Nearly anyone who believes in Jesus will tell you, if you ask, that everybody should study the Bible. “It’s God’s word,” they’ll explain. Okay, let’s look at that. It’s God’s word. So what? How does knowing what it is – God’s word – tell me that I’m supposed to study it? And more to the point, if you’re going to tell me that I should study the Bible because it’s God word, shouldn’t you (the one who’s telling me that) be studying it too? And yet, how many of those who claim to follow Jesus actually spend time studying the Scriptures; not just reading the verse of the day, but actually digging in and studying?
This article, then, is not aimed at persuading you that you should study God’s word; it’s pretty certain you already believe that. Rather, I’m hoping that by looking more closely at why we should study the Scriptures, it might help to shift some priorities, so that more people will actually do what they already know they should do.
Let’s start by clearing up an obvious problem: there really is no logical way to go directly from “the Bible is X” to “you should do Y.” This is an example of what philosophers call the is-ought problem, which basically means that statements about what is factually correct do not, by themselves, ever prove that I ought to do, or avoid doing, any particular thing. There needs to be more to the argument than just an “is” statement.
A different, but similar, problem arises if I try to make the case by looking at the example of the early church. We’re told in Acts 2:42 that the believers:
…devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
But does that mean that we have to do the same thing? As it stands, this is just another “is” statement. There’s nothing here, or anywhere else, that tells us we have to do what they did. After all, that very same paragraph also tells us in verses 44-45 that:
All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need.
Obviously, most churches, and most followers of Jesus, don’t practice communal living the way the early church in Jerusalem did. We recognize, then, that simply because the first generation of believers did something, that does not necessarily mean we have to do it too.
So, although I myself believe that Bible study ought to be a priority, I can’t condemn too harshly those believers who don’t do it. If all they know about the Bible is that it’s God’s word, which is an “is statement,” then it’s hardly surprising that many of them have not made Bible study a priority. So what are the actual reasons?
Legitimate reasons to study the Bible, or to do anything else for that matter, can be broken down into two basic arguments: it’s right to do it, or it will benefit those who do it. We can call these the moral argument and the practical argument. And, as should be obvious, they are not mutually exclusive; it’s quite possible that something I ought to do for moral reasons is also in my interest to do. Being kind to my wife, for example, is something I should do because God commanded it (1 Peter 3:7). But I also love seeing her happy and I really don’t want her to be angry with me, so I gain from doing what is morally right. On the other hand, giving my money to help someone else costs me. I might receive some benefit to myself, in the form of that person’s gratitude, or of a good reputation, or simply from my own enjoyment of their happiness, but I also might not. Sometimes, doing the right thing has to be enough. Both reasons won’t necessarily be there in every case, then. But we’re talking specifically about studying the Bible, so how do the two kinds of reasons apply to that topic?
The Moral Argument
I’ll start first with the moral argument which, like pretty much every other moral argument about how followers of Christ should live, comes down in the end to, “God commanded it.” And notice that this is not the same as simply saying that the Bible is God’s word. A command is a very different thing from a statement about what something is. If the one giving a command has the authority to give that command, then it does create a binding moral obligation. It is a sufficient reason, in other words. Contrary to what we wanted to believe when we were children, “because I said so,” if it comes from the right authority, is enough of a reason to do something. Even if it’s something I don’t want to do.
And God has indeed given this command, although not as often, or in as many places, as one might expect. In Joshua 1:8, for example, God tells Joshua:
Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.
Similarly, although God did not tell the generation of Israelites who came out of Egypt to study his word, he did command them to teach their children:
Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up (Deuteronomy 11:18-19).
Turning to the New Testament we have Paul’s instruction to Timothy:
Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15).
…which, in its context, can reasonably be understood to be speaking to us as well.
The Practical Argument
Acting purely in obedience to God, without any hope of benefit for ourselves, is surely a very noble thing to do. It’s also very very hard. Too hard for most of us, most of the time. If Bible study had to begin each time with, “Yet not as I will, but as you will” (Matthew 26:39), I dare say that very little of it would ever be done. God knows his children; he created us, after all. That’s why, although “because I said so” is a completely valid reason for God to expect us to obey, it’s not a reason he uses very often. It’s far more common for him to say, “do X and you will receive Y as a result.”
A great example of this can be seen in the first passage I quoted in my discussion of the moral argument:
Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful (Joshua 1:8).
Along with this command is a promise; that if the Israelites will study and obey God’s word they will be “prosperous and successful.” The promise is for those who obey, not those who study, but before it’s possible to obey God’s commands we have to know what those commands are. Which comes, obviously, from studying his word.
