For a generation raised on quiet time checklists and Bible-in-a-year apps, Scripture has been something to get through. We treat it like a daily achievement: read the passage, highlight a verse, maybe journal a thought. But Jesus didn’t ask his followers to read more—he asked them to do something with what they heard.
“God has given you the Bible for transformation, not just information,” writes Rick Warren, former pastor of Saddleback Church. “When you apply it, you’re building a firm foundation for your life.”
That foundation, according to Jesus, is the difference between collapse and survival. At the end of the Sermon on the Mount, he says: “Everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock” (Matthew 7:24, NIV). But the one who hears and doesn’t act? That person builds on sand. And when the storm hits, the house falls.
It’s a warning, not just about belief but about formation. A life of spiritual knowledge without spiritual obedience is ultimately unsustainable.
“When you read God’s Word but don’t apply it,” Warren says, “the foundation of your life may crumble.”
That’s not a threat—it’s a diagnosis. Too many Christians are fluent in theology but lack self-awareness, empathy or humility. Warren doesn’t mince words: “Christians can be the most cantankerous, evil, mean-spirited, critical, judgmental people the world has known—if we never take the extra step and apply the Bible to our lives.”
The disconnect isn’t new. The apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “Knowledge puffs up while love builds up” (1 Corinthians 8:1, NIV). Reading the Bible alone won’t make you more like Christ. Sometimes, it just makes you more sure you’re right.
Warren continues, “That’s because knowledge on its own produces pride. Instead, God wants you to apply that knowledge in love.”
This is the step we often skip. We assume understanding is enough. But as James writes, “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says” (James 1:22, NIV). Deception, in this case, isn’t about misinformation—it’s about the illusion that hearing is the same as obeying.
Warren puts it plainly: “Knowledge requires action.”
There’s weight to that responsibility. The more we know, the more accountable we are. “Remember,” he writes, quoting James 4:17, “it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it.” This isn’t about guilt—it’s about integrity. We are held to what we’ve been shown.
In practice, this means spiritual maturity looks less like mastering Scripture and more like submitting to it. Not just learning what Jesus said but living like he meant it. The Beatitudes weren’t an intellectual exercise. They were a blueprint for a radically different way of being in the world—marked by humility, mercy, hunger for righteousness and peace.
It’s easy to confuse familiarity with faithfulness. But formation doesn’t happen through exposure. It happens through obedience. Through repetition. Through conviction that leads to repentance, not just reflection.
Reading Scripture without applying it is like hearing construction instructions and then ignoring them when building your house. The structure might look fine for a while, but when the pressure hits, it shows what it was built on.
“As you study and apply God’s Word,” Warren writes, “you’ll be building a strong foundation that will keep you steady during life’s storms.”
And that’s the point. Not just to read the Bible but to let it read you. To let it disrupt your assumptions, reorder your instincts and reorient your life toward love, justice and obedience. Otherwise, we’re not being formed by Scripture. We’re just collecting it.
And Jesus wasn’t looking for well-read followers. He was calling disciples who would put his words into practice and be changed in the process.
Title: Reading the Bible Isn’t the Goal—Being Shaped By It Is
URL: https://relevantmagazine.com/faith/reading-the-bible-isnt-the-goal-being-shaped-by-it-is/
Source: REL ::: RELEVANT
Source URL: http://www.relevantmagazine.com/rss/relevantmagazine.xml
Date: April 8, 2025 at 09:32PM
Feedly Board(s): Religion