Knowing the Holy Scriptures

And that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. — 2 Timothy 3:15

In the Christian life, there is no substitute for one-on-one, personal time with God. Reading, learning, and knowing the Holy Scriptures found in the Bible is absolutely essential if you are going to live for Him. If we simply made reading our Bibles regularly essential to our daily lives, we would become much more likely to be “wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.”

I believe this generation is the laziest generation that has ever existed. There is nobody that has done less with more. This generation can access apps that will read the Bible to them for free, and people still won’t listen to it. We have an abundance of Bibles, just not an abundance of readers. God is constantly speaking; most just don’t have ears to hear. It takes time to get alone with God, yet we have convinced ourselves that we don’t have any time. It takes effort to study His Word, yet we are convinced that we are too busy. It takes energy to do His will, yet we have convinced ourselves that we are too tired. It seems like everybody wants maximum reward for minimum effort.

We are the “quick-fix” generation. I remember early on in my Christian walk that I would listen to a sermon on tape, but not read the Word. I didn’t mind warming my soul by the fires of other men. They had the fire of God. They spent time with Him. It was obvious that God was speaking to them and through them. Why wasn’t He speaking to and through me? The truth is that I wasn’t willing to do the work. I was more like Eve. Remember the temptation?

And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. – Genesis 3:6

Did you see it? She wanted to be wise. She thought she could achieve it by a single, temporary act. Isn’t this still the temptation? The overwhelming majority of people who say they are Christians want the rewards of an intimate walk with Christ, but do not want to lift a finger to actually walk with Him. Let me go to church for an hour a week. Let me listen to a podcast. Let me turn on Christian radio. But, don’t ask me to get alone with God. A close, intimate walk with Him will change you. We aren’t really interested in that kind of change. We would rather listen to men preach entertaining messages and then argue about who is preaching right and who is preaching wrong. It is much easier to enter a “my church is better than your church” or “my pastor is better than your pastor” argument on Facebook than it is to dig into the Word and pray.

I want to be wise for salvation. This kind of wisdom is only found in the Holy Bible. I wish I had started studying the World of God immediately after I got saved. I had no excuse. I had a Bible. I had time. I was just lazy. That laziness led to some dumb decisions and a terrible theology. Instead of being wise and fleeing sexual immorality (1 Corinthians 6:18), I engaged in it repeatedly and asked for forgiveness repeatedly. I opted for sin cycles over spending time with Him and allowing Him to change my heart. I knew 1 John 1:9 and figured that all I had to do was confess my sins and I was “good to go.” It seemed like a pretty good plan at the time, I could remain in my sin and be free from the consequences.

How foolish I was.

How foolish many are today.

Wisdom is grown over time. It is only found in the Holy Scriptures, for they tell us about Jesus Christ, who is the only one who can pick us up, turn us around, and place our feet on a firm foundation.

Evaluate your plan for spending time in the Word of God.

There are no substitutes.

“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” — Psalm 119:105

Later

Adam