Bible:  Do you have time to study it?

You’ll find that many people claim they do not.  Are we to accept this as the truth of the matter? I suppose the passage that’s meant the most to me personally on this subject has been this one—

Matthew 4:4

⁴ But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. [Emphasis added]

I still remember the first time I preached on this subject. This was one of the passages I referred to for it. These are the words our Lord uttered from Deuteronomy 8:3 when He was faced with Satan’s temptations to sin.  As we’re told in this passage, He quoted this to him.  Using some of our time to study God’s word is a part of what’s called redeeming the time.

Ephesians 5:15-18

¹⁵ See then that ye walk circumspectly [AKRIBOS = carefully], not as fools, but as wise,

¹⁶ Redeeming [EXZAGORAZO = making the most of] the time, because the days are evil.

What this is telling us is not to waste our time but make good use of it.

¹⁷ Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.

It takes faithful study of the Scriptures to do this.

¹⁸ And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess [AKRASIA = being without self-control]; but be filled [PLEROO = fully influenced] with the Spirit; [Emphasis added]

We have another passage that tells us the same thing but in other words.

Colossians 3:16

¹⁶ Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. [Emphasis added]

When we put words to music it can make it easier for us to recall them.  But we can’t apply words or principles to a situation if we don’t know them.  As it is sometimes rightly put, we can’t apply what we don’t know.  Therefore, doing this demands studious effort on our part.  That, of course, takes time and self-discipline.  It demands an ongoing commitment to a demanding task.  Thinking is actually the hardest and most demanding of all work.  This is why usually people who are paid for their thinking make the most money.  It is truly the most laborious.  It is God’s expectation of us to use as much of our time as possible to study our Bible.  That’s not something only preachers should do.  To do this consistently and habitually makes us true “disciples.”

There’s much in Scripture about Jesus and His work with His disciples.  The Greek word for “disciple” in Scripture [MATHETES] which means STUDENT.  Hence, believers are to assemble to STUDY the Scriptures.  This is why every local church pastor [or elder] needs to be one who becomes skillful in TEACHING.  This is also why we find in Scripture the word pastor linked to the word teacher.

Ephesians 4:11

¹¹ And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; [Emphasis added]

The old English word pastor means shepherd.  And what does a shepherd spend most of his time doing? Answer:  FEEDING his sheep, seeing that they’re well fed with nourishing food.  Note what our Lord told Simon Peter.

John 21:15-17

¹⁵ So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs.

¹⁶ He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep.

¹⁷ He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep. [Emphasis added]

Without consistent “feeding” on the Word of God believers are incapable serving God well.  They only have the inner resources to do this if they’re “fed” well so as to become strong, mature, and “healthy” in their thinking.

Notice even Peter’s last words concerning all this—

2 Peter 3:18

¹⁸ But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen. [Emphasis added]

How can lambs or sheep grow without a daily diet of nourishing foods?  How can believers grow without a daily diet of nourishing foods from the Bible? Some of Paul’s last words written to us fit believers of every generation.

2 Timothy 2:15

¹⁵ Study [SPOUDAZO = be diligent] to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. [Emphasis added]

Are these commands you obey every day? If they are not, is there a priority problem as to why that’s not happening? Notice what our Lord told His disciples during His earthly ministry.

Matthew 6:33

³³ But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. [Emphasis added]

This is clearly a passage about one’s priorities.  What all are you putting ahead of the study of God’s Word in your life? Are you “fertile ground” for the word of God? As you may recall, our Lord told a simple parable about this.

Matthew 13:3-8

³ And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow;

⁴ And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up:

⁵ Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth:

⁶ And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.

⁷ And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them:

⁸ But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold. [Emphasis added]

Then moments later our Lord amplifies on all this, demonstrating the great importance of understanding this and the importance of being receptive to training in God’s word.

Matthew 13:10-23

¹⁰ And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?

¹¹ He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them [ones who are “religious” but resistant to God’s word] it is not given.

¹² For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.

¹³ Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.

What a perfect description of “religious” but resistant people!

¹⁴ And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive:

¹⁵ For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.

¹⁶ But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.

¹⁷ For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.

¹⁸ Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower.

¹⁹ When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side.

²⁰ But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it;

²¹ Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.

²² He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.

²³ But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. [Emphasis added]

Please note that without proper feeding one is incapable or limited in productivity.

I’m a firm believer in the need people have for a pastor/shepherd to provide them with the spiritual nourishment of Bible teaching. The word pastor has nothing to do with the way it is currently defined in local churches—doing hospital visitation, counseling and such.  Instead, his job, as defined in Scripture, is primarily to “feed” his people with the teachings of Scripture, helping them to know and understand the teachings of the Bible with a view toward applying them every day.  And just as believers seem to always find time to eat food, they need to find time to focus on “consuming” God’s Word.  Just like eating, consuming God’s Word should never be thought of as something optional.

Unfortunately, most believers won’t even take the time to read an article like this.  Some who started reading this article didn’t even get this far.  They’ve already been distracted by something of a temporal nature.

