Article by David T. Crum | Photo: Adobe Stock
Opening the Scriptures and reading the text are challenging for those with no Christian background or little knowledge of the Bible. Like many others, when I first read the Bible, I naturally started with the first book—Genesis. I didn’t know of Jesus, except that He was the world’s Savior. I didn’t know who Paul or Moses were. My Scriptural knowledge was non-existent.
Thankfully, the Lord provided me with future insight and instruction as I slowly understood the faith. I was fortunate to gain further understanding in Bible college and seminary. One professor emphasized prayer before studying the Word. More specifically, he said to pray for wisdom, knowledge, and understanding. Likewise, we should start our Bible reading with sincerity, devotion, and reverence to God Almighty.
I wholeheartedly believe I was a babe in Christ when I opened my first Bible. The Lord unquestionably planted a seed. However, I struggled with Scripture knowledge. Not everyone can receive formal education on the Scriptures or Christian theology. How do these people, with little to no Christian instruction, gain scriptural expertise outside of standard education?
First, it is the Lord who will bring such an understanding. The Reformers acknowledged the Lord divinely inspired the Word of God. As God communicated through the prophets in Old Testament times, the Scriptures are our direct communication with Him today. J.H. Merle D’Aubigne wrote, “No one can recognize the Spirit of God in the Scriptures, except one whose heart God had opened.”[1] He adds, “To discern an object, we must have the eye to see it. Now it is God who gives us that eye, and He gives it to us through the Scriptures themselves. It is Scripture which works this miracle of regeneration.”[2]
D’Aubigne suggested that one must be born-again before they could even comprehend the Scriptures. Of course, the Bible supports this argument. In Luke Chapter 8, the “seed is referred to as the Word of God (v. 11).” D’Aubigne commented further on this, “The seed and the Word have equally in them a certain power, which manifests itself in the fields or in the hearts, by the fruits which it produces, and those fruits are such as to force us to recognize in them the work of God.”[3]
Becoming born-again is a radical experience but doesn’t provide an instant understanding of the Scriptures or theology. Therefore, it remains crucial to feed the Spirit to gain additional comprehension. A new Christian should go to a Bible-teaching church, reject sin, and fellowship with other believers. But most importantly, they should dive into the Bible daily and study the Word of God. D’Aubigne said it best:
Read, search, sift, weigh carefully in your minds the words which are found there, word after word, line after line. Mark! When in the midst of your reading, the Holy Spirit, which has moved the holy men of God, shall suddenly shed His light into your hearts, as Paul says, 2 Cor. iv. 6; when that Holy Spirit shall testify within you that Jesus is the Son of God, the Saviour; when that Spirit shall convince you that God gives to you life eternal, and that that life is in His Son.”[4]
While traditions have a place in Christianity, the Scriptures are the foundation of the faith. Men such as Martin Luther, John Calvin, and John Knox held the Bible as the core tenet of Christianity. Rightfully so, the Bible transforms lives and helps believers grow in spirit and truth.
All Christians want to do their part for the kingdom and change the world. We must remain patient, study diligently, and do our part for the kingdom so the Lord can use us for His purpose and glory. Until then, do not waste your time worrying about tomorrow; live in the Word of God so you are ready when the Lord calls upon you.
[1] J.H. Merle D’Aubigne, The Authority of God: Four Discourses, (Harrisonburg: Sprinkle Publications, 2008), 99.
[3] D’Aubigne, The Authority of God: Four Discourses, 100.