Why Read The Bible (IV)

So far in this series we've seen reasons not to read the Bible, we've seen that reading the Bible brings us to meet with God, and that reading the Bible stimulates our appetite for, and growth in, holiness. Today, we'll look at Proverbs 1:2-6, and see that we should read the Bible to get guidance from God.

Guidance is a sticky issue in the Bible though isn't it? The Bible doesn't tell us who we should marry, or where we should go to college, neither does God anywhere promise any mystical, extra nugget of revelation to help us find these things out. So how does the Bible guide us? Well, just like an Olympic athlete isn't going to train for the 100 metres by just thinking about it, but by putting in the effort, we'll see from these verses that we are supposed to work at finding Gods will for different situations in our life.

Proverbs 1:2-6 promises us seven ways that the Bible will guide us. Solomon's aim for this book is that we would grow in wisdom. In Verse 7 he describes wisdom as beginning with the fear of the Lord. Knowledge and acknowledgement of the Lord is a vital part of the guidance that God would give us though His Word. If we want wisdom, then we have to search it out in the Bible.

And wisdom, verse 2 promises us, leads to discernment. We'll be able to choose the good from the bad, the right from the wrong. We'll have the skills to analyze a situation, not just emote over one. To look around the Church today is to see people needing to grow in discernment. Bible reading will help us to do that.

Thirdly, regular Bible reading will give us instruction. What for? For wise dealing, or good living. Instruction that teaches us to pay the bills before we go to the mall, to turn the tv off after 10pm. Through diligent application of what we see in the Bible, we will be instructed for life.

Next, verse 4 promises us the ability to make a plan. So often we can be caught between two good options, we need to train ourselves how to choose. This verse promises to help people who struggle with direction in life, it gives them knowledge, discretion and prudence. Where do we learn the ability to make a plan that pleases God? In the Bible!

Verse 5 tells us that we will listen and learn if we are wise. The wise man is always listening and always learning. To keep listening to God's Word and to keep learning it's story is vitally important if we're going to survive a winter of our souls. To do this is to store up grain for a bad winter, to have somewhere to feed when our world crashes around us.

Verse 6 tells us that reading the Bible will give us understanding. As we read we'll grow in our understanding of the Bible, how it fits together, and how it relates to all of our life. We'll have a chance to understand proverbs and sayings.

Put all this together and what do you get? Leadership. As we work to read the Bible. As we set aside time, as we puzzle out the difficulties and apply wherever we can, we'll grow as Christians. We'll grow into leaders of whatever sphere we are in.

We have to see how all three reasons to read the Bible are linked. We meet with God in the Bible, as we meet with God and behold His face we grow in holiness. As we grow in holiness, loving what is right, then we will find the guidance we need to live faithfully in the Bible. None of this will happen apart from regular Bible reading. This is our Father's chosen means to grow His children. We ignore it at our cost...