Five essential elements of Bible engagement

Your word is a lamp for my feet,
a light for my path. Psalm 119:105

Bible engagement is a key element to spiritual success because it is the primary way God speaks to us. The five letters in the word HEART can help us to remember the essential elements of Bible engagement. 

Hear

“So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Romans 10:17 NKJ

Hearing is the easiest way to get God’s word. Faith Comes by Hearing provided free downloads of the Bible in the MP3 format.

Examine (read)
“Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.” Revelation 1:3 NIV
 
Hearing is a passive way of getting God’s word. We only remember 5 – 10% of what we hear. Reading is more effective.

The habit of daily Bible reading will help you to grow spiritually in a way nothing else will. If you read three chapters of the Bible a day and five chapters on Sunday you will read through the whole Bible in a year. That should take about 15 to 20 minutes a day. If you miss a day don’t panic. You wouldn’t quit eating if you missed a meal.

You can download a Bible reading plan here.
 
Analyze (study)
“But the people of Berea were more open-minded than those in Thessalonica, and gladly listened to the message. They searched the Scriptures day by day to check up on Paul and Silas' statements to see if they were really so.” Acts 17:11 TLB

Studying is more than reading. It involves writing down notes and using other study sources. Bible study allows you to feed yourself. One of the signs of Christian maturity is that you no longer need someone to feed you. You can feed yourself and others.

Remember (memorize)
“Obey me and live! Guard my words as your most precious possession. Write them down, and also keep them deep within your heart.” Proverbs 7:2 TLB

You can only remember 5 – 10% of what you hear and up to 30% of what you study but you will remember 100% of what you memorize.

Think (meditate)
“Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.” Psalm 1:1-2 NIV

Reading and memorizing scripture can become mechanical. Even Bible study can become nothing more than an academic exercise. Meditation can make the Word of God a part of your life.

View a video of “Get a Strong Grasp on the Bible.”

GET THE BOOK:

MasterLife: Developing a Rich Personal Relationship with the Master

This is part of the sermon series “How To Be Spiritually Successful.” It is based on the Masterlife study “The Disciple's Cross.”

Being Baptist: the Authority of the Bible

Before the Reformation, the church recognized two sources of authority: the Bible and the traditions of the church. These traditions included ecumenical councils, the writings of church fathers, and the infallibility of the Pope. As a result many heresies crept into the church. One was that the church was the only source of forgiveness for sins. Another was that you could use money to buy forgiveness for sins past & future. Church leaders would control both kings and the people with the threat of hell.

Martin Luther and other reformers believed that the Bible was the final authority and superior to church tradition. Luther challenged the church on 95 wrong teachings and appealed to the Bible for his arguments. The Reformation led many churches across Europe to declare their independence from the Pope.

Baptists follow this teaching from the Reformation. We believe in the Bible as the sole authority for faith and practice. The Baptist Faith & Message (1963) states:

The Holy Bible was written by men divinely inspired and is the record of Gods revelation of Himself to man. It is a perfect treasure of divine instruction. It has God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth, without any mixture of error, for its matter. It reveals the principles by which God judges us; and therefore is, and will remain to the end of the world, the true center of Christian union, and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and religious opinions should be tried. The criterion by which the Bible is to be interpreted is Jesus Christ.

Many people today believe that tradition is equal to the Bible. One Baptist was winning an argument regarding a controversial teaching. His opponent said, “I don't care what the Bible says, it ain’t Baptist!”

There are many regional beliefs that Baptists have that are not grounded in the Bible. These often begin, “Baptists don't...”

You can fill in the blank with many cultural prejudices about dancing, movies, women wearing pants and more. One infamous belief was the defense of slavery by some Baptist churches. Baptists repented of this upon a closer examination of scriptures.

One principle of the Reformation is called ecclesia semper reformanda est, which is Latin for “the church is always to be reformed.” The Baptist movement was born as a result of examination of the scriptures. For more than 400 years Baptists have examined the scriptures and adapted their doctrine accordingly. This principle has helped Baptists to continue to grow as other denominations began to decline.

Baptist leaders must know the Bible well and dedicate themselves to lifelong study of the scriptures if we are to continue to keep our churches free from doctrinal error.

“Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.” Psalm 119:105 (KJV)

You've got the time

As Baptists, we claim to be people of "the Book” but too many Christians have never read through the New Testament. Few Christians spend enough time with the Bible to let it meaningfully impact our lives. The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship is providing audio New Testaments to its churches so that, together, we will be more deeply formed in Christ likeness and more committed to our mission of redemption in the world.

Baptist Temple will be distributing these audio Bibles on September 5th. We are asking our members and friends to commit 28 minutes each day to listening to the Bible over the next 40 days. The Bible says, "the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword..." (Hebrews 4:12)

Listening to the Bible together will have a deep impact on each of us as individuals and together as a church. God tells us (Isaiah 55:11) that His Word will not return empty but will accomplish His will.

The format of the audio Bible is MP3. This is the most common digital audio file and will play in your computer, your cars CD player (if it is marked MP3) or your DvD player.

The audio Bible is a dramatized English Standard version of the New Testament. It is also available in Spanish in the dramatized NIV. Children will receive the Kidz Audio Bible filled with songs and exciting dramatized stories.

You can download the free audio Bible here.

Jesus and the Bible

Message from Sunday,
October 4:

Jesus and the Bible
(Matthew 5:17-48)

To believe the Bible is the Word of God, but separate it from daily experience is to misuse it, and to ignore Christ’s pattern for using the Bible.

Baptists burning Bibles?

I thought it was a play on words but it is not. A Baptist church is going to be burning Bibles that are not the King James Version. They are doing this in celebration of Halloween of all things. (Maybe they got tired of handing out candy.)

Is this what happens when you have religion without Christ? The Bible says that cursing and bitterness are in the mouths of those who do not know the way of peace and do not seek God (Rom. 3:13-17).

This is another example of a religious group trying to keep people from reading the Bible in their own language. In the mid 1300’s John Wycliff was scorned for translating the Bible into English. They said, “The jewel of the clergy has become the toy of the laity.”

Opponents burned every copy of the English Bible they could find. Wycliff’s translation survived and became the foundation for the King James Bible.

Jan Hus was another reformer who believed that the Bible should be in the language of the people. He was burned to death by religious leaders who started the fire with pages from Wycliff’s translation.

Thankfully, these contemporary enemies of the Kingdom of God are limited to burning Bibles, music and the writings of some leading Christian thinkers, such as Billy Graham and Mother Theresa.

The biggest irony is that this particular group took the name Baptist, a group that has championed religious liberty from the beginning.

They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips. Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood: Destruction and misery are in their ways: And the way of peace have they not known. Romans 3:12-17 (King James Version)