Propositional truths are fundamental to the Christian faith. The what of what we believe is indispensable. For this reason, Jude calls Christians to “contend” for the faith once-for-all delivered to the saints (Jude 1:3). By the faith, Jude is referring to the body of doctrinal content handed down by the apostles to the church.
As we read the Bible, propositional truths form its warp and woof. Confessions and Catechisms are also important for the church’s existence in a world of competing truth claims.
However, have you ever been reading the Bible and been struck by the unaffected way you read it? We can read the most wonderful, life-changing, glorious truths about God’s love for us in Christ, but somehow remain unmoved and unstirred.
Why is that? And perhaps more importantly, how can we change that?
The answer to the former question is simple. The reason why we remain so unaffected by what we read in Scripture is that there is something wanting in the manner of our approach to reading the Bible. If we look at Bible reading primarily as a task to accomplish (“I have to read my Bible today”), then we have already lost the battle. Why? Because we aren’t approaching Scripture for affectional appropriation (to appropriate its truth for our own worship, devotion, encouragement, comfort, delight, pleasure, prayer etc.).
Almost everyone who wakes up in the morning wants coffee. But we don’t make coffee simply because we like pressing the “on” button on the Keurig. We make coffee to enjoy the coffee. We pour the cup, delight in the aroma, and patiently wait for the moment it cools down to the perfect temperature to take our first sip. We enjoy it.
Our approach to Bible reading should be similar. We shouldn’t just read the Bible. To read the Bible merely as a task to complete is a sin. We should read the Bible with the primary purpose of appropriating the content of Scripture to enhance our devotedness to God in Christ. To enhance our affections for God through Christ. To fan into flame our faith, love, joy, peace, and obedience.
But that brings us back to the how question. How do we read the Bible that way? The answer is found in meditation. Puritan Thomas Watson said, “The reason we come away so cold from reading the Word is because we do not warm ourselves at the fire of meditation.”
Meditation stokes the fire of love for God because it lingers over the object of love and specifically thinks deeply about the truth of Scripture in such a way so as to delight in it, using the knowledge gained as a tool to enhance worship. Yes, we are meant to be deeply stirred by Scripture's contents (c.f. Psalm 45:1)!
There are two aspects of meditation. The first aspect is to get the truth of what the Bible is saying firmly in our minds. We have to grasp the propositional content of a passage of Scripture accurately. But that's not all. The second part of meditation (and often the missing ingredient) is to take the truth of God and use it in such a way to stoke the cooling embers of our faith, hope and love back into a flame.
Abounding Grace Radio