No born-again Christian will deny that the Bible is God’s divinely inspired, infallible, and authoritative Word. Many can even quote the verses that call it God-breathed, useful for training in righteousness, alive, active, and sharper than a double-edged sword.
But for most believers, it remains a difficult book to read, let alone study in-depth for themselves. According to research groups, only one-third of evangelical Christians read the Bible every day. I was unable to find statistics on how many attend Bible Studies, but I know from years of ministry to pastors that it averages well below 50% of any given congregation.
That means a whopping 50-60% of people who identify as born-again, evangelical believers solely rely on their pastor to tell them once a week what the Bible has to say to them.
That is worrisome.
Because the Bible is far more than a compilation of historical writings, poetry, and helpful tips for living. It is God’s revelation to us. Its canon of 66 books gives us deep and comprehensive insights into Who He is, how He has dealt with His people throughout history, how His kingdom works, how salvation works, how we are to live with Him and one another, and how the end of the world will unfold.
Not only that, but is alive and active. It reveals to the unbeliever how one is to be saved, and it changes us from the inside out by renewing the way we think. It is HIs chosen vehicle for our spiritual growth.
However, it doesn’t have that power without illumination. Where revelation is God disclosing Himself in sacred Scripture, illumination is the Holy Spirit shedding divine light on what we read so we can understand and apply it. There is no new revelation. It is all contained in its final form in the Bible. But there is ongoing new illumination of what the Scriptures have to say to us personally so that they enlarge our view of God and change how we think, decide, and act.
The prayer, “Open my eyes that I may behold beautiful things out of your law” (Psalm 119:18) is where illumination begins.
In answer to that prayer, the Holy Spirit Who indwells you starts to shed His light on the Scriptures you read. Insights pop into your mind, and prompts about what you need to do differently as a result of what you read begin to stir. Conviction to obey what you are reading begins to grip your conscience. That is the Holy Spirit’s work in you. When you read, for instance, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13) it may give you faith to attempt something you felt compelled to do, whereas a few moments before, that seemed impossible. This verse helped you realize that you need not rely on your own strength to do it, but on strength from Christ within you. So it prompts you to pray and seek His help. That is a simple example, but it’s life-changing stuff.
Without daily engagement with the Bible, we won’t grow spiritually. We need His Word to feed our spiritual man within.
Especially now. Things are not getting easier, especially for Christians living in an America that has lost its way and its mind. We need to learn how to draw truth and strength from the Bible by ourselves to have the faith and courage to live and thrive in a morally corrupt society that is increasingly turning against God and us.
Moreover, we have to know the Truth to recognize the lies. For example, I wrote an article this week for Intercessors For America on how Artificial Intelligence is being used to rewrite the Bible. But how will you tell the difference if you don’t know the real Bible? God’s people simply must restore the Bible to a place of centrality in their lives!
I am putting the final touches on a book that will soon be available on Amazon entitled “Mining for Gold” (spoiler alert!), in which I point the way to unearth the life-changing treasures God has given us in His Word. I wrote it because I am worried about biblical illiteracy in the Church, which has the potential of leading to great apostasy simply because people don’t know biblical truth and will follow any distortion of it. You won’t adhere and defend to the point of suffering what you don’t know.
So, I plead with you to embrace the Bible. read it, memorize it, meditate on it. Give it the time and attention it deserves in your daily life. Take it for what it is; God’s revelation, the disclosure of Who He is. Read it as a love letter to you. Then pray for illumination of the revelation! The Holy Spirit was given to teach us. He longs for you to invite Him to open your eyes, enlighten your heart, and use His Word to form the nature and character of Christ in you.
We have to work hard to get our eyes off screens and onto the Bible and to make ourselves still so we can hear the Holy Spirit speak. It’s a fight against a noisy, fast-paced, and distracting world. But it is a fight worth fighting.