Chapter 16: Living by the Word

Receive it

“So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17). Receive the Word like a newborn longing for milk (1 Peter 2:2): with hunger and humility. Do it in the church, where the Word is read and preached (1 Timothy 4:13; Acts 2:42), and in private reading every day, as the Bereans did (Acts 17:11).

Read it

A practical plan:

Read the Bible through. Begin with the Gospel of John, then Acts and Romans; then read the Old Testament, starting with Genesis. A regular plan of a few chapters a day will take the reader through the whole Bible in a year.

Observe, interpret, apply. For each passage, ask what it says (observation), what it means (interpretation), and what it asks of me (application).

Use a good translation and helps: a study Bible, a Bible dictionary, and a concordance.

Keep a journal of what God shows you.

Meditate on it

“This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success” (Joshua 1:8). Meditation is a prayerful turning over of a passage in the mind and heart until it shapes the way we think and live (Psalm 1:2).

Memorize it

“Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee” (Psalm 119:11). Jesus met the tempter with the words, “It is written” (Matthew 4:4, 7, 10). The Word stored up in the heart is the sword of the Spirit (Ephesians 6:17).

Obey it

“But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves” (James 1:22). The Word is given to change us, not merely to inform us.

Pass it on

“And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also” (2 Timothy 2:2). Teach it to children (Deuteronomy 6:6-7; 2 Timothy 3:15). Share it with the lost, and support those who carry it to the nations (Romans 10:14-15).

Guard it

“Contend earnestly for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints” (Jude 3). The church must neither add to the Word, nor take from it, nor set aside its commands for human tradition (Deuteronomy 4:2; Mark 7:13).

The Word and the Spirit

The Word and the Spirit never stand apart. The Spirit inspired the Word, the Spirit opens the Word, and the Spirit applies the Word. The believer who wants to be filled with the Spirit and to walk in his gifts should be a student of the Scriptures. A healthy Christian life, like a healthy church, rests on both.

A closing prayer

Lord, open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law. Give me a hunger for your Word, a heart that obeys it, and a boldness to share it, through Jesus Christ, the living Word. Amen. (compare Psalm 119:18)