Why Is Bible Study So Important?

Minnesota Governor Jesse "The {lost soul} Body" Ventura angered a lot of Christians when he stated "organized religion is a sham and a crutch for weak-minded people who need strength in numbers". This choice tidbit, which will probably keep him from being re-elected to anything other than dog catcher, actually harmed him more than it harmed the Church of Christ. The "Real Body", that is, the gathering of believers in Jesus Christ has always been greater than the persecution around it because of Who we follow. We don't follow some balding actor who duped voters into electing him to the highest office of the Great State of Minnesota, we follow The King of Kings, immortal God, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Sadly, it is possible to join a body of believers and call yourself the Church and yet still be lost. You can call yourself a Christian and still be weak minded when you forget the disciplines of Christianity. You see, being a Christian is more than just joining a Church and tithing your money. Joining and giving are wonderful things in themselves, but certainly not true spirituality. You see, humans are created with body and soul. We were created with one overwhelming purpose in view: to serve our Creator as He desires. As we serve Him, so we are blessed, but if we refuse to serve then we are not so blessed. We were made for Jesus, Jesus was not made for us.

In humanity truth is defined as a "relative" thing, and each person holds some idea of what is true. I'm sure that Ventura actually believed what he said, and to him his derogatory statements were true. Bear in mind, though, that human viewpoint and truth are often very relative things. After making this statement Ventura backed off (under political threat) and said (in a 20/20 interview) "The word 'some' should have been there in front of it. Some organized religion is a sham, . . .". If what he was saying was absolute truth, then why would he have backed off?  Finally, he weakly elaborated, "Weak-minded doesn't necessarily have to be bad. It means you have a weakness and if it's - if going to church will strengthen that mind, then for that person fine.". So, are Christians weak minded or not? Well, Ventura has no more of a grasp on truth than does most of our politicians.

Now, this section was not written with the intent of pointing out Ventura's obvious flaws. We all have flaws. It was written with the intent of pointing out that the world's definition of truth is RELATIVE, whereas the Bible's definition of truth is ABSOLUTE. Jesus said He was the only way to God (John 14.6). This is Biblical truth. I cannot remain a Christian in my walk and not affirm this as truth. I cannot waffle on this point in order to be "politically correct", which is another way of saying "worldly". I cannot compromise this viewpoint no matter how many Jews, Muslims, or Hindus it offends - for Biblical truth is absolute, straight from the mouth of the Creator God.

One of the biggest problems in Christianity today is that so many believers have absorbed the mental attitude of the world rather than the absolute truth of Scripture.

Isaiah 55:8-11  "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.  For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.   For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater:   So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it."

God makes it plain that His Word (which expresses His thoughts) are absolute, and not to be confused with the ways and thoughts of the world (which are relative truth). There are Churches that call themselves "Christian" that advocate "same sex marriages", though I defy you to prove this is anything but sin Scripturally. There are "Christians" who advocate "living together" before marriage, yet God's Word explicitly brands this as fornication or illicit sexual activity. There are "Christians" who prey on the poor and truly weak minded, and coerce them into giving their hard earned pension to the Church. There are "Christians" who teach "holy hate" for those not or their denomination or race, something God never supported in Scripture.

As I started to say before, humans are created beings driven by THOUGHT. You are what you think. Columbine and a host of school murders shows how the worldview has infiltrated the minds of our children and taught them disrespect for life. If you are of the world, your thoughts should be of the world. I understand when the heathen alcoholic gets drunk, or when the heathen player lays with many women. They are of the world, of the world thought, and are obeying the impulses of their Old Sin Nature. But you, dear Christian, you are children of Jesus Christ. Your thoughts should be of Jesus Christ, and your mind should be filled with His Word.

1 Corinthians 2:16  "For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ."

We have the mind of Christ. God made sure that we had this mind in Book form, sitting on your shelf gathering dust. That Mind of Christ does you no good unless you draw it into your soul. Look, worldliness is NOT something you do. You hear Churches speaking out against all kinds of outward actions, but outward actions are not worldliness. No, worldliness is a STATE OF MIND that expresses itself in outward actions. Do you just find yourself in a situation where you're forced into fornication? No, you THINK THROUGH the sin in your thoughts, weigh the pros and cons, then decide to outwardly act. Jesus described this perfectly in:

Matthew 5:28  "But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart."

Look what our Lord said. Just LOOKING with adultery in your heart, you have ALREADY COMMITTED the act. You see, to the world adultery is the act of a man and woman who are not lawfully married coming together. But to God, just the THOUGHT of doing it is adultery. This goes to show that, if you expect to grow as a believer, if you expect to grow away from sins in your life, then the battlefield is not in your actions but in your mind. You must attack the problem where it originates - in your thought pattern.

Romans 12:1-2  "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.  And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God."

This is exactly where most Christians get it wrong. They think that "presenting the body a living sacrifice" is something you do, i.e. "I'll stop smoking, stop drinking, stop cursing, stop chasing women, etc". No, though it is wonderful to stop doing these things, to stop destructive behavior, the battlefield is not there. Rather, the battlefield is in your mind. You refuse to be conformed to this world, refuse to allow the thoughts and false truths of the world into your mind. Instead, you are "transformed by the renewing of your mind". How? By studying, reading, digesting, and applying God's holy Word to your life. By praying and seeking God's face while you're studying that Word. As you study that precious Word, not as a textbook, mind you, but as His precious Word - you begin to grow spiritually. As you grow spiritually your outward pattern of behavior changes: you may stop smoking, drinking, etc. The outward worldliness passes away as you grow in the inner person. The Bible tells us:

Isaiah 26:3  "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee."

