For how many years have we all heard the cry from our platforms to “come to Bible class”? So many, perhaps, we dare not count them. And yet, over the years, the pattern does not seem to change — the numbers at Bible class are small, with only occasional upsurges in attendance.
We would probably all agree that those who encourage us to go to Bible class base much of their argument on the fact that we need this time of fellowship around God’s Word during the week. If this is a need which is common to us all, then why don’t we go?
By definition, a “need” is something which has to be satisfied if we are to survive — it is a necessity to us. It would’ seem reasonable to assume, therefore, that if this time around God’s Word was necessary for our spiritual survival, we would all turn up without any prompting.
So, why don’t we go?
There are two possible answers to this question:
- Because we have not been convicted of our need to learn more from God’s Word. OR
- Because, having been convicted of our need, we have found that Bible class does not satisfy it. Which one is it? For each person the answer will differ — but let’s have a look at them closely before we consider what ours will be.
What Are Our Needs?
For- the purposes of this discussion, we can safely dispense with our physical and material necessities — such as clothes, food, houses, transport. Jesus tells us that, “Your heavenly Father knoweth you have need of all these things”; and exhorts us to “take no thought” for them. We shouldn’t have to spend any time or energy worrying about these things —they’re God’s department.
We are not, however, just physical beings, and our needs are not just physical. Jesus again reminds us that “man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God”. Our appetites are not just physical, therefore physical things alone cannot satisfy us. We are spiritual beings, with a deep spiritual hunger as well.
What are our non-physical needs?
Perhaps man’s most predominant spiritual need is to be saved from sin and it’s effects, and then to be helped not to sin in the future.
The Bible tells us that man’s heart, left to itself, will bring forth only evil. Look at these verses:
Gen. 6:5; Psa. 14:1, 58:1-5; Matt. 5:28, 9:4, 15:7-9 and 18-19; Rom. 1:24, and Paul, in 1 Cor. 6:11, tells us that “such were some of you”. We were sinners, just like everyone else, and we needed to be saved from the consequences of that sin — death. Paul rejoices, “but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of God” (R.V.).
Unfortunately, the story doesn’t end here. Although we have been sanctified, we still sin. Our washing hasn’t miraculously made us stop sinning, it has only saved us from its eternal consequences. It is because we are still sinners that we need to fill our minds constantly with God’s thoughts and God’s ways. If we don’t, we will slip back into being motivated by our own hearts — and out of them, as Jesus said, will come evil.
Are we sufficiently convicted of our need to guard against sin? Do we believe that God’s Word can help us to do this?
Remember how Jesus overcame his temptations in the wilderness? The wisdom of God, contained in the words Jesus had read, showed the deceitful arguments of sin for what they were. The same can be true for us. Do we believe it? Do we know we need it? Are we prepared to make the effort to get it? Bring forth works suitable for repentance
To guard against sin is a negative need -being helped not to do something. There are more positive aspects than this. We also need help to do certain things — the works of Jesus.
Since from man’s heart comes only evil, we must be changed if we are to do good. We have discussed already, in our article on resurrection, how this change comes about.
Jesus told us that, “an evil tree brings forth bad fruit”, so we have to become “good” trees if we are to bring forth “good fruit” — and we know we can’t do that alone.
Like David, we have, no doubt, at some time, prayed “create in me a clean heart, 0 Lord, and renew a right spirit within me”. We are asking not just to be forgiven, but to be changed. The thoughts and desires which brought about our sin have to be changed into God’s thoughts and desires, if our actions are to change.
But how can God change our minds to be like His. if we don’t know what His is like? How can we show Jesus in our daily lives, if we haven’t consistently looked at the kind of things Jesus did, so that we know how he acted?
Our minds and hearts must be full of the things of God, if we are to show them in our lives. The only way to be full is to be constantly and prayerfully feeding on them —by reading or hearing.
Do you want to manifest Jesus in your life? Are you prepared to make the effort necessary to do this? Are you convinced of your need to do this?
And What Of Preaching?
It may seem strange to talk of preaching as a need. Our motivation in this regard is more the needs of others than our own. “And how shall they learn unless they have a preacher?” If we feel motivated to preach to others, then we must also at times feel deeply our own inadequacies in this situation.
How often have we been faced with a person who had a real problem or a genuine question to ask about the word of God, and found ourselves unable to satisfactorily answer them? How can God talk to that person through us if we know so little of His Word that we can’t bring the right things to our lips to meet the situation?
If we are really concerned with the dying world around us, we will want to find the answers to such questions. The place to find them is, of course, the Bible. Do you feel such a need? Do you want, desperately, to know the answers that will satisfy the needy, dying ones, just as someone else’s answers once satisfied you? (And such were all of us.) Are you prepared to make the effort? Is your motivation that strong?
And What Of Ministering The Love Of Jesus?
Perhaps it may seem strange that this is being considered separately from preaching. No doubt we all agree that part of our preaching, the main part, is the way we live; and the way we live should involve showing love. Unfortunately, sometimes this idea is used as an excuse for only showing love in terms of telling other people about the Bible. As worthy as this may be, it should not be the full extent of our “ministry of love”.
The Bible abounds with practical suggestions on how we can show love to others:
- Giving — unquestioningly (Luke 6:30; Matt. 5:42). not desiring repayment (Luke 6:34). to a man who steals from us (Luke 6:29-30).
- Doing something “extra” (Matt. 5:41). Showing hospitality — to strangers (Heb. 13:2).— to brethren (Rom. 12:13; 1 Peter 4: 9-10).
- Caring for the poor (Luke 14:12-14).
- Visiting the needy (Jas. 1:27).
In our paper on compassion, we considered that aspect of loving as well.
Only by constantly reminding ourselves of the things we should be doing, will we begin to actually do them. Just knowing we should do them isn’t enough — that knowledge brings responsibility. God can prick our consciences and inspire us to work, if we let Him, by keeping in touch with what He has to say to us.
Summary
These, it would seem, are our most predominant needs in relation to Bible study:
- to be continually convicted of our sins and to be given the wisdom and strength to overcome them,
- to be constantly renewed and refreshed so that we are motivated, not by our evil hearts, but by the heart and mind of God,
- to learn more of the Bible, so that we can preach to others more effectively and be always ready with the answer that will meet their need,
- to love, with the love of Jesus, so that our ministry is full, as Jesus’ was. The Bible is the greatest text-book of practical love ever written.
The extent to which we study God’s Word will be the extent to which we are really motivated by an awareness of these needs.
Psalm 19:7-14 expresses all these thoughts so beautifully. Read it and meditate on it prayerfully. How honestly could we say those words? How much do we act as if we mean them?
The second possibility
At the beginning of this paper, we said that our reasons for not coming to Bible class might be twofold. Let’s look now at the second possibility — that, having been convicted of our needs, we have found that Bible class does not meet them.
Over the years, it has predominantly been the case that, on the question of “why don’t people come to Bible class?”, the people themselves have been blamed, not the class. The first part of this paper dealt entirely with that possibility: but we need also to look at the class itself, and we need to look honestly.
Any good counsellor will tell you that you can’t help a person who is not prepared to be honest. The same must apply to groups. What follows is one honest assessment of the situation. It is presented to provoke thought — not necessarily to reflect on any particular ecclesia.
What aims do the planners and the speakers have in mind when approaching Bible class? The primary aim would probably be to know more of the Scriptures, and that is admirable.
Reflections on the Potter and the Clay