Confession - Fewer Know Their Bible
0 comments | Posted by Steven Layson on 14 Sep 2008 in From Steve's Study ::
You may have read the SMH article from Wednesday which read: “It might be the greatest story ever told, but Bible literacy is slipping and not just among atheists. Devout churchgoers… are losing touch with the scriptures of their faith, research shows.
Of those Australians who go to church, 21 per cent read their Bible daily, 14 per cent open it a few times a week and 6 per cent once a week.
But 24 per cent said they read their Bibles only occasionally, 18 per cent hardly ever and 17 per cent said they never read the Bible on their own as a private devotional activity, according to the research, which is based on the 2006 National Church Life Survey of 500,000 people who attended church from 22 denominations.”
Isn’t it ironic that there are so many countries around the world where Christians are starved for God’s word, some prepared to travel hundreds of kilometres just to get a copy of the bible, and yet in Australia, where each Christian home is likely to have more than one bible, only 36% of Christians even open it more than once a week!
There are any number of reasons/excuses why Australian Christians don’t make the most of God’s precious gift: “I’m too busy”, “I don’t feel like it”, “I wouldn’t know where to start”, “I find some parts of it boring or irrelevant”, and so on.
If we took the same survey here at St Peters, I wonder if we would find the same results. How do you find reading the bible? Is it something you see as a priority in your Christian life? What difficulties to you encounter when you read it? What effort have you gone to in order to address these problems? What are the joys you’ve found when you’ve opened up the Scriptures?
Timothy reminds us that it is the Bible that shows us how to be saved. Not only this, but it can also teach us, rebuke us, correct us and train us to live lives that are pleasing to God (2 Timothy 3:15,16). If we pass up the opportunity to spend time in God’s word, we will miss out on the incredible benefits that come from a living and dynamic relationship with Jesus.
Let’s buck the trend! Let’s prove those statistics wrong! Let’s all set the reading of God’s word as a priority in our lives, so that we might hear his voice and live lives that are pleasing to him. If you need help with reading it (or knowing where to start), I’d love to talk with you and give you what help I can.
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