Back to the Bible

In the Old Testament we read that Moses or Joshua or others read the entire law to the people. Some places we are told that men, women, children were present.

 

Paul told the church in Colossae that when his letter had been read among them, they were to have it read in the church of the Laodiceans; and they were to be sure to read the letter from Laodicea. 

 

Paul told the church in Thessalonica that he put them under oath before the Lord to have the letter read to all the brothers.

 

 How can we contend for the faith when we go months if not years in our assemblies without reading significant portions of the Bible? We talk a lot about the Bible but that is not what Moses and Joshua did nor was it what early Christians did. They read it.

 

If the churches in Colossae and Thessalonica read their letters like we do, do you suppose they ever finished them? Did they take six months or more to understand what Paul was trying to teach them? The average reader can read Colossians in less than 20 minutes and both letters to the Thessalonians in less than 25 minutes. Both letters to the Corinthians can be read in less that 2 ½ hours. Jesus' "Sermon on the Mount" can be read in less than 15 minutes.

 

When we read manuals associated with our jobs, or novels, or letters from friends and family, text books in school, tabloid magazines, paperbacks, newspapers, etc we are not in a hurry we are discovering what the authors' were writing.

 

The Bible has taken a backseat. In a continuing effort to limit the amount of time spent in the assembly there is no time for the Bible. One result is the church is shrinking. A second result is an increased Bible illiteracy of the church.

 

Our lack of reading the Bible can be explained in part by a lack of interest in reading anything. The last statistic I remember about reading habits stated that women with college education read about 10 books a year whereas most educated men read one or two books a year. Many adults never read a book after school years.

 

In an effort to encourage their members to become reacquainted with the Bible, some congregations have given their members a One Year Bible or The Daily Bible. The members read the daily assignments and the sermons and Bible Classes focus on the text from the previous week.