People come to Christ expecting immediate inner peace. God never promised that. Look what He promised: inner peace, perfect peace IF your mind is STAYED (CAMAK = resting on, taking hold on, fastened on) or dwelling on Him. Your mind cannot be stayed or fastened on God if you spend 4 hours a day watching television (the laxative of the mind), all the while the world pouring its human viewpoint into you - and only minutes a day reading and assimilating God's Word. You cannot spend eight hours and more a day working around heathen who curse God with every bitter mouthful, spitting into your soul, and take only minutes a day assimilating God's precious Word. You cannot spend forty plus hours a week at work and ten hours a week at play and forsake the assembly of the Saints and NOT EXPECT to pay the price. If you wallow in the septic tank, don't be surprised you smell like feces! Don't be surprised your Christian walk is only a stagger. You are what you feed your soul.

2 Corinthians 8:12  "For if there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not."

I have heard preachers get up in front of their congregation and preach tithing sermons, trying to guilt believers into giving to the purse of the Church. But, unless you give from a willing heart, from a proper mental attitude, the truth is that God has no use for your money. Preachers do a disservice to their flocks when teaching them that God is a giant Santa Claus, and when they give He'll automatically return a blessing in kind. This is only true if the believer gives out of a heart of love toward God, gives because he loves the Lord and wants to express it materially. But to force you to give - no, God wants none of this. The mental attitude must be right before the outward work is done, "First a willing mind".

Romans 12:16  "Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits."

Philippians 2:5  "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus"

Proverbs 23:7  "For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee."

The true Christian walk starts in the mind, then is expressed outward in action. The mind that has focused itself on God's Word and prayer has a body that is willing to work for Christ - not to be seen of men, but in honest love for the Father. The mind that has focused itself on Jesus is meek, loving, Christian in outward character towards others - never hateful nor selfish. The mind focused on the Word of God and prayer seeks to bless others rather than fosters the "here I am, feed me" mentality of so many Christians today. The mind focused on Christ's Word does not seek promotion at the suffering of others, but is content to serve God where he or she is.

2 Thessalonians 2:2  "That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand."

2 Timothy 1:7  "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind."

The mind focused on God's Word does not let the affairs of Satan's world disturb him. We know who the Creator is, we know that He is abundantly able to protect us, we know where our eternal inheritance lies. Knowing these things, not just intellectually but in your inner heart, why should you fear what is to come. Too many Christians were frightened over the Y2K scare, which turned out to be nothing. Why worry about something stupid when you serve an awesome God, unless you have so filled your minds with worthless worldliness that you have no peace? Did not our Father say that He would protect us - that we are so precious that He has numbered the very hairs of our head (Matthew 10.30; Luke 12.7)? If this is true, doesn't this mean that He'll see us through the times of trial as well as the good times, if we only rely on Him? So many say "Yes, I believe that that's true", but then live their lives as if God were a liar or non-existent. He is neither liar nor non-existent, He is real. But when we fail to focus our mind on Him through prayer and injestion of His Word we often create our own hell on earth, and lock ourselves away from our precious Redeemer, our Help, our God.

2 Corinthians 10:3-6  "For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war (STRATEUOMAI = go to battle) after the flesh:   (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, (SARKIKOS = after the flesh or body) but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)   Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled."

Look, believer, it's time to wake up! We are in a war on this earth, with all the forces of darkness on one side and the forces of God on the other. At stake is no piece of ground, no little hill, no real estate, but the souls of men. We are in the flesh, still in this old sinful body, but we do not STRATEUOMAI, fight that battle with our flesh. The weapons that God has given us are not physical or fleshly weapons, but weapons of the mind. He has given us the mind of Christ, the Word of God that, when we take it into ourselves, has the power to cast down imaginations (LOGISMOS = the empty reasoning of this world), has the power to cast down every weapon of mental warfare that Satan tosses at us hrough this evil world. A weapon that can lock us into spiritual union with our Lord, and protect us from the sewage that flows from the worldly media. Sadly, too many foolish believers have rendered this weapon ineffective by doubting its veracity, or out of sheer laziness refused to study that sacred Script.

Does a Christian need to exercise the disciplines of Christianity, prayer - Bible study - fasting? How can a Christian not need it? Years ago the Hindu Christian Sadhu Sundar Singh was arrested and sentenced to torture. He was taken to a cowhouse, stripped naked, and dozens of huge jungle leeches were thrown on him. He began to pray, and as he prayed great peace came over him, so much so that he began to witness and tell the crowd that gathered about Christ. In the crowd the man who caused his arrest asked the jailer, "What do you think of this man who is so happy although he is suffering"? The Jailer replied, "He must be mad". The man who caused the arrest said, "If by becoming insane one could get such wonderful peace as this, then I also should like to become crazy. And not only for myself, but I should like to see the whole world insane, for this kind of insanity would change the world into paradise". Torture didn't stop Singh, and he was released, whereon he went through the town preaching Christ.

How's your mental state? Are you happy with your life, Christian, or are you settling for second best? You will only reach balance in your relationship with your Father when you devote as much time to Him in your day as you do to the meaningless things you do. As you study His Word, as it filters into your soul, you will begin to mature in your relationship with Him as He wants. As you mature you will begin to exercise the discipline of prayer and fasting. You will begin to walk with confidence and peace, just as the early Church did, not with hedging and foolishness. You are in a battle, a battle for the mind. Don't become a casualty in this Great War.

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