the Bible.
Having said that, it strikes me more and more that Christians today, myself included, often take the approach that your post’s title implies, “Is Scripture Study Required of Christians?” This shows an inner heart attitude that wants to minimize what we have to do to live out the salvation that God has so graciously given us. Asking the question that way, and that is how so many of us do ask, shows hearts that are not firmly fixed on God or living every single part of our life for him. It is in a way asking what is the minimum amount that is needed to show that my profession is real, and that carries with it the underlying idea that a person would rather not have their life turned upside down by the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Sadly, I see this all to often in myself as well, so don’t think I am throwing stones, but you and I need to constantly look to see what is the motivation that lies behind why we are even asking the questions like: Are we required to read scripture? Are we required to attend worship on the Lord’s day? Are we required to evangelize? Are we required to pray? etc. For looking at why we ask the questions will reveal something about how our heart wants something other than the overarching, all encompassing, life transforming satisfaction that can be found only in God, and instead is looking for what only God can give in something else. When you and I start to see what it is that lies behind those sort of questions, then we will start to see the idols that hide behind those questions, and repent and seek grace to get rid of them so that Christ takes the highest place in our lives.
The last thing I want to point out is for ChrisB. While there was a long period of time where Christians did not have Bibles of their own, I’m not sure that is a strong argument against the daily intake and consideration of Scripture. One of the things that stands out about the New Testaments church is how well they knew the scriptures. There are letters like 2 Corinthians that are written to a primarily Gentile congregation that are filled with allusions to the Old Testament that would only be picked up if one knew the scriptures well. They must have had some way to come to know the Bible, even if they could not read it themselves. Also, remember that one of the things that was instrumental in the reformation of the church in the 1500’s and beyond was the fact that while the Roman church had kept the scriptures not only out of the hands of people, but out of their understanding because all the Bibles were in Latin, the development of the printing press allowed the mass production of Bibles and many reformers spent many hours translating the Bible into the languages of the people. The lack of something in the past should not make us overlook the vast benefit we have today in each having a Bible that we can read and be strengthened by.
in reply to ChrisB,
We talk about how Christians should spend time in the Bible often, if not daily, to study the scriptures. Until a few hundred years ago, however, most Christians didn’t have their own copy of the Bible. Today there are still untold legions of Christians who do not have a complete Bible if they have any portion of the scriptures at all.
I think to that I would say that that’s why men like Tyndale and Wycliffe worked long and hard to get the Bible into the vernacular language of the people, and it’s why the printing press was such a divine blessing.
It’s also why the Jews historically have placed a high value on literacy and education (or at least on oral tradition) even in historical eras when most people were illiterate and uneducated. They knew, and many still believe, that constant Scripture study is of vital importance, because we want to hang on every word that comes from God’s mouth, and we have the privilege of having that in a written form.
Praise God for the modern age, when we have the blessing of high literacy, of not just one but dozens of English translations of the Bible, of access to the Word of God for as low as a couple dollars (or even free). Praise God also for Wycliffe Bible Translators and other organizations who seek to translate the Bible into every human language on earth, and by God’s grace they will.
I think that your question is similar to asking, “Why should God send people to hell who have never heard the gospel before?” Our response shouldn’t be that God is unjust or that it’s okay for these unreached peoples not to be saved; rather our response should be, let’s fix this problem and go tell them as soon as we possibly can!
Chris B.
I would say that it is necessary despite the historical situation you mention in the same way that it is necessary thata I love my wife, despite the fact that not everyone has a wife to love.
Chris B.
I would say that it is necessary despite the historical situation you mention in the same way that it is necessary thata I love my wife, despite the fact that not everyone has a wife to love.
Chris B.
I would say that it is necessary despite the historical situation you mention in the same way that it is necessary thata I love my wife, despite the fact that not everyone has a wife to love.
Sorry about the repeats…
Not outright commands, but some exhortations from the Old Testament:
“Blessed is the manWho walks not in the counsel of the wicked,Nor stands in the way of sinners,Nor sits in the seat of scoffers;But his delight is in the law of the LORD,And on his law he meditates day and night.”(Psalm 1:1-2)
“How can a young man keep his way pure?By guarding it according to your word.With my whole heart I seek you;Let me not wander from your commandments!I have stored up your word in my heart,That I might not sin against you.Blessed are you, O Lord;Teach me your statutes!With my lips I declareAll the rules of your mouth.In the way of your testimonies I delightAs much as in all riches.I will meditate on your preceptsAnd fix my eyes on your ways.I will delight in your statutes;I will not forget your word.”(Psalm 119:9-16)
Sewing, I was looking at posting Psalm 1 but you beat me to it. :) Psalm 1 is an amazing promise to those who meditate on the Word of God.
Speaking of that, I’m going to go and read my Bible.
Everyone, thanks for considering my question. I’ve enjoyed reading your comments. I especially like Daryl’s: Do I have to love my wife since everyone doesn’t have one? :)
When I first saw the argument I shared with you, my response was, yes lots of people didn’t have a Bible, but since I have 10, I think that privilege carries with it a certain responsibility. If nothing else, we owe it to those who died so we could have non-Latin Bibles to use them until they fall apart.
My favorite approach, though, comes from Howard Hendricks: If you think of the Bible like a love letter, how long would you go without reading what your beloved has sent you. If you don’t care what she wrote, do you really love her?
Great discussion. Perhaps before we get to the ‘practical’ reasons why we should read the Bible (like knowing how to live) we should consider that Scripture and the person of Jesus are God’s appointed means to make Himself known. He did not have to reveal himself at all. It is a great mercy that he did. If we want to know God we can’t bypass Scripture. If we are to be reconciled to this God who graciously reveals himself, then only Scripture shows us Jesus and his great work for sinners. And the whole time God’s Spirit is at work transforming us through his Bible. I agree that the question should not be “Do I have to?”, but something which reflects gratitude to our generous self disclosing God.
John 15:7-8, “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”
Psalms 119
Everyone has left such gracious comments, including the last two by ChrisB and Cathy. But ChrisB also made a distinctly valuable point:
“…We owe it to those who died so we could have non-Latin Bibles to use them until they fall apart.”
We owe it to Tyndale and so many others who lived and fought and strove and suffered and died so that God’s Word could be known in the indigenous tongue of its hearers, and not kept inaccessible to the common man and woman behind the barrier of mediaeval Latin and the dictates of a worldly authority.
Do we fall into presuming that we will always have the freedom and privilege of reading the Bible? Christians in more hostile parts of the world have to share one illegal copy of the Bible between a church of thousands. Perhaps the gift of God’s word in conjunction with all the blessings that we enjoy in relatively peaceful societies ( I am writing from Australia), mean that we have a responsibility to consume and attend to Scripture more than we do. There may come a day when these privileges will be taken from us.
I find it telling that God tells us no less than four times in Deuteronomy to teach the law to our children. He normally doesn’t waste His time repeating Himself.
May I also add this thought for ChrisBJesus says in Luke 12:48”Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more.” ESVI know the context may not be totally on—but I believe their is a valid principle here.Those of us who have maybe 15 bibles around the house in many different translations———What will the Lord say to us if we just let them collect dust. If we do not treasure and read and study so that the Word of God can get the dust out of our souls? There are believers in Muslim countries today who would pay with their life if they were found with a bible. And yet they so value the word that they risk their lives daily and read it anyway.Other believers in other places for whatever reason do not have a copy of the scripture, and many of them would gladly give an arm or a leg or an eye to have a copy of what we take for granted everyday! IT PUTS ME TO SHAME!