1. Scripture is the means of preserving our salvation.
“Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers.” 1 Timothy 4:16
2. Scripture meets Satan‘s temptations.
“and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God,” Ephesians 6:17
“and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”” John 8:32
“You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” John 8:44
3. Scripture is a means of grace and peace to us.
“May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.” 2 Peter 1:2
4. Scripture is meant to sanctify our lives, to make us more and more holy.
“Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.” John 17:17
5. Scripture gives us joy. Life without joy is unbearable.
“but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.” Psalm 1:2
“And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit,” 1 Thessalonians 1:6
6. Scripture protects from error.
“until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.” Ephesians 4:13-14
7. Scripture gives us hope for eternity.
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls." 1 Peter 1:3-9
8. Scripture keeps us from being startled by false teachers and apostates.
“For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions,” 2 Timothy 4:3
9. The Bible calls for careful handling, only learned through day by day familiarity with word.
“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15
10. The Bible sustains our lives. “Spiritual life – eternal life must be fed by the word of God.
“But he answered, “It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”” Matthew 4:4
1. You will be opposed.
3. You will be confused.
1. You will be opposed.
Satan hates the word of God, and will disincline you, blind you, distract you, bore you. He will do anything to keep you from the word. Pray for his subversive aims to backfire. Ask God to keep your heart, inclined, remove your blindness, grant you focus instead of distraction, and give you excitement instead of boredom.
2. You will be shocked.
3. You will be confused.
1. You will be opposed.
The Bible is raw and honest about life and eternal matters. It’s stunningly graphic in its Description, both of our outrageous sin, and God’s breathtaking judgment on sin. If you have any of systematic engagement with the Bible, you be disgusted at times when you see what God ordain against sin in this world. Brace yourself.
3. You will be confused.
3. You will be confused.
3. You will be confused.
Expect unanswered questions, because God does not reveal to us anything we want to know. (Deuteronomy 29:29) And what he does reveal is sometimes hard to understand (2 Peter 3:16). You will need pastors and teachers in your life to make progress in the challenging part of scripture. Press through the confusion. Keep on movin
Expect unanswered questions, because God does not reveal to us anything we want to know. (Deuteronomy 29:29) And what he does reveal is sometimes hard to understand (2 Peter 3:16). You will need pastors and teachers in your life to make progress in the challenging part of scripture. Press through the confusion. Keep on moving, don't let any questions stop your progress. Shelf them for later.
1. Your faith will be deepened
1. Your faith will be deepened
1. Your faith will be deepened
Faith comes from hearing the word, because the Bible was written to give us hope.
“So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” Romans 10:17
“For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.”
Romans 15:4
2. You will experience new
1. Your faith will be deepened
1. Your faith will be deepened
liberation from lies and sins that have pledged you.
“and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”” John 8:32
3. You’ll be outfitted
1. Your faith will be deepened
4. You will be made more holy
with new weapons to withstand Satan.
“Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” But he answered, “It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” .... Matthew 4:1-11
4. You will be made more holy
4. You will be made more holy
4. You will be made more holy
“Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.” John 17:17
5. You will become more loving
4. You will be made more holy
5. You will become more loving
“And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment,” Philippians 1:9
6. You will be sustained
4. You will be made more holy
5. You will become more loving
The Bible is the means of God by which he goes on saving us.
“Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers.”
1 Timothy 4:16
7. You will be given an indestructible joy
9. You will behold more and more of Christ radiant glory.
7. You will be given an indestructible joy
“These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.” John 15:11
8. You will meet God directly
9. You will behold more and more of Christ radiant glory.
7. You will be given an indestructible joy
because he meets us in his word.
“And the Lord appeared again at Shiloh, for the Lord revealed himself to Samuel at Shiloh by the word of the Lord.”
1 Samuel 3:21
9. You will behold more and more of Christ radiant glory.
9. You will behold more and more of Christ radiant glory.
9. You will behold more and more of Christ radiant glory.
“And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.”
2 Corinthians 3:18