Three Guys and a Bible
Jun. 12 2008Our interview on how to read the Bible well continues with pastors Isaac Hydoski, Jon Smith, and Joseph Stigora. Our editor, Ricky Alcantar, does the question asking.
In this interview you’ll find helpful information (and completely random comments) like:
_How to read the Bible if you’re new to the Bible
_How to read the Bible if it seems boring or lifeless
_How to read the Bible if you want to tackle the Old Testament
_Household mildew
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Ricky: Okay now I want to throw some scenarios out for you guys to talk about. What would you counsel a new believer to do as they start a daily time of reading the Bible?
Joseph: There’s a lot of good plans and sometimes just finding something like an initial 30-day plan or devotional can be helpful--something like Piper’s “Pierced by the Word” or “Life as a Vapor.”
It doesn’t matter what you feel when you read the Bible. Whether you come away with a spiritual high or whether you come away and feel like nothing happened doesn’t ultimately matter. Something happened when you read. That word penetrated your heart.
I’d also recommend you start with one of the gospels--Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John--and just start in on that, learning about Jesus. I like what Dever said in his message on the authority of Scripture: “Don’t start with the Old Testament. Open the gospels, read the gospels and determine if what they say is true and they’ll bring proof of the rest of Scripture into focus. So learning about Christ and the gospel is a great place to start.
Ricky: Any specifics new believers should keep in mind?
Joseph: I think they can employ a lot of what we did in community groups [get the devotional sheets for Sunday morning and Monday morning]. As far as meditating on God’s word it can be as simple as reading through a short passage, thinking through those verses, and asking those three questions: 1) What does this teach us about God? 2) What does it teach us about his Word? 3) How do i apply this to my life?
Isaac: Can I share what was helpful for me as a new believer? When I got saved I was coming from a background where I’d never picked up a Bible in my life and literally knew nothing about it. Everything was like a foreign language to me. So someone suggested picking out one of the shorter epistles in the New Testament and just reading that over and over again. They directed me to Ephesians and I think I spent the first six months of my Christian life reading only Ephesians.
During that time I can still remember opening the Bible up and feeling completely overwhelmed and just being really discouraged by all that I didn’t understand. But over those months I gradually began to learn Ephesians, and God just really met me in that book. There was a lot that I didn’t understand but at least I understood that one book as I read it, re-read it, and began to ask questions of older, mature believers. That just really served me initially as a new believer.
Ricky: Okay, different scenario. What would you say to someone who has been a believer for some time but is cold in their affections for God and the Bible appears boring to them?
Jon: I would counsel them to listen to Eric’s message again. I’d make sure they listen to it at least one more time because I think he addresses that very specifically.
At one point Dever referenced Hebrews where it says that the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of joints and marrow, discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart [Heb. 4:12]. Dever said that it doesn’t matter what you feel when you read the Bible. Whether you come away with a spiritual high or whether you come away and feel like nothing happened doesn’t ultimately matter. Something happened when you read. That word penetrated your heart. You may not see the fruit in that moment but you’ll experience it in the future.
Then I would just encourage new believers to read the gospels--and start with John. When you read the life of Jesus you’re immediately confronted with how absolutely unique he is. His life was amazing. He is the image of the invisible. You’re confronted with greatness every day as you read.
And the last thing I would say is to read books and listen to sermons by guys who are absolutely dominated by a vision of how awesome God is and how crucial his word is. C.J. is a great guy to listen to. Piper is a great guy to listen to. These men know God in a very deep way and they have an insight into the greatness and the riches of God that you can learn from. When I listen to them there’s just something that happens in my heart that says, “I want to know God like they do and I want to have affections like they do.” So I would just go sit in front of those guys.
Joseph: When C.J. was talking about Psalm 42 he pointed out that the Psalmist is not dispassionate--he is thirsting for God--but he’s downcast. So people can find themselves there, where they want it but they’re not feeling it or experiencing it. So his reminder of repetition and calling our souls to remember the truth of God repeatedly is very helpful.
