The Bible Question

In Acts 2:42, Luke tells us that as the very first New Testament church is beginning and growing. As this happens, he says that the people "devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching..." Literally, they devoted themselves to the Word of God. A couple of weeks ago, as I was preaching through this text, I brought up an issue and question that I've harped on before. I expressed my confusion and perplexion at how and why so many Christians come to "church" without their Bible. If we are (at least in part) gathering to "devote ourselves to the Word of God", it begs the question, "Why would you show up without your Bible?" Is this not like going to class without your textbook - except maybe a bit more important? It opens up a big can of worms that is worth addressing and raises some questions that are definitely worth asking and answering. I hope you'll prayerfully consider these things and add to the conversation.

Let's readdress what I'll call The Bible Question:
Why would a Christian come to study the Bible without their Bible?

The first possible answer to this question is APATHY. While we would love for it to be true that everyone who calls himself a Christian is indeed a genuine follower of Jesus Christ, we know that this is just not the case here in North America. It's still actually cultural for many people to "go to church" on a Sunday morning, mindlessly ignoring WHY they are even going. To be clear with the words from Acts, they have not really given much thought to "devoting themselves" to the Word of God. They ultimately don't care.

That said, I refuse to believe that the first explanation is an accurate description of most worship service attenders, much less Christians. So what else could it be? Another possibility is that we've been swayed and enabled by TECHNOLOGY. Let me be very specific with what I mean by this. I know that there are quite a few people who have transitioned to using a digital Bible - like the YouVersion app. (While I cannot personally make that transition - nor do I want to - I'm not going to hold that over someone else's head if they have.) That's not what I'm aiming at when I say technology. Several years ago, as we moved to using screens in our worship services, we put up lyrics to songs and scriptures. Over time, I think a lot of people just became dependent on this. Now it's not just a dependency, but an expectation. To me, this moves into an argument that bridges countless subjects. The debate rages on: Just because we can do something, does that mean we should? Just because we've invented and created the means (technology) to do something, does that automatically make it beneficial? I don't think so. Is it possible that we've been enabling and fostering biblical ignorance and even illiteracy? I ask this because I sadly believe there are many people sitting in our congregations today - men and women who have been "Christians" for several years - who don't even know where certain books of the Bible are or where many scriptures they've known all their lives are even located. Has technology enabled this? It's quite possible.

Then of course there are those who (for whatever reason) have either not been given or been able to purchase a Bible of their own. All I can say to that is, at The Brook, if we know anyone in that position, we will put a Bible in their hands that day. It's theirs! We can fix that problem really quickly.

So the first question was mine:
Why would a Christian come to study the Bible without their Bible?

Now allow me, on behalf of others, to turn the question sideways:
Why should a Christian come to study the Bible with their Bible?

Let's make it even plainer in North American, Western Church terms:
Why should I bring my Bible to church?

Great question. I'm glad someone asked it.
To begin with, responding to some of what I was alluding to about technology, if you are a child of God - a follower of Christ - then you are by nature of your new spiritual life, a student of the Word of God. You are also a messenger of the Good News of the gospel. Not only that, as the "temple of the Holy Spirit" (1 Corinthians 6:19), your life has ultimately become an altar for the Word of God to be revered and adored. And as Paul declares that the Word of God is "the sword of the Spirit" (Ephesians 6:17), we understand that the Bible is the tool by which the Holy Spirit comforts, convicts, guides, leads, and instructs us. Taking all of that into account, every time the body of Christ gathers to "devote themselves" to the Word of God, it's an opportunity for you & me to do just that: redevote and recommit myself to the scriptures - to the life-giving, life-changing words of the Living Word of God. It furthers my discipline to be in the Word. DISCIPLINE

I was reminded by a friend in conversation the other day that another consideration in this matter of having my Bible in my hands and in front of my eyes while someone is preaching from it is the opportunity for the Spirit to bring to mind and memory something He has already taught me. For instance, my friend mentioned how there have been numerous times I was preaching, and while I was reading a scripture, the Holy Spirit brought to his mind something he had read or learned earlier in the week. Or maybe even much earlier in life. The Lord reaffirmed for him something that he needed to hear, read, and be reminded of that, quite honestly, had nothing to do with what I was preaching. Don't underestimate for a second the life-changing, mind-transforming possibilities of what the Spirit can do when we have the Word in front of our eyes and our hearts and open. AFFIRMATION

There are probably many more arguments, points, and reasons why this is important. I just want to give attention to one more.

When I see a United States Marine or Green Beret or Army Ranger in full uniform, I have no question about what they're devoted to. They have given their life to the service of their country and to the cause of freedom. They are fully committed and all in.

When your son, daughter, neice, nephew, grandchild, next door neighbor, or whoever it is sees the Word of God open on your kitchen table, on your nightstand, out on the bed, or (naturally) in your hands as you are on your way to gather with the people of God, it will make a very clear statement as to what your life is devoted to. It's a nonverbal declaration of why you're headed to gather as the Body of Christ. Our reasons are the same as the church in Acts:
"And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teachings..." DEVOTION

Here at The Brook, we are challenging our people over the next weeks to tangibly, intentionally, and expectantly to come to gather as the Body of Christ with the Word of God in their hands. We are praying that as a result, it will be embedded into our hearts!