Engaging Deeply with Scripture: Overcoming Common Pitfalls

Devotional

Day 1: Engage Deeply with Scripture

Engaging deeply with Scripture requires moving beyond a superficial reading to a thoughtful, reflective study that seeks to understand the depths of God's Word. This involves meditating on the Bible and allowing it to transform your understanding and life. By doing so, you avoid the error of "total slothfulness," which is a laziness that prevents true engagement with Scripture. Instead, you are called to reflect on its teachings and seek to understand its depths, allowing it to be a life source and the revelation of God's saving work. [07:54]

Psalm 119:15-16 (ESV): "I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways. I will delight in your statutes; I will not forget your word."

Reflection: What specific steps can you take today to move beyond a superficial reading of Scripture and engage more deeply with its teachings?

Day 2: Cultivate Humility

Unconditional self-confidence can lead to pride and judgment over Scripture, where one stands in judgment rather than submitting to its authority. This attitude can manifest in a radical individualism that isolates you from the broader Christian community. Cultivating humility involves recognizing your need for guidance and correction from others and from the Word itself. Embrace humility by submitting to the authority of Scripture and seeking to learn from the broader Christian community. [21:50]

James 1:21 (ESV): "Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls."

Reflection: In what areas of your life do you find yourself resisting the authority of Scripture, and how can you practice humility in those areas today?

Day 3: Recognize the Interconnectedness of Scripture

Avoid the error of "limited connections" by seeing the Bible as a cohesive narrative that reveals God's redemptive plan through Jesus Christ. The Bible is not a collection of isolated stories but a systematic truth that enriches your grasp of the Gospel. Understanding these connections helps you grasp the full message of the Gospel and the role of Christ as our King. [30:15]

Luke 24:27 (ESV): "And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself."

Reflection: How can you begin to see the interconnectedness of Scripture in your daily Bible reading, and what impact might this have on your understanding of the Gospel?

Day 4: Focus on the Gospel, Not Just Morality

Resist the temptation of "irresistible moralism" by keeping the Gospel central. While Scripture calls for righteous living, it is through Christ's grace and our gratitude for His sacrifice that we pursue holiness. The cross is not just the starting point of our faith but the foundation of our daily walk with God. By focusing on the Gospel, you avoid reducing Scripture to a set of moral instructions and instead embrace the grace of Christ. [36:14]

Galatians 2:20-21 (ESV): "I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose."

Reflection: How can you ensure that the Gospel remains central in your life, rather than focusing solely on moral behavior?

Day 5: Guard Against Unbelief

"Persevering unbelief" hinders your acceptance of Scripture. True belief involves recognizing Jesus as the fulfillment of God's promises and the source of eternal life. You must guard against hardening your heart and instead allow the Word to reveal the state of your heart, leading to repentance and faith. By doing so, you open yourself to the transformative power of Scripture and the fulfillment of God's promises through Jesus. [42:59]

Hebrews 3:12-13 (ESV): "Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called 'today,' that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin."

Reflection: What steps can you take today to guard against unbelief and allow Scripture to reveal the state of your heart?

Sermon Summary

In our time together, we explored the critical importance of engaging deeply with the Word of God, recognizing it as our life source and the revelation of God's saving work. We began by acknowledging the tendency towards "total slothfulness," a laziness that prevents us from truly delving into Scripture. It's not enough to merely read the Bible; we must engage with it, meditate on it, and allow it to transform us. This requires moving beyond a superficial devotional reading to a thoughtful, reflective study that seeks to understand the depths of God's Word.

We also discussed the danger of "unconditional self-confidence," where pride leads us to stand in judgment over Scripture rather than submitting to its authority. This attitude is not limited to liberalism but can also manifest in a radical individualism that isolates us from the broader Christian community. We must cultivate humility, recognizing our need for guidance and correction from others and from the Word itself.

Another error we examined is "limited connections," where we fail to see the systematic truth and interconnectedness of Scripture. The Bible is not a collection of isolated stories but a cohesive narrative that reveals God's redemptive plan through Jesus Christ. Understanding these connections helps us grasp the full message of the Gospel and the role of Christ as our King.

"Irresistible moralism" is a common pitfall, where we reduce Scripture to a set of moral instructions, neglecting the centrality of the Gospel. While the Bible does call us to live righteously, it is only through the grace of Christ and our gratitude for His sacrifice that we can truly pursue holiness. The cross is not just the starting point of our faith but the foundation of our daily walk with God.

Finally, we addressed "persevering unbelief," the foundational error that hinders our understanding and acceptance of Scripture. True belief involves recognizing Jesus as the fulfillment of God's promises and the source of eternal life. We must guard against hardening our hearts and instead allow the Word to reveal the state of our hearts, leading us to repentance and faith.

