(Part 2) 10 Reasons to Read the Bible

Thank you for listening to this message from the ministry of Morse Corner Church in Leverett, Massachusetts. Morse Corner is a non-denominational church that is committed to the preaching and teaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Our church was founded in 1896 by two students of the famous evangelist D .L. Moody. We seek to encourage and edify the body of Christ through the proclamation of God's word through the ministries of the local church.

If you'd like more information, visit our website, morsecornerchurch .com. We hope you enjoy the message. God's word can speak to us in such a way nobody else can. Reason number five, to know more about Jesus, the cross, and the gospel.

I mean, this is a big one, obviously, because there are people who have all sorts of different ideas about who Jesus was, what the gospel is, right? You've all heard of the social gospel, and the prosperity gospel, and this gospel, and that.

Well, there's only one true gospel, and how do you find out what it is? How do you know who Jesus was and what he came to do? How do you know? By reading the scripture. The answer is in the text. So, did Jesus come to fix society?

Did he come to make you healthy and wealthy? Did Jesus come, this one always gets me, there are some people who think that Jesus came to undo the law of Moses because it just wasn't working. So, he's going to start over and try something different.

Well, not exactly, but there's all sorts of different ideas that people think. How do you know? You look to a verse like 1 Timothy 1 .15 that says, Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners. Hey, that's in black and white.

That's who he is. That's what he came to do. Or 1 Peter 1 .16, be holy for I am holy. We know that's true because it's in the word. Who is Jesus? John 1 .1. And verses 2 and 3 and verse 14 tell us he is the word of God.

He is God. He's the son of God. He is God. He was with God and he was God. What's the gospel? How can you know? Well, 1 Corinthians 15, 1 through 4 explains that the gospel is the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

If you don't read it for yourself, you can get led astray in thinking it's something else. Are there other viable options for salvation? Is Jesus just one way? Do you realize the majority of people in this world believe that?

It might even be the majority who call themselves Christians believe that there are other paths of salvation. When the majority of people think that, you're tempted to think, well, maybe they're right.

They're the majority. Well, not if you look at Acts chapter 4, verse 12, which says there is salvation and no other. There's no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. It's all in the scripture.

What's the title of the message? The centrality of scripture. So hopefully you're starting to see real reasons why, as believers, we all need to be in God's word. It is a benefit to all of us. Reason number six, to give encouragement.

Do you need encouragement? I know I do. We all need encouragement. We read the scripture for encouragement. Romans 15, verses 4 and 5. For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.

Are you comforted when you read the scriptures? I am. Verse 5. Now may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like-minded toward one another according to Jesus Christ. Scripture teaches us, it encourages us, it comforts us.

Verses like Mark 10, verse 27. That with God all things are possible. That's an encouraging verse. Romans 8, 28. That God causes all things to work together for good to those who love him. Those who are called according to his purpose.

That's an encouraging verse. So again, we need to hear that. So the scripture gives us great encouragement. And if for no other reason, the Bible tells us how the story ends. If it doesn't give you encouragement for anything else, it will do it for that reason.

We know in the end we win.

Amen?

We win. Because God wins. And if we're in Christ, then we win. Reason number 7. To read the Bible so we don't start getting too comfortable. Or that we don't start growing complacent. Let's turn to Revelation chapter 2.

You know this. It's true sometimes we do this to people. And we probably shouldn't.

I don't know.

But when people tell us, sometimes people tell us things because they know that's what we want to hear.

Right?

Sometimes you sort of sense that's what's happening. So oftentimes, even when people give you advice, sometimes they'll tell you what you want to hear. Because people have a fear of man. They don't really want to tell you what you need to hear because you might get upset.

Well, let the scripture tell you what you need to hear. Jesus tells us what we need to hear. This is Revelation chapter 2. The letters to the seven churches. I think if an outsider came in and told us what was wrong with Morris Corner Church, we'd get upset and defensive.

Right?

That wouldn't feel too good. But if the Lord tells us what's wrong with Morris Corner Church, that's a little easier to take. Or at least we'll listen to the Lord, hopefully. You might not listen to someone else.

Look at Revelation 2, 1 through 4. To the angel of the church of Ephesus.

Right?

These things says he who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks. Do you know who that is?

Yes, Jesus.

Jesus is the one. He's pictured as walking through the midst of the church. Just imagine Jesus spiritually. He's here this morning kind of walking around, checking out what's happening. He says to the church of Ephesus in verse 2.

I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not. And they have found them to be liars. And you have persevered and have patience and have labored for my namesake and have not become weary.

Nevertheless, I have this against you, that you have left your first love. And you hear that and you're like, ugh. Can you imagine? See, reading the scripture with an open heart provides a level of accountability.

If a person called you out on something, you would probably get defensive. That's the natural response. We would argue with them and tell them why they're wrong. So let Jesus do it.

Read the Bible.

