Reading the Bible for Transformation
Share
READING THE BIBLE FOR TRANSFORMATION
T he Apostle Paul encouraged the Roman believers, “Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Rm 12:2). Most of us could probably think of a few ways to avoid being “conformed to this age,” but what about transformation? How are we transformed by the renewing of our minds? How do we appropriate the truth of Scripture into our thinking and affections?
Centuries ago, brave men and women sought to reclaim the centrality of the Bible in the worship and life of the community of faith—a period called the Protestant Reformation. These Reformers championed sola Scriptura: the belief that the Bible alone bears authority in all things pertaining to life and godliness.
As the Reformation spread across Europe during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, a new generation of Bible-loving, Christ-exalting, and joy-pursuing Christians carried the Reformation torch throughout the English-speaking world. These “Puritans,” as they became known, inherited the Reformation theology of their predecessors—Martin Luther, John Calvin, and Ulrich Zwingli (among others)—and clothed it with practical application. They set out to purify the church from its unbiblical vestiges of man-centered theology and worship. But their zeal for sola Scriptura soon engendered persecution, and many of them faced torture, imprisonment, and even death.
That we today enjoy the preaching of God’s Word in English, an emphasis on daily devotions, and the privilege of families reading the Bible together can be directly traced to the labors and sacrifices of the Puritans. In short, the Puritans sought spiritual transformation through the Word of God by the power of his Spirit. In the spirit of the Reformation and of the Puritans, below are six ways to appropriate the truth of Scripture for spiritual transformation.
THE SPIRIT OF GOD IN TRANSFORMATION
God uses his Word both to save and to sanctify his people. “Faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the message about Christ” (Rm 10:17). That message—the good news of Jesus—is the “power of God for salvation to everyone who believes” (Rm 1:16). We plant and water; God gives the growth (1Co 3:7).
Thomas Watson (ca 1620-1686), the later English Puritan, wrote, “We may read many truths in the Bible, but we cannot know them savingly, till God by his Spirit shines upon our soul.” Similarly, the Puritan John Flavel (ca 1630-1691) explained, “We preach and pray, and you hear; but there is no motion Christ-ward until the Spirit of God blows upon them.” We must remember that any transformation that takes place in our lives comes by the sheer sovereign grace of God. Scripture is a means by which God alone saves and sanctifies his people. Therefore, he alone receives all the glory and praise!
READING THE BIBLE FOR TRANSFORMATION
Increasingly, Christians in the West have become biblically illiterate. Most do not know the books of the Bible, the Ten Commandments, or even the events of Jesus’s life. We cannot articulate the great “drama” of redemption—from both Old and New Testaments—or what basic biblical words mean, like justification, adoption, or sanctification. Much of this biblical illiteracy stems from a simple lack of reading Scripture. (For some good instruction on how to read and study the Bible, please see the previous article by George H. Guthrie, p. xli.)
When you read the Bible, read with the expectation that God is at work. The same Holy Spirit who inspired the Scriptures long ago is the same Holy Spirit who illumines and applies the Scriptures as you read. So read expectantly, asking God to show you wonderful things from his Word (Ps 119:18). Thomas Watson gave this helpful exhortation: “Leave not off reading the Bible till you find your hearts warmed. . . . Let it not only inform you, but inflame you.”
Make Bible reading a priority. If you need to, gather friends for accountability and follow a Bible-reading plan, like the one developed by Robert Murray M’Cheyne (1813-1843). Remove any obstacles that might hinder your time in the Scriptures. If you don’t, the cares of the world will choke out the cures of the Word (Mk 4:18-19). Oftentimes, Bible reading ignites a greater love for reading. So tolle lege (Lat.)—take up and read!
MEMORIZING SCRIPTURE FOR TRANSFORMATION
Memorizing anything takes considerable effort. Memory works in ways analogous to a muscle—the more we exercise it, the more we are able to retain. Usually. For some reason, children stop memorizing Bible verses around middle school age, never to pick it up again. Adults today, by and large, do not make the effort to memorize Scripture, which can oftentimes be seen in the devastating effects of a shallow and joyless faith.
The Puritan John Bunyan (1628-1688), in his classic work, The Pilgrim’s Progress, describes the main character, Christian, battling the evil dragon, Apollyon. The description is worth noting:
“While Apollyon lifted himself up to deliver his last blow and to make a full end of this good man, Christian nimbly stretched out his hand for his sword and grabbed it, saying, ‘Rejoice not against me, O my enemy: when I fall, I shall rise back up.’ With that, Christian gave Apollyon a deadly thrust, which made the fiend fall back as one who had received a mortal wound.”
Notice that Christian grabs his “sword” and then speaks God’s Word, using it as both a defensive and an offensive weapon.
The Apostle Paul teaches that Christians should “put on the full armor of God” (Eph 6:11)—belt, breastplate, sandals, shield, and a helmet. However, he gives one final and essential piece of armor: “the sword of the Spirit—which is the word of God” (v. 17). The word for “word” here, in Greek, is the more unusual rhema, which is the spoken word. In order for Christian to pick up his sword and speak God’s Word in battle, he had to first know the Word in his heart.
The Psalmist writes, “I have treasured your word in my heart so that I may not sin against you” (Ps 119:11). Assaulted by Satan in the wilderness, Jesus rebuked his adversary by quoting the Scriptures that he knew by heart. Oh how we need to write God’s Word on the tablet of our hearts today!