Key Takeaways

1. Engage Deeply with Scripture: Avoid the error of total slothfulness by moving beyond superficial reading. Engage with the Bible through meditation and study, allowing it to transform your understanding and life. Reflect on its teachings and seek to understand its depths. [07:54]
2. Cultivate Humility: Unconditional self-confidence leads to pride and judgment over Scripture. Embrace humility, recognizing your need for guidance from others and the Word. Submit to the authority of Scripture and seek to learn from the broader Christian community. [21:50]
3. Recognize the Interconnectedness of Scripture: Avoid limited connections by seeing the Bible as a cohesive narrative. Understand the systematic truth it presents, revealing God's redemptive plan through Jesus Christ. This understanding enriches your grasp of the Gospel. [30:15]
4. Focus on the Gospel, Not Just Morality: Resist the temptation of irresistible moralism by keeping the Gospel central. While Scripture calls for righteous living, it is through Christ's grace and our gratitude for His sacrifice that we pursue holiness. The cross is foundational to our faith. [36:14]
5. Guard Against Unbelief: Persevering unbelief hinders our acceptance of Scripture. True belief involves recognizing Jesus as the fulfillment of God's promises and the source of eternal life. Allow the Word to reveal the state of your heart, leading to repentance and faith. [42:59]
** [42:59]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[00:28] - Introduction and Context
[02:15] - The Importance of the Word
[03:04] - The War on the Word
[04:30] - Error 1: Total Slothfulness
[07:32] - Engaging with Scripture
[10:26] - The Genealogy of Jesus
[13:25] - Error 2: Unconditional Self-Confidence
[16:44] - The Danger of Pride
[20:08] - Solo Scriptura vs. Sola Scriptura
[25:51] - Error 3: Limited Connections
[28:38] - Jesus as King
[32:16] - Error 4: Irresistible Moralism
[36:49] - The Sermon on the Mount
[38:55] - Error 5: Persevering Unbelief
[42:59] - The Consequences of Unbelief
[45:08] - Closing Prayer

Sermon Clips

"When Moses finished reciting all these words to all Israel he said to them. Take to heart all the words I have solemnly declared to you this day so that you may command your children to obey carefully all the words of this law. They are not just idle words for you they are your life." [00:02:33]

"This is why we’re concerned about the Word of God. This is why we must be combatants in the War on the Word because the Word is not just idle words, the Word is not just a curiosity that we’ve been handed. The Word is not just something that should occupy our idle moments but the Scriptures themselves bear testimony that the Word is our life." [00:03:06]

"We’re too often lazy about the Word. We don’t open it, we don’t look into it and even those of us who do open it and we don’t just look at those errors about the Word that other people fall into, that might be comforting. But we want to spend a little time thinking about the errors about the Word that we’re inclined to fall into." [00:05:24]

"The Bible calls upon us to study the Word. The bible calls upon us to meditate upon the Word. At least in Hebrew it appears that that word meditation really means to mutter the Word to have it so in mind that we can repeat it over and over again. We can reflect upon it." [00:07:27]

"Are you really pausing to reflect on what it’s saying to you what it means for you? What it is testifying to you about Jesus Christ. Now both in this message and the next one I want to draw some examples about the points I’m making particularly from the early chapters of Matthews gospel." [00:08:15]

"Unconditional self-confidence. This is pride another deadly sin and when we think of this kind of self-confidence in relation to the Word we may very well think primarily of liberalism and that’s always a good place to begin. What is the essential attitude of liberalism towards the Word?" [00:15:44]

"The essential attitude of liberalism towards the Word is I stand in judgment towards the Word it does not stand in judgment of me. I decide what’s true and not true in the Word. I decide what I’ll follow and what I won’t follow. I’ll decide what’s reliable and what’s not reliable." [00:16:10]

"We need the humility that says I don’t know it all. It’s often forgotten that when Luther appeared before the emperor at the diet of worms and was asked if he would recant of his errors. The first thing he said was not here I stand. The first thing that he said was can I have 24 hours to think it over." [00:18:54]

"Limited connections, what do I mean by that? I think one of the temptations that perhaps evangelicals in particularly maybe drawn to is the temptation to treat the Bible as a fairly disconnected series of stories. Evangelicals often have a great deal of Bible knowledge, that’s very impressive, they know the content, they know the stories of the Bible." [00:25:34]

"But there is a danger that in knowing those stories we will miss connections. We will miss the system of truth that the Scripture reveals to us. We live in a world where very often system is seen as a bad word and I want to get over that, system is a good thing. God is internally consistent with himself and His Word is internally consistent with itself." [00:26:19]

"Because everyday we are sinners in need of grace. Everyday we need a savior, everyday we need to be filled with the sense of gratitude to Jesus Christ for all that He’s done for us. Everyday we need to be reminded that the only motivation for Christian living that will move us forward in holiness is to live out of gratitude for what Christ has done and out of ardent love for Him." [00:36:14]

"The great error always in reading the Scripture, the foundational error is unbelief. You noticed didn’t you, in Matthew chapter 2, that when the Magi came to Jerusalem and asked where Messiah would be born, everybody knew. These were people who knew their Bible. I mean how many verses can we quote out of Micah?" [00:38:55]

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