Finding Truth through Bible Study
John 5:39 (ESV) “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life”…
I jumped head first into Bible study when I became a believer. With sincere intentions, I purchased the right books and started a daily journey into the Word and world of words. It became my passion with the intent to quench my thirst and fill my hunger for spiritual knowledge. (Honestly though, I ended up finding at least 10 more questions for each one I answered).
I was focused mainly on facts because my picture of God, created from hearing men misrepresent His character, had me developing a relationship of fear and avoidance for Him as a Father. In my ignorance, I approached His throne like Dorothy shaking in her shoes before the Wizard of Oz. Understanding the link between the Old Testament God and the New Testament Christ seemed beyond my comprehension to blend, and most explanations of the Cross I was hearing were making it even more difficult. Consequently, my Bible study became an unconscious quest for scholarly knowledge only.
Because of this “Pharisee” approach, it wasn’t long before I began to take pride in what I knew. It felt good to be acknowledged for what I had learned and see others had a positive opinion of my “spirituality” and admired me for my Bible study library and awesome Logos computer tools. I now most humbly admit, I was studying for all the wrong reasons and felt as hungry and thirsty as when I had started. I could answer many Bible study questions, but I was lonely inside as the hole in my heart was not filled with a true relationship with God, yet.
Through loving Providence, I was challenged by a caring mentor to go back and approach Bible study book by book as a whole, asking only one question, “What does this say about God?” He advised me not to get wrapped up in the details of (for example) how the animals got on the art, but concentrate on questions like what kind of God would destroy all but 8 and why. When I had questions about God’s character, I was advised to “KEEP READING”. This took a couple of years and more than one reading, but oh, was it worth it!
It caused a transformation; a picture of God began to appear like a rainbow on a stormy day. I started seeing Christ everywhere and I realized how false my picture of God had been. I learned Christ really came to eliminate all false pictures of God and demonstrate the true character of the Father! I will not say that there still aren’t many other challenges to work through in my Bible study, but now my pride is in the God I am coming to know, not in my knowledge of Biblical facts.
Jesus says “No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing, but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you,” John 15:15 ESV. Friendship! That is the goal of my Bible study: an ongoing, growing relationship with the creator of the universe and the Son and Spirit who are showing me the way and changing me from the inside out.
I no longer judge those Pharisees so harshly as I was truly no different in my understanding back then. But now I search the scriptures in Bible study because, “it is they that bear witness about me.” John 5:38
Submitted by Kathleen Boozer