alpha@wefc

Why & How Should I Read The Bible? Sat, 27 Sep, 2008

Posted by Adrian T in Alpha 2008/02, Alpha Course, Alpha Talks, alpha@wefc, Kee Oon L.
Tags: Alpha 2008/02, Alpha Course, Alpha Talks, alpha@wefc, Christianity, Religion
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Hello, I’m Kee Oon, I’m one of the pastors here in this church.

Today we are talking about the Bible. Why should I read it? How should I read it?

Well, firstly, we must note that the Bible is a uniquely popular book. It is estimated that 44 million Bibles are sold worldwide every year. And this is only considering its recent sales. If we include sales throughout its 2,000 year history, it would top the bestseller lists by a huge, huge margin.

Let’s look at its translation. The whole Bible has been translated into about 400 languages. And a few thousand languages have at least one portion of the Bible translated into their language.

In comparison, the works of Shakespeare have been translated into 60 languages and the Quran has been translated into 128 languages.

Second, the Bible is a uniquely powerful book. Countless people’s lives have been supernaturally transformed through the reading of the Bible.

I minister in the prison and there are so many people’s lives that have been changed because of a life-changing encounter with the words in the Bible. It has supernatural power, because these are the words of God.

Third, the Bible is a uniquely precious book. People die for it! Most if not all of the original human authors suffered and died! They had been with Jesus when he was alive. They wrote the gospels and letters about him – some of which form the Bible we hold today. They were so convinced of what they wrote that they were willing to suffer and die for it.

I previously had doubts about whether this Bible I hold is real or a 2,000 year con-job by someone sitting down to create a new religion. But I couldn’t answer why they would die for it if it was a work of fiction. Why would anyone die for something they knew is not true?

This is also why people in restricted countries would regularly put their life on the line just to get a copy of the precious Bible in their language. They go through great personal risks just to get a personal copy of the Bible.

So … this Bible is popular – with millions of copies and thousands of translations; it is powerful in changing many lives, it is so precious to us Christians that people die for it.

Why? Why is it so popular, powerful & precious?

What is the Bible actually? Well, it is a book, but a book about what?

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God has Spoken – REVELATION

The key question is about knowing God. How do we know what God is like?

Well, assuming you want to know about me, how do you know me? You could spy on me and follow me around, talk to people who know me and you could find out something about me. But please don’t do that – I don’t want to feel followed.

But how do you know God? You can’t spy on him, you can’t follow him around, you can’t talk to his friends who know him. Hey! This is God we’re talking about! How do you know about God?

You know about God only if he reveals himself to you. If God could be tracked down, followed, spied on, – he can’t be a very great God. What we know about God depends totally on what he wants to reveal about himself.

So … how has God revealed about himself?

God has revealed himself through his Bible. In it, we find direct statements about his character - God is love, God hates sin, God is just, God is like a father.

In the Bible stories, we learn how he deals with his people. He rescues them, he also punishes them (but only as a loving father punishes a son).

But most of all, God reveals himself in human form – in the person of Jesus Christ.

When we see all of Jesus actions while he was on earth – his dealings with people, his teachings, his sufferings, his crucifixion and death – we see what God is like.

Not just a good example of what God is like, but God himself.

Lastly, in the Bible, God reveals who Man is and how we are to live. It is a handbook for our life, how we are to behave, how we relate to our families, how we relate to people around us.

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All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. - 2 Timothy 3:16-17

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This God-breathed means divinely inspired, it is our authority for faith and life.

So … Why is the Bible so central to Christians? Because Christianity is a revealed faith. In the Bible, God reveals his character, his actions with his people, even himself through the person of Jesus Christ; and it reveals how we humans are supposed to live.

Now, what kind of writings are in the Bible?

Yes, there’s the law and rules – do this, don’t do that – this governs how we humans are supposed to live.

There’s also plenty of stories and history about how God has dealt with man. These tell us who God is and his character. There’s the gospels that record Jesus’ life while here on earth. There’s poetry, letters.

We Christians believe that the Bible is inspired by God and it is God’s revelation to Man. Thus it is our authority for what we believe and how we act.

You can’t be a Christian without believing the Bible. There are some Bibles behind – go check out what it looks like inside.

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God Speaks – RELATIONSHIP

Ok, so we’ve discussed that the Bible is about God revealing himself. But what is this revelation about?

