"To Benefit From the Bible"

A preacher and a soap manufacturer were walking down the street one day. As they walked they noticed how wrongly people were treating each other. The streets were filled with corruption.  The soap manufacturer looked at the preacher and said, "Preacher, that Bible you preach must not be any good; it’s not helping anyone. Look at all the filth and corruption."  The preacher didn’t say anything; he just kept walking. After a while they came upon some children that were filthy and dirty. It looked as though they hadn’t taken a bath in weeks. The preacher looked at the soap manufacturer and said, "That soap you make must not be any good. Look how filthy and dirty these children are."  The soap manufacturer replied, "Soap doesn’t work unless you use it and apply it.”  “That’s right!" said the preacher. "It’s the same way with the Bible. The Bible won’t work unless people use it and apply it to their lives."

In James 1:21-25, we learn how each of us may benefit from the Bible, God’s Word.

To benefit from the Bible, one must be willing to RECEIVE THE WORD:  “Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls" (James 1:21).  The word "receive" is a hospitality term which literally means "to openly welcome.”  If we’re going to benefit from the word of God, then we must welcome the word God into our lives. God’s word will never benefit us until it gains access into our lives.

To benefit from the Bible, one must also be willing to REFLECT ON THE WORD:  “If anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was" (James 1:22b-24).  Examination is the main purpose for owning a mirror; a mirror enables us to see our outward appearance in order to identify areas in need of improvement to make ourselves look as clean and neat as possible.  As we look into the mirror of God’s Word, we gaze inwardly to see ourselves as we really are AND as we ought to be.  If we are to use God’s mirror profitably, then we must gaze into it carefully and with serious intent (James 1:25).  
No quick glances will do!  We must examine our own hearts and lives in the light of God’s Word. This requires time, attention, and sincere devotion.

To benefit from the Bible, one must also be willing to RESPOND TO THE WORD:
"But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves" (James 1:22).  It is not enough to read or to hear the Word; we must do it.  The blessing comes in the doing, not in the reading of the word (James 1:25).  In Acts 2, we find a group of hearers that were blessed in doing the Word. To those hearers who believe in Jesus and were convicted of their sin of crucifying the Son of God, Peter gave the following words of instruction:  “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38). "Then those who gladly RECEIVED his word were baptized [RESPONSE]; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them" (Acts 2:41).

"He who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does" (James 1:25).

Will you receive, reflect on, and respond to the Word of God?

God bless you!

David A. Sargent, Minister 

Church of Christ at Creekwood 
1901 Schillinger Rd. S.
Mobile, Alabama  36695

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