But I have two big problems with people who study the Bible (and I'm just as guilty as the next guy of both).
ONE: People who study for the sake of studying. I'm looking at you theologians (both amateur and professional). People who get so deep into the study that they never apply it. To quote Paul, "My brothers, this should not be." The Bible is God's WORD...He spoke it and there was a reason. Not so we would memorize it and quiz each other, not so we would fill libraries with books about what this book was trying to say, not so we could sit in classrooms and argue Calvinist or Weslyan. NO. God spoke so we would DO. James 1:22 (Oh, did I mention how much I love James? So much that I named my first born after him!) says, "But don't just listen to God's word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves." (emphasis mine) Francis Chan has a great illustration about telling his daughter to clean her room. And what if she went to her room for hours and came back out and said, "Okay, I heard you. I talked about it with my friends and I translated it into Hebrew, and I really GET IT." What does any decent parent say in response? "Great...but did you actually clean your room?" The Bible is worthless if it becomes just another book on a shelf, a discussion among great thinkers, and nothing changes. Make no mistake...I love to read and discuss the Bible. But it can't stop there. It HAS to move me. It has to get me off the couch, off the computer, and in the world doing some real Jesus work.
Jen Hatmaker writes, "The careful study of the Word has a goal, which is not the careful study of the Word. The objective is to discover Jesus and allow Him to change our trajectory. Meaning, a genuine study of the Word results in believers who feed poor people and open up their guest rooms; they're adopting and sharing, mentoring and intervening. Show me a Bible teacher off mission, and I'll show you someone with no concept of the gospel he is studying." (from 7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess) So let's get real: Are you reading the Bible? If your answer is no, then come talk to me and I will light a fire under you so that changes. But if your answer is yes, then I have a follow up question. What are you doing about it? How are you imitating Jesus? Who are you caring for? How well are you loving the people in your circle, your spouse, your kids, your parents, your neighbors? Are you making a difference in the life of an orphan or a widow? ("Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you." James 1:27 again emphasis mine) If your religion is merely reading and studying the Bible, then God Himself will say you missed the point.
TWO: People who study the Bible so they can smack other people in the face with it. I mean folks who quote the Bible at their unbelieving friends/relatives/neighbors/co-workers/televised audience. People who use God's Word to shame the rest of the world. NO. What we learn when we study the Bible is meant for US. 1 John 5:13 says, "I have written this to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know you have eternal life." The Bible isn't meant for Buddhists or atheists or Muslims or agnostics, the Bible is for Christians. People who claim the name of Jesus over their lives and renounce sin and want to be transformed. If you haven't accepted Jesus as your savior, then you can keep on doing whatever it is that you're doing. It's not my job to be the Jesus police and write a ticket to every sinner (believer OR non believer) I meet. My job is to examine my own heart and my own life and see where I need more Jesus and less Rachel.
The Bible is not a weapon. The Bible is a collection of stories and songs and poems and lists and rules and correspondence. The Bible is meant to teach whoever has ears to listen. Jesus spoke against this misuse of the Bible in Matthew 7:3-6, "And why worry about a speck in your friend's eye when you have a log in your own? How can you think of saying to your friend, 'Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,' when you can't see past the log in your own eye? Hypocrite! First, get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend's eye. Don't waste what is holy on people who are unholy." Yeah, that's right. The Son of God called us hypocrites. Let me tell you, I've been studying the Bible since I could read, and I still can't see past the log in my own eye. So guess how much time I spend picking dust and specks out of other people's eyes? Big fat zero. (Unless you count the kids, but I'm their mom, so it's kind of my job to pick crap out of their eyes. And lick my finger to wipe stuff of their faces.)
I know it can seem confusing, since Jesus also told us to make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit later in Matthew. But He didn't mean to force religion on people who don't want it. Absolutely you should share your faith. Absolutely you should preach the gospel. And when necessary, use words. (Google tells me Francis of Assisi said that.) It's the same solution to the first problem: our lives are our gospel. Our actions are our message. James 2:18 says, "Now someone may argue, 'Some people have faith; others have good deeds.' But I say, 'How can you show me your faith if you don't have good deeds?' I will show you my faith by my good deeds." (emphasis mine) Sermons are great in church on Sunday morning; the rest of the week your life should do the preaching, not your mouth. So again, I'll ask: How are you imitating Jesus? Are you healing the sick? Are you feeding five thousand people with a few loaves of bread and some fish? Are you walking on water? Are you sticking it to the religious leaders who follow the letter of law but have no love in their hearts? If your religion is shoving the Bible down another person's throat, then God Himself will say you missed the point.
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