What the Bible Does for Us
Last month, I wrote about how we need to interact with and ingest the Bible if we are wanting to grow in the Lord. Using the same verse, I want to explain what the Bible accomplishes in our lives as we allow God to infuse His word into our hearts and lives.
In 1 Timothy 3:16-17, God says this: “All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17, CSB).
God has given us the Bible because He uses His word for teaching us, rebuking us, correcting us, and training us in righteousness. Notice, God uses all of the Bible, meaning we cannot pick and choose the parts we like and agree with. And, God uses the Bible well. All of Scripture is useful for working in our lives.
First, the Bible teaches us. Everything we need to know about who God is, how He works, and what He has called us to is found in Scripture. The Bible is used by God to teach us the spiritual truths about how to live and how to walk with Him. God teaches us through the Bible.
Second, the Bible rebukes us. When we choose sin instead of God, the Bible points that out in our lives, and we feel the conviction of God’s Spirit speaking through His word to let us know that we are disobeying God in an area of our life. This conviction is not fun, but it is vital. How else will we know where we are getting things wrong if God doesn’t tell us? He does tell us, and He uses the Bible to do it. God rebukes us through the Bible.
Third, the Bible corrects us. Fortunately, God does not only tell us where we are wrong in our lives, He also shows us how to make it right. He informs us how we can do it better and how we can walk in a way that pleases Him. God uses His word to enlighten us on the right way to walk. God corrects us through the Bible.
Finally, the Bible trains us in righteousness. God uses Scripture to strengthen our spiritual muscles, so we can love others better, worship better, and walk with Christ better. God grows righteousness in us through the Bible.
If we ignore the Bible, we are missing out on the primary way that God chooses to work in our lives. We cannot say that we want to do what God says if we don’t even bother to see what He says.
God has given us a tremendous gift in the Bible. The worst thing we can do is leave it on the shelf and not even interact with His word. Pick up the Bible and watch what God will do in you. (Send responses to jeff.perkins@mbclife.org.)