We are clearly warned of the dangers associated with being ignorant of the wisdom given in Scripture to enable us to have good judgment in our decision-making.  We simply can’t afford to trust typical human viewpoint on things.

Proverbs 3:5-7

⁵ Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

⁶ In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

⁷ Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the Lord, and depart from evil. [Emphasis added]

But how can this be done apart from a commitment to studying the Bible? You will never hold a more practical book than the Bible.  Never for a moment foolishly conclude that it is an old-fashioned and outdated book.  It is not! Proverbs 8 is a whole chapter about this.  Here’s a portion of it—

¹⁰ Receive my instruction, and not silver; and knowledge rather than choice gold.

¹¹ For wisdom is better than rubies; and all the things that may be desired are not to be compared to it.

The general truths stated in this chapter are to be applied by us all.

¹⁴ Counsel is mine, and sound wisdom: I am understanding; I have strength.

¹⁵ By me kings reign, and princes decree justice.

¹⁶ By me princes rule, and nobles, even all the judges of the earth.

¹⁷ I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me.

¹⁸ Riches and honour are with me; yea, durable riches and righteousness.

¹⁹ My fruit is better than gold, yea, than fine gold; and my revenue than choice silver.

²⁰ I lead in the way of righteousness, in the midst of the paths of judgment:

Material wealth as promised in this next verse of this passage is not guaranteed to us today for our obedience as it once was to Israel, but spiritual blessings certainly are!

²¹ That I may cause those that love me to inherit substance; and I will fill their treasures. [Emphasis added]

Today, it is fruit of the Spirit such as stated in Paul’s writings that is guaranteed to faithful believers.

Galatians 5:22-23

²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,

²³ Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. [Emphasis added]

How many minutes are there in a week? How many of those minutes do you generally devote to the study of your Bible each week? You probably know how most people would have to answer that.  Is that the group you wish to be identified with about this? That is a choice God has given to all of us.

There are 10,080 minutes in a week.  If you sleep eight hours a night, that leaves 6,720 minutes in a week.  How many of those 6,720 minutes do you spend each week studying your Bible?  All I’m saying is that none of us should be guilty of making the false claim that we don’t have time for it.  How you look at this is all about priorities.  What are yours? Could there be a need for some changes in what you’re doing with your time?

The main reason we find time to eat is that we sense the need for it.  Are you starving spiritually? I believe most people are whether they’re conscious of it or not.  They’re certainly malnourished spiritually.  Could it be time for a change?

There was a time when many Americans read a local newspaper “religiously” every day. Nowadays they tend to get their news from television and the web.  Can you believe everything you read or hear? Can you believe everything you read in your Bible?

2 Timothy 3:16-17

¹⁶ All scripture is given by inspiration of God [THEOPNEUSTOS = God-breathed], and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

¹⁷ That the man of God may be perfect [ARTIOS = complete or brought to maturity], thoroughly furnished unto all good works. [Emphasis added]

That alone should tell us what our priority and our primary goal should be.  Becoming a spiritually mature believer doesn’t happen overnight.  If you didn’t have to wade through all the “religious nonsense” to get to the truth, it wouldn’t be nearly so hard.  But such has always been a part of the process.  Satan has done more with “religion” to hide the truth than anything else.

2 Corinthians 11:13-15

¹³ For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.

¹⁴ And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.

¹⁵ Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works. [Emphasis added]

For more information on that, please see my articles about it.  Here are the names of several—

Satan:  What are the basics about him?

Satan:  What does he look like?

Satan:  What is his origin, name, and/or titles?

Satan:  Why does God allow him to exist?

Again, your knowledge of the Word of God is more important than anything else you have going in life.  Only that knowledge will give you the protection you need to avoid all the deception in life about so many things.  It is the one offensive weapon we have in this unseen conflict of which we are a part.  This is why we need to be diligent in studying it every day.

2 Timothy 2:15

15 Study [SPOUDAZO = be diligent] to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. [Emphasis added]

Apart from this we are all defenseless.  Therefore, let us all put on the whole “armor” of God so we can win the battles.

Ephesians 6:13-17

¹³ Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

¹⁴ Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;

¹⁵ And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;

¹⁶ Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

¹⁷ And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: [Emphasis added]

In conclusion, it is all this that Paul speaks of when he mentions the concept of “redeeming the time.” 

Ephesians 5:15-17

¹⁵ See then that ye walk circumspectly [AKRIBOS = correctly], not as fools, but as wise,

¹⁶ Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.

¹⁷ Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is. [Emphasis added]

Then a second time he tells us essentially the same thing.

Colossians 4:5-6

⁵ Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time.

⁶ Let your speech [the things you say] be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man. [Emphasis added]

Conclusion—

Yes, we must learn to make the best use of our time, growing and applying God’s Word every day and in every situation.  Do all of us have time to do this? Of course we do! This is all a matter of having the right priorities.  If we’ll come to see that this is even more important than food, we’ll find the time to get this done.