Similarly, when Paul tells Timothy in 2 Timothy 2 to work at being able to correctly handle the Scriptures, he follows that up in the next chapter by writing:
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
In other words, God’s word is useful for those who know how to correctly handle it. Useful, in particular, for those who want to grow to be more like Jesus. If that’s not what you are pursuing, then maybe studying the Bible is not so useful for you. (But if it’s not your goal to become more like Christ, then I’m pretty surprised you got this far into an article on a website devoted to learning how to follow Jesus.) Useful is good, but I think we can find an even better reason.
Delight
We’re often told that love is not a feeling, but an action. And yet, for the people to whom I most often have the opportunity to show love; my friends, my family, and above all my wife, I find that I enjoy doing things that benefit them. Whenever I do something that they appreciate, there’s a sense of delight that springs up in my heart. That feeling of delight does not depend on there being any practical value to me; when I take our dog Moxie to the dog park, I catch part of her joy as she plays with the other dogs. And even something as simply as providing directions to a stranger on the street can leave me feeling good. And I think that’s true for most of us. (Which implies that if you want to get more enjoyment out of your life, spend more time helping others. But that’s a different article.)
But helping people isn’t the only area where this occurs. King David wrote:
The law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul.
The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple.
The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart.
The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes.
The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever.
The decrees of the Lord are firm, and all of them are righteous.
They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold;
they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the honeycomb.
By them your servant is warned; in keeping them there is great reward
(Psalm 19:7-11).
The Scriptures are useful for gaining wisdom and enlightenment. But they are also “sweeter than honey.” They give refreshment and joy. David found delight in studying God word. And he wasn’t alone; take some time to read through Psalm 119 and notice how often the psalmist (anonymous in this case) expresses his delight in studying the Scriptures.
That’s fine for them, you’re no doubt thinking, but what does that have to do with you and me? I mean, if you found studying the Bible as delightful as David did, you wouldn’t need me to tell you why you should do it, right? If you’re not spending your time studying the Bible, it’s a good bet that’s at least partly because you don’t enjoy Bible study very much.
But let’s come at it from the other side. What if the reason you don’t delight in studying God’s word is at least partly that you don’t do it? Instead of doing something because you enjoy it, what if the way things actually work is that you enjoy it after you start doing it? That should certainly change our attitude. But is there any reason to think that might be how enjoying Bible study works? As it turns out, there is.
When I look at my own experience; I love doing things for my wife. I enjoy planning, or even just thinking about, doing something that I know she’ll appreciate. I don’t get the same rush thinking about giving directions to somebody on the street, however. It’s only if I actually do it that I feel the enjoyment. So there is a example. Now, studying the Bible requires considerable more time and effort than giving directions. It’s certainly not something that I can expect to just randomly happen from time to time as I live my life. In that sense, Bible study is less like giving directions and more like taking my neighbor to the airport; ultimately I may find that I enjoy it, but until then it’s enough of a job that I have to consider how it affects the other things that I want, or need, to do. I have to decide it it’s worth what I’m giving up. But I make that decision knowing that there is at least some hope the result will not only be useful, but also enjoyable.
Bible study as an act of love.
When I first met Catherine I felt a bit of interest, but it was only when I started to spend a little time with her that I found I wanted to spend even more time. Eventually it reached the point where there was no one on earth I wanted to spend time with more than her. And I’ve discovered that, for me at least, studying the Bible has worked the same way; the more I do it, the more I want to do it. Why? The answer in both cases is the same; I fell in love, not with an activity, but with a person.
And there’s the real secret. Studying the Bible isn’t about knowing the Bible. It’s about knowing God. We learn to look deeply into the Scriptures in order to look through them to the God who inspired them. My wife doesn’t keep a journal, but if she did, and if she chose to share some of her journal with me, I would make reading it one my top priorities because, even after almost nineteen years of marriage, I still want to know her better than I currently do. In just the same way, I study the Bible because it is God’s revelation of himself, and I want to know him better than I do. As the Apostle Paul wrote:
I want to know Christ – yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead (Philippians 3:10-11).
And that is, I think, the real reason why I study God’s word. I do it because I want to know him better. Because the more time I spend with Jesus, the more time I want to spend with him.
That’s my story. Will it work for you too? If you start to study the Scriptures will you fall in love (or more deeply in love) with Jesus and want to spend even more time getting to know him better? I honestly don’t know. I know that’s what happened to me, and I’m far from the only one. Will it happen to you too? There’s only one way to find out, and that way requires both time and energy. Will it be worth it? Try it for yourself, and then you’ll know.