Bible:  How important is it to you? 

If it was outlawed to read the Bible, what would you do and how would that change your life? I’m afraid it really wouldn’t make much difference to most Americans.  I also don’t think most people see it as having made much of a difference in their lives.  Some would want to claim otherwise, but that would not be the truth of the matter.  How much of a difference has and is it making in your life now? Fortunately, many have gone before us who realized the Bible is the most important book in all the world.  Here are a few examples of how some famous Americans looked at it.  These are some of the wisest people who have ever lived.  Please note their comments about this book.

George Washington—First President of the United States

“It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and the Bible.”

Patrick Henry—Early American Leader

“There is a book [the Bible] worth all the other books ever printed.”

John Jay—First Chief-Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court

“The Bible is the best of all books, for it is the Word of God and teaches us the way to be happy in this world and in the next. Continue therefore to read it and to regulate your life by its precepts.”

Noah Webster— “Schoolmaster of the Republic”

“Education is useless without the Bible. The Bible was America’s basic textbook in all fields. God’s Word, contained in the Bible, has furnished all necessary rules to direct our conduct.”

Thomas Jefferson—Principle author of The Declaration of Independence and President of the United States of America

“A studious perusal of the sacred volume will make better citizens, better fathers, and better husbands.”

Daniel Webster—United States Secretary of State

“If there is anything in my thoughts or style to commend, the credit is due to my parents for instilling in me an early love of the Scriptures. If we abide by the principles taught in the Bible, our country will go on prospering and to prosper; but if we and our posterity neglect its instructions and authority, no man can tell how sudden a catastrophe may overwhelm us and bury all our glory in profound obscurity.”

Calvin Coolidge—President of the United States of America

“The foundations of our society and our government rest so much on the teachings of the Bible that it would be difficult to support them if faith in these teachings would cease to be practically universal in our country.”

Theodore Roosevelt—President of the United States

“It is necessary for the welfare of the nation that men’s lives be based on the principles of the BIBLE.  No man, educated or uneducated, can afford to be ignorant of the BIBLE.”

Original Harvard University Student Handbook–1636

“Let every student be plainly instructed and earnestly pressed to consider well: the main end of his life and studies is “to know God and Jesus Christ, which is eternal life” [John 17:3], and therefore to lay Christ in the bottom, as the only foundation of all sound knowledge and learning. And seeing the Lord only giveth wisdom, let everyone seriously set himself by prayer in secret to seek it of Him [Proverbs 2:3].”

There are many more famous people who would say similar things about the value of the Bible, but what priority will you give it? That is a question you will answer by the amount of time you devote to studying it and working to bring its principles into your everyday life.

Even the United States Congress once pronounced a resolution about the value of the Bible in our schools.

“The Congress of the United States recommends and approves the Holy Bible for use in all schools.”

– United States Congress 1782

Job, a great man of God, once made an important statement about the value of God’s Word.

Job 23:12

¹²Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips; I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food. [Emphasis added]

The prophet Jeremiah felt the same way as Job.

Jeremiah 15:16

¹⁶Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O Lord God of hosts. [Emphasis added]

The serious study of God’s Word has practical value in our time for everyday decision-making.  The evidence of that is clearly demonstrated by how little time they devote to reading and studying it, if any at all.  However, its value is set forth in many passages of Scripture.

Proverbs 1:5

⁵A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels:

Proverbs 1:7

⁷The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Proverbs 8:10-11

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

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

II Timothy 3:16-17

¹⁶All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

¹⁷That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.

Hebrews 4:12

¹²For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

Much like nutritious food, the intake and application of the Word of God even contributes to the health of the body.  Things such as worry, lying, immorality and other sins have a negative effect on the body.  Sin of any kind surely takes its toll on the health of the human body.

Psalm 107:17-19 

¹⁷Fools because of their transgression, and because of their iniquities, are afflicted.

¹⁸Their soul abhorreth all manner of meat; and they draw near unto the gates of death.

¹⁹Then they cry unto the Lord in their trouble, and he saveth them out of their distresses.

Proverbs 4:20-22

²⁰My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings.

²¹Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart.

²²For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh. [Emphasis added]

Faithful intake of God’s Word provides power to resist the temptations of the sins of the world, the flesh, and the Devil himself.  The food of the Word of God strengthens the believer in many ways.

Many years ago, I heard a story about an Eskimo who trained dogs for dogfighting.  Periodically he would bring his dogs to a village, so the people could bet on his dog fights.  It seemed he always knew which of his dogs to bet on.  At some point someone asked him if there was some secret to his expertise in always knowing how to pick the winner.  His answer was that it was all very simple.  He said he always bet on the dog he had fed that week.  Just as daily nourishment from good food provided nourishment and strength to his dogs, so the Word of God will provide spiritual nourishment and strength to you.  In all the “dogfights” of life, you will not only endure, but you will be in a position to win.

