Is reading the Bible crucial to Faith?

Second week in a row to sit and write. I have really enjoyed thinking about writing each week. It's not that I think what I have to say is any more important than the next guy. But I get this feeling when I blog that I just have to express things I am thinking about. Today I am thinking through how college group went this last week and the implications of the Gospel of John for my own life. Last week I challenge these college-aged adults to consider the cost of discipleship in one particular area of following Jesus: studying the Word of God and knowing it. I experience, quite often, people who claim to be followers of Jesus who do not read their Bible's, let alone study it!  But this begs the question, "is reading the bible crucial to my faith?"

Consider 2 statements by Jesus in John 8

"So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples,

 and you will know the truth, and the truth ewill set you free.”"  vv. 31-32

"Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death." v. 51

These two statements are challenging for those who claim to be Christians. It's seems clear on the surface here that no person, I don't care who you are, can understand, let alone worship something they don't know. I have to say that the importance of "holding" to the teachings of Jesus has been found wanting in our churches. People are given a free pass to write off studying their Bibles, and even reading them. Yeah, one might encourage it behind the pulpit. But encouraging people to abide in Jesus and His Word goes back to how a church should function for the body of believers. The church is not a product for consumers, but a family that functions much like your physical family does. So what is abiding in his word?

D.A. Carson defines keeping and abiding in God's Word as, "obeying it, seeking to understand it better, and finding it more precious, more controlling, especially when outside forces oppose it" (Carson, PNTS, John, pg. 348). Jesus in the first passage is directly addressing those Jews who put their faith in him. Clearly we have seen in John those who follow Jesus but walk away when things get too hard (refer to John 6). The point being made that persevering as a disciple means abiding in His Word and the power of His word, which makes us free! Guys, this does NOT mean listening to your pastor on Sunday and "getting your fill". It is so much more than that. We are not only called here to read and study God's Word, but to obey it and live it out. It is alive and active (Heb. 4:12). It changes our very being, it makes us new people, a part of a kingdom marked by grace. It should pour out of our lives and cause a noticeable difference in how we live. 

I believe these statements Jesus makes challenge the presupposition that, "well Mark, some people are wired to love and be in the Word like that, and others are not." I don't believe we, if we desire to follow Jesus, have an option here. God's Word is to be abided in, period. If we claim to have a relationship with Jesus, it stands to reason that we want to soak in every word he says, and every word the writers of the Bible said about Him as well. Yes, it is true that some do not have the "study disposition" that others might, but it doesn't matter. I may not necessarily be wired to pray fervently, but that doesn't eliminate me from having to pray does it?!?! It seems clear in the first statement that our personalities and the way we are wired is more effectively used by God if we are abiding in His word. In others words, I think it's a mistake to say you are not wired to abide in or study His Word, because through His Word is where you learn how you are wired. If you believe that you have more relational gifts as opposed to a cerebral one, you learn that from the intimate time you spend in the Word. And in abiding in His Word you can more effectively invest the giftedness God has given you into the church. 

These statements by Jesus should stir something in us. It should stir a conviction and a passion to consume His Word. Not only read it, but obey it and study it consistently. As followers of Jesus, it isn't enough to sit through a 30 minute sermon. We are marked by whether or not we are abiding in his word. When we Abide in His Word we are set free and marked by renewed life, a life that is noticeable to this dying and decayed world.

Yes, reading the Bible consistently is crucial to our process of discipleship to Jesus. My challenge here is not to ask you to study for hours on end, but to start taking steps to more consistently abide in His Word. Wake up 5 minutes early and read from a Gospel, write out a verse on a card and memorize it through the day, and most importantly find someone who can help you gain a better, deeper, and much richer understanding of His Word and meet with that person on a weekly basis. As the Church, may we come alongside each other and help each other conform into the image of His Son, Jesus Christ, for the advancement of His Kingdom.