A young graduate student working in a European university was working on a doctoral dissertation. He was looking for some writings by an obscure Spanish thinker of the 18th century named Hierro.
He unearthed a dusty volume and in turning its pages he found what appeared to be a document in Hierro’s own handwriting. It was written in 1741. It was Hierro’s will, bequeathing all his worldly goods to the first person who would study his book which had apparently been ignored during the philosopher’s lifetime.
Spanish courts determined that the will was legal and that the student was entitled to collect nearly $250,000.
The Bible promises us an even more priceless treasure than that. It offers us the title deed to eternal life, purchased by the blood of Jesus through his death on the cross. We would do well to read and believe the Bible.
Peter the apostle wrote, “We have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it” (2 Peter 1:19). That is Peter’s way of reminding us to read our Bibles.
We should do this, Peter says, because the Bible is truthful and trustworthy. The word Peter uses is “certain.” That means it is sure, reliable, dependable. He refers to prophecy. The Bible is full of predictions that have been fulfilled 100% of the time. For example, if you do a careful study of the prophecies about the coming Messiah, you will discover that they are fulfilled in Jesus of Nazareth.
Another reason Peter gives to encourage us to read our Bibles is that the Bible illuminates our lives. It gives light for our darkness. “Pay attention to it as a light shining in a dark place,” Peter says. In this he repeats a theme found throughout the scripture. “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path” (Psalm 119:105). When we are engulfed in the darkness of discouragement or suffering. the promises of God’s word bring the light and hope of his presence.
Peter gives another reason to read the Bible: it is a living message from the living God. In other words his Spirit inspired its writing. Peter says, “No prophecy of scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:20-21).
The Bible did not come into being through the writers’ own personal interpretation of things. The Bible was not the result of human imagining. L.S. Chafer said, “The Bible is not such a book a man would write if he could, or could write if he would.” It is divinely inspired. That is reason enough for us to read it. Its human authors were under the influence of the Spirit of God.
Just as the Lord Jesus was both divine and human, so the Bible is both divine and human. It is amazing in its unity and consistency: 66 books, written over a period of 1600 years, in many different places, by 40 different authors, in three different languages. Yet it all fits together like the pieces of a puzzle with Jesus Christ the savior as its main theme.
In my youth I had a Sunday school teacher who asked the class every week, “Did you read your Bible every day?” That was good advice. He knew the Bible would direct us to Jesus and his promise of eternal life.
What a treasure!
Pastor Randy Faulkner