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Transcript 142E — Read the Bible!
HC: Good evening. Welcome to Open Forum.
CALLER: Hello, Mr. Camping. I'm a born again believer in Christ, but I wondered if you could give me some information on good Bible studies, ways that I should study the Bible to get more out of it, or some material that I should get from the Bible, I mean from a Bible book store.
HC: Well, the question that you 're really asking is, How can I, in the shortest possible time, really become as acquainted with the Bible as possible? This is really our desire, isn't it? We really want to know God's Word.
You know, we always wish that there was some quick way that we could become really acquainted with the Bible. I don't know of a quick way. I begin to tell people more and more that the first thing and the big thing that they ought to do is read the Bible, and read the Bible and read the Bible. I say this again and again, because I believe it's so tremendously important. In other words, you've got to become totally acquainted with the Bible. And there's no way to become acquainted with the Bible except by reading it.
Now when I read the Bible, I just spend lots of time reading it. Whenever I have spare time, I can't be more delighted than just to read the Bible. And I always read it with a pen or a pencil in my hand, so that if I find a verse that's important, or which I want to remember, I can underline it. Or if a thought comes to me, I can put a little note in the margin.
Now if you would spend several hours a week just reading the Bible, the same as you easily spend several hours watching a TV program, or watching a ball game, or reading the Reader's Digest, if you would spend several hours a week just reading the Bible, and reading and reading and reading, and then, when your pastor is preaching, you'll pretty soon begin to recognize some of the things that he's talking about. When he talks about Abraham, or when he talks about John the Baptist, you can say, "Oh yes. I read about him." And you'll be able to sense increasingly whether your pastor is on the right track or not. He may be saying things that sound just like what you read in the Bible. And so you'll listen more eagerly than ever. And this will help you to learn.
Or he may be saying, occasionally, something that doesn't quite sound like what you read in the Bible. And then you'll be on your guard, "Maybe my pastor isn't so accurate on this particular point." And again, you can call up on a program like the Open Forum, when you find questions.
In other words, I think that as a basic groundwork, you've got to just do a whole lot more Bible reading. And then we'll know how to ask questions And as you ask questions, then truth will begin to flow.
CALLER: Thank you.
HC: Thank you for calling. Good night.