Are Your Study Habits Killing The Church?
by Ben Giselbach
In some ways, the Lord’s church in America is hurting. It is plagued with a disease – the disease of a lack of knowledge, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge …” (Hosea 4:6). In many congregations, it seems that fewer and fewer members are craving the Word of God. Peter wrote, “as newborn babes, long for the spiritual milk which is without guile, that ye may grow thereby unto salvation” (I Peter 2:2). At one time, the church of Christ was known for being a people “of the book.” Now we are lucky if the world knows about us at all.
What happened? Yes, we got busier. Our culture has changed and our economy has adapted, causing people to work harder and longer hours. Additionally, our children are so much more involved in extracurricular activities than they used to be in generations past. At the end of the day – after running errands and dropping off/picking up the kids – it is difficult not to just collapse on the couch out of exhaustion.
As a result, we started searching for shortcuts in life. Drive-thru fast-food restaurants, smartphones, Amazon Prime, and 5-hour energy shots are now staples in life. Our addiction to high-speed internet access and quick search results have shortened our attention span and heightened our impatience.
When asked, “Should Christians regularly study their Bibles?” nearly everyone correctly responds, “Of course!” But our commitment to studying God’s Word has been pushed to the side. “I’ll get around to it when I have more time,” we think. Yes, deep down we know this answer is wrong. Yes, we know we shouldn’t procrastinate. Yes, we need to “seek first the Kingdom” (Matthew 6:33) by making Bible study a priority.
But that’s not entirely the problem. Perhaps the bigger issue is that our dependence on shortcuts has redefined what it means to study. Kevin Rhodes writes, “Our biggest problem is in mistaking so many activities for Bible study that we believe we have studied the Bible, when in fact we have not” (Kevin Rhodes, “A Beginner’s Guide To Bible Study,” Building Blocks, page 159). He then gives the following four examples of what is often confused as real Bible study. I have to admit, some of these I have been guilty of.
1. Reading the Bible and studying the Bible are two different things. “The goals are very different. Bible reading assumes understanding while Bible study seeks understanding” (Ibid, page 159). The Pharisees during Jesus’ ministry prided themselves in their knowledge of God’s Word, but they did not study God’s Word with a humble desire to learn the truth. They failed to see that Scripture pointed to Jesus all along. “For Christ is the end of the law unto righteousness to every one that believeth” (Romans 10:4). “Ye search the scriptures, because ye think that in them ye have eternal life; and these are they which bear witness of me; and ye will not come to me, that ye may have life” (John 5:39-40).When we read, perhaps we are just calling words, but when we study, we are allowing God’s Word to search our hearts with the intent of conforming. “For the word of God is living, and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and quick to discern the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12).
2. Reading material someone else wrote does not constitute Bible study. We are often quick to point out the danger of just “taking the preacher’s word for it” without comparing his words to Scripture (cf. Acts 17:11). Yet, in principle is this any different than just reading a religious book or article instead of simply studying God’s Word? Many Christians believe that by reading a Christian periodical or blog (like this post) they have fulfilled their obligation to study.
3. Reading the text and simply stating, “it means what it says” is not Bible study. I’ve attended congregational Bible “studies” that consist of a teacher reading a verse of the Bible, saying “it means what it says,” asking if there are any questions, and then moving on to the next verse. Bible classes like these are usually the result of the teacher either (a) being lazy in his preparation, or (b) not knowing how to teach a Bible class. Yes, the Bible does mean what it says, but how can we learn what it says without examining the context and asking how the text applies to our lives today? Because so many passages in the Bible are difficult to understand (cf. II Peter 3:16), a cursory reading of the text is often insufficient.
4. Sitting in a Bible class at church does not constitute Bible study. Many suffer from the illusion that one or two weekly 45-minute classes qualify as Bible study. When we think of Bible class as anything more than just a supplement to our personal Bible study, we are abusing the class. Many congregations have realized their members are not studying regularly throughout the week, and – instead of challenging people to greater faithfulness – have simply dumbed down their classes to merely what they decide are “the basics.” The Hebrew writer rebuked the Hebrews, “For when by reason of the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need again that some one teach you the rudiments of the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of solid food” (Hebrews 5:12). Some think that congregational Bible classes are the only “studies” they need and some choose not to attend that.
Are Your Study Habits Killing The Church? When we take shortcuts in our study of God’s Word, we become intellectually lazy. Tradition, rather than Scripture, becomes the basis for our doctrine. Our level of discernment becomes dull (cf. Hebrews 5:11, 14) and we are no longer able to distinguish between truth and error. No wonder so many congregations of the Lord’s church are beginning to do crazy things. When the church stops studying, obviously God stops leading. As a result, the church starts dying.
Note two of the symptoms: Tradition is confused with doctrine. New ideas are dismissed because they “are not the traditional way of doing things” rather than because they go against God’s Word. And when tradition becomes doctrine, then the church of Christ becomes a denomination rather than the Church started on the Day of Pentecost (cf. Acts 2). Truth is confused with preference. The church makes decisions based upon whether or not it “feels” like the right thing to do, regardless of what God’s Word teaches. Martin Luther, the great German reformer, felt that we are at liberty to do anything not expressly forbidden. (Today, that ceases to be a sure thing when members do not know the Word).
What Is A Dead Church? A dead church is not necessarily a church that has been disbanded or dissolved. A dead church is not necessarily a church that has lost its younger members. A dead church is a church that is no longer faithful to Christ! Sardis had a name that they lived, but they were dead (Revelation 3:1). Ephesus had many commendable qualities, but had left their first love (Revelation 2:4). And Laodicea thought they were healthy when really they had lost their zeal for the Lord, becoming lukewarm (Revelation 3:15-17).
Appearances can be deceiving. What matters is whether each member is committed to the real, diligent, regular, and personal study of God’s Word. It is, after all, Scripture that makes one wise to salvation (II Timothy 3:15). Let us do our best to become skilled in the word of righteousness (Hebrews 5:13) so that we can grow (I Peter 2:2).