Here are a few suggestions if your brain “muscle” needs some stretching. First, don’t bite off more than you can chew. Before you set out to memorize the entire New Testament, start with a few verses or, if you are more seasoned, a whole chapter. Second, ask others in your church or family to join you and to keep you accountable. This will help provide regular reminders, especially if you have a busy schedule. Third, incorporate as many ways to memorize as possible—through music, writing it out on paper, repetition, or other creative ideas. Through it all, may God’s Word revive your soul and transform your mind and heart.
MEDITATING ON SCRIPTURE FOR TRANSFORMATION
Meditating on God’s Word ushers us into the green pastures of God’s transformative grace. The Puritan Edmund Calamy (1600-1666) defined biblical meditation as “dwelling upon the mercies we receive and chewing upon the promises.” Thomas Hooker (1586-1647) described meditation as a “serious intention of the mind whereby we come to search out the truth, and settle it effectually upon the heart.” When we ponder, think about, wrestle with, and chew on the text (so to speak), we are transformed by the renewing of our minds.
When we talk about “meditation,” we are not talking about the Eastern religious practice of crossing your legs, saying “Om,” and emptying your mind. Far from it. Biblical meditation seeks to fill the mind with the truth, meaning, and application of the biblical text. In so doing, the Spirit of God aligns our minds with the mind of Christ so that we might be transformed into his likeness.
Thomas Hooker (1586-1647) was born in England and emigrated to Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1633. Hooker led a group from what is now Cambridge, MA to settle in Hartford, CT.
Psalm 1 speaks of a man whose “delight is in the Lord’s instruction, and he meditates on it day and night” (v. 2). How often should we meditate on God’s Word? At all times. It should fill our minds in both morning and evening. Moreover, we are admonished to teach the Scriptures to our children “when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up” (Dt 6:7). Teaching and articulating the truth of the Word takes a certain measure of knowing the word. And knowing the Word takes a certain measure of meditating on the Word.
But Psalm 1 also shows us the effects of meditation: the fruit of transformation. “He is like a tree planted beside flowing streams that bears its fruit in its season and whose leaf does not wither” (v. 3). Meditating on God’s Word bears the fruit of a healthy and fruit-filled faith, which brings delight and godly perspective to your life and to the lives of those around you.
PRAYING SCRIPTURE FOR TRANSFORMATION
In our day, we have witnessed an increasing assault on prayer. America has largely abandoned the idea of prayer, and we have seen it removed from the public square. People today do not cry out to God unless they experience trials or difficulties—treating God more like a divine bellhop than the sovereign Supplier of good. But the real battle is not against flesh and blood (Eph 6:12); Satan will employ his devices to turn the privilege of prayer into an empty ritual.
John Bunyan counseled, “Prayer is a shield to the soul, a sacrifice to God, and a scourge for Satan.” Matthew Henry (1662-1714), the great Bible com-mentator, confined his prayers—almost entirely—to the language of Scripture. He advised, “The sacred dialect [should] be most used.” Praying the Word of God to God not only provides God-honoring language, but also transforms our souls in the process. By praying Scripture, we appropriate its truth in our thoughts and affections, which renews our minds, and draws us heavenward.
Those who experience the severity of suffering—who don’t seem to have the words to offer in prayer—can turn to Holy Writ and let God’s Word become theirs. Or, if you are seeking words to lift your affections, you can take a familiar text, say Psalm 23, and begin: “Lord, if you are my Shepherd, how can I be in want? If you are my Shepherd, you will feed me, lead me, and take care of me. Thank you, God, that I can call you my Shepherd.” Filling our prayers with God’s Word transforms our hearts by reflecting back to him the holiness and beauty of his revealed truth.
THE COMMUNITY OF FAITH IN TRANSFORMATION
Have you ever noticed all of the “one another” passages, especially throughout the New Testament? We are called to “love one another” (Jn 13:34), bear with one another and forgive one another (Col 3:13), “instruct one another” (Rm 15:14), and so on. While Christianity is certainly personal, it’s not private. The faith wrought in you by the Holy Spirit is meant to be a faith expressed within the living and active community of faith—the local church.
In this grace-filled community, believers are transformed through the faithful preaching of the Word, Bible study, small groups, counseling, and the many other contexts of Scripture-saturated edification. As we shouldn’t neglect meeting together in worship (Heb 10:25), so also we shouldn’t isolate ourselves from the communion of saints. As the Puritan Joseph Hall (1574-1656) once noted, “There is no place for any loose stone in God’s edifice.”
You need your brothers and sisters and their gifts, which God gives for the building up of the body of Christ (Eph 4:12). “Iron sharpens iron, and one person sharpens another” (Pr 27:17). From accountability to encouragement, God has seen fit to equip you with the tools for gospel transformation within the community of faith.
Whether you are a new believer or a seasoned saint, the Scriptures provide deep wells of transformative truth. Jesus prayed for his disciples, “Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth” (Jn 17:17). We today enjoy a rich heritage of biblical fidelity, stemming from the Protestant Reformation and the Puritans. Indeed, that great cloud of witnesses—those who have gone before—now beckon us onward in our race of faith. As you read, memorize, meditate, and pray the Scriptures within the community of faith, may God plant you by streams of grace so that you may bear fruit in season, for his glory and your joy.
SOURCES
Bunyan, John, The Pilgrim’s Progress: From This World to That Which is to Come, ed. C. J. Lovik (Wheaton: Crossway Books, 2009).
Calamy, Edmund, The Art of Divine Meditation (London: Printed for Tho. Parkhurst and J. Collier, 1680).
Henry, Matthew, A Method for Prayer (Berwick: W. Gracie, 1819).
Hooker, Thomas, The Application of Redemption: Books 9-10 (Ames, Iowa: International Outreach, 2008).
Thomas, I. D. E., A Puritan Gold Treasury (Edinburgh: The Banner of Truth Trust, 1977).