Without a healthy diet of the Word, we are vulnerable to all kinds of things that are bad for us and contrary to God’s will for us.  One of the best illustrations of the power of the Word of God to resist temptation is found in the occasion when Satan came to Jesus Christ to tempt Him.  

Matthew 4:1-2

¹ Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.

²And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred. [Emphasis added]

I’m quite familiar with the fact that God can’t be tempted [James 1:13].  But Jesus was the God/man.  Just as He got hungry as we do, He was also tempted as we are.

Hebrews 4:15

¹⁵For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. [Emphasis added]

Here in this incident, Jesus is tempted by Satan himself, the most brilliant of all God’s creatures, yet He resists perfectly because He knew and applied the appropriate principles from scripture to the situation.  Let’s take a look at the example He sets.

Matthew 4:1-4

¹ Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.

²And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred. 

No, from the standpoint of His deity He was never hungry, but from the standpoint of His humanity He surely was.  It is the same with these temptations.  Jesus Christ experienced all the sufferings and temptations of life.  This passage is here to tell us this and how we can resist them just as He did.

³And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be [or since you are] the Son of God [Satan knew very well who He was], command that these stones be made bread.

⁴But 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 [A quote from Deuteronomy 8:3]. [Emphasis added]

James 4:7-8

⁷ Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

⁸ Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. [Emphasis added]

But how do you resist the devil and how do you draw near to God? Answer:  Only by the power and influence of the Word of God in your thinking.  By knowing it and applying it, any temptation can be resisted.  We are free to apply God’s Word in the resistance to any and every form of temptation.

Ephesians 6:11

¹¹Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles [METHODIA = the deceits or charms] of the devil.

In this passage, it clearly shows that the only offensive weapon we have to combat Satan and other forms or sources of temptation is the Word of God.

Ephesians 6:17

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

Psalm 119:11

¹¹ Thy word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against thee. [Emphasis added] 

I Corinthians 10:13

¹³There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. [Emphasis added] 

It is through knowledge of God’s Word that He provides a way for us to resist every temptation we will ever face.  The Bible tells us we must “desire the sincere [pure] milk of the word” if we are to be victorious over temptation.  We should be eager to get to good “meals.”  Question:  How eager are you to “feed” on God’s Word?

I Peter 2:2

²As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: [Emphasis added]

Psalm 42:1

¹ As the hart [deer] panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God.

In my years of working with all kinds of people, I have found that most of them, even long-term Christians, are very shallow in what they really know about the Bible.  They may read denominational literature, devotional materials and the like, but they don’t spend much time studying the Bible itself.  If you are to ever grow up and become a mature believer, you must get beyond the basics.   Only by studying the Bible can you become familiar with God to develop a sound relationship with Him.  It is impossible to build a sound relationship with someone you really do not know intimately. We can never really enjoy life to the fullest without knowing and complying with God’s will and those things that are pleasing to Him.  Only then are we positioned to know and enjoy His greatest blessing, as well as to know Him as our best friend.  The Corinthian church is one such group that had a chance get the best of teaching through the apostle Paul.  However, it was because of their resistance to applying it that they apparently never did get past the basics in teaching.

I Corinthians 3:1-3

¹ And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ.

²I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able.

³For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men? [Emphasis added]

The Corinthian church was probably the most insubordinate group of believers Paul ever had to deal with.  Some of that was to do with what they knew but were not applying.  But a lot of it was to do with things they did not know.  They were ignorant of so much.  Look at how often Paul brings this to their attention in just one of sixteen chapters.

I Corinthians 6:2-19

Verse 2a — ²Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world?

Verse 3a —³Know ye not that we shall judge angels?

Verse 9a —⁹Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God?

Verse 15a —¹⁵Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ?

Verse 16a —¹⁶What? know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body?

Verse 19 –¹⁹ What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?

Who ever said, “What you don’t know won’t hurt you”? It surely will!

Hebrews 5:12-14

¹²For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat [solid food].

¹³For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe.

¹⁴But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. [Emphasis added] 

Knowledge of the Word and experience in its application give us wisdom and discernment.  We often speak of how children see no danger.  This is how it is with immature Christians; they are vulnerable to sin and easily deceived.  It is easy for them to fall victim to all kinds of things that do not produce a quality life and will rob them of reward in eternity.  

The comparisons that can be made between food and the Word of God are many.

• Everyone needs food.

     -Everyone needs the nourishment of God’s Word.