It is about a relationship – a love relationship. It starts with God creating man for a relationship. They enjoyed this relationship but Man sinned and rejected him.

As we already explored in previous talks, the most important way God demonstrated His love for us was by sending us His son Jesus to die for our sins and to restore our relationship with him.

It’s been said that the different parts of the Bible are all about Jesus. The Old Testament is Jesus predicted; the Gospels are Jesus revealed; the book of Acts is Jesus preached; the Epistles is about Jesus explained, and book of Revelation, about Jesus expected.

The point is … it’s all about Jesus. Through the Bible we get to know Jesus better. And through the Bible, he speaks to us today. It is like a letter from a close friend – sharing his experiences and thoughts; a very special thing.

The objective of our Bible reading should be to bring us closer to God. Our relationship with God is two-way. We talk to God in prayer (which we’ll explore next week), and God speaks to us in many ways, but especially through the Bible – His written word.

It cannot be read in an intellectual way like a textbook. During Jesus’ lifetime, there was a group of religious people who studied the scriptures in this wrong way. Jesus scolded them saying,

“You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life.“

It is easy to be like these religious people. When we read the Bible it should be more than just an intellectual exercise of our minds.

As part of our relationship with God it should involve our hearts and wills as well, like reading that letter from someone we love. How do we do that? That will be the last part of tonight’s talk but I’ll like to explain just one more thing before we get there. And that’s the question of …

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What happens when God speaks through the Bible?

Well first, if you are not yet a Christian, God brings faith to you to believe in him.

In the Bible, we read

Faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ. – Romans 10:17.

Often, it is through the reading of the Bible that people come to believe in Jesus Christ.

Some of them describe it as suddenly understanding what God is all about. Others describe it as seeing themselves from God’s perspective and seeing the sin in their lives and the love of God at the same time.

If you are a Christian, reading the Bible in the right way brings several things:

One, it transforms us to become more like Christ. Paul says,

“..we are being transformed into his likeness with every-increasing glory.“

- 2 Corinthians 3:18

Two, it brings us peace and joy – even in the midst of a crisis. I have lost count of the many times that reading God’s Word has brought me calm in a stressful situation.

There is a passage in Philippians that says this beautifully,

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.“

Three, it guides us in life. Psalm 119:105 says

“Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”

Four, it pierces to our very hearts and judges our motives. Hebrews 4:12 says

“The word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.“

Five, it is our defence when attacked by the devil with temptations. The Gospels record how Jesus was tempted by the devil. And Jesus faced every temptation with a verse from scriptures.

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How Should I Read the Bible?

Alright, so we’re back to the question of HOW we read the Bible.

Well first off, the Bible is quite a large book so it might not be a good idea to start reading from the beginning to the end like a story book. If you’re reading the Bible for the first time, I would suggest reading one of the Gospels first – perhaps start with the Gospel of John or Luke.

We had noted that the Bible is about God’s revelation and it is a revelation to build a relationship.

So… the Bible should be read in a particular way. Remember … we said that an intellectual reading the Bible will understand the words but he will miss the relationship purpose of the Bible. The Bible must be approached with a particular attitude.

Well here are a few steps in reading the Bible.

First, Time. Put aside a particular time a day to read the Bible. Don’t be overly ambitious. A few minutes a day is better than 2 hours the first day and then giving up after that. Develop a regular daily patter in reading the Bible.

Second, Place. Find a time and place where you will not be disturbed so that you can focus and ask God to speak to you. I find that the mornings are usually good. Some people like to do it the very first thing in the morning. For me, I’m still half asleep. I prefer coming into the office early and then reading my Bible.

Third, Method. Here are 3 simple steps:

• Start by asking God to speak to you.
• Read the passage.
• Ask yourself – What does it say? What does it mean? How does it apply to me?

Fourth, Respond to God in prayer. Thank him for what you learnt today.

Fifth, Practice. Put it into practice. Find ways to make what you have read a real part of your life for that day.
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Conclusion

So this is what the Bible is about.

It is God’s revelation to us about who He is and how we are to live.

It is God wanting a personal relationship with us.

If we truly want to know God then we have to look into the Bible to see what it says.

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- Ps Lim Kee Oon.

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[Editor's Note: pdf copies of the talk of the speaker's notes can be found HERE.]