Devoted to the Apostles' Teaching

Practically, when we observe that the early disciples of Christ devoted themselves to the Apostles' doctrine (i.e. teaching), we conclude that we--as present day Christians--should be devoted to their teachings too... and their teachings are recorded for us (thankfully) in the Holy Bible.

That's why we spend time (as Christians) in the Word. It's in the Word that we discover the teachings of the early leaders of the church. We read from Matthew, John, Paul, Luke, James, Peter, and others. These were men who either sat at the Lord's feet themselves, or who were closely associated with those who did. And by the power of the Holy Spirit, they were empowered to write down on "paper" exactly what God wanted them to. In short, I'm referring to the doctrine of inspiration. Listen to this definition from the pen of Dr. Chuck Swindoll: the doctrine of inspiration is "the supernatural act of God whereby He so directed human authors of Scripture that, without destroying their individuality, literary style, or personality, His complete and connected thought toward humanity was received/recorded without error or contradiction--each word being supernaturally written and preserved so as to result in an infallible document in the origianl writings." [Check out these Scriptures as you ponder that definition: 2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:21.]

Why am I taking the time to have you ponder the doctrine of inspiration? Because it's important for you (and every saint) to trust in the reliability of Scripture. In other words, if you are not convinced that God's holy, infallible and inspired (i.e. God-breathed) words are contained in the Bible, you will likely not invest your time reading the Book (of all books). However, I will also add this point: I believe God gives a hunger to each one of His children for the Scriptures, AND I also believe that a truly converted man or woman will seek to know and apply to his or her life the principles found within the Word of God (see 1 Peter 2:2 and John 8:31).

So let's get practical. Do you hunger for God's Word? Are you "feeding yourself" regularly? If you don't feel comfortable "feeding yourself", are you at least allowing someone else (more mature in the faith) to "feed you"? The truth is you need both. You need to meditate on the Word of God yourself (even as God exhorted Joshua--see Joshua 1:8), and you need to sit under godly and trained men who are gifted by God to teach and equip the church (that's the role of a pastor-teacher--see Ephesians 4:11-12). What's more, as followers of Christ, we are called to not just hear the Word (i.e. take it in), but obey (apply) it as well (John 13:17; James 1:22).

Obviously, there are some challenges to reading, understanding, interpreting, and applying the Scriptures to our life. So, let me suggest some resources that may help you grow in your ability to be a better student of the Book.

Basic "How to" books on the Bible:

"How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth" by: Douglas Stuart & Gordon Fee

"Living by the Book: The Art and Science of Reading the Bible" by: Howard Hendricks & William Hendricks

"The New How to Study Your Bible" by: Kay Arthur; David Arthur & Pete De Lacy

Various Reference Tools--Commentaries, Handbooks, Dictionaries, etc.:

"MacArthur Bible Commentary" and "MacArthur Bible Handbook" By: Dr. John MacArthur

"Ryken's Bible Handbook" By: Leland Ryken; Philip Ryken & James Wilhoit

"What's in the Bible" By: R.C. Sproul & Robert Wolgemuth

"The New Unger's Bible Dictionary" By: Merrill F. Unger

"A Bible Concordance" (Choose one which matches your Bible translation and which is exhaustive)

"Vine's Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words" By: W.E. Vine; Merrill Unger & William White Jr.

Study Bibles I would recommend:

"The Reformation Study Bible" (available in NKJV or ESV)

"The ESV Study Bible"

"The NIV or NASB Study Bible" (By Zondervan)

"The MacArthur Study Bible" (available in NKJV, NASB, or ESV)

OK... this blog has gotten too long. I'll come back next time and chat more about devoting ourselves to the Word (practical tips when reading/studying the Bible).