The Word and Discernment: Standing Firm in Clarity

Standing Firm in Clarity

By Gary Gilley

I came to the Lord at around age seven and grew up attending a small country church, which placed substantial emphasis on Bible reading. The little sanctuary had an old-fashioned wooden statistics board on prominent display at the front. Every week the attendance for both Sunday school and the worship service was placed on the board, along with the previous week’s offering numbers. But unique to my church, or so it seemed, was a category labeled “Chapters.” Every Sunday, everyone— adults and children— reported the number of chapters from the Bible they had read during the week; those numbers were then tallied and placed on the board.

Consequently, I grew up believing that it was important for believers to be daily in the Word. It was just what Christians did (we will postpone any debate on the motivation or wisdom of reporting our chapters for another occasion). In addition, the sermons and Sunday school teachings at my church were soaked in Scripture. My childhood teachers wore out their flannelgraph figures as they clearly, simply, and systematically led us through the Bible— Old and New Testaments. During my teen years, our leaders continued the pattern, taking us through the Bible using a simple hermeneutic (a word I had not heard at the time), which followed the strategy: if the text makes plain sense, seek no other sense. In other words, we were taught that the Bible made sense; it could be understood; its teachings were clear. Sure, there were hard parts, but even these could be comprehended with careful study or left for another day.

What this Bible-saturated environment accomplished in my formative years were two things: (1) a solid understanding of the Scriptures. I would discover years later that by the time I left high school that I had been given biblical knowledge of the Word that would rival that of most Bible college graduates. (2) And perhaps of even greater significance, I had a love for the Bible. I wanted to read it, know it, and eventually teach it. While much Bible knowledge and theology had been instilled in me, it was the love for and delight in the Word that has shaped my whole life.

It was therefore astounding to me when I entered the ministry to discover that many Christians seldom cracked open their Bibles. These were believers who loved the Lord, regularly attended and often ministered in the Church, and exhibited evidence of the fruit of the Spirit, but rarely read the Scriptures. When they did, they usually used a hop-skip-and-jump approach, in which they opened their copies of the Word randomly and read whatever passage lay before them.

Many would lament their lack of Bible reading in-take, offer excuses, and occasionally make resolutions to do better, only to lapse into their old patterns in a few days or weeks. Some of those convicted to become Bible students often stumbled over practical obstacles that had very solvable solutions, such as lack of time, sleepiness, wandering thoughts, and interruptions which could be handled by developing new patterns: setting aside a time and a place to contemplate the Word, removing distractions, reading out loud, etc. These simple adjustments work wonders for many, but it seems that there are other more substantial barriers blocking a substantial number of would-be Bible readers.

Today, there seems to be little appetite for the reading and studying of God’s Word, just as 2 Timothy 4:3-4 predicted. In the way of evidence, the American Bible Society recently released the result of a startling survey in which they claimed that Bible reading dropped dramatically in 2022, declining by 39 percent. That means 26 million Americans stopped reading the Scripture in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.[1] Even more alarming than this drop in Bible reading is the identification of Bible readers as those who read Scripture merely three times a year!

If one is considered a Bible reader if they open the Word three times a year, is it any wonder that America is facing a famine in the land for the Word of God and that even evangelicals are becoming more biblically ignorant by the day? With these kinds of statistics, it was predictable that biblical illiteracy would become an epidemic, and it has. This anemia is not just “too bad”, it is deadly to the souls of individuals and destructive to churches across the land.

Why do so few, who claim to be Christians, who would even give credence to the Bible being the Word of God, actually read the Bible? Aside from the practical obstacles mentioned above, here are a few more fundamental and concerning questions with which modern Christians wrestle.

Can the Bible Be Trusted?

While the majority of Americans give lip-service to the Bible being the Word of God, when the rubber meets the road, they hedge. Even if 2 Timothy 3:16 proclaims all Scripture is God-breathed, does that really mean it is a reliable guide for our lives? Is it really capable of teaching, reproving, correcting, and training us for righteous living as it claims? Such assertions have always been under attack but, since the Enlightenment, the Western world jumped on board in its denial of the truth of inspiration.

As a result, many question the divine authorship of Scripture. Maybe these are merely the words of men disguised as words from God. But consider: if there is a God, it should be expected that He would communicate to His creation. Why would the Lord of the universe leave those created in His image in the dark about life’s most important issues: salvation, purpose, death, eternity, etc.? It only makes sense that He would reveal truth to mankind, and the best way to do so would be in written form that would be accessible to all. A written revelation is the perfect means of communication from God to His Creation. The belief that the Lord has packaged His truth in an accessible written format, and that truth is available to all who bother to interact with it, should be a powerful motivation for Bible reading.

