(Guidelines) Read the Bible — J. Vernon McGee

The Guideline to Read the Bible

Now, the second guideline may seem just a little oversimplified, and that is, read the Bible. Read the Bible. Someone asked a great Shakespearean scholar years ago, he says, how do you study Shakespeare?

And his answer was very brief and terse. Read Shakespeare. I'd say to you, read the Word of God. You want to know what the Bible has to say, read the Bible. And may I inject this also? We have already suggested to you to listen to the broadcast, to get the notes, and to read the passage under consideration.

Persevering Through Repeated Reading

Let me come back now and say, regardless of whether you get the notes or regardless of whether you hear the broadcast, it's all important to read what the Bible has to say. And it's very important. It is said of Dr. G. Campbell Morgan, and he, I think, has written some very wonderful and helpful books on the Bible.

He has a series of books called Living Messages of the Books of the Bible. It's on each one of the 66 books of the Bible. When I started out as a student, I know of nothing that had more influence on my study of the Word than these books.

Now, it was said of him that he would not put a pen to paper in writing these books until he had read a particular book of the Bible through 50 times. Think of that, my friend. So don't be weary in well-doing.

Just read the Word of God. If you don't get it the first time, read it the second time. If you don't get it the second time, read it the third time. And if you don't get it the third time, just keep on reading it.

Studying the Bible as a Divine and Human Book

And let me say this, you'll not be wasting your time. You and I are to get the facts of the Word of God. And what you and I can dig out for ourselves, I don't think the Spirit of God's going to reveal to us.

I just don't believe that. I think that the Bible is a divine book. But remember, I also said it's a human book. And if you are going to learn certain things about the Bible, you will just have to, if you please, you're just going to have to study those things.

You're going to have to read. You're going to have to read the Bible and read it sometimes again and again. Here's a very interesting statement that I've lifted out of Nehemiah. It's back in Nehemiah 8, the first three verses.

Ezra’s Public Reading of the Law

And it's that great Bible reading that took place when they put up a pulpit before the water gate and Ezra read there. Let me read this to you. And all the people gathered themselves together as one man into the street that was before the water gate.

And they spake unto Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses, which the Lord had commanded to Israel. And Ezra the priest brought the law before the congregation, both the men and women, and all that could hear with understanding upon the first day of the seventh month.

And he read therein before the street that was before the water gate from the morning until midday before the men and the women and those that could understand. And the ears of all the people were attentive under the book of the law.

Explaining Scripture So People Understand It

And the very interesting thing in this connection is that he put out among the people certain men. They were of the tribe of Levi. And these men went among the people and they explained the Bible. I assume from the way that the account is given that what actually took place was that these men were stationed in certain areas and then Ezra would read a certain portion and then he would stop.

And the people that had listened, they would be given an opportunity to ask questions. That is, of these that were stationed out there to explain the Bible to them, you see. And we're told, I'm reading now verse 7 of chapter 8 of Nehemiah, these caused the people to understand the law and the people stood in their place.

Now verse 8 is a very important verse. So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly and gave the sense and caused them to understand the reading. May I say to you, I used to teach a group of young theologues, young men studying for the ministry, homiletics.

That is how to preach. And one of the things I told them, learn to read the Bible distinctly and that this was the greatest lesson that there is. Read in the book of the law distinctly. I hate to hear anyone get up to read the Bible and they start in like this.

You don't know whether it's Chinese or whether it's from Manchuria, that you do not know where it's come from. They don't sound like they're reading English at all. We're to read in the book of God distinctly and to give the sense.

The Church’s Distractions from Biblical Preaching

Now that is very simple, you see, but it's very important that God's people understand the word of God. Therefore, we should read the Bible. Now they cause the people to understand and we need to read the Bible.

And there's so many distractions today from the study of the word of God. And I suppose the greatest distractor that we have is the church. The church today is made up of committees and organizations and banquets and entertainments and promotional schemes to the extent that the word of God is not even dealt with in many churches today.

And many churches have disbanded the preaching service altogether. And I noticed that even our cosmopolitan papers here in Los Angeles have played this up, that certain churches are no longer going to have a preaching service.

They're going to have a time in which the people will be able to just express themselves and say what they are thinking. And I can't think of anything that'll be more puerile, more nonsensical, more waste of time than that.

And may I say it's a fine excuse for a lazy preacher who will not read or study the Bible to get out of preaching. And after all, I've always felt that liberalism were wasting their time preaching anyway.

They didn't have anything to preach, if you please. And I say that, I trust, kindly today. But somebody needs to say these things that God says, that it's by the foolishness of preaching He's going to save man.

Preach the Word and Receive Its Light

And that means preaching and teaching the word of God. And that was the thing, you remember, Paul gave us this one song to a young preacher. Preach the word. It's the word of God, my friend, that needs to be given out.

And I quote Psalm 36, 9. This is a marvelous psalm. This is a marvelous verse. For with thee is the fountain of life. In thy light shall we see light, you see. And it's by reading the word of God, which is light.

And then if we don't understand it, the Spirit of God's our teacher to lead us into all truth. So that we have now these two things that are all important. Begin with prayer. Second, read the Bible. Third, study the Bible.

Inspiration Requires Diligent Labor

And again, let me quote Dr. Morgan. For years ago, someone said to him, you speak as though you are inspired. And Dr. Morgan said, inspiration is 95 percent perspiration. Now, may I say to you that?