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Intellectual study alone produces only man's wisdom which is why we have the throngs of lost theologians and professors that fill our seminaries and our churches today. Therefore, while intellectual application to the study of the Word is useful, it is only the quickening of the Holy Spirit upon that Word, taking it from logos to rhema in a person's heart, that will produce the true understanding of God and the truest change in one's life.
Since the Holy Spirit is the Teacher, whether you approach the Bible systematically or haphazardly, whether you approach it with a specific goal in mind or just to enjoy reading its contents, it is not our intellectual application that will be most profitable. That intellectual effort will result more in a head knowledge of His Word than anything else. But to approach it prayerfully and humbly, asking for His Word to pierce your heart, with no goal in mind but to know Him better, you will find that He will reveal things to you in the most wonderful ways at the most unexpected times.
yes .....it makes me smile considering Chuck wanted go in the rapture so much in the seventies and he is still here and outlived others younger than himRoberto - Truth Brother!!
Thanks for posting that :
I'm glad we still have Chuck with us
I agree I study (or use to) In study it unfolds....I will study a section then go back to restudy and will find a gem that I missed the first or second time.....you don't know the joy I receive when that gem is uncovered…..If we don't know the scripture how will we know when error is spoken????? we study the words of GOD...I do not like the printed materials that are handed out in Sunday School....it's a waste a paper...skim don't skim....get to the meat and stop drinking milk....:
(Act 17:10) And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews.
(Act 17:11) These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so
I'm finding difficulty making the distinction between "study" and "searching the scriptures daily". :
there it is......above this one...I posted to the original post...well.....I lost my post….just as well....ha ha....I study (or use to) want to get back at it....I'm glad to hear there are Dave Hunt fans here...meat and not milk forever....don't be deceived...know your Bible....it's alive...Jesus is alive...not someone long long ago...HE IS ALIVE
If I were saying that, sis, I would clearly be a hypocrite, because I do not think there is anybody here who digs into words and grammar more than I! A certain degree of intellectual study of God's Word is profitable ... and God, for His purposes, leads some into more of that type of study than He does others.
My point is simply that we are never told to "study" the Bible in the sense that we understand the word today. We are told to read it and to "commit" it to our hearts ... in otherwise memorize it and the precepts it teaches ... and then to reflect on them in order that we may understand them and obey that which we are shown in it. (Which introduces another topic that I will not go into here—namely that we have to understand the difference between the OT economy and the NT one. Under the OT economy the law was external ... externally obeyed and externally enforced. In the NT, the law is internal; it is internally obeyed and internally enforced.)
So we are to read, learn, and reflect on Scripture. That is all well and good, but the Bible also tells us that the gramma kills but the pneuma gives life. (2 Corinthians 3:6) Literally the written word kills but the Spirit gives life. In other words, the written Word without the quickening of the Holy Spirit
will not produce spiritual life in us. As I pointed out in an earlier post, the things of God are spiritually, not naturally, discerned. (1 Corinthians 2:14)
Therefore the Bible is far more than an intellectual object. Worldly men can study it intellectually and never come to the truth. The truth comes only from the Holy Spirit enlightening that Word. Christians who approach the Bible in an intellectual fashion using man's methods of analysis in an attempt to comprehend its deep truths intellectually are missing out on so much. They may learn concepts, but God's truths have to make it from the mind to the heart ... and that requires God's timing.
For years I comprehended the Bible intellectually. I stored up an amazing amount of knowledge of His Word. But my life was a life of sin and defeat. It wasn't until the day when God broke me, when He finally brought me to the beautiful place of brokenness and contrition that He desires all to be in, that I was finally in a place where His Spirit could begin the very real process of producing the likeness of Christ in me. I have so very, very far to go. But people who knew me know I have changed. (I prefer to say I am being changed, for it is an ongoing process and the work is all His.)
It was at that time that the head knowledge I had began to be applied to my heart. As He told me 3 o'clock one morning as I lay awake on my bed and rejoiced in all the knowledge He had given me: "Knowledge stored up in the mind is vanity; but applied to the heart it is wisdom."
Since the Holy Spirit is the Teacher, whether you approach the Bible systematically or haphazardly, whether you approach it with a specific goal in mind or just to enjoy reading its contents, it is not our intellectual application that will be most profitable. That intellectual effort will result more in a head knowledge of His Word than anything else. But to approach it prayerfully and humbly, asking for His Word to pierce your heart, with no goal in mind but to know Him better, you will find that He will reveal things to you in the most wonderful ways at the most unexpected times.
So go through the bible book by book, chapter by chapter, verse by verse, word by word, if you like. There is nothing wrong with structure. Read the great teachers and listen to the great preachers. Their instruction and exhortation will inform your mind and often touch your spirit. But know this— it is not the product of your intellect, nor the teachings of others, that will produce an intimate, heart relationship with Jesus Christ. It is the possession of a humble spirit, an obedient mind, and a thankful heart. And those things are produced by the Holy Spirit alone. And the Holy Spirit always works within the parameters of what Christ did on the Cross and through the contents of His Word.
