“And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus” (2Tim 3:15).
The Bible Companion
Most Christadelphians, when asked about any sort of daily Bible reading schedule, will cite what is known as the Bible Companion. Many know that it was originated by Robert Roberts, and quite a few will know he developed it as a teenager. Indeed, some will have read the passage in his autobiography, where he describes its development.
“I… finally came down to three at one sitting — which I have continued ever since. At the commencement of my Bible readings, I trusted to memory for the next chapters to be read. But after several years’ experience, I found it convenient to have a written guide. So I made a calendar of the entire readings for the year, in a penny pass book, which greatly facilitated the process. Friends got to know of this, and first one and then another asked me to provide them with a copy. I did this with much pleasure, until I had written 18 copies. Then I came across a printed little work of the same character, which suggested the idea of having my guide printed. This was done, under the name of The Bible Companion, which, with some modification, has continued in use ever since.”1
It is also interesting that most would say that the Bible Companion as we have it was developed by Robert Roberts when he was 14. This is not quite the case: as indicated in his autobiography, he modified it later to the one we use today. One example can be found in 1870, when he was 31 and editing The Christadelphian. As he wrote then
“The defect of the original Bible Companion was that, for a considerable period in the year, the student was without New Testament reading. In the new Companion, he is always in the New Testament.” 2
The schedule takes one through the Old Testament once, and the New Testament twice in the course of a year. If you look at my Bible, it has 1298 pages, with the Old Testament taking up 1021, which is about 80% of the total. So simple logic would say if the two portions of the Old Testament each take up 40% of the whole, in the time it takes to read one Old Testament portion we can read two New Testament portions. Note the divisions in practise are not quite this simple: the first portion (Genesis-Job) has about 379,000 words, the second (Psalms-Malachi) has 230,000, and the New Testament has 179,000 words. Thus we read about the same number of words for the first and last portion, but much less in the second portion. (I speculate that this is why traditionally most ecclesias read the last two portions each Sunday.) Quite why Robert Roberts chose to start the second portion with the Psalms, rather that Job, is unknown to me.
Of course, there are other Bible Reading planners, some of which quite simply take you through the Bible once per year. However, one of the advantages of the Bible Companion is that it often illuminates the resonances typical of the way the inspired authors dwell on similar themes, and stresses the inter-dependence of the whole word of God. In addition, the fact that most Christadelphians have and do use the Bible Companion gives it a special place among all the available Bible reading guides.
Importance of Daily Bible Reading
Most (but not all) the so-called “Churches” around us attach little importance to their members reading the Bible as a whole. Even if they conduct Bible Study classes, it is their leaders that instruct, with the participants perhaps being encouraged to read particular passages, but not the whole Bible. One of the main advantages of the Christadelphian pattern of devolved leadership is that it spreads the expectation and need for individual Bible study quite widely. Indeed, of the 144 ecclesias in North America, 137 have less than 100 members, so most need to have involvement by many of their brethren in delivering classes or exhortations — often with their spouses contributing to this work, as well as in other ways. It is indeed the duty of all to develop knowledge of the Scriptures, “which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.”
Although it can be pointed out that in the context here Paul is almost certainly referring to the Old Testament, it is interesting that Peter, writing probably a few years before Paul wrote 2 Timothy, refers to the writings of Paul as “Scriptures” (in 2 Peter 3:16), so it is the whole that is important, not a part. Indeed, the Scriptures
- Gives us hope (Rom 15:4)
- Gives us direction for daily living (Psa 119:105)
- Neglect brings death (Prov 13:13)
- Declare to us the true gospel, with its promise of life (Rom 1:1-2)
But I must stress that merely reading the Bible is not enough. It is only capable of making us wise if we understand it and apply it. So as we read it, we all ought to think about the meaning, as relevant to both the original readers and ourselves. If we do not understand what it means, or why it was written, we need to try to find out. It is quite illuminating to take part in Bible classes that consider the daily readings, without any designated leaders. Despite what are quite likely decades of reading the passages by many, the text is not understood in some cases. I remember one occasion in which Isaiah 21 came up: almost all of those present were quite unaware of who the first two burdens (KJV) were addressed to. (I leave it for the reader to see what I am talking about!) In those cases, it is quite appropriate to add a little question mark in your Bible — do not go on blithely. And take the opportunity as it arises to ask questions of others, or use the tools — firstly concordances and cross references. Almost all passages can be understood if you look for echoes and similar passages.
One Method
Personally, I find the Bible Companion both a help and occasionally something of a hindrance. First, it ensures I keep my mind refreshed by considering the whole Bible on a regular basis. But I also used to find it very difficult to get through the three passages in any reasonable time, as I was always reflecting on what the passage meant, looking up the cross references, or trying to find passages that I thought shed light on what I was reading. So have adopted this method
- I have the daily readings on my IPod3, and listen to them during my daily walk in my neighborhood. One days readings is usually close to 15 minutes, so I can do two days in a half hour walk.
- In addition, I work through one of the portions each day, or when I have opportunity, to truly appreciate the passage. I attempt to resolve the question marks — or more than sometimes add to them.
Conclusions
I suspect, as do others, that the prevalence of daily Bible reading is decreasing in our community. This is perhaps due to the increasing pressures of daily living, and perhaps also the increasing distractions present in our society. But if we take advantages of modern technology to make the best use of the time we have, we can, I am sure, make the time available that is required to make us wise unto salvation. If we read the Bible daily, we can expect that a process will occur, whereby gradually our way of life will be brought more closely into conformity with the examples revealed in God’s Word. As Bro. Roberts wrote in the preface to The Bible Companion, “This process commences with a belief of the gospel, but is by no means completed thereby; it takes a lifetime for its scope, and untiring diligence for its accomplishment.”
We have no other means of acquiring the knowledge that leads to salvation, but to read and reflect on God’s word. We each have to do it for ourselves, to remain a Bible based community. It is by the grace of God we can each of us have the capability of studying it for ourselves, in words we can understand if we reflect on them. So let us all see if we can renew ourselves through the study of the gospel once for all revealed to us through the words of that most valuable of all books — however we might choose to do so.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One