The Bible is different than any other book. It was given by inspiration and is God's revelation to man. In it we find everything we need to know to receive salvation and to live for the Lord. The apostle Paul affirmed that it "is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness" (2 Tim. 3:16). It makes us complete and equips us for every good work!

Some people however devote more time to learning about the Bible to to discovering its message. For example, there were a couple of men who spent months putting together a remarkable collection of statistics about the Scriptures. They counted the number of chapters, verses, words, and even letters. They noted how many words Jesus spoke, as well, as Paul, Peter, etc.

This kind of information may be interesting and many hours of labor may go in to gathering them but how do they build us up spiritually? The Bible is not just a book of facts or stories. We will not increase our knowledge of the Bible by just carrying one around. Our wisdom doesn't increase if we own militiple copies or sleep with one under our pillow. "Make me understand the way of Your precepts; So shall I meditate on Your wonderful works" (Psa. 119:27). "Teach me, O Lord the way of Your statutes, And I shall keep it to the end" (Psa. 119:33).

What did the psalmist have in mind when he asked God to help him understand? He desired an increased knowledge of God and His Will. To what purpose? To dazzle his friends with his knowledge? No, so he could keep it to the end! He wanted to learn so that he could conform more to God's Will and Way.

Learning God's Word really isn't about interesting statistics and unusual facts. Instead, it's about prayerful study of the content of the Bible to discover what God is saying to us about Himself and His Plan for our lives. That will make our Bible knowledge most profitable for this life and for that which is to come. God desires all to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth! (1 Tim. 2:4).

By Shane Williams in The Lilbourn Light, Vol. 13, No. 7, Dec. 2011.

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