Let's Go Back to the Bible

A Turning Point in Bible Study

I distinctly remember a conversation I had with a young man I had just baptized years ago in Birmingham. He was on fire for the Lord and told me that he was spending a lot of time reading the Bible. I wanted him to have a better study Bible than the one he had, so I explained the concept of translation from the Greek to English and gave him a New American Standard Version, which has outstanding center column references I find so helpful.

He called me the next day and was so excited. Now keep in mind that he had been using the King James Version. He said, “I am now so amazed as I read the Bible. You really can understand what it says! I thought reading the Bible was like reading Shakespeare—just a lot of words but no one was sure what they meant.”

Now if you were Satan, how would you deal with the powerful impact reading the Bible has on individuals? I can immediately think of two lies I would foster on all mankind. The first can be illustrated by imagining you were given a 300-page book and told beforehand that you should read it, but that it was so far above your intelligence level you would never understand it. How much would you read it? How interested would you be in wasting your time reading it? Isn’t this what Satan has done? Does not America believe that the Bible is so complex that almost no one can understand it?

The second lie would be that if you spend too much time reading the Bible you will end up being a religious fanatic, bordering on insanity. Who would read a book which is so “dangerous” it might warp you forever? Isn’t this what Satan has done?

Now consider the promises of God. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness for they shall be filled” (Matt. 5:6). Who said this? When God became a man, God said it. Ours is not to deny this by believing lies originating from Satan. Ours is to believe and seek for righteousness, confidently assured that God will reveal it to us.

The Bible does have truths that are more difficult to understand than others easily understood, but even the difficult truths can be known (2 Pet. 3:16)! The amazing thing is that every truth related to becoming a Christian is so simply grasped. Read the Bible expecting to find the path to heaven, and God Himself has promised your desire will be fulfilled. “You will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me will all your heart” (Jer. 29:13).

That’s the turning point in reading the Bible. You do your part. Open your Bible and read it seeking to find His will. He will do His part!