Intellectual study alone produces only man's wisdom which is why we have the throngs of lost theologians and professors that fill our seminaries and our churches today. Therefore, while intellectual application to the study of the Word is useful, it is only the quickening of the Holy Spirit upon that Word, taking it from logos to rhema in a person's heart, that will produce the true understanding of God and the truest change in one's life.
How can I help the Church?
You say "I'm trying to develop SMART goals." Well, may I make some suggestions?So this kinds me back to whether I should be "studying" or "reading?" I lean towards studying only because I want to commit what I've learned to memory and not forget it the next day. My goal is to be able to share an intelligent, thoughtful and gentle response to any non-believer in a respectful manner without saying, “I’ll have to read the Bible and come back.” By the time I’ve done that they are usually no longer interested anyways, and I’ve lost my chance. I also want to study so I can exercise myself gift without constantly having to stop and look up exactly what something says or even worse misquote the Bible.
Since I’m in the business world I’m trying to develop SMART goals and apply that to my Christianity (maybe that’s wrong). I want to run the race in an effort win as suggested by Paul.
I understand we are all apart of the Body of Christ and I may not know everything and maybe I don’t need to. If I’m just the fingernail of the body, I want to be the best fingernail I can be! After reading through some of my knowledge, what do I lack? How can I help the Church? What should I be reading or studying next? What are some things that every Christian should know without hesitation and off the top of his or her heads?
I have a lot of questions. Feel free to answer any or none. Appreciate any and all advice!
A hundred times....Amen.You say "I'm trying to develop SMART goals." Well, may I make some suggestions?
First of all, in business we are trained to seek SMART goals:
SpecificThis is all well and good when dealing with worldly business. But it does not work in dealing with God's "business" ... which is the making of a saint. Just as "studying" the Bible in the academic sense too often interferes with our spiritual growth because it seeks to achieve spiritual goals through intellectual means, so aiming at the SMART goals will interfere with that very same end. You see, spiritual things are not apprehended by the intellect, but by our spirit alone (1 Corinthians 2:14). And the agent that educates and edifies our spirit—leading to the transforming of our souls (and thus our life, in this flesh, on this earth)—is the Holy Spirit ... and He alone!
Measurable
Attainable
Relevant
Timely
Our sanctification is already complete and perfect in God's eyes and we are therefore eternally saved—all of it by faith alone in what Jesus did on the Cross. But our condition is nevertheless a saved soul living in a fallen, fleshly body; therefore, we need to be changed so that our life here on this earth reflects the Heavenly glory for which we are bound. The agent of that change is the Holy Spirit: He alone is capable of the revelation and transformation that truly fits us for God's work here and now. When we attempt to use worldly means such as SMART to achieve a godly goal, we are engaging in an exercise that is futile. As Paul said to the church at Galatia: "Having begun by the Spirit are you now being perfected by the flesh?" Sadly too many churches teach—and too many Christians attempt—to live the Christian life by natural means. After all, the bible says "Be holy" so we try to be holy. It says be loving, so we try to loving things. It says forgive, so we work hard at trying to forgive. It says pray, so we try to force ourselves to pray on a set schedule. All these things are good, but we are trying to do them by will power. If we could do that, we would not need the Spirit.
Therefore, to think in terms of SMART goals is to sabotage God's work. You see, to set a specific spiritual goal is to usurp God's specific goal for you at any given time. Yes, we can set the overall goal of becoming like Christ, because that is God's goal. But we cannot determine the steps; only He can do that. We cannot decide on how to measure our progress because, again, only He can do that.We already know that the goal of becoming Christ-like is attainable because numerous verses tell us that He will finish what He started in us. We already know that the goal is relevant because it is God who willed it and God who will accomplish His will. But as to timely, who are we to decide what specifically is necessary in us, and in what order, in order to achieve that goal? SMART may be smart in the business world where things work along lines of logic; but it isn't smart in God's Kingdom where things work in ways we cannot at present understand.
I could go on, but I think this is long enough for a response. You say you want to do something for your Church. I think you are looking for a 1-2-3 process. But honestly I believe for you and for me and for everybody else who names the name of Christ in truth, the best thing we can do for our church, our self and God's Work to hunger and thirst to be like Christ and to daily trust Him to do the work He has promised to do. To that end, pray, read the word, praise, fellowship, serve as God gives opportunity, and ask Him continually to work out in you the salvation he planted in you, believing He WILL because He has promised to do so. Stay before God until you truly hunger and thirst to be like Christ, to walk in the righteousness He has planted in you and covered you with in His eyes ... until others too can see it.
I pray this helps.