developments of God’s revelation. Most of the modern sects and isms are based upon a wrong interpretation of some portion of the Word of God. The Bible must be studied from Genesis to Reve lation, the student watching carefully the progress of divine revelation. Then, and only' then, is he in a position to apply the Scripture to his life and to the times in which he lives. Learning Is a Business of the Heart This is the message of Deuteronomy 6:4-6. Note the reference to the heart and to love in this passage. It is one thing to gain a theoretical knowledge of the Bible; it is another thing to know this truth experimentally. There is an indispensable relationship between the head and the heart in sane and sensible Christianity. Look up the many pas sages ill the Bible that have to do with loving God, the Word and the church. True learning is linked up with true love for the Lord. Learning Is a Business of the Home Thus Moses argues in Deuteronomy 6:7-9. Study this passage. The first re sponsibility for Christian nurture rests, not upon the church, but upon the par ent. It is the parents’ sad neglect of this divine requirement that has pro duced the present wave of so-called “juvenile delinquency.” Actually it is the parents’ delinquency that is largely to blame. Children should learn the truth of God in the home. The Bible should be an open book in the home. It should be read and discussed and practiced con stantly in the home. The best Bible teaching any Christian will get is the training he learns in the home. Children should lea/rn to love the Saviour in the home. It is the responsi bility of parents to win their children to the Lord. What greater happiness could possibly come to a mother or fa ther than that of leading his children to Christ? Children should learn to love the church in the home. Parents who never open the Bible, never lead in prayer, and never attend the church are the greatest enemies of their children, for by their example they bear witness that these things mean nothing to them. May the Lord raise up thousands of Chris tian parents in this day who will live Christ before their children. A Place fo r Y our Tithe If you desire to cheer the hearts of missionaries, why not contribute to our FREE FUND in order that we may send subscriptions without charge to some of these who labor in remote spots of the earth?
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By Chester J. Padgett, Th.M. Associate Professor of Bible, Bible Institute of Los Angeles
and Other Young People’s Groups
Sep. 7, 1952 I GO ON LEARNING 2 Tim. 2:15: Deut. 6:4-9
his study if he gave no more attention to it than some Christians do to the Bible? Surely diligence suggests interest. The Bible ought to be the most inter esting Book in the world to the Chris tian, and it will be if he will dig into its treasures. The more a believer works at the Bible, the more he comes to love it and to admire it, and the more he delights in it (Jer. 15:16). Learning Is a Solemn Business The Scripture before us (2 Tim. 2:15) indicates that the study of the Word of God is a serious thing. It is a serious thing, first, because God is con cerned about Bible study. The Bible is His Word; it is His only permanent Word to man; it contains all that man may know about God and about His will for his life. For these reasons no Chris tian ought to treat the Bible lightly or carelessly. Paul says that the believer is to study to “ show himself approved unto God.” Is God pleased with the way you study His Word? Bible study is a serious thing because every believer will be either ashamed or unashamed before the Lord in the mat ter of his study of the Bible. The Apos tle tells us that we are to be workmen who are not ashamed of their work. One day we shall give account of the way we have handled or neglected the Word. It is serious business to study the Bible because the Christian must be sure he gets the real meaning of the Scripture. Paul speaks of “ rightly di viding the word of truth.” This means that the Bible must be studied in the light of its divisions, its development, and its relationships. Great harm has come to the church by teachers who do not recognize the great dispensational
The great need of the church is Christians who know what they believe and why they believe it. In this day of wishy-washy theology and worldly liv ing every Christian needs to get back to his Bible and to study carefully God’s will for his faith and life. The chief reason for the disintegra tion of every worth-while institution in our nation—the home, the church, and the government—is that the only abso lute authority in all the world, namely, the Word of God, is no longer so re garded. What a tremendous responsibility this places upon Christian parents, preach ers and teachers of the Bible every where ! Children must be taught the Word of God in the home, ministers must preach the Word of God, Sunday school teachers must make all of- their teaching Bible-centered. Every Chris tian must become an earnest student of the Word. Learning Is a Costly Business It is not easy to become an apt stu dent of the Bible. The Bible student must pay a price if he is to master the Word of God. Bible study is real study. There are no shortcuts to its knowledge. The word translated study in Second Timothy 2:15 means give diligence and is so translated in the Revised Standard Version. The word diligence includes the idea of constancy. No one can be a dili gent student of the Word if he is not continually at it. Some Christians spend more time with the newspaper, maga zines, radio or television than they do with the Word of God. Diligence also involves industry. This same verse speaks of a “ workman that needeth not to be ashamed.” What stu dent of science, or art, or any worth while subject would gain proficiency in
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