Intensify Bible Teaching and Appliction
II Timothy 3:16 - 17
“All Scripture is inspired by God and beneficial for teaching, for rebuke, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be capable, equipped for every good work.”
Webster’s dictionary defines intensity as “the magnitude of a quantity” and as “saturation.” It also gives some synonyms for intensity that includes words such as “enthusiasm, fervency and passion.”
When I think of the word “intensity,” I think of my friend, Jeff. I greatly admire how he demonstrates intensity in every area of his life. As a single father, Jeff raised a precious daughter. She is a talented, productive adult with her own family, and Jeff’s intensity is reflected in much of her success. Now married, he attends to his marriage with equal intensity. He recently shared with me a list of books he is reading in order to become a better husband. These days, Jeff exercises intensity as a grandparent, working to see that his granddaughter sees Jesus reflected through him. Jeff is a successful businessman, building a mammoth company of investors. Jeff even exercises with intensity, recently running over 13 miles in one run. And Jeff is also an intense Christ-follower. His faith shows up in his family, his marriage, his business and his church. One of those definitions of intensity is “saturation.” And that describes Jeff perfectly. He saturates everything he does with excellence, integrity and precision, and the results of that intensity has been growth and health in all these areas of his life.
We cannot expect to grow in our faith in Christ without saturating our minds with the Word of God. Apart from God's Word, The Bible, we simply cannot grow. We cannot “learn Christ'' as Ephesians 4:20 tells us without God’s Word saturating our minds. One way to saturate your mind with God’s Word is to intensify our time and devotion spent in His Word.
I fear that many believers approach God’s Word so casually, that it has little impact on their lives. I often wonder if the reason many are not coming back to church in attendance is a reflection of minimal Bible exposure.
The headlines today are filled with crisis, conflict, confusion and chaos. There are many questions regarding politics, government, medicine, war, sports, media and more. What is the truth? What is not the truth? And who can you trust to report the truth? Do we just fold our arms and say, “it is what it is?” What can we do? We can get back to the Bible - the ultimate source of truth.
Right now we need more of God’s Word, not less. We need more of God’s truth, not just a fraction. We need more Bible teaching, more Bible truth and more Bible application. We can do something about this and it begins with saturating ourselves with God’s truth.
Think about it for a moment, when we take the time to study, learn, meditate on and memorize the Word of God, we gain a personal advantage. “Beneficial” means something is personally advantageous. When we read, study, learn, and know my Bible we gain a personal advantage. It helps us know the truth about all the things going on in our lives and in this world. Here are some ways God Word gives us an advantage.
It TEACHES. That is what the word “doctrine” or “teaching” means. The Bible is beneficial to us because it teaches us what is right in life. When we are in difficult places in our lives and don’t know what to do, God’s Word teaches us which is right!
It “REBUKES.” In other words, God’s Word not only tells us what is right, it also tells us what is wrong and shines a light on our wrong thinking and behavior.
God’s Word also “CORRECTS.” The Bible tells us how to correct our wrong thinking and behavior. For example, when we hurt someone or sin against someone, the Bible tells us what to do: confess our wrong and our sin to that person and ask for forgiveness.
And it INSTRUCTS. This is what it means to be “trained in righteousness.” It instructs us as to how to live in obedience in order to protect us and provide His best for us. Simply put, it teaches us how to stay right.
As believers, we can claim the advantage God’s Word gives us by learning and obeying it. As preachers and pastors, we must proclaim the truth of God as the answer to the crisis, conflict and chaos, knowing the Holy Spirit will take God’s Word and implant it deeply into the hearts of people. It is time to embrace learning and applying scripture. There is much we can do, and it starts with getting back to the Bible as our source of truth and life.
Former President Ronald Reagan said “within the covers of the Bible are the answers for all the problems men face.” The answer to life’s problems are found in the person of Jesus Christ. And He has given us His Word to learn and live by. Will you join me in intensifying our commitment to God’s Word?