• Everyone needs food daily.

     -Everyone needs “consumption” of the Word of God daily.

• You will be weak if you don’t eat nourishing food regularly.

     -You will be “weak” and vulnerable to foolishness if you don’t “feed”  

     on the Word regularly.

• People cannot grow on one meal a week.

     -People cannot grow on one brief time in the Word each week either.

     Many Christians go all week without a feeding of any kind   

     spiritually, and then only get a cold sweet snack on Sunday morning, 

     if even that.

• Only nourishing food satisfies the needs of the body.

     -Only nourishing spiritual food satisfies the soul and the spirit.

• It is normal to get hungry and to be eager to get a good meal.

     -It is “normal” to get hungry for God’s Word and “abnormal” to resist it.

• What we eat affects our physical health.

     -What we believe affects our physical health AND especially our 

     spiritual health.

• Children do not know what food they need to eat.

     -Immature Christians do not know the Bible teaching they need.

• Mature parents give their children the food they need, not the food they 

          want.

     -A good teacher gives the people before him what they need, not what  

       they want.

• Junk food and sweets may provide temporary satisfaction, but do not 

         promote good health and growth.

     -For spiritual health and growth, it is essential to have a regular diet

       of verse-by-verse Bible teaching that is rightly divided.

• There are consequences associated with what we eat.

      -There are consequences associated with what we believe.

• People do not eat food accidentally but by choice.

      -People don’t believe things accidentally but by choice.

• It pays to examine your food.

      -It pays to “examine” the teaching you receive.

• Food preparation matters.  Everyone needs a good cook and we need to

          be selective in what we eat.

      -Teaching [or sermon] preparation matters.  We need good teachers 

         and we need to be selective about what we listen to.

• The personality of the cook has no bearing on the quality of the food.

      -The personality of the teacher or pastor has no bearing on the quality 

       of the spiritual food he provides, even though that is often thought to 

       be vitally important.  It is not! We all enjoy and tend to learn more 

       from a “quality” presenter, but the main issue is the message, the

       “food” itself.

• You do not have to know the cook or even like the cook to benefit from 

          the food he serves.

   -You do not have to know or even like the teacher to benefit from his 

        teaching.

• There is more than one cook who can feed you nourishing foods.

   -There is more than one pastor or teacher who can give you 

       nourishing teaching.

The most important principle you’ll ever learn about studying the Bible is called the principle of right division.  This is centered in the fact that although all the Bible is FOR us, it is not all TO us or ABOUT us.

II Timothy 2:15 says, 

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.”

Only if you KNOW God’s Word TO you will you be positioned to enjoy life, growing and moving toward spiritual maturity.  Therefore, make it a priority to feed your mind daily with the sound teaching from God’s Word, the Bible rightly divided.  If you’re not growing spiritually, you are retrogressing.  Sound teaching for spiritual growth in local churches is rare, but there is an abundance of quality information in books and on the internet as is found at 4Us2UsMinistries.com.  If you will take the initiative to feast on the Word of God, you will find yourself living a truly wonderful and spiritually healthy life.  That is a promise you can count on.

Conclusion—

1. The Bible is a “practical” book.

Proverbs 3:13-15

¹³Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth [gains] understanding.

¹⁴For the merchandise [profit] of it is better than the merchandise [profit] of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold.

¹⁵She is more precious than rubies: and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her. [Emphasis added]

2. We are told to “study” the Bible.

II Timothy 2:15

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

3. Most important of all, the Bible tells us what God expects of us for entrance into heaven.

I Corinthians 15:1-4

¹ Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;

²By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.

³For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;

⁴And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: [Emphasis added]

4. God’s Word is more important than anything, including food.

I Peter 2:2

²As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: [Emphasis added]

Matthew 4:4

⁴But 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]

5. It’s the Word of God that can transform our thinking.

Romans 12:1-2

¹ I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God [because He has been so merciful to us], that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

²And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind [this is a transformation of your thinking through the impact of God’s Word, the Bible], that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. [Emphasis added]

Colossians 3:16-17

¹⁶Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; [that is what it means to be filled with the Spirit] teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.

¹⁷And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him. [Emphasis added]

6. Our main objective in life is to fulfill our commission as Christ’s representatives.

Acts 17:5-6

⁵But the Jews which believed not, moved with envy, took unto them certain lewd fellows of the baser sort, and gathered a company, and set all the city on an uproar, and assaulted the house of Jason, and sought to bring them out to the people.

⁶And when they found them not, they drew Jason and certain brethren unto the rulers of the city, crying, These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also; [Emphasis added]

II Corinthians 5:20

²⁰Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God. [Emphasis added]