The Means of Grace: Searching the Scriptures

 In speaking of the Means of Grace – those gifts of God by which the Lord draws us closer to God’s Spirit – one that comes to mind quickly is reading the Bible.  It is through Bible study that we most clearly come to an understanding of the revelation of God.  I would make a few observations on that thought, however.

 Cracking the Bible open at random and scanning a few verses is not the most productive approach to this discipline.  Sometimes that approach can do more harm than good.  The church and its members have made huge errors by cherry-picking a handful of isolated Bible verses and then hanging their entire theology or practice on that small sampling. I have said it before, but when people ask me what the biblical position on a topic might be, I tell them to start with Genesis 1:1 -- “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth…” -- and conclude with Revelation 22:20-21 -- Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!  The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all the saints. Amen.”  The biblical position (if there is one) is between those verses.  A lesser sampling leaves some important stuff out.

 It is important that we study our Bible with a sense of intentionality and purpose.  It is also good to get some guidance from those who know the Bible better than we do.  When Josh Pastner was men’s basketball coach at The University of Memphis, he used to say, “Practice doesn’t make perfect.  Perfect practice makes perfect.”  His point was that a player can shoot a thousand free throws and do so with the wrong technique, the player’s skills don’t get any better.  But, if that player practices under the guidance and direction of a competent coach who analyzes and corrects the player’s form, that player stands a chance of becoming a pretty good free-throw shooter.

 You notice that the description of this Means of Grace above is “Searching the Scriptures.”  It is not merely, “read your Bible.”  This is again John Wesley’s term.  To search carries with it both a sense of intentionality and a suggestion of organization.  Jesus spoke in Luke 15 of a woman who had lost one of ten silver coins.  He observes, ‘Or what woman having ten silver coins, if she loses one of them, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it?’  His description carries with it a sense of the methodical.  She didn’t look on topo of the refrigerator and then behind the bedroom dresser before looking in the dog’s bed.  She moved carefully and systematically until she found her coin.  To speak of “searching” the scriptures carries with it a sense of preparation and studiousness that random thumbing through the volume cannot accomplish.  Wesley also uses the word scriptures.  “Scripture” is any groups collection of holy or revealed or definitive writings.  Most world religions have a set of scriptures.  Whether they go by the name The Sutras or the Vedas or the Quran or The Tanach or The Holy Bible, these various volumes contain the important ideas – and for some, the words of God – that these people value.  I think “Searching the (Christian) Scriptures has more gravity than a casual reference to “reading our Bibles.”

 Our Articles of Religion of The Methodist Church reads, “Article V — Of the Sufficiency of the Holy Scriptures for Salvation:  The Holy Scripture containeth all things necessary to salvation;” 

 John Wesley described himself, saying, “as I want to know one thing, —the way to heaven; how to land safe on that happy shore. God himself has condescended to teach me the way. For this very end He came from heaven. He hath written it down in a book. O give me that book! At any price, give me the book of God! I have it: here is knowledge enough for me. Let me be homo unius libri! -- (a man of one book).

 By being people of this book, we come to know God.