As elders, preachers, and teachers much time is spent encouraging Bible study. It seems we are always harping on it about as badly as the dentists and hygienists harping on flossing!
If you have never heard 2 Timothy 2:15 (KJV)
Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
…then you just haven’t paid attention.
Just like flossing is essential to oral health, Bible study is even more essential to spiritual health. It is commanded, it is required so we know what God wants us to be and to do. Like flossing, study should be done every day, not once in a while.
Experience teaches, and studies confirm, when you study to incorporate something into your life and especially when you study in order to teach others, you retain the things you study to a much higher degree.
Make study a habit. If you have not gotten there yet start with daily Bible reading. You can start small, determined to grow and grow until you have a daily routine of reading at least a chapter and doing more in-depth study.
Our American Mission Campaign has focused on the fact that we are missionaries with a duty to reach and teach the lost. Jesus told us:
Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen (Matthew 28:19-20, KJV).
We must do this command! We can’t do this if we do not first study with an eye toward teaching, then teach. We must teach them how to be saved, we must baptize them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost (or Holy Spirit), and we must know His commands (through our study) so we can then teach those who are baptized to observe all things whatsoever He has commanded us.
So many are doing so much…let’s all get going!
For the elders,
Gary