Can the Bible Really Deliver?

In theological terms, we are referencing the inerrancy and sufficiency of Scripture. The Bible may be inspired, and it may promise significant benefits, as we have seen, but can it really deliver on its promise to equip us for every good work (2 Timothy 3:17)? Even if Scripture is God-breathed, is it enough to grant us everything we need for life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3)? Surely many would claim it needs to be supplemented by other sources and disciplines. Top contenders as biblical supplements include: mysticism (God reveals His truth through visions, dreams, and other extrarational means); experience (after all, experience is the best teacher we are often told); pragmatism (if it works it must be right); and psychology (the Bible may be valuable for salvation and the relatively simple problems of life, but for real concerns, we need the therapeutic insights of those who have studied the mind and understand its complexities).

The majority of evangelical authors, preachers, and conference speakers will give lip-service to the value of Scripture, but in reality, many often turn to these above supplements, or they attempt to integrate them with Scripture to guide their audience. But when the dust has cleared, the final word is being given to other sources rather than Scripture. In effect, this common approach undermines not only the authority of the Bible but confidence in the Word as well.

Why turn to the Scriptures when most everyone is saying that there are better answers elsewhere? Why do the hard work of studying the Word if we can rely on our feelings, or trust in a dream? What can Scripture teach me that experience cannot? If something I am doing seems to work, why examine it in light of the Bible? Sure, the sacred text is helpful for simplistic issues, but shouldn’t I turn to the real experts on life—the psychologists who have scientifically studied human behavior—when faced with complex struggles?

The value or limitations of these supplements are not the point of this article. Suffice it to say much debate takes place among evangelicals on this subject. The issue at hand is that these other forms of guidance have so encroached on the place of the Bible that many turn to it last, if at all, when determining how life is to be lived. The idea is that Scripture might be inerrant when and where it speaks, but it does not address the important issues that believers face. And the Bible may offer valuable insights that we might add to our collection of other insights, but it does not carry final authority. It may be helpful, but it is not sufficient. If this is the view one has of God’s written revelation, it is not likely we will turn to it very often.

Can the Bible Really Be Understood?

Even if we believe that the Scriptures are inspired by God, having His authority, and even if we believe they are very helpful in guiding us through life, many see them as too difficult to understand. Aren’t they full of archaic words and concepts that are unintelligible for most modern readers? Many Christians avoid Bible reading because they fear it is hard to grasp. Yet, while there are names, places, and some words that are uncommon, the vast majority of the Word is comprehensible to most people, even those with poor reading skills. In a sense, the idea that the Bible could be understood by the normal Christian (as opposed to clergy and theologians only) was central to the Reformation.

The Reformers championed the doctrine of the “perspicuity” of Scripture from the Latin, meaning “clear, transparent and self-evident”. In matters of importance, the Bible was clear. Roman Catholicism insisted that only the church could properly interpret Scripture, and the laity should stay in its lane and leave the Bible to the professionals. Luther, and other Reformers, insisted otherwise, stating that the average Christian could interpret and apply Scripture.

Luther immediately got busy translating the Bible into German. Other translations followed, most notably Tyndale’s English translation, which cost him his life, especially after his challenge to the Catholic leadership: “If God spare my life, ere many years I will cause a boy that driveth the plow to know more of the Scripture than thou dost.” Arguably it was the belief in the supreme authority of God resting in Scripture rather than the Church that fueled the Reformation. Tyndale’s prediction came true, and in time “plowboys” and many others not considered highly educated by the world were reading and being transformed by the clear teachings of Scripture.

Today we are privileged to have numerous translations and incredible aids to enable everyone to read, understand, and put into action the wonderful truths found in God’s Word. Many years ago, I read a simple little book on Bible study methods. What stuck with me the most about this book was its title: The Joy of Discovery. What a marvelous concept.

The Bible should not be seen as a chore or an obligation—such as eating brussels sprouts because they are supposed to be good for your health. Rather, not only is the Bible good for your spiritual health, but it is also a great joy that brings much pleasure. As Psalm 19 declares: “The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart…They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and the dripping of the honeycomb” (Psalm 19:8, 10).

References:

[1]     “Take and Read” (Christianity Today, January/February, 2023), p. 17.