Reason 7: The Bible Details the Promises of God and the Conditions for Receiving, Protecting and Growing in and by Them
Yes, to benefit from the Bible we must read it, as God intends, as an active, living and personal book. The Bible is the source (our only source) for the many personal promises offered us. But these promises do not stand alone, they can be (and often are) minimized or lost if we are not reminded and cautioned about what it takes to protect and maintain them.
A great problem is that we are often (most of the time?) distracted and confused, lose focus on/about what is important. So, one of the very top themes of the Bible is showing us how shortsighted, foolish, inclined to the wrong, easily misled and deceived . . . we are and, as a result, we require frequent reminders of both the dangers to be avoided and blessings to be sought. The world (the good, bad and ugly of it) is a great draw and huge distraction best controlled and kept in perspective by daily reminders from God through the Bible.
Living in the “information age” intensifies the increasing inclination to be overwhelmed and, in the end, buried with the frivolous and relatively unimportant. We consider, spend time, worry about and depend way too much on macro events and issues (that rarely or significantly touch our lives) to the detriment of time spent on personal issues, opportunities and dangers. Yes, for example, it would be great if the Federal Government were fiscally responsible, but it is much more personally significant that we are financially mature. The Bible is great at reminding and refocusing us on the personal!
The Bible also reminds us, in various ways and in many places, that, for those who are saved, Jesus Christ has put them in a place and given them the tools to do good works He specifically and precisely planned in advance for them to do. As just a couple of these reminders that we benefit from by periodically reading and reminding ourselves of:
We are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.
Life is 90% micro and 10% macro and, to be successful, we need to live it accordingly – focusing on what we can and should do personally rather than despairing about the many macro conditions over which we have no control! The Bible focuses on the micro, the personal opportunity to be and do better. The Bible encourages and gives us God’s promises and warnings to keep us attentive to the true meaning and purpose of life.
We must be reminded often of God's potential blessings (what they are and the grace required to take and benefit from them) and His warnings of potential stumbling blocks that will negate and thwart any blessings to us. In short, we must be frequently and equally reminded . . .
Apart from me [Jesus] you can do nothing. Jn 15:5
I can do everything through Christ Jesus who gives me strength. Phil 4:13
. . . to finish our salvation and be, in the end, saved eternally (while also benefiting greatly here and now). These reminders are not optional - they are absolutely necessary to "finish the race!"
And this culminates in one of God's great rhetorical questions and one of the Bible’s scariest stories about what it will be like for those who fail to properly answer (with their lives) this question:
We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. For if the message spoken by angels was binding, and every violation and disobedience received its just punishment, how shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation? Heb 2:1-3
Jesus said: “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.
“Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his property to them. To one he gave five talents of money, to another two talents, and to another one talent, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. The man who had received the five talents went at once and put his money to work and gained five more. So also, the one with the two talents gained two more. But the man who had received the one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.
“After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. The man who had received the five talents brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more.’
“His master replied, ’Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’
“The man with the two talents also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with two talents; see, I have gained two more.’
“His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’
“Then the man who had received the one talent came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’
“His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.
“‘Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents. For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. 30 And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’” Mt 25:13-28
Whew! We need a lot of (and frequent serious) instruction and constant reminders – nothing offers this like the Bible!