Comments on: Is Reading the Bible a Requirement for Christians?

By: Jessica

Jessica — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 18:14:06 +0000

I love all the discussion here! I just have to jump back in.

There are many scriptures being tossed about concerning God’s word – and the thing is that you are all correct when you mean that we need to consume God’s word. However, the Word does not necessarily mean written…. I don’t see that anywhere. Let’s be careful not to make modern day assumptions about words.

By: Khumbulani K

Khumbulani K — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 15:49:50 +0000

From as far back as Deuteronomy and Joshua (cf. Deut5:31 & 6:6; Josh1:8) God commanded that His people everywhere KNOW His Word, meditate on it, and live it out. David reiterates in Psalm 1. Jesus tells the Sadducees in Matt22:29, that they ERR not knowing the scriptures. Even Adam and eve in eden before the fall had to remember Gods Word(s) , or commandments.
That call is still as valid now as it were then.
I guess the main issue for them, and us, was and is to know and understand what God says (or Gods Word) thus loving God with our all and living the lives he desires.
The people of old, probably mostly had oral tradition (see Deut 6:7) and even today its the responsibility of parents to pass on, or teach, the ‘character of God’ in word, in deed, and yes, in ‘parchment’ also.

But, some people dont have that, or they get saved later on in their lives, and thus it is vital that they read the scriptures to know God, and for “life and godliness” (2Pet 1:3).
The Israelites learnt the word of God (God was very audible for them at times), and they passed it on(hopefully!!), Jesus was very learned in the scriptures, the Bereans (new converts then) studied the Word carefully (Acts17:11)and daily!, and Paul also encouraged Timothy to study the Word (2Tim2:15).

On the Christians of ‘that’ time;
Jesus said that, he that would be the greatest in the Kingdom of God, let him be the least (Matt18, Mark 9:33-36). So to be less or more of a Christian is between each of us and God.

Is the Bible a Requirement for Christians?
How would it not be? Our ‘all’ in life is to love God. To know Him and live our lives for Him is all in that, and the Bible shows us that (2Tim3:16-17).
Our passion should be on things above (Col3:2), and in our day of literacy and literature abundance (Christian literature), the Bible and Christian literature should be our passion, as they are essential for our growth anyway. Gods grace is sufficient too for those that cant read.

The grass withers, the flower fades: but the Word of our God shall stand forever. Isaiah 40:8.

By: Bruce Woodman

Bruce Woodman — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 14:15:57 +0000

My time with God is life and breath for me. It would be no different if I could not read, and had no Bible. I would spend the time singing, praying, recalling stories I’ed heard at church, or with other believers. I also believe that if a people do not have the Bible in their language, the Holy Spirit shows himself in more obvious ways. The reason we don’t see the Holy Spirit as more active in our lives, is because we already know what he said in the Bible, and yet choose to ignore it. Why should he bother with further demonstrations of his presence?

By: Nate

Nate — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 13:40:51 +0000

As Christians – the Bible is the Word of God â€“ so we are selfish to deny the value of spending our time in it. The Holy Spirit will always reach those who don’t know God’s commandments via texts such as remote African tribes – indigenous tribes in the Amazon – or orphans who have no access to Christians themselves. But as Christians living in such a technological world – there is absolutely no excuse for us to say that the Bible isn’t important. Yes – sometimes I’m not in the mood to open The Word. Yes, sometimes it’s confusing. Yes, I sometimes I live in my own mind. But in the end – Jesus is always calling on my heart whether or not I choose to encounter Him or choose to go my own way.

The rules we make for ourselves are based on the bible but our man made laws are typically formed from speculation and misunderstandings. We can and never will make policies and rules that adhere to what God truly demands of us – because we are sinners. Even though we think we are educated in God’s Word – we still live in a world of men.

My point is this: People who have not read the Bible still can be Christians because God calls on every man. Love is from God, from Jesus. Jesus was Love and Love resides in every human soul whether it is attributed to the name of Jesus or not. I’m not saying that Christ is not needed for Salvation, but what I am saying is that truly ignorant men who have never heard of Christianity and worship the sun, moon, and stars – will be called upon by Jesus at some point in their lives , regardless of tangible texts.

By: hctan

hctan — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 13:03:52 +0000

Our faith do not measure by how much knowledge we gain from our learning but by how much we put them to practice. One of the example was Abraham. He was reckoned righteous from the faith manifested through his actions.Gen15:6 Heb11:11

By: hctan

hctan — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 12:29:36 +0000

From the time of Adam till Prophets in the old testament, the word of God has been passed on through various means of communication not necessarily in written form. The most important is the word of God that dwell in the heart of man lest we sin against Him. That is the primary aim of God that we learn his instructions and act upon it. Today we learn more about this God through the availability of printed or electronic materials.Our knowledge has increased so does our faith and understanding hopefully.

By: Philip Gobinath K.

Philip Gobinath K. — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 00:37:16 +0000

I believe God has a purpose even when time is concerned . To whom much is given much is expected. Today , we have no excuse for being ignorant of God’s words. We are practically surrounded by spriritual knowledge whatever the platform is available …and of course the great teacher of all , the HOLY SPIRIT who is in us. When Jesus “left” , the Holy Spirit continued to minister to those who sought the Lord and slowly but surely without the high tech facilities we have today the Christian of the early days was exposed to the word of God.In this context or time frame I do not think the Christian of that era was any lesser than what we are today.

By: Rick

Rick — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 22:28:53 +0000

Shekinah, I agree.. God used many groups of Christians and specific people to spread His gospel through the masses of people in the early years of the Church and perhaps even much greater miracles that spread through word of mouth beyond what we have as typical written record… Even though the “Word” may have been in Latin and interpreted through a person rather than freely available to the common masses.. the gospel did proliferate.. in letter or book form or otherwise..

With the printing press and the bible in the hands of at least in reach of nearly every human being through PC’s, TV and Radio…. are we missing the early message because of educational focus on the Word? I hear some saying that people worship the bible and not God… Yet Jesus is the Word of God.. Jesus is the Logos.. and the story about God and what He did is awe inspiring .. to lead many to Jesus. With that baseline.. all life currently can be interpreted and with that baseline the movements of the Holy Spirit (prominent or miniscule) can have a source to be agreed upon.

By: Jessica

Jessica — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 18:26:59 +0000

Less of a Christian – a Christ follower. That is an interesting question, but my thought is what a wonderful thing oral traditions are. I come from a culture where oral traditions are still very prominent, so it is not difficult to imagine God’s word being passed from person to person.
Also, let’s remember that the Bible as we identify it was not even what the Apostles had. What a wonderful thing to have now, translations of the Bible in so many languages, in print, on-line, audio – praise God for this blessing!
At the same time, are we “more” of a Christan than those who came before? No, I don’t think so. Who of the original followers were more of a follower than another? Seems a rather human scale dosn’t it.

By: richkiddo

richkiddo — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 16:18:12 +0000

they r no les of a chrstian yhan we r today. things in life happen for a reason. people back then probably could not read, write nor understand clearly but they had a gift to praise God. he allows things to happen so we can talk to him and get answes to what we dont understand.