Dangers of Being in a Church that Loves God's Word: #3 Missing the Goal of the Bible

For the past couple of weeks I have been doing a series on dangers that we must watch for in ourselves as individuals in a church that loves God's Word. The first week I discussed the danger of forgetting the importance of reminders. Last week I wrote about the danger of hearing but not obeying the Word of God. 

Today, I will take up one more danger that mostly affects us as individuals (the next two will deal with dangers that we need to be aware of in terms of how we relate to others). Today I will discuss the danger of missing the goal of the Bible.

Danger #3 Missing the Goal of the Bible
What?!  Yes, even we who love God's Word can still miss the point of the Word. What is the point? The Bible aims at drawing us nearer to the Father through the Son, by the power of the Spirit.

This is connected to the importance of obeying God's Word too. Why do we seek to obey God's Word? Psalm 119:2 "Blessed are those who keep his testimonies, who seek him with their whole heart." Those who keep his testimonies are those who "seek him with their whole heart." We are after knowing and obeying God; not just knowing facts.

The Bible is not something we are to "master" but leads us to know our Master. If we are not careful, we can get so caught up in the facts that we forget this is not an English literature class or a study in ancient texts. It is a living Word that draws us to the Living God and His Risen Son by the Life Giving Spirit. Think about it. What is the purpose of our Creator giving us special revelation about himself? Is it not so that we would know Him?

Read Psalm 119 and ask yourself, "What is his goal in knowing God's Word?" For example, just look at verses 10-12:

¹⁰ With my whole heart I seek you;
    let me not wander from your commandments!
¹¹ I have stored up your word in my heart,
    that I might not sin against you.
¹² Blessed are you, O Lord;
    teach me your statutes!

There is a seeking of God, a desire to obey God, and an overflowing desire to praise God by learning his Word. This is not how you would talk about Shakespeare or any other author. This is not the perspective you would have as you came to any other book. Why? Because this is God's Word. 

To be clear, I am not suggesting that we must go mystical and divorce the work of the Spirit from the Word he inspired. God's Spirit inspired the Word and uses the Word he inspired (otherwise why go to all the "trouble" of inspiring it?). So, I am not saying we need to stop reading and thinking deeply about the written Word. I am saying that we must be careful that the aim of our knowing the Word is loving God.

The danger is that if I lose sight of the purpose of the Bible, I can start judging my spiritual growth inaccurately. I can assume that personal time in the Word and prayer has as its goal mere attainment of more knowledge.  Perhaps instead of asking ourselves, "How often am I reading and praying?" we should ask, "Did I read something of the greatness of my God and the love of my Savior and the power of the Spirit as I read his Word?".  I am not saying that every time we read the Bible we are equally moved to trust and worship the Lord. Our hearts are often dull and cold. But, by God's grace, let us keep the goal of the Word in our view and pray that God helps us attain that goal.