Let God call you out. At least you know God loves you. You don't necessarily know whether someone else has your best in mind. But you know God has your best in mind. So let Jesus do it. All right, now before we move on, what are some reasons people don't read their Bible?

What do you think the number one reason is that people don't read their Bible? The response they have of why they don't read the Bible, what do they say?

Time.

Time.

I don't have the time. That is the worst excuse because we all know that's bogus. Now, if you say, well, you need to do it two hours a day. Maybe you don't have time.

I don't know.

But we all have time. Put it this way. If you're reading the Bible zero minutes per day, do you have five minutes? Okay, well, then you have time. Or let's say you read for five minutes a day. Could you do 15 minutes?

You probably could. And here's the thing. If you're a decent reader, 15 minutes a day, you could just about read through the Bible cover to cover in a year. So I get it. People are busy, especially if you have young kids.

It's hard. I totally understand. But we all have time if we make the time. Another reason people don't read the Bible. What's the second reason? Yeah, it's too hard. I don't understand it. Well, if you start reading in Ezekiel, I sympathize with you.

But don't start in Ezekiel. Start in Genesis. This is historical narrative. It's telling you a story. If you start in Genesis and then read Exodus, you can understand it. I promise you. Now, once you get into Leviticus, okay, I get it.

Here's my advice.

Read Genesis. Read Exodus. And then go to Matthew, Mark, Luke, John. Read the New Testament. Then come back to Leviticus. But, yeah, some of it's hard, I admit. But the overall story, much of the Bible, it's not that difficult.

All right, reason number eight. We're almost done. It's exciting. The Bible is exciting. And it makes you want to praise the Lord more. The people who say that the Bible is boring don't read it. But they don't think it's exciting because they've never read some of these things.

There's a lot of great stories in the Bible. If you like history, there's history. If you like action, there's action. If you like poetry, there's some poetry. There's really something for everybody. So consider joining a Bible study.

That helps. Come to Sunday school or a Wednesday night. Get a study Bible or a commentary. If you're in a position to do so, start your own Bible study. But dig in and get excited. There's a lot to be excited about in the Scripture.

One main reason why people find a church and Bible studies boring is because they're not invested. Admittedly, sometimes the teacher makes it dull. And if I've ever done that, I repent before God and I'm sorry and I hope I never make it dull.

But that's a thing. But usually it's people are not invested. You know, read the text beforehand. Let's say you come on Wednesday night. Read it beforehand. You know we're in Matthew 3, read Matthew 3.

Come up with questions. Study it for yourself. Then you come in, you're invested. That helps. Look for ways to apply the Scripture to the modern day. Say, well, you know, the Bible says this and what I see going on is completely different.

Look for that. That helps you to learn and to stay engaged. Okay, we're just about out of time. Reasons 9 and 10 together. Reasons 9 and 10 to read the Bible. You will know God better. And you will get to know your fellow believer better.

You know, we get to know God the same way we get to know other people. By talking to them. If you want to get to know someone, you talk to them. And again, prayer is when we talk to God. Bible reading is when he speaks to us.

And then once we learn about God and we know God better, then it's easier to connect with his people. Usually people become friends because they share common interests.

Right?

They're working towards the same goal. So when you become a student of the word, you have that in common with other believers. The same spirit that is within you is within them. You have something in common.

One last thing. I'll close with 1 Peter 3 verse 15. It says, but in your hearts, revere Christ as Lord. And always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that is in you.

Well, how can you give an answer if you don't have the information? This book, bottom line, this book has all the answers. I don't care what it is. If you're looking for answers, this book has the answers.

The Bible contains ancient wisdom, history, poetry, prophecy. It both challenges us and inspires us. Within is a fountain of knowledge. But you know, the most important thing is that in the scripture, we find the path to eternal life.

That's the most important thing of all. I'll close with this. I opened with a statement from Jesus. I'll close with a statement from Jesus. He said in John 539, you search the scriptures for in them, you think you have eternal life.

But these are they which testify of me. This book is all about the person of Jesus Christ. So let's get to know him better this year.

Amen.

Let's close. Heavenly Father, I just thank you for your word. I thank you that it is living and powerful. I pray thanking you that it's trustworthy. And Lord, may each person purpose in their heart to set aside some time.

For some, it might start out as five minutes. For others, 30 minutes. But Lord, what we want is we want to see you glorified. And we want to grow in the grace and knowledge of Christ. Lord, we want to get to know you better.

Because you love us. You want what's best for us. And Lord, if there's someone listening who has never trusted in the gospel, in the death, burial, and resurrection for the forgiveness of sin. I pray that today, and this year, would be the day and the year that that all changes.

And Lord, we commit all of this into your hand. Asking your blessing upon this message. It's in Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.

Thanks for listening. I'm Pastor Michael Grant from Morris Coronet Church. If you'd like to listen to the complete message, or if you'd like more information about the ministry, visit our website, MorrisCoronetChurch .com.

And we'd love to have you join us some Sunday morning here in Leverett. Until next time, may the grace of God be with you.