by Chris Reeves
Synopsis: "Careful" means "(1) attentive to potential danger, error, or harm; cautious; (2) thorough and painstaking in action or execution; conscientious," all of which should describe the approach that Christians take toward Bible study.
I want to begin by thanking Mark Mayberry, editor of Truth Magazine, for allowing myself, my three brothers, and two close family friends to contribute some material in the pages of this journal as a tribute to my father, Bill H. Reeves, who passed from this life, April 4, 2019.
My father, among the several good qualities that he possessed in his life, was a careful Bible student. His approach to the Bible was one of the many ways in which he was careful about the affairs of his life. When he was in high school in Covington, KY, during the WWII years, he made high grades in all his classes, including Latin and Spanish. Entering David Lipscomb College in 1943, he continued making good grades in all his Bible classes as well as a Greek class. He started using the American Standard Version during his Lipscomb years after an upper classman in his Greek class said that it was very accurate, and it would help him to learn New Testament Greek. From that time forward, Dad used the American Standard Version (ASV) as his primary Bible in all his preaching and teaching.
My father read the Greek text of the New Testament and his English and Spanish translations carefully. He paid careful attention to each word in the text. Like Ezra and the Jews, he read "from early morning until midday" (Ezra 8:3). I remember growing up when we would read the Bible at home daily after breakfast. Dad made us read the text carefully. One time I missed the morning school bus because we had not yet read the word of God. Bible reading came first when we were growing up.
Carefully reading each word of God is an excellent first step in any Bible study today. Paul wrote: "Till I come, give heed to reading…" (1 Tim. 4:13). Jesus asked a lawyer, "What is written in the law? How readest thou?" (Luke 10:26). Let me encourage every Bible student to read his Bible carefully on a daily basis. Although we live in a fast-paced world, we should slow down and read our Bibles carefully.
My father not only read carefully, but he read to understand. In his Bible classes and sermons, he would often point out what various English or Greek words meant. He was always teaching and explaining the meanings of words, phrases, grammar, and concepts in the Bible. He wanted his audience to read and understand what they were reading. The Bible class questions that he wrote on each of the New Testament books were designed to get students to really learn and understand what was in the text.
One time a visitor where my father was preaching commented that she felt like she was "in school" when Dad got done with the class and sermon. She said that in a derogatory way. She didn't want to be made to learn anything. She wanted to attend, go through the motions, and go home without having to do any mental work. I fear there are many like her still today. Read carefully, yes, but also read with the view to understanding. Ezra and the Levites read God's law and then gave the sense or meaning of the words so the people could understand the law (Neh. 8:8). Jesus, Philip, and Paul each spoke of the importance of both reading and understanding God's word (Matt. 24:15; Acts 8:30; Eph. 3:4).
My father also carefully examined the context of the Scriptures. He was diligent to "handle aright" (or hold a straight course in) the "word of truth" (2 Tim. 2:15). He didn't want to "twist" the Scriptures to his own destruction (2 Pet. 3:16) or go beyond the doctrine of Christ (2 John 9). He would look up Hebrew and Greek words and their meanings. His favorite Greek lexicon was Thayer's Lexicon. I would often see him studying at his desk with a Greek interlinear, Thayer's, the ASV, and various Spanish versions open for study. Often in phone conversations with my father, after we got the usual stuff out of the way like the weather and family updates, he would go into some point about a Greek word or Bible passage that he had been recently studying. I knew I was in for a Bible class when I called my Dad. His careful examination of God's word reminds me of the Bereans who had "received the word with all readiness of mind, examining the Scriptures daily" (Acts 17:11). Dad's careful examination of the word of God made him like Apollos, "mighty in the Scriptures" and capable of standing for truth even in debate (Acts 18:24-28). In his lifetime, he participated in several written and oral debates, both in English and Spanish.
Let me encourage every Bible student to examine God's word carefully. One basic thing that you can do to study each verse in the Bible is to ask questions about that verse. Ask the who, what, when, why, how, and where questions. Another simple thing you can do is to read and stop at the first word you don't understand. Don't move on until you understand that word or concept. In addition to traditional Bible study aids in book form (such as Bible lexicons, encyclopedias, etc.), there are great online sites like BibleGateWay.com, BibleHub.com, and BlueLetterBible.com that can aid you in your study to understand God's word.
My father was also careful to apply God's word after he read it, understood it, and examined it. He knew the importance of both hearing and doing God's word (Jas. 1:22-25). His Bible classes and sermons were always plain, pointed, and practical. He never spoke in the theoretical or hypothetical. He never "waxed eloquent." He never spoke just to hear himself talk. He always wanted to apply God's word to address family matters, marriage, false teachings, conversion, personal growth, the church, etc. When Dad taught a class or preached a sermon, you got the point. You may not like what he said, but you got the point, nonetheless. He didn't teach or preach to impress his audience; he did it to change his audience and save them. The whole goal of Bible study is keeping God's word and obeying it. In the words of the apostle John: "Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the word of the prophecy, and keep the things that are written therein" (Rev. 1:3).
A lot of Bible study is still going on today, which is good. Some Bible study is careful, and some Bible study is careless. In our age, where everything has to be quick and convenient, I fear there are "Bible students" (I use that term loosely) in the Lord's church who don't approach God's word carefully. They don't read carefully and thoroughly. They don't take the time to compare Bible versions, look up Hebrew or Greek words, examine the context, search all of God's word, etc. They simply download a lesson from the internet, quickly look over it, and then pawn it off as Bible study to the class or congregation. Brethren, we can do better!
When I think of my father's overall attitude toward the word of God, I recall Psalm 1:2, which says, "His delight is in the law of Jehovah; and on his law doth he meditate day and night." My father delighted in the word of God, and he spent many hours meditating over it. May we all have that same attitude toward the word of God. May we truly love it, carefully study it, thoroughly explain it, and diligently apply it.
Author Bio: Chris preaches for the Warfield Blvd. Church of Christ in Clarksville, TN. The church website is wbcoc.org. His Bible study website is thegoodteacher.com. He can be reached at chrisreevesmail@gmail.com.
