I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways. I will delight in your statutes; I will not forget your word (Psalm 119:15,16, ESV).
If you have never read Psalm 119, I encourage you to read it and ponder on the numerous times the Psalmist mentions the importance of God’s statutes, commands, instructions, testimonies, and Word. It is quite a bit!
Many of us are familiar with verses in this Psalm, such as verse 11, “I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you,” and verse 105, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”
The Importance of God's Word
The Word of God is to be of utmost importance in our lives. Nothing has changed in this regard from the times of the Old Testament until now.
Knowing the Word of God is vital in the life of a Christian. This goes beyond memorization of His Word, which is important. I once heard someone talk about the importance of memorizing the Bible in the event that our paper Bibles or means to read it was taken away from us.
The question posed in this encouragement came down to how much of the Word you would know to be encouraged and strengthened by God in those times. That presentation of thought was convicting and thought-provoking.
At the same time, we are not to stop at memorizing the Word for the sake of memorizing or in boasting how much of the Bible we can recite. We are to have it hidden deep in our hearts and to desire that the Holy Spirit would teach us His Word (Psalm 119:12).
This author states it beautifully, “It (Scripture memorization) also involves structuring one's life around its precepts, being so thoroughly under its dominion that it is embedded in one's everyday life.”
We want to walk in His ways and glorify Christ Jesus. It is difficult to walk in His ways and to know Him more if we do not spend time in His Word.
Sobering Statistics and Thoughts
Several years ago, during a trying time of understanding Scripture, I came across some statistics that startled me and sobered me. A survey had been conducted among professing Christians, asking them various questions.
One of the questions pertained to the frequency of Bible reading. It was alarming to see the numbers at the time, as only 12% of professing Christians claimed to read the Bible daily. Many people rarely ever read the Bible.
Unfortunately, the statistics have not improved with time. In fact, they have gotten worse. According to one study conducted by the American Bible Society,
“The number of Bible Disengaged respondents rose 45 million to 145 million from 2021 to 2022, while the Movable Middle dropped 29 million to 66 million and the Scripture Engaged declined 15 million to 49 million during this time. This was the first time since 2018 that the number of Bible Disengaged respondents increased.
What is equally disturbing to see is the current data surrounding beliefs about God, salvation, Jesus, ethics, and the Bible. Ligonier Ministries along with Lifeway Research, conducted a survey in 2022 to gauge the spiritual temperature of the United States.
They posed questions about God’s sovereignty, church attendance, the belief regarding sin, and other topics related to the authority of Scripture and social issues.
They found that half of Evangelicals believe that God does change and adapts to different circumstances, which would contradict His sovereignty and even Scripture, stating that God does not change (Malachi 3:6).
When presented with the statement that everyone is born innocent in the eyes of God, 65% of Evangelicals agreed, while 32% disagreed.
We understand that Scripture makes it clear how sin entered the world through Adam’s sin and rebellion against God. Because of this, death entered the world (Romans 5:12).
Ephesians 2:3 reminds us that “we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature, children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.”
We know that God was merciful to send His Son in order to atone for our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. The call is to repent and believe in Him for salvation. This message has never changed.
The view of the Bible was most sobering, as this data noted that in the United States, an increasing rejection of God’s Word being divinely inspired and authoritative is observed. The State of Theology noted that this was the clearest trend noted since it began collecting data in 2014.
Though they evaluated both U.S. adults and Evangelicals separately, I want to look at what professing Christians believe because we need to recognize the trends and unsettling results, which help us to see the spiritual anemia taking place and the lack of conforming to the authority of Scripture in the life of a professing believer in Christ.
When presented with the statement that God accepts the worship of all religions, including Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, 56% of Evangelicals agreed. While 57% of Evangelicals disagreed with the statement that Jesus was not God, 43% of Evangelicals agreed that Jesus was not God.
Regarding Scripture, 26% of Evangelicals believe that the Bible contains helpful accounts, but it is not literally true. This is a rising trend among Evangelicals, and these beliefs are cause for concern. Our standard of truth and our final authority is the Word of God.
We know that 2 Timothy 3:16-17 assures us that all Scripture is God-breathed and is profitable for the believer to grow and to be corrected by it. We also know that Jesus is truly God and truly man.
He is not a created being. He is God, the second Person of the Trinity. If we stray from that belief and truth, which is found in Scripture, then we have another gospel and another Christ who cannot save.
What Does This Mean?
Though this is an isolated survey in time, it should sober us to see the importance of sound biblical doctrine and the value of God’s Word in our lives. Correct theology matters, and doctrine matters.
There are many who will rest on personal experiences and opinions, but at the end of the day, if we profess Christ to be our Lord and Savior, then we submit to His will and His instruction.
We do not submit to our personal feelings, experiences, or opinions. We have forfeited the right to our own understanding regarding God’s ways when we placed our faith in Jesus to save us from the penalty of sin.
As the world appears to be getting darker with the rise of sin and rebellion against a holy and just God, we are to shine the light of Jesus Christ, proclaiming His gospel and the truth of His Word testifying of Him.
We cannot do this apart from Scripture. We are to abide in His Word, know what it says, and obey what it says. We are to love others enough to proclaim the truth of His Word.
Jesus told the Jews who believed in Him, “If you abide in my Word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” We know in reading that passage the Jews who believed in Him later tried to stone Him for His proclamation of being I AM.
John Calvin is noted as saying, “When we remember how quickly the human mind forgets God, we can see how great was the need for His truth to be written down. If we do not know His Word, we shall never reach our goal of knowing God.”
Abide in His Word, and trust His Word and what it says about Jesus Christ. It is this living Word that is the power of God unto salvation.
For further reading:
Why Is Reading the Bible in Context Important?
4 Ways to Get Back into Reading Your Bible
Why Should I Be Interested in Reading the Bible?
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