“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord” (Colossians 3:16).
While there are many areas of the world that prohibit access to God’s Word, it is also true that the Bible is more widely available today then it has been at any other point in human history. Yet despite this abundance of Biblical access, there are many 21st century Christians who are no more Biblically literate than those of past generations where access to the Scriptures was greatly limited.
To illustrate this unfortunate reality, we can look to many well-known “Biblical” axioms that do not appear within the Bible. For instance, can you identify which of the following sayings appear within the Bible and which do not?
- God helps those who help themselves.
- God is love.
- Money is the root of all evil.
- Trust your heart.
- Do to others as you would have them do to you.
- Live and let live. (1)
A person who struggles to distinguish between Biblical and non-Biblical counsel illustrates the importance of knowing what God’s Word really says. You see, Colossians 3:16 instructs us to “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly…” In commenting on this passage, one source offers an observation that should encourage us to pursue the study of God’s Word…
“Many have the word, but it dwells in them poorly; it has no power over them. The soul prospers, when we are full of the Scriptures and of the grace of Christ.” (2)
Another source makes a similar point in a more direct manner…
“Many saved people cannot honestly say that God’s Word dwells in their hearts richly because they do not take time to read, study, and memorize it.” (3)
This brings us face to face with a challenging and uncomfortable truth: people make time for the things they feel are important. If we truly desire to let the word of Christ dwell in us richly, then we will make the time to read and meditate upon God’s Word.
If we find that we are lacking the desire to read the Scriptures, then we should be honest with God (and ourselves) regarding our lack of motivation. In such instances, it is appropriate to prayerfully ask God to instill a desire to read His Word within us and then set aside a dedicated portion of each day to study and reflect upon the Scriptures.
(1) Number 2 (1 John 4:16) and Number 5 (Luke 6:31) are verses from the Scriptures. Number 3 is a common misquotation of 1 Timothy 6:10: “…the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil…” The others do not appear within the Scriptures- especially number 4 (Jeremiah 17:9).
(2) Henry, Matthew. “Concise Commentary on Colossians 3:4”. “Matthew Henry Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible”. https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/mhn/colossians-3.html. 1706.
(2) Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary [2:140] quoted in Notes on Colossians 2019 Edition Dr. Thomas L. Constable [3:16], https://www.planobiblechapel.org/tcon/notes/html/nt/colossians/colossians.htm#_ftn285