How much time do you spend in the word of God? Do you have a reading and/or a regular study plan for your time in the Bible? I was reminded recently on the importance of not only spending time in the word of God, but the importance of regular study of the entire canon.
A friend and I began engaging in a friendly debate about some finer points of the law, and its implications for the gospel and the New Testament church. He converted to Messianic Judaism, and we were discussing whether the New Testament church was required to keep some of the Old Testament laws such as circumcision, the food laws, etc.
We began our conversations by stating out our cases, and the battle of the proof texts ensued. I felt that I did a good job pleading the case of the Apostle Paul and quoted the most relevant scriptures from the New Testament on the subject. We then began to walk through the Pentateuch, and it was clear to the both of us that I was much stronger in my knowledge of the New Testament than that of the Old. One of the things that he stated to me during that conversation really rocked me to the core. He said “You know? Most Christians don’t study the Old Testament much, they spend much more time focusing on the New.”
I hated to admit it, but he was completely right. It was clear that I had a pretty good grasp of the New Testament, but my knowledge of the Old paled in comparison.
The fact of the matter is that I am not alone in this. A great deal of Christians that I know that understand the importance of reading and studying the word of God, usually spend the vast majority of their time in the New Testament.
The New Testament is about twenty-three percent of the Bible. I can honestly say that one of my hobbies is studying the word of God. I spend a good amount of time in the word and in resources that aid in my study of the word. I also recognize that the majority of my study time, is spent in the latter twenty-three percent. Seventy-seven percent of God’s revelation is normally overlooked in my personal study time, and the odds are, if you’re reading this, it’s probably like that for you. As apologists, WE must be better.
Is it really that Important?
It’s unfortunate, but I have heard this question come from well-meaning Christians, and to some degree, I can see the thought process. The New Testament is where the fulfillment of the gospel is recorded. The New Testament contains all the documents written to the church. You have the gospels, you have the epistles, you’re prepared for the end times. They figure why read the Old Testament.
The truth is without the Old Testament the New Testament doesn’t make any sense. The latter revelation requires the former to understand its fullness. This aside, all of it is the word of God. ALL the Bible is God’s revelation, and therefore, important in the life of the believer.
Takeaways
Establish A Reading Plan
I believe that a healthy believer is going to spend regular time in the word, reading the word, allowing God’s truth to guide your life. I think a yearly or bi-yearly reading plan is a good place to start for this. Reading through the Bible every year is a good way to ensure that you get the full council of God on a regular basis. This is foundational for the apologist, it’s akin to an athlete taking their vitamins and doing their warmups.
I wrote a post at the beginning of the year sharing some of my tips for establishing and completing a bible reading plan, feel free to check it out for more on how to grow consistency.
Balanced Study Time
Studying the word of God with balance takes a plan. Whether that is studying your way through the Bible book by book or planning out topical studies, you must purpose to study through the entire Bible. Left to your interests alone, you will gravitate to those spots that you enjoy studying or follow topics that will nest you in particular areas. If planning to study topically, consider topics and concepts that you can trace throughout the whole text of the Bible such as studying covenants, or seeing Christ in all of scripture.
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