II Timothy 3:16-17 and James 1:22
One of the greatest temptations of a Bible college student is to turn the Bible into little more than another textbook. Yes, it will most likely be the focus of the majority of your coursework, and you should strive to know it more and at a deeper level. But the Bible was not given to us to only make us smarter. It was given to us to change our lives. As Timothy points out, it is profitable for multiple areas of our life, including teaching, reproof, correction, and training in righteousness. Another way this has been presented is the Bible tells us what is right, what is not right, how to get right, and how to stay right. In other words, the Bible gives us a blueprint for how God wants us to live our lives. It clearly shows us what God wants us to do with our lives.
James compares the Bible to a mirror. He uses the example of looking into a mirror but doing nothing to improve our appearance. He explains that we have to look intently into the law of God, or the Bible, to see what God wants us to be. The focus is not on looking at oneself or anyone else. The focus is on God and His Word. The focus is on the Bible’s teaching, reproofing, correcting, and training for righteousness. When this is our focus, we will see the image of the person God wants us to become. With God’s Word as the standard, we must be doers of the Word and not hearers only.
- What can you do to ensure the Bible never simply becomes another textbook?
- How can you use the Bible to help in everyday situations?
- What does your devotional life look like? Do you prefer to spend time with God’s Word in the morning or the evening? Do you use a devotional book? If so, what has been your favorite devotional book?
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