Knowing the Bible Better
Eat God’s Word!
How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word. Psalm 119:9
How well do you know the Bible? Most Christians may say “fairly well,” and we pastors will say “very well,” but secretly, we may be in fear that others will find out that we do not know His Word so well after all. Many of us may rationalize it, fake it, or ignore it, but for some reason, we do not make the effort or exercise diligence to really get to know it. Perhaps, it is too much work for some; perhaps, the fear factor is too high and it is easier to say “yes, I know” (basically lie), than to actually get to know Christ and His Bible. Who am I talking about? Me…the guy who started an international ministry, teaching people how to study the Bible. When I first started this endeavor some 25 years ago, I was very biblically illiterate and faked my way through it. But, I had some good mentors who called me on it, so I endeavored be more diligent and get to know the Bible, finding it was not so fearful and daunting as I thought. In fact, it was fun—and still is. But, many Christians and even some pastors are still in the dark about His Word.
I have to own up to some judgmental feelings I have from time to time with this. When I give a seminar or consult with a church, every now and then I am absolutely astounded by some pastors who lack basic Bible knowledge. Just the other day, a pastor at a very large church asked me if I had ever heard of Caleb. I thought he must mean a person, so I was raking my mind about who he could be talking about. (I did not want to look dumb.) Then, he asked if this Caleb could be found in Genesis. It was one of those moments when my mouth opened but no words came out. I can understand why some Christians might not know that Caleb was one of the original few people of the Exodus who was faithful and allowed to enter the Promise Land, and that the story can be found in Numbers and Deuteronomy—but a pastor who did not know? I can also at times understand when Christians say they do not have the time or it is too hard to read the Bible—but pastors? Pasto