"The Scriptures should be read with the aim of finding Christ in
them. Whoever turns aside from this object, even though he wears himself out
all his life in learning, he will never reach the knowledge of the truth."
- John Calvin
Is it possible to read your Bible every day and miss the
point? It is possible to study the scriptures diligently and pass by the One to
whom all scripture points?
In John 5 we read a verse that always stands out strongly to
me: “You search the Scriptures because
you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness
about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life” John
5:39-40.
We need to be careful not to read the Bible so that we can
check a box and think of ourselves a ‘good’ Christian. The Pharisees were the
most studied people in Judaism! They spent more time in the scriptures than
anyone else! And yet, they were blind to its truth! They missed that all of
scripture pointed to Jesus.
We do not receive eternal life by practicing a spiritual
discipline. The purpose of the Bible is to bring us to Jesus that we may commune
with the Father through Him.
When the Pharisees read the scriptures they saw rules. They
ultimately didn’t see all of scripture as pointing towards Jesus or
they would have recognized Him. They thought if they kept the rules
(the way they interpreted them) they would be good with God. This is why they
are so angry that Jesus healed on the Sabbath! He’s breaking their rules!
To be clear, the Bible does have ‘rules’ in it. In the words
of the Jesus Storybook Bible “they show us how life works best.” To the person
who loves God, they LOVE his laws, “Oh
how I love your law! It is my meditation all the day.” Psalm 119:97
But the truth is we can never measure up on our own. The law was never intended to be
an end in itself: it was always meant
to point us to the Saviour and to our need for Him. So perhaps
this might be a more helpful trajectory as you read scripture:
1. Ask: What is the scripture showing me about what God is like? What humans are like?
2. What is the scripture calling you to be/do? (This is where the Pharisees stopped…)
3. Acknowledge that you cannot do it perfectly. We fall short. We fail to love God above all & love others perfectly 24/7.
4. Recognize how Jesus did it for you! He obeyed the law perfectly! He died on the cross to remove your sin AND to grant you His perfect righteousness when you trust in Him alone for salvation.
5. Realize that when you put your faith in Jesus alone (not your performance), He gives you His Holy Spirit who unites you to Himself. Through Christ, you will become empowered to live in obedience to God’s commands (albeit, not perfectly, but increasingly until you see Jesus face to face and become perfectly like Him).
Let us not fall into the same trap as the Pharisees. We are
not reading the Bible primarily for moral principles. We need to know that all
scripture points to Jesus and our need for Him. Once we recognize our need for
Him and His supreme worth and glory, we will come to Him (the very thing the religious leaders
failed to do), find satisfaction in Him, and He will grant us the power to walk
in His ways.
____________________________
*As a side note, it is very easy to do this in parenting by teaching
moral principles to our kids without pointing to Jesus or the gospel. This is
detrimental. Here are some resources to help see (and teach about) Jesus in all
of scripture:
FOR KIDS
Jesus Storybook Bible by Sally Lloyd-Jones
Gospel Story Bible by Marty Machowski
FOR KIDS/TEENS
Show Them Jesus by Jack Klumpenhower (for adults on how
to teach kids/teens)
Long Story Short by Marty Machowski (great for family
devotions)
Old Story New by Marty Machowski
FOR ADULTS
Gospel-Centered Teaching by Trevin Wax
CURRICULUM
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