Lord’s Day, Vol. 4 No. 10

Reading Through the Bible In One Year

It has been more than two months since the launch of the holy endeavour to read through the Bible in one year. How have you been doing? If you have been keeping up with your daily reading, thank God for sustaining you. If you missed some readings, I urge you to set time aside on the Lord’s Day to catch up on your reading. May God grant you His grace to persevere in this resolution.

What are the benefits of consistent input of God’s Word in your heart and mind? It will lead you toward spiritual maturity as the Apostle Paul said to Timothy:

2 Timothy 3:16-17 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.

All Scripture is God-breathed. It describes the divine origin and source of Scripture. It is the voice of God speaking through Scripture to you. It carries with it the divine authority of God.

All must stand corrected, all critics silenced according to that which is written in Scripture. Paul did not write “all the scripture” but “all scripture”. The absence of the definite article emphasizes the quality and character of Scripture.

The Bible carries the credentials of the Almighty God. There is no part of Scripture that is not the very voice of God. All 66 books of it are God-breathed – inspired. The Bible is the only Book God has ever written.

The word “Scripture” tells us that God has committed His revelation to mankind in writing. Words have meaning and sentences convey meaning by their syntax and grammar. We can, therefore, study and understand the divine message that is given to us.

Paul says to Timothy in 2 Timothy 3:15 that Scripture has the power to make him wise unto salvation. Scripture delivers all truth that is sufficient and needful for our salvation. Scripture is life-giving! It is life-transforming!

“The genius of the Protestant faith has always been that the Holy Spirit speaks through the Scripture directly to the individual” [Carl McIntire]. All scripture is profitable when we appropriate it for ourselves with prayer.

Firstly, Scripture teaches us what doctrines we must hold. Our faith is an objective faith. How we live our lives, depend very much on the doctrines that we believe in. Therefore, those who are uncertain of their doctrines or principles are almost always those who go wrong in their practice.

Dr Martyn Lloyd Jones made an insightful observation when he said, “We live in an age of specialist, and the specialist is almost invariably a man who is so lost in details that he often forgets principles. Most of the breakdown in life today is due to the fact that certain basic principles have been forgotten.”

Secondly, Scripture is profitable for reproof. As a warning, convicts us of that which is false, for the confuting of error. False doctrines pointed out and false teachers exposed.

Thirdly, Scripture is profitable for correction, to set us on the right path again when we go astray. Scripture teaches us how we must put away sin and put on holiness. May our response be like the psalmist: “With my whole heart have I sought thee, O let me not wander from thy commandments. Thy word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against thee” (Psalm 119:10-11).

Fourthly, Scripture is profitable for effectual instruction in righteousness, teaching us what is good and to eschew evil.

In summary, Scripture teaches us the principles of the Christian faith. It reproofs of errors and false teachings. Scripture is for correction of life and evil manners! Finally, Scripture is for instructions in the precepts of holy life and Christian conversation!¹

 What is the spiritual benefit when we spend time reading and meditating on God’s Word? “That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works” (2 Timothy 3:17).

The word “perfect” means complete, of one able to meet all demands, qualified, fully ready and mature. That the man of God, the man who is called a Christian, might be thoroughly furnished.

It speaks of a thorough spiritual and moral preparedness, to be equipped completely, made adequate to show forth a godly life by all the good works that we do to bless the people around us, for the honour and glory of God.

Amen.

Yours lovingly,

Pastor Lek Aik Wee

¹ William Lyford, The Instructed Christian, Soli Deo Gloria Publications, 1847, 34-35.