Adopted Believers

In the coming weeks, I am going to start a series where I bring an exposition of passages that show the importance of God’s Word in its different facets. It is my belief that this endeavor is extremely important in showing exactly why I have only released full episodes that teach a passage in the Bible to date. I adamantly believe in the necessity of building one’s life on God’s Word, so here begins the series.

Introduction

I am writing about the Bible because I know it well. After reading that sentence, you might wonder where I got my Ph.D.s, whether I majored in Linguistics or Hermeneutics, or why I would brag about all my years in seminary. But in reality, I don’t have any degrees from a seminary. I don’t have any college degrees at all. I haven’t even graduated high school! You may be wondering where I get grounds to base my claim that I know the Bible well. The answer to your query is, necessity.

My Experience with the Bible

I need the Bible to live. Because of it, I have eternal life. Because of it, I saw my own hopelessness on April 11, 2011. And not only did I see my hopelessness, but I saw a Savior who died for me. While my parents were the ones to lead me to Christ, they would have had no gospel to share if it hadn’t been for God’s Word. Thanks to this glorious gospel, I believed in Jesus, because I saw “the radiance of the glory of God” (Hebrews 1:3) in the face of Christ Jesus through the gospel.

My need for the Bible was shown after my conversion because I had limited growth as a believer. Why was my growth stunted? I had limited my intake of God’s Word. I was too busy pouring hours into the Wii and Minecraft to see my need for the Bible. Then in late-sixth or early-seventh-grade I fell into the sin of lust on the internet. I was not abiding in the light, Jesus Christ (see 1 John 2:28).

But then something changed. My dad and I started a Bible reading plan for the year 2018. Aside from putting my faith in Jesus Christ, it was the best decision that I had ever made. I started a Bible reading plan called the “F260” reading plan. It was only two or three chapters a day, five days a week, so it wasn’t overwhelming. This decision changed my life almost instantly.

I was able to stop looking at illicit internet pictures online. Not only did I stop sinning, but I had more joy each day, and I grew in maturity. Why, you may ask? Because I started seriously looking at God through His Word everyday. I found solid truth, and I saw my Savior Jesus as more beautiful than I ever had before. Jesus didn’t simply turn off my desires to remain in lustful sin; He showed Himself to me through His Word, making me love and want Him more.

The more and more that I’ve spent time in the Bible, the more I’ve come to enjoy Christ. I am not perfect. I am still a sinner who must kill the flesh daily. But I know that I always have a light in this world, God’s absolutely true Bible. I now have the ability to look at hardship that I am going through and remember that “for those who love God all things work together for good” (Rom. 8:28). I also know that I have value because I am made in the image of God (Gen. 1:27, 9:6). Not only do I know that God is working for my good since I love Him by His strength, and that I have value because I am made in God’s image, but I also know that I have purpose, and that purpose is found in the Bible. As a believer and a child of God, Isaiah 43:7 applies to me: “ . . . everyone who is called by my [God’s] name, whom I created for my glory” (Isa. 43:7). I am created for God’s glory, and I glorify Him by enjoying communion with Him.

Conclusion

So back to my claim that I know the Bible well. As hopefully I have demonstrated effectively, I learned a lot about the Bible by leaning on it continually, and learning from when I haven’t leaned on it. While I have lots more to learn about the Bile, I have learned that I need it everyday. I need it for my joy. I need it for guidance. Frankly, I need it to keep my sanity! But I’m not the only one who needs God’s Word. If you have not put your faith in Jesus Christ, you need “the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes” (Rom. 1:16), the glorious and life-giving gospel, to help you see the glory of Jesus Christ and your need of Him to pay for your infinite sins.

If you do know Christ, I hope that you too will keep reading the articles that will follow. I want you to keep reading so that you see the beauty, truth, and necessity of the Bible for yourself. It’s my prayer that you depend on God’s Word like it’s oxygen. I want you to see that the Bible is how you better know, obey, and enjoy God.

In these articles, we are going to do a few things. First, we are going to try and find out more about the Bible. Then, we are going to look at why we must daily read God’s Word. Finally, we will look at how we should read the Bible. I hope that after reading this series, and even now, a thirst for God’s Word would be implanted in you.