“Ministers, Read the Bible!” (One-Year plan included)
At the bottom of this article is a link to a 1-year
Bible Reading plan that I made (technically speaking, modified). I
don't think it is God's mandate for believers to read Scripture once a year,
but for those in full-time ministry or
aspiring to be in full-time ministry or serving as elders/pastors/deacons (even
though all believers are supposedly ministers of God…)—I encourage you to read
Scripture once a year. Here's why:
1.
Knowing Scripture
by Heart
It is written, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and
a light to my path,” (Ps 119:105) and that God’s word is “…profitable for
teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete,
equipped for every good work.” (2 Tim 3:16-17)
If we desire to “grow in the grace and knowledge
of our Lord” (2 Pet 3:18) and to develop any sort of intimacy with the Holy
Spirit, we have to know Scripture. I think there can be a difference between knowing
and understanding
Scripture. Understanding and interpreting Scripture accurately can
sometimes require a careful study of each passage in light of God’s Word as a
whole and a careful understanding of how different words are used (especially
in the original languages).
However, I also firmly believe that one who has
the skills to understand Scripture may not necessarily know Scripture well—that
he/she has not kept God’s Word as the lamp to one’s feet and as the light to
one’s path. Ultimately, one’s engagement with Scripture enables one to engage
the Word of God—Jesus Christ—through Scripture. Thus, knowing Scripture is more
than understanding the authorial intent of God’s Word, though that is important,
but a means to know who God is—as that is revealed in His Word.
And the only way (and best way?) to know God’s Word
is to spend time in His Word! It takes steady, dedicated time and memory to
know Scripture by heart. This is why I propose my plan so that one may read Scripture
once a year as it provides a structure and rhythm of steady engagement with
Scripture every day.
2.
Setting an
Example
As ministers of God, we are
representatives of God (though our eyes should be ultimately set on Christ, the
Head of the church). As Paul says in 1 Cor 11:1, “Be imitators of me, as I am
of Christ,” or “Brothers, join in
imitating me, and keep your eyes on those
who walk according to the example you have in us,” (Phil 3:17) we should be
living examples demonstrating the character and faithfulness of Christ. By the
way, Jesus knew Scripture really well as a man (yes, He’s God…but as a man)
through His answers and understanding (cf. Lk 2:47). Though inspired by the
Holy Spirit, He engaged with Scripture (LXX) prior to His ministry. We
should imitate Christ as our brothers and sisters imitate us.
On the flip side, if we
don’t regularly and fruitfully engage with Scripture, how then can we instruct
others to engage in God’s Word?
3.
Revisiting All of Scripture (whole counsel of God?)
I can’t believe I’ve met
pastors who’ve said, “the last time I read that book (in the Bible…I think it
was Lamentations or Zephaniah) was years ago.” I thought: “I
can’t believe you’re a pastor.”
When Paul mentions the “whole
counsel of God” (Acts 20:27), I don’t think that refers to all of Scripture, as
in, the entire Bible. But as ministers, (supposedly) being “able to teach” (1
Tim 3:2), I struggle to comprehend how we do not engage with the entire Bible
regularly. Yes, the Bible is a tome, but shouldn’t we try our best to know ALL
of God’s Word to the best of our abilities—even the likes of Zephaniah or
Esther or Onesimus (Philemon) and the “elect lady” in 2 John 1?
4. A Sign of Commitment
Allow me to raise my hands (feel free to picture
that) and admit that Scripture (written by the end of the First Century) has no direct exhortation for Christians to read
all of God’s Word once a year—because God’s Word was not available for the believers
in the early church! Some of the early church may have only had a few epistles!
But what do we have now? We have Scripture in all kinds of forms (such as journals, online
versions and so on?), just listening to it for half an hour a day gets will get us through the whole of Scripture in a year.
I think devoting ourselves to Scripture, whether
once a year or something, can serve a sign of our commitment and treasuring of God’s
Word! And honestly, how can one commit to anything if one can’t commit to the simple task (physically simple…though spiritually challenging at times) of reading Scripture regularly and engaging with Him—the One whom we claim to love?
Let me present a passage that is not contextually connected with this article's topic: Hebrews 12:4, "In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood." The author of Hebrews (Barnabas maybe? jk, it's probably Apollos) is stating that their quest of sanctification hasn't been that bad—it's not like they're dying in their struggle against sin. With a similar logic, I'd like to say: "your daily reading of Scripture and engagement with God has not come to the point of shedding blood as well" so why not engage with Him more?
Ministers,
may we truly pursue God and His Word to the best of our abilities. And if this
is reading His Word once a year, so be it. I do not want to sound legalistic,
or perhaps this is my own bias, but I think reading Scripture once a year only
produces fruit without harm. I know churches that mandate their pastors and staff to read Scripture once a year, and I think that's great.
Click
HERE
for the link to my 1-year Bible Reading plan:
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