Practical Religion Chapter 5 - Bible Reading ( Part 2) J.C. Ryle
Review - Reasons to value the Bible
No other book is written like the Bible
The knowledge needed for salvation is found in the Bible
No book contains such important matter as the Bible
No book has produced such effects on mankind as the Bible
The Bible is the only rule to try all questions of doctrine and duty
The Bible is the book which all true servants of God have lived on and loved
The Bible is the only book which can comfort you in your last hours of life
Those Who Never Read the Bible
You are in danger of losing your soul.
Beware, lest you put off reading your Bible until you are on your deathbed, and find the Bible a sealed book to your soul.
The idea that “men do very well without reading their Bibles” keeps you from knowing that they do very poorly, and end up in Hell.
A neglected Bible is evidence that its owner does not love God. ~ J.C. Ryle
Those Who Read But Seek Advice
Start reading it today!
Don't just think about it, do it
If you can not read it yourself, persuade someone else to read it to you
Read with an earnest desire to understand it
Do not just turn pages
Dig for the meaning like you are digging for gold.
A Bible not understood is a Bible that does no good.
Those Who Read But Seek AdviceRead with a childlike faith and humility
Resolve to believe, even if it goes against your biases
Resolve to receive it as truth, even if you don't like what you read
Resolve to take on faith that which you can not understand
Remember that when you read the Bible, God is speaking to you, and you are not to argue, but to listen.
Open your heart as you open the book
Those Who Read But Seek AdviceRead in a spirit of obedience and self-application
Study it with a daily determination that you will live by its rules, rest on its statements, and act on its commands
Consider, as you read it, how this affects you and your conduct, or teaches you.
Read the Bible daily
Make it a daily practice to read and meditate on some part of the Bible
Do not hurry over your reading
That Bible is read best, which is practiced most.Visit the throne of grace and the Bible every day
Those Who Read But Seek Advice
Read all the Bible, and in an orderly way
Do not engage in “dipping and picking”
Read both the Old and New Testaments
Read the Bible fairly and honestly
Take everything in its plain and honest meaning, questioning forced interpretations
When a literal interpretation will stand, the farthest from literal is usually the worst.
“All Scripture is profitable… 2 Tim. 3:16
Those Who Read But Seek Advice
Read with Christ continually in view
OT ceremonies are shadows of Christ
OT judges and deliverers are types of Christ
OT history shows the world's need of Christ
OT prophecies are full of Christ's sufferings and glory to come
The first advent and second, the cross and crown, the Lord's humiliation and kingdom, shine everywhere in the Bible
The grand primary object of all Scripture is to testify of Jesus.
Some Love the Bible but Read it Little
You will get little comfort from the Bible in time of need
Your stores of Bible consolation may run very low
You are likely never to be established in the truth
You may be troubled with doubts about assurance, grace, perseverance, faith, and the like
You are not sufficiently ready with your weapons to be able to fight a good fight with Satan. Your armor does not fit you well. Your sword sits loosely in your hand.
Some Love the Bible but Read it LittleYou are likely to make many mistakes in life
In your marriage, your childrens' education, the running of your household, the company you keep
You are not sufficiently familiar with the charts to guide you through life's rocks and shoals
You are likely to be carried for a season away by a false teacher
You lack the ballast of the Word
You are likely to be tossed to and fro, like a cork on the waves
All these are uncomfortable things. I want every reader of this paper to escape them all. Take the advice I offer you this day. Do not merely read your Bible ‘a little,’ but read it a great deal.
Some Love the Bible but Read it Little
Do not read your Bible a little – read it a great deal
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly (Col 3:16)
Deep Bible knowledge enables us to say not only “I feel hope in Christ” but “I know whom I have believed.” 2 Tim 1:12
All these are uncomfortable things. I want every reader of this paper to escape them all. Take the advice I offer you this day. Do not merely read your Bible ‘a little,’ but read it a great deal.
Some Read the Bible Much, But Feel No Better For It
Not seeing the effects of Bible reading does not mean that no good is coming from it
The greatest effects are often silent, quiet, or hard to detect
There may be far more affecting your soul than you are aware of
This is a crafty temptation of the devil, to get you to give up reading your Bible. At one stage he says, ‘Do not read the Bible at all.’ At another he says, ‘Your reading does you no good: give it up.’
Some Read the Bible Much, But Feel No Better For It
The Word may produce deep impressions on your soul, of which you may not be presently aware
Does sin become more hateful to you?
Is Christ becoming more precious?
Is holiness becoming more desirable to you?
If so, the Bible is doing its work in you
This is a crafty temptation of the devil, to get you to give up reading your Bible. At one stage he says, ‘Do not read the Bible at all.’ At another he says, ‘Your reading does you no good: give it up.’
Some Read the Bible Much, But Feel No Better For It
The Bible may be restraining you from sin
You would soon find this out if you stopped reading it
Settle your mind that, whether you feel it or not, you are inhaling spiritual health by reading the Bible, and becoming more strong.
This is a crafty temptation of the devil, to get you to give up reading your Bible. At one stage he says, ‘Do not read the Bible at all.’ At another he says, ‘Your reading does you no good: give it up.’
Some Love the Bible Much, Live Upon It, and Read It Much
Resolve to read it more every year
Try to get it in your memory, and engraft it on your heart
If sight or hearing fails, we will be well provisioned with it
Sight and hearing may fail us, and we may be in deep waters. Oh, to have the Word ‘hid in our hearts’ in such an hour as that!
Some Love the Bible Much, Live Upon It, and Read It Much
Resolve to be more watchful over our Bible reading each year
Be very jealous of the time we give to Bible reading and the manner the time is spent
Do not omit Bible reading without sufficient cause
Be careful never to exalt a preacher, sermon, book, tract, or friend above the Word
Cursed be that book, or tract, or human counsel, which creeps in between us and the Bible, and hides the Bible from our eyes! Once more I say, let us be very watchful. The moment we open the Bible the devil sits down by our side.
Some Love the Bible Much, Live Upon It, and Read It Much
Resolve to honor the Bible more in our family
Read it unashamedly to your family and household
Resolve to meditate more on the Bible
Take two or three texts with you and turn them over in your mind when you have a little time
Meditating on verses from the Bible preserves our souls from stagnating and breeding corrupt things.
Some Love the Bible Much, Live Upon It, and Read It Much
Resolve to talk more to believers about the Bible
This helps make our conversation profitable
And helps drive the devil away
Resolve to live by the Bible more every year
Measure all your opinions, practices, habits, attitudes, public and private behavior, by the Bible
Resolve to conform these things to the teachings of the Word
Let us measure all by the Bible, and resolve, by God’s help, to conform to it. Oh that we may learn increasingly to ‘cleanse our ways’ by the Word!