One of the remarkable characteristics of the Bible is that it is simultaneously straightforward and sophisticated. On the plainspoken end of the spectrum is the command to “repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38). However, the mysterious end includes the study of the two natures of Christ, that He is somehow fully God while fully man.
The so-called “prince of preachers,” Charles Spurgeon, was converted by a sermon lasting fewer than ten minutes delivered by a working-class man reluctantly filling in when the minister had apparently been snowed in. With only a few comments on a single verse, Spurgeon was cut to the heart and driven to repentance. After becoming a prolific preacher, however, he wrote, “No Scripture is exhausted by a single explanation. The flowers of God’s garden bloom not only double, but sevenfold; They are continually pouring forth fresh fragrance.” He understood that a lifetime of study is not enough to exhaustively absorb the truth contained in the Bible. Spurgeon’s conversion illustrated the power of God’s word in its simplicity, yet he came to admire it as a never-ending source of wisdom, knowledge and truth.
If both are true, what is the proper way to go about studying this most amazing book? Naturally, the Book answers that question, and it does so by highlighting a particular group of people that got it right.
Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so. (Acts 17:11)
“These Jews” had two noteworthy characteristics. First, they were eager to consume God’s word. Jesus said, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied” (Mt. 5:6) and these people craved the truth of Scripture. They enthusiastically sought it in great quantity.
If you have any hope of moving from the shallow end of theological understanding toward deeper waters, you have to be wholly committed to ingesting it. “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness” (2 Tim. 3:16). You need to “breathe in” the Scripture that God “breathes out.” When exposed to the Bible you may not know if you are going to be taught, reproved, corrected or trained, but it only happens when you are receiving it. If you do not read it and submit to its preaching, then you have no reason to believe you will receive those benefits. How much more then will you profit if you devour it like the “more noble” ones?
Eagerness is an emotional state. What is yours when you consume God’s word? Does an underlying appetite keep your mind engaged or do your thoughts wander due to a lack of interest? Are you motivated to seek opportunities to get more of it into your system or are you satisfied with the “minimum”?
The second praiseworthy characteristic was their desire to examine the Scriptures. After eagerly receiving the Bible’s content, they verified what they had been taught. They were fact checkers. Their inclination to examine the Scriptures demonstrates a desire for accuracy, which is to say they were concerned with quality. Are you an examiner of what you have been taught? Perhaps you are an eager consumer, but do you take an active role in ensuring the quality of your understanding?
It is unhealthy to live on meager rations of the Bible or to consume large quantities unthinkingly. Evaluate your emotional state when it comes to feeding on Scripture and consider your willingness to invest the work into confirming what you learned.
Become “more noble” by pursuing quantity and validating the quality of the teaching. Become an eager examiner.
But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. (2 Tim. 3:14–15)