"Bi-bul-a Stu-dy" - Information or In Formation?

                   

       

Over 25 years ago I listened to a tape of one of the speakers at Creation Fest in Southern PA.  He had a message that I’ve never forgotten.  He was a pastor whose name or place I don’t even remember, but his point was unforgettable. 

He talked about how many Bible studies they did in his church.  He spoke with a thick accent, so when he said “Bible Studies” it came out “Bi-bul-a stu-dies.”  That was a gift, because it made it stick in my head better as a result.  Anyway, he was lamenting the fact that, although they had all kinds of “Bi-bul-a stu-dies,” both in people’s personal lives and through the church’s ministry, the people’s lives demonstrated minimal transformation to the image of Christ.  They were approaching “Bi-bul-a stu-dy” either as  academic (for information) or as a religious act (do it ceremonially and it earns me spiritual “points”).   But they were not living out the truth of God’s Word and being changed. 

One Sunday morning he was overwhelmed by the overabundance of and under effectiveness of all their “Bi-bul-a study.”  So he stood up to preach and just…stood there and looked out at everybody.  After a pregnant pause that seemed like hours (we don’t do well with dead air), he simply blurted out “Brothers and sisters...love one another!”  Then he went to his seat and sat down.  After another longer, pregnant pause, he heard some of the people talking to one another, then a few of them came up to him and said “Pastor, we know what you mean!”  He smiled but thought to himself “Liar…how can you know what I mean when I don’t even know what I mean?”  Then an amazing thing happened.  The people started talking with one another and praying together and encouraging one another.  After a while they left church together and many of them went out for a meal together.  They were simply… loving one another.

The pastor preached this same message…love one another…for a month.  And the church applied it for that month.  Then he changed it to another simple, straight Biblical phrase for a month, then another simple truth for the next and so on.  I don’t remember what those months messages were.  I do remember that they stayed in this mode for a number of months, and that the last month before he went back to more “normal” sermons the month’s message was “love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you…” (Mathew 5:44).  The congregation spent a month applying that message!

We are pretty good at “Bi-bul-a stu-dy” ourselves.  We are a church built on lots of “Bi-bul-a stu-dy.”  This is right!  May this never change.  In fact, may we have more and more of it!  But a vital question we have to ask ourselves is, do our “Bi-bul-a stu-dies” result in mere information…or do they cause us to be in formation…growing in maturity and Christ-likeness?  

 

I understand the challenge.  I’m an “infoholic” myself, especially related to Bible and theology.  Have you ever seen the amount of books in my office?  But if I have too much information without in formation…I am falling into the category James, the Lord's brother, warns about: But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. (James 1:22).

We see the same truth taught throughout the Scriptures. Note Psalm 19:

     The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul.  The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple.  The precepts of the LORD are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the LORD are radiant, giving light to the eyes. The fear of the LORD is pure, enduring forever. The ordinances of the LORD are sure and altogether righteous. They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb. By them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward. (Psalm 19:7-11).

Note the emphasis on how God’s truth changes us, and the also on “keeping” the Word.  And we have Psalm 119:11, which reads:

  I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.

We don't hide God's Word in our heart just for information, but to be in formation.

Our last Old Testament example is these powerful words spoken b the Lord to the prophet Ezekiel:

As for you, son of man, your countrymen are talking together about you by the walls and at the doors of the houses, saying to each other, 'Come and hear the message that has come from the LORD.' My people come to you, as they usually do, and sit before you to listen to your words, but they do not put them into practice. With their mouths they express devotion, but their hearts are greedy for unjust gain. Indeed, to them you are nothing more than one who sings love songs with a beautiful voice and plays an instrument well, for they hear your words but do not put them into practice.   (Ezekiel 33:30-32).

Lastly (and most importantly), Jesus talked about this same issue:

     "Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash."  (Matthew 7:24-27). 

See what I mean about me being a Bible infoholic? I just felt compelled to give a list of Scriptural support, well balanced, from Old and New Testaments, Psalms and Prophets, Gospel and Epistle…you know the drill.  That is the right way to do it.  But it’s not just the right way to do “Bi-bul-a stu-dy.”  It is also the right way to live.  That’s the challenge.  Are we building on the rock or on the sand?  Building on rock or sand is not a question of whether we do “Bi-bul-a stu-dy.”  It’s a question of whether or not we live what we learn. 

What about our “Bi-bul-a stu-dy?”  Is it about information (built on sand) or in formation (built on the rock)?