I was talking to a guy in my ministry earlier today about Eric’s message. This guy said that it really struck him when Eric said that if you say the Bible is boring is essentially saying that Jesus is boring. He said that began to turn his heart. So there may be a point where you need to repent and where you need to confess to God that your heart is cold.
Isaac: Usually there’s a cycle where there’s a waning of affection for reading the word of God and as a result you stop reading the word of God and that just deepens your coldness toward the word of God. So simple direction is just to engage the word of God on a daily, consistent basis. I’m just thinking of verses like Romans 10 that say faith comes by hearing. So if they need affections you’ll find them as they read God’s Word.
And Psalm 19 says that the law of the Lord is perfect, it revives the soul, it rejoices the heart, it enlightens the eyes. If your hearts are cold, if your soul needs to be revived, what you need isn’t a plan as much as you need the word. God will speak through the word. So you need to be pressing through your cold affection for God’s word, trusting that he’s going to speak to you through it.
Joseph: Psalms is a great place to go too. There’s so much emotion in the Psalms that’s connected to truth and proclamations about God. So as they read, people can begin to see, “I know this about God and this is how I should respond. I know this about God and it affects the way I feel.”
Jon: Often I find that when I’m lacking faith for my devotions based on how I’ve experienced him--or how I haven’t experienced him--in the past. In times like this my faith is not based on who God is in and of himself. I forget God’s radical commitment to do me nothing but good, and his love for drawing near to me through his word. And I find that when my faith is on God himself I have much more of an expectation and anticipation to meet with God.
That’s where C.J.’s message can be so helpful. Talk to your soul: “What I’m about to experience right now as I read God’s word is not based on my experience first, it’s based on who God is.” Then remind yourself of who God is. He loves to meet with you. He loves to draw near to you. He loves to reveal himself through his word.
Ricky: So say someone come back from the conference convinced that God’s Word is amazing and that they need to read all of it....How would you guys counsel people to tackle the Old Testament?
[Silence.]
Ricky: Have you guys read the Old Testament?
Isaac: I’d personally start with the sections on dealing with household mildew.
Jon: Unbelievable. I’d start with Vaugh Roberts’ book “God’s Big Picture.” That book is outstanding. Really helpful. He creates this map as he walks you through scripture to help you find your way, looking at things from a big picture view. The way he does it makes it very easy to see Christ in the Old Testament. That big picture mindset is going to help you make sense of the Old Testament. So I’d start with that book.
Other than that, I’d just start with Genesis and go through it.
Joseph: Use Robert Murray McCheyne’s reading schedule, which D.A. Carson’s uses in his devotional “For the Love of God.”
Isaac: That’s what I use, it’s great.
Joseph: In Carson’s book he takes you day by day and he’ll comment on different passages. Last year when I read Job and Isaiah I just pulled down “For the Love of God” and I used that almost like a commentary. Dever’s book on the Old Testament is great to get an overview.
Isaac: I’d just echo what Jon said about starting in Genesis and in a grace-filled way decide to read through the Old Testament. There are vast portions of it--especially in the first five books--that only make sense chronologically. And if you can get in your mind where you are in the Old Testament, where that book is happening in the scope of redemptive history, it’s really helpful.
Something else simple to do is just getting a good study Bible and reading the introductory notes in the study bible for each book you read. It usually gives you some details about the author. It usually gives you in a sentence or two what the main message of the book is. Just keep those things in mind as you read it. When you get distracted or discouraged by the eighth reciting of the whole book of the law, remember what the purpose of the book is and why they’re reciting it again.
Joseph: One of the keys to the Old Testament is repitition. That’s one of the things I find helpful about reading the Old Testament. The first or second time you read the historys of the kings you’re mixing them up and you’re not sure what to focus on. But the more familiar you become with it and recognize what’s going on in Judah or Israel the more you’re able to see God’s hand at work. Just don’t get discouraged. And don’t get to the end of the Old Testament and think you’re done. Go back and read it again. Every time you’re going to get more out of it.
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Read the first half of the interview where the pastors discuss how to keep yourself from wasting your conference when you get back home.
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